News 2015

An MTSU alumnus who flew into World War II and Cold War aviation history will discuss his adventures in a free public lecture on campus Thursday, April 2. Retired U.S. Air Force Col. William J. “Greg” Gregory is set to speak at 5:30 p.m. April 2 on “Leading and Living in Turbulent Times: The Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam, and the Development of Aviation.”
His talk is set in Room 204 of MTSU’s Todd Hall, and a free public reception will follow. Gregory flew his first airplane as an MTSU student in 1940 and went on to fly missions over North Africa and Europe in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II.
When the U.S. Air Force was created, he served as the commander of the high-altitude reconnaissance U-2 squadron, which first identified the Soviet arms build-up during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and the mounting tensions in Vietnam.
The experiences gave him a unique and personal perspective on leading and living in the turbulent decades of the 1960s and 1970s.
Gregory served for more than 30 years in the U.S. Air Force as a commander and pilot. He did not earn his degree from MTSU because he left school as a junior to join the military, but he’s kept close ties to the university, even creating a scholarship for students from Trousdale and Macon counties.
He retired from active duty in 1975 and worked for 15 years as assistant director of workers’ compensation in the Texas attorney general’s office. Now, at age 93, Gregory is an avid cyclist and world traveler as well as a self-described “devoted grandfather.”
Gregory’s visit is part of the College of Liberal Arts Military Lecture Series. For more information, contact Connie Huddleston at connie.huddleston@mtsu.edu.

One or two nights of below freezing temperatures have been predicted for many areas of the state this coming weekend.  In most areas, buds and blossoms on tree fruit and small fruit crops are at their most susceptible point in regards to cold damage.  For tree fruits approaching full bloom and for a period beyond it, 28 degrees F for 30 minutes or longer is considered to be the point at which 10 percent of the buds and blossoms will be killed and 24 to 25 degrees F for 30 minutes or longer is considered to be the 90 percent kill point.  For many small fruit crops like strawberries and blueberries, the critical temperature is a bit higher – about 30 degrees. F.  For periods where the subfreezing temperatures last longer, or where there are back-to-back cold events, damage may be more severe.  The tolerance of the buds and blooms to cold will also be influenced somewhat by the overall health of the plant.  
Protection of the blooms from frost/freeze damage can be achieved in many cases, and often just a difference of a few degrees will mean the difference between  no damage or minor damage and a severe loss.  There are several thoughts on frost protection – some effective and some totally ineffective or worse. 
 
For small trees or small fruit crops, covering the canopy of the plant with a sheet or blanket will slow down reradiation of heat accumulated in the soil during the day back up into the atmosphere at night.  Plastic sheeting is not as good a covering as cloth as burn on the plant will occur where the plastic rests against new plant tissue in subfreezing temperatures.  The more of the plant canopy that can be covered, the better, however, the cover does not need to completely envelope the crown of the plant from ground to ground.  The cover serves as a way to slow down heat loss from the ground under the plant.  Covers should be put over plants late in the afternoon to early evening to take advantage of as much heat accumulation in the ground during the day as possible.  Covers should be removed the following day before temperatures get too high.  A small, supplemental heat source such as a trouble light using an incandescent bulb suspended in or under the plant canopy and under the blanket covering the plant will provide some added benefit.  More intense heat sources should be avoided.
 
Washing the frost off a plant in the morning is ineffective as the damage will have already occurred by that time. 
 
Overhead irrigation is the most effective way to protect tender buds from cold injury, however, it is also the most difficult to do effectively and the penalty for not doing it right can be devastating.  Therefore, this is not recommended for non-commercial growers. To be effective, overhead irrigation must begin before temperatures drop to the freezing point and continue nonstop throughout the night until active melting begins the following day, often midmorning or later.  Icing down a plant and stopping the irrigation while temperatures are near or below the freezing point will cause far more damage than would have occurred if nothing had been done.  Evaporative cooling on the ice will lower the temperature of the ice and the plant tissue under it to levels well below the air temperature.  Also, the weight of the ice load can cause substantial damage to the plant. 
 
The critical temperatures for damage with developing fruits shortly after blossom are the same as for bloom.  It is important to keep in mind that a healthy fruit tree can set a full crop on a small percentage of its blooms.  Following a frost, it takes a while before the amount of damage can be assessed.  With this in mind, it would be a mistake to quit caring for the crop immediately after the cold event because there may be more surviving buds than thought and by the time this can be recognized, other factors such as insects and diseases may have damaged the remaining fruits.

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation’s Customers Care has donated $5,000 of its Operation Round Up funds to the Cannon County Rescue Squad. 
“We are so very grateful to MTE Customers Care for supporting our volunteer rescue squad,” Cannon County Rescue Squad Chief Operating Officer Tim Bell said. “This donation will help with the purchase of emergency equipment needed to serve the community.”
 
The Cannon County Rescue Squad, Inc., is a nonprofit organization which provides primary rescue services to the citizens of Cannon County. 
 
In 2014, Customers Care has given more than $804,393 to 120 organizations across MTEMC’s four-county service area. The receiving organizations use the funds to assist MTEMC members and their families during their times of need.  Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 200,000 residential and business members in Cannon, Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties.
 
These grants are administered through the Customers Care board, which tracks incoming contributions from Operation Round Up, an initiative that rounds up a member’s bill to the next highest dollar. Since 2003 Operation Round Up has distributed more than $7.5 million to 545 organizations across the region.
 
For more information on Customers Care or Operation Round Up, log on to our website at www.mtemc.com or call 615-494-1065.

A Nashville TV station will be in Cannon County Thursday April 2nd as part of a Alert Weather Tour.  Channel 4 WSMV of Nashville is scheduled to visit Plainview Baptist Church Thursday April 2nd 6088 Jim Cummings Hwy starting at 6:00.  The weather team will present the 4Warn Alert Weather Tour.  The 4 Warn Weather Alert Tour is a live event where you can learn the what, why and how of severe thunderstorms and learn what you can do to be safe. Lisa Spencer, Dan Thomas, Paul Hoggen, Nancy Van Camp and Snowbird will take the center stage with a multi media show that will help you get ready for the next time weather gets bad.  There will be dramatic pictures, games and door prizes.  The event is free to the public, everyone is welcome.  Doors open at 6 with the show starting at 7:00.
 

At some recent Cannon County Commissioners meetings, several commissioners voiced their opinions on people dumping trash and littering in the County.  Sheriff Darrell Young responded by informing the Commissioners that when a trash bag is picked up off the road by a Sheriff’s Deputy, they look in the bag for possible identification of the offender.  One man learned this the hard way recently.  Last Friday Deputies was shown trash picked up off of Parchcorn Hollow Road in two bags and within the bags were multiple pieces of mail with the address removed and two cards with burn marks over the names and addresses.  According to the Sheriff’s reports. a name could still be made out on one card.  After looking up information it matched up Bobby Holden to a residence on Gassaway Road.  Deputies went to Holden’s home and was met in the driveway with Holden stating that he expected the Sheriff’s Department to show up because someone had confronted him the day before about the trash and he spoke with another Deputy about this. Mr.Holden explained he had no idea how the trash was found on Parchcorn Hollow Road but that all of the trash wasn’t his.  Deputies told Mr. Holden they were trying to prove that it was but the items with his name on them are considered his.  As a result Mr. Holden was cited for littering and will answer to the charge May 5th at 9 in the morning.

It’s being billed as Family Feud Chapter 2 as both the MTSU Lady Raiders and the Ole Miss Lady Rebels battle it out at Murphy Center for the right to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Women’s NIT.  History was made after MTSU disposed of Arkansas State this past Sunday.  It marked the first time that the Lady Raiders has played past the first round of any postseason basketball tournament.  Cannon County native and Lady Raider head coach Rick Insell will meet his son Lady Rebel head coach Matt Insell in Murphy Center tonight.  These two teams have met before this season with MTSU grabbing a 71-65 win in Oxford Mississippi.  There are still some tickets left for purchase to this game.  You can buy them locally today at the First National Bank on Main Street in Woodbury.  

The Stones River Watershed Association will hold its annual Stones River Relay on April 4th.  The relay has been restructured.  What once was a three stage event with biking, running and paddling in a canoe or kayak has been simplified to just the last leg of the relay which is the paddling down the Stones River from the Arts Center of Cannon County to the Readyville Mill.  The event starts at 9:30 in the morning.  This activity is weather permitting.  People participating must remember to wear a life jacket and dress appropriately according to the weather conditions.  To learn more visit their website at stoneswatershed.org

It only took one plate appearance for Kendra Maynard to nail the game winning hit to keep the Cannon County Lionette softball team undefeated in district 8-AA play.  Tuesday afternoon the Cannon County Lionettes hosted the Upperman Lady Bees.  Cannon was able to score two runs to lead 2-0 going into the 6th inning.  The Lady Bees rallied in the top of the 6th inning scoring 3 runs to take the lead.  Cannon would lead off with a runner on base due to being hit by a pitch,.  Molly Williams got a basehit and then it was Maynard’s turn.  Kendra was taking clean up hitter’s Cheyenne Fann’s spot in the batting order.  Fann was injured in the 4th inning when she reached base on a hit.  Maynard belted a double that drove in two runs and the Lionettes shut down the Lady Bees in the top of the 7th to claim the win 4-3.  The Lionettes are now 3-0 in district play 6-2 overall.  They will face the Dekalb County Tigerettes in Smithville.  First pitch scheduled at 4:30  

Farmers, ranchers and forest landowners who signed Conservation Stewardship Program contracts in 2011 with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) have until Tuesday, March 31, 2015 to renew those expiring contracts.These farmers, ranchers and forest landowners have the option to renew their existing contracts non-competitively if they are willing to adopt additional conservation activities aimed at helping them achieve higher levels of conservations on their operations, said Jason Weller, Chief of NRCS.
Changes in the 2014 Farm Bill will allow CSP participants with expiring contracts to renew them by exceeding stewardship thresholds for two or more existing natural resource concerns specified by NRCS or by meeting stewardship thresholds for at least two new natural resource concerns such as improving water quality or soil health.
About 9,300 contracts covering more than 12.2 million acres are nearing the end of their five-year term and can be renewed for an additional five years. The agricultural producer or forest landowner must complete all conservation activities contained in the initial contract before a renewal can be granted.
 An agricultural producer or forest landowner must meet the minimum criteria established by NRCS to renew an expiring CSP contract. Contract renewal also offers these agricultural producers and forest landowners an opportunity to add new conservation activities to meet their conservation goals and protect the natural resources on their farms, forests or ranches. The 2014 Farm Bill includes an expanded conservation activity list that now includes cover crops, intensive rotational grazing and wildlife-friendly fencing.
USDA’s largest conservation program by acreage, CSP pays participants for conservation performance — the better the performance, the higher the payment. Nearly 70 million acres have been enrolled in the program since its launch in 2009.
USDA offers financial and technical assistance to agricultural producers and forest landowners for the active management and maintenance of existing conservation activities and for carrying out new conservation activities on working agricultural land. Eligible lands include cropland, grassland, prairie land, improved pastureland, rangeland, non-industrial private forestland and tribal agricultural land. Applicants must have control of the land for the 5-year term of the contract.
CSP participants who wish to renew for an additional five years must submit an application indicating their intent to renew to their local NRCS office prior to March 31, 2015, the national deadline.
To learn more about CSP contract renewals, visit your local NRCS office. Visit the Conservation Stewardship Program page for more information about this program.

East Side School would like toannounce the following honor
students (Principal’s List – All A’s),
Honor Roll (A’s and B’s) and students
with perfect attendance for the third grading period ending March 6:
   Mrs. Lesa Davis’ Kindergarten – Honor Roll:  Lindsay Powers, Lilly Allen, Brody McPeak, Synthia Rogers, Kennedi Higgins, Amber Ivanowski, Mackenzie McCurry, Riley Melton, Jacob Pirtle, Lyric Pittard, Aden Seymour.  Perfect Attendance: Lilly Allen, Lindsay Powers, Jacob Pirtle, Mackenzie McCurry.
   Mrs. Paige Holt’s First Grade –Honor Roll:  Wyatt Valentino, Malachi Walls, Marissa Jones, Laila Underwood. Perfect Attendance:  Madelyn Gannon.
   Mrs. Karen Cook’s Second Grade – Principal’s List:  Sadey Grizzle, Olivia Moss, Connor Napier.  Honor Roll:  Gavin Wright, Ronn Guinaran, Slade Grizzle, Lexie Simon, Jack Grant, Liv Prater.Perfect Attendance:  Liv Prater, Gavin Wright.
   Mrs. Connie Phillips’ Third Grade –Principal’s List:  Jeremy Earls, Sadie Prater, Allie Skimehorn.  Honor Roll:  Austin Johnson, Emma Muncey, Sawyer Parton, Callie Vance.   Perfect Attendance:  Tristan Barber, Sawyer Parton.
   Mrs. Greta Reed’s Fourth Grade –Principal’s List:  Katie Davis.  Perfect Attendance:   Montana Davis.   Mrs. Brad Underwood’s Fifth Grade –Principal’s List:  Cathan Cecil, Emma Richardson.  Honor Roll: Braxten Alexander, Chloe Pack, Johnnie Pirtle, Katlyn Prater.  Perfect Attendance:  Braxten Alexander, Amanda Hall, Kailey Muncey, Micah Prater, Dallas Roller, Dalton Young.      Mrs. Gay Burger’s Sixth Grade –Principal’s List:   Eli Cantrell, Emalee Rogers.  Honor Roll:  Stella Brown, Hannah Naylor, Caden Duke.  Perfect Attendance:  Stella Brown, Hunter Davis, Caden Duke, Leah Hall, Sloane Underhill.
       Mrs. Amy Underwood’s SeventhGrade –Principal’s List:  Lacon Parton.  Honor Roll:  Clay Fagan, Austin Grant, Culyer Isenhart, Shawn Matheny, Cody McPeak, Brent Scott, Jasmine Young.  Perfect Attendance: Clay Fagan, Culyer Isenhart, Shawn Matheny, Lacon Parton, Mattison Prater, Aaliyah Young.
 
 
 
 
 Mrs. Jackie Burger’s Eighth Grade – Principal’s List:  Katie Gunter, Lauren Underwood.  Honor Roll:  Michelle Stone, Erin Scott, Jory Isenhart.  Perfect Attendance: Katie Gunter, Landon Parton.