News

A variety of topics faced members of the Cannon County Board of Education at Thursday’s meeting. 
 
With the start of a new term, election of chairman, vice-chairman and chairman pro-tem.  Nathan Sanders was elected chairman, incoming members,Travis Turney and Brian Elrod were elected vice-chairman and chairman pro-tem, respectfully.
 
 
Chris Blackburn made a request of the Board on using the Auburn School walking track area for a life flight landing zone for the Auburntown Volunteer Fire Dept. Upon review the board approved the request.
 
 
Principal Courtney Nichols requested a change to the calendar on moving the date for graduation from May 24 to May 17. Reason for the request was the improve the turnaround time on sending transcripts to colleges for seniors.  Nichols also advised the board he would like to change the graduation requires from 22 credits to 24 credits.  The change would only affect the current freshman and sophomore classes. Both actions were approved.
 
 
Director of Schools William F. Curtis suggested a joint meeting for the board of education and the county commission for the purpose of reviewing structure repairs on various schools.  A tour of facilities could occur in October.
 

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation (MTEMC) has announced the results of its 82nd Annual Meeting. 
Members re-elected Ann Little of Williamson County (District 1B), David A. Lee of Rutherford County (District 2B), Roy Tom Purkey of Wilson County (District 4A) and James E. Mills of Wilson County (District 4C) for the 2018-2021 board.
 
The 2018 Nominating Committee elected W.J. “Joey” Davis, Donald Lampley and Juanita Patton from District 1 – Williamson County; Thomas “Teb” Batey II, Robert Mullins, and Jamey Faulkner from District 2 – Rutherford County; Jeanne Melton from District 3 – Cannon County; and Ken Howell, Zachary Butler and Quintin Smith from District 4 – Wilson County.
 
The board also re-elected Mike Woods of Rutherford County as chairman, Tom Purkey of Wilson County as vice chairman and Steve Seger of Williamson County as secretary-treasurer.
 
More than 1,900 people attended the Annual Meeting Expo and spoke with MTEMC staff at booths, tables and spaces designed to engage members in conversations about various topics across the cooperative. The expo also gave members the opportunity to participate in a health fair and win a variety of door prizes. Don Strang, an MTEMC member in Rutherford County, won the grand prize ­– a used 2011 Ford Ranger that had been retired from the MTEMC fleet.
 
“We are grateful to the hundreds of members who attended this year’s annual meeting,” said Chris Jones, MTEMC President and CEO. “The democratic process of members electing those that represent and serve them is an important piece of who we are as a not-for-profit, member-owned electric cooperative. This year’s setup also increased member engagement, which is a priority as we continuously seek to understand our members’ needs and deepen our community relationships.”
 
 

The Executive Director for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Service Agency (FSA) in DeKalb/Cannon County, Donny Green, reminds foreign persons with an interest in agricultural lands in the United States that they are required to report their holdings and any transactions to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 
 
“Any foreign person who acquires, transfers or holds any interest, other than a security interest, including leaseholds of 10 years or more, in agricultural land in the United States is required by law to report the transaction no later than 90 days after the date of the transaction,” said Green.
 
 
Foreign investors must file Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) reports with the FSA county office that maintains reports for the county where the land is located.
 
 
 
“Failure to file a report, filing a late report or filing an inaccurate report can result in a penalty with fines up to 25 percent of the fair market value of the agricultural land,” said Green.
 
 
For AFIDA purposes, agricultural land is defined as any land used for farming, ranching or timber production, if the tracts total 10 acres or more.
 
 
Disclosure reports are also required when there are changes in land use. For example, reports are required when land use changes from nonagricultural to agricultural or from agricultural to nonagricultural. Foreign investors must also file a report when there is a change in the status of ownership such as the owner changes from foreign to non-foreign, from non-foreign to foreign or from foreign to foreign.
 
 
Data gained from these disclosures is used to prepare an annual report to the President and Congress concerning the effect of such holdings upon family farms and rural communities in the United States.
 
For more information regarding AFIDA and FSA programs, contact the DeKalb/Cannon County FSA office at 615-597-8225 or visit the USDA website at http://www.usda.gov.
 
 

Three, five-man line crews and a mobile mechanic from Middle Tennessee Electric are on their way to North Carolina to join efforts to restore power in the wake of Hurricane Florence. 
The 16 employees and ten trucks will depart from the electric cooperative’s Lebanon office at 8 a.m. Thursday; their destination is Raleigh, N.C., before heading on to Newport, N.C. to assist Carteret-Craven Electric Membership Corporation in restoration efforts.
 
“We got the call Tuesday asking if we could send crews to assist as Hurricane Florence headed toward the east coast,” said Chris Jones, MTEMC president and CEO. “MTEMC and a number of other electric cooperatives in Tennessee are responding to that call.”
 
Jones said MTEMC’s line crews are often eager to help when situations are at their worst.
 
“It is amazing to watch these guys when they know people are in need,” he said. “That’s when they’re at their best. We’re very proud of them.”
 
Middle Tennessee Electric volunteers will be joined by more than 130 volunteers from electric cooperatives across the state.
 
“As cooperatives,” Jones said, “one of our core values is assisting other cooperatives in need. If we had a bad ice storm, you can bet these cooperatives would be there to help us if we needed them.”
 
The last time MTEMC was asked to assist in the wake of a hurricane was in 2017 after Hurricane Irma tore through Covington, Ga. Prior to 2017, crews were sent to assist in the restoration efforts in Florida after Hurricane Matthew in 2016, to Virginia in 2011 following Hurricane Irma, and after Hurricane Gustav ravaged Louisiana in 2008.
 
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 225,000 residential and business accounts in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford, Cannon and surrounding counties. 
 

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture has added a new twist to that national “Got Milk?” branding campaign. 
It’s “Got Tennessee Milk?”
 
State Department of Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton announced recently that MTSU and Crossville, Tennessee-based Sunrise Dairy are the first to carry the Tennessee Milk logo on their dairy products being sold publicly.
 
Templeton made the announcement in Middle Tennessee State University’s School of Agriculture Stark Agriculture Building, with more than 30 state, dairy industry and MTSU students, staff and administrators on hand.
 
Milk receiving the state’s Tennessee Milk designation must be entirely sourced, processed and bottled in Tennessee. The program is administered by the state Department of Agriculture, and milk was named the official beverage of Tennessee in 2009.
 
According to Commissioner Templeton, “This logo allows consumers the opportunity to support Tennessee dairy farmers, who are facing challenging times right now. We appreciate the Tennessee Dairy Producers Association for supporting the enabling legislation, assisting TDA on the development of the logo and promoting the program to producers and processors.”
 
 

Numerous first responders in Woodbury and Cannon County were recognized yesterday during the Hilton Stone American Legion Post’s Patriot Day Ceremony.In law enforcement,
Cannon County Sheriff Department, officer of the year: Tommy Barker
Woodbury Police Department, officer of the year: Tommy Miller
Cannon County Firefighter of the Year: Eric Campbell- Mooretown
Woodbury Firefighter of the Year: Timothy Chase Stewart
Emergency Medical Technician of the Year: Jason Barrett – Cannon County Ambulance Service
Dispatcher of the Year: Karen Ashford County 911 Center
Rescue Squad Responder of the Year; Dwayne Lambert
And Greta Stone was recognized for being named the outstanding Emergency Medical Technician for the State of Tennessee.
The Patriot Day ceremony was held at Robert A. Harris gymnasium at Cannon County High School.  An encore presentation of the program will be aired Friday morning following the local news at 8:10am.
 

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s (TDEC) mobile household hazardous waste collection service will be in Coffee County on Saturday, Sept. 22. Since the program’s inception in 1993, more than 346,000 Tennessee households have properly disposed of more than 22 million pounds of material. 
“Our goal is to provide a convenient and no-cost option for residents to responsibly dispose of hazardous material to help protect Tennessee’s waterways, land and air from impacts by these common items,” said TDEC Commissioner Dr. Shari Meghreblian.
 
Any Tennessee resident is encouraged to bring their household hazardous waste – including cleaning fluids, pesticides, batteries, and more – to the designated drop-off locations. You do not need to live in the county listed to participate in the event.
 

Coffee County – Tullahoma Public Works, 942 Maplewood Ave., from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. The local contact for this collection event is Butch Taylor at (931) 454-1768.

Household hazardous waste materials are considered flammable, toxic, reactive and/or corrosive and should not be placed with regular garbage. Typical items to dispose of include cleaning fluids, pesticides, mercury thermometers and thermostats, fluorescent lamps, lithium and button batteries, aerosols, adhesives, medications, brake fluid, swimming pool chemicals,  paint thinner and used needles in sturdy containers. Items not accepted include ammunition, explosives, alkaline batteries, paint (contact your local county solid waste department for latex and oil based paint guidance), electronics and any empty containers that should be disposed in normal trash. 
 
A full list of acceptable and unacceptable items can be found here: https://www.tn.gov/content/tn/environment/sw-mm-household-hazardous-waste-program/sw-mm-household-hazardous-waste-acceptable-unacceptable-items.html.
 
While household waste may be disposed for free, there is a cost for disposal of Conditionally Exempt Small Quantity Generator Waste (i.e. wastes from non-household sources such as businesses, schools, farms, churches, etc.). An appointment is also necessary. Call (615) 643-3170 to request a price quote and schedule an appointment.
 
Many counties and municipalities meet the needs of local residents by providing collection of batteries, oil, paint, antifreeze and electronic scrap – or BOPAE, as it is sometimes called. When handled correctly, these BOPAE materials are minimally hazardous, but inappropriate for collection at household hazardous waste events. Contact your local city or county solid waste department to find BOPAE collection sites in your area.
 
When transporting materials to the site, place containers in sturdy boxes lined with newspaper to prevent spills and cross-contamination in the trunk of a car or back of a truck. Be sure to keep materials away from children and pets. Materials should be kept in the original containers whenever possible. If not, place each waste in a separate plastic container with a secure lid and label its contents.  
 
In addition to these annual events, Tennesseans can also dispose of expired or unwanted medications year-round through the Unwanted Household Pharmaceutical Take Back Program. Permanent collection boxes are provided in every county and prevent prescription and over-the-counter medications from getting into the hands of vulnerable residents or into waterways. A map with all box locations can be found here: http://tdeconline.tn.gov/rxtakeback/.
 
For more information on the household hazardous waste mobile collection service, please call 1-800-287-9013 or visit https://www.tn.gov/content/dam/tn/environment/solid-waste/documents/sw-mm-hhw-collection-schedule.pdf.
 
Tennesseans can also sign up for TDEC’s HHW enewsletter to receive updates on when a collection event will be nearby at https://app.e2ma.net/app2/audience/signup/1835961/1721366/.
 

Services available and how they are administered at the County’s Convenience Center is a continuing story.  Several updates were reveled over the weekend. 
County Executive issued the follow statement; “I wish to thank Commissioner Jim Bush and Ronnie Mahhaffy for their hard work and volunteer efforts.  This week we will begin the process of phasing in inmates.  Commissioner Jim Bush and Paul Alexander has begun the process of becoming certified to supervise inmates. With the cooperation of the Sheriff departments we will have a facility with the use of inmate labor and volunteer supervisors. Friday I was also running the budgeted pay for County employees and found out that we only had about half in the budget, so I laid off 4 County employees. 3 work directly at solid waste and one other works grounds, but was budgeted to return to the solid waste facility at the end of the mowing season. I am working with The Sheriff department to also supervise inmates to do that also. Informed those 4 individuals yesterday and gave them their two week notice.”
 
 
The Cannon County Solid Waste facility will no longer take scrap metal or tires. It is not cost effective for the County to haul scrap metal or tires to the buyer. New hours for the center were announced Friday.
 
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8 – 5, closed Wednesday and Sunday. Today it will not open until noon. A new person is hauling trash beginning today. Inmates will begin the process of phasing in at the facility under supervision.  The conflict and changes should level out over the next couple weeks.
 
 

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) Consumer Insurance Services Section announces that $3.2 million has been returned so far to Tennesseans through the Department’s restitution efforts in 2018. 
TDCI consumer insurance services investigators mediate complaints between policyholders and insurance companies. These efforts may result in denied claims being overturned or additional benefits being identified and paid to consumers. Through the first eight months of 2018, TDCI efforts have resulted in$3,206,507.73 being paid to consumers. By comparison, $6.5 million was returned to Tennesseans in all of 2017.
 
 
So far the Department has received 2,041 complaints or inquiries in 2018. The top five reasons consumers have contacted the Department are claim denial, claim delays, adjuster handling, unsatisfactory settlement offer, and out-of-network benefits.
If you have questions about consumer insurance, visit TDCI’s website or contact us at 1-800-342-4029 or (615) 741-2218.
 

Cannon County Executive Brent Bush has announced new hours for the County’s Convenience Center. The new hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday 8am –  5pm.  The center will be closed Wednesdays and Sundays.  The new schedule begins Monday. 
In a social media post earlier Friday, Bush said the following;
 
I complete my first week in office Saturday. Solid Waste funding crisis reached a point today that I had to give four County employees their two week notices. I appreciate their service to the County and wish there was a different outcome, however I saw no way to continue to pay them throughout the entirety of the year.
I do appreciate the volunteers that have worked so hard this week to continue to serve the community and remove the household trash for our citizens. Next week the Solid Waste facility will begin new slightly adjusted hours with the addition of inmates from the jail. I appreciate your patience and cooperation as we continue to strive to serve the public as best we can with resources available.