News

Cannon County’s prep basketball teams are in Gatlinburg for three days of tournament play in the Smoky Mountain Classic.

 In the girl’s bracket, teams from North Greene and host Gatlinburg-Pittman, Tennessee, Travelers Rest South Carolina, Saltillo, Mississippi, Southwestern and Pikeville, Kentucky.  Cannon County will play Virginia’s George Wythe today at 12 o’clock.

In the boy’s bracket, teams from Buckhorn, Russell County, Kentucky, Claiborne, Tennessee, Gordon Central, Georgia and Honaker, Virginia.  The Lions will see action tonight at 7:30 as they face Bath County, Kentucky.

The girl’s game will be at Gatlinburg-Pittman High School and the boys game is scheduled for Rocky Top Sports World.

Teddy Taylor and Nolan Bell will have the broadcasts of all of the Cannon County games live on am 1540, fm 107.1 and streaming at wbry.com.

The girls game will kick off our coverage with the Coaches Corner at 11:50am.

Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor notified Governor Bill Lee earlier this year on his decision to retire.  Yesterday the legal community and courthouse staff honored Judge Taylor with a reception honoring his service to the people of Cannon County.  Taylor’s retirement will be March 2^nd, 2020.  However, Monday was the last day Judge Taylor was scheduled in court in Cannon County.

Taylor has served on the bench since 1998. The judge presides over criminal cases at the state level in Tennessee’s 16^th Judicial District. Taylor worked as an attorney in Rutherford County prior to serving as a judge.  He was a member of the U.S. Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War and Desert Storm.

This past weekend Commissioner Jeff Long of the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security welcomed the newest troopers of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Cadet Class 1219. The graduation ceremony took place at Hermitage Hills Baptist Church in Nashville. The 37 cadets earned their badges and delivered their oaths of office after completing 20-weeks of intense physical and classroom training at the Patrol’s Training Center.

The 37 graduates of Cadet Class 1219 included 10 Veterans, 13 have a Bachelor’s degree, six have an Associate’s degree, one was an EMT and eight had various other backgrounds.

As part of a class community service project, Class 1219 participated in a blood drive with the American Red Cross, collecting 29 units of blood. Class 1219 also collected $412 dollars to go along with toys that will be donated to Toys for Tots program.

NThe new graduates will continue their training with troopers classified as Field Training Officers, totaling more than 400 hours of hands-on experience in the field.

Brandie Hobbs, Cafeteria Manager at Woodbury Grammar School was named as “Employee of the Month” for December 2019 by Cannon County Schools. Hobbs was recognized at the monthly meeting of the Board of Education and presented a certificate by Director of Schools William F. Curtis for her service to the system.  Employees are nominated by School Principals or School District Supervisors and are voted on during monthly Principal and Supervisor meetings regarding individuals who exemplify the Mission and Vision of Cannon County Schools.

Supervisor of Food Service for Cannon County Schools, Jennifer Insell, nominated Hobbs stating, “Mrs. Brandie Hobbs is truly a blessing to all the students at Woodbury Grammar School and also the entire community. Brandie has been a loyal employee to Cannon County Schools for 16 years, she has served as Cafeteria Manager for the last eight years.  She takes great pride in doing her job well every day. The students at Woodbury Grammar School look forward every year to Mrs. Brandie’s Halloween party during lunch. Each Halloween the entire cafeteria staff dresses up and makes this day extra special for all the students. Brandie is also hard at work through the entire summer making sure students are fed through our summer feeding program. She feeds the CCHS football, Project Transformation at Woodbury United Methodist Church and Cannon County Arts Center. These community partners have activities all summer and they utilize our summer feeding program for breakfast and lunch. Brandie understands the importance of breakfast each morning for her students. She is set up each morning with a grab and go cart and her students are offered breakfast to eat in the classroom each morning. I am blessed to be her supervisor. Brandie is committed to our mission at Cannon County Schools. Our Food Service program considers her one of the best.”

Director of Cannon County Schools William F. Curtis, commented “Mrs. Brandie Hobbs is an outstanding employee and goes beyond to feed the children of Woodbury Grammar School.  But not only there, her work in the Summer benefits children from all over Cannon County and from many varied organizations.  She is a true community servant, and I sincerely appreciate her hard work to meet the needs of students to keep them fed!  I believe Mrs. Brandie Hobbs greatly personifies our Mission of Cannon County Schools of ‘Preparing All Students for their Future’ by most assuredly being ‘The New E3 – Engaged in Excellence Every Day.’  Congratulations to Mrs. Brandie Hobbs for being an impactful ‘Team Player’ in our Cannon County Schools family.”

U.S. Rep. John Rose reiterated his support for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) after President Trump reached a deal with U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to bring the trade agreement forward for ratification.

According to Rep. Rose, “Countless farmers, small business owners and job creators in Middle Tennessee have called, written and met with me to express their strong support for USMCA. I stand ready to cast my vote in support of its ratification and this step forward for all those pursuing the American dream in our Tennessee communities.”

“As a farmer and small business owner myself, I know how important President Trump’s modernized trade agreement is for our workforce in the 21^st Century,” Rose stated. “Tennesseans are tired of partisan gridlock. Moving forward on USMCA is exactly what Congress should be doing. I will continue advocating for the swift passage of this strong, bipartisan deal that will benefit the people I represent in Middle Tennessee.”

RU.S. Representative John Rose represents Tennessee’s Sixth Congressional District that includes Cannon County.

Cannon County Schools will dismiss this morning (Tuesday) at 11:30.

The Cannon County High School AT York Institute Basketball Games scheduled for Tuesday Evening, December 10^th, 2019 – 6 PM have been rescheduled for Monday, December 30^th, 2019 – 1:00 PM AT York Institute in Jamestown, Tennessee.  This postponement is due to impending inclement weather forecasted for Tuesday night.  Please adjust calendars accordingly.

The Woodbury Lions Club hosts its annual Pancake Breakfast with Santa this Saturday. The event is from 7:00 a.m. until 10:00 a.m. at the Lions Club Building on Lehman Street. The cost is $6.00 per person for all-you-can-eat pancakes and sausage. Santa Claus is also set to appear at the event. Photos with Santa will also be available to those in attendance.

The Woodbury Lions Club Christmas Parade will begin at Noon. Participants will gather around the fairground area.  The Lions have a map for those participating in the Cannon Courier. WBRY will air the parade. Broadcast time 12:15pm.

Later on Saturday, the Lions Club’s annual Tour of Homes takes place. It starts at 3:00 p.m., and features six area venues. They are the Woodbury Lions Club Building (634 West Lehman Street); Oscar’s Garage hosted by Greg and Lisa Rogers (201 East Main Street); the home of Melonee Oatsvall (2541 Blanton School Road); the home of Travis and Betty Mattox (5264 Short Mountain Road); Tim and Kathy Gannon’s Cabin (451 Todd Road); and the home of Anna Farris (5339 Pleasant View Road in Morrison).

Since the opening last year of the new offices of the county health department, many Cannon Countains have experienced improved services.  Governor Bill Lee visited the building on Alexander Drive Tuesday afternoon.  As the governor meet staff, he used the visit as a listening tour discovering the services available and the challenges of local health professionals.

Speaking exclusively with WBRY, the governor spoke about the reason he sees health care as a priority for his administration.

Several officials from city and county government as well as education were in attendance.

The visit capped a day of stops in Smith and DeKalb County in sffiyion to Cannon County.

The Woodbury Lions Club has set its annual Coats for Cannon giveaway for Friday, December 13 and Saturday, December 14. This annual event attempts to make sure that everyone in the county who needs warm winter clothing has it. Volunteers will also give away other cold weather items, including socks, knitted caps, gloves and other items, during the event. Organizers say warm socks in all sizes are badly needed this year.

Other people and organizations in the community regularly help the Lions with this effort. Anyone or any group who would like to donate coats and other items, or make cash donations, can drop them off at the office of Sue Patrick, CPA, at 109 Lester Street. Anyone with questions can call the office at 615.563.1328.

The coat giveaway will be from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Friday, December 13. On Saturday, the 14^th, the giveaway starts at 8:30 a.m. and lasts until 1:00 p.m.

High school basketball is in fashion today and Saturday at the high school and Woodbury Grammar.