2016

Aging Services for the Upper Cumberland Inc. is looking for people who are empathetic, diplomatic and skilled communicators to be volunteer Ombudsmen.

As a volunteer ombudsman, you will be assigned to a specific long-term care facility, working to ensure that the resident’s rights are being protected..  You will help residents with problems they are unable to resolve alone.

Volunteer ombudsmen dedicate 3 hours per week to the job.  Ongoing training and support are provided.  This could be the most challenging and rewarding volunteer opportunity you may ever have.

Training is scheduled for March 2-4th.  For more information, please call Kim Fowler at 931-432-4210

The Cannon County Lions and Lionettes high school basketball teams are back at home tonight as they host the Upperman Bees and Lady Bees basketball teams.  Lady Bees are 11-0 in District play and they have clinched at least a tie of being regular season champions with three games left to go.  Upperman enters the game on a 18 game winning streak.  These two teams met in Baxter January 12 and it resulted in a 62-26 win for the team from Baxter.
The Cannon County Lions should be focused for their game against the Bees.  Coming off a win on the road against York, the Lions have put themselves in a position for a chance to finish the district season strong and climb out of last place heading into the tournament.  It’s one game at a time and tonight is the rematch of a game they lost in January in a heartbreaking fashion.  Both Bee teams are ranked in the top ten in the state.
The games will be on live on AM-1540/FM107.9 WBRY streaming live on wbry.com.  Tipoff is at 6 tonight.
 

The Cannon County Sheriff’s Department announces they are now a member of the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s Unwanted Pharmaceuticals Take Back Program.  With the program, the Sheriff’s Department and Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is able to provide a permanent bin which is now installed in the lobby of the Cannon County Sheriff’s Department building for Cannon County residents to collect unwanted and expired medication that have the potential to be a safety, environmental, and health concerns for the citizens and the occupants of their homes.  
The bin is available to the public from 7A-4P Monday through Friday.  Sheriff Darrell Young emphasizes that residents can drop off their unwanted and expired medications at no cost and no questions will be asked.  The bin is off limits to pharmacies and hospitals however as they have their own rules and regulations of medication destruction.  
This program will be a great asset to the community as it gives residents of Cannon County a way to dispose of their unwanted and/or expired medications rather than waiting for surrounding counties to put together a drug take back event which sometimes takes months in the process.

National School Counseling Week is Feb. 1–5. This week highlights the tremendous impact school counselors have in helping students achieve academic success and plan for a career. “School counselors work with all students to remove barriers to learning by addressing students’ academic concerns, career awareness in postsecondary options and personal/social skills,” said Kwok-Sze Wong, executive director of the American School Counselor Association. “Comprehensive school counseling programs help to increase student achievement and provide a much-needed resource for students, parents, teachers and administrators. School counselors are integral to student success.”
Cannon County Schools would like to show our appreciation to our school counselors.   Their job is crucial to our students’ success in the classroom and in their life outside of school.  . School counselors for Cannon County Schools are as follows:    Holly Luna,  Kasey McGee,  Health Roberts, and Suzette Sanderfer.

In the month of February, the Senior Center provides the members and the community an opportunity to support their programs.  The Have a Heart For Seniors campaign allows people to give a tax-deductible donation starting a Bronze level of $5 going up to Titanium level which is $1000 and over.  All contributors will be posted on the Have a Heart For Seniors CampaignWall in the main foyer of the Senior Center.  You can make an individual contribution, a business contribution or a contribution in memory or in honor of someone.  The names will remain on the plaques for one year ending February 1st 2017.  You can make your donation in person at the Cannon County Senior Center 609 West Lehman Street Woodbury or call 615-563-5304 for more information.

The losing streak is finally over for the Cannon County Lions Boys Basketball team.  The current nine game skid came to a halt as Cannon County went up to York Institute and beat the Dragons on their home court.  Lions led by as many as 10 throughout the game, survived a York run in the third and won by 13 61-48.  Briar Jakes led the Cannon County scorers with 17 while Austin Martin added 15 and Anton Knox continued providing a spark at times scoring 11.  The win also signified Cannon’s first win in District 8-AA play out of 11 tries this season.  
The York Institute Lady Dragons in the opener got out to a 12 point lead by half over the Cannon County Lionettes.  Lionettes couldn’t get any closer than 8 points in the second half and as a result lost their third game in a row 55-47 to York.  Cannon had three players in double figures with Maleah Scott leading the way with 21 points while Autumn King had 13 and Tori Knox finished with 11
The basketball games originally scheduled for Thursday at Van Buren County has been moved to Monday February 8th

A Woodbury man who had an active warrant out of Cannon County was arrested by Murfreesboro Police after a traffic stop Monday.  According to Murfreesboro police reports, Murfreesboro Police stopped a grey Toyota Tundra after running the tag of the vehicle and it came back stolen.  The driver Bryan Overall of Woodbury had a warrant out of Cannon County for theft over $10,000.  While placing Overall under arrest, police recovered four unique coins, five piece of jewelry that were determined to be stolen.  Overall told police he was going to pawn the jewelry and coins.  The coins and jewelry belonged to the owner of the Tundra.  Police also found a syringe in the truck.  Overall allegedly admitted to having a problem with heroin in the past and forgot about the syringe.  The vehicle along with the coins and jewelry were returned to the owner.  Overall was charged with theft under $500 and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.

Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development announced Tennessee employers will benefit from paying less in unemployment insurance premiums in 2016.
The state’s Taxable Wage Base decreased from $9,000.00 to $8,000.00 on January 1, 2016. The Taxable Wage Base is the annual amount of wages paid to an employee that is subject to state unemployment tax. This means employers will only have to pay taxes on the first $8,000 of an employee’s wages, instead of $9,000.
 “This is a step forward for both the economy and employers in the state of Tennessee,” said Linda Davis, Unemployment Insurance Administrator. “We have rebuilt the trust fund to a healthy level, allowing the Taxable Wage Base to decrease for employers.”
During the economic recession, Tennessee’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund became insolvent due to increased unemployment claims.  In an effort to ensure adequate funding to pay unemployment benefits to employees who lost their jobs, through no fault of their own, legislation was passed which increased Tennessee’s Taxable Wage Base from $7,000 to $9,000.  The legislation also included provisions to reduce the Taxable Wage Base when the Trust Fund was restored to an adequate funding level.
On December 31, 2015 the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund balance was over $900 million, which triggered the lowering of the Taxable Wage Base to $8,000.00. The Taxable Wage Base applies to employers who pay quarterly state unemployment insurance premiums.   
Also, as of January 1, 2016, employers with 10 or more employees are required to file online. Employers with 10-99 employees who do not wish to file online must provide justification in the form of a notarized statement submitted each year, along with the first quarter report.

The Cannon County Grammar School Tournament opened play Monday at Cannon County High School.  The Woodbury Grammar Lady Cubs opened up a sizeable lead in the second quarter and coasted to a 39-14 win over the Eastside Lady Tigers in a third seed vs sixth seed matchup.  The third seeded Woodbury Lady Cubs will meet second seeded Auburntown in the girls semifinal.  Leading scorers for Eastside was Lacon Partin  with 6 while Zettie Elrod had 14 for Woodbury.
The fourth seeded Westside Lady Eagles advanced to the second round with a 39-15 win over Short Mountain.  Abbie Maynard netted 11 to lead the way for the Lady Eagles who will meet the number one seed Woodland Thursday night.  Short Mountain was led by Lexie Deese with 8 points
In the boys division Shawn Matheny scored 18 points but it wasn’t enough as East Side lost to Woodbury Grammar School 50-42.  Cubs guard Duncan Cook paced the Cubs with 21 points.  and in the nightcap Short Mountain used 21 points from AJ Glenn to put them over the top of Auburntown 43-35.  Short Mountain will meet the number one seeded Westside Eagles Thursday while Woodbury will play Woodland
 

The Cannon County Lions and Lionettes undertake one of the longest road trips of the basketball season as the teams head to Jamestown for a set of District 8-AA contests against York Institute.  The Lionettes got a convincing win over York 55-41 earlier this season but Jamestown has always proven a tricky place to play.  The Lions are still on the hunt for their first District win of the year and played York close in a 66-58 loss back in December.  Because of the severe weather forecasted for tonight, the tip off has been pushed up to 5:00.  You can catch the game live on AM-1540/FM107.9 WBRY and streaming live on wbry.com.