News 2015

Coordinated School Health and the Cannon County High School Teen Health Council were recently awarded a $4000 grant from the Fuel Up to Play 60 Corporation to purchase a yogurt cart for the high school breakfast line. The Teen Health Council members were asked their opinions on how to improve breakfast participation at the high school.  Their suggestions led sponsors of the group to work on securing funding to make their plan a reality. The students would like to also thank Jennifer Insell, Director of Food Services for her help with this process.

 A Bedford County man is charged in Coffee County with doctor shopping for prescription drugs, using TennCare as payment. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) today announced the arrest of Samuel L. Harris, Jr., 40, of Shelbyville. A Coffee County Grand Jury indicted Harris on two counts of fraudulently obtaining controlled substances by doctor shopping and two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.      
Harris was served with the charges at the Bedford County Jail, where he is serving time for his first arrest, in February of this year, when he was charged in Bedford County with three counts of doctor shopping for drugs, using TennCare as payment. He pleaded guilty to the charges in May and was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
 “We’re cracking down on people using TennCare to finance their drug habit or business,” Inspector General Manny Tyndall said.  “Healthcare providers and local law enforcement officers across the state are working with us to investigate and prosecute these types of crimes.”
District Attorney General Robert Carter prosecuted this case.
 

 Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced last week the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for July was 5.7 percent, unchanged from the June revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for July was 5.3 percent, also unchanged from the prior month. Economic Summary
Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 6.6 percent to 5.7 percent while the national rate declined from 6.2 percent to 5.3 percent.
    Total nonfarm employment increased 1,300 jobs from June to July. The largest increases occurred in leisure/hospitality, manufacturing, and wholesale trade.
    Over the year, nonfarm employment increased 52,500 jobs. The largest increases occurred in trade/transportation/utilities, leisure/hospitality, and professional/business services.

The Consumer and Industry Services Division of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture is issuing a public advisory for undeclared gluten discovered in two products sold in Tennessee. During routine sampling of retail food products sold at India Bazaar on Mayfield Drive in Franklin, lab results showed the presence of gluten in Kerala Pappadam, distributed by the House of Spices in Flushing, N.Y.
Gluten was also detected in Nutrela Soya Chunks with the lot number TC 25. Gluten was not indicated on the label for either product, as is required by federal labeling law.
In accordance with FDA standards, a major food allergen is defined as any of the following: milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, soybeans, peanuts, and wheat, as well as any food ingredient that contains protein derived from one of these foods. Gluten is a protein contained in wheat, barley and rye.
As a precaution, the department is alerting consumers with an allergy or sensitivity to gluten to avoid those products. The department is also requesting that retail locations in Tennessee remove the products from their shelves and contact the distributor.
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. The Department of Agriculture recently validated their test procedure for the presence of gluten in foods.
 

Lebanon’s Caroline Hendrick was crowned Miss Middle Tennessee Electric 2015 today at the cooperative’s annual meeting, held at Embassy Suites Murfreesboro – Hotel and Conference Center. The daughter of John and Kim Hendrick was sponsored by Lebanon High School HOSA, won the $1,000 cash prize.
First alternate in the pageant was Reed Alexandra Collum of Franklin, daughter of Max and Cheryl Collum. She was sponsored by Bethesda FCE Club and won $500.
Second alternate was Brette Ruff of Mt. Juliet. The daughter of Gary Ruff was sponsored by Green Hill FCE Club and won $250.
The pageant was part of the annual meeting of members and was open to contestants ages 16 to 21 from across MTEMC’s service territory.
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 205,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.
 

As a part of Cannon County Schools’ School-Wide Positive Behavior Support program, bullying prevention efforts are an ongoing priority. The school system has developed the following strategy statement regarding bullying behaviors: We recognize bullying as the deliberate use of any word, look, sign, or act that hurts a person’s body, feelings, or things. We also recognize bullying as a type of violence that occurs when someone uses his or her power unfairly and repeatedly to hurt someone else.  
To make our school violence-free and safe from bullying, we pledge
·    not to tolerate bullying
·    to intervene in incidents of bullying and strictly enforce rules against bullying
·    to empower students to report bullying behavior and to treat one another with respect
As a part of the Bullying Prevention Program, students as well as staff, participate in lessons designed to help him/her
·    define bullying and understand what behaviors are considered bullying
·    understand the effect of bullying behaviors and develop empathy for targeted students
·    learn ways to respond to bullying behavior
·    learn when and how to report bullying
·    learn the consequences the school has established for engaging in bullying behavior
The overall goal of the Bullying Prevention program is to empower students to report bullying behaviors and to give school staff the tools to recognize, intervene, and issue consequences for bullying behaviors they witness or hear about from students. Students who bully receive appropriate consequences to help them realize that bullying behavior isn’t appropriate and won’t be tolerated at school.  
Additionally, all students participate in lessons concerning internet safety.  Parents may also continue this conversation by using the “NetSmartz® Workshop” which may be found on the Cannon County School District’s homepage.  “NetSmartz Workshop” is an interactive, educational program of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) that provides age-appropriate resources to help teach children how to be safer on- and offline. The program is designed for children ages 5-17, parents and guardians, educators, and law enforcement. With resources such as videos, games, activity cards, and presentations, NetSmartz entertains while it educates provides information to parents on how to keep students cyber-safe.  You may access this information at www.ccstn.net  under the “Headlines” link.   
For questions regarding the Bullying Prevention program and how it is implemented, parents may contact their child’s school principal or school counselor.

 Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation members reelected four incumbents to the board of directors’ seats during the cooperative’s annual meeting Saturday at Embassy Suites Murfreesboro – Hotel and Conference Center. Approximately 2,000 attended the annual meeting, with more than 700 voting in the elections this year.
 
Incumbents Ann Little of Williamson County (District 1B) and Jim Mills of Wilson County (District 4D) won reelection to their seats. The contested seat for Rutherford County (District 2B) was filled by incumbent David Lee of Rutherford County, and the contested seat for Wilson, DeKalb and Trousdale Counties (District 4A) was filled by incumbent Tom Purkey. Additionally, the 2016 Nominating Committee election resulted in W.J. “Joey” Davis, Donald L. Lampley and Juanita Patton from District 1 – Williamson County, Thomas “Teb” Batey II, Robert Mullins, and Jamey Faulkner from District 2 – Rutherford County, Jeanne Melton from District 3 – Cannon County and Ken Howell, Hilton A. Mires, Quintin Smith and John R. Woodroof from District 4 – Wilson County and.
 
MTEMC board members serve rotating three-year terms, and the nominating committee is responsible for nominating next year’s board of directors candidates.
 
In an organizational meeting following the voting, the board elected Mike Woods of Rutherford County as chairman, and then elected Tom Purkey of Wilson County as vice chairman and Steve Seger of Williamson County as secretary-treasurer.
“We really look forward to this day every year,” MTEMC President Chris Jones said. “The democratic process of members electing those that represent and serve the organization is an important piece of who we are as not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative.”  
In addition to the board of directors’ reelection, the 2015 Miss MTEMC crown was given to Caroline Hendrick of Lebanon.
 
At the conclusion of the meeting, Jesse Summers of Murfreesboro won the grand prize; a used 2007 Ford Escape that had been retired from the MTEMC fleet.
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 205,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.
 
For more information, please contact MTEMC Communications Coordinator Josh Clendenen at 615-494-1071 or 615-516-5020.
 

The Cannon County Lions high school football team  started out their 2015 season with some excitement and promise Friday night but in the end it was Pride that helped their opponent Community School break a 12 game losing streak dating back to 2013.  The Lions opened up the game with a long drive that ate up nearly 6 minutes of clock.  The drive ended with the Lions in the end zone as Jeremy Litchford took a 4 yard pass into the end zone and Livia Walker added the extra point and Cannon led 7-0.  Cannon’s defense stopped the opening possession of Community.  After getting the ball back the Lions continued to control the clock on another long drive but that’s where the momentum changed.  The Lions fumbled the ball away on the Community 2 yard line and the next play Community got out of deep in their own territory.  That’s when Pride set in.  Community standout football player Darian Pride who has gotten serious looks from Army, Georgia Tech and the Navy took off on a 43 yard touchdown run.  One minute later after recovering an onside kick, Community struck again to take the lead 12-7.  The Vikings would open the lead to 18-7 when Pride would scamper 70 yards before halftime into the endzone.   Cannon started the second half with a defense stop and then a score from Austin Brock to close the lead 18-14.  The Vikings answered with a 55 yard touchdown run from Pride which was the third  of his four touchdowns of the evening.  Cannon suffered several leg injuries and cramps throughout the second half as the game got away from them midway through the third quarter with the final score 53-14 Community School.
The Lions will try to regroup Friday night when they meet Jackson County at Fred Schwartz Field in Woodbury.

Football is definitely in the atmosphere and hundreds turned out Thursday on the Courthouse Square for the football kickoff event.  BBQ, Cannon County Football T-shirts and other concessions were made available to the many fans who showed up as football players from all levels, elementary, junior high and the high school were introduced.  Cheerleaders from all three levels were spotlighted at the activity.  Tonight the Cannon County Lions High School Football team open their season on the road to Unionville TN in Bedford County as they play the Community Vikings.  Community struggled heavily through a 0-10 season while the Lions face a challenge of a young 30 man roster filled with sophomores and freshmen.  The upperclassmen have several skilled players with the notable return of Tight End and Linebacker Bo Bryson who cut his season short with a torn ACL last year.  The team also features the first female player in recent history as Lionette soccer standout Livia Walker will be handling the kicking duties.  Walker kicked a 45 yard field goal in practice earlier this month.  AM-1540/FM96.7 WBRY will broadcast this game live as part of our Football Friday activities.  We’ll start the Football Friday with David Hunter and Keith Ready at 4:30 and the return of Tailgate.  The prep football guru Murphy Fair will follow at 5:30 with Murphy’s Matchups.  At 6:00 we’ll turn it over to the Friday Night Thunder Crew for pregame highlights from high school football fields across the midstate.  At 6:45, we’ll come back live for Tailgate Live announcing the starters for both teams and giving you a preview of tonight’s matchup.  7:00 it’s the Kickoff to the 2015 Football season.  You can also hear the game live streaming on the internet through wbry.com or with your smart phones and tablets through WBRY by using the TuneIn Radio app.A few more pictures can be found on the WBRY Facebook.

Visitors spent almost $4 million dollars in Cannon County in 2014 according to the latest statistics from the 2014 Economic Impact of Travel on Tennessee as reported by U.S. Travel Association.  The $3.96 million dollar figure increased over $700,000 from 2013.  Governor Bill Haslam and Commissioner Kevin Triplett, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development,  announced during a special event at the Ryman Auditorium that the State tourism’s direct domestic and international travel expenditures reached $17.7 billion in 2014, up 6.3 percent, and an all-time high for the state. Tourism-generated jobs for Tennesseans reached 152,900, an increase of 2.8 percent. State and local sales tax revenue for the industry topped $1.5 billion, up 7 percent over 2013, and the ninth consecutive year tourism topped $1 billion,
For the first time in history, travel to Tennessee topped 100 million, achieving 101.3 million person stays, a 5.1 percent increase over 2013. International travel increased 8.4 percent, reaching $576.5 million in economic impact. All 95 counties in Tennessee had more than $1 million in direct travel expenditures, 19 counties saw more than $100 million, and three counties, Davidson, Shelby and Sevier, had more than $1 billion in economic impact. Knox and Hamilton Counties round out the Top 5 with nearly $1 billion in economic impact. Tennessee is ranked in the Top 10 destinations in the U.S. for total travel.
Tennessee’s customer satisfaction landed at an impressive 8.5 out of 10. The satisfaction scores are greater than those of the average U.S. destination.