News 2015

Special Agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have arrested a Murfreesboro man in connection to an ongoing child pornography investigation. 
In June, TBI Agents received an investigative lead from the Knoxville Police Department. During the course of the investigation, Agents executed a search warrant at the Murfreesboro home of Mark Brantley Neal and developed information that Neal used a peer-to-peer network to download files containing child pornography and later attempted to dispose of relevant items of evidence.
 
This morning, Agents arrested the 55-year-old at his Longview Drive home and charged him with one count of Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor and one count of Tampering with Evidence. At the time of this release, he was being held in the custody of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office on $60,000 bond.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN CANNON COUNTY SCHOOLS 
September 8—Board meeting workshop, 6:30 p.m., Central Office
September 8—CCHS Cross Country meet at Warren Co. High School
September 8—CCHS Golf match with Dekalb Co.
September 10—School Board meeting, 6:30 p.m., WGS Cafeteria
September 10—CCHS Girls Volleyball game with Livingston Academy, Away
September 10—CCHS Golf match with Smith Co.
September 11—CCHS Lions football team vs. Red Boiling Springs, Away
September 11—West Side Harvest Festival
September 14—CCHS Golf match with Livingston Academy
September 14—Cannon County students will be participating in the Adams Memorial Library Book Battle Reading Challenge which begins today.
September 15—New Teachers’ meeting (for first and second year teachers), 3:00 p.m., Central Office
September 15—CCHS Cross Country meet at Cookeville High School
September 16—Teen Health Council meets at CCHS at 11:00 a.m.
September 17—CCHS Girls Volleyball game with Macon Co., Away
September 18—CCHS Football Homecoming—CCHS vs. York Institute
September 19—Woodland Harvest Festival

When you are in a situation where there is abuse or when you feel lost and need help, You Are Not Alone.  Most people who are victims of domestic abuse, elderly abuse, suicide, bullying, and dating abuse always say that they did not know who to call or what to do in their situation.   The purpose of this workshop will be to educate the community on the warnings and signs of abuse and where to get help when needed.   It will be held on September 12, 2015 at Camp Piedmont at 230 Pilot Knob Road in Readyville, TN.  All ages are welcome from 9:30 – 11:45 when domestic violence and animal abuse will be addressed.  We will break for lunch and then continue the workshop until 2:30 for ages 13 and above only.  The topics of suicide and dating abuse will be covered during this time.  Lieutenant Brian Elrod with Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office will hold a self-defense class from 2:30 – 5:30.  Please come and bring a chair and sack lunch. Your life or a life of a loved one matters and can be saved by the information that you will receive from this workshop.  If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Chelsea at simpsonchelsea15@gmail.com or call Emily at 615-542-3626.  Hope to see everyone there!

DeKalb Telephone Cooperative (d/b/a DTC Communications) will host its annual meeting on Sept. 19, 2015, at the DeKalb County Fairgrounds in Alexandria. Directors will be elected in the Alexandria, Liberty, and Smithville exchanges. The Nominating Committee has qualified the following candidates by nomination: Bennie “Buck” Curtis – Alexandria, Randy Campbell – Liberty, and Ronnie Garrison – Smithville. Those candidates who qualified by petition are: Mark Willoughby – Alexandria, Danny Lynn Hale – Liberty, and Paul Cantrell – Smithville.
Voting for directors will take place at the cooperative’s annual meeting on Saturday, Sept. 19 and during early voting Monday-Wednesday, Sept. 14-16. The last day to make changes to your membership for the 2015 election is Thursday, Sept. 10.
Hours and locations for early voting include:
Early Voting Hours
Mon., Sept. 14 – 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Tues., Sept. 15 – 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Wed., Sept. 16 – 11 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Early Voting Held at DTC Store Locations
 111 High Street – ALEXANDRIA
 126 JMZ Drive – GORDONSVILLE
200 Walmart Drive – SMITHVILLE
106 West High Street – WOODBURY
On Saturday, Sept. 19, gates to the DeKalb County Fairgrounds in Alexandria will open at 11:45 a.m., with voting from noon until 4 p.m. The business meeting will begin at 4 p.m. or once the last person in line at that time has voted.
Only DTC members may vote, and each member must present identification. For a single membership, only that individual may vote. Either member of a joint membership may vote, but not both. In the case of a business membership, a business affidavit is required.
 

For the first time in decades all 95 Tennessee counties have adopted their annual budget resolutions by August 31. This extraordinary achievement means that Tennessee counties are now operating under a locally adopted budget for the current fiscal year. 
Tennessee counties are also in full compliance with Public Chapter 170, Acts of 2015. This new law allows counties that do not adopt a budget resolution prior to June 30 to operate under a continuation budget through August 31. Counties with extraordinary circumstances preventing the adoption of a budget resolution by August 31 may request approval from the Comptroller of the Treasury to operate until September 30.
 
The Tennessee County Services Association requested Public Chapter 170 from the State Legislature, and its members should be commended for adhering to its requirements.
 
In the past, it was not uncommon for some Tennessee counties to operate without a current budget into October.
 
“This achievement is a result of the tremendous effort by county executives, mayors, commissioners, and school board members to better manage their counties by adopting a budget in a timely manner,” said Comptroller Justin P. Wilson. “This is a significant step toward making government work better for all Tennesseans.”
 

By a 6-4 vote, the Cannon County Commissioners approved the appropriations and the tax levy resolutions in separate votes Monday night during the special called meeting of the Cannon County Commission. The Cannon County Budget Committee met a total of 16 times and made a recommendation to cut 2.75% from last year’s spending totals by each county general department and raise the property tax to just 15 cents which is a total of $2.68.  The property tax could be lowered 13 cents if the wheel tax proposal is approved an issue that could take up to the March election to decide.  This would give the revenue a much needed boost to send the general fund balance at the end of the 2015-2016 fiscal year to $600,000.  That would be a huge step in getting the fund balance back to where the State of Tennessee says it should be.  Commissioners Russell Reed, Jim Bush, Brent Bush and Karen Ashford voted against the resolutions.

With the state’s deadline right around the corner for all counties to have an approved county budget in place for the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the Cannon County Commissioners have called a special called meeting Monday evening with two items on the agenda.  Those items are to approve the appropriations for 2015-2016 and to set the tax rate to finance the appropriations for 2015-2016.  The budget committee met over 14 times during these sessions and they are set to make a recommendation to the full County Commission Monday night.  If there is no budget passed during tonight’s meeting, the County would be in danger of shutting all services down until a budget is passed by the commissioners and approved by the state.  Tonight’s special called meeting can only deal with the budget as it is the only item on the official agenda. Monday’s meeting will take place at 5:00 in the courtroom of the Cannon County Courthouse.

The Cannon County Rescue Squad has announced plans for Rescue Ride 9 set for Saturday September 12th.  The Ride will get started at Dillon Park in Woodbury Saturday morning at 9:00.  Motorcycles, cars, classic cars, trucks etc.  For more information and details visit facebook.com/Cannon County Rescue.  

The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) is warning Tennessee consumers about a phony auto sales website posing as an actual Chattanooga auto wholesaler in order to swindle unsuspecting consumers.   
TM Auto Sales is a small, Chattanooga-based auto wholesaler operated by Ray McKee and his wife. Licensed by the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, TM Auto Sales has been in business since 2008, has no complaints filed against it and no official online presence.
However, TM Auto Sales staff recently discovered that unbeknownst to them, Internet scammers have set up a phony TM Auto Sales website using the dealer’s name, as well as its Conner Lane address, to lure in unsuspecting car shoppers. Details are still being uncovered about the scam and the scale of its impact. Thus far, all victims reside outside the State of Tennessee. One victim reportedly gave $60,000 to the scammers via bank transfer and another flew from New York State to Chattanooga to pick up his car — only to discover that the site was a sham and the car he thought he purchased does not exist.
“I want to warn people about what’s happened to us and what could happen to them if they attempt to buy a vehicle from this website,” said Ray McKee, who owns and operates TM Auto Sales with his wife.  “We want to help consumers by telling them to avoid this website.”
The fictional TM Auto Sales site advertises discount prices on expensive high-end autos, a luxury pleasure boat and even has a fictitious TM Auto showroom. The scammers have posted phony testimonials as well as a phone number with a Chattanooga area code that connects to a voice-mail where callers can leave their information and have their call returned.
TM Auto Sales has contacted local and federal authorities about the matter in order to begin an investigation. TDCI has been contacted and the Motor Vehicle Commission has been informed of the fraudulent acts.
“Consumers should always remember that just because they see a deal on the Internet, it doesn’t mean it’s real,” said Motor Vehicle Commission Executive Director Paula J. Shaw. “Scammers are becoming more sophisticated every day. Consumers should always look before they buy and only buy from trusted, authenticated sources.”
If you believe you’ve been scammed or if you are the victim of identity theft, you should immediately contact all three major credit bureaus, creditors and law enforcement about the theft. 
– See more at: http://tn.gov/news/17256#sthash.nbLhS1YG.dpuf
The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) is warning Tennessee consumers about a phony auto sales website posing as an actual Chattanooga auto wholesaler in order to swindle unsuspecting consumers.
TM Auto Sales is a small, Chattanooga-based auto wholesaler operated by Ray McKee and his wife. Licensed by the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission, TM Auto Sales has been in business since 2008, has no complaints filed against it and no official online presence.
However, TM Auto Sales staff recently discovered that unbeknownst to them, Internet scammers have set up a phony TM Auto Sales website using the dealer’s name, as well as its Conner Lane address, to lure in unsuspecting car shoppers. Details are still being uncovered about the scam and the scale of its impact. Thus far, all victims reside outside the State of Tennessee. One victim reportedly gave $60,000 to the scammers via bank transfer and another flew from New York State to Chattanooga to pick up his car — only to discover that the site was a sham and the car he thought he purchased does not exist.
“I want to warn people about what’s happened to us and what could happen to them if they attempt to buy a vehicle from this website,” said Ray McKee, who owns and operates TM Auto Sales with his wife.  “We want to help consumers by telling them to avoid this website.”
The fictional TM Auto Sales site advertises discount prices on expensive high-end autos, a luxury pleasure boat and even has a fictitious TM Auto showroom. The scammers have posted phony testimonials as well as a phone number with a Chattanooga area code that connects to a voice-mail where callers can leave their information and have their call returned.
TM Auto Sales has contacted local and federal authorities about the matter in order to begin an investigation. TDCI has been contacted and the Motor Vehicle Commission has been informed of the fraudulent acts.
“Consumers should always remember that just because they see a deal on the Internet, it doesn’t mean it’s real,” said Motor Vehicle Commission Executive Director Paula J. Shaw. “Scammers are becoming more sophisticated every day. Consumers should always look before they buy and only buy from trusted, authenticated sources.”
If you believe you’ve been scammed or if you are the victim of identity theft, you should immediately contact all three major credit bureaus, creditors and law enforcement about the theft.
 

Every genealogical research project has to start somewhere, whether it’s a Google search of an ancestor’s name or an old family photograph unearthed from the attic. In this next installment of the Tennessee State Library and Archives free workshop series, veteran genealogist Jim Long will use case studies to demonstrate how even small bits of information can lead to important discoveries found among TSLA’s collection of resources. Mr. Long, president of the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society, will use real life examples of how he utilized TSLA resources in his research. His lecture will touch on the information that can be found in old newspapers, deed books, land records and legislative petitions to learn more about long lost ancestors. He will also describe how photographs can provide clues that can assist in research. And he will provide tips on how to search through county records and use the Tennessee Archives Directory as a resource.
Mr. Long is a lifetime member of the Montgomery County Historical Society and a volunteer at the Stewart County Archives. He has studied genealogy for more than 35 years and has published nine books on Stewart County genealogical records. He also maintains the websites for the Tennessee State Library and Archives Friends, the Middle Tennessee Genealogical Society and the TNGenWeb sites for Stewart and Montgomery counties.
The workshop takes place on Saturday, Sept. 26th from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. Although this workshop is free and open to the public, reservations are required due to limited seating in the auditorium. To make a reservation, visit http://tslaworkshop-jimlong.eventbrite.com
Parking is available around the Tennessee State Library and Archives building.
For more information, call (615) 741-2764 or e-mail workshop.tsla@tn.gov