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TBI Director Warns About New Form Of Heroin
There were some alarming words Wednesday from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation director about Mexican drug cartels targeting the state with a new form of heroin.
WKRN-TV reports that during budget hearings Wednesday morning for his agency, TBI Director Mark Gwyn told Governor Bill Haslam the cartels are focusing on Tennessee because of the state’s high addiction rate to products like hydrocodone.
Gwyn added during the last year, TBI agents are seeing heroin laced with a synthetic called Fentanyl.
“Fentanyl is what they are cutting the heroin with, you will start seeing Fentanyl labs showing up in the state just like meth labs.
“All you have to do is handle this Fentanyl and you can overdose.
The TBI director indicated tougher penalties in other states against traffickers have helped deter the cartels and he thinks Tennessee should eventually “go in that direction.”
High School Welders Take a Trip to AEDC
Grundy County High School welding class students watch as AEDC craftsman Chester Stovall works with a tungsten inert gas (TIG) welder. (Photo by Rick Goodfriend)
Walt Bishop, ATA Test Support Branch manager, introduced the students to several key Model Shop staff and explained that the shop is where the hardware for most of the AEDC test projects starts.
Bishop added, “I was very impressed with the class. The Grundy County welding program, currently headed up by Robin Dykes and Career and Technical Education (CTE) Director Gina Sons, is well respected beyond middle Tennessee and has produced some of the finest welding talent we have.”
The students were encouraged to hone their skills and consider attending a technical college once they graduate.
Bishop stated he hopes this is the case, as more welders will be needed soon.
“The average age of a welder in the United States is 63. What this means is that in five to 10 years the demand for welders will be increasing and we really need to support and encourage the local CTE programs and their students. The future is bright for the students who are not only skilled but are also not afraid to work.
AEDC currently has about 47 welders at the Model Shop and more than 100 others across the Complex.
As a way to contribute to the success of GCHS’s welding students, ATA recently provided the school with a $2,500 donation.
The ‘State of the Child’ in Tennessee—The Latest in a Kids Count Report
A new report on Tennessee’s young children points to early intervention and increased high quality pre-K opportunities to make sure they arrive at school with the cognitive, social and emotional skills they need to learn. Photo credit: Pawel Loj/Flickr.
“One is to expand the voluntary high-quality pre-kindergarten program we have so it reaches more children,” O’Neal says. “A second is to expand home visiting programs for new parents, and the third is to accept the federal Medicaid funds so all children have access to health care.”
Gov. Bill Haslam is planning to bring a Tennessee plan on expanding Medicaid to the legislature next year.
O’Neal says providing health care and these other early supports for Tennessee’s children considered at-risk will pay big dividends in the future, with them arriving at school ready to learn, not weighed down by the trauma of poverty, hunger or abuse.
“It is increasingly clear the impact that early adverse childhood experiences have,” she says. “It makes it clear how important it is to provide the preventive strategies and the early intervention to help children have the opportunity to be more successful when they go to school and in life.”
In Tennessee, there are nearly 400,000 children living in poverty, and hundreds of thousands more in families considered low-income.
Health Insurance Costs Going Up
Many HealthCare.gov customers will face higher costs next year, the Obama administration acknowledged Thursday in a report that shows average premiums rising modestly.
However, officials said millions of consumers who are currently enrolled can mitigate the financial consequences if they are willing to shop around for another plan in a marketplace that’s becoming more competitive.
Premiums for the most popular type of plan will go up an average of 5 percent in the 35 states where the federal government is running the health insurance exchanges, said a report from the Health and Human Services Department.
However, one person WMSR News talked to says their premium is going up from $50 to $115 per month.
McMinnville Woman Dies After Falling 12 Stories
The wife of a Warren County attorney died over the weekend after reportedly falling from her condominium balcony in Daytona Beach, Fla.
According to the Daytona Beach Shores Public Safety Department, 60 year old Deborah Smith of McMinnville fell from her 12th-story balcony Sunday evening.
She was the wife of well-known Warren County attorney Bernard K. Smith.
Reports indicate Mrs. Smith was decorating her balcony with Christmas ornaments when she fell.
State Reports Four Traffic Fatalities Over The Thanksgiving Holiday Period
The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security announced the preliminary number of four traffic fatalities statewide during the 2014 Thanksgiving Holiday period, which began on midnight Wednesday, Nov. 26 and ended at 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30.
If this year’s preliminary figures remain, it would mark the lowest number of vehicular deaths during the Thanksgiving holiday period since the seven traffic deaths in 1983. In 2013, there were 12 vehicular deaths during the 120-hour Thanksgiving holiday.
The department also reported that none of this year’s holiday traffic fatalities occurred in alcohol-related crashes. Two of the individuals killed were not wearing seat belts.
Tennessee state troopers investigated a total of 78 crashes (one alcohol-related), arrested six individuals on suspicion of impaired driving and issued 238 seat belt citations on I-40 during the two-day challenge periods. They also inspected 215 commercial vehicles in that time frame, placing 16 drivers and nine vehicles out of service, respectively.
TEA Wants Raises For Teachers
The state’s largest teachers’ union is calling on Gov. Bill Haslam to increase teachers’ pay by 6 percent this year.
The Tennessee Education Association issued a news release on Tuesday, three days before the governor is to hear a budget presentation from the state Education Department.
Haslam is holding budget hearings with state agencies this week.
The TEA said it would ultimately like to see a salary increase of 11.3 percent for teachers; 6 percent this year and the rest phased in over two to three years.
The group said the increase could be built into the state’s school funding formula, or BEP.
In 2013, Haslam vowed to make Tennessee the fastest-improving state in the nation in terms of teacher pay. He told reporters on Tuesday that he’s still committed to that, even though he didn’t say how and or when he’d do it.
Open House At The Sheriff’s Department To Help The Needy Is Saturday
Each year Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves and his staff provides toys to over 500 children and food baskets to 250 elderly, handicapped and needy families in Coffee County at Christmas. This is a very important project and can only be accomplished with community support as we provide this service strictly through donations and charity events such as the Christmas Open House.
Coffee Co. Sheriff’s Department Christmas for Charity Open House will be held this Saturday from 9am-Noon at the Sheriff’s Department. Please come and bring a non-perishable food item or unwrapped item or unwrapped toy and enjoy some refreshments with Sheriff Steve Graves and his staff. Tours of the jail will be available to those who wish to participate.
Tullahoma’s Jackson Street Closing For Christmas Parade
Tullahoma Police Department Lieutenant Ray Higginbotham advises that motorists should take alternate routes starting Friday, December 5 at 5:00p.m. to allow for the Stan McNabb 58th Tullahoma Christmas Parade to proceed north on Jackson Street.
At 5:00 p.m. the Tullahoma Police Department close Jackson Street to northbound traffic at Carroll Street as the parade entries line up. Volney, Decherd, Warren, and Lauderdale Streets will also close at Jackson at 5:00 p.m.
At approximately 6:15 p.m., Jackson Street will be closed at Lincoln and Jack Farrar Lane, and all streets in between: Big Springs, Wilson Avenue, Grundy, Moore, Grizzard, Hogan, Blackwell and Ogee.
Jackson Street will remain closed until the parade’s conclusion at approximately 9:00 p.m.
To prevent congestion, no vehicles other than parade entries will be allowed onto South Jackson at the Civic Center after 5:00 p.m. Parade participants meeting a float can park at old West Middle School and easily walk to the parade line-up.
Alternate Route
Lieutenant Higginbotham advises that motorists can avoid traffic congestion and delays by taking either Cedar Lane or Washington Streets. He also suggested motorists proceed with caution and patience, and be especially aware of the many pedestrians that will be present for the parade viewing.
Tullahoma Fire Department Collects Donations for Toys for Tots
This holiday season, let’s give back. Join the City of Tullahoma Fire Department as they once again collect new, unwrapped toys and distribute them as Christmas gifts to less fortunate children in the community.
“This year we are off to a great start. They’ve had local businesses and individuals who have helped our effort with sizeable donations,” said Chief Richard Shasteen.
“This program is a message of hope to children. I appreciate the continued community support this program has received over the years,” said Chief Richard Shasteen.
New, unwrapped toys or monetary donations may be dropped off at:
• Fire Hall No. 1 on South Jackson Street
• Fire Hall No. 2 on Ovoca Road
Donations are currently being accepted and will continue to be accepted until December 15. Monetary donation can also be made by mail:
Make check payable to TFD Toys for Tots
TFD Toys for Tots
PO Box 807
Tullahoma, TN 37388
All toys and proceeds remain in the Tullahoma area.