News 2012

A congressional field hearing to discuss how government regulations affect job creation in Tennessee will be held at MTSU today“Tennessee Job Creation: Do Federal Government Regulations Help or Hinder Tennessee’s Economic Development?” is set for 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Room S102, the State Farm Room, inside MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building.
The hearing, which is open to the public, is being conducted by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. It will feature testimony from state leaders and Tennessee job creators on the effects of state and federal policies and regulations.
The public hearing also will be broadcast live on MTSU’s Educational Resource Channel, which airs on Comcast’s Channel 9 in Rutherford County. ERCMT also is available on the DTC-TV system for Cannon, DeKalb and Smith counties and in parts of Wilson and Rutherford counties.
Off-campus visitors planning to attend the public hearing may park free in the University’s “Horseshoe Lot,” located due north of the Business and Aerospace Building at the corner of Lightning Way and Founders’ Lane.
An attendant from MTSU Parking and Transportation services will be at the lot to guide visitors. A printable campus map also is available at www.mtsu.edu/parking/Map_2011-2012.pdf.
House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said the hearing aims to hear “directly from those on the ground” about the current regulatory environment.
Two members of Tennessee’s Congressional delegation, U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Jasper, and U.S. Rep. Diane Black, R-Gallatin, are among the federal officials set to participate.
Witnesses scheduled to testify during the field hearing include:

Gov. Bill Haslam;

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker;

Tennessee Commissioner of Economic and Community Development Bill Hagerty;

Conner Industries CEO Grady Payne;

First Community Bank of Bedford County CEO Scott Cocanougher;

Vireo Systems owner Mark Faulkner on behalf of the National Federal of Independent Business; and

Coca-Cola Bottling Company Consolidated sales unit manager Bob Bedell on behalf of the Beverage Association of Tennessee.

  Get your ducks in a row early for the Child Advocacy Center annual duck race because demand prompted an order for 2,000 more rubber ducks for the race Saturday, June 23 at the Sportsman’s Club at 1231 Medical Center Parkway. 
            Over 5,000 ducks already have been adopted for $5 apiece for the Duck Derby where 12,000 rubber ducks will float down Stones River, said CAC Executive Director Sharon De Boer. The person who adopted the fastest duck will win 5,000 bucks while the adopter of the 15 next ducks will win prize packages value at about $20,000.
 
            “Get your duck adoptions early because we may sell out of ducks this year,” De Boer said.
 
All proceeds help the Child Advocacy staff in Rutherford and Cannon counties help sexually abused and drug endangered children. More than 7,500 children received services from Center during the past 12 years.
 
            Community volunteers tagged 12,000 rubber ducks Wednesday. Each tagged duck is matched to a person who adopted a duck.
 
            Ducks may be adopted at Demos’ restaurant and Bell Jewelers on Northwest Broad Street, Sudsy’s Car Wash on South Church Street, Lanes Trains and Automobiles on Butler Drive, Reeves-Sain on Memorial Boulevard and more than 50 other locations in Rutherford and Cannon counties. For other locations or to adopt ducks online, check the official Duck Derby Web site at www.boroduckderby.com.
 
            People who procrastinate may adopt ducks until noon June 23 at Sudsy’s and until 3 p.m. June 23 at Demos’ restaurant. Ducks may also be adopted between 2 p.m. and race 4:23 p.m. June 23 at the free Family Fun Fest preceding the race at the Sportsman’s Club.
 
            The Child Advocacy Center needs volunteers for the Family Fun Fest. To volunteer, contact Queen Quacker Kristin Demos at kcdemos@gmail.com or Child Advocacy Center bookkeeper Jessica Wauchek at 867-9000.
 

A man who was discovered stumbling into the side of the Quick Shop last week was charged with possession of drugs and driving under the influence.  According to police reports Cannon County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Gullett was sitting at the redlight at Main and South McCrary when he noticed a White Chevrolet pickup pull into the parking lot of the Quick Shop.  Deputy Gullett reports that he saw the driver attempt to step out of the vehicle and stumble.  The driver who was identified as Justin Hutchins continued to stumble as he went into the store.  Gullett turned around and came back just in time before Hutchins got into his truck.  Deputy Gullett noticed that his eyes were bloodshot.  While Deputy Gullett was searching him, he found a small bag that contained a white powder believed to be Methamphetamine.  After placing him in custody Hutchins agreed to take field sobriety tests then later refused one of the tests.  Hutchins then agreed to submit to a blood alcohol test.  After transporting him to the Cannon County Jail, Deputy Gullett tested the white powder and it came back positive for Methamphetamine.  Mr. Hutchins was then charged with driving under the influence first offense and possession of schedule 2 controlled substance.  Mr. Hutchins will answer to these charges in General Sessions Court on August 7th at 9:00

Registration is open for girls to attend the 2012 MTSU Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics conference.The 16th annual event will be held Saturday, Sept. 22, on campus.
Up to 300 fifth- through eighth-grade girls and up to 75 high-school girls from across middle Tennessee are welcome to attend the event, said Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, EYH director and chemistry professor.
The conference runs from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.
EYH, a hands-on math and science event, helps girls investigate math and science careers, Iriarte-Gross said, adding that it gives them opportunities to talk with women in science and their fellow conference attendees.
The registration fee is $15 per student, and Iriarte-Gross said scholarships are available. Sessions for parents and teachers also will be held. To register online, go to www.mtsu.edu/wistem/eyh/index.php.

The Cannon County Rescue Squad presented their small budget to the Cannon County Budget Committee Thursday night .  The rescue squad has been budgeted $3,085.00 the past fiscal year.  They are requesting an increase to $10,585.00 for the 2012-2013 fiscal year.  The $7,000 increase request is to help pay off the note of one of the recent rescue squad trucks.  The committee asked if the Rescue Squad would make a presentation to the full commission during their next meeting. Cannon County Solid Waste Budget was reviewed.  The Estimated Revenues for next fiscal year is $497,436.00, estimated expenditures is $509,596.00.  There are no significant increases in expenditures expected in the new year.  
The Parks and Fair Boards Budget requested a 5 percent increase in the salary of the supervisor and assistants.  This amount brought their budget request to  $51,436.00.
The Election Commission Budget was dropped off after their meeting was finished.  The total requested amount for the 2012-2013 fiscal year was $165,379.00 of which it was reported that $19,530.00 will come back to the County as the State will reimburse for election expenses.  
The Committee will now look into taking the second step of making the decisions on what requests to honor and which ones to cut as their next meeting will be June 26th.
 

Have you received an offer in the mail promising a cheap travel package for a hotel stay or a short cruise? To get the discounted package, all you have to do is attend a timeshare presentation. Once you show up to the presentation, you may get more than you bargained for: high-pressure sales tactics and scammers that don’t deliver what they promise. Vacation timeshares give you the right to use a vacation home for a limited, planned period throughout the year. Consumers are usually contacted on the phone by a telemarketer or through the mail with a postcard asking them to call a toll-free number. Scams can occur at the front-end, when consumers are purchasing a timeshare. The salesperson might suggest that customers have to sign the papers that day or might claim to be overwhelmed with buyer requests for the same resort – all to pressure customers to make a hasty decision.
Scams can also beset a consumer trying to sell a timeshare. During a bad economy when many people can no longer afford a timeshare, owners can be more vulnerable to scammers. Telemarketers call people throughout the country offering to sell or rent the owners’ timeshares in exchange for an advertising fee. Once the owner gives the telemarketer his or her credit card information, hundreds or thousands of dollars are then charged on that card. The timeshare goes unrented and its owner never again hears from the telemarketer.
Signs that a person might be dealing with a timeshare scammer:
    They initiate contact and solicit the consumer.
    They always ask for an upfront or advance fee.
    They come bearing a price that sounds too good to be true (words of caution: it usually is).
    They are not using a third-party closing or title company.
    They make “guarantees” that aren’t in writing.
To avoid becoming a victim of a timeshare scam, customers should do research. Never pay any fee in advance of a sale and avoid giving in to any high-pressure sales tactics. Never wire money. Wiring money is like sending cash; the scammers get the money quickly and the sender never gets it back. There is usually no way to trace the money once it is wired. A seller who insists on wire transfers for payment is probably a scammer.

  The United Way of Rutherford and Cannon Counties announced today its plans for investing a record $2.367 million to the community for the 2012 – 2013 fiscal year. This amount includes $171,746.98 designated to non-partner agencies per donor wishes, as well as an allocable pool amount of $1,789,000 – the highest to date for the local United Way and a 10% increase from 2011. For the second year, the local United Way also offered an opportunity for a one-time grant of up to $5,000 to agencies that align with United Way’s mission and values. Through the grant opportunity, $36,500 was funded to ten programs.
 
United Way also accounted for $346,654.44 in internal program expenses in addition to $24,000 for 2-1-1 services, an information and referral services line.
 
“United Way strives to impact the community in the highest degree possible, and funding services is one component of that community impact model,” said Brian Hercules, President and CEO of the local United Way. “Our system of identifying issues, developing partnerships, implementing solutions and measuring and reporting outcomes allows us to produce long-term, sustainable results.”
 
The allocable pool funding was invested among United Way’s partner agencies by panels involving more than 80 volunteer business and community leaders. Each spring, partner agencies present their funding request to the appropriate allocations panel, which are aligned according to United Way’s impact areas of education, income, health and rebuilding lives.
 
The allocations panels review agency programs and funding requests, visit the agencies at their facilities, and works to ensure a high standard of agency accountability throughout the process. They consider how well the agency is managed, how justified its proposed budget is and the extent to which its services meet high priority community needs.
 
The allocation panels determine what amount each agency will receive from United Way to deliver the proposed services. The panels forward their recommendations to United Way’s volunteer Board of Directors. The United Way Board of Directors reviews the recommendations and then approves the final allocation amount to each agency.
 
United Way also announced a 14% overhead budgeted for the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The organization’s financial information may be located at www.uwrutherford.org.
 
Organizations in Cannon County that received allocations included.  Cannon County Senior Citizens Center-$25,000.00.  Cannon County Save received a grant for $5,000.00  Some of the  other organizations receiving grants or partner agency money which partner with  Cannon County included Child Advocacy Center $39,000.00, Alive Hospice $39,134.46 American Red Cross Heart of Tennessee Chapter $135,000 and Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands $16,000.00

A great turnout showed up for the Headwaters Wildlife Management Area Dedication Ceremony Wednesday.  Local and State officials such as County Executive Mike Gannon, State Representative Mark Pody and State Senator Mae Beavers joined in with Executive Director of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, William Killian the U.S. Attorney of the Eastern District of Tennessee, Peter Heinbach Jr. Executive Director of Building Commission Relations for the State Real Estate and Capital Projects Implementation Division in the Ribbon Cutting Event.  Neal Applebaum who was instrumental in the project of turning the drug confiscated land into a Wildlife Management Area was also on hand for the ceremony. The Area will be the 124th Wildlife Management Area in the state during an official proclamation by the Wildlife Resources Commission on Friday.  The property is part of nearly 1000 acres which will feature small game hunting, hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities to the public.   The lands will be managed by the TWRA and funded by hunting and fishing fees.  The total land base of the Management Areas in the state is now just over 465,000 acres.  
 

A couple of government meetings are on tap for tonight.  The first one concerns the Cannon County Election Commission.  The Commission will meet and go over the proposed budget submitted by Election Administrator Stan Dobson.  This will be the first meeting of the Commissioners since Dobson and Commissioner Mark Studd lodged complaints to the State Election Commission over fellow commissioner Louise Mayo.  The meeting starts tonight at 5:30 at the Election Offices. The second meeting will take place at the Courthouse as the Cannon County Budget Committee will meet.  The committee is scheduled to review the budget of the Cannon County Rescue Squad and hear from Neal Applebaum, the President of the Cannon County Chamber of Commerce as the Chamber has requested $10,000 from the County to help fund the Chamber as it looks to make a major impact in the County by assisting in bringing in future industry and tourism dollars to add to the revenue of the County.  The meeting will start at 6:00 tonight
 

Immediately following the approval of new board members by the Cannon County Commissioners, the Cannon County Industrial Development Board met with a quorum for only the second time in the last eight years and was able to conduct business in a legal manner.The first order of business was to elect the officers for the board and by unanimous consent the following board members were elected to these positions:
Chairman                            Randall Reid
Vice Chairman                  Doug Bodary
Treasurer                            Mindy Gunter
Secretary                             Corey Davenport
The next order of business was to approve a working budget for the 2013 fiscal year to be submitted to the Cannon County Commissioners.
The board agreed since the urgency was so great the need was there to meet on a monthly basis instead quarterly as had been past practice. Future meetings have been set for the second Tuesday of each month with the meeting place t.b.d. Public notice will be given and everyone is encouraged and invited to attend.
The new board looks forward to helping Cannon County grow and helping all businesses within our community.