News

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, a charitable organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in 40 Middle Tennessee counties and beyond, announces $2,726,800 in grants to 453 local nonprofit organizations as part of the 2018 annual grantmaking process. 
The grants will benefit nonprofits in Cannon and 32 area counties.
 
The top three awards categories were Human Services-Children (16 percent of the grants), Education (15 percent), and Arts and Humanities (14 percent).
 
According to Ellen Lehman, president of The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, “The Community Foundation is honored to connect generosity with need through these annual grants and through other avenues throughout the year, but we couldn’t have the impact we do without the many nonprofits offering solutions to our community’s needs and vital services to our neighbors. Thanks to the generous support of our donors, and the work of dedicated and talented nonprofits, we are able to fund solutions which address Middle Tennessee’s emerging needs and opportunities.”
 
Grant recipients include:
Cannon County Community for Animals: To provide spay and neuter services for animals that are in low-income or homeless situations.
 
DeKalb Animal Coalition Center: Animal Shelter Training for Women in Sober Living (substance abuse recovery).
 
DeKalb County Board of Education-Coordinated School Health: To provide food every weekend during the school year for students in need.
 
 
The Community Foundation awards discretionary grants annually from its unrestricted and field-of-interest funds to Middle Tennessee nonprofits. Grants are awarded through an open application process for organizations addressing community needs and benefiting the well-being of citizens through valuable programs and innovative services. More information on the grant process is online at https://www.cfmt.org/grants-scholarships/grants/
 
 

 Just a couple of reminders from city and county officials concerning schedules dealing with solid waste.
 
Public Works Director for the Town of Woodbury, Shane Gannon wants the residents of Woodbury that the garbage route for Thursday Nov. 22nd (Thanksgiving Day) will be run on Wednesday Nov. 21st  so that the sanitation employees can enjoy the holiday with their families.  The schedule for the rest of the week will remain the same. 
 
County Executive Brent Bush wishes to announce the Convenience Center will be closed Thanksgiving Day (Nov 22nd) and Friday (Nov 23rd).  The convenience center will reopen Saturday (Nov 24th). 
 

Christmas is just around the corner, which means now is the time to start planning a trip to a local tree farm. As the cool, crisp air draws near, a visit to the farm is the perfect outdoor adventure to generate some holiday spirit and family fun. 
Many farms sell Christmas trees between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, with some starting as soon as is past weekend. Regardless of when you visit, local producers recommend you call for availability before you go.
 
“You want to find a tree that has a nice shape with one point at the top,” Fentress County’s Sycamore Springs Farm owner Lyna Pennycuff said. “The best trees have dense needles.”
 
Even though some trees were stressed during last year’s winter, there are still plenty of picture-perfect Christmas trees to choose from this season.
 
If you have never been to a Christmas tree farm, the process is easy and fun. “When customers arrive, they will be given a band saw and a tree sled to cut the perfect Christmas tree from the farm,” Pennycuff said.
 
Even if you aren’t looking for a fresh Christmas tree, many tree farms offer other fun activities for the whole family. Whether you’re hoping to get a picture with Santa Claus, take a hike through the trails, or stroll through the gift shop, you will make memories that will last a lifetime.
 
Be sure to visit www.PickTNProducts.org or use the free Pick Tennessee mobile app to find a local Christmas tree farm near you. Follow “PickTNProducts” on social media to learn more about local activities, seasonal recipes, and products.
 

Donny Green, County Executive Director of the DeKalb/Cannon County Farm Service Agency, announces that the 2018 Farm Service Agency County Committee elections are underway as ballots were mailed to eligible voters in Local Administrative Area # 1 (DeKalb County) and Local Administrative Area # 5 (Cannon County) on November 5th. 
December 3, 2018 will be the last day to postmark voted ballots returned by mail, or to deliver voted ballots to the local FSA office.   
 
Randall West and Jimmy Womack are candidates nominated for area # 1 (DeKalb Co.). Both candidates have been certified as eligible candidates. Randall West is currently completing his first 3-year term on the DeKalb FSA County Committee. Both West and Womack operate beef cattle farms in the Jacobs Pillar community.
 
Robert “Bob” Melton is the only candidate nominated for area # 5 (Cannon Co.). Bob has been certified as an eligible candidate. Melton is a retired Cannon County vocational agriculture teacher and operates a livestock farm in the Hollis Creek area of Cannon County. Bob is completing his first 3-year term on the DeKalb/Cannon FSA County Committee.
 
Write-in nominations can be accepted on ballots. However, the write-in nominee must meet eligibility criteria and attest to his or her willingness to serve, if elected, by signing a nominating petition. Agricultural producers were encouraged to submit candidate names during the nomination period that ended August 1, 2018.         
    
According to Green, “The Farm Service Agency county committee system is unique among government agencies, because it allows producers to make important decisions concerning the local administration of federal farm programs. All eligible farmers and ranchers, especially minorities and women, are encouraged to get involved and make a real difference in their communities by voting in this year’s elections”.
 
To be an eligible voter, farmers and ranchers must participate or cooperate in FSA programs.  A person who is not of legal voting age but supervises and conducts the farming operations of an entire farm can also vote. 
 
Eligible voters in DeKalb County area # 1 or Cannon County area # 5 who did not receive a ballot can obtain a ballot at their local USDA Service Center.  December 3, 2018 is the last day for voters to submit ballots in person to local USDA Service Centers.  Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than December 3, 2018.  The DeKalb/Cannon FSA County Committee will meet on December 4, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. to canvass and tabulate the ballots. This meeting is open to the public. The newly elected committee member and alternates take office January 1st, 2019.
 

This weekend will mark the 27th year for the merchants open house in Woodbury. Many of the activities related to the event have changed in the almost three decades.  The one constant is the spirit of home and community. 
Santa is scheduled for 5pm this evening. He will arrive on the Courthouse Square by a team of mules. Starting at 5:30pm. Santa will setup his workshop at the gazebo on the Courthouse lawn. The traditional lighting of the tree is scheduled for 5:10pm.  Dillion Street Missionary Baptist Church will conduct a live nativity scene. Cannon Arts Dance Students will perform.
 
On Saturday, Santa will be available for photos with your pets at 10:00am. Folks are invited to help stuff stockings at Woodbury Health and Rehab by dropping off items like small candy bars, tissues, lotion and lap blankets.
 
Many merchants will offer specials and refreshments for the two days event.
 
 
 

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen today released a new report to provide insight on the landscape of school safety in Tennessee. For the first time, the department is releasing information on trends found in the strengths and challenges in school security seen across districts. This new report allows the state to increase awareness, prompt further conversations, and spur future action. 
“We take seriously the responsibility of providing a safe and secure learning environment for Tennessee students and will continue to support our schools in this daily effort,” Commissioner McQueen said. “Critical work to improve school safety has been started under Governor Haslam’s leadership and this report shows us several ways we can continue to improve our practices moving forward. We know that safety must be an ongoing process of continuous improvement. This report continues the work started with individual school assessments by providing a state-level view of current practices and identifying opportunities for improvement. I am grateful for the partnership of our state legislature, other departments, school districts, and law enforcement agencies to make this work a priority in Tennessee”
 
While Tennessee has made several efforts in recent years to promote student safety and prepare schools for potential threats, Governor Haslam took further action in March 2018 by convening a School Safety Working Group that recommended a statewide review of school facilities and safety procedures and precautions. These recommendations were swiftly accepted by the governor, which led to the first statewide individual school safety assessments that rated each school on 89 safety standards and was overseen by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, in coordination with the Department of Education and local school officials.
 
“The Governor tasked me with chairing the School Safety Working Group along with the support of Cabinet members Commissioner Candice McQueen and Commissioner Marie Williams,” Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner David W. Purkey said.  “My goal was to ensure the committee work carefully yet swiftly to develop a well-informed plan that would provide security guidelines for our TN school districts. A 17-member committee represented by professionals in the area of education, mental health and public safety from across the state were able to accomplish this mission. School safety remains our priority, and we will continue to provide the necessary tools and services to our schools to keep our students safe.”
 
To support this work, the 2018 Tennessee General Assembly approved $25 million in one-time funding for schools to address vulnerabilities and risks and $10 million in recurring grant funding for ongoing safety and prevention programs. To receive funding to enhance school safety, districts had to conduct individual school security assessments and submit schools’ emergency operations plans (EOPs) and drill logs to the department. All school districts were eligible to apply for funding to address local safety and security needs once identified through the assessment process.
 
All 147 school districts submitted assessments for every school in the state, and districts and schools have begun using funds to make both major and minor improvements, ranging from better door locks and updated visitor screening procedures to adding mental health staff positions.
 
This collection of school security assessments, Emergency Operations Plans (EOPs), and drill logs presented an unprecedented opportunity to analyze current security and preparedness actions at the building level in order to inform Tennessee’s goal of providing a safe and supportive learning environment for all students. Because this was the first time that this information was collected by the department, the purpose of this initial report is to establish a baseline for statewide safety needs and help drive future targeted efforts to enhance school security and preparedness.
 
Findings in the report show that most of Tennessee’s schools met or exceeded standards on many items related to school facilities and operations. Overall, schools were well prepared in most of the areas examined. For example, on average, schools met or exceeded the standards for eight out of the nine emergency planning and prevention items. However, data revealed the greatest weaknesses to be in vehicle control, access control, and surveillance for schools across the state.
 
While the school security assessments demonstrated that many Tennessee schools were well prepared for potential emergencies, EOPs revealed that this preparedness has not yet translated into suitable documentation on school sites. The majority of the EOPs examined met fewer than half of the rubric items, and none of the EOPs examined met all items. As with the school security assessments, the department examined these data by area, rather than individual item, to identify the areas in most immediate need of improvement.
 
Surprisingly, some of the strengths identified in the security assessments were determined to be potential areas of challenge by the examination of the EOP data. For instance, one of the strongest areas from the security assessments was Emergency Planning and Prevention, while the EOP evaluation revealed that submitted EOPs were lacking much of the required documentation. This may highlight an issue with documentation and the EOP submission process.
 
Similarly, the analysis of drill logs showed that schools were committed to preparing their students for a range of potential emergencies and conducted an average of almost 15 drills per year; however, many schools were still not meeting all of the drill requirements. This may be the result of drill logs varying in submission type and level of detail. Also, it is possible that a school completed more drills than they documented and/or submitted, so the data does not provide a full picture to the number and types of drills actually conducted.
 
Moving forward, the department has identified five key actions to address the challenges identified during the review of safety data. They are:
·        Identify priorities for supporting districts and schools.
·        Revise EOP and drill log templates to enhance planning and improve documentation.
·        Create options for delivering training and guidance that provide flexibility and build local capacity.
·        Monitor grant spending and results to identify promising practices.
·        Integrate safety planning requirements into the school approval process.
 
The information provided in these assessments, coupled with significant new funding, have resulted in critically important dialogue and changes to improve school safety in communities across the state. As Tennessee moves forward with improvements in the areas of security and preparedness, it is important that our state continues these conversations and that school safety remain a vital component of ensuring student success in and outside of the classroom.
 
To view the full report, Safety First: A Review of Security and Preparedness in Tennessee Schools, visit the department’s website here.

Basketball season “tipped off” last night for Cannon County. In the girls contest Cannon County’s Lionettes defeated Shelbyville Central by a score of 60 -50, Jalin Fann lead scoring with 26 points.  In the boy’s game, Cannon County Lions held on to defeat the Golden Eagles by a score of 76 – 64, Jacob Raines lead all scorers with 23 points . 
Both games will replay today following the news at Noon on WBRY.
 
Next game for Cannon County will be on the road to Tullahoma on Saturday with the Lionettes at Noon and the boy’s game at 1:30pm.
 

Through fingerprints, investigators have now identified a woman found dead Monday morning in Smithville as 28 year old Jessica Renee Stephens of Cannon County. Her cause of death will be determined following the completion of the autopsy and toxicology report.The case remains under investigation by the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
 
“On Monday, November 12 DeKalb Central Dispatch received a call at 7:50 a.m. of a body lying in a backyard on Parkway Drive Smithville. Officers with the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department, Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the 13th District Attorney’s Office were summoned to the scene,” said Sheriff Patrick Ray in a prepared statement.
 
Officers at the scene could not produce any photo identification on the body  at that time. She was described as a white female, approximately 5’4” inches tall, approximately 120-125 pounds, sandy blonde hair, approximately 30-40 years of age. She was wearing maroon medical scrubs and brown boots. There was an orange Home Depot jersey, brown jacket and blue shirt at the scene. Shealso had a pierced belly button, a tattoo of a cross on the back of her neck, and what appeared to be a “M” “W” or “3” tattooed on her right hand.
 
“Thanks to those who contacted us to provide information in efforts to identify the woman,” said Sheriff Ray and the TBI in a joint statement.
 
 
 
News partner: WJLE 
 
 

Round ball season begins tonight for Cannon County High School. The Lionettes and Lions start on the friendly home court at Robert A. Harris Gymnasium.  Visiting team is Shelbyville Central.  In the broadcast booth, WBRY welcomes back Cannon County alum Teddy Taylor. Taylor will handle the play-by-play position for all regular season game for the 2018-2019 season.Our broadcast will begin with Coach Jonathon Odom on Coaches Corner at 5:50 this afternoon on am 1540, fm 107-1 and on wbry.com
 

 Support can make all the difference for those trying to quit smoking, and Tennesseans trying to move toward a life without tobacco products are not alone. The Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine, 1-800-QUIT-NOW offers free assistance, resources and counseling to help smokers transition to a smoke-free life. The Tennessee Department of Health urges Tennesseans who want to quit smoking to start their journey during the Great American Smokeout November 15.
 
 
“We’re absolutely committed to helping smokers and other nicotine users who want to quit, and the data show most do want to quit,” said TDH Commissioner John Dreyzehner, MD, MPH. “Tobacco and nicotine are a very hard habit to break, but they don’t make you happy in the long run. They make you poorer, sicker and unhappy. The Smokeout is the perfect day to take a step toward triumph over nicotine addiction and a happier, healthier life.”
 
 
Great American Smokeout
 
The annual Great American Smokeout draws awareness to the health benefits of quitting tobacco and the tools available to help smokers quit. In Tennessee, the need is urgent, with the state’s smoking rate at a hefty 22 percent, considerably higher than the national average of 17 percent.
 
 
About 40 million Americans, including 1.5 million Tennesseans, smoke cigarettes according to the American Cancer Society. Tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the world. Tennessee ranks 43rd in the nation for both smoking and premature deaths.
 
 
Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine
 
Quitting smoking has immediate and long-term benefits at any age, and getting help through counseling can double or triple the chances of quitting successfully. The QuitLine’s trained quit counselors prepare and guide tobacco users throughout the quitting process, developing a personalized quit plan with one-on-one, ongoing support. Callers get free access to materials and interactive tools to recognize their unique triggers and cravings along with resources that have proven successful in a quitter’s journey toward becoming tobacco-free.
 
 
“Our phone lines are open and we have quit counselors ready to assist with personal plans and free QuitKits available for any caller,” said TDH Assistant Commissioner for Family Health and Wellness Morgan McDonald, MD. “If you are even considering quitting smoking, we encourage you to make the call for your own health and the health of the family and friends around you.”
 
 
The call, assistance and an individual QuitKit are provided to all participants at no cost and all QuitLine program services are confidential. The Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine, 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) is available seven days a week in English and Spanish. A language line is available to accommodate other callers to the QuitLine. Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine hours are Monday – Friday 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. EST, Saturday 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. EST and Sunday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST. Enrollment can also be completed online at www.tnQuitLine.org.
 
 
Learn more about the Great American Smokeout at www.cancer.org/healthy/stay-away-from-tobacco/great-american-smokeout.html.