News 2015

Effective July 1, 2015, noncustodial parents in Tennessee who have their licenses suspended or revoked due to nonpayment of child support may be eligible under T.C.A. §36-5-714 to apply for and receive a restricted driver’s license if they can prove that they are working at least thirty (30) hours per week and living more than one (1) mile away from their job or school. This new law seeks to eliminate barriers that prevent noncustodial parents from maintaining steady employment and paying their child support timely.  Upon meeting all the statutory requirements and being deemed eligible for the program, noncustodial parents will be required to pay a nonrefundable $30 fee. Accepted applicants will then receive an approved Application for Restricted License in the mail which must be carried while operating a vehicle.
 
Each case will be monitored by the newly established Child Support Central Office Restricted License Unit (RLU) in Nashville for compliance with the court order.  If the noncustodial parent stops paying as ordered, the RLU can take action to revoke the restricted license as necessary.  However, if the noncustodial parent maintains employment and continues to pay as ordered, the case can be reviewed by the RLU to fully reinstate the driver’s license after a period of time.   
The restricted license program does have some notable exclusions to eligibility that apply.  A noncustodial parent is not eligible for a restricted license if his/her license has been suspended or revoked for reasons other than child support.  Further, a restricted license cannot be issued for a commercial driver license (CDL) or for the sole purpose of attending school.  
This new law was passed to benefit children and families, and its implementation looks promising for all parties involved.  Noncustodial parents who are interested in applying for a restrictive driver’s license should contact their local child support office for more details.  
 

No one suffered injuries when two suspects allegedly fired a pellet rifle near spectators watching a girls’ soccer game Thursday evening outside a Riverdale High School, said Sheriff Robert Arnold. 
              School Resource Officer James Coots heard the sound and turned to see the barrel of a gun protruding out the passenger side window of a Toyota near him before it speed away. SRO Coots gave a description of the vehicle as he began a pursuit. He and several other deputies conducted a felony stop on the driver and passenger.
 
              SRO Coots charged suspects Mohamad Nasoah Al-Dahan and Khaled Mahfouz, both 21, of Magnolia Drive in Murfreesboro with felony reckless endangerment with a weapon.  The MTSU students are being held on $25,000 bond at Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.
 
              Sheriff Arnold commended the officers who were involved in the case.
 
“We take our responsibility seriously of protecting students both during classes and at after-school events,” Sheriff Arnold said. “SRO Coots, other responding deputies and the detectives did an outstanding job in quickly apprehending the suspects and charging the suspects. We are happy no one was injured during this unfortunate incident.”
 
While searching the car, SRO Coots recovered a pellet gun lying on the floorboard.
 
              Detectives interviewed the suspects before they were charged and booked into the Rutherford County Adult Detention Center.

For over twenty years the Salvation Army’s Center of Hope in Murfreesboro has provided thousands of nights of sheltering to single men and families to help some of the most vulnerable citizens in our community. Two years ago a third shift sheltering program, the first of its kind in Murfreesboro, was added to meet a growing need in our community.Staring Monday, August 31st, the Center of Hope will undergo another change.
Family rooms will now be designated as rooms for single mothers and children. Local Salvation Army Corps Officer Captain Monica Seiler says, “As a result of our strategic plan we want to reflect the greatest need in the community and that is sheltering for single mothers and their children.” She explains that nothing policy wise will change and that couples who need sheltering with children will still be provided lodging, but intentionality in reaching single mothers and children is being addressed.
All mothers will be provided case management and will be working on individualized life improvement plans that, according to Social Services Director Teresa Olson, “will help them to be productive again while giving them the support they need to be successful.” Mothers will be provided with weekly life skills classes and will be paired with a mentor.
The Salvation Army’s Center of Hope Shelter and Life Recovery Program has an unprecedented success rate of over 80% of residents finding permanent housing. “Our tenets of teaching responsibility while providing accountability for long-term sustainability will not change. Our greatest success stories occur when people no longer need our services” says Captain Seiler.

Dear Friends,As I continue to travel around Tennessee’s Sixth District, folks always approach me with the same message: We want Washington to get off our backs so we can live our lives the best way we know how. I hear you and I am looking forward to taking these concerns back to Washington when I return to the Capitol in the coming days. In the meantime, here are a few things that have been on my radar this past week. First, the good news: 
 Federal Judge Places Injunction on EPA’s Harmful WOTUS Rule
Yesterday, a federal judge in North Dakota upheld a lawsuit brought by 13 states against the Environmental Protection Agency’s “Waters of the United States” rule, commonly referred to as WOTUS. This senseless government overreach would place burdensome and costly constraints on farmers, including potentially landing farmers who are just trying to do their job with a $37,500 daily penalty unless they go through the time consuming process of obtaining a government permit. When speaking about the rule the judge said “The risk of irreparable harm to the states is both imminent and likely.” While the 13 states who files suit will receive a temporary injunction from having to implement the regulation, every other state – including Tennessee – must begin compliance today. With 13,000 farms in Tennessee’s Sixth District alone, this rule could harm the livelihoods of the very people who put food on our plates.
While blocking this rule will be a long and difficult task, conservatives in Congress are working on several strategies to protect America’s agriculture community from this burdensome rule. For example, earlier this year, I voted for and the House passed the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015, which would effectively stop the WOTUS rule from being implemented. We are now waiting for the Senate to take the bill up for a vote. 
 NLRB Decision Threatens Jobs and Small Businesses  
In another politically-driven move from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the organization chose labor bosses over small franchise and contract owners – and the countless Americans that depend on these employers for jobs. Under the decision that came down yesterday, subcontractors will now be redefined as direct employees of the corporation they work for. This means that the many franchise fast food chains throughout our community, which operate like small businesses, risk losing their autonomy and ability to make the best decisions for their customers and employees. Anti-business decisions like this are why I previously voted to defund the NLRB in its entirety. Small businesses are the bread and butter of our economy and the nation’s largest employers – the stakes are far too high to let this decision stand. I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to develop a legislative response to this irresponsible rule. 
 Obamacare Premium Rates Skyrocket in Tennessee
Late last week, our states largest insurer – Blue Cross Blue Shield – was approved for a 36.3 percent average increase in premiums for 2016, with select premiums increasing by up to 59.5 percent. The President repeatedly promised Americans that his healthcare law would save families an average of $2,500 per year. Now, Tennesseans are seeing once again that nothing could be further from the truth. As I recently stated, “My House colleagues and I will continue taking action wherever possible to offer relief from the most onerous provisions of Obamacare, but this staggering rate increase is a reminder of why we need a Commander-in-Chief who will partner with us to start over on healthcare reform.”
 Weighing in with Gov. Palin about the fight to defund Planned Parenthood
Earlier this week I had the privilege of joining Gov. Sarah Palin on One America News Network to discuss the urgent need to defund America’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood. Gov. Palin agrees that House leadership must immediately bring up my bill, the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, so that we can stop taxpayer dollars from being used by this callous organization.

The Blue Devils of Jackson County football didn’t show their horns until the second half Friday night against the Cannon County Lions and for the second straight game and three out of their last four games dating back to last season, the Lions were again on the wrong end of the mercy rule as Jackson dominated quarters 3 and 4 to extend a 13-0 halftime lead to a 47-0 win. With throwback jersey’s on, Cannon started the game once again with promise after an opening drive took seven and a half minutes of the first quarter.  They came up empty on the scoreboard as Livia Walker missed a difficult to make field goal that would have given the Lions the first score of the game.  The defense though made it difficult for Jackson to move the football as well.  Jackson’s first break of the game came on Cannon’s second possession when the Lions fumbled the football and the Blue Devils recovered near midfield.   9 plays later Jackson County hit paydirt when running back Colby Long scored the first of his four touchdowns of the night at Jackson led 7-0.  Next possession Jackson would score on a pass play and lead at half 13-0.  The second half Jackson County turned the heat up several notches.  After starting the half recovering an Cannon County onside kick attempt in great field position, Long only needed four touches of the football to make the score 21-0.  Then Cannon County decide to take a gamble.  After going what looked to be four and out of the next possession, a fake punt was called on the Cannon County 34 yard line, the ball was fumbled and recovered at the Cannon County 19.  One play later Long scampered the 19 yards for his third touchdown of the night making it 27-0.  The miscues didn’t stop there as on the ensuing kickoff, the Lions fumbled that ball and the Blue Devils recovered and scored on a 9 play 4th and goal at the 6 situation.  The Lions didn’t want to stop giving the Blue Devils gifts on the kickoffs.  Moments later yet another fumble was picked up and run into the endzone giving Jackson County at 40-0 lead in the third quarter.  Cannon was only able to touch the ball offensively for 9 plays in the entire second half.  The final touchdown of the game came in the fourth quarter with 1:44 to play to make the final score 47-0.  The Lions collected 45 yards on the ground and 110 yards through the air.  They gave up 275 yards rushing and 68 yards passing.  Fundamental tackling and conditioning seemed to once again be the big issues for the Cannon County Lion defense in giving up that much yardage and points to another 1-A football team.   Next week it’s on the road to Altamont for the first region contest of the schedule at Grundy County Stats:
Cannon County Rushing 16 carries for 45 yards one lost fumble
Passing:  9-15 for 110 yards and one interception
Rushing Leader Austin Brock 10 carries for 33 yards
Reception Leader: Bo Bryson 6 catches for 73 yards

The Cannon County Lions will look to regroup after a disappointing start last week, when they host the Blue Devils of Jackson County tonight in Woodbury.  Cannon started out the season with a lot of confidence in their opener at Community in the first week but ran out of gas midway through the game and Community was able to break a 13 game losing streak 53-14. Jackson County started the post Sean Loftis era with a win over Clay County 24-21.  Loftis the former quarterback turned high school head football coach left his alma mater in the off season to take the quarterback coaching job at Gallatin.  Tonight quarterback Brady Page will be counted on to lead the offense and produce some good numbers on the ground in order to have a chance to even up their overall record at 1-1.  Football Friday will begin at 4:30 this afternoon with Tailgate, we’ll follow that with Murphy Fair and Murphy’s Matchups at 5:30.  Friday Night Thunder Rolls in at 6:00, with Tailgate Pregame at 6:45.  Live kickoff will be at 7:00.  You can catch the game streaming live on our website at wbry.com, or by using your smart phones and tablets through the Tune In Radio app, or you can listen to the game live right here on your radios AM/1540 and Shine 107.9.  

A Cannon County man recently discovered a family member had written over $1000 worth of checks and forged his signature on all of them.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department Reports, Don Randell Taylor told deputies that he stopped by his bank and was informed that someone had written 8 checks signing his name to the checks and cashed them for over $1000.  Mr. Taylor stated that his son Ethan Taylor wrote the checks out to himself for currency.  Investigators went to the Kennedy Creek Road residence and placed Ethan into custody.  While doing so they looked through his wallet and found a signed check that Ethan allegedly admitted forging his father’s name to.  Ethan told detectives that after he cashed all the checks he used the money to purchase narcotics from a person in Liberty.  Ethan was charged with 8 counts of forgery.  The Sheriff’s Department contacted the Dekalb County Sheriff’s Department to assist with the theft charges and was advised that if Ethan had been charged with forgery that the Dekalb County Sheriff’s office would be unable to charge for theft due to forgery being a theft.  Ethan Taylor will answer to the charges on October 6th in Cannon County General Sessions Court.  

 He’s traveled Hank Williams’ Lost Highway from Nashville to Broadway…and now he’s bringing his award-winning sounds of the country music legend to the Arts Center! Jason Petty has won critical acclaim all over the country for his surreal performance as country legend Hank Williams in the off-Broadway hit Hank Williams’ “Lost Highway'”. So much so that his performance racked up 5 nominations in New York’s award ceremonies for Best Actor. Now, this multi-talented singer/actor/musician is bringing his own tribute show out on the road. This new show is called “Hank and my Honky Tonk Heroes” and showcases Jason’s uncanny ability to capture the sounds of Hank Williams. The show takes audiences back in time to the very beginnings of country music and pays homage not only to Williams, but also to other country legends, such as Jimmie Rodgers, Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, George Jones, and many more. Jason takes us on an insightful journey into the music of Hank Williams as only Jason can. In 8 years of research on this great man, Jason has had the chance to speak with friends, band members, family, biographers and other Opry legends who knew Hank. Jason re-creates such Williams’ hits as “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry”, “Your Cheatin’ Heart”, “Hey Good Lookin’ “, “Kaw-Liga”, “Cold Cold Heart”, “Lovesick Blues”, “You Win Again” and many more. But this astonishing show is more than just a Hank Williams tribute…thus the title. Jason pays tribute to stars that influenced Hank and those stars that Hank influenced.
Be sure to catch Jason Petty Saturday night at the Arts Center of Cannon County at 7:30.  Tickets must be pre-purchased $15.00 for adults and $13.00 for seniors and students.  Call the Box Office for more information at 615-563-2787

The Consumer and Industry Services Division of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture is issuing a public advisory to warn consumers of Listeria monocytogenes discovered in two varieties of frozen vegetables sold in Tennessee. 
The contamination was discovered during routine sampling of food products sold at two different grocery stores in Harriman, Tenn.
Lab results showed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in Cascadian Farm Organic Cut Green Beans. The 10 ounce package was distributed by Small Planet Foods, Inc. of Sedro-Woolley, Wash. and identified with the code 11APR2016. General Mills has issued a voluntary nationwide recall of that product, as well as green beans with the code of 10APR2016. You can read more about the recall here: General Mills voluntarily recalls a limited quantity of frozen Cascadian Farm Cut Green Beans.
Testing also confirmed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in Wylwood- Super Sweet Whole Kernel Corn. The 16 ounce package was distributed by Save-A-Lot Foods of Earth City, Mo. and identified with the Best By date of June 2017 and code K51564. Officials with Save-A-Lot have requested all stores pull the unsold packages of corn from the shelves.
The Department of Agriculture has notified the Food and Drug Administration and the FDA will determine if further action will be taken.
Listeria monocytogenes is unlike many other germs because it can grow in a cold environment. Although healthy individuals may suffer only short-term symptoms such as high fever, severe headache, stiffness, nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhea, infection can cause miscarriages and stillbirths among pregnant women and may be fatal for individuals with weakened immune systems. Cooking and pasteurization are two methods by which to eliminate the bacteria from food.
The Consumer and Industry Services division of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture sets high standards for food safety. Those standards are enforced through regular and thorough inspections and product testing.
 

WBRY AM-1540/FM96.7 announces that the FM position on the radio dial will move to 107.9FM beginning later today.  This move is to provide a clearer signal throughout all of Cannon County.  We will be off the air several hours in order to complete this move.   We will remain in the same position on the AM dial as 1540.  Thank you in advance for your patience while we do the things necessary to change our position on the FM dial. Please make the switch later today to 107.9FM.