News

A circuit court judge whose territory includes Cannon County has announced plans to retire early next year. Judge Royce Taylor has notified Governor Lee that his retirement date from his court in the 16^th Judicial District will be March 2, 2020. The notice to the governor will allow the search process for Judge Taylor’s replacement to begin.

Taylor’s territory also includes Rutherford County. The state’s Trial Court Vacancy Commission will select an interim replacement for Taylor. They will accept nominations and hold public hearings before sending three names to the governor, who will appoint a judge to serve until August of next year. At that time, the person selected can choose to either run or not run for the seat. All state judges will be up for election in 2022.

Judge Royce Taylor has served 21 years on the bench. Prior to that, he was a Murfreesboro attorney for more than two decades. A graduate of the University of Tennessee and the U. S. Naval Academy, he also served as a Navy SEAL during his service in the military.

Director of Cannon County Schools William F. Curtis, Cannon County High School Principal Courtney Nichols, CCHS Athletic Director Matt Cagle, and CCHS Girls Basketball Coach Jonathan Odom announce that on Thursday, August 29th, 2019 in the Cannon County High School Gymnasium Lobby at 8:45 AM, CCHS Senior Girls Basketball Player Taylor Meeks will sign with Bryan College to continue her basketball career.

William Jennings Bryan University was chartered in 1930 and admitted its first class in the fall of that year. Its stated purpose was, and is, to provide “for the higher education of men and women under auspices distinctly Christian and spiritual.” In 1958 its name was changed to William Jennings Bryan College and in 1993 was shortened to Bryan College.  The College seeks to assist in the personal growth and development of qualified students by providing an education based upon an integrated understanding of the Bible and the liberal arts.  Located in Dayton, Tennessee, Bryan has a total enrollment of 1,000 students.  As a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA-I), Bryan College women’s basketball participates at the highest level of competition while striving to seek excellence both on-and-off the court.  Our conference affiliation is the prestigious Appalachian Athletic Conference consisting of schools from Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina, and Virginia. 

Head Coach of Women’s Basketball Jason Smith will enter into his eighth season this fall to continue his reign as the winningest coach in program history with a 172-80 record. Coach Smith and the Lady Lions have high expectations this upcoming year as they are coming off the programs best season to date. In the 2018-19 season the Lady Lions held an undefeated 26-0 regular-season record, which was the best mark ever recorded in AAC women’s basketball history, and finished the season with a final record of 31-2. The Lady Lions became back-to-back regular season conference champions, three-peated as conference tournament champions, and made their third straight appearance at the NAIA Div. II Women’s Basketball National Championship. Coach Smith was awarded top honors with the AAC Coach of the Year title, and the Lady Lions team was presented with a plethora of awards and honors. Among the long list of accomplishments one Lady Lion won AAC Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team, and All-Conference Second team, two players won All-Conference First Team, two more Lions were on the All-freshman team, and five were awarded with All-Academic honors.

Cannon County Schools congratulate Miss Taylor Meeks on her signing with Bryan College, and we look forward to her representing Cannon County Schools and specifically, Cannon County High School at the collegiate level.

Cannon County Commissioners have approved a budget for the current fiscal year.  The action came just after 10:30 Tuesday night following a public hearing for the proposed budget.  The budget approved was however slightly smaller than the one presented earlier.

The evening started with an address from the Deputy Comptroller for the State Jason Mumpower. Mumpower told the commissioners he had been where they are now, as a former member of an elected body.  As commissioners, if they only have one job that would be to approve a balanced budget for the county.  As of last night, 94 counties had approved budgets for the current fiscal year.  Cannon County was the only county in the state to not have an approved budget.

The deputy comptroller went on to say, “in the past few days, many individuals have forwarded to me comments on social media stating that nothing would happen if the county missed its deadline of passing a budget by the end of the month.  I am here tonight to promise you, without a balanced budget as of 12:01am September 1^st, the Comptroller’s office will takeover the finances of Cannon County.”

The Deputy Comptroller and members of his staff answered questions from members of the commission and members of the audience.

During the public hearing segment of the meeting, seventeen persons spoke to the commissioners. Several spoke of their displeasure with the handling of the budget and talk of a tax increase.  Several spoke in favor of funding for the library.  Many spoke in favor of the ambulance service. A few suggested changing the ambulance service over to a private provider.

Following the public hearing, commissioners began to address the budget and review any possibility of reducing the funding levels.

Over the next few hours, almost all departments were discussed and a variety of variations were presented for consideration.  At the beginning of the evening, the proposed budget would generate an increase of the property tax rate by sixteen cents.

The final breakout of the spending

General Fund                                     1.45

Solid Waste / Sanitation                 0 .08

General Purpose School                 0.685

General Debt Service                       0.04

Ambulance Service                          0.2050

Total                                                      2.46

This is $2.46 taxed on each $100.00 of taxable property in the county. The rate is an eight cent increase of last year’s rate of $2.3839.

Note: This story incorrectly listed the rate as 2.42 for a limited time, we are sorry for the mistake and should never write news stories at 2:00am

Newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development shows July 2019 county unemployment increased in counties across the state.

Rates inched upward in 93 of Tennessee’s 95 counties and remained the same in two counties last month. 44 counties have an unemployment rate of less than five percent, while 51 counties have a rate of five percent or higher.

Williamson and Davidson counties had Tennessee’s lowest jobless rate during July. At 3.2 percent, both counties experienced a jump of 0.2 of a percentage point in unemployment when compared to June’s numbers.

Sevier, Cheatham, Rutherford, Sumner, Wilson, Maury, Robertson, and Dickson round out the list of counties with the ten lowest unemployment rates in the state.

Cannon County’s rate of unemployment increased from June to July.  The July rate is 4.2 percent up three-tenths of a point over June’s rate of 3.9 percent. Cannon’s adjoining counties of Coffee, DeKalb, Rutherford, Warren and Wilson all showed a slight increase in unemployment.

Hancock County had the state’s highest unemployment rate at 8.2 percent. That is 0.5 of a percentage point higher than it was in June. At 8.1 percent, Clay County had the second-highest jobless rate in July. That represents a jump of 0.8 percentage point when compared to the previous month.

Statewide, unemployment slightly increased last month to 3.5 percent, an uptick of 0.1 of a percentage point when compared to June’s statistic. 

The July unemployment rate for the United States remained unchanged in July at 3.7 percent.

A comprehensive listing of labor market information is available on the state’s workforce development website, www.Jobs4TN.gov

When filling-up at the pump this fall, the majority of U.S. motorists will find savings of potentially more than 25-cents/gallon compared to this summer. The national gas price average, which is already 15-cents cheaper than just five weeks ago, is poised to continue pushing less expensive due to several factors, including less expensive crude oil prices, the drop-off in gasoline demand after Labor Day and the move to winter-blend gasoline. AAA forecasts the national average to drop to $2.40 or lower this fall and offers motorists easy tips to maintain fuel efficiency throughout the year.

AAA forecasts crude prices to range between $50 and $60 per barrel this fall. That is a considerable drop from last fall when prices ranged between $60 and $75. Why so cheap? Current total domestic crude inventories sit at 438.9 million bbl, which is 31.5 million bbl higher than last year at this time. The continued glut of oil encouraged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its partners to extend their 1.2 million b/d production reduction agreement through the end of the year. However, so far, reduced supply from OPEC and its partners has not led to a sustained higher price for crude. 

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security announced the launch of an efficient method to access traffic crash reports from law enforcement agencies across the state. Effective immediately, involved parties may obtain their crash reports through www.PurchaseTNcrash.gov.

“Our goal is to provide the best customer service to citizens of Tennessee and to those who travel through our state. The implementation of this website will provide the public with a fast, convenient option to access a crash report online and enhance the efficiency of law enforcement agencies across the state,” said Commissioner Jeff Long.

To obtain a crash report, you must have the following information: date of the crash, name of the agency that investigated the crash, last name of the driver involved and the driver license number of the driver involved in the crash. In addition you must also have one of the following: VIN number, license plate number, or the case or tracking number.

Crashes investigated by the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), as well as local police and sheriff departments, should be available online within seven business days of the crash. The cost of an online crash report is $10. Citizens may continue to visit any local THP district office to purchase crash reports or request a copy to be sent via the U.S. mail. The fee for those options is $4. Business entities and insurance companies may request a business account for accessing the new system by submitting a request through www.PurchaseTNcrash.gov.

You may access online crash reports by visiting www.tn.gov/safety or www.PurchaseTNcrash.gov

Members of the Woodbury Municipal Planning Commission got their first view of expansion plans for a local industry.  Crane Interiors plans to add an additional 24,000 square feet of space. The expansion will include, 4,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of manufacturing space.

The new addition to the plant will be on the left side of the building and will extend into the current parking lot.  The plan calls for a new parking area behind the facility. No announcement was made concerning if the additional space will translate to additional employees.

The plans for the expansion were approved by the planning commission.

For the past few months, planning commission members have been studying plans for an apartment complex at 309 McMinnville Highway.  The .68 acre tract is adjacent to O’Reilly Automotive. The complex will consist of two buildings. The developers are Michael J. Hutchins and Faron Layne Ferrell. Commissioners approved the final plat.

During last month’s meeting, Steve Smith submitted a request to expand Smith Storage by adding a second building. The space of the expansion is not inside of the city limits of Woodbury.  Smith (doing business as SLB Partnership) requested annexation of property and services of the city. Commissioners passed a resolution for the annexation of the property and expansion of city services.   The resolution will now move to the Mayor and Board of Alderman for their approval.

The Tennessee Department of Health and numerous state and local partners continue to investigate and respond to a large, multi-state hepatitis A outbreak. More than 2,000 cases of hepatitis A have been confirmed in Tennessee, including 13 resulting in the deaths of the patients.


Hepatitis A is a liver infection caused by a virus. It can be transmitted through contact with feces or consumption of contaminated food or water. The groups most at risk for hepatitis A in the current outbreak include people who use recreational drugs, men who have sex with men and people experiencing homelessness.


Other steps to prevent infection with hepatitis A include washing hands with soap and water after using the bathroom, before eating and before preparing or serving food.

Local health departments are offering free hepatitis A vaccine for people in high-risk groups. Contact your health care provider or the local health department for more information on preventing hepatitis A.

The budget story for Cannon County continues. During the Tuesday night meeting, the commissioners approved budgets for the jail, ambulance service and election commission office.  Cannon like many counties across the state need to provide increased funding for their correctional facilities. The new budget for the jail is just over 1 Million, One-hundred-thirty-five thousand dollars.

Commissioner Kim Davenport suggested a public hearing for citizens will have the opportunity to review the new budget for the county, prior to a vote from commissioners.  The public hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, August 27^th at 5:30pm at the courthouse.

Commissioners are scheduled to meeting one more time prior to the public hearing.  The goal is to see if the time will generate any new budget reductions. The county commission will meet Thursday at 5:30.