News 2015

The Tennessee Department of Health (TDOH)requires certain immunizations for students entering pre-k, kindergarten, and 7th grades. There is now only one official TDOH certificate of immunization that must be completed by medical providers for delivery to schools. Parents must present this official form prior to or at their child’s registration for pre-k, kindergarten, 7th grade, or as a new student. This form is available from private healthcare providers or local health departments. 
Parents are urged to begin this process early to avoid a delay in their child’s school year. Medical providers experience high volumes of last minute immunization requests prior to the start of school. Therefore, beginning this process early can assure parents these requirements are met in advance of fall registration.
 
Remember, according to Tennessee State Law (TCA 49-6-5001), no child shall be permitted to attend any public school, kindergarten, or pre-k until proof of immunization is given to the admissions officer of the school. Parents of pre-k, kindergarten, and 7th grade students must submit an Official Certificate of Immunization on, or prior to, school enrollment. Pre-K, kindergarten, and 7th grades students without proper immunization documentation will not be allowed to attend Cannon County Schools until the Official Certificate of Immunization is submitted. Medical, religious or homeless exemptions may apply in some cases.
 
Parents can call the Cannon County Health Department, located at 301 West Main Street, Woodbury, to schedule immunizations through their clinic.  You can reach the Health Department at 615-563-4243.Parents may also schedule immunizations through their private healthcare providers. 
 
Below is a summary of the TDOH rule 1200-14-1-29 which details the immunization requirements for children enrolling in Tennessee Schools.
 
Children in Pre-School or Pre-K

Current immunization requirements:

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTaP, or DT if appropriate)

Poliomyelitis (IPV or OPV)

Measles, Mumps, Rubella (1 dose of each, usually given together as MMR)

Varicella (1 dose or history of disease)

Hepatitis B (HBV)

Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib):  age younger than 5 years only (thisrequirement is resumed following suspension during a national Hib vaccine shortage in 2008-2009)

Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV):  age younger than 5 years old.

Hepatitis A (1 dose by 18 months of age)

 
Children entering kindergarten

Current immunization requirements:

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTaP, or DT if appropriate)

Hepatitis B (HBV)

Measles, Mumps, Rubella (2 doses of each, usually given together as MMR)

Poliomyelitis (IPV or OPV):  final dose on or after the 4th birthday now required

Varicella (2 doses or history of disease):  previously only one dose was required

Hepatitis A (2 doses):  effective July 1, 2011

 
Children entering 7th Grade

Tetanus-diphtheria-pertussis booster (“Tdap”)

Verification of immunity to varicella (2 doses or history of disease)
 
New Enrollees in a TN School in Grades other than K or 7th

Current immunization requirements:

Diphtheria-Tetanus-Pertussis (DTaP, or DT if appropriate)

Measles, Mumps, Rubella (2 doses of each, usually given together as MMR)

Hepatitis B (HBV):  previously only for kindergarten, 7th grade entry

Poliomyelitis (IPV or OPV):  final dose on or after the 4th birthday now required

Varicella (2 doses or history of disease):  previously only one dose was required

 
Children with medical or religious exemption requirements:

Medical: Healthcare provider must indicate which specific vaccines are medically exempted (because of risk of harm) on the new form.  Other vaccines remain required.

Religious:  Requires only a signed statement by the parent/guardian that vaccination conflicts with their religious tenets or practices.  If documentation of a health examination is required, it must be noted by the health care provider on the immunization certificate.  In that case, the provider may explain the absence of immunization information by checking that the parent has obtained a religious exemption.
 
 
For more information, contact the Cannon County Health Department, your child’s physician, your school nurse, or Bonnie Patterson, Director of Coordinated School Health at 615-563-5752 x 245 or bonnie.patterson@ccstn.net.
 

While the Cannon County Commission is deciding on whether to have the Cannon County Planning Commission to continue their look into adopting zoning regulations, the Planning Commission does plan to meet tonight to discuss a couple of subdivision plats.  On the Agenda will be the consideration of final subdivision plat for property located on Blanton School Road which is the Youngblood division and final subdivision plat for property located on Short Mountain Highway which is the Barnes division.  They will also have a staff report on the Nicholson Division.  The Planning Commission will meet tonight at 6:00 at the Cannon County Courthouse.  

With temperatures and humidity climbing this week, MTEMC is offering a few helpful tips to keep energy consumption down, while staying cool.“Finding ways to stay cool while conserving energy can seem difficult when the heat index is in the triple-digits,” said MTEMC Communications Coordinator Josh Clendenen. “But little things like turning your thermostat up one-degree can save you money each month.”
Typically, heat-and-air units can account for about half of a member’s electric bill, and the heat makes them work even harder. Setting it to the highest comfortable temperature can result in savings.
Here are 10 quick ways to conserve energy this summer:
1. Close the drapes on the sunny side of the house during the day. This will help cut down the natural heating of your home, which will cut back on the strain of your heat-and-air unit. 
2. Set the thermostat to the highest comfortable temperature. Moving the thermostat up one degree means as much as a three-percent reduction in your electric bill. 
3. Take a quick inventory of your home, and see what you might be able to turn off or unplug such as cell phone chargers, TVs, or lights when you leave a room. 
4. Keep cooling system filters clean. 
5. Keep air vents clear of obstructions. 
6. Replace light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs that produce more light and last up to 10 times longer, while conserving energy. 
7. Wash full loads of clothes in the coolest water possible. Rinse clothes in cold water. 
8. Keep the temperature between 36 degrees and 40 degrees in the refrigerator and 0 degrees and 5 degrees in the freezer. Use a refrigerator/freezer thermometer to check the settings. 
9. Stop the dryer as soon as clothes are dry, or use the moisture sensor control to automatically shut off the dryer. Over drying wastes energy and sets in wrinkles. 
10. Dry loads one right after another. You’ll use less energy because the dryer is already heated.
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit electric cooperative providing electricity to more than 203,000 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.

Nearly two dozen Tennessee teachers participated in the Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA) summer teacher institute on “Reconstruction and the African-American Experience in Tennessee” last week. The two-day workshop included a history content presentation by Dr. Lea Williams, professor of history at Tennessee State University, close study of primary sources related to the Reconstruction period, tours of the Tennessee State Library and Archives, and more. Dr. Wayne Moore, the assistant state archivist at TSLA, said: “TSLA is a wonderful treasure house of primary sources for Tennessee social studies teachers. This workshop is an example of our commitment to provide primary sources in a form that the schools can use.”
The summer teacher institute is an event sponsored by TSLA’s education outreach department. The department frequently offers professional development workshops and in-service presentations to school districts around the state that are focused on using historic documents, maps, and images in the classroom. To learn more or to schedule an in-service training session, please contact us by phone at 615-253-3469, by email at education.tsla@tn.gov, or visit our website at http://tn.gov/tsla/educationoutreach/index.htm
Participants in the latest workshop included:
Maggie Fields – Cheatham County Schools
Billie McBride – Montgomery County Schools
David Thomack – Montgomery County Schools
Scott Hicks – Maryville City Schools
Tim Smith – Cumberland County Schools
John Ramsay – Fayette County Schools
Marsha Rains – Hardin County Schools
Addie Mays – Jackson-Madison County Schools
Barbara Morton – Jackson-Madison County Schools
Joseph Smith – Kingsport City Schools
Laurel Brady – Maury County Schools
Eric Hagan – Robertson County Schools
Christy Owens – Robertson County Schools
Mareen Pfeiffer-Hoens – Rutherford County Schools
Chase Cato – Rutherford County Schools
Dustin Brannon – Rutherford County Schools
Erika Ashford – Shelby County Schools
Tracy Alexander – Smith County Schools
Justin Kearney – Williamson County Schools
Brian Howard – Wilson County Schools
Rae Ellyn Kelley – Rutherford County Schools
To learn more about TSLA’s primary sources related to the period of Reconstruction in Tennessee, visit our education outreach site at: http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/educationoutreach/cwandr.htm

Tennessee Department of Transportation contract crews will temporarily close the intersection of US 231 (Cumberland Street) and US 70 (Main Street), known as the Lebanon Town Square, in Wilson County next week. The work is scheduled as follows. 

Monday, June 22 at 6:00 a.m. through Thursday, June 25 at 6:00 a.m.
 
During the closure, all traffic will be detoured. Message boards are already in place near the square and on Interstate 40 to alert motorists to the closure. Drivers are advised to plan ahead.
 
The closure will allow crews to cut, form, and pour concrete islands within the square. The islands are part of safety improvements designed to change the Lebanon Town Square to a traditional roundabout. Final paving operations will also begin during the closure. Due to the nature of the work, it is not possible to maintain a lane of travel while work is underway; however, local businesses will be open and accessible.
 
The scheduled closure is weather dependent.  Should inclement weather or unforeseen circumstances prevent work from occurring as scheduled, it will be rescheduled.
 
The $1 million project is expected to be completed by June 30, 2015.
 
From your desktop or mobile device, get the latest construction activity and live streaming SmartWay traffic cameras at www.TNSmartWay.com/Traffic. Travelers can also dial 511 from any land-line or cellular phone for travel information, or follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511 for statewide travel. 
 
As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for your destination.  Drivers should never tweet, text or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel.

A Cannon County Man was arrested recently after he stole stereo speakers from his neighbor.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department Reports, Deputy Gregory Fauls was called to a Payton Lane residence for theft from a car.  Upon arrival, Deputy Fauls saw a man walking down the road with two big speakers one in each hand.  Deputy Fauls asked the man later identified as Josh Baxter what was going on. Baxter stated that the had gotten the speakers from his neighbor Jim Flesher who had given him the speakers.  After talking to Mr. Flesher and three other people, all had stated that Baxter had come to the home and that he stole the speakers from a car that was parked in the road.  While catching Baxter in the process of taking the speakers, they approached him.  Allegedly Baxter ran to another home and grabbed a piece of pipe and started to walk towards the group.  That’s when the group decided to call the Sheriff’s Department.  Baxter tried to pass off the incident as a case of they were all family members to which the four corrected the situation by saying they were not.  After taking statements from the four witnesses Baxter was transported to the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department and charged with Theft Of Property under $1000, vandalism under $500 and burglary. 

After last week’s programming, we’re taking it a little bit easier at the library and only offering two special activities this week. 
Signups continue with the Summer Reading Program.  It’s not too late to join this fabulous summer event.  Come on in, get your program materials and start reading.  This year for children birth to 4 years and children 4 to 12 years the subject is Every Hero Has a Story.  For Teens, ages 12 to 17, the theme is Unmask.  The topic for adults, ages 18 and up, is Escape the Ordinary.  Every book counts toward the Summer Reading Program prizes.  Don’t forget to pick up a calendar with all the Summer Reading Program events listed.
 
Through June and July there will be NO story time.  Story Time resumes in August.  Until then join the Summer Reading Program with your children.
 
June 23 we have our third summer movie of the season.  Did I say it was FREE?  With FREE popcorn?  FREE air conditioning?  Come to the Jennings Community Room to see the latest selection of cool summer movies. What’s the movie?  Come by or call the library to find out. 
 
 
June 25, we have a Summer Reading Program event you are not going to want to miss.  The Nashville Zoo will be here with their Zooper Heroes.  Come to the Jennings Community Room to meet wild animals and learn about their heroic capabilities.  Don’t be late, it starts at 1 p.m. and you know how testy animals get when they’re kept waiting.
 
Don’t forget our ongoing program One Thousand Books before Kindergarten that continues all year.  If you have a child of pre-kindergarten age, stop by the circulation desk and sign up.  You’ll get a packet of materials to keep a record of your child’s progress as well as fun games and activities.  This will be a wonderful addition to your child’s memory book.  Someday your child will be astonished at all the books she read when she was little and too young to remember reading.
 
Summer is moving fast.  June will soon be passed.  The 4th of July is not far away.  Don’t wait!  Come to the library and sign up for Summer Reading to win prizes and have fun.   We have the pool party, movies, music and more coming in July.  Join us today!

Working alongside investigators from the White County Sheriff’s Office and the office of the 13th District Attorney General, Special Agents from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have arrested a Sparta man accused of attempted murder in connection to a shooting on Thursday night. 
At the request of 13th District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, TBI Special Agents began investigating the shooting of a 25-year-old man in the driveway of a home in the 800 block of Levon Sparkman Road in Sparta. During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information which led to the home’s occupant, Charles Fisher, as the individual responsible for the crime. The victim was subsequently airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment.
 
Early this morning, authorities arrested Fisher and charged the 52-year-old Sparta man with one count of Attempted 2nd Degree Murder. He was booked into the White County Jail, where at the time of this release, he was being held on $500,000 bond.
 

Numerous pet owners have told BBB they’ve had awful experiences with the Dynamic Pet Products Real Ham Bone. They say the bone shattered into shards after briefly being chewed and became lodged in their dog’s gastrointestinal system, causing injury or, in some cases, death.   Pet owners are begging Dynamic Pet Products to stop selling the bones, but the company hasn’t listened.  Moreover, while some retailers, like Jewel-Osco, have decided the bones are too dangerous for their store shelves, others, like Walmart, still carry many of the bones in their stores.
Help protect pets from dangerous dog bones. Consumer’s who have a pet that experiences a negative health problem after digesting this product should report the incident to the point of purchase retailer and to the FDA (www.fda.gov), by telephone 1-888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332) and in writing Food and Drug Administration 10903 New Hampshire Ave Silver Spring, MD 20993-0002, with a copy of the veterinary report.
 

The Comptroller’s office has released its annual Review of Funds Administered by Tennessee’s District Attorneys General and Judicial Drug Task Forces: 1st – 31st Judicial District for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2014. The report shows continued improvement in the way these funds are managed across the state. Auditors had just three findings this year. By way of comparison, the FY 2012 report detailed 20 findings.
The three findings and recommendations have been reviewed with the district attorneys general and representatives of the drug task forces. The three findings were in the First Judicial District, the Third Judicial District, and the Eighth Judicial District.
“This is one of the best annual reports we have issued on Tennessee’s Judicial Districts,” Comptroller Justin P. Wilson said. “I would like to compliment the District Attorneys General Conference for its efforts to improve financial operations by offering training and education on these important issues.”
To view the report online, go to: http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/repository/CA/2014/DAG2014.pdf
If you suspect fraud, waste or abuse of public money in Tennessee, call the Comptroller’s toll-free hotline at (800) 232-5454, or file a report online at: www.comptroller.tn.gov/hotline. Follow us on twitter: @TNCOT