News 2014

The Cannon County Homeland Security Committee will meet Thursday afternoon.  On the agenda will be a report on the 2014-2015 county budget request.  Report on ID badge equipment,  Don Tucker will report on the CERT program and have a report on the county wide disaster drill. New business items include a discussion of the 2015 disaster drills as well as a report on the Cannon County District Disaster Drill.  The meeting is set to take place at 4:30 at the Courtroom of the Cannon County Courthouse.
 

A Murfreesboro man with active warrants from Bedford and Cannon County was arrested over the weekend after Murfreesboro Police Dispatchers put a be on the lookout bulletin out on 27 year old Travis Lowe of Flat Rock Road.  According to Murfreesboro Police reports, Officers were able to locate the car that he was driving.  They had just been to the Econolodge motel to speak a relative of Lowe’s who had just filed a police report in regards to someone stealing a license plate off a vehicle The dispatch advised that Lowe may be en route to the motel.  After police located Lowe at the motel he was taken into custody without incident.  Police found a small amount of marijuana and a pack of rolling papers.  In addition to the Failure To Appear Warrant out of Cannon County, he was charged with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.  The warrant out of Bedford County was for criminal impersonation.
 

Every day people all over our state make a choice that affects their family, friends, and themselves. The choice to do Meth destroys not only their lives, but the lives of those around them. An article published in April of this year indicated that Tennessee had the second highest number of Meth labs in the US. The article also refers to Tennessee as, “The buckle of the Meth belt”. Is our state really consumed by this ever growing problem? It is clear who is behind this addiction and many other traps that claim the hearts of people all over America. The Bible says that we have an enemy who is seeking whom he may devour. He wants to see us destroyed. It is time we get back to being the buckle of the Bible belt and bring awareness to this growing problem. The cure is Jesus!Pleasant View Baptist Church is excited to present their third annual Reality House entitled, “Life or Meth”. A reality house is a walk through dramatic play that will address a key issue and bring all the focus back to Jesus Christ. In this play, visitors will walk through a life of a family who one member will have to choose between Life or Meth? See the drama come to life as you meet God and Satan as well as experience Heaven and Hell.  Then, you too will choose.
Pleasant View Baptist Church is located at 2355 Lonnie Smith Road Woodbury, TN 37190.
Performances will be October 18th, 24th, and 25th from 6:00-10:00pm.
 Some scenes are inappropriate for children under 10 yrs of age. We will gladly accommodate groups with children and large groups. Groups with ten or more are encouraged to make reservations so we can accommodate you in a timely manner. For more information or to make reservations please contact Melissa Crips 615-796-1370. This is a free event.

There are several Health Fairs scheduled for the Middle Tennessee area in the upcoming weeks.  One of the fairs will take place at the Cannon Senior Center Wednesday.  The Fair will start at 8:00 and last until noon.  There will be a lot of health related activities, vendors and checkups available for Senior Center members and the entire community.  Everyone is welcome.  There will be a raffle drawing at 12 noon Some of the agencies that will be in attendance include the Better Business Bureau of Middle Tennesse, Cannon County Health Department, Upper Cumberland Area Agency on Aging and Disability, Cannon County Health Department, Cannon County Chamber of Commerce, and the Tennessee Insurance Division.  For more information on the Health Fair call the Cannon Senior Center at 563-5304.  

Unless someone comes up with some new business in time for the Town of Woodbury Board of Mayor and Aldermen the agenda looks a little blank.  No items are listed under old business, new business or other business and other than the regular reports from the Mayor, Committees and Department Heads only one item is on the agenda and that is the recognition of the employees of the Town of Woodbury.  The recognition presentation will be by the American Legion Post 279.  The meeting of the Town of Woodbury Board of Mayor and Aldermen will start tonight at 7:00 at the Nolan Dude Northcutt Building formerly known as Woodbury City Hall.

The scarecrow contests around the Courthouse has started and there are still several lampposts available.  If anyone would like to build a scarecrow and put it on one of the available lamppost, you could win some money.  Entry fee is $5.00 with the winner of the contest winning all of the money collected by the entry fee.  Please bring your scarecrow to the County Executive’s Office.  For more information call Diane Hickman at 615-563-2320.

It’s again fire season in Tennessee, and the Division of Forestry is reminding everyone in Cannon County that if they intend to do any outdoor burning they are required by state law to obtain a burning permit. The free permits are required October 15th through May 15th and can be obtained by telephone or on line.  A poorly prepared or unattended burning debris pile can, under the conditions common in autumn, escape control and become a destructive wildfire.  The Tennessee Division of Forestry asks everyone to be cautious when doing any outdoor burning.   Before doing any outdoor burning:
First call the Division of Forestry for a burning permit at 765-7373 between 8:00 AM and 4:30 PM Monday through Friday (call on Friday for the weekend) or obtain a permit on line at www.burnsafetn.org.  If weather conditions permit you will be issued a burning permit. If the permit is obtained by phone they will also advise you of any weather conditions such as predicted wind, low humidity or other factors which might call for extra precaution.
Establish wide control lines down to bare mineral soil around brush piles or other piled debris to be burned.  The larger the debris pile, the wider the control line needs to be to ensure that burning materials won’t be blown or roll off the pile into vegetation outside the line.
Keep water, tools, and plenty of help ready in case your fire should attempt to spread.
Stay with all outdoor fires until they are completely out.
Be aware of where your smoke is going.  Avoid burning when your smoke will be bothersome to neighbors or when near sensitive locations such as highways.
Remember, you as a homeowner have control over the most basic things that will make your house safer from wildfires and allow the local Fire Dept. and the Division of Forestry to protect your home.  This includes:
Clear away flammable brush and other materials at least 30 feet from your house.
Don’t pile firewood or other flammable materials near your house or on your porch or deck.
Keep your yard, roof, and gutters free of leaves, pine needles and other debris.
Keep leaves, pine needles and other debris off of or from under decks.
The only materials for which a permit can be issued are brush, leaves, grass, or        
plant materials that are grown on the property or untreated and unpainted lumber.  Anything else such as automobile tires, roofing shingles, household garbage, feed sacks or anything not grown on the property cannot be legally burned.  Failure to obtain a permit or the burning of illegal materials could result in a citation to court and a fine.  For more information on this or any other forestry related matter, call the Division of Forestry at the above phone number or visit the Division of Forestry’s wildfire safety web-site at www.burnsafetn.org. And remember, ONLY YOU CAN PREVENT WILDFIRES!!
 

Shannon Streett, a sixth-grade language arts teacher at Woodbury Grammar in Cannon County, was recognized as the Grand Division winner for Middle Tennessee. Streett, a 10-year veteran educator, served as a Core Coach for this summer’s training in Tennessee’s English language arts standards and actively creates opportunities for parent involvement in her school and classroom.  The recognition was given at the 2014-2015 Tennessee Teacher of the Year award Celebration that took place Thursday night at The Renaissance Hotel Conference Center in Nashville.  Out of nine finalists 3 grand division winners were chosen including street and a Teacher of the Year was also named.  Another Cannon County teacher was among the nine finalists in William Freddy Curtis who teaches government at Cannon County High School  A Memphis teacher known for building a student-centered classroom was named the 2014-15 Tennessee Teacher of the Year.
Karen Vogelsang, called Mrs. V by her students, is a fourth-grade teacher at Keystone Elementary in Shelby County. She is an 11-year veteran educator that is National Board Certified and serves as a school and district leader as well as a coach for her peers.
“The Teacher of the Year awards not only allow us to recognize some of the best teachers in the state, but also provide an opportunity to share and learn from their inspired, effective methods of instruction,” Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said.  Mrs. Vogelsang was also chosen as the West Grand Division Winner Ashley Carter, a third-grade teacher at John Adams Elementary in Kingsport, was recognized as the Grand Division winner for East Tennessee.
The nine 2014-15 Teacher of Year regional winners and state finalists will serve on the inaugural Teacher Advisory Council during the 2014-15 school year. The three Grand Division winners will continue their term during the 2015-16 school year.

The Lions Club Sight and Hearing Conservation and sight van coordinator committee chairman Carl Hirlston will again bring the Sight and Hearing van to Cannon County for their annual screening of students in the Cannon County Schools.  They will screen students at the Cannon County High School today.  Thursday October 9th the van will be at the Woodland and 7th Day Adventist Schools.  Friday October 10th The van will be at the Woodbury Grammar School and the Cannon County Senior Center.  The van will make the final stop on Monday October 13th at the Westside and Auburntown schools.  Students in 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th grades along with Freshmen at the high schools will be screend because this is a State requirement according to Hirlston.  Members of the Sight Van Coordinator Lions Club Committee are Gina Mitchell, Charlie Brown and Bobby Bogard,  Patsy Hirlston has also been a key helper to this committee.  

The Cannon County Lions football team played in their second homecoming game in a row Friday night.  This time it was their own.  Before the game started Kendra Maynard was announced as the 2014 homecoming queen.  Then it was off to start the football game. For the third game in a row, Macon County took the opening kick and 7 plays 58 yards later Macon County freshman quarterback Seth Carlisle scored the first of his four touchdowns of the night. Cannon threatened to tie the game midway in the second half after a 61 yard pass from quarterback Josh Walkup to Wilder Mankin helped get the ball in scoring position at the six yard line.  Cannon would get as close as the one yard line before a holding penalty backed them up to the 11.  On the next play the Lions fumbled the ball.  Macon County recovered the fumble and took advantage of the turnover putting together another 6 play 89 yard drive capped off by Carlisle breaking a 30 yard sprint to the end zone to make it 14-0.  Macon would add more points on their first offensive possession in the second half with almost a 6 minute 76 yard drive that saw Carlisle walk into the end zone putting a 21-0 lead up on the scoreboard.  Macon County finished up their end of the scoring in the game with Carlisle stepping in the end zone after a 2 yard run to make it 28-0.  It looked like Cannon would end up getting shut out in the scoring column with about 20 seconds left after getting the ball back from an interception, Walkup again hooked up with Mankin this time for a 71 yard touchdown strike and even though the two point conversion failed Cannon got on the scoreboard 28-6.  In addition to the 133 yards passing on the 2 completions Cannon overall gained 235 yards of total offense.  They gave up 375 yards to Macon County including 264 on the ground.  Cannon will see another homecoming queen crowned Friday when they travel to District leading Livingston to participate in Livingston’s homecoming Friday night.