News

Good news for county and city governments as the state revels the results of April sales tax collections. The numbers show a 10.4 percent increase over last April, collections for Cannon County were $392,122 in 2017.  The April 2018 numbers are $433,096, just over a ten-percent increase.Cannon along with Clay and Overton produced double-digit increases for April over the previous year.
The 14 counties that comprise the Upper Cumberland region reported $23,872,197 for a five-percent increase.  The state as a whole generated $789,954,000 for a 4.3% increase according to the Tennessee Department of Revenue.

As June marks the beginning of the 2018 Atlantic Hurricane Season, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) is advising Volunteer State residents how they can prepare and protect themselves before and after severe weather.2017 saw a record-shattering amount of damage caused by 17 named storms including hurricanes Harvey and Irma that blasted the U.S. and left damages estimated at over $280 billion, making it the costliest hurricane season on record. With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reporting that this year’s Atlantic Hurricane season will be near- or above-normal, it’s crucial that Tennesseans not only know how to prepare for a storm, but also know what to do after disaster strikes. 
“There’s no way to stop severe weather but Tennessee residents can take steps now to be better prepared for it,” said TDCI Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “I urge Tennesseans to check their homeowners policies, keep an emergency kit, and create a home inventory in the event that severe weather strikes.”
TDCI and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) share the following tips to help your family prepare for severe weather:

Create an emergency kit that includes bottled water, a first aid kit, flashlights, a battery-powered radio, non-perishable food items, blankets, clothing, prescription medications, eyeglasses, personal hygiene supplies, and a small amount of cash.

Identify storm shelters available to you and your family. Prepare an evacuation plan and choose two meeting places: one right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency (like a fire), and one outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home.

Re-evaluate your existing homeowners policy at least once a year to ensure your policy provides adequate protection for your needs. It is important to note that traditional homeowners policies do not cover floods, so if you are at risk, you will need additional coverage.

The majority of Tennessee homeowners are not covered by flood insurance. You can only purchase flood insurance through an insurance agent or an insurer participating in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If you are in need of an agent that sells flood insurance, you can contact the NFIP Referral Call Center at 1-800-427-4661.

Take steps to mitigate some of the potential damage to your home from natural disasters. Begin with a survey of your home and the area around your home to identify objects like yard debris that could compound damage to your home in high winds or under threat of wildfire.

If you need to evacuate your home, turn off all utilities and disconnect appliances to reduce the chance of additional damage and electrical shock when utilities are restored.

Keep a readily available list of 24-hour contact information for your insurance agent and insurance company. Make a list that includes your policy numbers, your insurance company and insurance agent’s phone numbers, website addresses and mailing addresses. Also, check to see if the company or your agent has set up an emergency information hotline in case of storm damage. It is a good idea to store this information, and a home inventory, in a waterproof/fireproof safe or a safety deposit box.

Create a home inventory. This can be invaluable when deciding what coverage options are right for you and your family.

NAIC offers disaster prep guides for floods, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes.   
If you are affected by a disaster:

File your claim as soon as possible. Call your insurance company or agent with your policy number and other relevant information. You policy may require that you make the notification within a certain time frame.

Cooperate fully with the insurance company. Ask what documents, forms, and data you will need to file a claim. Keep a journal of all conversations with insurance companies, creditors, and relief agencies.

Be certain to give your insurance company all the information they need. Incorrect or incomplete information will only cause a delay in processing your claim.

If your home is damaged to the extent that you cannot live there, ask your insurance company if you have coverage for additional living expenses.

Take photographs/video of any damage.

Make the repairs necessary to prevent further damage to your property (cover broken windows, leaking roofs and damaged walls). Don’t have permanent repairs made until your insurance company has inspected the property and you have reached an agreement on the cost of repairs. Be prepared to provide the claims adjuster with records of any improvements you made prior to the damage.

If you are dealing with a company or person who promises to remove debris from your property, ask them to list the services they will provide in writing. Do not make the final payment until you have inspected the job and are happy with it. Check around for prices to make sure you are not overcharged.

Maintain any damaged personal property for the adjuster to inspect.

Ask the adjuster for an itemized explanation of the claim settlement offer.

Save all receipts, including those from the temporary repairs covered by your policy.

Be wary of price gougers. Look for sudden dramatic increases in prices for necessities (such as gas, food, ice, water, other fuel, generators, and lodging) right before, during, or after a natural disaster. Keep a record of your transaction and record as many details as possible such as the location of the merchant, the date and time of your purchase, the method of payment, the price of the item in days prior to the sudden price increase, and the price you paid. You can report price gouging here.

To file a complaint, visit us online or call (800) 342-4029 or (615) 741-2218.
 

The annual Gassaway Homecoming is tomorrow. Locals and visitors alike will enjoy good food, lots of music and even a parade.   The day long festival begins at 6am with the traditional ham breakfast that will be served until 10am. Games for all ages begins at 9 followed by Ridge Top, Harold Duggin, Loriaan Carter, Karen Ashford and David Moody on the stage.The Gassaway Homecoming Parade begins at 1pm. Anyone who would like to be part of the parade should be at the intersection of Highway 53 and Gassaway’s Main Street at 12:45pm.
Afternoon acts begins at 2pm and includes; Patsy and Nick Nokes, Greg Mitchell, Divine Encounter, Broken China Dolls and Nokes Boys.
The fish dinner will be served from 4pm until 7pm.
Evening entertainment starts at 6pm with Kevin Roberts followed by the Gilley Boys.
Listen to WBRY today and tomorrow for more information on this annual home-grown event.
 

The Tennessee Department of Health is observing National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month in communities across the state this May. National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month is designed to raise awareness about the impacts of teen pregnancy and ways to prevent it.“We are moving in the right direction in Tennessee,” said TDH Assistant Commissioner for Family Health and Wellness Morgan McDonald, MD. “Though many factors may contribute to teen pregnancies, the positive work being done illustrates education and public health interventions make a difference. We have seen that when teens have access to information about preventing pregnancy, our teen pregnancy rates decrease.”
Consistent with national trends, Tennessee’s teen pregnancy rates per 1,000 females declined from 49 in 2013 to 32.5 in 2016. The most recent national data available is from 2013, when the teen pregnancy rate in the U.S. was 43 per 1,000 females.
The Tennessee Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Program works to prevent unplanned adolescent pregnancies through a comprehensive, community-wide, collaborative effort that promotes abstinence, self-respect, constructive life options and responsible decision making about sexuality, healthy relationships and the future.
“Tennessee should be proud of its teens, families and communities for the positive choices they have made,” said TAPPP Program Director Amber Jackson, SRAS. “Age-appropriate conversations about healthy relationships should begin with both boys and girls early in a child’s life and continue through young adulthood, and we can help parents and caregivers learn to feel prepared and confident in having those conversations.”
Despite these successes, teen pregnancy remains a significant problem in Tennessee. According to Power to Decide, adolescent parenthood is linked to many negative consequences for mothers, fathers and their children. Compared to those who delay childbearing, adolescent mothers are more likely to drop out of school, remain unmarried and live in poverty. Their children are more likely to be born at a low birth weight, grow up poor, live-in single-parent households, experience abuse and neglect and enter the child welfare system.
TDH has adopted a broad-based approach to providing services to the community to reduce teen pregnancy. Focus areas include implementing evidence-based, medically accurate and age appropriate abstinence education programs; increasing high school graduation rates; reducing the rate of repeat pregnancies; reducing overall teen pregnancy rates; and improving and fostering self-sufficiency. Such programs are designed to help teenagers develop protective factors to avoid teen pregnancy and childbirth, including knowledge of sexual issues, HIV and other sexually transmitted infections and pregnancy (including methods of prevention); personal values about healthy relationships and abstinence; perception of peer norms and behavior about dating; and communication with parents or other adults about contraception.
Learn more about teen pregnancy prevention programs and services:
• Tennessee Department of Health Adolescent Pregnancy Program: www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/fhw/mch-tappp.html
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing: www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/resources-and-training/tpp-and-paf-resources/index.html
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/TeenPregnancy/AboutTeenPreg.htm#resource 
• Power to Decide Resource Library: https://powertodecide.org/what-we-do/information/resource-library

A Cannon County man has been charged with rape of a child.
Abdul Nassel Alataby was taken into custody on Tuesday, according to Investigator Chris Brown with the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department.

Investigator Brown assisted Deputy Chip Avera in working the case, which was initiated at 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

Brown said the Department of Children’s Services assisted in working the case and following an interview of the alleged victim on Tuesday afternoon, Alataby was arrested and charged.

According to Brown, the incidents have allegedly occurred over a period of three years, the last being this past December.

Alataby, 54, is being held at the Cannon County Jail. His bond is set at $25,000. His initial court date has been set for June 12.

A Bedford County company is asking for state permission to operate a plant in Cannon County.Many of you may have noticed the construction of an batch mix asphalt plant at the intersection of John Bragg Highway and Bradyville Road.
The builder Hawkins Asphalt Paving, LLC of Wartrace has reached the point in the construction process to request state approval of an air contaminant permit. The proposed operation would consist of a batch mixer, asphalt cement storage, crushed aggregate storage piles, and reclaimed asphalt pavement for making hot mix asphalt.  The notice from the Tennessee Division of Air Pollution Control lists fabric filter bags would be used for pollution control in their public notice. Air contaminants would be emitted by this source.
A 30 period day for public comment began today. Persons needing additional information may call 615-532- 0554.  Comments and concerns may be placed in writing to: Mrs. Michelle W. Owenby, Director, Division of Air Pollution Control, William R. Snodgrass Tennessee Tower, 312 Rosa Parks Avenue, 15th floor, Nashville, Tennessee 37243.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips has  announced county unemployment rates decreased in all 95 counties across Tennessee in April and all counties are at or below 5 percent.“Our investments in education and workforce development are showing results in all corners of the state and to have such low unemployment rates in each county is great news for every Tennessean,” Haslam said. “Tennessee will lead in job recruitment because we are focused on developing a high quality workforce.”
In our region, Coffee County has an April rate of 2.5 percent, down from a March rate of 3.6 percent. DeKalb County is 3.4, down from 4.3. Rutherford County is 2.2, down from 2.6. Warren County 3.1 percent, down from 3.8 and Wilson County 2.2, down from 2.7. In Cannon County the April rate was 2.5 percent down from the March rate of 3.6 percent.  Cannon County’s workforce of 6,340 had 6,180 persons working. That reflects a total of 160 people looking for work.
All but one county recorded unemployment rates lower than five percent in April. Houston County’s unemployment posted at 5 percent, but that is a nearly one percentage point drop from 5.9 in March.
Williamson County continued to have Tennessee’s lowest level of unemployment with a rate of 2 percent in April. The new figure reflects a decrease of 0.4 of a percentage point from the previous month.
Davidson County had the second lowest unemployment rate in the state at 2.1 percent, down half a percentage point from March. The top 10 counties with the lowest unemployment in Tennessee each have a rate at or below 2.5 percent. Shelby County’s rate also dropped half a percentage point last month to 3.5 percent.
 “To see continued low unemployment in our metro areas is great,” Phillips said. “But the decreases we are seeing in our rural and distressed counties show there are new job opportunities statewide.”
For the third consecutive month, Tennessee’s statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 3.4 percent. For the first time in six months, the national unemployment rate decreased in April when it dropped from 4.1 percent to 3.9 percent.
The statewide unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted, while county rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from an economic time series.
A complete analysis of the April 2018 county unemployment rate data can be found here.
Additional information on Tennessee labor statistics can be found on the state’s workforce development website.
 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) encourages America’s farmers and ranchers to nominate candidates to lead, serve and represent their community on their local county committee. USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) will accept nominations for county committee members beginning Friday, June 15, 2018. 
Producers across the country are already serving on committees where they play a critical role in the day-to-day operations of FSA, making important decisions on programs dealing with disaster and conservation, emergencies, commodity price loan support, county office employment and other agricultural issues.
 
“Our county committees make decisions about how federal farm programs are administered locally to best serve the needs of agriculture in their community,” said Acting FSA Administrator Steve Peterson. “We strongly encourage all eligible producers to visit their local FSA office today to find out how to get involved in their county’s election. There’s an increasing need for representation from underserved producers, which includes beginning, women and other minority farmers and ranchers.”
 
Nationwide, more than 7,700 dedicated farmers and ranchers serve on FSA county committees, which consist of three to 11 members and meet once a month, or as needed. Members serve three-year terms.
 
Producers can nominate themselves or others. Check your local USDA service center to see if your local administrative area is up for election this year.  Organizations, including those representing beginning, women and minority producers, may also nominate candidates to better serve their communities. To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, producers must participate or cooperate in an FSA program and reside in the area where the election is being held.
 
To be considered, a producer must sign an FSA-669A nomination form. The form and other information about FSA county committee elections are available at www.fsa.usda.gov/elections. All nomination forms for the 2018 election must be postmarked or received in the local FSA office by Aug. 1, 2018. Visit farmers.gov for more information.
 
Election ballots will be mailed to eligible voters beginning Nov. 5, 2018. Read more to learn about important election dates.
 

The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has released an investigation into the Upper Cumberland Human Resource Agency (UCHRA) based in Cookeville, Tennessee. The UCHRA is a multi-million-dollar operation that administers several programs and provides services to citizens.
Comptroller investigators noted two instances when the former executive director’s time sheets indicated he was working; however, social media posts indicated he was on trips out of state. The former executive director told investigators he used compensatory (comp) time for trips. Investigators believe he should have taken annual or sick leave when he was absent from work.

It’s important to note that on December 4, 2012, the UCHRA Board’s Personnel Committee approved a motion to allow the executive director to use comp time. Investigators reviewed the UCHRA Employee and Policy Handbook which establishes the “exempt” and “non-exempt” classification for all employees. Investigators believe, as an executive level employee, the former executive director was not entitled to earn comp time.

Investigators also found problems related to the former executive director’s travel claims. In three instances, the former executive director claimed he attended meetings in Nashville and Washington D.C., but documentation obtained by investigators did not support those claims. As a result, the former executive director was reimbursed $706.77 and charged $3,791.31 to his agency credit card for travel expenses when supporting agencies had no record of his attendance.

Additionally, investigators determined the former executive director entered into legally binding agreements on behalf of the UCHRA without prior board approval.

The UCHRA also paid travel expenses in advance for board members, board members’ families, employees and employees’ families. In some instances, the travel expenses were not related to UCHRA business. Although board members and employees were required to reimburse the agency for personal travel expenses, this practice should be eliminated.

On May 9, 2018, the former executive director was terminated by the UCHRA Board of Directors.

The Comptroller’s Office has reviewed its findings and recommendations with the district attorney general for the Thirteenth Judicial District.
“Our investigation found several weaknesses related to time reporting at UCHRA,” said Comptroller Justin P. Wilson. “At a minimum, the Board chairman should sign the executive director’s time sheets as evidence of review and approval, and time and leave policies should be followed.”

To view the investigation online, go to: http://www.comptroller.tn.gov/ia/

If you suspect fraud, waste or abuse of public money in Tennessee, call the Comptroller’s

Several groups and individuals are working to make sure the summer months can be a time of learning. Woodbury has a summer reading program / summer camp that is doing wonders for local children.  Last years’ participants came from a wide variety of backgrounds, and every one of them finished the summer at or above their reading level at the start of the summer, when most children slide backwards a few months on the scale in the summer.   This reading gap that results from the summer slide contributes to drop-outs later, as well as children not continuing their education past high school. In this day and time, children need all the help they can get to make it in the world.
Several local churches, civic organizations, and the Cannon County School system have partnered to help this project.  Project Transformation is a free summer day camp for children (K-6) to improve their reading and development. A few slots are available however you should sign up soon. You can register your children this Thursday, or next Tuesday or Thursday.  Camp Transformation runs from June 4th thru July 26th.

If you want to help read to students or volunteer in other ways, please contact the numbers below.  Currently the focus is making sure no spot gets left unused.  Please spread the word to your friends, family, and neighbors.  It is open to all who will be in grades K-6 this fall.  While it is being held in the same building that also houses the Woodbury Methodist Church, it is open to everyone (non-denominational), and the entire community is pulling together to make it happen.  Please don’t let any children fall behind.  Registration is today, next Tuesday and Thursday from 3 till 6pm at First United Methodist Church at 502 West High Street in Woodbury.

For more information, call 615-563-2135 days, 615-563-4900 evenings.