News

An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into allegations of sexual battery against a juvenile has resulted in the indictment and arrest of a now-former Rutherford County corrections officer.

At the request of 16th Judicial District Attorney General Jennings Jones, on July 16^th, agents began investigating allegations that Clifford Carr had sexual contact with a juvenile victim who was less than 13 years old. The investigation revealed that on July 12^th and 13^th, at the time he was still a corrections officer, Carr exposed himself to the victim, and displayed sexual activity to the victim. Carr is no longer employed by Rutherford County.

On July 31^st, the Cannon County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Clifford Ryan Carr with one count each of Aggravated Sexual Battery, Sexual Contact with a Minor by an Authority Figure, Solicitation of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure, and Indecent Exposure. Carr was arrested and booked into the Cannon County Jail on a $100,000 bond.

An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into allegations of sexual battery against a juvenile has resulted in the indictment and arrest of a Woodbury police officer.

At the request of 16th Judicial District Attorney General Jennings Jones, on July 18^th, agents began investigating allegations involving Tommie Lee House. The investigation revealed that, earlier this year, House solicited an exploitive image from the juvenile victim and, on a separate occasion, had sexual contact with the victim while on duty. The department decommissioned House when the allegations surfaced and placed him on administrative leave.

On July 31^st, the Cannon County Grand Jury returned indictments, charging House with one count each of Solicitation of Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Especially Aggravated Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Aggravated Sexual Battery, Sexual Battery by an Authority Figure, and Official Misconduct. Authorities arrested House and booked him into the Cannon County Jail on a $75,000 bond.

“It’s time.” After 35 years of representing clients from his office on the Murfreesboro Square, Terry Fann announced today that he is seeking the appointment by Governor Lee for Circuit Court Judge.

If appointed, he will fill the vacancy of retiring Circuit Court Judge J. Mark Rogers.

Over the past three and-a-half decades, Fann has handled thousands of cases, both civil and criminal, gaining invaluable experience which will allow him to quickly transition to the role of judge.

“I have enjoyed a challenging and rewarding career representing the citizens of Rutherford and Cannon Counties, and now, I am prepared to take the next step.”

Fann has tried numerous cases in the Circuit and Chancery Courts in a majority of Middle Tennessee counties, as well as in the Federal District Courts in Middle and East Tennessee. He has represented clients before the Tennessee Court of Appeals, Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board, Tennessee Supreme Court Workers’ Compensation Panel, and Tennessee Claims Commission.

“There is no substitute for experience and the wisdom that comes with it. By representing individuals in a variety of cases, I have learned the law must always be impartial. I have the demeanor, temperament, and overall experience to serve our citizens as their next Circuit Judge.”

Fann graduated from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, with a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, and worked for the Murfreesboro Production Credit Association for two years before deciding to attend law school. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.

Since 1988, he has practiced with his long-time law partner, Steve Waldron, at their office on the corner of Maple and West Main Streets.

Fann is well-respected by his colleagues and clients for his knowledge of the law, experience in the courtroom, high ethics, and common sense.

“My parents instilled in me a strong work ethic and taught me to do be respectful, dependable, responsible, and compassionate. These fundamental principles have served me well.

For 20 years, he has volunteered as legal counsel for the Child Advocacy Center, serving on the Board of Directors and holding the offices of President and Vice-President. Fann will seek election next year to complete the full term of retiring Judge Rogers. “Rutherford and Cannon Counties deserve a judge who will maintain the integrity and excellent reputation our local judges have enjoyed for decades. I am the person for the job.”

He and his wife, the former Vicki Raikes, graduated together from Smyrna High School in 1979, and recently celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary. They have two sons, Drew, who lives in Nashville with his wife, Ali, and their son, Hayes, and Chase, who also lives in Nashville with his wife, Madeline.

SOURCE: Media Release

Today, the Tennessee Department of Education released the 2022-23 Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) district-level results, following the release of the state-level results last month. These results include both Fall 2022 end-of-course (EOC) exams and Spring 2023 exams in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, science, and social studies, and data is presented by subject, grade and student group, and district.    

This year, district-level TCAP assessment data is available on a new interactive dashboard on the State Report Card, labeled “2023 District Assessment.” This new section will help students and families, educators, district and school leaders, and policymakers visualize TCAP assessment results and have a better understanding of 2023 TCAP performance. To learn more about how to view district-level data on the interactive dashboard, watch this short overview video here. 

“These results reflect the dedication and continuous efforts of Tennessee districts and educators to prepare students and make academic gains,” said Lizzette Reynolds, Commissioner of Education. “Using this data to make informed decisions and strategic investments in education, Tennessee is well prepared for the work that lies ahead, and we will continue to put kids first.” 

District-level TCAP results are essential to providing a snapshot into each of Tennessee’s school communities. During the 2022-23 school year, students took state TCAP assessments in general education subject areas to collect valuable data and inform strategic decision-making on how to best support the success of all students. Overall, the 2022-23 TCAP student participation rate increased from last year, with 92 districts achieving a 99% participation rate and 29 districts achieving 100% participation rates.   

Tennessee’s school districts are the best sources of information for characterization of local results because they know their communities best. This release is an opportunity for each school and district community to review their students’ progress after the local implementation of programs, initiatives, and targeted supports that accelerate student academic achievement. 

The 2022-23 TCAP district-level data highlights are below, including all subjects and grades tested:     

• In 68 districts, over 38.7% of students scored “met expectations” or “exceeded expectations.” 
• In 19 districts, over 50% of students scored “met expectations” or “exceeded expectations.” 
• 132 districts increased proficiency rates from the 2021-22 school year to the 2022-23 school year. 
• 107 districts increased proficiency rates from the 2019-20 school year to the 2022-23 school year. 

“Cannon County Schools will utilize this year’s TCAP results to drive our goals for the upcoming school year, said Bonnie Patterson, Director of Schools.  “We take ownership of our challenges and successes and will take immediate steps toward improvement toward academic success. One such step will include new diagnostic tools to track student performance throughout the year based on grade-level academic standards. We look forward to rising to the challenge as we set our goals to meet or exceed state averages.”  

To help Tennessee families and students understand their individual TCAP results, the department’s free online resource, the TCAP Family Portal, provides access to current-year TCAP scores, as well as past years’ test results and additional information for each student. The 2022-23 TCAP results for all tested students are now available in the TCAP Family Portal. 

TCAP has been the state’s testing program since 1988, and it includes assessments in math, English language arts, social studies, and science. Tennessee students participate in TCAP testing once a year in grades 3-8 and at the end of certain classes in high school. TCAP assessments are meant to measure how well students have gained the knowledge and skills expected for their subject and grade level, based on the Tennessee state academic standards. 

For more information on the state’s assessments, click here.  

To learn more about learning acceleration pathways and resources, click here. For additional at-home reading resources and sample test questions, visit Best for All Central. 

United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties received over $1.6M through the Families First Community Grant for the Launch Point program. The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) selected United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties’ Launch Point program as one of 40 programs to receive the Families First Community Grant, which began in spring 2023. This project is funded under a grant contract with the State of Tennessee.

According to TDHS, “The Families First Community Grant program was created as an additional method to invest TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) funds in ways to provide assistance to low-income families and help them move towards sustainable economic stability.”

Launch Point is a United Way initiative designed to improve the financial stability of families residing in Rutherford and Cannon Counties. The TDHS grant and partnership enables the local United Way to provide Launch Point Success Coaches to assist eligible, low-income families in achieving goals and navigating available resources for up to 18 months.

The Launch Point model uses Success Coaches embedded within local community partners. Success Coaches will focus on the family’s transportation, childcare, and housing barriers. These barriers can prevent families from attending work or seeking additional job training. Launch Point works hand in hand with community partners and our VITA program to offer these resources to help families thrive.

The funding also allows United Way to join forces with community partners to provide numerous financial services, including credit and money management, first-time home buyer counseling, financial coaching, budgeting, workshops, free tax preparation, job skills training, and college assistance programs.

Kristen Swann, Vice President of Collective Impact and Strategic Initiatives, stated, “One of United Way’s goals centers around providing support for the ALICE (Asset-Limited, Income-Constrained, Employed) population in our community. This data tells us that almost half of all residents of Rutherford and Cannon Counties are working but cannot meet the true cost of living here. Launch Point is a way to provide wrap-around services and support to families to help prevent crisis, help them stabilize, and help them imagine what thriving looks like for their family.”

Launch Point is a part of United Way’s 2030 Bold Goals Initiative, a 10-year plan to improve the lives of families in our local community through six vital areas, including financial stability. The TDHS funding and partnership will help United Way achieve its financial stability Bold Goals by allowing them to meet families where they are when they need it most.

To learn more about Launch Point, visit https://www.yourlocaluw.org/launchpoint.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has released its 2022 ‘Crime in Tennessee’ publication, which details the volume and nature of crime, as reported by the state’s law enforcement agencies.

The report compiles data submitted to TBI through the Tennessee Incident-Based Reporting System (TIBRS). Among the report’s findings:

• Reported incidents of Murder, Rape, and Kidnapping all decreased, by double-digit percentages, from 2021 to 2022.
• 119,215 Group A arrests were made in 2022, of which 7.98% were juveniles.
• The number of reported DUI arrests decreased from 19,656 in 2021 to 17,794 in 2022.
• The number of reported Identity Theft victims increased 25.55% from 2021 to 2022.

“The TIBRS program continues to serve as a model for the nation and remains successful because of the continued cooperation by Tennessee’s law enforcement community,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “TBI remains committed to this effort and will continue to provide the training and technical assistance necessary to collect the most accurate and comprehensive crime statistics for Tennessee and its citizens.”

The full report is now available for review and download on TBI’s website, at www.tn.gov/tbi.

Tennessee gas prices are trending slightly higher this week, increasing three cents, on average. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $3.10 which is five cents less expensive than one month ago and $1.20 less than one year ago.  

“Gas prices are trending higher after the Fourth of July holiday, likely due to higher demand alongside decreasing supply,” said Megan Cooper, spokeswoman for AAA – The Auto Club Group. “The good news is that oil prices still remain low. Unless that changes this week, the upward pressure on gas prices could possibly ease fairly soon.” 

Quick Facts

• 34% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $3.00 
• The lowest 10% of pump prices are $2.84 for regular unleaded 
• The highest 10% of pump prices are $3.46 for regular unleaded
• Tennessee is the 5th least expensive market in the nation

Litter on Tennessee’s 96,167 miles of public roads – 4,022 of which are classified as scenic – is more than an eyesore. It’s an enormous burden to the state with impacts on public health and safety, the environment, and the economy. According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s (TDOT) latest Visible Litter Study, littering in Tennessee has decreased by 12 percent since 2016. While these findings are encouraging, there are still more than 88 million pieces of litter on the state’s roadways at any given time.

TDOT’s Litter Grant Program, established in 1983 through funding by Tennessee’s Soft Drink and Malt Beverage industries, has played a crucial role in this downward trend as county governments implement litter prevention and education programming at the local level, directly reaching thousands of Tennesseans each year.

This year marks the 40^th anniversary of the Litter Grant Program, which has improved communities in all 95 Tennessee counties. Counties use the funding from the program for initiatives that include litter and tarp law enforcement, cleanup and recycling events, litter prevention education campaigns, and participation in multijurisdictional and statewide collaborations with TDOT’s Nobody Trashes Tennessee litter prevention campaign and Keep Tennessee Beautiful and its local affiliates.

Collectively, the Litter Grant’s statewide approach is responsible for removing an average of 11,243 tons of litter each year. In 2022 alone, nearly 29 percent of that statewide total was diverted from landfills and recycled. Additionally, 3,480 illegal dumpsites were cleaned up. All told, more than 435,529 tons of litter have been removed from our roadways since the program’s inception.

The positive impact of TDOT’s Litter Grant Program is amplified through local government partners that invest additional resources, and by individuals who contribute tens of thousands of volunteer hours. This makes the program extremely efficient, saving communities and the state critical funds when compared to the costs of contracted litter pickup. The 2022 statewide average cost of a Litter Grant pickup was just $14.40 per mile, while contracted litter pickup routinely costs TDOT more than $500 a mile.

Annually, $5.5 million is allocated through the Litter Grant Program, a total that has remained the same since 2017. The amount each county receives is based on a formula accounting for population and road miles. The current series of Litter Grant contracts include $3,823,915 for local litter pickup operations and $1,656,085 for litter prevention education. Litter Grant contracts require that 20-35 percent of each county’s total funding is budgeted for litter prevention education efforts. Counties are required to tackle litter prevention education in three of five designated categories: students, public, media, business, and government. The grants also fund Keep Tennessee Beautiful, which provides litter prevention education, community engagement, and the promotion of volunteers for beautification projects. 

Cannon County’s Litter Grant is $44,200.00.

Learn more about TDOT’s Litter Grant Program at https://www.tn.gov/tdot/environmental-home/environmental-highway-beautification-office/beautification-litter-grant.html. To get involved in litter prevention efforts in your community, visit NobodyTrashesTennessee.com. Find a cleanup event near you by visiting the NTT event calendar. Two additional ways to get involved include the no-cost Adopt-A-Highway program and reporting littering incidents through the Tennessee Litter Hotline (1-877-8LITTER). Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission is accepting applications for a Circuit Court Judge in the Sixteenth Judicial District, which covers Rutherford and Cannon Counties. This vacancy will be created by the upcoming retirement of Judge J. Mark Rogers on September 1, 2023.

Qualified applicants must be licensed attorneys who are at least 30 years of age, have been residents of the state for five years, and are residents of the 16th Judicial District. Interested applicants must complete the Trial Court Vacancy Commission Application, which is available at www.tncourts.gov, and submit it to the Administrative Office of the Courts by noon CDT on Wednesday, July 26, 2023. Applicants must submit by the deadline: (1) the original signed (unbound) application; and (2) a digital copy of the application, in order to have his/her name placed on the list of candidates for consideration for the judicial vacancy for which he/she is applying. Complete application instructions can be found at: http://www.tncourts.gov/administration/judicial-resources.

The Commission will hold a public hearing to consider applicants on Wednesday, August 30th in the Rutherford County Commission Meeting Room in the Historic Courthouse located at South Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN 37130, at 9:00 a.m. CDT.

For more information, visit https://www.tncourts.gov/administration/judicial-resources

The Tennessee Department of Education has announced over $2.6 million in Perkins Reserve Grant (PRG) grant funds have been awarded to 32 school districts (including Cannon County) for the 2023-24 school year to support Career and Technical Education (CTE) across the state.

The purpose of PRG awards is to foster local innovation through the identification and promotion of CTE and to support implementation of programs and career pathways aligned with regionally identified high-skill, high-wage, and/or in-demand occupations or industries. The PRG opportunity is designed especially to support districts in rural areas, maintain high CTE student participation rates, and/or report disparities in performance amongst students. 

This year’s PRG grant award recipients submitted secondary and/or regional career pathways grant applications with action steps to support the department’s strategic initiative, Innovative School Models, by ensuring alignment to at least one of the innovative practice areas: time, space, modes of learning, and partnerships. The regional career pathways applications also included a regionally focused secondary and postsecondary or workforce partnership.  

The Tennessee school districts awarded a 2023-24 Perkins Reserve Grant in our area include: 

School District	Amount	Award Category
Cannon County Schools	$200,000	Regional Career Pathway
DeKalb County Schools	$50,000	Secondary
Warren County Schools	$50,000	Secondary

The PRG process is a competitive grant opportunity made possible through the federal Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (Perkins V) legislation passed in 2018, which provides annual federal funding to support CTE programs nationwide. In 2020, the PRG opportunity was redesigned under the four-year Strengthening Career and Technical Education in Tennessee state plan. The state plan ensures alignment between PRG funding, CTE opportunities and career pathways, and the department’s strategic plan, Best for All. 

“Cannon County Schools is fortunate to be a recipient of the Perkins Reserve Grant for the 2023-2024 school year in the amount of $200,000.00,” said Mrs. Crystal Kennedy, Career and Technical Education Director of Cannon County Schools.  “Being a recipient of the Perkins Reserve Grant will provide needed resources allowing Cannon County students access to industry-specific equipment and training in high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand occupations and the opportunity to graduate with post-secondary credit and credentials. Early access to these programs and strong community and industry partners will allow students to enter the workforce better prepared and well trained to begin their chosen career.”

More information on the Perkins Reserve Grant can be found here.