2016

Some grammar school basketball teams will be recognizing their 8th grade basketball players tonight as they play their last regular season game at home.  Westside is one of the schools celebrating 8th grade night as Westside School hosts Eastside tonight, Short Mountain hosts Woodbury Grammar and Woodland travels to Auburntown tonight.  In Monday night’s girls games it was Short Mountain escaping with a win over Eastside 34-33, Auburntown beating Westside 45-23 and Woodland got a win over Woodbury 47-18.  Boys results from Monday had Eastside beating Short Mountain 48-35, Woodland got by Woodbury Grammar School 46-43.  All games tonight start at 6:00.
 

Averaging six turnovers a quarter is never a good way to win a basketball game much less stay in one.  The Cannon County Lionettes didn’t take care of the basketball Tuesday night in their game in Baxter against District 8-AA leader the Upperman Lady Bees.  The Lady Bees were able to get out to a 17-2 advantage before the end of the first quarter simply by converting the Lionette turnovers to Lady Bee Points.  Autumn King was in foul trouble early in the game and Kelli Davis never became a factor.  The Lionettes suffered one of their worst losses in recent history falling to Upperman 62-26.  Maleah Scott was the leading Cannon point getter with 11 points.  Cannon County is 8-11 and their district record falls to 2-3
Play solid defense and the biggest upset of the Lions season was theirs Tuesday night as the Cannon County Lions played the highly ranked 17-2 Upperman Bees in a district 8-AA contest in Baxter.  Cannon got out to a double digit lead in the first quarter but it was short lived as Upperman stormed back.  The game was back and forth all the way to the final buzzer.  The Lions Austin Martin hit a potential game winning three pointer as he lofted it off balance with 3.4 seconds left.  However the pressure defense collapsed on the ensuing Bee play and Upperman’s Ben Guffey drilled a three point winning field goal as time expired giving the Bees the win in Baxter 62-60.  Four Cannon County players were in double figures led by the return of Charlie Parrish who had been out since Christmas with appendectomy issues.  Parrish scored 16,  Austin Martin had 15.  Austin Duggin and Briar Jakes each had 12.  With the tough loss, the Lions record slips to 6-13 with their District 8-AA record at 0-5.  Cannon’s next games will be at Robert A Harris Gym Friday night to meet the Livingston Wildcats basketball teams.

“In over 20 years of the State Of Tennessee Legislative Sessions, this year’s w ill be one of the most important and heaviest scheduled sessions” State Senator Mae Beavers announced during her appearance at the Cannon County Republican Party meeting Monday night.  Some of the big issues facing the State Senate and Representatives this legislative session include: Illegal Immigration, Refugee Resettlement, Common Core and Defense of Marriage.  Most of the open discussion dealt with the definition of marriage in the state of Tennessee.  
Representative Mark Pody spoke on the Defense of Marriage Act and a couple of bills he is watching that may go through the floor by next week.  One of those bills is that brand new cars shouldn’t have to go through emission testing for the first three years.  Another bill would place sales tax money collected on tires in the funds of TDOT.  The 109th General Assembly convened for the 2016 sessions Tuesday at noon.

Murfreesboro is hosting The American Legion Walk for Veterans on January 22nd.  Leading the walk will be American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett and Department of Tennessee James Patterson.  Purpose of the walk is to raise public awareness about the crucial issues facing America’s veterans and their families.  
The walk will begin at 5 p.m. on Friday January 22nd.  The .8 mile walk will start at the front of the Embassy Suites and loop through The Avenues shopping mall before returning to the hotel complex.  All of the proceeds will benefit the American Legion National Emergency Fund, which has provided more than $8 million to American Legion family members and posts that have been impacted by natural disasters across the country since 1969.  The registration fee for the walk is $10 and will include a T-shirt.
For more information about the The American Legion Walk for Veterans call 615-391-5088 or email adjutant@tnlegion.org.
 

The Upperman Lady Bees have lost only two games so far this season.  One of those losses they avenged last week in Gainesboro against Jackson County.  They’ve been to Disney World and beat up on teams from Florida and Pennsylvania and they have beaten some big ranked teams on the schedule and as a result they have vaulted themselves to one of the top 5 teams in the state according to the AP poll.  The Cannon County Lionettes know they are facing the most improved team in District 8-AA.  They will call upon Kelli Davis and Autumn King to be at their best to give them a shot at stealing a game on the road in Baxter.
The Cannon County Lions hoped to repeat January of 2015 when they went unbeaten the entire month.  However last week Warren County ruined those hopes.  Lions hope to rebound from that loss but have to take on an equally tough Upperman basketball team whose record is 15-2.  Tonight’s games in Baxter will tip off at 6:00.  WBRY AM-1540/Shine 107.9 will have the live broadcast beginning at 5:55.  Games will also be streamed live online at wbry.com and through the Tune In Radio app on your smart phones and tablets by bringing up WBRY
 

The Cannon County Historical Society will meet Tuesday night at 6:30 at the Cannon County Senior Center 609 West Lehman Street in the small dining area.  January has become the annual “Show and Tell Meeting”  The featured presenters will be the members of the Historical Society.  Everyone is welcome to attend.  Presenters are encouraged to bring anything of consideration to be a matter of interest including family heirlooms, documents, pictures, books, old hand tools, historic relics or anything interesting to share.  Please be prepared to share a tale.  
The night starts at 6:30 for snacks and refreshments.  Program will begin at 7p.m.  Come and bring someone with you and don’t forget your show and tell item.
 

Breaking the cycle of prostitution is the topic of conversation during the League of Women Voters meeting on Tuesday.  Former prosecutor and Nashville police officer Antoinette Welch, founder of the Hannah Project, a one day court ordered prostitution intervention program will speak at the Heritage Center 225 West College Street.  Refreshments begin at 6:00.  Program begins at 6:30 p.m.  The public is invited.   
The meeting will also include a screening of the short documentary “No Girl’s Dream”.  Featuring survivors of trafficking and experts from throughout  Tennessee, the film educates audiences on the prevalence of sex trafficking in Tennessee and the United States, the risk factors and red flags of trafficking victims and resources available for victims and suspected instance of trafficking.
The Hannah Project’s mission is to be the missing link between the judicial system and those stuck in the cycle of prostitution.  The program has been featured in four documentaries and one best selling book by Pulitzer Prize winner Nickolas Kristof about its work fighting sex trafficking in Middle Tennessee.  For more information about the program and the league visit lwvrutherford.org.  January is spotlighted as Human Trafficking Awareness Month
 

TDH and the State Fire Marshal’s Office encourage residents to have a technician service their heating system, water heater and any other gas, oil or coal-burning appliances to ensure they are not emitting dangerous levels of CO. Both also warn residents to never use a charcoal grill, camp stove or other gas-burning device inside a home, basement or garage and to never burn anything in a stove or fireplace that is not properly vented to the outdoors.
TDH and the State Fire Marshal encourage consumers to read reviews of currently available carbon monoxide detectors. The devices range in price from less than $30 to more than $300, and are available with three different sensor systems:  biometric, metal-oxide semiconductor or electrochemical. Consumers should understand CO detection devices have different service lives and must be replaced based upon manufacturer’s recommendations, often in the five to seven years range, and that all devices may give occasional false readings.
“CO detectors vary in price, quality and reliability so it’s important to do some research before selecting one,” said Craig Shepherd, MPH, a director in the TDH Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness office. “If you have an older one, check with the manufacturer to learn how long it will detect CO and replace it if it’s out of date. If you are buying a new one, consider one that records highest CO levels over time; this feature can help determine the severity of a CO problem in a home or business. Whichever detector you buy, read the instructional materials that come with it, test its batteries often and replace it when it is past its service life.”
Shepherd said the prevalence of CO may be more common than most people believe. He said routine exams performed as part of Tennessee’s Baby and Me smoking cessation program in 2015 revealed troublesome levels of CO in four different mothers. Inspections of their homes revealed problems with gas heating systems; quickly-performed repairs may have saved lives in each home.  

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN CANNON COUNTY SCHOOLS
 
January 11th—Elementary basketball games:  Short Mtn. at East Side, West Side at Auburn,                             Woodland at WGS
January 12th Westside & Auburn—8th grade registration for high school—Contact your school for times.
January 12th—CCHS basketball games with Upperman at Baxter, 6:00 p.m.
January 13th- Eastside—8th grade registration for high school—Contact your school for times.
January 14th -Short Mtn.—8th grade registration for high school—Contact your school for times.
January 14th—Elementary basketball games:  East Side at West Side, WGS at Short Mtn., Woodland at Auburn
 
January 15th—CCHS basketball games with Livingston at CCHS, 6:00 p.m.
 
January 18th—No School—Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
 
January 19th—CCHS basketball games with Dekalb Co. at Smithville, 6:00 p.m.
 
January 21st—Elementary basketball games:  Auburn at East Side, WGS at West Side, Short Mtn. at Woodland
 
January 21st—CCHS basketball games with Van Buren Co. at Spencer, 6:00 p.m.
 
 
 

It is no secret that, too often, change occurs slower than we’d like in Washington. The President’s healthcare law is a prime example. The House has passed over 60 pieces of legislation repealing, defunding, or delaying Obamacare in part or in full, only to see those bills quashed in the Senate. Harry Reid successfully kept nearly every politically tough issue from ever reaching the President’s desk – resulting in only two vetoes for the first six years of Obama’s Presidency.

Even after Republicans gained control of the Senate in January of last year, progress wasn’t immediate. The do-nothing Senate Democratic majority of years past became the do-nothing Senate Democratic minority; filibustering countless bipartisan, House-passed bills and preventing this President from answering for the broken promises of Obamacare – until now.

This week, for the first time, Congress successfully sent a bill directly to the President’s desk repealing key provision of Obamacare – including the law’s employer and individual mandates, as well as more than a dozen of the law’s most onerous taxes – while also ending taxpayer funding for the nation’s largest abortion provider: Planned Parenthood.

We accomplished this using the reconciliation tool:  a once-a-year budgetary maneuver that allows legislation to advance through the Senate without the threat of a filibuster.

Unsurprisingly, the President vetoed the bill less than 48 hours later, but this was an important moment for conservatives nonetheless. With this legislation, we put President Obama on defense – forcing him to explain to the American people his support for a scandal-ridden abortion provider and a fundamentally flawed health care law. What’s more, we set a precedent for what our conservative majorities can accomplish in 2017 with the help of a willing partner in the White House and we proved that President Obama is the one person standing between the dismantling of Obamacare and the restoration of a culture of life.

This battle is far from over. In the coming weeks, we will hold a vote in the House of Representatives to override President Obama’s veto. To be sure, it will be an uphill battle to garner the votes needed, but I know this much: it is worth the fight.