News 2016

Another big football weekend starts today with the 9th game of the season for the Cannon County Lions. The Lions tonight will travel to Sequatchie County to attempt to dethrone the region standing leader.  Sequatchie County is 3-0 in region play tied at this point with a 3-0 Upperman team. A Lions win on the road would not only stun the Indians but shake up the Region standings as Sequatchie County is by far expected to win the region with games after the Lions being Grundy County and Upperman in the final two weeks of the regular season.  The Lions are 0-4 in region play and 2-6 overall
Football Friday starts at 5:30 with the guru of high school football Murphy Fair and Murphy’s matchups followed by Friday night Thunder at 6:00 featuring live pre kickoff reports from high school football games throughout the mid state.  The Reed Builder’s Supply pregame show starts at 6:45 and kickoff in Dunlap will be at 7:00.  You can hear the game live on AM-1540/FM107.1 WBRY and online at wbry.com
 

 The Gilley Hill Cemetery Fund Raiser will take place from 6 to 9P at the Gilley Hill Cemetery Church Building.  The fund raiser consists of a singing and auction of cake and pies.  The event is open to everyone.  If you have any questions contact Terry Burks at 615-849-6297 Wilma Spry at 615-765-5429 or Betty Harris at 615-765-7241

The Center for the Arts presents the Mel Brooks’ comedy musical Young Frankenstein, running October 14-30, 2016. The hilarious musical takes the classic horror story and turns it upside down! The grandson of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein has inherited the family estate, but when he goes to visit the property, chaos ensues and so does the laughter. *This show is not recommended for ages 17 and under – adult situations and minor language.
Tickets can be purchased on the center’s website at www.boroarts.org; calling 615-904-2787; or stopping by the Center’s box office at 110 W. College St. in downtown Murfreesboro. Prices are $15 for adults; $13 for seniors, students and military; and $11 for children. Group tickets are available. Performances are at 7:30 pm on Friday and Saturday evenings and 2:00 pm on Sunday afternoons.
Young Frankenstein, the musical is sponsored by Bridgestone Trust Fund.
 

Business owners, staff and guests are invited to the Arts Center of Cannon County tonight for a Cannon County Chamber of Commerce Business Mixer.  This is an excellent opportunity to network with other business owners, share ideas and meet the staff of the Cannon County Chamber of Commerce and discover the many resources the Chamber has to help grow business.  The mixer will take place from 6-8 tonight there will be food available and the event is free.  If you do plan on coming tonight, please prepare a 60 second commercial about your business to share it with those in attendance.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in conjunction with the Murfreesboro Police Department and the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), the trade association for the firearms industry, have announced a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction for those responsible for the theft of firearms from TC’s Pawn, a federal firearm licensee (FFL).
On Oct. 6, 2016, TC’s Pawn, 903 Mercury Blvd, was burglarized and approximately 15 firearms were reported stolen to the Murfreesboro Police Department. ATF industry operations investigators are in the process of conducting an inventory to determine the exact number of firearms stolen.
ATF is offering the reward in the amount of up to $2,500, which will be matched by the NSSF for a total reward of up to $5,000. This reward is part of a larger national cooperative initiative between the NSSF and ATF in which NSSF matches ATF’s reward in cases involving the theft of firearms from federally licensed firearms retailers. ATF works closely with members of the firearm industry to curb the criminal acquisition and misuse of firearms.
Anyone with information about this crime should contact the ATF at (800) ATF-GUNS (1-800-283-4867) or the Murfreesboro Police Department at (615) 893-7867. Information can also be sent to ATF via the mobile app www.reportit.com by using the Nashville field division as the location.
 

The Hilton Stone American Legion Post 279 in Woodbury, Tennessee, operated the Popcorn Booth at the Annual Veterans Hospital Carnival last weekend
This is a great annual event for the staff and patients at the Alvin C. York Medical Facility in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.  Veterans organizations from all over Middle Tennessee come and operate booths which provide food of all types, cotton candy, snow cones, iced drinks, fruit, music, give away items, all free.   
There were about 100 booths providing lots of food and fun.  It is a great day for the
Veterans who are patients at the VA.  American Legion Post 279 is proud and honored to be part of this program honoring our veterans for their service to this great country.
 

A memorial cancer walk will be held on the Moore County campus of Motlow State Community College on Thursday, Oct. 13, beginning at 1:45 p.m. at the Crouch Center.

This year’s event, The Greer Alsup Memorial Cancer Walk, honors the memory of Greer Alsup, a Motlow employee of 24 years who lost her battle to cancer in June. The walk will consist of one lap around the loop road and will be culminated with a reception in the Crouch Center.

To recognize Alsup’s service and dedication to Motlow State, a ceremony will precede the walk. A tree will be planted beside a park bench outside of Crouch Center and an engraved marker will denote the many contributions made by the at-large Motlow State community.

“The legacy of Greer Alsup will continue,” said Brenda Cannon, director of special events at Motlow. “This event, which for many years Greer served as grand marshal, honors the memory of our special friend and colleague who recently lost her battle with cancer.”

Additionally a Greer Alsup Memorial Scholarship Fund is being established through the Motlow College Foundation. Contributions are being accepted.

Cancer walks raise awareness of cancer and show solidarity of support for those affected by cancer. October is breast cancer awareness month.

“Cancer is color blind. Cancer has no respect of the person,” added Cannon. “We encourage the community to come and walk, wear pink and support this great cause.”

To make a donation to the Greer Alsup Memorial Scholarship fund please contact Lane Yoder, Motlow College Foundation director, at lyoder@mscc.edu or 931-393-1692.

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced Tuesday that the 2015-16 graduation rate of 88.5 percent is the highest on record since the state changed to a more rigorous calculation of graduation rates in 2011.
The latest statewide graduation rate was up nearly a full percentage point since last year and overall has increased three percentage points since the state implemented the more rigorous calculations. This year, nearly 60 percent of districts saw their graduation rates increase or stay the same when compared to last year’s rates.
Over the past few years, Tennessee has been raising expectations for both students and educators, and the state has seen significant gains as a result. These outcomes, including increases in graduation rates, are a testament to the work being done in schools across the state. The most notable gains and overall achievements are:
 12 districts improved their graduation rates by five percentage points or more.
    95 districts—over 70 percent of the districts in the state—have graduation rates at or above 90 percent, up from 81 districts last year.
76 districts—roughly 60 percent of districts in the state—had graduation rates at or above 90 percent for both 2014-15 and 2015-16.
More information, such as graduation rates for individual subgroups, will be available on the State Report Card, which will be released later this fall

DeKalb/Cannon County USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Executive Director Donny Green wants to inform hay and pasture producers of a new important crop acreage reporting deadline. For crop year 2017, acreage reports for perennial forage (hay and pasture) must be filed by November 15, 2016. Acreage reports filed after the established deadline could require the producer to pay a late-filed fee. 
In past years, crop acreage reports for hay and pasture had to be filed by July 15. However, the new Acreage/Crop Reporting Streamlining Initiatiave (ACRSI) has established a common USDA framework for acreage reporting dates to be used for all agencies.
In order to participate in most of the Farm Service Agency’s programs, complete and timely crop acreage reports must be filed for program approval and payment eligibility. “We realize that this change to the acreage reporting date for hay and pasture comes with very short notice. We only have about a month to get all of our hay and pasture producers certified and we are going to do our best to make sure everyone is aware of this change and the importance of getting hay and pasture crops certified before November 15, 2016”, says Green.
For questions regarding crop acreage reporting dates, please contact the DeKalb/Cannon County FSA office at 615-597-8225, extension 2.

Mr. William Freddy Curtis, a resident of Smithville, TN, is a 31 year veteran of Cannon County Schools and teaches US Government, Sociology, and Advanced Placement US Government & Politics at Cannon County High School in Woodbury, TN.  He was appointed to the Tennessee Social Studies Standards Recommendation Committee by Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Beth Harwell earlier this year, and was subsequently elected Vice Chairman by the committee.  The following article by Committee Chairman Mr. Jason Roach and Mr. Curtis describes the responsibility of the committee and asks for the public’s input regarding changes in Tennessee’s Social Studies Standards.
 
Social Studies Standards in Tennessee: Changing for the Better
By: Jason Roach and William Freddy Curtis
How often do citizens speak up only to be patronized or, let’s face it, outright ignored by those who represent them? We can proudly report that Tennesseans spoke and Legislative Plaza listened. Not only did your representatives listen, but they implemented a ground-breaking process to fix a problem that irked many Tennesseans across our state.
During the 2014-2015 school year, the State Board of Education implemented a set of social studies standards that were designed to increase the academic rigor in social studies classrooms across the state. There were some concerns that many Tennesseans had with the content of the standards as well as how developmentally appropriate they were for Tennessee students. In 2016, after hearing many share their concerns, the state government designed a process to review the standards and to create a version that better reflects Tennessee values.
A team of professional educators was selected from all across the state to review and edit the standards. This “educator advisory team” has worked relentlessly to represent the core values of Tennesseans while also understanding the need to address a variety of historically relevant topics throughout the social studies curriculum. We have seen this team in action. They are a phenomenal group of social studies teachers and leaders that have worked to revise the social studies standards according to the needs of our students. As of now, they have wrapped up their first round of edits of the social studies standards.
The Social Studies Recommendation Committee is made up of many qualified professionals, from a district leader of Nashville Metro schools to a professor of history at Tennessee State University. Our committee will review the changes that are given to us, discuss further changes, and send the standards back to the educator advisory team to be addressed again. Once we conclude that the standards are ready, we will make a final recommendation to the State Board of Education for approval.
The need for continued feedback from Tennesseans is both necessary and desired throughout this process. The Tennessee State Board of Education has designed a program where any Tennessee citizen can comment on the standards that have been proposed. The public comment portion of this process was opened last year in order to obtain feedback about the standards before we began our work. We have looked at all 60,000 comments. Our committee values the input of our fellow Tennesseans. If you missed the first opportunity, you have until October 28th to review and leave feedback on the revised set of standards at https://apps.tn.gov/tcas/ .
The voices of all Tennesseans matter in this process. As we move forward with this process, we ask that you partner with us to create a set of social studies standards that we can ensure will benefit the students who sit in every public school classroom in the state of Tennessee.