News

Based on consultation with the State Comptroller’s office, District Attorney General Jennings Jones says he will not pursue a complaint filed against Cannon County Schools or the county’s Highway Department. A complaint filed by county commissioners Jeannine Floyd and Ronnie Mahaffey alleged financial wrongdoing and improper appointments by the agencies. The complaint was sent to the District Attorney General’s office in Murfreesboro.

General Jones asked the Office of the Comptroller to review the complaint. Jones told WBRY that the Comptroller’s Office has confirmed that proper personnel and the funding for their positions have been accounted for. Jones also said the state’s findings show there was no wrongdoing, and that Cannon County is in compliance with all related regulations.

An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment and arrest of a Smithville man on charges of rape of a child.

At the request of 13^th District Attorney General Bryant Dunaway, in August 2020, TBI agents began investigating a report of a sexual offense that had occurred in Smithville earlier in the month. As the result of the investigation, agents developed information that David Nichols was responsible for the sexual assault of the victim.

On March 29^th, the DeKalb County Grand Jury returned indictments charging David Wayne Nichols (DOB 04/15/1975) with two counts of Rape of a Child and one count of Aggravated Sexual Battery. Today, Nichols was arrested by members of the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department and TBI agents. He was booked into the DeKalb County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond.

By Bruce Steelman, UT Extension Agent for Cannon County

Temperatures are predicted to drop below freezing during the next few days. Most fruit crops are in are either in bloom, close to bloom, or at petal fall. The critical temperatures at which damage would be expected to occur on various crops are:

Strawberries: popcorn bud (buds are swollen & beginning to open) – 28°F, full bloom – 30°F, after bloom and fruit developing – 28°F

Apples & pears: pink bud and beyond – 28°F for 30- minutes or longer would be expected to result in about 10% bud kill
25°F for 30 minutes or longer would be expected to result in about 90% bud kill

Peach and other stone fruits: full bloom – 10% kill at 27°F for 30 minutes or longer & 90% kill at 24°F
petal fall and beyond – 10% kill at 28°F and 90% kill at 25°F

Grape: bud burst and beyond – expect damage to begin at 30°F

Blueberry: bloom – 27°F (rabbiteye may experience damage at 30°F), fruit damage will start at 28°F

Blackberry: tight bud – 22°F, popcorn stage – 26°F, bloom – 30°F

Weather conditions leading up to the cold events and during them will impact the actual amount of damage received. A mild breeze may actually lessen the potential for damage as it could disrupt the cold air that often is found next to plant tissues and result in a slight increase in temperature there. 

What can be done to protect buds?

Plasticulture strawberry growers should be using row covers for both nights where low temperatures are predicted. To maximize soil heating during the day, delay putting on the row covers until late afternoon if possible. Covers should be removed the next morning once temperatures have started to rise to facilitate soil heating during the day, but replaced in late afternoon in anticipation of low temperatures that night as well.

Options for active frost control techniques in other fruit crops are limited. Some predictions call for windy conditions, making the use of wind machines and possibly irrigation not feasible. 

For homeowners, covering bushes and small trees with sheets or blankets (not plastic) can slow down the loss of heat radiated from the soil under the plants. However, windy conditions could make this difficult to do and lessen the effectiveness of a cover. If plants to be protected are close to a power source, running an electric cord and putting an incandescent light bulb in the canopy of the plant may supplement the benefit of a cover by the addition of more heat.

Irrigating over the canopy of a plant to form an ice layer is only effective if continuous water application is possible until active melting of the ice begins the following day. Building an ice layer on the plant and then shutting down the irrigation system will result in more damage than if the irrigation system was never used. Evaporative cooling will drive temperatures of the ice and whatever the ice is on below that of the surrounding air causing more damage than doing nothing.

The full impact of a frost will not be evident for a while. Growers should not make hasty judgements in regards to the amount of crop loss until adequate time has passed to adequately assess the crop status. Care, including sprays, should be maintained until a realistic evaluation of the crop status can be made. With several fruit crops, a “full crop” be set on just a small percentage of fruit buds that may be present on the plant.

Cannon County Schools will be closed on Monday, March 29th, 2021 due to the possibility of water contamination.  Director of Cannon County Schools, William F. Curtis stated, “Woodbury and Cannon County citizens were informed Sunday that, ‘The Town of Woodbury Water System has experienced flooding at the Woodbury Water Treatment Plant resulting in the possibility of contamination to the plant’s treated water.  None of the water has left the plant.  As a precautionary measure, we are asking customers to boil water before using for consumption.  We expect this notice to be in effect for 48 hours beginning at 12:45 a.m. March 28^th, 2021 and expire at 12:45 a.m. March 30^th, 2021. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience while we work to resolve this problem.’ School Officials have been in touch with Woodbury Water Department Personnel regarding this issue. Five of our seven schools are on the Woodbury Water System, and the safety of our students is our top priority. On a related note due to the flooding situation in Cannon County, several County and State roads have received damage, washed out, and are debris littered. Cannon County Bus Drivers have been instructed to examine their routes for any possible hazards. If repairs are made at the Water Treatment Plant and roads have been cleared, Schools may resume normal operation on-time on Tuesday, March 30th, 2021.”

In a related matter due to the possibility of water contamination, the PreK/Kindergarten Screening scheduled for Monday, March 29th, 2021 at the Cannon County Schools Central Offices has been rescheduled to Tuesday, March 30th, 2021.  Scheduled Appointment Times will REMAIN the Same.  We apologize for any inconvenience.  If any Parent/Guardian has a question or desires more information about the PreK/Kindergarten Registration process, please contact PreK Supervisor Kathy Mullins at Phone: 629-201-4801 Extension 10126 or Email: kathy.mullins@ccstn.net.

Governor Bill Lee called on the faith community to support Tennessee foster kids in finding permanent homes through a new public-private initiative, TN Fosters Hope.

Led by the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, TN Fosters Hope creates a partnership between the Tennessee Department of Children’s Servicesand two leading private partners, Tennessee Kids Belong and Show Hope.

“When we join forces with the faith community and trusted partners like Tennessee Kids Belong and Show Hope, we can help Tennessee foster kids find permanent, loving homes,” said Gov. Lee. “I am calling on the faith community to join us as we work to build one of the most adoption-friendly states in the country.”

TN Fosters Hope includes the following areas of focus:

• Establishing a network of churches statewide to support the foster and adoptive needs of their communities
• Recruiting and certifying families who can care for foster children with increased needs 
• Building pathways for full DCS custody children to find permanent adoption

To further support foster children, Gov Lee. has also proposed a TennCare coverage extension for adopted youth that will allow them to retain their TennCare eligibility until age 18 regardless of federal or state adoption assistance eligibility. This includes retaining existing physical, mental and behavioral health services.

“On behalf of the nearly 8,800 children in our care, I thank Gov. Lee and all of our Tennessee Fosters Hope partners for their commitment to improving the lives of children and families in our state. The Department of Children’s Services cannot do this work alone. We must have foster parents, providers, houses of worship, community organizations, lawmakers, and citizens step up to provide homes, support and wrap around services that will lead to permanency. Working together through TN Fosters Hope, we will be able to fulfill Gov. Lee’s vision of making Tennessee a national leader in foster care and adoption services,” said Jennifer Nichols, Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services.

Get involved at: https://tnfostershope.tn.gov/

The recently passed federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) will provide extended unemployment benefits to thousands of Tennesseans. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) is currently awaiting guidance from the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) to learn if the unemployment programs contained within ARPA will require any modifications to the current federal programs.

ARPA will extend the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) programs through the week ending Saturday, Sept. 4, 2021.

“States currently have a high-level overview of the unemployment portions of the new stimulus bill. We need to hear from the U.S. Department of Labor to see if there are going to be any program modifications to the current federal unemployment programs,” said Chris Cannon, TDLWD Assistant Administrator of Communications. “If there are, we will need time to make those changes within our computer system and we will work as quickly as possible to make that happen. Our goal is to make the transition as seamless as it can be.”

While waiting on official USDOL guidance, TDLWD and its vendor will proactively work to prepare the unemployment computer system for any possible changes in an effort to minimize implementation time.

The Tennessee Department of Health has updated Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan as the state continues to prioritize Tennesseans most at risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Tennesseans in Phase 1c of the state’s plan are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccination.

Protecting Adults and Children with High-Risk Health Conditions

Phase 1c of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan includes Tennesseans age 16 and older with high-risk health conditions including pregnancy, and parents and caregivers of medically fragile children and those with complex congenital heart disease. Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan has been updated to include the following groups among the Phase 1c populations:

• Permanent household members age 16 and older living with pregnant women

• People age 16 years and older with diagnosed diabetes

• People age 16 years and older with Down Syndrome

• People age 16 years and older with progressive neuromuscular diseases such as ALS, multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy

The Tennessee Housing Development Agency’s rent relief application process is now live online.

You can apply online here  or call 844-500-1112. THDA is ready to help renters and landlords who have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Assistance is available for past-due rent and utilities.

The COVID-19 Rent Relief program was developed in an effort to support renters who are or have been struggling to pay rent, utilities, or other home energy costs due to loss of wages/income as a result of the pandemic. Funding will be available to households for payment of delinquent (past due) expenses. In addition, eligible future rent may also be covered for eligible households.

The Tennessee Department of Education announced the 48 districts selected to participate in the optional, Pre-K–12 Literacy Implementation Networks, part of the state’s Reading 360 initiative to help boost strong reading skills amongst Tennessee students.  

As part of Reading 360, eight regional implementation networks will consist of 48 districts with the overarching goal of supporting the implementation of high-quality English Language Arts (ELA) instructional materials for Pre-K–12 students through competitive grants over the next five years.  

“Over the next five years, the regional Pre-K–12 Literacy Implementation Networks will foster opportunity for districts to learn from each other and to form unique partnerships to support high-quality literacy instruction to build strong readers, which ultimately promotes success for our students and our state,” said Commissioner Penny Schwinn. 

Each regional implementation network will consist of one mentor district, 4-6 participating districts, and a regionally selected vendor partner, with the option of selecting an elementary, middle or high school focus. Districts were selected to make up the eight regional Pre- K–12 implementation networks.

Cannon County will be in the Trousdale County Schools district.  Other participants include; Clay County Schools, Jackson County Schools, Smith County Schools and Van Buren County Schools. 

Mentor districts have multiple years of high-quality instructional materials implementation experience and will help build capacity of participant districts who have adopted and purchased new ELA materials in the past year. Additionally, mentor districts will support participant districts’ system-level implementation strategy.  

The district partnerships will help ensure teachers have the resources and support necessary to offer high-quality learning experiences for all children. Additionally, the networks will provide free coaching support for the training and use of Tennessee Instructional Practice Guides.  

This competitive grant opportunity was open to all Tennessee districts to apply. The selected mentor and participating districts will agree to the grant requirements, which includes data sharing and a five-year commitment per the $20 million federal Comprehensive State Literacy Development (CSLD) grant awarded to the department to support the launch of the regional implementation networks.  

Reading 360 is a comprehensive statewide literacy initiative to provide optional grants and resources to help more Tennessee students develop strong phonics-based reading skills by supporting districts, teachers, and families. 

To launch Reading 360 and invest in optional reading resources and supports at no cost to the state or districts, the state is leveraging approximately $60 million of one-time federal COVID-19 relief funding and $40 million in federal grant funding. 

To access additional resources on Reading 360, click here.