News 2016

Oct. 5—Principals’ meeting, CCBOE, 8:30-3:00
 
Oct. 7—Auburn Harvest Festival
              Cannon Co. Lions Football at Middle TN Christian
 
Oct. 10—Report Cards
Oct. 11—School Board meeting workshop, 6:30 p.m. CCBOE
                 Pre-K through 8 Parent/Teacher Conference, 3:00-6:00 p.m.
 
Oct. 13—CCHS Parent/Teacher Conference, 3:00-6:00 p.m.
                 School Board meeting, WGS Cafeteria, 6:30 p.m.
Oct. 14—Cannon Co. Lions Football at Sequatchie Co.
Oct. 17-21—Fall Break
Oct. 22—ACT re-take date for seniors
Oct. 24-26—LEAD Conference, Nashville, TN
Oct. 28—Cannon Co. Lions Football vs. Dekalb Co. at CCHS field
Nov. 11—Veterans’ Day Program at CCHS
 
 Do you have one hour per month to help students in your community transition from high school to college? tnAchieves, local partnering organization to Gov. Haslam’s TN Promise, needs 9,000 mentors to work with high school students from the Class of 2017. Mentors remind students of important deadlines, serve as a trusted college resource and, most importantly, encourage students to reach their full potential. The time commitment is small, but the impact can be life changing for a first generation college student trying to navigate the college going process. Learn more or register at https://tnachieves.org/mentors/requirements/.  For the class of 2017, Cannon County needs 22 mentors; currently only 6 adults have registered to be mentors for these seniors.   Our students need you; please consider being a mentor and register today.

Back in 2011, when I first arrived in Congress, I came across an article in the local newspaper telling of an archaeological excavation down in Monterrey, Mexico. The archeologists found skeletal remains that they believed to be the bodies of Tennesseans who fought in the 1846 Battle of Monterey during the Mexican American war. 
As the daughter, wife and mother of servicemen, I have a strong appreciation for the contributions of our U.S. military, and after hearing about these Tennessee soldiers that never returned home, I began a years-long journey toward a dignified burial for these veterans in their home state.  
Our efforts started in 2012 when I wrote a letter to Obama Administration officials asking them to give our veterans a proper burial at the Mexican War Memorial in the Gallatin City Cemetery. The response I received informed us that this was an evolving matter that the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City was working diligently on but “the final decision rests with the Mexican government.”
I was incredulous. Since when do we leave the fate of our veterans in the hands of a foreign government–and whatever happened to bringing every last soldier home from the battlefield?
With the help of the anthropologist team at Middle Tennessee State University, I continued to monitor the situation. I again sent letters to the State Department and Department of Defense pleading for an update on the status of their communications with the Mexican government. We received the same fruitless response as before: “The Department continues to press our Mexican counterparts…” 
The Mexican government — and our own federal bureaucracy — was keeping us in a holding pattern, and more importantly, they were keeping our fallen heroes from returning home where they belonged.  
There were times when I thought it would have been easy to wash our hands of the matter and leave well enough alone, but when I considered relenting I was convicted with the knowledge that these were the bodies of our men who had been left in a foreign land. They weren’t faceless names in an old, dusty book of records — they were real people, who left behind all they knew to fight in a war which would ultimately demand their lives. 
After all, it was this very war that solidified our status as the “Volunteer State.”  President James K. Polk, himself a Tennessee native, asked for 2,800 of our own to answer a call to serve, and 30,000 Tennesseans responded. These soldiers were among the ranks of servicemen who earned Tennessee its nickname. We couldn’t forsake them now. The only honorable outcome was to bring them home.
Eventually, I was connected with a separate department-head at the U.S. Army who informed us that, upon these soldiers’ return to the US, they would conduct DNA testing to try to learn the identities of these Volunteer State heroes. I was told that if a DNA match is not possible, their remains will be classified as “unknowns,” requiring them to be buried in a National Cemetery. 
Although the Mexican American War Memorial in Gallatin was the location of our initial request for burial, I began to worry that these veterans may not return to Tennessee for their final resting place. We urged the Secretary of the Army to consider the Nashville National Cemetery, Chattanooga National Cemetery, or the Memphis National Cemetery if final burial in Gallatin was not feasible.
Thankfully, after five years of negotiations with the Mexican Government these remains have finally been returned to U.S. soil, giving these soldiers the opportunity to come home to the country they loved and died to defend. 
On September 28th, I attended what is called a repatriation of remains “solemn movement” at Dover Air Force Base, where I joined military personnel and MTSU representatives to formally welcome these heroes home.  I may not know these soldiers’ names, and I may never get the chance to, but they deserve our honor and gratitude all the same.  
As we await the results of forensic testing, we do so with hope that these heroes are identified and returned to their families so that, somewhere in Tennessee, a handful of young sons and daughters would know of the patriotism and courage displayed by a family patriarch they never even knew and would gain a deeper love of their country in the process.
Sometimes it takes 170 years to do it, but Tennesseans can be proud to know that the United States has once again honored a sacred creed: leave no man behind.
 

Homecoming week at Cannon County High School wraps up tonight as the Cannon County Lions high school football team will host the Smith County Owls at Fred Schwartz Field in Woodbury.  The day will be spotlighted by a parade going from the High School through town starting at 1:00 this afternoon.  Then the Lions will take the field later on tonight looking for their third win of the season.  This is the first time in recent history that the Lions have scheduled region opponent Smith County as their homecoming opponent.  Every year however that Smith County has hosted the game in the series, the Lions have been their homecoming game.  Both teams come into the game 2-4 and both teams have lost their last two consecutive games.  Two years ago the Smith County program was struggling with several key injuries en route to 3-7 year.  The Lions earned their only victory of the season in a stunning 21-13 win over the Owls.  Last year however it was homecoming and Smith County never let the Lions breathe winning 56-0.  Cannon County will return Reece Smith and Dalton Morris back to the roster after they suffered concussions two weeks ago against York.  Anton Knox and Jon Micah Davis will also be back in uniform coming off of disciplinary suspensions.  Both will have to sit out the first quarter.
Football Friday starts with high school football guru Murphy Fair and Murphy’s Matchups followed by the Friday night Thunder at 6.  At 6:45 we will have the Reeds Builder’s Supply Pregame show including coverage of the crowning of the homecoming queen ceremonies.  at 7:00 it’s the kickoff to the game.  You can listen to Football Friday on AM-1540 FM 107.1 WBRY and streaming online at wbry.com.

The Adams Memorial Library has served the Cannon County Community for 50 years now.  The Library will have a recognition ceremony slated for Saturday starting at 11 in the morning to open the year long celebration of 50 years of service.  The community of Cannon County and surrounding areas are invited to attend the ceremony and reception.  Chuck Sherrill, State Librarian and Archivist will be speaking about the libraries of the future.  The Adams Memorial Library opened to serve the people in July of 1966.

Arts Center of Cannon County presents the local production of the play “The Odd Couple” starting tonight. Neil Simon’s hilarious play centers on a pair of desperately mismatched roommates–one sloppy and one neat–who are arguably the most memorable pair of characters that the successful playwright has ever written. It debuted on Broadway in 1965 and spawned an extremely successful 1968 movie and sitcom that ran for five seasons.
Performances run September 30, October 1, 7, 8, 14 & 15 at 7:30pm and October 2 & 9 at 2:00pm.  You can purchase tickets at the Arts Center Box Office.   Office hours are 10:00a.m. to 4:00p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. For reservations or ticket information please call 615-563-(ARTS) 2787.

A Coffee County man is charged with TennCare fraud for using the program to obtain a prescription for a controlled substance, which he later sold to someone else.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), with the assistance of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office, today announced the arrest of Harold Grant Lovelace, 54, of Manchester. He’s charged with TennCare fraud in connection with using TennCare benefits to obtain a prescription for the painkiller Hydrocodone and later selling a portion to a confidential informant.
“Tennesseans won´t allow this kind of abuse of the state´s public health program, especially considering the amount of prescription drugs that are being sold illegally,” Inspector General Manny Tyndall said. “TennCare drug fraud is one of our prime targets, and we´re working these cases across the state.”
District Attorney General Craig Northcott is prosecuting. As of July 1, 2016, TennCare fraud was changed to a Class D felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to more than $3 million being repaid to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of more than $163.6 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 2,732 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.

A recent disturbance between neighbors recently may have been blamed on the wrong guy.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department reports, Deputies were dispatched to a residence on Parchcorn Hollow Road.  Upon arrival, they spoke with Sue Stancil who was in the driveway cleaning up a large pile of debris.  Ms. Stancil stated that her husband Bob was in the shop when a neighbor, Randall Bogle pulled up angry and accused him of dumping trash on his property.  According to Mr. Stancil, Randall pulled up in a green jeep got out with two bags of trash and began yelling.  Then Bogle proceeded to throw the bags of trash scattering it all over the driveway.  The Jeep was caught on a trail camera and photographs were taken of the trash.  In the trash however was a piece of mail with the name of another man named Bob which indicates that Bogle may have blamed the wrong person.  The Stancils were given advice on the warrants process.

County unemployment rates for August 2016, released last week, show the rates decreased in 26 counties, increased in 58, and remained the same in 11 counties
Cannon County’s unemployment rate went up one-tenth of a percentage point in August.  Out of an estimated work force of 6190 people, 5880 people were employed while 300 were unemployed.  This gave Cannon County a 4.9 percent unemployment figure up from July’s 4.8 percent.  Surrounding counties unemployment rate also slightly up with Coffee County at 4.9 percent.  Rutherford County showed a 4 percent unemployment rate, Wilson stayed at 4 percent same as July while two counties, Warren’s 4.8 percent and Dekalb’s 5.8 percent were actually dropped from July’s rates.
Tennessee’s preliminary unemployment rate for August was 4.4 percent, increasing one tenth of a percentage point from the previous month’s revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for August was 4.9 percent, remaining unchanged from the previous month.

Today, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee announced that it is withdrawing from the exchange under the Affordable Care Act in the major parts of the state, including parts of District 46, effectively shedding about 112,000 Tennesseans from its rolls.  
 
Citing instability in the marketplace, the insurance company’s decision is the direct result of failed Republican leadership and Republicans’ inexplicable refusal to expand Medicaid and pass Insure Tennessee. 
 
“Working families across District 46 are now feeling the effects of Republicans leadership and incompetent representation,” said state House District 46 candidate Amelia Morrison Hipps.
 
“Because of Republicans like Mark Pody, who blocked access to affordable and quality health care from the very beginning, sole proprietors, entrepreneurs, and small business owners with individual policies are now being directly impacted,” she added.
 
Hipps noted that Republicans like Pody have turned away over $2.5 billion “of our own tax dollars, causing our neighbors to suffer, our local economies to hurt, rural hospitals to close putting people’s lives at risk, and the insurance marketplace in Tennessee to become increasingly unstable.”
 
States that have expanded Medicaid are experiencing economic growth. Kentucky’s expansion is estimated to have a cumulative positive impact of $30.1 billion its economy through the state’s fiscal year 2021.
 
“Mark Pody’s refusal to champion Insure Tennessee shows a complete lack of compassion for our families. Instead, he has spent his time in office railing against the federal government with futile resolutions and threats of lawsuits,” she added.
 
“Pody has turned his back on the people of District 46 in many ways.  He’s deprived working families of health care, blocked necessary resources from our classrooms, and kept people in poverty who deserve a higher wage,” Hipps said.  “It’s time for a new voice in District 46.”
 

A Woodbury Man who apparently got a little snack hungry was arrested over the weekend after Murfreesboro Police responded to a call at the Walmart on South Rutherford Blvd.  According to police reports 35 year old David Wayne Sieber Jr. was arrested after loss prevention officers witnessed him break into a box of doughnuts and consume a few.  He was also caught with razors on his person in which he attempted to steal.  While running a check on him, police discovered he had two arrest warrants including public intoxication.  Sieber was charged with Theft under $500 and will answer to the charge on November 16th in Rutherford County General Sessions Court.