News 2015

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) today announced plans to increase patrols and utilize the “No Refusal” law and a variety of traffic safety enforcement tools to reduce the number of serious injury and fatal crashes across the state during this year’s Memorial Day holiday period. The 2015 Memorial Day holiday period will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday, May 22 and conclude at midnight on Monday, May 25.The 96-hour holiday period will include “No Refusal” enforcement, which allows law enforcement officials to seek search warrants for blood samples in cases involving suspected impaired drivers, in each of the eight THP Districts.  The participating “No Refusal” counties include Anderson (Knoxville District), Grundy (Chattanooga District), Rutherford and Wilson (Nashville District), Shelby (Memphis District), Washington (Fall Branch District), Putnam (Cookeville District), Bedford (Lawrenceburg District), and Henry (Jackson District).
“Memorial Day typically signals the start of summer travel. We intend to aggressively enforce impaired driving and seat belt laws this weekend and throughout the summer months,” Colonel Trott said.  “We will utilize all of our resources and partner with local and county law enforcement to give us the best opportunity for a safe Memorial Day weekend on Tennessee roadways,” he added.   
Last year, nine people were killed in vehicular crashes during the 72-hour Memorial Day period. Four of the nine (44%) were not wearing safety restraints and two of the traffic fatalities occurred in an alcohol-related crash.  One motorcycle rider was killed and one all-terrain vehicle rider died during last year’s Memorial Day holiday.
State troopers arrested 162 individuals on suspicion of DUI and ticketed 2,018 motorists for violation of the seat belt law during last year’s Memorial Day holiday. 
“Our primary focus is to reduce the number of traffic fatalities across Tennessee,” Commissioner Bill Gibbons said. “Currently, 40 percent of the state’s traffic fatalities are due to unrestrained seat belt usage.  We hope seat belt enforcement will help positively affect driver behavior and increase voluntary seat belt compliance across the state.” Commissioner Gibbons oversees the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, a parent agency to the Tennessee Highway Patrol. 
In 2014, 312 people died in motor vehicle crashes in Tennessee from the Memorial Day holiday period through the end of the Labor Day holiday period.  Of those, 99 vehicular deaths were unrestrained motorists and 93 fatalities were alcohol-related.
The THP will conduct saturation patrols, seat belt and sobriety checkpoints, as well as increased visibility on high-crash corridors throughout the summer to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes across the state.

Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced today the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for April was 6.0 percent, three-tenths of one percentage point lower than the March revised rate of 6.3 percent. The U.S. preliminary rate for April was 5.4 percent, one-tenth of one percentage point lower than the prior month.Economic Summary
Tennessee’s April unemployment rate is the third consecutive monthly decline and is the lowest rate in seven years.
 

Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 6.5 percent to 6.0 percent, while the national rate declined from 6.2 percent to 5.4 percent.
 

Total nonfarm employment increased 6,400 jobs from March to April. The largest increases occurred in accommodation/food services, administrative/support/waste services, mining/logging/construction, and finance/insurance.
 

Over the year, nonfarm employment increased 47,000 jobs. The largest increases occurred in trade/transportation/utilities, professional/business services, and durable goods manufacturing.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Office of Energy Programs today announced it will offer a two-tiered rebate on qualifying electric vehicles that are purchased or leased and registered in the State of Tennessee. “Electric vehicles are a great alternative for Tennesseans looking to do their part in protecting the air we breathe,” TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau said. “This rebate program is a way to assist consumers making environmentally conscious transportation decisions.” 
Electric vehicle dealerships will be responsible for providing the rebate to consumers after such funds are received from the State. The State will rebate $2,500 on zero-emission battery electric vehicles and $1,500 on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles sold or leased (with a three-year minimum lease term) by a Tennessee dealership to Tennessee residents, after a claim is filed by the dealership.
For the purposes of this rebate, battery electric vehicles are defined as fully electric, zero-emission vehicles that have an on-board electrical energy storage device that can be recharged from an external source of electricity. Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles have zero-emission vehicle range capability and an onboard electrical energy storage device that can be recharged from an external source of electricity. In general, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles can be driven using electricity, gasoline or both.
There is currently $682,500 available for this second iteration of the electric vehicle rebate program. The rebate program will go into effect for vehicle purchases or leases made after June 15, 2015. Rebates will be dispersed on a first-come, first-served basis, and the program will remain active until funds are exhausted.
The following vehicles are eligible to qualify for a rebate:Battery electric vehicles (BEV) $2,500 Rebate

BMW i3 or i3 Rex

Chevrolet Spark EV

Fiat 500e

Ford Focus Electric

Honda Fit EV

Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive

Mitsubishi i-MiEV

Nissan LEAF

smartED and Electric Fortwo

Tesla Model S

Toyota RAV4 EV

Volkswagen e-Golf
Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) $1,500 Rebate

BMW i8

Cadillac ELR

Chevrolet Volt

Ford CMAX Energi

Ford Fusion Energi

Honda Accord Plug-in

Porsche 918 Spyder

Porsche Cayenne S E-Hybrid

Porsche Panamera S E-Hybrid

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid
 
For questions or more information, e-mail Alexa Voytek, program manager at TDEC’s Office of Energy Programs, at alexa.voytek@tn.gov or call (615) 532-0238.
 

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry is now accepting urban forestry project proposals through the Tennessee Agricultural Enhancement Program (TAEP) and the Urban & Community Forestry (U&CF) Program.TAEP funds will be used to enhance the state of Tennessee through tree planting. “These TAEP-funded projects require that the trees must come from a Tennessee nursery,” Urban Forestry resource specialist Brian Rucker said. “These activities support our nursery industry and provide clean air and water, stormwater control and aesthetic values to our communities.”
U&CF funds support all other urban forestry related projects. Projects that address ordinances, inventory and management planning, advisory organization and staffing of an urban or community forestry program will be given priority. Other projects for education, training, printed materials, and travel to state and national urban forestry conferences are also accepted. Local governments, private non-profit organizations and educational institutions are eligible to apply.
The Division of Forestry will also accept proposals to fund urban forestry staff positions. If accepted, the agreement will be for three years on a sliding scale and dependent on available funds from the USDA Forest Service.
An information packet is available on request. The packet includes additional details on the grant programs, the types of projects accepted, application forms and proposal instructions.
Proposals must be received in the Nashville office of the Division of Forestry by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2015.
For an information packet or questions about the urban forestry grants, contact:

Middle Tennessee – Brian Rucker at 615-837-5439 or brian.rucker@tn.gov

Facebook users have the chance to win $200 worth of local meats from a nearby farm. A contest is being conducted by Pick Tennessee Products, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s program that connects farmers directly to consumers. A total of 12 winners will be randomly chosen at noon on June 15 and notified by Pick Tennessee Products.
Several Tennessee associations including the Tennessee Beef Industry Council, the Tennessee Pork Producers and the Tennessee Sheep Producers Association have partnered with Pick Tennessee to promote state meat producers and help fund the contest. TDA marketing specialist Wendy Sneed says it’s part of an effort to get the word out to consumers that purchasing meats directly from nearby farms is easy to do.
“Visit the Pick TN Products Facebook page,” Sneed said. “Click on the ‘Fill Your Grill’ posting, which is linked to a directory of participating farmers.” Contestants must choose which farm they would visit to collect their meats, then submit that choice with their own contact information.
To enter, search for “Pick TN Products” on Facebook. You will also find a link to the contest page on www.picktnproducts.org.
“Winners will be selected June 15 because we want to give winners a chance to claim their meats in time for the 4th of July,” said Sneed. “Of course, winners might prefer to put their prizes in their freezers to enjoy all their local meats a little at time, over a long period of time. One of the great things about this contest is that the choice is up to the contestant about what meats they want to purchase, and which cuts.  Each contestant just needs to be sure to choose the farm that offers what he or she wants, whether it’s beef, pork, lamb, goat, poultry—or some of everything.”
There is no cash prize. Entrants win the opportunity to go to a farm or local meats business and choose up to $200 of Tennessee meats. All funds will go directly to the farmer or business to reimburse them for their products.
Follow Pick TN Products on Facebook, Twitter and on the Web. More information about the contest is available on the “Fill Your Grill” contest page.
 

9:00 Tiffany Tenpenny 10:00 Landon Thompson
11:00 Jake Todd
12:00 Lauren Turney
1:00 Nick Vassar
2:00 Ben Ware
3:00 Kelsie Willis
4:00 Michael Wimberly

Several activities highlight the Memorial Day Weekend this weekend.  Tonight  Cannon County High School will host graduation ceremonies for their Seniors.  One of the bigger graduating classes in recent history, will see 170 plus Cannon County High School seniors walk across the stage to receive their high school diplomas.  The Ceremony is slated to start tonight at 7:00 and weather permitting will take place at the Fred Schwartz Field.  If the weather has an effect on the event, the event will move to the Robert A Harris Gymnasium. WBRY will have the live broadcast of tonight’s events beginning with the replay of the Senior Awards at 5:00 and live coverage of the Graduation at 7:00 on AM 1540/FM96.7 WBRY online at wbry.com and through WBRY by using the Tune In Radio app on your smartphones and tablets.

Saturday brings the second in a series of Cruise In’s On The Square. Saturday’s event begins at 3:00 with all cars and trucks welcome.  Enjoy music, door prizes, trivia contests and more.  Contact John Barker at 615-542-4065 or Anthony Rogers at 615-653-5834 for further information

This  weekend will be the Memorial Day Trail Ride.  The ride starts Saturday morning at 11:00 as participants will leave the Fairgrounds in Woodbury.  The group will ride to the fairgrounds located on Short Mounty.  The Ride is put on by the Cannon County Walking Horse Association and for more information visit the website at www.ccwhaoftn.com

MOORETOWN VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT &
MOORETOWN VOL FIRE AUX INC a 501c3 Corp
 
BATTLE of the BLUEGRASS
TRACTOR & TRUCK PULL
 
SAT. MAY 23rd at 6:00pm
 
473 HOLLOW SPRINGS RD
WOODBURY, TN 37190
 
ADMISSION $15.00
 
CONCESSIONS PROVIDED Please no outside food or drink
 
ARMBANDS MUST BE WORN AT ALL TIMES
 
NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES PERMITTED ON THE GROUNDS
 
CONTACT INFO:
MICHEAL GEORGE : Cell – 615-542-0282
E-mail: mooretownvfd@gmail.com
 
PROCEEDS BENEFIT
MOORETOWN VFD & MOORETOWN VFA INC