News

An investigation of a fatal fire by Special Agent Fire Investigators with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment and arrest of a Wilson County man.

In November 2019, fire investigators responded to a house fire in the 200 block of Commerce Street in Watertown. Resident Ben Edward Thompson, 72, was wheelchair-bound, and died in the fire. During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information that identified his nephew, Christophe Tillison, who also lived at that address, as the individual who caused the fire.

On September 15^th, the Wilson County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Christophe Sean Tillison (DOB 12/21/1979) with one count of Reckless Homicide. He was arrested on Thursday and booked into the Wilson County Jail. He was released after posting a $15,000 bond.

Tennessee voters who request an absentee by-mail ballot for the Nov. 3 election can track the status of their ballot on the Secretary of State’s website using the Absentee By-Mail Ballot Status Tracker tool. Through this tool, Tennessee voters can easily and securely track their absentee by-mail ballot’s status starting when the county election commission mails the ballot to the voter and ending when the completed ballot has been received by the county election commission. Visit the Absentee By-Mail Ballot Status Tracker at tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup. “We saw a record number of Tennesseans voting absentee by-mail in the August election and we expect to break that record in November,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “Many of these voters are voting absentee by-mail for the first time. Our online tracking tool takes some of the uncertainty out of the process so voters can be confident about their ballot.” Voters must have a legal reason to vote absentee by-mail.  A list of legal reasons to vote by-mail may be found at sos.tn.gov/products/elections/absentee-voting. To receive an absentee by-mail ballot, you must submit a written request to your local election commission by mail, fax or email. Voters can find the contact information for their county election commission on our website, tnsos.org/elections/election_commissions.php.  Absentee by-mail ballot requests must be received by your election commission no later than seven (7) days before the election. The deadline to request a ballot for the Nov. 3 election is Tuesday, Oct. 27.  Completed absentee by-mail ballots must be returned by-mail to your local county election commission. Voters are encouraged to request and return their absentee by-mail ballots early in order to ensure deadlines are met.  Ballots must be received before the polls close on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. A first-class stamp is required to return a ballot through the U.S. Postal Service. For the latest information on the Nov. 3 election, follow the Secretary of State’s social media channels Twitter: @SecTreHargett, Facebook: Tennessee Secretary of State and Instagram: @tnsecofstate. For more information about voting absentee by-mail or tracking your ballot, go to GoVoteTN.com, contact your local county election commission or call the Division of Elections toll-free at 1-877-850-4959.

The Tennessee Department of Education has released the newly designed 2019-20 State Report Card, an annual online report that provides access to important data and information about each school and district in Tennessee. 

The purpose of the State Report Card is to provide stakeholders with information about how schools and districts are performing and meeting the needs of students. To view the state report card, visit the State Report Card website. 

Due to COVID-19 school closures and the United States Department of Education and the Tennessee General Assembly waiving the federal and state assessment and accountability requirements for the 2019-20 school year, school letter grades and rankings, assessment data, and additional partially collected data are not included in the 2019-20 Report Card. 

“While we know the coronavirus has limited the data available to highlight on this year’s report, we hope this data will be useful for Tennessee families, educators, community members, and public officials with information about schools and districts as they work to provide a high-quality education for all our students,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn.“The department is excited to unveil exciting new improvements and features included in this year’s State Report Card, which will enhance the user experience and make this tool more accessible for years to come.”  

As a result of limited data availability due to COVID-19, there are no comparison features on the State Report Card this year. Later this fall, the State Report card will be updated with previous years’ academic data. Currently, users can access this data on the Data Downloads webpage under the heading “Report Card Data.”  

Metrics included in this year’s State Report Card are: 

• Graduation Rate: Whether students are graduating from high school on time. The data for the 2019 cohort is available on the 2020 Report Card. 
• Ready Graduate: Whether students are prepared for postsecondary education or career paths after they leave high school. This information is lagged, so data from the 2019 cohort is available on the 2020 Report Card. 

2019-20 enrollment information and basic school information are also included in the 2019-20 State Report Card. For additional information on what data and information is available in this year’s State Report Card, click here.  

“We understand that accessing high-quality information about our schools and districts is important for all our communities and stakeholders. The new Report Card design is a result of stakeholder feedback requesting a more intuitive user experience,” said Michael Hardy, Chief Strategy Officer, Tennessee Department of Education. “We recognize the importance for ensuring the Report Card information from this year and previous years is accessible, especially since data from last school year is limited.” 

The 2019-20 Report Card is improved with several new features, including: 

• New, easy-to-navigate Home page and About pages, with enhanced navigation and contextual elements to reduce the use of tooltips 
• Additional features including a map-finder and enhanced filters and facets  
• Increased descriptions and visuals to understand metrics on the Report Card 
• Redesigned Overall Performance and Indicator pages 

The information found in the State Report card helps all stakeholders make data-driven decisions to set students on a path to success, as outlined inBest for All. 

Cannon County Schools Report Card 2020 can be found at https://reportcard.tnk12.gov/districts/80.

For additional data on schools and districts, visit the Data Downloads page. 

Gov. Bill Lee and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Commissioner David Salyers today announced a State Revolving Fund loan of $800,000 for the town of Woodbury to improve water infrastructure.

The loan is one of two approved by the Tennessee Local Development Authority, with funds for Woodbury and Cleveland totaling $10.8 million. 

“These loans from the State Revolving Fund Loan Program address important infrastructure needs and demonstrate our commitment to assisting communities throughout our state,” Lee said. “We are pleased to help to improve water infrastructure in the town of Woodbury.”

“These loans should have a big impact,” Salyers said. “Communities across Tennessee benefit from this program, and we are glad to play a role in the program’s success.”  

Woodbury’s loan comes from the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program. It will address improvements to the water distribution system. The loan has a 20-year term at 0.34% interest. Woodbury received $160,000 in principal forgiveness with the remainder of the loan amount to be paid back as principal.

Through the State Revolving Fund Loan Program, communities, utility districts and water and wastewater authorities can obtain loans with lower interest rates than through private financing. These low-interest-rate loans can vary from 0% to below market rate, based on each community’s economic health.

This fiscal year, TDEC has awarded $950,000 in drinking water loans and $16.2 million in clean water loans to meet the state’s infrastructure needs. During fiscal year 2020, TDEC awarded $37,374,000 in drinking water loans and $150,529,200 in clean water loans for a total of $187,903,200.

Tennessee’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $2 billion in low-interest loans since its inception in 1987. The state’s Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loan Program has awarded more than $300 million in low-interest loans since its inception in 1996.

September 21 – 26, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) promotes National Child Passenger Safety Week to help parents ensure their children ride as safely as possible. Every day in America, millions of parents travel with children in their vehicles. While some children are buckled in properly in the correct car seats for their ages and sizes – most are not, if they are buckled up at all. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), approximately 46 percent of car seats are misused.

“Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death for children in America,” said THSO Director Buddy Lewis. “Make certain your car seats are installed correctly and your children are in the right seats. Get your car seats checked with a certified child passenger safety technician, so you can be sure your children are safe while traveling.”

The NHTSA recommends keeping children rear-facing as long as possible, up to the top height or weight allowed by their particular seats. Once a child outgrows the rear-facing-only “infant” car seat, he/she should travel in a rear-facing “convertible,” or all-in-one car seat. Once your child outgrows the rear-facing size limits, the child is ready to travel in a forward-facing car seat with a harness. After outgrowing the forward-facing car seat with a harness, children should be placed in booster seats until they’re the right size to use seat belts safely. Children under 13 years old should always sit in the back seat.

For more information about child passenger safety, please visit www.tntrafficsafety.org/cps.

Commander James E. (Butch) Stone,  The Hilton Stone American Legion Post 279,  Sons Squadron 279 in Woodbury, received the 2020 Citation of Achievement from   James W. Oxford,  National Commander, The American Legion;   and Clint D. Bolt,  National Commander, Sons of The American Legion.   For recognition of outstanding endeavors in the accomplishments of a current membership strength as of the American Legion birthday, surpassing the enrollment recorded by the squadron the preceding year.

Commander Stone also received a plaque for 100% membership for 20119-2020, and a honor streamer for 100% membership. The streamer is in Squadron 279 colors and is to be used for their flag pole.

Butch and his wife Greta are the owners and operators of T Cakes Bakery and Café.  Stone commented that, If you are a son or grandson of a Veteran and you would like to join a great organization that honors our Veterans, our youth and our community to give him a call.   

Thanks to Colonel Jim Stone for this contribution.

Tennessee Department of Education and Cannon County Schools Releases 2019-20 Graduation Rate Data – Cannon County High School Rate Rises

This week, the Tennessee Department of Education released the graduation rate for the 2019-20 school year. Of the 2019-20 cohort, over a third of districts improved their graduation rates and 89.6 percent graduated on time with a regular diploma, a slight dip (0.1 percent) compared to last year. Cannon County High School improved their graduation rate to 94.0%.

Access the 2019-20 graduation rate data here: https://www.tn.gov/education/data/data-downloads.html 

Each year, there is a critical time period from around March through August when schools help students complete credits and meet graduation requirements. This year in those critical months, there were significant COVID-19 disruptions that may have impacted how students received essential supports.  

“Tennessee has set high expectations for students and educators and we recognize their hard work and achievements despite a global pandemic, but any dip in graduation rate is highly concerning,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. “As we look for ways to improve, we will continue to partner with districts and use data to help inform strategies for setting students on a path to success.” 

For the 2019-20 school year, the most notable takeaways in the state are: 

• 69 districts improved their graduation rates from 2019 to 2020.   
• 58 districts graduated 95 percent or more of their cohorts. 
• 37 schools had graduation rates of 100 percent. 

• Six districts improved by five percentage points or more—Dyersburg City Schools, Fayetteville City Schools, Hardeman County Schools, Obion County Schools, Weakley County Schools, and West Carroll Special School District. 
• 529 fewer students graduated in the 2020 cohort compared to last year, for a total of 64,514.  

The most notable takeaways from the student groups statewide for the 2019-20 school year are: 

• 36 districts improved the Students with Disabilities student group by five percentage points or more. Overall, the Students with Disabilities student group improved from 72.5 percent for the 2018-19 school year to 73.1 percent for 2019-20. 
• While 23 districts improved the Economically Disadvantaged student group by five percentage points or more, the overall student group slightly declined from 82.9 percent to 82.7 percent for 2019-20. 

• 14 districts improved the Black/Hispanic/Native American student group by five percentage points or more. Moreover, this student group slightly declined from 83.7 percent in 2018-19 to 82.9 percent for the 2019-20 graduation cohort. 
• Five districts improved the English Learner student group by five percentage points or more. Overall, the English learner student group declined from 71.9 percent for 2018-19 to 68.6 percent for the 2019-20 cohort. 

Cannon County was among 69 Districts to improve their Graduation Rate from 2019 to 2020. Cannon County High School’s Graduation Rate was 94.0% for 2019-2020, which was a 3.0% increase from the rate in 2019-2020 of 91.0%.  Female Graduation Rate decreased 5.0% from 98.5% in 2018 – 2019 to 93.5%, however, the Male Graduation Rate increased 9.6% from 84.8% in 2018-2019 to 94.4% in 2019-2020.  Economically Disadvantaged increased 4% from 84.0% to 88.9%; and Students with Disabilities increased tremendously with a 68.0% Graduation Rate in 2018-2019 to an amazing 94.7% in 2019-2020 or 26% increase.  The Tennessee State Average was 89.6%.

Director of Cannon County Schools, William F. Curtis, commented, “I echo Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s comments that ‘we have set high expectations for students and educators and we recognize their hard work and achievements despite a global pandemic’, but we believe we can do even better!  Cannon County High School is to be commended for their efforts, and I look forward to 2021’s Graduation Rate being even higher!  It is all of us, the Cannon County Community, Parents, Teachers, and Staff working together to achieve our VISION – ‘Engaged in Excellence EVERY Day in EVERY Way!’ through our MISSION – ‘To Create a Unified Environment That Will Provide Opportunities for All Students to Reach Their Full Potential!’  Cannon County Schools are continuing to advance, and we must continue every effort for our students to graduate from Cannon County High School ‘College and Career’ ready!”  

The Tennessee Department of Health and Tennessee’s Unified Command Group today announced three new initiatives to enhance the well-being and quality of life of Tennesseans in long-term health care facilities. These efforts include expanding options for visitation, relaxing restrictions for resident interactions within LTCFs and the formation of the Tennessee COVID-19 Long-Term Care Task Force.

“The health and safety of vulnerable Tennesseans, especially our long-term care residents, remains our top priority, and our comprehensive and persistent efforts to protect this population from COVID-19 have saved lives,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP. “It’s time to reunite residents and their families in a safe and disciplined manner so we can better balance the physical and emotional needs of older Tennesseans.”

Expanded Visitation Options

Beginning October 1, 2020 facilities that have gone at least 14 days with no new COVID-19 cases among residents or staff members will immediately be allowed to offer outdoor or limited indoor visitation with residents. These visits will require maintaining strict precautions for the safety of both residents and staff members, including wearing masks, physical distancing, environmental disinfection and in some instances, testing of visitors.

If a facility reports no new cases for 28 days, it will be allowed to offer an essential caregiver program. Essential caregivers are designated individuals who may visit frequently to assist LTCF residents with activities of daily living, such as feeding, bathing and dressing.

Protecting the physical health of Tennessee’s long-term care residents is the primary concern. If a facility has new COVID-19 cases among residents or staff, these expanded visitation allowances will be suspended until the facility is once again infection-free for at least 14 days.

Enhanced Resident Interactions

Tennessee is also relaxing restrictions for resident interactions within long-term care facilities effective October 1, 2020. These include resumption of communal dining, therapeutic and social activities and visits by non-health care personnel such as barbers and beauticians. As with expanded visitation, these activities will only be allowed for residents who do not have COVID-19 in facilities that have had no new cases in at least 14 days. Facilities must maintain strict infection control practices, including use of masks, physical distancing and capacity limits.

Tennessee COVID-19 Long-Term Care Task Force

The new Tennessee COVID-19 Long-Term Care Task Force is charged with developing and implementing new policy solutions to address immediate and future issues impacting long-term care facilities and residents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The membership is broad and includes representatives from the Tennessee Departments of Health, Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, TennCare, the Commission on Aging and Disability and the Tennessee General Assembly. The task force also includes representatives from advocacy organizations, health care providers and facility administrators, community behavioral health and LTCF residents and their family members. The first objective of this task force is to monitor the safety and effectiveness of the expanded visitation and activity guidelines and refine them, as necessary.

These new initiatives are the result of many weeks of engagement with stakeholders and partners including nursing home providers, the AARP, LeadingAge, Tennessee Health Care Association and Tennessee Hospital Association, as well as family members of long-term care residents and community advocates.

Additional information about these initiatives is available online at www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/healthcare-providers.html under Long-Term Care Facility Guidance as “Increased Visitation” and “Activities and Dining”. LTCF administrators and staff members will be working during the next two weeks to prepare to implement the new guidelines. Tennesseans with loved ones in a long-term care facility are encouraged to contact the facility to learn more about their specific policies and procedures for visitation to help make their plans for visiting.

Cannon County Director of Schools issued the following request for residents to consider serving as a mentor for a member of the Class of 2021.

tnAchieves needs volunteers to serve as mentors for the Class of 2021! tnAchieves mentors serve their community virtually, working with local students to support them during the college-going process.

TN Promise provides any graduating high school senior the opportunity to attend a community or technical college tuition and mandatory fee-free. Many students will be the first in their family to attend college and may also need non-financial support. tnAchieves supports each applicant by pairing them with a volunteer mentor. The program needs more than 9,000 mentors statewide!

tnAchieves mentors spend about one hour per month helping students reach their goals. In 2021, mentors will serve their students via tnAchieves CONNECT. tnAchieves CONNECT is a new virtual mentoring tool that allows mentors to remain connected to their students in a safe, online environment. It will also allow mentors to serve from their home and on their own schedule!

Mentors remind students of important deadlines, serve as a trusted college resource and, most importantly, encourage students to reach their full potential. While the time commitment is small, the impact can be life-changing. To learn more and apply you can visit http:// www.tnachieves.org/mentors/apply or contact Tyler Ford at tyler@tnachieves.org or (309) 945-3446.

The State of Tennessee has deployed urban search and rescue resources to Louisiana today to support emergency officials readying for life-safety impacts from Hurricane Sally.

Governor Lee, reflecting on Tennessee’s reputation as the Volunteer State, said, “We are proud to serve our neighboring states and provide support during this challenging time.”

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) is coordinating Tennessee’s Hurricane Sally deployments through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC). The task force will deploy for 14 days. TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said he’s proud of the dedicated professionals who are answering the call to help people in Louisiana in a time of need. He also noted similar help given to Tennessee during times when this state has experienced floods and other natural disasters. 

Storm surge and heavy rainfall are expected to pose a significant threat in Louisiana.