2016

Hometown heroes are supporting child abuse victims through the “Hometown Heroes Walk for Children.” Our own hometown heroes supporting the event include Boston Red Sox pitcher David Price, Drs. Russ and Sherry Galloway, Retired District Attorney General Bill Whitesell, Waldron Fann & Parsley Attorneys at Law, Phillip Smith of Smith’s Painting, Dempsey Vantrease & Follis, Deirdre Lackey of Department of Children’s Services, Larry Bugg Construction, and Family & Cosmetic Dentistry of Smyrna. The Child Advocacy Center will celebrate Child Abuse Awareness Month with the “Hometown Heroes Walk for Children” on Friday afternoon, April 29, 2016 at the Murfreesboro Civic Plaza, downtown on the square. Registration will begin at 12:00 noon, speakers at 12:45 p.m., and the Walk will begin at 1:00 p.m. The event will conclude with a reception at the Child Advocacy Center, located at 1040 Samsonite Blvd. In 1983, Congress declared April to be National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Since then, communities across our nation and here in Rutherford and Cannon Counties have taken this opportunity to raise community awareness about child abuse, child sexual abuse, and drug endangered children. The Child Advocacy Center is encouraging our community to lace up their tennis shoes and join your friends and neighbors as we walk together to support child abuse victims! To become a “Hometown Hero” by sponsoring the event or participating in the walk contact the Child Advocacy Center at 615-867-9000 or jessicawauchek@bellsouth.net.

The Woodland Lego Warriors recently competed in the East Tennessee Competition of the First Lego League.  The First Lego League is a program in which scientific and real-world challenges are developed for teams of students to focus and research on. The robotics part of the competition involves designing and programming robots from Lego Mindstorms to complete tasks and challenges. The students work out solutions to the various problems they are given and then meet for regional tournaments to share their knowledge, compare ideas, and display their robots.
 
During their recent competition at the East Tennessee State Competition, the members of the Lego Warriors placed third out of thirty-six teams in the state on the core values portion of the competition.  This consisted of a timed teamwork challenge.

 
During the Children’s Advocacy Days event in Nashville on March 8, 2016, The Children’s Reading Foundation of The Upper Cumberland was awarded the first Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Early Foundations. The Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, co-chaired by Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and First Lady Crissy Haslam, chose the winners for this new recognition program highlighting the collaborative and innovative projects that are helping students enter the classroom prepared to learn.
 
 “As I travel across the state, I’m always impressed with the commitment and creativity of so many Tennesseans working tirelessly to help get our children prepared for success in school and in life,” Governor Haslam said. “These awards are a small but important way we can highlight and honor their good work.”
 
 “To give our children the best chance for success, families, schools, and communities must work together to create a nurturing environment for child development, beginning at birth,” First Lady Haslam said. “These winners are wonderful examples of that collaborative spirit, and they have shown a true passion for serving Tennessee’s children.”
 
The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Upper Cumberland encompasses all counties served by the Upper Cumberland Center for Regional Excellence, and has the largest footprint of the 16 chapters of The Children’s Reading Foundation nationally. Counties served include: Macon, Clay, Pickett, Trousdale, Jackson, Overton, Fentress, Smith, Putnam, DeKalb, Cumberland, Cannon, Warren, Van Buren, Bledsoe, Grundy, and Sequatchie. Over 55,000 students are represented and reached by our messaging and outreach campaigns throughout the year.
 
 The Children’s Reading Foundation of the Upper Cumberland (CRF-UC) has been working to not only address school readiness, but to effectively saturate its footprint of 16 school districts in middle Tennessee through relentless messaging, community outreach, and parent/caregiver engagement.  The message is simple and powerful “Read Together 20 Minutes Every Day,” and through creative partnerships, the CRF-UC’s work has increased awareness of the importance of daily reading with children. As a result, the Upper Cumberland Region has unified around a single vision: that all children learn to read early and well, thereby achieving their full potential in school and in life.
Our three pronged approach not only includes this important messaging, but also community outreach in the form of programs such as READY! for Kindergarten® workshops and READ Up – Stop the Summer Slide book and literature distribution efforts over the summer months.
 
Parent and caregiver engagement is crucial to students’ early literacy success, and since January 2014 our READY! for Kindergarten® workshops around the region have reached nearly 3,000 families. READY! for Kindergarten® workshops are where parents meet three times per year in a setting that is relaxed and engaging. Trained facilitators lead parents through materials and tools (a.k.a. educational toys) to maximize the potential for use in the home, and participants leave with confidence in their ability to work with the children – or in some cases grandchildren – they are raising. But our approach to family involvement does not stop there. Messaging, free materials, and information on future workshops is shared in a numerous places, as we take this news where parents and caregivers are: in the local shops and restaurants, community banks, driving routes, food banks, clinics, and even Walmart.
In addition, our messaging campaign and READ Up – Stop the Summer Slide™ book distribution events have reached nearly every county in our footprint of 16 school districts. Over 43,000 brand new children’s books have been distributed in the region at libraries, local restaurants, parks, sports events, parades, public pools, and low income neighborhoods over the past two summers.
In June of 2015, CRF-UC and Cumberland County hosted a “Lacing Up for Literacy” event – a 5k, one mile walk, and book and literature distribution event all in one. Even on a rainy Saturday, this event raised $4113.00 with 78 runners participating. Funds will be used to promote literacy across the Upper Cumberland Region. We partnered with Cumberland County’s Coordinated School Health program to not only promote reading, but staying active to help create positive conditions for learning as well.
In July of 2015, the Children’s Reading Foundation of the Upper Cumberland, in conjunction with each of the member districts, collaborated to host the first annual READ Conference. Held on White County High School’s campus, the one day conference drew over 450 educators from the Upper Cumberland, who were greeted by an opening session with keynote speaker, Commissioner Dr. Candice McQueen. The conference goal was to support the messaging and attainment of the region’s 90% Reading Goal through quality sessions that enhanced literacy across all content areas and grade levels. The day offered 5 concurrent sessions with over 50 offerings for teachers and leaders preschool through high school.
An important aspect of leadership is commitment to a goal. Bledsoe, Cannon, Fentress, Putnam, Smith, Trousdale, Warren, and White County Boards of Education have each committed that 90% of the children they serve will read on or above grade level by the end of third grade. It will be through sustained efforts from boardroom to classroom that this goal will be reached in each of these counties. The Children’s Reading Foundation of The Upper Cumberland exists to support these districts in attaining that goal through our programming, messaging, and outreach activities. The results of The CRF-UC’s efforts clearly demonstrate effects of leadership and influence. Schools only have children for a few hours of the day, and with this in mind, the broader community must come together to move literacy from an ideal to an imperative. 

We’re excited to be selling Giving Bean Coffee and Artisan Teas. 
Giving Bean is a gourmet coffee roaster providing a variety of freshly roasted whole bean
and ground coffees, fine tea, gourmet cocoa, chai, and biscotti.
 
We figure that just about everyone enjoys a great cup of coffee (or tea) in the morning!   

• All coffee is roasted-to-order and arrives fresh, assuring its great taste
• Prices are $12 per bag of coffee and tea, comparable to other high quality coffees and teas
• K-cups are also available 
• Labels will say “Thank you for supporting Cannon County S.A.V.E.”

 
The funds from this fundraiser will help keep S.A.V.E. “up and running” between the time grants are being applied for and are actually received!  We sincerely hope your life has never been affected by domestic violence, but for those who have, S.A.V.E. is here for them!

Start Date:  5/16/2016 – order forms will be distributed.
Orders Due: 5/28/2016 – orders will be tallied and sent in.
Product Delivery Date: 7-10 days after orders are due in.
 
We are looking forward to a successful fundraiser!   (Tell your coffee and tea loving friends it’s coming). We will have a booth at Cannon County Good Ole Days.  Be sure to come by and try a free sample of Giving Bean coffee and place your order.  

 
April 12—New Teachers’ meeting at the Central Office, 3:15 p.m.
April 12—School Board meeting workshop at the Central Office, 6:30 p.m.
April 14—TTU Technology Conference for Teachers, 3:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
April 14—School Board meeting, WGS Cafeteria, 6:30 p.m.
April 14—CCHS Softball game with Smith Co. at home, 4:30 p.m.
April 14—CCHS Soccer match with Smith Co. at home, 5:00 p.m.
April 14-17—CCHS Baseball tournament at Grundy Mountain Valley
April 15—CCHS Tennis match at Macon Co.
April 18—CCHS Tennis match with Watertown at home, 3:30 p.m.
April 18—CCHS Baseball game at Smith Co., 4:00 p.m.
April 19—ACT for 11th graders at CCHS
April 19—Professional Development day for all staff
April 19—CCHS Tennis match with Providence Christian at home, 3:30 p.m.
April 19—CCHS Baseball game with Smith Co. at home, 5:00 p.m.
April 19—CCHS Soccer match at Jackson Co., 6:00 p.m.
April 19—CCHS Softball game with Livingston at home, 4:30 p.m.
April 19—CCHS Tennis match at Livingston
April 21—CCHS Softball game at Macon Co., 5:00 p.m.
April 22—CCHS Tennis match at Coffee Co.
April 23—CCHS Baseball games at Eagleville, 2:00 p.m. (JV), 4:00 p.m. (varsity)
April 24-30—Senior Trip
April 25—CCHS Baseball game with Dekalb Co. at home, 5:00 p.m.
 
 
NOTE—May 6, 2016 will be a regular instructional day.  This will also be the make-up day for Part 2 of TN Ready testing.

MTSU’s Stones River Chamber Players will perform new musical works by two MTSU professors alongside classics by two legendary European composers in their final concert of the 2015-16 season, set for Monday, April 11.

“Spring Stretto,” which is set for 7:30 p.m. April 11 in Hinton Music Hall inside MTSU’s Wright Music Building, features the creations of MTSU’s Paul Osterfield and Jamey Simmons and those of Austrian composer Franz Schubert and Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů.

The performance by the ensemble members, all of whom teach in MTSU’s School of Music, is free and open to the public.

Music faculty Michael Parkinson, Brian Mueller and Tisha Simeral will perform “Lullaby for Michelle” with Parkinson on trumpet, Mueller on vibraphone and Simeral on Bass. Osterfield created the piece for his daughter, who was born in 2013.

Simmons composed “Musical Postcards From God’s Country” during family outings to the Rocky Mountains, Appalachian Trail and Oregon and in tribute to environmentalist John Muir. He’ll be joined in the performance by Michael Arndt on trumpet, Ben Miles on tuba, David Loucky on trombone, Don Aliquo on saxophone and Angela Tipps on the organ.

Soprano Dina Cancryn, clarinetist Todd Waldecker and pianist Adam Clark will perform Schubert’s “The Shepherd on the Rock, D. 965,” which Arunesh Nadgir, MTSU piano professor and co-director of the Stones River Chamber Players, called “a beautiful and powerful piece.”

Rounding out the program is Martinů’s “Quartet for Oboe, Violin, Cello and Piano,” performed by Laura Ann Ross on oboe, Andrea Dawson on violin, Christine Kim on cello and Clark on piano. Martinů created the piece while in exile in the United States in 1947, Ross said.

You can listen to streaming audio performances by the Stones River Chamber Players at www.mtsu.edu/music/srcp.php. For details on more MTSU School of Music performances, call 615-898-2493 or visit the School of Music’s Concert Calendar online.

Tennessee State Parks and Natural Areas are offering volunteer events across the state to help Tennessee Promise scholars log community service hours for TN Promise Saturday on April 16. There are nearly 60 projects already planned, which may include clearing brush, limbs and invasive plants; planting flowers; building trails; assisting with fun community events; or maintaining historic features such as 2,000 year old Native American mounds. “This is a great opportunity for young people to improve a state park or natural area while banking volunteer service hours and having fun in a beautiful setting all at the same time,” said Deputy Commissioner of Parks and Conservation Brock Hill. The Tennessee Promise, part of Governor Haslam’s Drive to 55 initiatives to increase the number of Tennesseans with a post-secondary credential to 55 percent by 2025, provides tuition-free community and technical college to recent high school graduates. All Tennessee Promise students utilizing the program this fall are required to complete eight hours of community service by Aug. 1, 2016. For a current list of all TN Promise Saturday events and to register, visit www.tnstateparks.com/about/special-event-cards/tn-promise-saturday or contact Laura Williams at laura.williams@tn.gov or (615) 253-9945.

If you’re considering a summer camp for your youngsters, there are endless options.

MTSU offers dozens of choices — music, sports, journalism, something of a scientific nature and more — but the university has made it easier for anyone planning to attend a camp on campus.

The recently launched MTSU Summer Experiences website, http://mtsu.edu/camps, brings nearly 60 opportunities to the table.

With so many camps throughout campus, MTSU officials realized a central location to enable campers and their families to view all the options would be beneficial.

“We have launched a new site hoping to provide summer activities to everyone from young children to adults,” said Andrew Oppmann, vice president of marketing and communications at MTSU.

“The Summer Experiences site has a range of camps, seminars and other educational activities, including learning a new language, aviation, a number of sports camps, storytelling and the prestigious Governor’s School for the Arts.”

The list includes CUSTOMS, the university’s annual orientation with 10 two-day sessions for incoming freshmen and eight one-day sessions transfer students throughout the spring and summer.

The Web list features the camp name and primary contact, dates and deadlines, cost, a brief description and the age group the camp targets.

Along with the annual MT Sampler Camp — which gives invited high school students an opportunity to discover all aspects of the 500-acre campus — here’s a sampling of summer choices at MTSU:

The Wright Music Building houses both the Stamps Baxter School of Music July 12-25 for ages 8 and over and Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp July 25-30 for high school girls.

Got crime scene investigation in your genes? The CSI:MTSU 2016 will be held June 21-24.

MTSU athletics offers baseball for ages 6-12, boys’ and girls’ basketball, soccer and volleyball camps for various ages.

Young people also can choose from camps focusing on yoga, high school cheerleading, guitar, French, Chinese and Spanish languages and more.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance’s (TDCI) Securities Division reminds Tennesseans to be cautious if approached with an offer that targets their pension plan.
A pension is a type of retirement plan, usually tax-exempt, in which an employee makes contributions toward a pool of funds set aside for an employee’s future benefit. The pool of funds is invested on the employee’s behalf, allowing the employee to receive benefits upon retirement.
The scam involves investors who provide funds to make cash advances and pensioners who are willing to turn over future pension payments in exchange for an immediate lump sum cash payment.
“Pension advance scams can have devastating financial consequences,” said TDCI Assistant Commissioner for Securities Frank Borger-Gilligan. “We always encourage Tennesseans to research before making investment decisions. Know the risks to keep scam artists from carrying away your nest egg.”

The TDCI Securities Division offers the following information from the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) to prevent pension advance scams:
Investors: Questions to Ask Before You Invest

• Is the investment registered?  Check with the Tennessee Securities Division before you invest to determine if the offering is registered.

• Did you do a regulatory check on the background of the principal officers of the company offering the investment?  Background information is available from the Tennessee Securities Division, other state or provincial securities regulators, BrokerCheck, IAPD, or even the Internet.                                                             
• Is the transaction legal? Some pension rights cannot be transferred. As with the case cited above, federal law prohibits the assignment of U.S. government pensions and disability benefits. Check out the source of the pension funds in which you will be investing.
• Can you afford to lose the money? These are risky investments. You should not invest more than you can afford to lose.
• Can you get your money if you need it? Many of these investments are illiquid and you may not have access to your money.

Retirees: Questions to Ask Before You Sell Your Rights

• How financially secure is the company offering to buy your entitlement and is the company registered to offer the product? Check the background of the principals before entering into the agreement.

• How does the company make its money? The company typically takes commissions and other fees that may result in the cash payout being lower than the future benefits you are assigning. Do these costs outweigh the convenience of a lump-sum payment?

• Do you know what restrictions, if any, apply to your ability to assign your pension benefits? Check with your pension administrator to determine what restrictions apply. The transaction could be illegal and therefore void.

• Does the company require you to purchase life insurance naming it as the beneficiary? If so, you should consider this increased cost when considering whether the payout is worth it.
• Did you consider the tax consequences? The lump-sum payment you receive may be taxable as income.

Bottom line: Before making any decisions with your money, ask questions, do your homework and contact the Tennessee Securities Division at 1-800-863-9117 or visit our website to get free investor education materials.
Also, be sure to visit NASAA’s Serve Our Seniors website at www.ServeOurSeniors.org for more information for senior investors.
– See more at: http://tn.gov/news/39366#sthash.rvbl3RLM.dpuf

Go ahead and plan your best garden ever. You should even go out to the local farmers market or greenhouse and bring home those gorgeous tomato plants, seedling herbs, peppers and all the rest. Just please don’t plant them, yet.  Mark Twain may have been talking about Tennessee when he said, “If you don’t like the weather here, wait a minute.” The current weather trend is a perfect example, with balmy mid-70’s days followed by stormy cold fronts with freezing temperatures at night. This roller coaster weather is typical, and a better plan for gardeners anxious to get their hands dirty would be to keep tender purchases on a protected porch or patio. There, plants can “harden” to a wider temperature range than they’ve known in a greenhouse.  Exposing plants to natural sunshine during the days and protected lower nighttime temperatures helps plant leaves and stems toughen up and get ready for the real test: summer. Generally, Tennessee garden planting can wait until after Mother’s Day for best results. Until then, late freezes can at best mean carefully covering vulnerable plants at every threat, and at worst re-purchasing a garden’s worth of plants after an ill-fated first attempt freezes to death. For now, find the locally grown plants you want and let them get ready for real outdoor conditions. Enjoy checking your early crops like lettuces, spinach, carrots, early peas, onions and other cool weather plants poking through still chilly soils. These early crops are already being harvested in abundance at local farms that use hoop houses and row covers. Let the experts at farmers markets fill your shopping bags and CSA boxes with sure signs that summer is on the way. Find local farmers markets, CSA farms, greenhouses and plant nurseries with the free Pick Tennessee mobile app and online at PickTNProducts.org.