News 2011

Tennessee Department of Transportation contract crews will close the Hurricane Bridge on State Route 56 over the Caney Fork River in DeKalb County to all traffic between the hours of 8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. CST on Tuesday, November 8, 2011.  The closure is necessary to allow the contractor to pour a portion of the new concrete deck. The work is part of a $26.9 million rehabilitation project which is scheduled to be complete in October 2013.  
The work is weather dependent.  If the contractor is unable to perform the work on Tuesday evening, it will be rescheduled to take place on either the evening of Wednesday, November 9 or Thursday, November 10 during the same time period. 
 
Message boards will be in place to notify drivers of the closure.  While the bridge is closed, all traffic will be redirected to the currently posted truck detour that utilizes I-40 at Exit 254 to SR-53.  The bridge will be reopened to normal one-lane signal-controlled traffic by 6:00 a.m. the following morning.  The current weight postings of 10 tons for two-axle vehicles and 18 tons for vehicles with three or more axles will continue to remain in effect and will be strictly enforced. 
 
For travel and TDOT construction information visit the TDOT SmartWay web site at www.tn.gov/tdot/tdotsmartway or call 511 from any land-line or cellular phone.  You can also receive traffic alerts via TDOT’s multiple Twitter feeds, including statewide traffic tweets @TN511 or Chattanooga area alerts @Chattanooga511.  Smart phone users can use the TDOT SmartWay Mobile website at http://m.tdot.tn.gov/SmartWay/ to access TDOT’s SmartWay cameras and information on construction related lane closures and incidents on interstates and state routes.
 
As always, drivers are reminded to use all motorist information tools wisely and Know Before You Go! by checking travel conditions before leaving for their destination.  Drivers should never tweet, text or talk on a cell phone while behind the wheel.

The Cannon County Commissioners will begin holding monthly meetings starting tonight at the Cannon County Courthouse.  Commissioner Bob
Stoetzel will take over as the Chairman of the Commission. On the agenda
will include a discussion of the rules of the meetings, they will discuss
joining with other counties on a resolution to send to the legislature on
revising the “Tennessee Sunshine Law” and reappoint Thea Prince to the
Central Tennessee Planning Region Board.  The meeting starts at 6:00
 
A resolution to establish a set of parameters by which debt obligations
will be undertaken by the Town of Woodbury. highlights the agenda of the
Town of Woodbury Mayor and Board Of Aldermen also tonight at City Hall.
Other items on the agenda include Lori Christensen of the Woodbury Dance
Studio will address the board concerning the Providence Probation Office
and a review of the proposal from AT & T regarding rent payment on their
cell site located on the old water tank behind Old Manchester Road.

November is the public speaking month here in Cannon County. Currently the local or class room contests are going on in conjunction with the monthly
November 4-H club meetings.  The county contest will be held on Tuesday,
December 6th at West Side Elementary School with registration beginning at
6 and the contest beginning at 6:30 p.m. All 4-H Club members are  invited
to compete in the county public speaking contest. If any 4-H Member have
not already had their local or classroom contest, please remember that
there is no assigned topic. All 4-H members should refer to their 4-H
yearbook for all the rules, tips, and suggestions. Don’t forget that all
county contest participants will receive awards and the top two will
receive the honor of competing and the Sub-Regional Contest, which will
be held in Murfreesboro in January.

Cannon County Historical Society Meeting November 8th The Cannon County Historical Society will meet Tuesday November 8th at 6:30 p.m. at the
Adams Memorial Library in the basement meeting room.  Featured Speaker
will be Colonel Jim Stone.  Subject will be The Old Stone Family Tree.
Highlights will include the Early Stones in Jamestown 1620, early history
before Tennessee, Cannon County and Woodbury came into being: growing up
in Cannon County in the 40s: the old Stone Family Tree-1766 to present:
and overview of our military from the beginning.  6:30 Finger foods,
program will begin at 7:00
 

A full program in honor of Veterans Day is being planned for this coming weekend.  Veterans Day Festivities begin at 8:30 in the morning with a
special program at the Cannon County High School Friday morning November
11th.  The annual Veterans Day Parade will start at 1:00 on Saturday
November 12th with Local Churches recognizing their veteran members on
Sunday November 13th.  One of the many highlights of the Veterans Day
Program Friday November 11th will be the Special Display by the Shiloh
Baptist Church from 10:30-2:30.  It’s a must see display in room 406 at
the high school.  Also a must see walk through the entire school to see
the many decorations, art work, photography and the Wall of Honor (for the
men and women serving in the military today.  There will be a special
screening team from the Alvin C. York Veterans Medical Center in Room
408.  WBRY will carry the Veterans Day Program live beginning Friday
morning.  A complete schedule can be found in the Cannon Calendar section
of WBRY.com

Chantix, a popular drug used by people trying to quit smoking carries some serious side effects.  That’s according to a research group at Wake Forest
Baptist Medical Center that claims the drug is eight times more likely to
be linked to suicidal behavior or depression than other nicotine
replacement products.  The researchers looked at more than 32 hundred
reports of serious self injury or depression linked to Chantix and another
product Zyban, also approved for smoking cessation plus several other
nicotine replacement products.  They discovered more than 29-hundred of
the cases, about 90 percent of suicidal behavior reported to the FDA was
related to Chantix.  The full report is posted online in the Public
Library of Science journal PLos One. The Department of Health and Human
Services says 36 percent of smokers try to quit each year, but only three
percent are ultimately successful for six months or longer.

The Cannon County Libraries announced that during Halloween the Friends of the Library treated 1206 trick or treaters in Woodbury and 170 in
Auburntown.  The Library staff wishes to thank those who donated candy or
cash for candy or visited the Friends of the Library rummage sale to help
fund this fun activity.  The staff would also like to remind people that
both the Adams Memorial Library and Auburntown Branch Library will be
closed in observance of Veterans Day on November 11th,

BLOOD ASSURANCE Universal Promotion 2011
THE RULES
Beginning Wednesday, November 2 – Saturday, December 31, 2011, Blood Assurance will conduct a contest and give away one (1) Grand Prize of a trip for two (2) to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Value of the package is $2465.58. Trip includes round trip air from Chattanooga (other airport choices include Atlanta, Knoxville, Nashville or Huntsville), five (5) night accommodations at Hard Rock Hotel at Universal, four (4) day park pass, taxes, fees and insurance.
O negative blood donors will be automatically entered to win the prize when they come in to donate at a Blood Assurance location or bloodmobile between November 2 and December 31, 2011. The Blood Assurance locations are: 705 East 4th Street, Chattanooga, TN; 1920 North Pointe Blvd. in Hixson, TN; 1740 Gunbarrel Road in Chattanooga, TN; 2720 Lafayette Road in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA; 100 West Walnut Avenue in Dalton, GA; 2855 Keith Street in Cleveland, TN; 178 Shorter Ave in Rome, GA; inside the Erlanger Hospital Baroness Campus at 975 East Third Street in Chattanooga, TN; 155 W Broad Street in Cookeville; TN, 921B Joe Frank Harris Pkwy in Cartersville, GA and 1500 North Jackson Street, Suite 200, Tullahoma, TN. Bloodmobile locations vary; please see BloodAssurance.org/locations for a list of blood drives.
On Monday, January 2, 2012 Blood Assurance will draw a winner from the O negative donors that presented at all Blood Assurance locations and mobile units throughout the promotion and randomly draw a winner via a computer program. The odds of winning are based on the total number of O negative donors to Blood Assurance locations or bloodmobiles from November 2 to December 31, 2011.
No purchase necessary. Contestants must be at least 18 years of age. Employees and immediate family members of Blood Assurance and its affiliated companies are not eligible to win. Immediate family is defined as: father, mother, sister, brother, husband, wife, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, grandson, granddaughter, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew and any other person residing within the same household. Employees of other blood centers are not eligible to win.
Blood Assurance will report the total dollar amount of the prize to the IRS and will furnish the winners with a 1099 tax form, if the value of the prize is $600.00 or more. The winners are solely responsible for the payment of all taxes incurred as a result of the award of this prize. There will be no substitution for the prize and the prize in non-transferable. The trip must be taken before December 31, 2012, and scheduling depends on dates and availability. The value of the Universal prize is $2465.58.
The winners are required to sign a release and waiver of liability supplied by Blood Assurance. By entering the contest, the winners acknowledge that Blood Assurance has the right to publicize and broadcast the name, likeness and voice of contest winners, the fact they have won or lost and all matters incidental thereto.
Failure to observe all contest rules will result in forfeiture of the prize.
All disputes concerning the contest shall be resolved by Blood Assurance management whose decisions are final and binding.
Blood Assurance will not be responsible for incomplete entries, or the legibility of the entry form that may occur during the contest.
The name of the winner will be made available to the public after Monday, January 9, 2012 at the offices of Blood Assurance; or send a self-addressed stamped envelope to Blood Assurance, Attention: Marketing Department, 705 E. 4th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403.
 
Blood Assurance is the Exclusive Provider of Blood Products to Stones River Hospital in Woodbury

The Center for Rural Strategies has completed an analysis that shows rural America has a greater percentage of Social Security recipients than in
metro areas.  According to the Tennessee News Service the analysis
indicates that no greater impact would be felt in small town America than
right here in Tennessee should there be cuts.  56 of the states 95
counties are considered rural or small cities and have more than 20
percent of the population who receive Social Security benefits.  One of
the counties listed is Cannon County.  Data shows that 3,175 people in
Cannon County receive Social Security Benefits which is around 22.9
percent of the County population.  The so called congressional Super
Committee is expected to make its recommendations for spending cuts later
this month which might include changes to the Social Security program.
According to Randy Gustafson director of the state data center at UT
Knoxville the main reason there’s a higher percentage of Social Security
recipients in rural areas is because young people tend to gravitate toward
cities.  He also says  that recipients in the state are increasingly
relying on Social Security.  Cumberland County, Pickett County and Benton
County have the largest percentage coming in over 30 percent.  Of the 22
percent receiving Social Security Benefits here in Cannon County, 67
percent are receiving Social Security Retirement while 22 percent receive
disability.

Newly appointed Assistant District Attorney General Nathan S. Nichols was administered the oath of office by Cannon County General Sessions Judge Susan Melton on Thursday.  He was named to the post by District Attorney General William C. Whitesell, Jr. after passing the Tennessee Bar Exam last month.  
Nichols, a resident of Cannon County, received his Juris Doctorate from Nashville School of Law and was awarded his Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He has been employed as a criminal investigator with the district attorney’s office since July of this year and, prior to that, worked in Cannon County as a deputy circuit court clerk.  Nichols served during the administrations of both former Circuit Court Clerk Robert H. “Hoppy” Davenport and current Circuit Court Clerk Lynne D. Foster.  He also represented the First District as a member of the Cannon County Commission from 2006-2010.
 
Nathan is the son of Mike and Vicky Glassmeyer of the Sunny Slope Community and the grandson of the late James Youree Nichols of Readyville and Ron and Anna Ryan of Murfreesboro. 
 
Following his swearing-in, Nichols said “I would like to thank General Whitesell for the honor and privilege of serving the people of the State of Tennessee and the Sixteenth Judicial District as an Assistant District Attorney. ”
 
Nichols will prosecute crimes in Rutherford County Circuit Court