News 2015

Families of those with disabilities are now one step closer to saving more money for medical costs with tax-free earnings. Today Governor Haslam signed the Tennessee ABLE Act into Law, giving State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. the authority to create and offer tax-advantaged investment plans to help families of those with disabilities save money for a variety of qualifying expenses. The legislation, passed unanimously by the 109th General Assembly, establishes an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Program in accordance with federal legislation. The legislation was sponsored by Senator Becky Duncan Massey (R), of Knoxville in the Senate and by Representatives Steve McManus (R) of Cordova and Kevin Brooks (R) of Cleveland. The bill sponsors were joined by representatives from the Tennessee Disability Coalition to watch as Governor Haslam signed the legislation into law. This ABLE Act is effective July 1, 2015, and the Tennessee Treasury Department plans to have the program operational January 1, 2016. Under Treasurer Lillard’s leadership, Treasury established the TNStars College Savings 529 program in 2012. The program has received national accolades for its top-performing investment options. Treasury will be responsible for the implementation, administration, investment options and management and customer service of this new ABLE program, a plan whose concept is modeled after the 529 College Savings Programs.
“Treasury Management oversees the investment options available to families in TNStars™,” Treasurer Lillard said. “We are excited to soon offer a similar program to help individuals with disabilities and their families save more by taking advantage of the power of compounding interest and tax-free earnings for qualifying expenses.”
“As Executive Director of the Sertoma Center I work to serve over 100 adults with intellectual disabilities. I see the individuals that need the ABLE program every day,” Senator Massey said. “When the federal legislation passed, I could not wait to sponsor this legislation in Tennessee to see this program become a reality.”
Caring for loved ones with disabilities is very expensive for the family, despite the current assistance available. Once established, earnings on the funds saved through the Tennessee ABLE program would supplement the benefits provided through private insurance, Medicaid benefits, Supplemental Social Security Income, as well as the account beneficiary’s income.  Qualifying expenses will include, but are not limited to, education, housing, transportation, employment training and support, assistive technology, and personal support services, as consistent with federal legislation that became law in December 2014.
“We continue to trust our Treasury Department and Treasurer Lillard to effectively implement these new programs and ideas in Tennessee,” Representative McManus said. “The success of the TNStars™ program is encouraging and demonstrates the great potential for the ABLE Program under Treasury guidance, as well.”
The United States Congress adopted the ABLE Act in December 2014, setting guidelines for this new type of tax-advantaged saving program that states can elect to authorize and implement. The ABLE Act is the first major federal legislation for the disabled since the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990.
“Kimberly and I are blessed with a happy and healthy family, but thousands of Tennessee families need help with the costs for care, therapy and recovery for our most vulnerable Tennessee residents,” said State Representative Kevin Brooks.
“Today’s bill signing is an important first step to helping these individuals and their families save more and see a tax advantage for their efforts,” Treasurer Lillard said. “Help is on the way as the Treasury Department has already begun to work on the implementation of this exciting new program to assist Tennessean’s most vulnerable citizens.”

This coming Friday is high school graduation at Cannon County High School.  WBRY continues it’s series of High School Seniors in the Spotlight.  Today’s schedule 9:00 Spencer Haley
10-Kaylee Hayes
11-Hunter Higgins
12-Carissa Holman
1-Jake Hoskins
2-Sarah Hunt
3-Austin Husky
4-Case Isenhart
5-Courtney Jackson
Senior Spotlights can be heard three times an hour from 9A-6P on AM 1540/FM 96.7 WBRY
 

The American Red Cross asks eligible donors to help ensure blood is available for patients in need by giving blood in May before the busy summer season kicks in. Blood and platelet donations often decrease when regular donors are vacationing and school is out of session, but the need for blood is constant. Donors are needed in the weeks leading up to summer to help alleviate this seasonal decline.
Donors of all blood types – especially those with types O negative, A negative and B negative – are needed to help ensure blood is available for patients this spring.
To make an appointment to give blood, download the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visit redcrossblood.org or call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
A community wide blood drive will be held this Thursday at the Woodbury Lions Club Building

5,000 yellow rubber ducks cheered on by a crowd of spectators slid down the Duck-o-Bunga Slide into Sport Com outdoor swimming pool on Saturday during the annual Duck Derby sponsored by the Child Advocacy Center of Rutherford and Cannon Counties.  
            The first duck to cross the finish line was adopted by Sherrill P. Latimer
of Milton, TN, who won the grand prize of 5,000 bucks.  Latimer purchased her duck adoptions at the Child Advocacy Center.
 
             The last duck standing was the very last duck fished out of the water.  The prize will be presented to Heather Coley of Smyrna, who adopted her ducks at the Gil’s Hardware in Smyrna!
 
The duck that was adopted from the farthest away was the 9th prize that was won.  It was adopted by Colin Wardrop in Amadale, Victoria, Australia.  Wardrop’s duck was a member of the Holly’s Quacker’s Team.
 
The Rutherford Parent Family Fun Fest kicked off the activities in the morning with games for kids of all ages.  The Corporate Duck Race was held in the afternoon and Quality Exteriors won the race and “bragging rights” for the year.
 
All proceeds of the Duck Derby will allow the non-profit Child Advocacy Center staff to provide services for children who have been victims of child abuse, child sexual abuse, and drug endangered children. More than 10,875 children received services during the past 15 years in Rutherford and Cannon Counties.
 
Executive Director Sharon De Boer thanked all the sponsors who contributed cash donations, businesses who donated prizes, vendors at the Family Fun Festival, the numerous
volunteers, and everyone who adopted a duck.  De Boer said, “We want to thank our wonderful community for all of their incredible support!”
 
Winners, their prize packages, and the location where their duck was adopted are:
 
Grand Prize:  $5,000 CASH!
Sherrill P. Latimer (Purchased at her ducks from the Child Advocacy Center)
 
2nd Prize:  $1,000 CASH!  Donated by Quality Exteriors
Karla Barnes (Purchased at her ducks from the Child Advocacy Center)
 
3rd Prize:  $500 Bell Jeweler’s Gift Certificate!
April Broussard (Purchased at her ducks from the Child Advocacy Center)
 
4th Prize:  $500 Demos’ Gift Certificate Eat at Demos’ free for a year!        
Brian Hatton (Purchased his ducks at Demos’)
 
5th Prize:  $500 1 year Barre 11 studio membership  
Michelle Rakow (Purchased her ducks online)
 
6th Prize:  $250 CASH!  Donated by Mama Quack
Joseph and Magdelena Menne (Purchased their ducks from the Child Advocacy Center)
 
7th Prize:  Best of the Boro!  Gifts and Gift Cards from your favorite Boro businesses! 
Sarai Eakins (Purchased her ducks from Demos’)
 
8th Prize:  Boro Family Fun!  Gifts and Gift Cards from your favorite places to have fun!
William Woodall (Purchased his ducks from Gil’s Hardware in Smyrna)
 
9th Prize:  Let’s Get Pampered!  Gifts and Gift Cards to Pamper You!
Colin Wardrop (Purchased his ducks online with the Holly’s Quacker’s Team)
 
Last Duck Standing:  Smoopy’s Custom Vintage Beach Cruiser Bicycle
Heather Coley (Purchased her ducks from Gil’s Hardware in Smyrna)
 
If you were one of the “lucky duck winners” contact Jessica Wauchek at the Child Advocacy Center at (615) 867-9000 to schedule a time to collect your prize!

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips is announcing a new iPhone and Android mobile app that makes finding available Tennessee jobs even easier. The free mobile application brings thousands of employment opportunities to smart phones with advanced location and sharing features.“A lot of people don’t realize that Tennessee employers have a large inventory of jobs available. A primary responsibility of our department is to work closely with employers to help supply them with talented candidates,” Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips said. “This app identifies a job seeker’s location and drops pins around it identifying the locations of relevant jobs. It really is amazing technology.”
The new app’s functionality will allow users to access the entire Jobs4TN Online Services database on an iPhone or Android device, search for a job based on current location using the unique “Jobs Nearby” function, and pinpoint jobs on a map for easy reference. Users may also save and share their favorite jobs via email, Facebook, and Twitter; as well as login to their account so that all job search activity is recorded.Features of the Jobs4TN App:

The phone’s location is used to display jobs.

Keyword searches list the 100 most recently posted jobs in the user’s area.

As users scroll through the top 100 jobs, more listings automatically populate to keep the search focused.

Icons indicate educational requirements, salary amounts, and length of jobs (if temporary).

Job seekers can “star” or “favorite” jobs.
The app is compatible with the iPhone, the iPod Touch, and the iPad. The app does require iOS 6.0 or later. Employers and jobseekers can download the “Jobs4TN” app at the Apple Store or Google Play at no charge.
Governor Haslam launched Tennessee’s comprehensive jobs database in May 2012. Since going live, more than 3,800,000 jobs have been posted, and approximately 1,300,000 employment referrals have been made.

WBRY presents Senior Salutes.  Schedule For Saturday 9-10: Cassie Ford
10-11: Shannon Foster
11-12: Curren Fox
1-2: John Frazier
2-3: Katey Gaither
4-5: Britt Gleaves
5-6: Walker Hatfield
 

Cannon County High School Graduation is only 7 days away.  WBRY presents the Senior in the Spotlight Series.  All throughout the broadcast day we will be spotlighting the Graduates Of Cannon County High School.   We start with Katie Buchanan at 9:00 this morning
Jake Burdick is up at 10:00
Justin Bush is our 11:00 Senior
Kimberly Carlton is at noon
Shalynn Clark is at 1:00
Dillon Corley at 2:00
A.J. Daniel at 3:00
Lukas Durles 4:00 and
Cari Eggleston will finish up the days Senior Spotlights at 5:00
Senior Spotlights can be heard 3 times an hour between 9A and 6P on AM-1540/FM96.7 WBRY

The Cannon County Good Ole Days Celebration starts Friday.  The first festivities starts at noon with Senior Center activities.  Friday schedule on the Main Street Stage is as follows 12:00-12:30 Senior Center Choir
12:30-1:30 Senior Bingo
1:30-2:30 Senior Events
2:30-3:00 Senior Ms Pageant
3:15-3:45 Omega Force
4:00-4:30 Nick and Patsy Nokes
4:30-4:45 Ballroom Dancing
5:00-6:30 Jr. Miss Pageant
6:45-7:15 Jonathan and Shelly Womack
7:30-8:30 Miss Teen Good Ole Days
9:00-10:30 Hunt Family Band
On the Water Street Stage Friday from 5-6 will be Omega Force and from 8-9 Friday night will be the Busks
Saturday May 16th the festivities start at 7:00 in the morning and will go well into the late evening
7:00-9:00 is the Cannon Ball Run
9:00 11:30 on the Main Street Stage will be the Baby Show
11:30-12:30 Cannon Arts Dance Studio
12:30-1:00 Good Ole Days Parade
1;00-2:00 Southern Country Cloggers
2:15-3:00 UPC Band
3:00-3:30 Omega Force
3:30-4:30 Little Miss Good Ole Days
4:30-5:15 Devine Encounter
5:15-5:45 Kitty Steadman
6:00-7:30 Miss Good Ole Days
8:00-1030 Gilley Brothers
On the Water Street Stage Saturday from 2-4 is the Dog Show.  Caleb Peck takes the stage from 4:15 to 4:30 and Omega Force from 4:30 to 5:30

Meet Tom, a nerve-wracked school teacher who inspires his students with the beloved Schoolhouse Rock classics. Kids will have a blast learning their civics lessons with I’m Just a Bill, hone their math skills with Naughty Number 9, and improve their writing with Conjunction Junction. Adults will love this nostalgic trip back to 70’s Saturday morning television. This musical is toe-tapping fun – and educational! – for the entire family. This production is directed by Scarlett Turney with music direction by Brittany Goodwin. Public Performances run May 9 & 16* at 2pm.
Call 615-563-2787 to make reservations or online at artscenterofcc.com

Thursday our annual Salute To The Graduating Class of 2015 Begins throughout the day on WBRY Radio.  Each hour we will spotlight a graduating senior from Cannon County High School.  Thursday’s schedule stacks up like this 9A-Brianna Adams
10A Catie Adams
11A Kenzie Adams
12N-Brandon Bailey
1P-April Barlow
2P-Bronson Barrett
3P-Destiny Bass
4P-Austin Blaylock
5P-Trent Bragg