News 2016

Closings And Delays For Tuesday January 26
Cannon County Schools Closed Tuesday
Dekalb County Schools Closed Tuesday
Coffee County, Warren County and Wilson County School Systems All Will Be Open Two Hours Late.

Thursday, January 28th, starting at 4:00, there will be a chili supper fundraiser at the high school cafeteria during the Grammar School County Tournaments.
Cost is $5 and all proceeds go to the football team. The boys will have tickets for presale or you can by a ticket at the door.
 

The Cannon County Convenience Center closed Friday (Jan 22nd) at 1:00 p.m. and all day Saturday (23rd) due to the weather.  We were forced to close Sunday due to the closing of the Allied Waste Landfill on Friday and the weekend.  With Allied Waste closed, we could not haul our garbage to the landfill.  We apologize if this was an inconvenience to anyone.

Cannon County Schools Are Closed Monday January 25th
Cannon County Grammar School Games Scheduled For Monday have been postponed.

Other school systems closed Monday in the WBRY listening area include
Coffee, Dekalb, Rutherford, Wilson, Bedford, and Warren County Schools are closed Monday
Manchester, Murfreesboro and Tullahoma City Schools Are Closed Monday
Covenant Academy McMinnville-Open Two Hours Late
Franklin Road Christian School Murfreesboro is closed
Temple School of Manchester-Open Two Hours Late
Middle Tennessee State University will open at 11:30 a.m. Monday, Jan. 25, said university President Sidney A. McPhee. Classes resume and staff report at that time.
Student parking garages will remain closed because of lingering slick pavement conditions.
Students who feel they cannot safely travel to campus should advise their professors to make appropriate arrangements. Faculty should accommodate students who feel they cannot safety travel to campus and post necessary information about resumption of courses.
Employees should use discretion in reporting to work, and those unable to report should contact his/her supervisor.
 

A Cannon County man who tried to run over a woman in her own yard was arrested recently for reckless endangerment.  According to Cannon County Sheriff’s Department Reports, Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Colwell was dispatched to a residence on Hollow Springs Road in reference to a male subject driving a blue Ford Expedition through the complainants yard trying to run her over.  Upon arrival, Deputy Colwell made contact with the victim Regina Maynard, who stated that when her friend Cory Spry, arrived at her residence, Blake Welch got in his vehicle and began acting belligerent, driving through the yard and chasing Mr. Spry’s vehicle.  Ms. Maynard also stated that Mr. Welch almost ran over her with his vehicle while standing in the yard within just a couple feet of his path.  Deputy Colwell went to speak with Mr. Welch.  Welch stated that he though Mr. Spry had taken his gun that he left at this residence and that he got upset and began to chase Mr. Spry.  Mr. Welch stated that he did drive erratically through the yard and in the process struck a tree and a black Dodge Durango belonging to Ms. Maynard.  Statements were taken from others in reference to the incident.  Mr. Welch was taken into custody and transported to the Cannon County Jail for booking.  Mr. Welch was charged with reckless endangerment and two counts of vandalism.  He is scheduled to answer to the charges March 1st in Cannon County General Sessions Court.

Saint Thomas Stones River Hospital’s annual Weight Loss Challenge is partnering with the Cannon County Chamber of Commerce to bring you the Biggest Loser Community Challenge. NBC and The Biggest Loser are launching The Biggest Loser Community Challenge for 2016. Teams of four are invited to join this eight-week, online health & wellness community challenge. The challenge is for people of all fitness levels and is designed to get the community moving, eating better and having fun!
The event kick-off on Monday, January 25th at Saint Thomas Stones River Cafeteria anytime from 5pm to 6pm.  Everyone is encouraged to participate in this event.

Governor Haslam has declared Jan. 24-30, 2016 as School Board Appreciation Week in Tennessee. This week helps build awareness and understanding of the vital functions our locally elected boards of education play in our community. Cannon County is joining public school districts from across the state to celebrate School Board Appreciation Week and honor local board members for their commitment to Cannon County and its children.
 
“Our school system is the backbone of our community, and these men and women devote countless hours to making sure our schools are helping every child,” Director of Schools Barbara Parker said. “They spend countless hours studying the issues and regulations and make the tough decisions when called upon to ensure the type of accountability people expect.”
 
Director Parker said the key work of school boards is to raise student achievement by:
 
Creating a vision for what the community wants the school district to be and for making student achievement the top priority;
Establishing standards for what students will be expected to learn and be able to do;
Ensuring progress is measured to be sure the district’s goals are achieved and students are learning at expected levels;
Being accountable for their decisions and actions by continually tracking and reporting results;
Creating a safe, orderly climate where students can learn and teachers can teach;
Forming partnerships with others in the community to solve common problems; and
Focusing attention on the need for continuous improvement by questioning, refining and revising issues related to student achievement.
 
“Our local school board gives the Cannon County citizens a voice in education decision making process. Their contribution is a year-round commitment.”
 
The members serving our county are Randy Gannon, Chairman; Nathan Sanders, Vice Chairman; Bruce Daniel; Tim Powers; and Shelley Walkup.

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN CANNON COUNTY SCHOOLS
 
January 24-30—School Board Appreciation Week
 
January 25th—Progress Reports for students
 
January —28th—30th—Elementary county basketball tournament, CCHS
 
January 26th—CCHS basketball games with Macon Co. at Lafayette, 6:00 p.m.
 
January 26th—100th day of school
 
January 27th—WBRY Spotlight—Woodland School
 
January 29th—CCHS basketball games with Smith Co. at CCHS, 6:00 p.m.
 
February 2nd—CCHS basketball games with York Institute at Jamestown, 6:00 p.m.
 
February 5th—CCHS basketball games with Upperman at CCHS, 6:00 p.m.
 
February 9th—CCHS basketball games with Livingston at Livingston, 6:00 p.m.
 
February 11th—CCHS basketball games with Dekalb Co. at CCHS, 6:00 p.m.
 
February 12th—CCHS basketball games with Page at CCHS, 6:00p.m.
 

Today marks the 43rd anniversary of the tragic Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized elective abortion nationwide. Tens of thousands of pro-life Americans will mark the occasion by attending the annual “March for Life” in Washington where they will rally together to urge protection for our nation’s unborn. I’ve had an opportunity to speak at this event before (see here)  and it is truly a moving experience.

On this somber day, I join many others in reflecting with sadness on the 57 million lives lost to the violence of abortion, but I am also hopeful. I believe that we can restore a culture of life in our country – one that honors the most vulnerable and voiceless among us – and I will continue fighting to make that a reality. In that spirit, I wanted to share the below op-ed that I authored in TIME Magazine alongside my good friend Dr. Charmaine Yoest, the President of Americans United for Life. I hope you will take a moment to read and be encouraged.
Abortion Is Not Female Empowerment
The anti-abortion movement is not about politics or religion – it’s about compassion
by Rep. Diane Black and Dr. Charmaine Yoest for TIME.com
For more than 40 years now, Americans from all walks of life have journeyed to our nation’s capital in the middle of winter to rally around a common cause: the dignity and value of innocent human life. The annual March for Life event in Washington on Friday coincides with the Jan. 22, 1973, U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade that invalidated state abortion laws across the country to make elective abortion the law of the land.
This year, as in years past, marchers will peacefully assemble by the tens of thousands on the National Mall to honor the more than 57 million lives lost to abortion; we will demand change. At its core, this movement is not political or even religious. It is a demand for justice, and it is an act of compassion – one that we fully embrace.
As women and mothers, we recognize the tragic deception of abortion, and we know women deserve better. We reject the lie that anti-abortion Americans are part of a “war on women” because we have seen true sexism up close and personal as we fought for our place in our respective careers. We know that abortion is not a means of female empowerment; it is a heartbreaking choice that ends one life and can damage another – and that is the true war on women.
Consider that, for 20 years, the pro-choice lobby has operated under the unofficial rallying cry of “safe, legal, and rare” abortion, yet just last fall the nation’s largest abortion provider – Planned Parenthood – tweeted a link to a story celebrating London’s “free and plentiful” abortions and birth control. Perhaps that is why Planned Parenthood, in a callous betrayal to women, has lobbied against informed consent laws across the country that would require full disclosure by a physician of the risks and side-effects of abortion.
We also oppose abortion because we are willing to look at the facts that the abortion lobby continues to ignore. For example, we know that premature babies have now been saved as early as 22 weeks into fetal development, that the U.S. remains one of only seven nations to allow elective, late-term abortions, and that abortions worldwide disproportionately discriminate against baby girls.
The anti-abortion movement is well-founded in logic and common sense, but perhaps its greatest supporting force is love. The individuals who show up every year for the March for Life rally – many of them women and families – share a fundamental belief that life is precious and that someone must speak up for the most innocent among us, too many of whom are lost daily to the tragedy of abortion.
It is for these reasons that we fight for legislation like the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, a bill to protect mothers and unborn children from dangerous, late-term abortions, an idea supported by the majority of Americans.
It is why we continue to demand passage of measures like the Defund Planned Parenthood Act, which would divert federal funding away from the nation’s largest abortion provider and reallocate it to the more than 13,500 community health centers nationwide providing comprehensive healthcare to low income and underserved women.
It is why we stand shoulder to shoulder with charities such as Little Sisters of the Poor as they defend the sanctity of life in the courts by challenging Obamacare’s unconstitutional mandate that employers cover life-ending drugs and devices in their health insurance plans.
And it is why we will not give up.
Roe v. Wade leaves a sad legacy in its wake. The lives lost are many, the emotional and physical damage to birthmothers is real, and the obstacles in our fight to restore a culture of life still loom large – the taxpayers continue to subsidize Planned Parenthood with about $1.5 million per day – but every person who shows up at March for Life represents a reason to be hopeful.
We know that as advances in science and technology continue to legitimize our movement, and as more hearts and minds are reached with the truth about abortion, laws will be changed and lives will be saved.
On this somber anniversary, our prayer is that lawmakers would look at this age-old issue with new eyes and with softened hearts, and that the American people would feel a renewed hope that our great country will see a day when every person is welcomed in life and protected in law.

Postponements affected several events due to weather last week and will be made up. 
The Woodland Lady Warriors second round game in the James C. Haile State Invitational Tournament at Middle Tennessee Christian School in Murfreesboro will take place Wednesday with tip-off at 4:30 against York Elementary School from Jamestown.