Fifty RockTenn paper and packaging plant employees will soon be looking for work. The Tullahoma plant on East Carroll Street will closing next month.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Dislocated Worker Unit received notification of the closure on July 15, just two weeks after a completion of a corporate merger of Norcross Georgia-based RockTenn and Richmond Virginia-based MeadWestvaco Corporation. The combined corporate entity now operates under the name West Rock. (From TUB)

The national average price for gasoline dipped 4 cents last week, and prices in the southeast fell even further. Pump prices in Florida, Georgia and Tennessee are down 5 cents compared to last week, after falling for 18 consecutive days.
“Motorists are finally getting some consistent relief at the pump thanks to declining oil prices,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “By this fall, prices could creep closer to levels seen at the beginning of this year, possibly even below $2 a gallon in some markets, as long as oil remains low.”
Compared to peak prices in mid-June, the current state average is down 16 cents in Tennessee.
West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed below $50 per barrel, for two consecutive days this past week, for the first time since April, due to a surplus in crude inventories and speculation that the market will remain oversaturated in the near term. At the close of Friday’s formal trading on the NYMEX, WTI settled at $48.14 per barrel.
In Tennessee the current average price ($2.42) is 5 cents cheaper than last week, 14 cents cheaper than a month ago, 89 cents cheaper than this time last year. In Manchester the low price as of Tuesday afternoon was $2.28 per gallon and in Tullahoma the low price is $2.30.

The We Care Committee is pleased to announce that their efforts have finally resulted in a portion of Highway 41-A being named in honor of Crosby Dewitt Stamps (C.D. Stamps). The segment of U.S. Highway 41-A in Tullahoma from West Carroll Street southward to the Franklin County line will be designated as The C.D. Stamps Highway. This bill was sponsored by Senator Janice Bowling, Representative Judd Matheny and Representative David Alexander.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will place signs along Highway 41-A near the CD Stamps Community Center and the Franklin County Line. The public is invited to the unveiling and dedication on Saturday, August 8, 10am in the vicinity of 41-A and West Carroll Street.

The Tennessee Department of Health is issuing a public health advisory urging residents to increase their awareness about Hepatitis C, a life-threatening disease spread by direct contact with blood from an infected person. The rate of acute Hepatitis C cases in Tennessee has more than tripled in the last seven years, and the steadily increasing number of cases may only represent “the tip of the iceberg” of the state’s Hepatitis-C epidemic, according to the TDH Commissioner. In addition to reported cases of acute Hepatitis C it is estimated that more than 100,000 Tennesseans may be living with chronic Hepatitis C and not know it.
Early symptoms of Hepatitis C infection can include fatigue, abdominal pain, itching and dark urine. Many people, however, are not aware they have the disease until the virus has already caused liver cancer or liver damage.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends all individuals born from 1945 to 1965 be tested, as well as individuals of any age who have any specific risk factors, including a history of injection drug use or unsanitary tattooing or piercing. If chronic Hepatitis C infection is present, a doctor can recommend treatment options. The sooner an infection is identified and treatment started, the better a person’s chances are for recovery.
TDH has facilities in all 95 counties and provides direct services for more than one in five Tennesseans annually.