News 2014

THE CANNON COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ANNOUNCES THAT CARSON & BARNES CIRCUS THE PREMIER VENUE IN FIRST CLASS FAMILY ENTERTAINMENT WITH TENTED TITANS OF YESTERYEAR WILL BE IN WOODBURY ON TUESDAY OCTOBER 14, 2014.  THE GIANT CIRCUS TENT WILL BE ERECTED CIRCUS MORNING AT APPROXIAMETLY 10:00 AM IN THE FIELD BEHIND THE ARTS CENTER AT 1424 JOHN BRAGG HWY. THE PUBLIC AS WELL AS STUDENTS ARE INVITED TO ATTEND, THE
CIRCUS WILL PROVIDE AN EDUCATIONAL SESSION FOR STUDENTS AT 9:30 AM.
YOU ARE WELCOME TO ATTEND AT 3:00 PM WHEN THE LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENTS WILL BATHE THE ELEPHANTS.
THE CIRCUS GROUNDS WILL OPEN AT 3:30 PM, ENJOY THE PETTING ZOO, ELEPHANT RIDES AND MORE BEFORE THE CIRCUS STARTS AT 4:30 AND AGAIN AT 7:30 PM.
TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE AT THE FOLLOWING LOCATIONS, THE CANNON COUNTY
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, SUE PATRICK CPA, 200 MAIN FAMILY SALON, FIRSTBANK, THE BLUE PORCH, ANTIQUE’S & MORE AND FIRST NATIONAL BANK.
PRICES ARE ADULTS $12.00, CHILDREN 2 TO 11 YEARS $6.00, SAVE MONEY BY PURCHASING YOUR TICKETS IN ADVANCE.
THE CIRCUS IS IN FACT THE OLDEST FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT ON RECORDED HISTORY. IN NORTH AMERICA THE CIRCUS HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN A FAVORITE OF BOTH YOUNG AND OLD FOR MANY GENERATIONS. BEFORE THE ADVENT OF TELEVISION CIRCUSES PROVIDED A UNIQUE FORM OF ENTERTAINMENT THAT HAS MADE IT’S COMING TO TOWN A GRAND CELEBRATION.
CARSON & BARNES IS “THE REAL CIRCUS” WITH EVERYTHING PATRONS EXPECT TO SEE UNDER THE BIG TOP: CLOWNS, ACROBATS, AERIAL DAREDEVILS, SPECTACULAR PAGEANTRY AND A COST OF AMAZING PERFORMING ANIMALS LED BY THE BIGGEST STARS OF THE SHOW-THE CARSON & BARNES ASIAN ELEPHANTS.
FOR INFORMATION CALL THE CHAMBER AT 615-563-2222
 

Golf tournament host Phillip Smith, of Smith’s Painting, announced today, “It’s turkey season in Middle Tennessee!”   
The 4th annual “Turkey Tee Off” golf tournament will be held on Saturday, November 8 at Cedar Crest Golf Course to benefit the Child Advocacy Centers in Rutherford and Cannon Counties.
 
“The ‘Turkey Tee Off’ Golf Tournament Committee will be contacting local businesses and individuals asking for their support of the Child Advocacy Center and the abused children that are served by the Center,” stated Child Advocacy Center board member Marlene Jones Becker.
 
“We need the support of the Rutherford and Cannon communities to make the ‘Turkey Tee Off’ a huge success,” said golf tournament committee member Mike Becker. 
 
“Levels of event sponsorship range from $2,500 to $50,” continued Becker.  “For $2,500 your business will be one of the presenting sponsors.  For $500 –$2,499, your business can be a sponsor.  For $300 you can be a team captain for a team of four golfers, for $75 an individual can golf, and for $50 your business can have a tee box sign.”
 
“Our family started the ‘Turkey Tee Off’ to support child abuse victims,” said Smith. “Our hope is that through this event, families of abused children will learn about the Child Advocacy Center, and seek help for their children.” 
 
Child abuse affects a significant number of children in our community.  Proceeds from the golf tournament will fund services for child abuse victims.  In the last 14 years, the Child Protective Investigative Team has worked together to investigate and prosecute over 10,000 child abuse cases and assisted over 14,500 individuals in Rutherford and Cannon Counties.  The Department of Children’s Services protects children, law enforcement arrests perpetrators, the District Attorney’s Office prosecutes and incarcerates offenders, while the Child Advocacy Center helps children and families heal from the trauma. 
Through the “Darkness to Light” community education program, the Child Advocacy Center has trained over 3,690 parents, grandparents, and professionals how to protect children from child sexual abuse, and what to do if a child reports abuse to them. 
If you would like to sponsor the event, make a contribution, or golf in the tournament please contact the Child Advocacy Center of Rutherford County at (615) 867-9000 or the Cannon County Child Advocacy Center at (615) 563-9915.

– October marks the 11th annual National Cyber Security Awareness month. The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security encourages all citizens to protect themselves against potential cyber threats and crime, including identity theft, fraud and scams.  “Cyber security should be a priority for all Tennesseans. Today, it has become increasingly difficult to ‘unplug’, as modern technology is now an everyday part of our lives. We must take the necessary precautions to protect our finances, identity and privacy,” Commissioner Bill Gibbons said.  
Citizens are encouraged to remain informed about cybercrimes in their communities and report any suspicious activity to local law enforcement or the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security at http://www.tn.gov/homelandsecurity/report_susp_act.shtml
“We each have a role to play in protecting ourselves against cyber threats or internet scams. Citizens should limit the amount of personal information shared online and use privacy settings to avoid sharing information widely. Always use good judgment on the internet,” Assistant Commissioner David W. Purkey said. Purkey oversees the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security. 
Listed below are a few basic steps to protect you from cyber threats and become more secure.
·         Make passwords long and strong: Combine capital and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols to create a more secure password.
·         Don’t share passwords with anyone!
·         Keep a clean machine. Your operating system, browser, and other critical software are optimized by installing regular updates.
·         Use a pop-up blocker (the links in pop-up ads are notorious sources of malware).
·         Before you enter your personal and financial information to make an online transaction, look for signs that the site is secure.
·         Maintain an open dialogue with your family, friends, and community about Internet safety.
·         Be cautious about what you receive or read online. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Please visit the state’s Office of Homeland Security web page at http://www.tn.gov/homelandsecurity/index.shtml for cyber safety tips this October.     
Cyber Security Awareness Month is a nationally recognized effort coordinated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center and the National Cyber Security Alliance to raise cyber security awareness across the country and to empower citizens, businesses, government and schools to improve their cyber security preparedness.

The season is past the halfway point and the Cannon County Lions are still trying to find something to build on as they are still searching for their first win of the year.  The Lions in their loss last week however gained over 250 yards of total offense which has been one of their best outputs in a few years.  If they can repeat that performance and cut out the unnecessary turnovers and penalties  they can put themselves in a better position to win a game.  Tonight’s opponent is also struggling but have collected 2 wins and 3 losses. Macon County comes into Woodbury having lost two in a row but to very solid football teams in Livingston and Greenbriar.  The game this evening caps off Homecoming Week for Cannon County. We’ll get everything started with the pregame coverage at 5:30 with Murphy Fair and Murphys Matchups 6:00 brings live reports from football fields throughout the midstate with Friday Night Thunder.  6:45 we’ll kick off our broadcast on WBRY with Tailgate, followed by the kickoff of the game at 7:00.   We invite you to tune in to AM-1540/FM96.7 WBRY online at wbry.com and through your smart phones and tablets using the TuneIn Radio app on WBRY  

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) Thursday called on the Obama administration to immediately rescind the Education Department’s 37-page guidance issued to instruct 14,000 local school districts from Washington on how to distribute state, local and federal funds to ensure students have equal access to educational resources and instead submit the proposal to Congress to approve or reject. 
“This administration’s National School Board has gone from telling states what academic standards they should set to, now, making decisions for our school districts about school wi-fi hotspots, air conditioning systems, performance art spaces or the quality of the carpeting in the hallways. Tennessee’s 1 million public school students are only going to learn what they need to know from the teachers, principals, and school officials who know them best—not from the bureaucrats running the National School Board in Washington.”
 
He continued, “Enough is enough. Congress needs to take up my legislation, the Every Child Ready for College or Career Act, which every Republican on the Senate education committee supported, and keep these decisions where they belong – in the hands of our state and local leaders.”
Sen. Alexander is scheduled to be in Woodbury today for a meet and greet at the Cannon County Senior Center from 2:30-3:30

Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs Commissioner Many-Bears Grinder today announced the opening of a new field office and the relocation of an existing field office to improve access to claims assistance for Tennessee Veterans. “To improve service to Middle Tennessee Veterans, we decided to open a Smyrna field office which will offer quick access to our customers located south of Nashville,” Grinder said.  “The relocation of the Cookeville field office will offer convenient claims assistance to Veteran patients receiving healthcare at a recently opened VA Outpatient Clinic.”   
In September, the Cookeville TDVA field office was relocated 851 S. Willow Avenue, Suite 108 in the Cookeville VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic which is a federal facility managed by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs Tennessee Valley Healthcare System (TVHS). The phone number to the relocated Cookeville field office is (931) 526-6929.
The department also opened a new field office and training division at 10541 Cedar Grove Road, Suite 130 in Smyrna, this summer.  TDVA employees and County Service Officers will utilize the training facility to receive updated instructions on changing claims policies and other federal and state Veteran benefit information which will be used to offer consistent high quality customer service and claims assistance statewide.  The new TDVA field office offers claims assistance for federal benefits.  The phone number to the new Smyrna field office is (615) 907-4607.
TDVA has 14 field offices and a Claims Division location which assists with appeals for claims denied by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.  For a full list of TDVA field offices, visit the “Where to Get Help” page on the TDVA website.
The Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs serves more than 521,000 Veterans and 1.5 million family members in 95 counties in partnership with 89 County Services.  County Service Officers are trained and accredited by TDVA, but are funded and supervised by county government leadership.

Beginning Oct. 1, the Tennessee Valley Authority will raise their rates for electricity. That increase is an increase of approximately 1.5 percent, or $2, to the average residential member of Middle Tennessee Electric. 
In an effort to help keep rates affordable, MTEMC will pass this adjustment through beginning Oct. 1. The change in rates is not beyond what TVA is charging, but is designed to keep costs affordable for members. The adjustment will come in an increased customer charge, taking it from $13.75 to $15.75, while at the same time, MTEMC will lower the energy cost members are charged per kilowatt hour. The adjustment, for the average residential electricity consumer, will balance out in most cases.
 
“This change does not mean more money for MTEMC,” said Chris Jones, President. “Our rates are still more than 20 percent lower than the national average, and this change will help keep it that way.”
 
The change, as passed through by MTEMC, will help in the summer and winter months when consumption is higher and TVA’s rates are slightly higher. The lower energy charge to members will keep bills affordable.
 
“Even though there is a rate change, electricity remains a great value,” said Jones. MTEMC offers numerous services to assist members in energy efficiency and conservation efforts. As a not-for-profit utility our goal is to assist members in using electricity wisely, now more than ever, we’re here to assist.”
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 200,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.

The Cannon County Rescue Squad announces their responder of the month is Skylar Daniel. Skylar joined the rescue squad six years ago.  He serves as a rescue technician and firefighter
Skylar is one of our rising stars and he is focused on training.  He was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree majoring in Agriculture, with a minor in Management, from Middle Tennessee State University.  He holds a State of Tennessee Firefighter I certification and he is certified as a Vehicle Rescue Technician by the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squad (TARS).  
Skylar has received training in Advance Vehicle Extrication and Emergency Vehicle Operations.  He has also completed training in Incident Command and Management from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.  Currently, Skylar is in mid-process of training with our senior instructors to become a certified trainer for vehicle extrication.  Early next year, he will attend formal training with the TARS Rescue College and become a State Certified Level One Instructor.
When asked why he joined the Rescue Squad, Skylar had this to say.  “I joined the Squad so that I could better myself and serve the people of Cannon County.  After my first rescue, I realized more why I joined.  Responding to calls gets my blood flowing and it is rewarding to help people.  Being part of the best team around, and the support we have for each other, makes it all worth the effort of volunteering.  We (the responders) have worked hard to build up the Rescue Squad, and I am glad to see people in the community support the Squad and the Fire Departments.”
Not only is Skylar a responder with the Rescue Squad, he is a volunteer firefighter with the Short Mountain Fire Department.  Outside of his involvement with emergency services in Cannon County, he likes to be outside and enjoys farming.  He also likes to hunt and enjoys being with his wife Shelby, who is also on the Rescue Squad and Short Mountain Fire Department.
The rescue squad would like to thank Skylar for all of the work that he is doing in Cannon County every day to help our citizens.  Skylar is very active in our operations and with our fundraising activities.  He has made Cannon County a better place to live and work.
For more information on becoming a volunteer responder with the Cannon County Rescue Squad, Inc., visitour website at www.CannonCountyRescue.com and contact Michael Underhill, CEO, at 615-904-5002 or by email at MUnderhill@CannonCountyRescue.com
To follow us on Facebook, like our page: https://www.facebook.com/CannonCountyRescue
To follow us on Instagram, like @cannoncountyrescuesquad, #cannoncountyrescuesquad

Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation officials are continuing to warn members about a number of scam phone calls where fraudulent callers are posing as employees of Middle Tennessee Electric, contacting members, and claiming their account is past due and subject to cutoff. “We have started to receive a number of calls again from members who are concerned about scam calls that are affecting them,” said MTEMC Communications Coordinator Josh Clendenen. “The callers have been posing as co-op employees and are instructing members to get a prepaid credit or debit card to pay their bill over the phone.”
MTEMC would like members to know if they are unsure if a caller is from the cooperative, they should hang up and call our member services line at 1-877-777-9020 to speak to an employee in our contact center. In the event a member’s account is past due, they would receive an automated phone call notifying them of the past due nature of their account. MTEMC employees will never ask for their personal account or payment information unless the member initiates the call. In addition, MTEMC will never show up at a member’s home or business and ask to collect payment. If someone claiming to be an MTEMC employee asks for payment at your home or business, please contact the authorities immediately.
Bill payment methods at MTEMC include bank draft, online bill pay, pay by phone at 1-877-777-9020, pay by mail and pay in person.
“If a member is subject to one of these calls, we encourage them to not give out any information, hang up and notify the authorities,” said Clendenen. “If you would like to know the status of your account, you can log onto your account through our website or call our member services line where they will give you the most up to date account information.”
Middle Tennessee Electric Membership Corporation is a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative providing electricity to more than 200,000 residential and business members in Williamson, Wilson, Rutherford and Cannon counties.

One time each year members of the Woodbury Lions Club solicit contributions from the public to assist the blind and to prevent blindness.  This annual drive is designated as White Cane Days.  This year the event will be on Friday and Saturday October 10 and 11 according to Lois Larimer, chairperson of the drive.  Funds collected during this drive will assist the club in making it possible for patients to be treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center without cost to that patient.  Other programs and projects assisted with White Cane Day funds are to provide recorded books, magazines, text books and any other material to blind and dyslexic person upon request: to provide a guide dog to any qualifying blind person at no cost; to provide low vision assistance and equipment to any person qualifying to provide assistance to students at the Tennessee School for the Blind in Nashville and to provide hearing aids to qualified persons in the county.   Lions Club members will be manning road blocks in Woodbury Friday and Saturday October 10th and 11th from 10 in the morning until 5 in the evening.
Other members will be soliciting donations from business and professional people.  Anyone wishing to make a tax deductible donation may do so by sending a check payable to Woodbury Lions Charities Inc to Lois Larimer 110 College Street Woodbury or giving it to any Lions Club member.