News 2012

Adams Memorial Library in Woodbury and the Auburntown Branch Library are sorry to announce that this week’s storytime has been cancelled due to staff illnesses. Please join us next week at the regular time.  

No Farm School tonight due to the Farm Machinery Show in Louisville Kentucky.  The Farm and Family School will resume next Thursday with a night sponsored by the Cannon County Farm Bureau  

Tennessee State Representative Mark Pody will be the featured speaker at the monthly meeting of the American Legion Post 279 tonight.  Dinner will be served at 5:45 with the regular meeting starting at 6:30.  Commander Bobby Ferrell will summarize the events planned for this year.  The process will begin for nominating the Post officers for the 2012 year.  The actual election of officers will be held during the March Meeting.  The meeting starts tonight at 6:30 atthe Cannon Senior Center.  

10 Teams have already signed up to be a part of the American Cancer Society’s Relay For Life fundraiser that will take place Friday May 4th at Dillon Park in Woodbury.  The event was originally scheduled for May 18th but was moved up recently due to conflicts with Good Ole Days being scheduled on that day.  Huff N Puff, Short Mountain School, Woodbury Grammar, Dr. Deason, Woodbury Medical Center, Julie Williams Adams, Phil’s Team, Stones River Hospital, Fuqua’s Fights and Melba’s Mavericks have signed up to participate in the annual event.  The event last year raised over $27,000 in funds and the goal this year will be $30,000.  The theme this year is Board Games. Participants are encouraged to decorate their tents that night with their favorite board game. If you would like to be on a existing team or start one of your own for the Relay For Life please refer to the website www.relayforlife.org/Cannon
 

The Cannon County Election Office brought a budget amendment request in front of the budget committee last night.  The request was to allocate additional funds in the line item of salary to cover the extra hours that Assistant Dorinda Mankin was working.  The office was budgeted Ms. Mankin’s salary for a total of 30 hours.  Ms. Mankin is now having to work 40 hours a week on a regular basis which was an additional $5,607.00 expense.  The problem began last night when the Budget Committee took no action on it and presented it to the full Cannon County Commission for approval.  The original request came when the budget committee started working on the County Budget last year.  The budget request was not approved.  Citing Tennessee Code 2-12-109 which states except as otherwise provided by law, it is the responsibility of the county to fund the operations of its election commission. If a county fails to appropriate funds sufficient to pay expenses that are reasonably necessary for the discharge of the statutorily mandated duties of its county election commission, such commission may petition the chancery court of the county in which such election commission is located to compel the appropriation of such funds. After a motion was made to take the money out of general fund a vote was cast.  The motion failed .  A visibly upset Cannon County Director of Elections Stanley Dobson stated that the Commission violated TCA codes and quote “you will hear from us”.  “You know what happens when you violate, you answer for it”  Election Commissioner Mark Studd added “Only one option now.  We now go before the judge and sue this county commission to follow the letter of the TCA Code” In other actions:
The Commissioners approved the County General Budget Amendments and the appropriation of funds received from the Homeland Security Grant.  They agreed to look into options in helping the Circuit Court Clerk and General Sessions Court find more adequate space to house offices and records.  
Thea Prince updated the Commissioners on the Cannon County Solid Waste Study.  
The accountant who oversees the Ambulance Service offsite billing explained the program to the commissioner in depth.
The Commissioners approved the city’s annexations of parcels surrounding the city that was made in 2008 and 2009.  
The Commissioners discussed the needs of Eastside’s Volunteer Fire Department on a vehicle to carry the cascade equipment and the repair needs of the Gassaway’s Fire Truck  It was decided to look at various bids for vehicles at the next meeting.
The next scheduled meeting for the Cannon County Commission will be March 13th

The First Day of the District 8-AA tournament at White County High School in Sparta got underway with no surprises.  The number 2 seed Upperman Lady Bees ousted the number 7th seeded Central Magnet School 48-30 while the Dekalb County Tigers made sure they were the only Tigers left in the tournament sending Central Magnet’s Boys Team home for the rest of the season 55-29.  Tonight is the matchup of a pair of 3 vs 6 seeds.  In the first game the Cannon County Lionettes are looking for their 32nd consecutive win against the 6th seeded Dekalb County Lady Tigers.  The Lionettes are 23-6 going into the game.  The winner of the game will earn a automatic trip to regions and will play Upperman in the district semifinals on Friday.  Game time of the Cannon County Dekalb County girls game will be at the White County High School in Sparta at 6:00.  WBRYAM 1540/FM 96.7 will broadcast live starting with the pregame at 5:45.  The Boys game for the evening will feature the 3rd seed Upperman taking on the 6th seeded York Institute.  

Early Voting begins today for the March 6th Presidental Primary and the County Republican Primary.  Early Voting will be held at the Cannon County Election Commission Office at 301 West Main Street Room 244.  Early voting times will be Monday thru Friday from 9:30A to 12:30 p.m through Feburary 28th.   Special hours will take place February 23rd from 4 p.m. to 7p.m.  The office will also be open for Early Voting on two Saturdays Feb 18th and the 25th from 9A to 12 noon.
Presidential Preference Primary Presidential Candidates include Michelle Bachmann, Gary Johnson, Charles Buddy Roemer, Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Jon Huntsman, Rick Perry and Rick Santorum.  Several Delegates At Large and Sixth Congressional District Delegates to vote for.  On the local front in the Cannon County Republican Primary will be County Commissioner 4th District Rebekah Hindman Parton and in the Assessor of Property Keith Morris.
 

The TennCare Standard Spend Down program will again offer open enrollment opportunities to new applicants on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012 beginning at 6 p.m. CST.Standard Spend Down is available through a waiver to the Medicaid program for a limited number of qualified low income individuals, or those with high, unpaid medical bills who are aged, blind, disabled, or the caretaker relative of a Medicaid eligible child. Eligible individuals must have enough unpaid medical bills to meet the “spend down” threshold to qualify for coverage.
“We are pleased to again to be able to open enrollment in the Standard Spend Down program,” said DHS Commissioner Raquel Hatter. “This program offers additional assistance to qualified low-income individuals or those with very high medical bills who are not already on TennCare.” 
A special call-in phone line through DHS has been set up for interested applicants. The only way to request an application is by calling the toll-free number — 1-866-358-3230 — which will be open between 6:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. CST on Feb. 21.  Operators will close the phone line once 2,500 applicants call in.  In previous open enrollment periods, 2,500 calls had been taken within one hour. If 2,500 calls are not received on Feb. 21, the phone lines will be open from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on subsequent weekdays until 2,500 interested applicants call in. 
Prospective applicants are encouraged to check eligibility qualifications before calling in. More information on the Standard Spend Down program and more detailed eligibility criteria are available here.
The toll-free number system is used to ensure equal access to Tennessee citizens interested in this program. The Tennessee Department of Human Services will send applications to all callers who are not already on TennCare and will review their eligibility for any open Medicaid categories and the newly opened Standard Spend Down category.  Advanced notifications will be made to the public and other stakeholders prior to subsequent openings of the application request line.
Standard Spend Down Eligibility:

In addition to being aged (65 or older), blind*, disabled,* or a caretaker relative,

An individual must meet certain income restrictions, or be able to “spend down” qualifying unpaid medical bills to that limit. (*To be considered blind or disabled, an individual must meet standards set by the Social Security Administration.)
The following chart shows the income limits:
Household Size
1
2
3
4
5
6
Monthly Income
$241
$258
$317
$325
$392
$408
Applicants also must not have resources that:

Exceed $2,000 for a family of one and $3,000 for a family of two with an additional $100 added per additional individual in the family.

A person’s unpaid medical bill must have been accrued within the past 90 days.  Medical bills paid by the applicant within the past 30 days may count towards meeting an applicant’s spend down requirement.
Pregnant women and children still are eligible for the Medically Needy Spend Down program.
The ONLY way to request an application for the TennCare Standard Spend Down Program is through the toll free number (1-866-358-3230). Individuals interested in accessing the Standard Spend Down call-in line who are deaf/hard of hearing/speech impaired and using a TTY (text telephone) device should first call the Tennessee Relay Service at 1 (800) 848-0298. They will be prompted to enter the number they are trying to reach (the call-in line #) and a communications assistant will act as the go-between.  Those wishing to apply for other TennCare categories should contact their local Department of Human Services county office, call the Family Assistance Service Center at 1-866-311-4287 during normal business hours, or visit www.tennessee.gov/humanserv/.

County Commission Agenda Feb. 14, 2012Open Meeting
 
 

Prayer and Pledge. Prayer will be given By John W. Hembree of the Woodbury United Methodist Church. Pledge of Allegiance will be led by Al Breau a USAF  Veteran.
 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Roll call- Bobby Smith
 

Summary of last meetings minutes. Chair
 

Approval of last meeting minutes.
 

Committee Reports
 

Hear from Thea Prince on a Request for Proposal concerning Solid Waste.
 

Circuit Court Clerk Lynn Foster  will address the commission.
 

Austin Jennings would like to address the commission on the status of the building of the library addition.
 

Hear from the Accountant who oversees the Ambulance Services offsite billing. Director Ricky Cope will introduce him.
 

Revisit the request from Grady George on a vehicle to carry the cascade equipment, Second District Commissioner Jimmy Mingle is sponsoring it.
 
 

Approve the city’s annexations of parcels surrounding the city made in 2008 and 2009.
 
 

Stanley Dobson to address the Commission after he has talked to the budget committee.
 

Karen Ashford wants to address the Board about the fire truck from Gassaway.
 

Other Business
 

Adjournment
 

On Friday February 10, 2012 Adam W. McClure and Dakota Trey Jones were served with sealed indictments from the January term of the Cannon County Grand Jury. Adam McClure of 526 McFerrin St. was arrested by the Woodbury Police Department for Sale of Schedule III Controlled Substance within 1000 feet of a school and maintaining a dwelling to use or sell drugs. McClure was placed on $15,000.00 bond.
Dakota Trey Jones was charged with sale of a schedule III controlled substance within 1000 feet of a school and placed on $10,000.00 bond.
Woodbury Police Chief Tony Burnett commented “This has been an ongoing problem for quite a while and I am glad that we have been able to make some arrest from this address especially with it being so close to our children. This area has been suspect in a large number of thefts and calls answered by the Woodbury Police Department.”
Those involved in the investigation are Chief Burnett, Sgt. Lowell Womack, Asst. Chief Kevin Mooneyham and Officer John Fesmire.