News

District tournament play is underway for Cannon County’s Lionettes and Lions.  The Lionettes won over Livingston, 54-39 Monday night.  The Lions are scheduled to face DeKalb County Tuesday night at 5:00pm. 
Following the win over Livingston, the Lionettes will take on York this evening at 6:30.
 
Teddy Tylor and Nolan Bell will be courtside from Hooper Eblen Center on the campus of Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, with pre-game broadcast beginning at 4:50pm on am 1540, fm 107.1 and streaming live on wbry.com. 

High school sports is in tournament season this week with the Lions and Lionettes seeing action tonight.  However, the Cannon County Board of Education will be talking baseball at this month’s meeting. 
The board will review bids for the concrete pad and the construction costs for the new fieldhouse for the baseball field at the fairgrounds.
 
Board members will be meeting Tuesday night for their workshop session and the regular monthly meeting is Thursday night.
 

During the first few weeks for a freshman member of congress are usually focused on assignments in the District of Columbia. For our member of the United States House of Representatives in a continued commitment to a non-profit in the Volunteer State. 
 
U.S. Rep. John Rose who represents the 6th Congressional District was reelected chairman of the Tennessee State Fair Association. The nonprofit organization is responsible for producing the Tennessee State Fair each year in Nashville.
 
Rose, who lives in Cookeville has been an officer in the all volunteer organization for over half a decade.
 

 With Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14, 2019) quickly approaching, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance’s (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs reminds Tennesseans to be wary of ‘sweetheart’ scammers who claim to love you but, in reality, are only after your money.
 
 
“Valentine’s Day is a time to show your loved ones how much you care, but it also provides the perfect opportunity for unscrupulous individuals to take advantage of unsuspecting consumers by utilizing emotion-provoking scam tactics,” said TDCI Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “We urge consumers to be wary of deals that sound too good to be true and individuals who ask for money through online dating sites.”
 
 
With Tennessee ranked 10th in the nation for fraud , the Division of Consumer Affairs offers the following to help Tennesseans avoid being a scammer’s sweetheart:
 
 
ONLINE DATING SCAMS
Relationship scams, or “sweetheart” scams, are one of the oldest tricks in many scammers’ playbooks. Unfortunately, the rise of online dating websites, mobile apps, and social networking platforms have given scammers a new way to trick people into believing their schemes. While legitimate relationships are often found online, scammers also use these websites and platforms to prey on unsuspecting victims. Scammers will create fake profiles to attract individuals and then use emotional tactics to solicit money.
 

You meet someone on a dating site. The person you’re communicating with immediately wants to leave the dating site and start communicating over personal email or IM.

The individual claims love quickly and things turn serious.

While the person claims to be from the U.S., he or she also claims to be traveling or working overseas.

Scammers play on emotions by making up elaborate stories about needing money for travel mishaps, medical emergencies, missing visas (or other documents) or a temporary financial setback.

The scammers will ask for your financial help by wiring them money. The first transfer is small, but it’s followed by requests for more.

Remember: NEVER send money to someone who is using the above tactics or to someone you’ve never met in person.
 
 
GIFT CARD SCAMS
Gift cards scams are an increasingly common way for scammers to profit off consumers with good intentions. Last year, Tennesseans lost nearly $1 million to gift card scammers. Scammers will pose as an online love interest or a distant family member faced with a financial bind. Instead of a wire transfer or cash, the scammers will persuade the consumer to purchase gift cards (often iTunes or Google Play) and provide them with the redeemable code on the back of the card. (This method is optimal for scammers because the scam is hard to trace.)  Consumers who receive a request for payment using iTunes gift cards that they believe may be a scam should report it to the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) at ftc.gov/complaint.
 

Never read or text someone the PIN number on the back of a gift card. The number is as good as cash in the scammers’ pocket.

Reputable businesses, like technology support companies and shop-at-home services, don’t ask for gift cards as payment. If you’re being asked by a caller to pay for a product or service with a gift card, proceed with caution because it is likely a scam.

If you’re buying gift cards as gifts, make sure to buy them from a reputable and known source.

 
OTHER TIPS
 
Considering purchasing gift certificates or discounted services for Valentine’s Day? Remember:
 

Carefully review the expiration date of the gift card. In general, the expiration date of a gift card you purchase should be at least five years after the date it was issued to you under the rules of the FTC ; also,  the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act provides that a gift certificate must have an expiration date that is at least two years after the gift certificate is issued.

You should never be charged a fee for the gift certificate being issued.

Within two years of purchasing the gift certificate, you should not be charged service fees (including dormancy fees, latency fees, or administrative fees) that reduce the total value of the gift certificate.

These restrictions may not apply to prepaid cards for making telephone calls or at multiple, unaffiliated merchants or at ATMS. They also may not apply to certain cards given as customer loyalty awards, given away or sold below face value to charitable organizations for fundraising, sold by a charitable organization for fundraising purposes, given to an employer by an employee for the employing business, or issued by an employer in recognition of services performed by an employee.

When purchasing a gift, always be aware of return policies and ask for a gift receipt.

 
For more information on being a savvy consumer, visit tn.gov/consumer. If you have been the victim of a scam, you can report the crime to the FTC or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
 

Attention 4th grade 4-H Club Members… put on your apron, get out your skillet and let your creativity go wild!  You are invited to enter a recipe in the National Cornbread Cook-Off Youth Competition. 
The cornbread or cornbread dish must contain at least one cup of Martha White Cornmeal. It must also be cooked in Lodge Cast Iron. The rest is up to your imagination.
 
Recipes should be submitted to Marion County 4-H at 302 Betsy Pack Drive, Jasper, TN 37347 by March 1st. For a complete list of guidelines contact your 4-H Agent or visit the National Cornbread Festival website at www.nationalcornbread.com.
 
Ten lucky finalists will be invited to prepare their recipe at the national competition with will be held on April 28th, 2019 at the National Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg. The finished cornbread dishes will be judged by a distinguished panel of judges on creativity, flavor, texture, appetizing appearance, ease of preparation and appropriate use of products.
 
Prizes are as follows: 1st Place-$500; 2nd Place-$250; 3rd Place- $100 and the remaining seven finalists will each receive $50. All 10 finalists also receive special gifts from Lodge Cast Iron and the National Cornbread Festival. The 4-H Agent or 4-H Program Assistant and the teacher of the winning contestant will each receive $50. Youth traveling more than 100 miles to the competition will receive $100 travel money.
 
Past winning recipes include Apple-Sausage and Cheese Cornbread, Country Boy Cornbread, Stuffed Mexi-Melt Cornbread Muffins and Razzle Dazzle Cornbread to name a few. Creativity is a must for developing a winning recipe.
 
This activity is an educational way for novice cooks to experience the joys of cooking, master culinary skills and develop a lifelong love of good food and healthy eating. Taking home some cash is a great incentive as well!
 

It was announced this week that baseball will continue after high school for two Cannon County Lions. Director of Cannon County Schools William F. Curtis, Principal Courtney Nichols, and Athletic Director Matt Cagle invited media to a signing ceremony. 
Fans and family will be in driving distance to watch the two play home games. Lions Jacob Raines and Garett Alexander have signed to play for Cumberland University in Lebanon.
 
 

It was announced this week that baseball will continue after high school for two Cannon County Lions. Director of Cannon County Schools William F. Curtis, Principal Courtney Nichols, and Athletic Director Matt Cagle invited media to a signing ceremony. 
Fans and family will be in driving distance to watch the two play home games. Lions Jacob Raines and Garett Alexander have signed to play for Cumberland University in Lebanon.
 
 

The Cannon County Commission continued to discuss roofs for schools last night. The plan from the Board of Education called for work on 3 schools, Cannon County High School, Woodland Elementary School and a portion of the roof at Woodbury Grammar School at a projected cost of 2.8 Million Dollars. 
Commissioners reviewed six options
The response from commissioners was less.  Commissioners reviewed six options.
Commissioner Karen Ashford made a motion for 2.5 Million Dollars on a fixed rate loan for 15 years. The motion died after a second was not made.  Commissioner Ronnie Mahaffey asked to see the projections on loans for 2.1 million dollars on both a variable and fixed rate for a 15 and 12 year. Most commissions believe that type of loan would require a property tax.
 
Commissioner Corey Davenport presented a proposal using an extension of part of the wheel tax. It is believed that the options would fund the bulk of the project without a property tax increase.
 
Commissioners will continue the process at the March meeting of the commission.
 

Donny Green, County Executive Director of the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency, reminds producers that the deadline to sign up for the Market Facilitation Program (MFP) has been extended until February 14, 2019, due to the recent partial shutdown of federal government. “As we are approaching another government funding deadline on February 15, I highly encourage applicants that have not signed up, to do so as soon as possible if they want to avoid potential payment delays if the federal government experiences another shutdown,” said Green. 
USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will administer MFP to provide payments to corn (fresh and processed), cotton, dairy, hog, sorghum, soybean (fresh and processed), wheat, shelled almond, and fresh sweet cherry producers.
 
Producers must complete an application by February 14, 2019 but have until May 1, 2019 to certify their 2018 production. Eligible producers should apply after harvest is complete, as payments will only be issued once production is reported.
 
For farmers who have already applied, completed harvest, and certified their 2018 production, a second payment will be issued on the remaining 50 percent of the producer’s total production, multiplied by the MFP rate for the specific commodity. For farmers who signed up after December 17, 2018, payments will be issued on 100 percent of the producer’s total production, multiplied by the MFP rate for the specific commodity.
 
Below are the payment rates for commodities produced in DeKalb and Cannon counties:
Corn- $0.01/ bushel               Dairy (milk) – $0.12/hundred weight          Pork (hogs) – $8.00/head
Soybeans – $1.65/bushel        Wheat – $0.14/bushel
 
MFP payments are limited to a combined $125,000 for corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat capped per person or legal entity. MFP payments are also limited to a combined $125,000 for dairy and hog producers, and a combined $125,000 for fresh sweet cherry and almond producers. Applicants must also have an average adjusted gross income for tax years 2014, 2015, and 2016 of less than $900,000. Applicants must also comply with the provisions of the Highly Erodible Land and Wetland Conservation regulations.
 
MFP applications are available online at www.farmers.gov/mfp. Applications can be completed at a local FSA office or submitted electronically either by scanning, emailing, or faxing. To locate or contact your local FSA office, visit www.farmers.gov.
 
 

Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada this week appointed State Representative Clark Boyd to the Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation. 
 
According to the Tennessee Department of Treasury, the Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation exists to provide information, research and recommendations concerning workers’ compensation issues to the Tennessee General Assembly, the Department of Commerce and Insurance and the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
 
 
“Chairman Boyd has been an effective leader on the House Consumer and Human Resources Committee,” said Speaker Casada. “I’m confident he will continue to do an outstanding job as a member of the Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation.”
 
 
“I am honored Speaker Casada has appointed me to the Advisory Council on Workers’ Compensation,” said Rep. Boyd. “I look forward to sharing my experiences as Chairman of the Consumer and Human Resources Committee with the council as we begin our work to address issues in this vital area in the months ahead.”
 
 
The Tennessee Department of Treasury states that the current Advisory Council is comprised of the State Treasurer who serves as Chair, three (3) voting members who represent employees; three (3) voting members who represent employers; ten (10) nonvoting members and four (4) ex officio members.