2016

Special Kids Therapy and Nursing Center will bring renowned Christian music artist Matthew West to Murfreesboro Thursday to perform a concert to benefit children with special needs.
The benefit concert will be held at New Vision Baptist Church 1750 North Thompson Lane with doors opening at 5:30 PM for the pre-show private dinner and 7:00 for the main concert.  The pre-show dinner will showcase a private performance and discussion with Matthew West.
Dinner tickets are on sale for $125.  Concert tickets are sold separately for $35 for general admission $65 for premium seating and discounts for groups of 10 or more.  To purchase tickets or learn more about the concert visit specialkidsconcert.org or call 615-893-4892
 

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam issued Executive Order #56 Friday waiving federal hours of service requirements for petroleum transporters to prevent any fuel supply disruptions for Tennesseans from the Colonial pipeline leak in Shelby County, Ala.

“This is a precautionary measure as we are not currently seeing any widespread unavailability of petroleum in Tennessee,” Haslam said.  “We urge Tennesseans to maintain their normal fuel purchasing and driving patterns to help prevent any potential impacts on our fuel supply while the pipeline undergoes repairs.”

Gov. Haslam’s executive order only relates to fuel transportation for this state of emergency and waives only the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 49 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 390 and 395 rules related to hours-of-service suspensions, and pipeline repair and fuel transportation.

The emergency declaration will allow drivers to work longer hours to ensure petroleum is available to convenience stores, fuel retailers, and fuel wholesalers in Tennessee.

The Tennessee departments of Agriculture, Commerce and Insurance, Environment and Conservation, Safety and Homeland Security, Transportation, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and private sector energy partners are monitoring the petroleum supply issue and collaborating to alleviate and address any petroleum disruptions in Tennessee.

On Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation requested, and received, a fuel blend waiver from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), covering five counties in Middle Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture then issued its own emergency waiver for fuel quality standards consistent with the EPA’s.

Advice for Consumers

Consumers should maintain their normal fuel purchasing and driving patterns to avoid straining the supply of gasoline.

Tennessee’s price gouging laws make it unlawful for individuals and businesses to charge unreasonable prices for essential goods and services including gasoline, food, ice, fuel, generators, lodging, storage space, and other necessities in direct response to a disaster regardless of whether that emergency occurred in Tennessee or elsewhere. The price gouging law makes it unlawful to charge a price that is grossly in excess of the price charged prior to the emergency.

This price gouging act is triggered when a disaster is declared by the state or by the federal government.

Penalties for violations of the price gouging act are up to $1,000 per violation. Additionally, the Tennessee Attorney General in conjunction with TDCI’s Division of Consumer Affairs can request that a court issue injunctions and order civil penalties of up to $1,000 for each violation. The state can also seek refunds for consumers.

If you have a problem with a business, you can file a complaint at www.tn.gov/consumer or call toll-free 1-800-342-8385. Consumer Affairs has a price gouging online complaint form at: http://tn.gov/commerce/article/consumer-price-gouging-complaint.

The Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness today announced Cannon County has been named a candidate for official designation as a Healthier Tennessee Community.
 
Healthier Tennessee Communities are those that encourage and enable more physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco abstinence at the local level. The program takes a community-wide approach to improving Tennesseans’ health by engaging the local leaders of cities, towns, counties and neighborhoods.
 
“Research has shown that we are much more likely to change our health-related behavior and establish healthy habits when we are encouraged and supported by others – when we are in community,” Governor’s Foundation CEO Richard Johnson said.  “That’s why making health and wellness an integral part of life where you live – and with the people who surround you – makes such a positive difference.”
 
In Tennessee, one in four adults smokes, and one in five high school students uses tobacco. Approximately 31 percent of the population is classified as obese and an additional 34 percent are overweight, and type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure are at epidemic levels.
 
“I strongly support the Healthier Tennessee initiative and encourage all Cannon Countians to strive to live a healthier life,” Cannon County Executive Mike Gannon said. “I personally have a lot of room for improvement, but would like to see Cannon County the healthiest county in the state of Tennessee.”
 
To be designated an official Healthier Tennessee Community, Cannon County must identify wellness champions to lead the initiative that engages people in workplaces, schools and faith organizations, and then work to initiate and sustain community-wide events and activities that support physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco abstinence.
 
The community is expected to track and measure outputs and accomplishments of the program. They have one year to complete their work.
 
Counties currently working to become Healthier Tennessee Communities include: Anderson, Bedford, Benton, Bledsoe, Blount, Carroll, Chester, Cocke, Crockett, Cumberland, DeKalb, Dickson, Franklin, Gibson, Giles, Grundy, Haywood, Henderson, Houston, Jefferson, Lake, Lauderdale, Macon, Marion, Marshall, Maury, McNairy, Meigs, Obion, Rhea, Sevier, Tipton, Trousdale, Unicoi, Weakley and Wilson.
 
The cities taking part are: Arlington, Clarksville, Collegedale, Cookeville, Crossville, and Spring Hill.
 
Decatur, Dyer, Hickman, Loudon and McMinn counties, Jackson–Madison County and the cities of Franklin, Germantown, Kingsport and Tullahoma have recently received the designation.  
 
Cities and counties interested in becoming Healthier Tennessee Communities should contact the Governor’s Foundation for Health and Wellness at tennessee@healthierstate.org or (615) 610-1880.
 
More information on the program and other Healthier Tennessee initiatives is available at www.healthiertn.com. 
 

Loose dogs and chickens led to a couple of Gassaway Road residents getting a warning recently.  According to Cannon County Sheriff Department reports, deputies were dispatched out to Gassaway road in reference to dogs killing chickens and threats made.  Upon arrival, deputies spoke to David Mick, who explained that his dog had got out earlier and they were trying to catch it when it ran up on the property of his neighbor.  Mr Mick advised that they have been having problems with their neighbor Michael Campbell and his chickens getting on Mr. Mick’s property.  Mr. Mick also advised that here have been incidents in the past dealing with Mr. Campbell and his chickens getting on their property and tearing up the gardens.  Mr. Mick said that he doesn’t want to have to shoot anyone’s animals and would like to be civil about it.  
Deputies then went to speak to Mr. Campbell.  He stated that a black bull terrier had got out and was on the top of his property.  He also stated that he’s had incidents prior to someone’s dog getting out and killing his chickens and that he was going to shoot the dog due to it being on his property.  Allegedly a threat was made that if Campbell shot the dog, Campbell would get his head blown off.  The other party denied making such threat.  Both Campbell and Mick were advised that this was their warning on animals at large.  The next incident would be a citation to court and if it continued to happen arrests would be made.

The York Institute Dragons were probably one of the most dangerous winless teams in the state heading into week number five of the high school football season Friday night.  In a game against the Cannon County Lions that was pretty much decided in the first half, they are now no longer winless.  The Dragons scored on every offensive possession it got in the first half, The tone of the game was set on a 4th and 14 in the first series as York threw a flea flicker and found paydirt to go up 7-0.  York would lead at the end of quarter 1 13-0.  The Dragons would add three more touchdowns on their homecoming night to lead at the half 33-0.  In the second half, the Lions went four and out in their first possession of the third quarter, however a high snap on 4th down in the end zone led to a safety as York would continue to lead 35-0.  Fourth quarter York would continue running up the score with their second string in the game.  One more rushing touchdown with the clock continually running in the final quarter would give York the 49-0 victory.  Cannon County only gained a total of 57 yards in the game with zero yards passing.  York would end up with 309 yards of total offense.
Cannon County’s next game will be Friday on the road to Baxter when they meet Upperman.

Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced last week the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for August was 4.4 percent, up one-tenth of a percentage point from the July revised rate of 4.3 percent. The U.S. preliminary rate for August was 4.9 percent, unchanged from the previous month.

Economic Summary

• Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.6 percent to 4.4 percent while the national rate declined from 5.1 percent to 4.9 percent.
• Total nonfarm employment increased 7,300 jobs from July to August. The largest increases occurred in administrative/support/waste services, mining/logging/construction & real estate/rental/leasing.
• Over the year, seasonally adjusted nonfarm employment increased 64,000 jobs. The largest increases occurred in education/health services, professional/business services & trade/transportation/utilities.

I spent today in Cookeville visiting with Farm Bureau members and FFA students, but before I came back to Tennessee, I had another busy week in Washington — meeting with constituents about cures for cancer, delivering a speech on the House floor in support of repealing an Obamacare tax hike, and even speaking with NRA News about House Democrats’ attempts to force a vote on onerous new gun control measures.
Tomorrow, I’ll be in Lebanon hosting my annual Academy Day for 6th District students and families (details HERE) but, in the meantime, here’s a quick update from the week that has passed: 
Blocking President Obama’s Dangerous Actions on Guantanamo Bay
President Obama’s plan to transfer suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay to the U.S. or other countries is irresponsible, reckless, and — I believe — a backdoor maneuver to try and close down the detention facility altogether without Congressional approval. As many as 30 percent of former Gitmo detainees are suspected or confirmed to have reengaged in terrorism, and now there is news that two more former detainees have returned to the fight. Clearly, this poses a threat to America’s national security. This week, the House voted with my support to ban the Obama Administration from bringing Guantanamo Bay prisoners onto US soil. Unfortunately, only 12 democrats were willing to take a stand against placing suspected terrorists in our backyards. With more detainees than ever returning to the battlefield, now is not a time for politicians to play politics with matters of homeland security. This bill passed the House and is headed to the Senate for further consideration.
Repealing A Harmful Obamacare Tax Hike
Under Obamacare, more Americans have been pushed into high deductible plans that force them to incur massive out-of-pocket costs before insurance kicks in. Yet, just as Americans are shelling out more for health costs, Obamacare upped the amount of money you have to spend on medical expenses in order to qualify for a tax deduction. Seniors initially got a reprieve from this Obamacare tax hike, but that ends next year. This means that, on top of dealing with Obamacare’s cuts to Medicare, the harmful medical device tax, and the looming threat of the law’s Independent Payment Advisory Board — or “IPAB” — seniors will also be forced to adjust to a new tax rule that hits them right in their pocketbook. This is yet another example of how the President’s healthcare law hurts the very people it pretends to help. 
I’ve always said that until we can repeal and replace Obamacare altogether, we must act to ease the damage of this law wherever possible. That is why I voted this week for the Halt Tax Increases on the Middle Class and Seniors Act. This bill repeals the Obamacare tax increase and reinstates the previous threshold of medical expenses as a portion of income that qualify for a tax deduction. It just makes sense that if Americans are already paying more for health expenses, Washington shouldn’t pile on with a tax hike to make matters worse. You can see how every member of Congress voted on this bill here. 
Stopping A Political Stunt
Once again this week, Democrats in Washington have disrupted the important work of Congress to engage in political theater; coming to the House floor to demand a vote on a flawed gun control bill very similar to the four that already failed with bipartisan opposition in the Senate earlier this year. I joined NRA News to discuss why this bill is bad policy and why I believe my colleagues across the aisle are simply playing politics with this issue in an attempt to subvert Americans’ right to due process and right to keep and bear arms

, the State Board of Education launched a public review website, https://apps.tn.gov/tcas/, to gather feedback on Tennessee’s newly revised K-12 social studies standards. This is the first time the social studies standards, recently revised by Tennessee educators, will be available for public review. 
 
All Tennesseans are invited to review each social studies standard by grade level and provide comments, as well as any suggestions for changes, through October 28, 2016.
 
“The public’s earlier online review of the current standards was very successful and paved the way for our educator advisory teams to make significant changes,” said Dr. Sara Heyburn, Executive Director of the Tennessee State Board of Education. “We hope all Tennesseans, especially teachers and parents, will now review the revised social studies standards and give even more feedback.”
 
The K-12 social studies standards set grade-specific goals that describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of a given grade or course.
 
The initial social studies standards review website was made available for public comment last winter. The website drew over 63,000 public reviews from more than 1,400 reviewers. The data were shared word-for-word with the educator advisory teams during the summer to directly inform their review and revision work.
 
Once the public provides a second round of feedback, the Standards Recommendation Committee (SRC), appointed by the Governor, Lt. Governor, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, will review and suggest additional changes. The SRC will meet several times this fall and propose new social studies standards to the State Board of Education on first reading in January 2017.
 
If approved, the new social studies standards will be implemented in the 2019-20 school year. The 2018-19 school year will serve as a transition and training year for educators on the new standards.
 
In October 2014, Gov. Haslam introduced a similar process, in partnership with the State Board, for review of the Tennessee Academic Standards in English language arts and mathematics. This process was codified by the General Assembly in HB 1035. For more information, please visit http://tn.gov/sbe/topic/standards-review.

The Colonial pipeline, supplying much of the East Coast running from Texas to New Jersey , has been partially closed since September 9 when a leak was discovered in Alabama. The company originally anticipated having the pipeline reopened by this weekend, but bad weather has delayed the fix. This partial closure has caused tighter supply for some southeast and Mid-Atlantic states.
The southeast has a fairly healthy supply of crude and gasoline inventories, but the market relies on just-in-time inventory and could be disrupted by an extended partial closure of the pipeline. States that could be directly impacted by tighter supply and slightly higher prices include Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

“While there is plenty of gasoline and crude supply, the pipeline is the most efficient way to deliver the product to Tennessee,” said Stephanie Milani, Tennessee Public Affairs Director, AAA—The Auto Club Group. “I anticipate tanker trucks from Memphis and Kentucky will bring in gasoline supplies to Knoxville, Chattanooga and Nashville over the next several days.”

Colonial Pipeline has a very solid history of making sure that operations are quickly restored. According to Tom Kloza, Global Head of Energy Analysis for Oil Price Information Service, the Colonial Pipeline could be shipping a normal volume of gasoline next week.

“I do not anticipate areas where motorists won’t be able to find gasoline, but you could see some locations in Tennessee where there are occasional outages of regular gas,” said Kloza. “This will not persist, and indeed the price increases you’ll see do not represent a trend.”

Currently Tennessee’s gasoline average is $2.01, an increase of one cent from yesterday. National, state and metro-averages are available from AAA at GasPrices.AAA.com. Consumers can find the cheapest gas prices close to home and on the road by using the free AAA app, AAA Moble which is available for Android and Apple devices.

With all the music that is happening in Cannon County tonight and tomorrow, one high school football team hoping to be singing about their third win of the season will be the Cannon County Lions.  The Lions meet region opponent York Institute in Jamestown tonight.  The Dragons are looking for their first win after dropping their first four consecutive games.  Maika Fonoti and Cole Hill will be leading the defense as one of the keys to the game will be stopping the running attack of York.  The Lions will have their work cut out for them as it is a road game.  Cannon County is coming off a 34-14 win against Red Boiling Springs while York lost 35-20 to Sequatchie County in Jamestown last Friday.  Football Friday begins with Murphy Fair and Murphy’s Matchups at 5:30 followed by high school football previews from all across the midstate with Dennis Weaver and Friday Night Thunder at 6:00.  At 6:45, we’ll highlight tonight’s matchup plus put the spotlight on other Fall Sports at Cannon County High School and Middle Sports programs with the Reeds Builders Supply pregame show.  At 7:00 it’s kickoff time.  You can hear the game on AM-1540/FM107.1 Shine 107 and also streaming live on the website at wbry.com.