News 2011

Judge Susan Melton presided over Cannon County General Sessions Court on Tuesday. Some of the results from the various cases which appeared on the docket included:Barry Lee Spurlock was bound over to the January, 2011 term of the Cannon County Grand Jury. He is charged with driving under the influence.
Charles T. Grizzle was bound over to the January, 2011 term of the Cannon County Grand Jury. He is charged with resisting arrest, possession of schedule II drugs for resale, possession of schedule VI drugs for resale and possession of drug paraphernalia. In another case, Grizzle pled guilty to violation of probation, his probation was revoked and he was ordered to serve his entire sentence.
Brittany Ross was bound over to the January, 2011 term of the Cannon County Grand Jury. She is charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, simple possession of drugs, 2 counts of possession of a legend drug, aggravated burglary, aggravated criminal trespass and theft over $500.00. In another case, Ross pled guilty to the charge of violation of probation. Her probation was revoked and she was ordered to serve her entire sentence.
Lonnie Ray Bain pled guilty to the charge of public intoxication. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and ordered to serve his entire sentence.
Michael A. Murphy pled guilty to violation of probation. His probation was extended and he was ordered to serve 30 days in jail.
Kimberly Thomas pled guilty to the charge of violation of probation. Her probation was extended and she was ordered to pay the court costs.
Justin Lee Todd pled guilty to the charge of violation of probation. His probation was extended and he was ordered to serve 33 days in jail.
Christopher Turley pled guilty to the charge of violation of probation. His probation was extended and he was ordered to serve 46 days in jail.
Amye Webb pled guilty to the charge of public intoxication. She was sentenced to 30 days in the county jail. That sentence was suspended upon an equal amount of time on probation, paying a $50.00 fine and paying the court costs.

Area fire departments were busy Monday fighting fires and facing un-friendly roads.A fire in the kitchen created a call for Midway Fire Department on K Parker Road during the morning. The home owner was able to contain the blaze.
At lunch time, 911 Dispatch sent firefighters to a house on Dickens Hill Road where it was reported that smoke was coming from the attic area of the structure. Bradyville and Mooretown Departments were able to keep the blaze to a small area in the attic and saved the house.

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation’s Customers Care has donated $7,500 of its Operation Round Up funds to the Cannon County Rescue Squad.“I want to express my appreciation to the members for this donation,” Cannon County Rescue Squad Chief Operating Officer Tim Bell said. “This donation will help with the purchase of equipment needed to respond to search and rescue missions.”
The Cannon County Rescue Squad, Inc., is a nonprofit organization which provides primary rescue services to the citizens of Cannon County.
Operation Round Up began in 2003 and has distributed more than $4 million into MTEMC’s communities.
The initiative “rounds up” members’ bills to the next highest dollar, with that extra change set aside for worthy causes. It is the responsibility of the Customers Care Board, which is composed of seven MTEMC members, to evaluate grant requests and send the money back to qualifying organizations.
Incoming contributions are tracked by county so that the Customers Care Board can do its best to ensure money contributed by members in a certain county goes to that county. Any balances will be carried over each month.
MTE Customers Care funds may not be used for political or expressly religious purposes, schools or school-related organizations.

Preliminary reports indicate three people were killed during the New Year’s holiday weekend, compared with 13 fatalities during last year’s holiday. If preliminary figures hold true, the latest New Year’s holiday period statistics resulted in the lowest number of traffic deaths since 1982-83, when eight people were killed on Tennessee roadways. In 1982-83, the official holiday period was also a 78-hour period. There were three fatal crashes during the 2010-2011 New Year’s holiday period. Two were single vehicle crashes, while one was a multiple vehicle wreck. One of two victims was not wearing safety restraints. Alcohol was not a factor in any of the three crashes, which represents a decline from four alcohol-related fatalities in 2009-10.
A preliminary holiday statistical report, including the locations of where the fatal crashes occurred over the 2010-2011 New Year’s holiday period, accompanies this release. Please note the official traffic fatality count may rise due to delays in reporting and classification of traffic fatalities.
The highest number of fatalities recorded during the New Year’s holiday period occurred during the 78-hour period in 1970-71, when 19 people were killed in Tennessee traffic crashes.

Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced the kickoff of Radon Action Month. This annual effort is designed to help educate Tennesseans about the dangers of radon exposure, encouraging actions to identify and to address radon problems in the home. Environment and Conservation has joined forces with the American Lung Association, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Tennessee Department of Health, and various local and county health departments with an outreach program to raise awareness about this health risk and the importance of testing.
“Testing is such a smart and vital step in protecting your home environment,” said Fyke. “I encourage all Tennesseans to take action in protecting the health of loved ones from the dangers of exposure to radon.”
Radon is a naturally occurring gas that can seep into homes through cracks and openings in their foundations. It cannot be seen, tasted or smelled, but in concentrated levels, radon can pose a threat to human health. The EPA estimates that approximately 70 percent of Tennessee’s population lives in high risk or moderate risk radon areas. According to the EPA, radon is the number one cause of lung cancer among non-smokers and is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.
While radon poses a serious threat to our community’s health, radon test kits are the first step toward a straightforward solution and are easy to use. In Tennessee, radon test kits can be purchased at most local hardware and home improvement stores, or through the American Lung Association.
The best time to test is during consistently cold weather, usually from October to March. This is the time of year when doors and windows are shut, so test results are more representative of in-home exposure. Radon problems can be fixed by qualified contractors for a cost comparable to that of many common household repairs, such as painting or installing a new water heater.
“Nationally, about 6 percent of homes surveyed had elevated levels of radon,” said Amy Little of the Tennessee Radon Program. “In contrast, 16 percent of Tennessee homes surveyed had elevated levels and in some counties, 33 to 75 percent of homes being tested have elevated levels of radon.”
Radon is measured in picocuries per liter of air (pCi/L), and the EPA and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend homes with radon levels at 4 pCi/L or higher should be fixed. EPA also recommends that Americans consider fixing their homes for radon levels between 2 pCi/L and 4 pCi/L.
For more information about the Tennessee Radon Program, please visit Environment and Conservation’s Web site at www.tn.gov/environment/ea/radon or contact the department’s Radon Program at 1-800-232-1139 or TDEC.Radon@tn.gov.

The U.S. Small Business Administration reminds eligible Private Non-Profit Organizations (PNPs) located in Tennessee that Feb. 4, 2011 is the deadline to submit loan applications. These Economic Injury Disaster Loans are available because of severe storms, flooding, straight-line winds and tornadoes that occurred from April 30, 2010 through May 18, 2010. PNPs located in following counties are eligible to apply: Cannon, DeKalb, Rutherford and Wilson in our area.
The SBA offers these loans to help meet working capital needs, such as ongoing operating expenses for eligible non-critical PNP organizations. Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the organization suffered any physical property damage. Loan amounts can be up to $2 million at 3 percent interest rate with terms not exceeding 30 years. The SBA sets loan amounts and terms based on each applicant’s financial condition.
Disaster loan information and application forms may be obtained by calling the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for people with speech or hearing disabilities) Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET or by sending an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Applications can also be downloaded from www.sba.gov. Completed applications should be mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Forth Worth, TX 76155.
Those affected by the disaster may apply for disaster loans from SBA’s secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/.

The Auburntown City Council met January 4, 2011 at 6:00 PM for their regular monthly meeting. The Mayor and all councilmen were present except Beth Hancock. The previous monthly meeting for December 2010 was approved as presented by the City Recorder
The financial report ending December 31, 2010 was passed out for review. Following a quick review with a few minor details explained, the report was approved as presented.
The Mayor announced that all the necessary perfunctory details had met approval for the DeKalb Utility District to make final payment to the Contractor who has finished running city water up Hurricane Creek Rd. The contract is expected to be closed out shortly.
Chris Blackburn, Fire Chief, gave a report on the state of the Volunteer Fire Dept. Among the principal items he discussed was the monthly fish fries conducted by the Fire Dept. He gave a financial rundown on the amount of funds generated during the calendar year 2010. The gross amount of funds generated over the 10 months they served was $23,582.47 with a net profit of $4,020.46. That equals to $402.05 profit for each month. There was two months (January and September) showing a loss, with two months (June and July) showing a net profit over $1,000.00. While the Fish Fries are not the moneymakers they once were, the Fire Dept. would be hard pressed to exist without them. Mr. Blackburn said that he wanted to express his appreciation to everyone for their patronage and the Fire Dept. would be serving fish again this year January thru October.
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 PM
Thanks to Winfred Gaither for this contribution.

Two mid-state residents are charged in separate cases with TennCare fraud involving prescription drugs.The Office of Inspector General has announced the arrest of Marti A. Compton, 50, of Alexandria and Chad W. Peveler, 33, of Gallatin. Their arrests were assisted by the Smith County Sheriff’s Office and the Smyrna Police Department.
Marti Compton is indicted on four counts of TennCare fraud for using TennCare to obtain the painkillers Morphine and Lortab while planning to sell a portion of the drugs.
Chad Peveler has been indicted by a Rutherford County Grand Jury and charged with two counts of TennCare fraud, two counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and two counts of identity theft. Allegedly, Peveler presented a forged prescription on two separate occasions for the painkiller Hydrocodone, using TennCare to pay for it.
The Office of Inspector General, 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.

Coach Micheal Burt will kick off another series of his “Small Towns, Big Dreams” tour next month in Woodbury. “Small Towns, Big Dreams” is a part of Coach Burt’s belief that people want to connect to their source and to take part in causes they deem worthy. The purpose of the Tour is to leave a significant contribution to all those impacted by disability.
The first stop for the “Small Towns, Big Dreams” Tour is at Burt’s home town on January 8th at the Cannon Country Arts Center. All proceeds from the event will be donated to The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
Headlined by musical entertainment and a keynote address around the newly released book, “This Ain’t No Practice Life”, the event is a night of inspiration, passion, and clarity about the future.
In addition to speaking engagements and his books, Coach Burt has added a weekly radio program to his avenues to reach the public. Change Your Life Radio isn’t just impacting those tuning into the show but more importantly the people who become active listeners and call in.
The vision of the show continues to be to create real, powerful change within its listeners. Change Your Life Radio can be heard live each Sunday at Noon on WBRY FM 96.7/ AM 1540.
Each week “Change Your Life Radio” and the shows hosts’, Coach Micheal Burt and The Stategist, Dr. Colby Jubenville, provide an opportunity to have a “face-to-face” lunch to discuss the various issues listeners face.

Recent independent reviews of the Tennessee State Veterans’ Homes (TSVH) show that the quality of patient care and home operations are exceeding the standard for nursing homes in the state. The veterans homes have passed the scrutiny of the US Department of Justice (DOJ), the US Department of Veterans Affairs and the Tennessee Department of Health. State Veterans’ homes are located in Murfreesboro, Humboldt and Knoxville. In June and November of this year, the US Department of Veterans Affairs also conducted an annual operational and clinical review of each of the three TSVH homes, finding no significant issues or concerns.