News 2016

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) Division of Consumer Affairs reminds consumers that scammers continue trying to trick consumers and businesses into providing information that leads to identity theft, drains bank accounts, and ruins credit reports. In fact, several BBBs recently reported scammers are once again weaving BBB’s trusted name into their ploy pitches because they know the public sees BBB as a trusted entity.
According to BBB, one woman said she received a call from “Chris Gabriel” who identified himself as a representative of the Better Business Bureau. To sound official, the caller gave her an ID number and said the call was about her Citibank card. She indicated the caller knew everything about her card, and because she trusts BBB, she gave him some information. Soon after, she realized she had made a mistake.  She immediately hung up, canceled her card and called BBB.
The scammers didn’t stop there. BBB then received a call from a business who shared a similar experience, but in this instance the caller claimed to be calling from BBB stating it was in regard to the company’s credit card processing machine.  The scammer requested bank account routing details and the owner’s social security number claiming it was to update payment and contact information. The unsuspecting business provided the requested information believing he really was talking to BBB.  Afterward, he realized BBB would not request this type of information, and is now taking necessary action to report identity theft.  BBB urges consumers and businesses to never give out personally identifiable information until you have confirmed who the requesting party is and why the information is necessary.  BBB would never ask for credit card machine processing information. The only time BBB would accept credit card information is upon receipt of an application for BBB accreditation status or other related accreditation services.  Even then, BBB welcomes and encourages all businesses to verify with whom they are speaking by calling BBB’s main phone number (615-242-4222) or visiting BBB’s website BBB.org/Nashville. (There is a “Contact Us” button on the top of the webpage.)
Did You Ask?
Before providing your personal or financial information, and before you buy or schedule services, be sure to get the following information and verify it:
The person’s full name (ask for a business card)
The business’ name
The street address for the business (no PO Boxes)
A call back number
Ask if they are listed with the BBB, and if so, what’s their rating.  If you expect to spend a lot of money, ask for their local banking name and location.  Now that you have gathered the information, check them out and make an informed decision by visiting GoBBB.org.
 

MTSU’s spring Class of 2016 undergraduates had a perfect day to start the rest of their lives Saturday, May 7th, armed with new university degrees and words of inspiration from Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and HBO executive Kary Antholis. Commencement created 2,034 new Blue Raider alumni.
“Your GPA is not a tattoo you’ll wear for the rest of your life,” Barry, the first woman and the first Metro Council member elected Nashville mayor, told the Class of 2016 morning graduates in Murphy Center. “It’s not the sum of who you are.
“As one MTSU graduate on my staff said, ‘You can never learn less; you can only learn more.’ Experience as much as you can. Read. Listen to music. Travel. Go to movies, plays and art galleries. Meet people. Stretch your imagination, and extend your sense of what’s possible.”
Antholis, president of HBO Miniseries and Cinemas Programming, reminded graduates at the afternoon ceremony that while they have many more accomplishments ahead, they should also keep in mind those who helped them reach their goals.
Explaining that his Oscar-winning documentary on Holocaust survivor Gerda Weissmann Klein, “One Survivor Remembers,” had its impetus in his own mother’s family’s horror in Greece at the hands of the Nazis, Antholis recalled Mrs. Klein’s beautiful, gracious words that night and their impact since. (You can see Mrs. Klein’s speech at http://youtu.be/5zn-fPM4KS0.)
“You do earn success with hard work and self-reliance, but you also will be served by remaining mindful of the people who’ve helped you along the way,” Antholis said.
“As you go forward and build your lives, enjoy success and endure setbacks, please know that you will always be well-served by honoring the voices, values and love of those who have supported you and made sacrifices for you.”
A total of 2,034 undergraduates received their degrees on the breezy spring Saturday. The morning event included students from the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, the Jones College of Business, the College of Education, and the College of Media and Entertainment. The afternoon ceremony featured students in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences, College of Liberal Arts, and the University College.
Tennessee State Historian Carroll Van West, a longtime MTSU professor and director of the university’s Center for Historic Preservation, addressed the university’s first separate ceremony May 6, where 349 received their doctorate, master’s and education specialist degrees. You can learn more about that event at http://ow.ly/aSEX3000aDX.
New MTSU graduate Kara Lane’s aspirations don’t take her far from home or heart. The Beech Grove, Tennessee, resident, who grew up on a beef cattle farm, earned her bachelor’s degree in animal science with an eye toward becoming a veterinarian.
“I’ve just always had a love and passion for animals,” said Lane, who’s applying to the University of Tennessee, Mississippi State and the University of Virginia in her quest to open a practice for animals of all kinds.
“I’ve always been interested in animal surgery. When I was younger, one of my dogs got sick and I just … felt helpless. They say that (small animal practice) is where the money is, but it’s not about the money for me. It’s about helping the animals.”
MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee encouraged that sort of perspective in his address to the graduates.
“You’ll become part of the distinguished history of this institution,” he said. “We make up more than just an academic community; we are a family.”
New graduate Alison Todd, 21, of Murfreesboro represents the fourth generation of her family’s affiliation with MTSU. A cum laude graduate with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and minors in French and Spanish from the College of Liberal Arts and the University Honors College, Todd played in the Band of Blue, was president of the Sigma Alpha Iota music fraternity and worked in multiple campus offices.
“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work and time teachers have given me. It is a big deal — everything I ever worked for,” said Todd, who will spend the summer at an archaeological field school in Romania, Greece and England, then take a year off in a volunteer reading/speaking English role before attending graduate school to study forensic anthropology.
You can see photos from the day’s events at http://facebook.com/mtsublueraiders. A PDF copy of the complete spring 2016 commencement program, which includes all the graduates’ names and degrees, is available at http://ow.ly/wjeI3000Nhm.
 

May is the month for when landscapers and homeowners are rewarded for their spring efforts with lush beauty and the promise of a glorious summer. Jason Reeves, curator of the University of Tennessee Gardens, Jackson, took some time from working in the Gardens to offer these tips for keeping your landscape and gardens beautiful and productive:

•  Plant butterfly weed (Asclepias), parsley, dill, rue and pipevine to encourage butterflies in your garden. The foliage of these plants provides food for the caterpillars. Aristolochia fimbriata is a lovely ground-cover-type of pipevine that is covered each year by the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar at the UT Gardens, Jackson. It may be a little hard to find for sale, but it is worth seeking out.

• Early May is a good time to cut back bushy woody perennials, like rosemary, rue, lavender, Santolina and Artemisia.

• If you haven’t done so already, prune spring-flowering shrubs (azaleas, flowering quince, Forsythia and Loropetalum), but only if they need it. To keep their forms more natural in appearance, as opposed to looking like a meatball, follow the taller branches down into the shrub and cut just above a joint.

• A good option for Loropetalums that have outgrown their space is to prune them into a tree-form. They easily can be limbed up by removing lower branches. Loropetalum ‘Crimson Fire’ is a dwarf form that has proven to be hard in all but the coldest part of Tennessee. As with all Loropetalums, they are best planted in spring or summer in insure proper establishment before the winter months. It will mature to 3-ft tall, and can be seen growing at the UT Gardens in both Knoxville and Jackson.

• Remove the flowering stalks on yucca as they begin to form if you dislike the look of the bloom. Cut them off down in the foliage at the source, and you won’t even know they were there.

• Old flower stems can be removed from lungwort so not to distract from the lovely foliage.

• Caladiums and vinca need warm soil. Caladium tubers will rot in cool soil, and vinca will be disease-prone, or exhibit stunted growth. Night temperatures should regularly be above 60 degrees F before planting them.

• You can still direct seed easy-to-grow flowering annuals and vegetables. Some easy flowers to grow from seed include marigold, zinnia, sunflowers and cosmos. Beans, peas, corn and okra are some easy direct sow vegetables, while dill, basil and cilantro are some easy direct-sow herbs. If you prefer to get your garden green quickly, gardening shops have plenty of young plants available for sale. Before shopping for annuals, you may want to consult the UT Gardens Annual Herbaceous Plant Trial Program data to see which cultivars of your favorite plant performed the best. Results for the garden in Knoxville and Jackson can be found at utgardens.tennessee.edu/annual_trials.html​.

•  Azaleas often show symptoms of lace bug and spider mite infestations during the hot months of summer. This damage can be prevented by a one-time, early application of the systemic insecticide imidacloprid. This insecticide should be poured in liquid form around the root system as the flowers fade, spreading the active ingredients throughout the plant tissue where it remains effective through the growing season. Bayer Advanced Tree and Shrub Insect Control is a common brand that contains this safe and effective insecticide. Always follow label directions when applying any pesticide.

For additional tips, visit the UT Extension website: extension.tennessee.edu and click on the menu link to “Publications.” Enter the term “landscaping” or “gardening” in the search engine.

The University of Tennessee Gardens include plant collections located in Knoxville, Crossville and Jackson. Designated as the official botanical garden for the State of Tennessee, the collections are part of the UT Institute of Agriculture. The Gardens’ mission is to foster appreciation, education and stewardship of plants through garden displays, educational programs and research trials. The Gardens are open during all seasons and free to the public. For more information, see the website: utgardens.tennessee.edu
 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released two studies, detailing the nature and extent of domestic violence and instances of law enforcement officers attacked while on duty.
In both studies, the TBI presents data submitted by the state’s law enforcement agencies through the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS).
Among the findings in “Domestic Violence 2013-2015”:
A total of 232,031 domestic violence offenses were reported from 2013 to 2015.
Simple Assault was, by far, the most frequently reported offense, accounting for 68.1% of all offenses designated as having a domestic violence nexus.
From 2013 to 2015, victims were six times more likely to be abused by a Spouse than an Ex-Spouse in domestic offenses.
Among the findings in “Law Enforcement Officers Killed or Assaulted (LEOKA) 2015”:

The number of LEOKA victims increased slightly, by 1% year-to-year, with 1,757 victims reported in 2015.
In 2015, there was one Law Enforcement Officer reported as being feloniously killed in the line of duty.
T­he most frequently reported LEOKA offense was Simple Assault at 56.5%.
As with all of its crime publications, the TBI cautions against using the data provided in these reports to compare one jurisdiction to another. The factors impacting crime vary from community to community and accordingly, comparisons are considered neither fair nor accurate.

Both reports are currently available for review on the TBI’s website: www.tn.gov/tbi.
 

DTC Communications makes this announcement. Customers may have received emails directing you to participate in an anonymous survey.
Please do not respond to any emails requesting personal information, or username and
passwords. DTC Communications will never email you and request personal information or your email username and password.
All email requesting personal information, or usernames, passwords, account numbers
should be suspect and DTC will never request information of this nature by email
Should you have any questions please contact our office at 615-683-TECH (8324)
 

Cannon County Sheriff’s Department is investigating a case of a missing trailer.  Tuesday, deputies went to speak to Diane Mooneyham in regards to a trailer that had been stolen from her old residence at Eugene Reed Road.  Mooneyham advised that she was last at the property at the end of February and the new owners were there around the first of March.  Ms. Mooneyham advised that she had left a black 5×8 utility trailer sitting on the property with flat tires and spoke with the new owners of the property about leaving it there until she could get tires and a truck to come back for it.  Last week when she went to go pick up the trailer it was no longer there.  Ms. Mooneyham stated that she spoke with the property owners Sunday and they stated that they had thought she already retrieved the trailer when they saw tire tracks and the trailer was gone.  They had told Ms. Mooneyham they had still been staying in Murfreesboro and recently had come by the property and the trailer was not there.  The Sheriff’s Department is continuing the investigation.

Jody Sliger 3-Star Director, of the Tennessee Economic Community Development will be addressing the Cannon County Commission during their regular monthly meeting Thursday  Sliger is one of the many items on the agenda.  Four resolutions will be looked at and voted on.  Resolution 2016-6 for Emergency Medical Services Personnel, Resolution 2016-8 to credit TCRS for 9-1-1.  Resolution 2016-10 Litter Grant for 2016/2017 and Resolution 2016-11 to approve an act to amend Chapter 318 of the Private Acts of 1943, as amended by Chapter 266 of the Private Acts of 1949 and any other acts amendatory thereto, relative to the filing and disposition of certain mental health cases in Cannon County.  The meeting will take place Thursday evening  at the Cannon County Courthouse at 5:00
 

The Big Payback, a community-wide, online giving day hosted by The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, returns Tuesday and The Arts Center is thrilled to be participating.
How does The Big Payback work?
Kicking off at 12:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 3, donors can make gifts online bigpayback.org to participating nonprofits in the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee. On May 3rd, your contributions to The Arts Center of Cannon County could be amplified with matching dollars made possible by The Big Payback sponsors throughout the day.
Why support The Arts Center of Cannon County?
Contributing to The Arts Center through The Big Payback on May 3rd puts dollars into Arts Center endowment. Having a $1 million goal, the endowment will generate earnings which will be used to maintain our 18,000 square foot facility and grounds.
The Arts Center’s  Goal: keeping the arts available, affordable and alive in Middle Tennessee. This is long term planning and it is starting now.
To donate to the Arts Center or any of the other participating non profit organizations go to the website at bigpayback.org
 

 Motlow State Community College campuses will be hosting a College Majors Night in May for new Tennessee Promise students to learn about programs and classes that the college offers.

Students and parents will be able to meet Motlow State instructors, get free assistance from financial aid representatives, talk to completion coaches, and learn more about Motlow State programs and services, including disability services, honors, tutoring and study abroad.

The McMinnville campus event will be on Tuesday, May 3, beginning at 5:30 p.m. For more information contact Melody Edmonds at 931-668-7010, or medmonds@mscc.edu.

The Moore County campus event will be Thursday, May 5, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Powers Auditorium, Eoff Hall. For more information contact Sherian Oakley at 931-393-1844, or soakley@mscc.edu.
 

A Cannon County woman who was allegedly under the influence of drugs was arrested recently for aggravated burglary.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department Reports, Investigators were called to a Fowler Road residence about a possible theft.  The home owner stated that the female suspect Mandy Jernigan was crawling through an open window in the living room when she was caught going through a pair of pants and wallet which was sitting next to the chair the man was sleeping in.  Jernigan had been living in a camper trailer next to the residence.  Investigators went to the trailer and after a few minutes of trying to wake Jernigan up, noticed she was under the influence of some type of drug.  Jernigan stated she went over to the residence to talk but that the owners would not answer the door.  That’s when she noticed a window was open and pulled the screen off the windown and crawled inside.  Jernigan was arrested for aggravated burglary and will answer to the charges June 7th in Cannon County General Sessions Court.