News 2016

The twelfth annual Middle Tennessee Grain Conference set for Thursday, January 26 at Coffee County’s Fairgrounds in Manchester offers farmers insight to a number of emerging corn, soybean, and wheat production concerns.
    According to the 2016 conference evaluation survey, 147 farmers from twenty-two middle and east Tennessee Counties and two adjoining states rated the Middle Tennessee Grain conference as an excellent source of information addressing pertinent crop production topics.
    The conference is scheduled to get underway with registration beginning at 7:30 am. Registration is twenty dollars at the door or participants can save ten dollars by pre-registering by Noon, Monday, January 23 through their local UT Extension office. Registration fees include the program and materials, refreshments, lunch, a copy of the conference proceedings, and a grain conference cap. This program, like all UT Extension programs, is open to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, disability or veteran status.
    A trade show of various seed, chemical and equipment dealers will begin at 8:00 am followed by a slate of speakers addressing current production topics for corn, wheat and soybeans beginning at 9:00 am. Tennessee Farmers Cooperative will sponsor lunch on site provided by Christy “Q” Barbeque of Woodbury.
    Following lunch, a panel of farmers and Dr. Forbes Walker, UT Environmental Soil Specialist, will provide the keynote presentation of their successes, failures and benefits incorporating soil health practices into their operation. Following the keynote address, Dr. Larry Steckel, UT Extension Weed Specialist, will conduct a new training required for producers to purchase the new Xtend (Dicamba resistant) and Enlist (2,4-D resistant) soybean products. This training will also serve as private pesticide applicator recertification training. Cost of the training is twenty-five dollars per person to be paid at the time of the training.
    Complete details on conference topics and pre-registration can be obtained from the Cannon County Extension office at 614 Lehman Street or give us a call at 615-563-2554.  
 

Sinda Hull of The Stephen Center (Healthy Beginnings), Shan Burklow and Bob Burritt of Saint Thomas Health, a part of Ascension, hold one of over a hundred gifts donated by the staff at Saint Thomas DeKalb and Saint Thomas Stones River Hospitals to help needy babies and toddlers during the Christmas season.
Individual associates, and entire hospital departments, sponsored 13 children across the region providing warm clothing, coats, shoes, diapers, blankets, and toys for the holidays.
“We are honored to partner with The Stephen Center again for 2016 to help these children from low to zero income families,” said Shan Burklow of Saint Thomas Health. “Our hospital staff are among the most caring and selfless people on earth, making them the perfect fit for this need. We are always looking for ways to give back to the community to better the areas we serve.”

Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced last week the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for November was 4.8 percent, remaining the same as the revised October rate of 4.8 percent. The U.S. preliminary rate for November was 4.6 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month.
 
Economic Summary

• Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.6% to 4.8% while the national rate also declined from 5.0% to 4.6%.
• Total seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment decreased 2,800 jobs from October to November. The largest decreases occurred in leisure/hospitality, other services, & manufacturing.
• Over the year, nonfarm employment increased 55,600 jobs. The largest increases occurred in education/health services, professional/business services, & trade/transportation/utilities.

Dec. 19, 2016 – Jan. 2, 2017—Winter Break
 
The Cannon County Board of Education will be closed December 19-January 3.
 
Jan. 3—School resumes.
              Report cards go home.
            
Jan. 4—Principals’ meeting at CCBOE, 8:30 a.m.
 
Jan. 9—Cannon County board meeting workshop, 6:30 p.m., CCBOE (This is a change from the regular Tuesday night workshop.)
 
Jan. 10—New Teachers’ Orientation, 3:00-5:00 p.m., CCBOE
 
Jan. 12—The regular meeting date for the Cannon County Board of Education is re-scheduled to January 19th at WGS cafeteria at 6:30 p.m.
 
Jan. 16—No School—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
 
Jan. 23—Progress Reports go home.
 
Jan. 27—CPAC (Parent Advisory Council) meeting, 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m., CCBOE
 
Jan. 23-26-28—B-Team Tournament, Auburn Gymnasium

President Obama just gave his friends at Planned Parenthood a generous Christmas gift (or perhaps he calls it a “holiday gift”) courtesy of you, the American taxpayer. With the stroke of a pen, his administration finalized a sweeping new rule that would prevent states like ours from defunding abortion providers. 
Think about that — not only is the President insistent on continuing to subsidize the big abortion industry with taxpayer dollars at the federal level, he wants to force Tennessee to follow suit. 
Don’t take my word for it, even the New York Times describes the rule as “bar[ring] states from withholding federal family-planning funds from Planned Parenthood affiliates and other health clinics that provide abortions.” You can read the rule for yourself right here. 
Make no mistake. This rule is an affront to states’ 10th Amendment rights and it stands in direct contradiction to the expressed will of Congress, which has voted to defund Planned Parenthood with bipartisan support. But more than anything, this is an act of desperation by an administration still shaken at the thought of the change that is coming to Washington, DC on January 20th, 2017. 
President Obama has spent years working to build up Planned Parenthood and organizations like it. He was the first sitting President to address their annual fundraising gala and, on his watch, the abortion giant receives more than $550 million in annual taxpayer funding. Now, he sees that his efforts are in jeopardy under the incoming Trump administration so, in typical Obama fashion, his administration has lashed out with a backroom “rule.” 
The good news? This decree won’t stand for long. Government rules cannot take effect until 30 days after publication. That means this rule will become effective on January 18th — just two days before President-elect Trump’s inauguration. 
Come next year, our pro-life majorities in Congress will be well positioned to work with the Trump administration and, specifically, pro-life nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, to not only roll back this latest overreach but also to enact new legal protections for our voiceless unborn. 
The Obama Administration will not have the last word. With this new administration comes renewed hope that we can indeed defund Planned Parenthood and return to a culture that values the God-given dignity of every human life — born and unborn alike.

There are a limited number of tickets for the local production of Elf the Musical Jr available for Friday, December 16th at 7:30pm and Sunday the 18th at 2:00pm at the Arts Center Of Cannon County-get yours before they are gone!
We are also still selling tickets for Christmas with The Beatles & Friends on December 17th. This Holiday show features local tribute band Forever Abbey Road and is a must-see for all fans of The Fab Four and their contemporaries!
Visit artscenterofcc.com or call (615) 563-2787 for tickets.

 
Congratulations to all the 4-H members which competed in the Cannon County 4-H Public Speaking Contest. After winning their school classroom competition, students were chosen to compete in the county competition. With 23 participants, the Cannon County 4-H Public Speaking contest was a success with the following winners:

4th Grade:
1st Place- Lily Hughes, Auburn School
1st Place- Lakelyn Kilapatrick, Woodland School
2nd Place- Madison Hunt, Woodbury Grammar School
 

5th Grade:
1st Place- Makayla Taylor, Auburn School
1st Place- Makayla Cody, Woodbury Grammar School
2nd Place- Maleeya Murry, Auburn School

6th Grade:
1st Place- Jesse Tucker Vaughn, Auburn School
1st Place- Alissa Sylvevster, Auburn School
2nd Place- Dana Nixon, Woodbury Grammar School

7th Grade:
1st Place- Kiley Hughes, Auburn School
1st Place- Cathan Cecil, East Side School
2nd Place- Emma Grace Hughes, Woodland School

8th Grade:
1st Place- Hunter Owen, Woodland School
 
9th Grade:
1st Place- Ian DeArmond, Cannon County High School

12th Grade:
1st Place- Chloe Dill, Cannon County High School
1st Place- Leah Hyatt, Cannon County High School
 
 
 
After winning the county contest, both first place participants in grades will compete at the regional contest held in February. Programs in agriculture and natural resources, 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, and resource development. University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture and county governments cooperating. UT Extension provides equal opportunities in programs and employment. 4-H is proud of the accomplishments of the many 4-H members that learn the valuable life skill of communications through Public Speaking. For more information about the 4-H program, contact Sarah Malone at snmalone@utk.edu or the UT Extension Office at (615) 563-2554.
 

Do you have cattle, sheep, or goats?  If so, you could be eligible to receive payment from the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency. According to Donny Green, County Executive Director, signup for the Livestock Forage Program is now underway and will continue through January 30, 2017.    

The Livestock Forage Assistance Program (LFP) has been approved for DeKalb and Cannon counties due to recent and extreme drought conditions that have affected livestock grazing during the 2016 normal grazing period.  LFP provides compensation to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses for covered livestock on land with permanent vegetative cover, or planted specifically for grazing.  

According to the U. S. Drought Monitor, DeKalb and Cannon counties were designated as D3 (Extreme Drought intensity) counties on November 22, 2016.  This designation qualifies eligible livestock producers in the county for three monthly payments.

Livestock producers operating in DeKalb and Cannon counties will need to visit the FSA office in Smithville to report their livestock inventory and complete their application. Customers are encouraged to call the office at 615-597-8225, Ext. 2 to provide some preliminary information that will be needed to process the application. Signup for the 2016 LFP will end on January 30, 2017.

Senate Education Committee Chairman Dolores Gresham (R-Somerville), House Education Administration and Planning Chairman Harry Brooks (R-Knoxville) and House Education Instruction and Program Committee Chairman John Forgety (R-Athens) today praised Tennessee’s revamped Teacher Preparation Report Card.  The new report card, which shows how Tennessee’s colleges and universities and other teacher preparation providers are training new teachers for success in classrooms, was unveiled today at a press conference in Nashville.
“The newly redesigned report card provides a transparent look at the effectiveness of Tennessee’s educator preparation providers,” said Chairman Gresham.  “Not only is it a much more user-friendly tool for prospective teachers, school districts and other education stakeholders, it promotes continuous improvement and innovation of our teacher preparation programs.
“As a tool, it provides more detailed and clear information that promote strong partnerships between local school districts and the preparation providers to make sure that the providers are meeting the needs of the districts,” added Chairman Brooks.  “This includes high-needs districts.  I congratulate all of those who were involved in this effort.”
The revamped report card is the result of a partnership with the State Board of Education, Tennessee Department of Education, and Tennessee Higher Education Commission.  The agencies received comprehensive feedback from education stakeholders across the state during the redesign process.
“Research shows that teachers have the most impact of any in-school factor on student achievement,” Chairman Forgety added.  “That is why our teacher preparation programs are vital to our efforts to improve student achievement in Tennessee.  I appreciate all the work that has gone into these revisions and believe it will make a difference in improving education in Tennessee.”
 

A Cannon County man was arrested recently after he violated his bond conditions from a previous domestic assault case.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department reports, Deputies responded to an Iconium Road residence after being dispatched in regards to a domestic assault case.  The victim involved ran to a nearby market to call the Sheriff’s Department, then returned to where the suspect was still at.  After Deputies arrived at the house itself,  the female victim advises them that the suspect Victor Smith of Iconium Road had taken off running into the woods.  Deputies caught him in the woods.  While the victim did not follow through the process for obtaining charges against Smith, Police were still able to charge Smith with public intoxication, violation of bond conditions and Interference with emergency calls.  He will answer to the charges January 10th in General Sessions  Court.