News

Cannon County native Matthew Daniel was announced this morning as Economics/Personal Finance Teacher and Head Football Coach at Cannon County High School for the 2018-2019 School Year.  Director of Schools William F. Curtis said, “Mathew is an outstanding and award-winning teacher, a person of excellent character, and a very good high school football coach.”
 
He transferred from CCHS in 2008 and coached in Georgia at three different winning programs and was nominated for Teacher of the Year.  We are truly blessed that he desired to return to his home county. Daniel met with players and parents prior to the announcement.
 
Cannon County High School Principal Mike Jones recommended Daniel to Curtis on April 4th and he accepted his recommendation. 
 

Rutherford and Cannon Counties’ former top crime fighter, District Attorney General Bill Whitesell, recently made his choice in the race for Circuit Court Judge.
Today, the former long-time and universally respected District Attorney publically endorsed Republican candidate for Circuit Court Judge Nathan Nichols. Nichols will be on the May 1, 2018 Republican Primary ballot.
Nichols served as a prosecutor in Whitesell’s office during his administration and, in making his endorsement, Whitesell said, “I selected Nathan Nichols as an assistant district attorney because of his dedication to the protection of our community. He genuinely cares about crime victims and their families and has always treated them with compassion and respect.”
While working for Whitesell, Nichols served as a felony prosecutor in Circuit Court and was previously appointed Rutherford County’s chief child sexual and physical abuse prosecutor. Whitesell said Nichols’ service as the County’s child abuse prosecutor, a position many consider to be the most difficult in the District Attorney’s Office, is a “testament to his love for this community and dedication to its safety.”
Whitesell served as an assistant district attorney general for almost 15 years before being named Rutherford and Cannon Counties’ District Attorney in 1995 by Republican Governor Don Sundquist. He was elected, without opposition, to the position in 1996 and was unopposed for re-election in 1998 and 2006. Whitesell retired in 2014 and also served as past president of the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference and was also the agency’s Executive Director in 2015.
From our news partner, www.wgnsradio.com
 

Mostly routine business filled the April meeting of the Mayor and Board of Alderman for the Town of Woodbury. 
Bob DeWinter has been serving as interim Fire Chief for the past several months. He accepted the position as Fire Chief for the Town of Woodbury, the change occurred following a unanimous vote from the board.
Alderman got an update on the solid waste project from the Chairman of the Joint County-Town Committee Faye Northcutt-Knox.  The committee meet March 26th and heard from advisory representatives from the state.  Some members of the committee are reviewing other operations in similar size counties.  As of now, Knox reported that any further action would be contingent on the County Commission moving forward on the grants from the state.
The Town of Woodbury has considered working with Cannon County on a project to upgrade the Convenience Center. That action was tabled until the county decides what action it will take.
Chief of Police Lowell Womack give the board a report on work at the Police Department.  Some vehicles from the town’s impound lot have been sold through a government website. Members of the department continue to improve services to the public with additional training.  The department is working with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office new grants for local projects.
Public Works Director informed the board he is in the process of reviewing options for upgrading the town’s sewer system. His fact-finding mission will continue and may have another update by the May meeting.
Mayor and Board of Alderman finished the meeting in less than one hour. Next meeting is scheduled for May 8th.
 

Law enforcement personnel in Cannon County are lucky to be absent from a new statewide report. For the first time, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has released a comprehensive study detailing law enforcement-related deaths in the state.
The report, released in accordance to the requirements set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated § 38-10-102, uses established definitions and methodology and provides information on qualifying incidents submitted by the state’s law enforcement agencies. Data has been divided into three categories: Deadly Use-of-Force incidents, Arrest-Related Non-Forcible Deaths, and Deaths in Custody.
Among the report’s findings:
§  In 2017, 53 law enforcement agencies reported a total of 120 law enforcement-related deaths. Of those, 24 deaths met the reporting criteria, established in state law, of deadly use of force by a law enforcement officer.
§  The most predominate time frame for a deadly use-of-force incident in 2017 was between the hours of 6:00 PM and 11:59 PM.
§  Of the 24 reported deadly use-of-force incidents in 2017, Whites accounted 87.5% of decedents, compared to Black or African-American, at 12.5%. Data did not identify any other races in these reported incidents. Males accounted for 96.0% of those killed in these incidents.
§  Of the 120 law enforcement-related deaths reported in 2017, nine met the Arrest-Related Non-Forcible Death (ARNDF) reporting criteria. The 2017 data indicated six of these deaths were reported as Suicide.
§  In 2017, 87 deaths were reported in local jails or state prisons. 92.0% of these deaths were male and most were above the age of 55. Illness accounted for the leading cause of these deaths.
“I am very proud of the efforts of all participating law enforcement agencies in the state to provide the data necessary to produce this report,” said TBI Director Mark Gwyn. “Our combined efforts have resulted in a successful reporting program and the relationships necessary to produce a report of this nature.”
The full report can be found on the TBI’s website: www.tn.gov/tbi.
 

Final full month of the high school spring sports schedule finds the Cannon County Lionettes Softball opening the week in the first of three district games.  Today the Lionettes will host rival Dekalb County in a 4:30 start.  The Cannon County Lions boys baseball team travels to Gainesboro to meet Jackson County with the first pitch being thrown at 6:00.  Middle Grades Baseball team who last lost to Watertown in a run scoring affair 14-10 will meet Community School from Unionville on the Lions Field at the Cannon County Fairgrounds.  That game will start at 5:00. 
Cannon County Lionettes Middle Grades  Softball team will travel to Fayetteville for a second game against Riverside Christian Academy.  and the
High School Boys Soccer team takes their longest trip of the year to Jamestown for a 6:00 district matchup against York.

From today till Thursday, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol will partner with local law enforcement for Tennessee’s third statewide bus tour to crack down on distractive driving.  The initiative supports Tennessee’s mission to Drive to Zero a multi agency collaboration to decrease traffic fatalities statewide. 
The Tennessee Highway Patrol will provide multiple unmarked passenger vehicles to transport varrious local law enforcement partners.  Officers riding inside the THP vehicles will communicate to ground units after observing traffic violations to initiate the execution of enforcement action. 
“Distracted driving continues to threaten public safety” said Commissioner David W. Purkey of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security.  “This is a high priority issue our department takes very seriously.  We are pleased to have grown this initiative to include additional agencies who share our mission to decrease distracted driving crashes in Tennessee.”
Cannon County residents are reminded to watch the various speed limits on the highways and through Woodbury and to always wear your seat belt.