News 2013

An intoxicated Readyville man who demanded that police arrest him got his wish Sunday.  According to Murfreesboro City Police Reports 21 year old Tyler Edward Bowlin of McElroy Road in Readyville was arrested after Murfreesboro Police responded to a possible assault.  Upon arrival Mr. Bowlin stated that he was at the Whiskey Dix bar in Murfreesboro drinking with friends when he was assaulted by a group of people.  Mr Bowlin stated that he was drunk and did not know what happened.  Mr Bowlin had blood shot eyes, slurred speech, was unsteady on his feet and smelled of alcohol.  He became irate and irritated as police asked him questions.  He then told police that he wanted them to tell him what happened.  After police discussed with Bowlin the possibility of events, Bowlin continued to lose his temper and then told police to arrest him.  Bowlin was placed under arrest for public intoxication and transported to the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office for booking.  

The 2013 Car Show season came to an end Saturday in Cannon County with the annual Toy Drive Cruise In at the square Participation in bringing in and donating toys was at an all time high. An estimated 75 cars lined up and down the square Saturday.  The end of the cruise in’s meant that the grand prize 32 inch TV drawing was held.  Cannon County’s Chris Brown gets to watch his favorite TV shows on a new TV as he was the winner of the TV.  The TV was made possible by Paul L. Reed Furniture.    

With Halloween right around the corner, the American Red Cross would like everyone to stay safe when they don their costumes and go out to Trick-or-Treat. 
Halloween’s greatest hazards aren’t vampires and villains, but falls, costume mishaps and traffic accidents, so the Red Cross is offering the following tips to help make this Halloween safe:

Look for flame-resistant costumes.

Plan the Trick-or-Treat route and make sure adults know where children are going. A parent or responsible adult should accompany young children as they make their way around the neighborhood.

Make sure the Trick-or-Treaters have a flashlight. Add reflective tape to costumes and Trick-or-Treat bags. Have everyone wear light-colored clothing in order to be seen.

Visit only the homes that have a porch light on. Accept treats at the door – never go inside.

Instead of masks, which can cover the eyes and make it hard to see, consider using face paint.

Walk only on the sidewalks, not in the street. If no sidewalk is available, walk at the edge of the roadway, facing traffic. Look both ways before crossing the street and cross only at the corner. Don’t cut across yards or use alleys. Don’t cross between parked cars.

Be cautious around pets and any other animals.
 WELCOMING GHOSTS AND GOBLINS If someone is welcoming Trick-or-Treaters at their home, they should make sure the outdoor light is on. Other safety steps include:

Sweep leaves from the sidewalks and steps.

Clear the porch or front yard of any obstacles that a child could trip over.

Restrain any household pets.

Use a glow stick instead of a candle in the jack-o-lantern to avoid a fire hazard.
 LEARN WHAT TO DO People can download the free American Red Cross First Aid App. Users receive instant access to expert advice for everyday emergencies whenever and wherever they need it. Features of the app include:

Step-by-step instructions on how to handle the most common first aid situations;

Videos and animations that  make the skills easy to learn;

Safety and preparedness tips; and

Quizzes that users can take to earn badges which they can share with their friends on social media.
 
People can find all of the Red Cross apps in the Apple App Store or the Google Play Store by searching for American Red Cross or by going to redcross.org/mobileapps.

Tired of looking out across your pastures and hay fields and seeing that “sea of yellow” every spring?  Unfortunately, many producers in Tennessee are all too familiar with buttercups. Most of these members of the genus Ranunculus are winter annuals that are easily controlled with a timely application of 2,4-D, and  interest in fall applications has increased in Tennessee over the past few years. 
Why spray in the fall?
 
Historically, the vast majority of applications for control of buttercups have been in March to early-April. However, University of Tennessee research and producer experience has continued to show that fall (late October to mid-December) is actually a better time to spray for them.  Why is that?  Buttercups emerge in the fall and they are small and actively growing then.  As we have discussed numerous times, one of the most important keys to getting good results is to spray buttercups before they bloom.  This is an automatic with fall applications, given that buttercups generally do not bloom until spring.  Also, oftentimes in the late-winter to spring it is very wet and windy, making it difficult to spray before they are in bloom.  Another  reason for fall spraying is that many producers may have more available time then, compared to the spring.  Time consuming late-winter to early-spring activities such as calving, spreading fertilizer  and getting ground ready for row crop planting often make it difficult to get pastures and hay fields sprayed on a timely basis.  Last, but certainly not least, fewer vegetable crops, gardens and active greenhouses are present then; this means the risk of off-target damage to sensitive plants is lower.
 
In most cases, 2,4-D ester at 1 qt/ provides excellent control of annual buttercups in the fall. The same rules apply as with spring applications.  Favorable weather (3 days of day time highs of 60 F); plenty of water (at least 20 gallons per acre spray volume); and the addition of a good, nonionic surfactant (1 qt/100 gallons of spray mix)  are all important ingredients in success.  An added bonus for the fall spray program is that it is also a very good time of the year to control musk thistle, buckhorn plantain and wild turnip.  These are controlled by 2,4-D and are often present in the same fields alongside buttercups.  If buckhorn plantain is severe, consider increasing the rate of 2,4-D.   Keep in mind that 2,4-D, unlike some of our newer pasture herbicides (ForeFront HL, GrazonNext HL, etc.),  breaks down relatively quickly in soil.  A benefit of this is that with fall applications of 2,4-D, clovers can be planted the following February. 
 
Are buttercups becoming resistant to 2,4-D?
 
This is a startling question we have received from a number of producers over the past couple of years.  Our answer for now is “We don’t thinks so, and we sure hope not!”.  What has prompted this question is that a number of 2,4-D failures on buttercup have occurred in our area over the past few years.  These were not cases of late sprays, low rates, not enough water volume, or bad weather.  These were timely applications where everything was apparently done correctly.  We are keeping a close watch on this situation and are conducting research to address it.  Late this winter we scouted a number of pastures in Blount County where 2,4-D had failed the previous year.  Upon close inspection, we found that the predominant species present was not hairy buttercup (a winter annual and our most common species), but rather bulbous buttercup, a perennial that is not effectively controlled by 2,4-D.  While the leaf and flower structures of these two species are somewhat different, the most reliable way to identify bulbous buttercup is to dig up some plants and look for the swollen corm at the base of the stem.  We conducted a replicated research trial at one of the locations this past spring.  Ratings taken at 2 months after application revealed that 2,4-D ester (1 qt /A)  gave only 42 percent control.  However, GrazonNext HL (1.6 pt/A) gave 90% control.  What we believe is happening in a number of area fields is not the development of resistance, but rather a species shift from the more easily controlled hairy buttercup to a predominance of the more difficult-to-control bulbous buttercup.  We will keep you posted on this issue.
 
Always remember to thoroughly read the herbicide label before application and follow all directions and precautions.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Dr. Tom Holland, an internationally renowned forensic expert who has led recovery missions to numerous countries, including North and South Korea, China, Iraq, Kuwait and Cambodia, is the fall 2013 speaker for MTSU’s William M. Bass Legends in Forensic Science Lectureship.He’ll speak on “The Challenge of Returning America’s War Dead as Viewed through Time, Technology and Government” beginning at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the MTSU Student Union’s second-floor ballroom.
Organizers are encouraging visitors to park in the South Rutherford Boulevard lot and ride a Raider Xpress shuttle into campus to the Student Union building. A campus map is available online at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap13-14.
MTSU’s Forensic Institute for Research and Education, or FIRE, is sponsoring Holland’s free public lecture. The Bass Lecture Series, named for renowned University of Tennessee forensic anthropologist Dr. Bill Bass, brings respected forensic-science experts to campus each fall and spring.
 
Holland is deputy to the commander of the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command and the scientific director of the command’s Central Identification Laboratory in Honolulu, Hawaii, the largest skeletal identification laboratory in the world.
Holland was an archaeologist and museum curator before beginning his federal service as a forensic anthropologist with the Central Identification Laboratory in 1992. His duties include approving the identifications of all U.S. military personnel from past conflicts, including more than 1,000 soldiers from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Cold War and the Vietnam War, including the Vietnam Unknown Soldier from Arlington National Cemetery.
Under his leadership, the Central Identification Laboratory became the first — and to date, only — skeletal forensic laboratory in the world to be accredited by the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors-Laboratory Accreditation Board.
Holland, who is the author of the Dr. Kel McKelvey crime-fiction series “One Drop of Blood” and “K.I.A.,” is a Fellow of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences and is one of fewer than 100 Diplomates of the American Board of Forensic Anthropology. He also is a member of the American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors and serves as a forensic consultant to the New York State Police and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Switzerland.
FIRE’s co-sponsors for Holland’s lecture are the MTSU Distinguished Lecture Fund; the Office of the University Provost; the University Honors College and University College; the MTSU Colleges of Liberal Arts, Basic and Applied Sciences, and Behavioral and Health Sciences; the Departments of Biology, Political Science, and Sociology and Anthropology; and the Middle Tennessee Forensic Science.
For more information on the Oct. 29 lecture, please contact the FIRE offices at 615-494-7713 or visit www.mtsu.edu/fire.

If you think you might be able to make a good pot of beans or your cornbread is mouthwatering to die for you might want to enter the first annual beans and cornbread festival to benefit the REACH afterschool program.  The event is coordinated by the Friends of After School Kids and will take place Saturday November 16th at the Justin Pemberton Arena in Woodbury.  There will be three categories of beans and three for cornbread.  Each entry into the contest is $10.  There will be live gospel and country music starting at 11 on the 16th.  The organization is also looking for judges.  If you would like to participate in either the contest or the judging, call Rita Cook at 615-542-0396 for more information.  Deadline is Friday November 1st.  

Basketball season is right around the corner and two dates that you want to put on your calendar if you follow the Cannon County High School Basketball programs.  This coming Saturday November 2nd the Lionettes will be hosting a play day at Robert A Harris Gymnasium.  The Lionettes will play at 9A and again at 3P.  Their opponents are yet to be determined.  Then Saturday November 9th the annual Maroon and Gold Night takes place.  There will be a chili supper before the set of alumni games.  November 12th is the first regular season game

No Mexicans and no marijuana were found but a Brush Creek man was arrested recently on drug charges and misuse of 911.  Last week 49 year old Aubrey Lee Kilgore called 9-1-1 from a Judge Purser Road residence to report that he had been taken hostage by Mexicans who were manufacturing marijuana at the residence.  The Cannon County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the residence.  Upon arrival Investigator Brandon Gullett, couldn’t locate any Mexicans and didn’t find any marijuana.  What he did find however was that Kilgore himself was under the influence of narcotics.  Investigator Gullett also found drug paraphernalia that tested positive for meth.  Kilgore was placed under arrest for possession of schedule 3 drugs, drug paraphernalia, and false report misuse of 911.  He is due to answer these charges in General Sessions Court on Tuesday November 12th

A 5 county theft ring including stolen property from Cannon County was brought down last week and over $250,000.00 worth of stolen property was recovered in Rutherford County as a result.  Detectives from all counties involved teamed up to solve the burglary ring in which they are expected to recover even more property in the near future.  Upon further investigation the ring expanded into more counties in Tennessee and even into more states including Illinois.  More arrests are expected to be made but police recovered skid loaders, farm tractors, riding lawn mowers, four wheelers, a tiller and an air compressor amongst other stolen items.  James Allen Presley age 36 of Bradyville Pike was charged with theft over $60,0000, two counts of theft between $1,000 and $10,000 and violation of probation.  He is being held in Rutherford County Jail awaiting transport to Coffee and Cannon County jail.  The stolen property was located in the Kittrell Community

When you think of the idea of drug and alcohol addiction, who do you see?  You might envision a person who is at the end of their rope….or maybe someone who doesn’t know any better…or a guy or girl who started hanging out with the wrong crowd and it went too far. You may not see the person you stand behind in the grocery store. You may not see an alcoholic as the student that your kid sits behind in middle school, or a drug addict as a senior adult who can’t properly control their pain medication anymore. Drug and alcohol addiction is not as obvious as we would like to think…and it is all around us.  
 
 
Slightly more than half of Americans aged 12 or older reported being current drinkers of alcohol. This translates to an estimated 131.3 million people. (51.8 percent) When it comes to drug use, the average age of first drug use is 16.3 years for inhalants, 18.4 years for marijuana, 19.4 years for ecstasy, 21 years for pain relievers, and 21.2 years for cocaine and/or stimulants.
 
 
 
Underage drinking is on the rise in the southern states with a staggering 24.6 percent of underage teens/young adults consuming alcohol illegally. Of those underage drinkers, it is recorded that they were more likely to use illicit drugs within two hours of their alcohol use. Marijuana ranked number one as the drug of choice. Studies further show that alcohol was obtained in multiple ways from underage drinkers: 3.8% took alcohol from someone else’s home, 6% took alcohol from their own home, 21.6% gave money to someone else to purchase it. (as reported from 2010 National Survey on Drug and Alcohol Use Health)
 
 
 
“We do not need to see these studies to prove that drug and alcohol addiction is all around us,” said Sue Conley – CEO of DeKalb Community and Stones River Hospital, “We see it in our ER daily and witness the catastrophic effects of drunk drivers and the damage of drug abuse. With this knowledge in mind, we have implemented a medical stabilization service to help with the initial withdrawal from drugs and alcohol that leads to rehabilitation. New Vision Service is here to provide an important first step to overcome the addiction of prescription drugs, illicit drugs and alcohol.”
 
 
 
“There is nothing more rewarding for me personally than to see people get their lives and families back together,” said Alex Gayle of New Vision Services, “New Vision is the first step toward that end. If I could say one thing to people who are on the verge of taking the first step to recovery, it would be this: ‘You can’t change the past, but you can start right now and change your future.’ We are here to help you do that.”
 
 
 
New Vision Service is a medical stabilization service that Intake Coordinator Angela Gerard describes with passion, “The disease of addiction takes one hundred percent control over your body, emotions, and thought processes. Watching the awakening process of these patients is amazing!  Many of them describe medical stabilization as a chance to come out of a cloud or haze. Often they find that their minds become clear and they feel alive for the first time in years. They reconnect with the mind, body, and spirit and feel whole again.”
 
 
 
Communities across America are coming together this month to recognize Drug and Alcohol Addiction Recovery Month. Now is the time to help yourself, or someone you know, break free of alcohol or drugs. Pay attention to teens or adults who show a sudden change of mood or behavior, aggressive tendencies, or hopelessness.
 
 
 
If you, or someone you know, has a problem with alcohol, prescription drugs or illicit drugs, call New Vision Services at 1-800-939-CARE (2733)