News 2012

With all of the registration over with, the Cannon County Schools will start the first day of school today Although official numbers aren’t in as of yet, according to numbers shared with the Cannon County Budget Committee, the total number of students is projected to be almost 2100 students.  The projected biggest class is in 10th grade with an estimated 173 students while the lowest number of students K-12 will be in Kindergarten with 141 students estimated.  The Tennessee Highway Patrol would like to remind motorists to take extra traffic safety precautions as students return to school.  State Troopers will target traffic violators specifically those who speed in school zones and pass stopped school buses.  Statewide in 2011 State Troopers issued 3,856 citations in school zones.  The Speed Limit in most school zones is 15 miles an hour and the fine for speeding in a school zone is up to $500.  It is also against the law to pass a school bus when it is stopped for loading or unloading passengers.  The driver can be fined no less than  $250 and up to $1000  

The winners of the $2,000 scholarships were: Dylan Miller and Tabitha Mullins from Cannon County; Meagan Ferrell, Lauren Rigsby and Whitney North from Rutherford County; Michelle Lam from Williamson County; and Emily Widelock, Shelby Smith, Melissa Smith and Christopher Davison from Wilson County.Scholarship winners must be an MTEMC member or child of a member, and they must use the monies to attend a Tennessee 2- or 4-year accredited college or trade school.
“The cooperative’s seven principles include a commitment to education, and we strive to do that by being involved in our school systems,” MTEMC Community Relations Coordinator Cathy Mitchell said. “These scholarships are another way we can add to that effort.”
Prospective students must fill out an application and complete a one-page essay stating how the scholarship funds would benefit their personal goals. All essays are judged by a group of volunteer school teachers from the MTEMC service area.
The scholarship applicants are judged on a point system that considers financial need, grade point average, involvement in community service, leadership roles and the personal essay. The applicants with the top point totals were awarded the scholarships.
The scholarships are funded through Operation Round Up monies, which are administered by the Customers Care Board.
Operation Round Up began in 2003 and since that time has distributed $5.7 million into the communities Middle Tennessee Electric serves.
 

The Deadline for charter membership in the Sons of the American Legion Chapter in Cannon County is coming up.  All male descendants, adopted sons and stepsons of the members of the American Legion along with any male descendants of veterans who died in service during World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, Lebanon, Grenada, Panama and Persian Gulf or who died subsequent to their honorable discharge is eligible for membership.  The Deadline to turn in the application to be a charter member is August 16th.  The dues are just $25.00 yearly.  If you are interested in becoming a charter member please contact Col. Jim Stone at 563-6111 or Bobby Ferrell at 615-478-8593  

Big Day planned today for Red Apple Days at CS Hawkins Park in Auburntown.  The Red Apple 5l Run gets started at 7:30 this morning followed by the Red Apple Parade at 12 noon.  Entertainment and Music start at 1:00 with the Clogging Clicks Cloggers.  The Cannon County Martial Arts Team will present a program at 1:30.  Grandpa Jones and Minnie Pearl will make an appearance at 2:30.  The Full Steam Ahead Gospel Band will perform at 3 followed by a contemporary flavored band the Misfits at 4.  Kayla Nettles will be on stage at 5.  Taking the stage at 6 is the 61 seconds band wit the Backdoor Band to finish out the evening at 8:00.  In addition to the many vendors and food booths at the festival there will be a cornhole and volleyball tournament and an all you can eat fish fry until 8 tonight

The Department of Revenue is reminding Tennesseans that the seventh annual Sales Tax Holiday is scheduled for Friday, August 3 through Sunday, August 5. During these three days Tennessee shoppers can save nearly 10 percent on tax-free clothing, school and art supplies and computer purchases.”The annual Sales Tax Holiday was designed with Tennessee families in mind, providing savings for families, especially as students start the new school year,” Gov. Bill Haslam said.
The holiday begins Friday, August 3 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Sunday, August 5 at 11:59 p.m. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less.
“As in years past, last year’s tax-free weekend was very successful, providing Tennessee taxpayers nearly $9.6 million in tax savings” said Revenue Commissioner Richard H. Roberts. “We are hopeful that all Tennessee shoppers will take advantage of the tax relief provided by the 2012 Sales Tax Holiday.”
Please visit the Sales Tax Holiday Web site at www.tntaxholiday.com to learn more about the items exempt from sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue also assists consumers via e-mail, Salestax.Holiday@TN.gov, and through its toll-free statewide telephone hot line, (800) 342-1003. Staff is available to answer questions Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. (Out-of-state and Nashville-area callers, please dial (615) 253-0600.)
Examples of exempt items include:

Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms whether athletic or non-athletic and scarves

School Supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers and scissors

Art Supplies: Clay and glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil paints; paintbrushes for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors

Computers: Central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software (Note: While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible.) iPads and other tablet computers are eligible for tax exemption, while smart phones and video game consoles are not.

The United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties’ Success By 6 initiative has launched a new phase of its Active Learning campaign that will target pre-kindergarten children. Active Learning is unique, comprehensive educational programming in the areas of math, reading, and science. The programming is designed to be used within pre-kindergarten facilities, at home with families or in any educational capacity.   The programming materials are accessible to the public through the local United Way’s website at www.uwrutherford.org and will feature new content on a quarterly basis.
 Success By 6 focuses on early childhood development for the community, based on the principles of collaboration and prevention. The goal of Success By 6 is to ensure that all children develop the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical capacities and skills they need to achieve well being, and be ready to learn when they start kindergarten.
 For questions or more information about Active Learning or Success By 6, please contact Jennifer Smith at 615-893-7303 or Jennifer.Smith@uwrutherford.org.

Thirteen attorneys have applied to fill the Circuit Court vacancy in the 16th Judicial District, which serves Rutherford and Cannon counties. The vacancy was created by the appointment of Circuit Court Judge Don R. Ash as Senior Judge.Among the candidates is Woodbury resident and Assistant District Attorney Trevor Lynch, who serves as the main prosecutor for cases heard in Cannon County’s General Sessions and Circuit Courts.
The Judicial Nominating Commission will hold a public meeting to interview the following candidates:
Keta J. Barnes
Municipal Court Judge
Smyrna, Tennessee
Kirk D. Catron
Partner
McCarter, Catron & East, PLLC.
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Tolbert Franklin Gilley III
Partner
Rucker, Rucker, and Gilley, P.C.
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Sonya W. Henderson
Private Practice
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Brad W. Hornsby
Senior Partner
Bullock, Fly, Hornsby & Evans
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Trevor H. Lynch
Assistant District Attorney
16th Judicial District
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Thomas Earl Parkerson
Private Practice
Bennett, Parkerson, & Bray
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Russell Nelson Perkins
Assistant Public Defender
16th Judicial District
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Mark A. Polk
Partner
White & Polk, P.C.
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
M. Keith Siskin
Magistrate for Rutherford County Juvenile Court
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Barry R. Tidwell
Partner
Price & Tidwell
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Alicia C. B. Widrig
Administrative Hearing Official
Tennessee Department of Human Services
Nashville, Tennessee
Howard W. Wilson
Private Practice
Wilson & Bradley
Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
The public hearing will be held on Friday, August 17, 2012 at 8:30 a.m. CDT at the Historic Rutherford County Courthouse, 2nd Floor Courtroom, One Public Square, Murfreesboro, TN, 37130. During the public hearing, attorneys and members of the public may express their approval or objections to the candidates.
Following the public hearing, the commission will interview each applicant before recommending three candidates to the governor. Members of the public are invited to attend both the public hearing and the interviews.

1188 Cannon County Voters turned up at the polls today.The School Board will be changing after the results of last night’s election.  The County Commission and Assessor of Property Will Not.  After the final votes were tallied up in the School Board race in district one, challenger Nathan Sanders received 62 percent of the Cannon County vote as 250 District 1 voters punched in his name to make him the new school board member, defeating incumbent Shannon Davenport who ended up with 148 votes on the evening.  Bruce Daniel ran unopposed in District 3 and collected 217 votes which was 99 percent of the total votes with the other 2 votes going to write ins.  Daniel will take the place of Cathy Hyatt who did not seek re-election.  Randy Gannon also ran unopposed and received 100 percent of the vote with 318 votes for School Board in District 4.  In other election races, Donald Preston remains Property Assessor defeating Keith Morris with 971 votes to Morris’s 564 votes.  John U Basinger finished third in the race with 192 votes.  Tony Neal keeps his seat on the County Commission in District 4 as 277 voters chose him over Rebekah Hindman Parton who finished with 156 votes.  Cannon County chose Diane Black for US House 6th Congressional District with 671 votes to Lou Ann Zelenik’s 434 votes.  Bob Corker easily won Cannon County’s vote for the United States Senate collecting 857 votes.  Mark Pody received 934 votes running unopposed in the TN House of Representatives 46th District.  On the democratic side Mark E. Clayton ended up with 151 votes to place first in Cannon County voting for United States Senate.  Back on the local election front Jerry Pelham Doyle Duke and James E. Hancock all ran unopposed in their respective races for Road Commissioner.  Overall 1789 voters turned out to vote in this election.

The next Blood Assurance blood drive will be held on today at Stones River Hospital from 11:00 a.m. to 4 p.m. Donors must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent) and weigh at least 110 pounds. All blood donors will receive a free t-shirt and snack.
Blood Assurance is the official blood provider to the Stones River Hospital in addition to 50 other hospitals and healthcare facilities in the region. Each day, a minimum of 400 donations are needed to meet the demands of patients in our area.
Stones River Hospital will be giving away a free 32 inch flat screen RCA TV in a drawing at the end of the blood drive on August 1st. Anyone who donates blood is eligible to win. You do not have to present to win.
 

To help fund future MTSU student projects, the first Engineering Technology Golf Classic will be held Friday, Aug. 17, at Champions Run Golf Course, 14262 Mt. Pleasant Rd., in Rockvale, Tenn.  
Before the 1 p.m. shotgun start, a light lunch will be served starting at noon.
 
Teams, individual players and hole sponsors are being sought by the MTSU Department of Engineering Technology, which is organizing the event. The registration and entry fee deadline is Wednesday, Aug. 1.
 
“The funds will establish a student project foundation account which will help fund student projects,” said Dr. Walter Boles, department chair and an avid golfer. “Student project efforts are always short of funds. We hope this effort will supplement funding solicited from other sources.”
 
Boles said a department committee will accept requests for funds from student project teams and decide how to distribute the funds.
 
“The first priority is for team projects,” Boles said. “We will consider senior projects as well if funding is available. Projects such as mini Baja, solar boat, construction- management competition and NASA robotics contest, among others, are eligible for proposals.”
 
Most of the student projects are national competitions against the best engineering and engineering-technology programs in the nation, Boles said.
 
“Potential employers like to see resumes of students who have participated in these projects,” he said. “They not only have the theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom, they have practical experience working in teams, which may involve leadership, open-ended design problems, schedule and budget constraints and solving a multitude of technical problems.”
 
Most of these projects typically are expensive, Boles added, making reference to costs for travel, hardware, software, supplies and more.
 
Today, because of a shortage in skilled labor, there’s a great demand for MTSU engineering technology graduates to meet industry’s need.
 
“Across the U.S. and globally, there’s an issue of not having enough skilled people at all levels in industrial and manufacturing jobs,” said Jimmy Davis, owner of The Davis Groupe in Murfreesboro. “Companies like Nissan and Bridgestone recognize that, and they’re partnering with technology centers, MTSU’s engineering technology program and others.”
 
There will be $2,000 platinum, $1,000 gold and $500 silver sponsorships. Each category has its own perks. Individual golfers’ entry fee is $125.
 
Boles added that anyone willing to donate door prizes, goody-bag items or provide lunch or hors d’oeuvres during the awards would be welcomed.
 
Davis, who serves as chair of the Engineering Technology Industrial Advisory Committee, is helping coordinate the event along with Tabitha Foote, marketing/event director at Champions Run Golf Course.
 
To mail the entry and payment, send c/o MTSU Engineering Technology Department, P.O. Box 19, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. The department’s main office is located in Room 143 of the Voorhies Engineering Technology Building on Faulkinberry Drive across from Alumni Memorial Gym and near Floyd Stadium. Or call 615-898-2776 to learn more.