News 2011

Bullying Prevention Program: An Integral Part of SWPBSby Connie Foster, Director of Coordinated School Health
During the summer of 2010, Cannon County Schools began devising a plan to intensify the bullying prevention efforts of their School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS) Program. This work has finally come to fruition.
As part of the Bullying Prevention plan, Cannon County Schools have developed the following strategy statement regarding bullying behaviors: We recognize bullying as any word, look, sign or act that hurts a person’s body, feelings, or things. We also recognize bullying as a type of violence that occurs when someone uses his or her power unfairly and repeatedly to hurt someone else.
The overall goal of the Bullying Prevention program is to empower students to report bullying behaviors and to give school staff the tools to recognize, intervene, and issue consequences for bullying behaviors they witness or hear about from students. Students who bully will receive appropriate consequences to help them realize that bullying behavior is not appropriate and will not be tolerated at school.
Students are participating in Bullying Prevention lessons designed to help them:
• define bullying
• understand what behaviors are considered bullying
• understand the effect of bullying behaviors
• develop empathy for targeted students
• learn ways to respond to bullying behavior
• learn when and how to report bullying
• learn the consequences the school has established for engaging in bullying behavior
In their efforts to make schools safer and violence-free, Cannon County Schools pledge to intervene in incidents of bullying and to strictly enforce rules against such behaviors as they empower students to report bullying and to treat one another with respect.
Because the Bullying Prevention program takes a system-wide approach to responding to bullying in school, it not only involves the students and school personnel, it involves families. The link between families and positive behavioral interventions and supports is an important one. When families are meaningfully involved in educational activities, their children do better in school. Families play an important part in their child’s education and social development. In many Cannon County schools, family participation in the SWPBS process is growing. Some parents are members of district and school planning teams and participate in SWPBS activities in a variety of ways. However, due to work schedules and other commitments, many parents are unable to participate in such activities during the school day. Despite the constraints of time and hectic schedules, all parents can stay involved by encouraging their children to discuss the day to day happenings in school which will greatly contribute in making Cannon County Schools safer and more nurturing for all students.

Cannon County Man Charged With TennCare Drug FraudA Cannon County man is charged with TennCare fraud for selling prescription drugs paid for through the public healthcare insurance program.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has announced the arrest of Mark A. Pless, 20, of Woodbury, after a joint investigation with the Woodbury Police Department.
Pless is charged with one count of TennCare fraud, one count of sale of a controlled substance and one count of unlawfully maintaining a vehicle or dwelling for the purpose of keeping or selling controlled substances. He is accused of using TennCare to fill a prescription for Suboxone, an opiate used to treat addiction to heroin or morphine, and then selling a portion of the pills.
“Citizens of Tennessee can be certain that we are focused on ending prescription drug abuse in the TennCare program, as we are working cases every day,” Inspector General Deborah Y. Faulkner said. “With the help of local police like the alert officers in Woodbury, we’re sending a message that abusing TennCare will have serious repercussions.”
The TennCare fraud charge against Pless could result in a two year sentence, if convicted. District Attorney General William C. Whitesell, Jr. is prosecuting.
The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to over $2.5 million paid in restitution and recoupment to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of over $171 million for the TennCare program, according to latest figures. To date, over 1,300 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.
Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”

Robert E. (Bob) Jennings, 80-year-old prominent retired Woodbury business man, died on Monday, February 14, 2011 at his Woodbury home after a prolonged battle with pulmonary fibrosis. He was a son of the late Selmer M. and Lena Jennings. Others who preceded him in death were brothers Marvin, James and Carl Jennings.Survivors include his wife Jane McCrary Jennings, son, Douglas Jennings, sister, Thelma Jennings Owen, and brother, Austin Jennings (Carmine).
A graduate of Woodbury Central High School and Middle Tennessee State University, Mr. Jennings was a veteran having served three years in the U. S. Army.
He was a member of Woodbury First Baptist Church where he served many years as treasurer and trustee. A member of the Woodbury Lions Club for 56 years, Mr. Jennings was a partner in Jennings Motors, Woodbury automobile agency, until he retired. While serving on the Cannon County Board of Education he led the effort that resulted in the new Cannon County High School being built.
Funeral Services will be conducted by Rev. Hunter Hay and Rev. Bobby Zumbro at Woodbury First Baptist Church on Thursday, February 17 at 10:30 a.m. Interment will be in Riverside cemetery. Active pallbearers will be Hoyte Owen, Robert Owen, Dr. Michael Jennings, Dr. William (Bill) Jennings, Thong Chai Khidathong, William Patterson, Nathan Jennings and Eddie Jennings.
Honorary pallbearers will be members of his Sunday School Class.
Visitation with the family will be from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the parlors of Woodbury Funeral Home.
The family requests that memorials be made to Alive Hospice, Adams Memorial Library Building Fund, First Baptist Church Building Fund or a charity of your choice.

Judge Don Ash presided over Cannon County Circuit Court on Friday. Some of the results from the various cases which appeared on the docket included:Elisha Jenkins pled guilty to violation of probation. His judicial diversion was terminated and he was ordered to serve 2 years in prison as a range 1, 30 percent offender.
Jason Mac Brown pled guilty to the charge of criminal attempt to initiate the process to manufacture methamphetamine. He was sentenced to 3 years in prison and ordered to serve his entire sentence. In addition, he was ordered to pay a $2,000.00 fine and court costs.
Timmy Young’s charge of violation of probation was dismissed without costs.
Jared Ian Smith pled guilty to the charge of violation of probation. His probation was extended and he was ordered to serve 60 days in jail.
Angela Trisler pled guilty to the charge of violation of probation. Her probation was revoked and she was ordered to serve her entire sentence.
Chase Pelham pled guilty to the charge of simple possession of schedule IV. He was sentenced to 11 months, 29 days in the county jail. That sentence was suspended upon an equal amount of time on probation, paying a $750.00 fine and paying the court costs. He was also ordered to submit to drug screens for 90 days. In another case, Pelham pled guilty to the charge of violation of probation. His probation was extended and he was ordered to serve 40 days in jail.
Jerry Dean Barrett was reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.
Jerry Dee Barrett was reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.
Charles M. Gibbs was reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.
Steffen Matthew Brady was reset for a violation of probation hearing on March 11, 2011. Brady was held in contempt of court for an outburst and ordered to serve 20 days in jail. Judge Ash suspended that sentence, however, after Brady returned to court and apologized for his behavior.
Bruce A. Morton was reset for a revocation hearing on April 8, 2011.
Vickie Marsh was reset for plea day and a revocation hearing on April 8, 2011.
Joshua Dishman was reset for a revocation hearing on April 8, 2011.
Johnny Lyons, Jr. was reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.
Ashley Davidson was reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.
Ila Kay Smith was reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.
Jeff Thomas was reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.
Wendy Thomas was appointed an attorney and reset for a revocation on April 8, 2011.
Tony Barrett was appointed an attorney and reset for a petition for jail credits on April 8, 2011.
Thomas Keith McCullough was appointed an attorney and reset for plea day on April 8, 2011.

Friday marked arraignment day for those defendants indicted during the January, 2011 term of the Cannon County Grand Jury. Those persons arraigned during Friday’s session included:Jennie N. Rawls for sale of a controlled substance and maintaining a dwelling to keep, use or sell controlled substances.
Adam McClure for TennCare fraud,
Brandon M. Brown for 5 counts of TennCare fraud,
Cynthia Hix and Johnny Hix for sale of a controlled substance and maintaining a dwelling to keep, use or sell controlled substances,
Travis Lee Dobson for vehicular homicide, driving under the influence, simple possession of schedule VI, simple possession of schedule IV, simple possession of schedule III, simple possession of schedule II and possession of drug paraphernalia,
Angela Trisler for failure to appear,
William Scott Lewis for simple possession of schedule II drugs, possession of drug paraphernalia, simple possession of schedule VI drugs and driving while license revoked,
Cory Lee Crawford Young for initiation of a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine, maintaining a dwelling or vehicle to manufacture methamphetamine and criminal trespass,
Marcus Tenpenny for driving while license revoked,
Marcus Tenpenny, Robyn Wilmouth and Joshua Crook for aggravated burglary and theft,
Tony Lee McPeak for theft and driving while license revoked,
Barry Lee Spurlock for driving under the influence,
Shannon Dewayne Cobble for promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, simple possession of schedule III, convicted felon in possession of a handgun, possession of drug paraphernalia and driving while license revoked,
Kevin Troy Coe for domestic assault and two counts aggravated assault, and
Stephanie Mooneyham for two counts of theft,
The next step for these defendant will be plea day on April 8th. On that day, they will be asked to enter formal pleas of guilty or not guilty. If they plead not guilty, a trial date will be set for sometime in the coming months.
Three indicted defendants decided to use Friday’s court session to enter guilty pleas to their varous charges. Those indicted defendants pleading guilty included:
Charles Grizzle pled guilty to criminal attempt to possess a felonious amount of methamphetamine. He was sentenced to 3 years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections as a 30 percent offender and ordered to serve his entire sentence. He was also ordered to pay a $2,000.00 fine and court costs.
William Holt pled guilty to the charge of driving under the influence over .20. He was sentenced to 11 months, 29 days in the county jail. That sentence was partially suspended upon an equal amount of time on probation, serving 7 days in jail, paying a $350.00 fine and paying the court costs. His license was also revoked for 1 year. In another case, Holt pled under judicial diversion to the charge of felony evading arrest. He was placed on probation for 1 year and ordered to pay the court costs.
Brittany Ross pled guilty to the charges of aggravated burglary and simple possession of schedul IV drugs. She was sentenced to 3 years in prison as a Range 1, 30 percent offender for the aggravated burglary and 11 months, 29 days in the county jail for the simple possession charge. A suspended sentence hearing was set for April 8th.

Consideration of grants, requests for funding and finding money for repairs filled the agenda of this week’s meeting of the Woodbury Mayor and Board of Alderman.The board adopted a resolution to support the Safe Routes to Schools program. The program promotes the ability of children to walk or bike to school. The Tennessee Department of Transportation program provides funding to reach that goal. The school board will apply for a grant to improve sidewalks along Woodbury Grammar School. The grant is 100% federally funded and requires no local match.
Woodbury Water District will again attempt to obtain funding for expansion of lines on Lake Anne Road, Basham Ridge and Finnie Simmons Road. The board adopted a resolution of agreement to provide matching funds for a community development block grant in fiscal year 2011. Adjustments will be made to the application in an effort to improve the likelihood of approval. The request will be for $278,000 of which $39,100 will be provided locally. The expansion should add 20 homes to the water district.
Director of Public Works Alan Paschal reported to the board that Woodbury’s Main Street (Highway 70) is scheduled for re-paving later this year. The section is from the bridge near College to the top of Woodbury Hill. Paschal said that area is in need to repair to sections of the water line and the work should be done before the paving occurs. The board approved moving $44,000 in the city’s budget scheduled for work on Parker Hill pump station to pay for the work.

Cannon County Schools are closed Thursday, February 10th.All Motlow State Community College campuses are opening at 10:00am. Staff will report at 10:00am.
The Cannon Senior Center will close Senior programs that are provided by the senior center for Thursday Feb. 10th. All staff are to report two hours late for in-service, 10:00am.
Adams Memorial Library in Woodbury and Auburntown Library Branch in Auburntown will be closed on Thursday, February 10, 2011, due to hazardous weather conditions. No fines will be charged for items due on closed days and due dates will be extended. The story time at Adams Memorial Library scheduled for Thursday is cancelled and the Cannon County Library Board of Trustees meeting scheduled for Thursday is postponed and will be rescheduled for a later date.
The new schedule for the B-Team Tournament in Auburntown will be: Thursday’s games will be played on Saturday the 12th beginning at 4pm. Saturday’s games will be played on Monday the 14th beginning at 4 pm.
This report of the Icy Cold Crow is a service of Middle Tennessee Electric and Smith’s Automotive.

After 8 years as the morning host of WBRY, Doug Combs will be stepping away from on air duties at Cannon County’s Radio Station. According to Combs, “my original plan was to be part of the on-air staff for the first 3 or 4 years. February 1st will mark our 8th anniversary of operating the station.”Phil Randolph has joined the WBRY staff and will serve as the station’s news director and will host the morning show. Randolph is a native of Chattanooga. His broadcast history includes work in Murfreesboro, Chattanooga and Nashville.
“No changes to the programs will occure,” said Combs, Our goal is to continue to provide the best programming possible for the people of Cannon County.”

More people are employed in Cannon County. The jobless rate for December has been released, and it shows unemployment dropping a half-point in the county last month, down from 9.9 percent to 9.4 percent. Tennessee’s overall unemployment rate for December was 9.4 percent, unchanged from the November rate and mirroring the national unemployment rate.Among Cannon County’s neighbors, Wilson County registered the lowest jobless rate, at 7.7 percent. Rutherford also had a drop, to come in at 8.1 percent. Joblessness was up a half-point in DeKalb County, increasing from 9.2 percent to 9.7 percent. Jobless rates remained unchanged in Coffee County at 10 percent, and in Warren County, at 10.9 percent.
Across Tennessee, jobless figures decreased in 52 counties, increased in 35 counties and remained the same in eight counties.
Lincoln County registered the state’s lowest county unemployment rate at 6.2 percent. Scott County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 20.4 percent, followed by Pickett County at 15.7 percent. Knox County had the state’s lowest major metropolitan rate of 6.8 percent, Hamilton County was 7.7 percent, Davidson County was at 8.3 percent, and Shelby County was 9.4 percent.

The Auburntown City Council met Tuesday, February 1, 2011, at 6:00pm for their regular monthly meeting. The Mayor and all councilmen were present except Beth Hancock.The previous monthly meeting for January 2011 was approved as presented by the City Recorder.
The financial report ending January 31, 2011 with a total of $44,222.80 was presented and discussed. The report was approved as presented.
The Mayor reported six new Christmas lights, to match the present lights, have been ordered. Five of the lights are to be placed around C. S. Hawkins Park and the other one is to replace the one missing from a light pole in the City.
Tina Fletcher, Coordinator for Vendor spaces during Red Apple Day, has been busy sending out applications for this year’s celebration. She said the response had been very positive and she was hoping for a bigger and better response as time gets closer to the event.
The Mayor congratulated the Auburn Grammar School’s Athletic prowess in bringing home the Cannon County Boys and Girls basketball championship trophies. The council also wished to convey their congratulations, as well to the coaches and cheerleaders for a yearlong job well done.