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DREMC Updates Text Alert System
DREMC has recently updated its text alert and reminder service to offer members new features, which include two-way communication using the texting option.
The new system began March 26, 2019, and DREMC members who opt-in to receive the daily or monthly text alerts and reminders will receive messages from the cooperative’s short code number of 352-667 rather than from alerts@dremc.com. No changes are being made to the alerts and reminders that members have opted to receive, but they will now see a message below the text alert that states, “Reply STOP to opt out.”
One of the 11 available text alerts and reminders from DREMC is the daily energy use alert*, which includes both the kilowatt-hour use and the approximate cost of the kilowatt-hours used. In addition to the daily energy use alert*, DREMC offers other options to help members monitor and receive timely information about their electric use, payments, outages and more.
DREMC PowerUp Prepay participants will see these same changes that began on March 26 with their text alerts and reminders.
It’s easy to get DREMC text alerts and reminders! Just go to the online payment portal or download DREMC’s mobile app to your smartphone or device.
If you have questions about the DREMC text alerts and reminders, please call your local DREMC office in Manchester at 728-7547and speak with a member service representative.
Tax Refund That Disabled Tennessee Veterans Might Not Know
Some Tennessee veterans might be entitled to a tax refund without even realizing it.
Last July, the IRS sent out letters (numbers 6060-A and 6060-D) to roughly 130,000 veterans across the country notifying them about a refund available to those who had taxes improperly withheld from their disability severance pay between 1991 and 2016. To take advantage of the refund, an eligible veteran has to file an amended tax return before the end of July 2019 for the year in which they received disability severance.
As that deadline swiftly approaches, the Tennessee Taxpayer Project, an initiative of Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands with a location in Tullahoma, is stepping up its efforts to get the word out to veterans who might qualify. We don’t know how many veterans in Tennessee are eligible for the program. But considering how life circumstances can change over decades — 1991 feels like an eternity ago — it’s very possible that many of the 130,000 eligible veterans have moved repeatedly or changed names, making it harder for the IRS notification to reach them.
There’s also the possibility that some veterans are intentionally avoiding messages from the IRS — maybe they owe taxes for other income, for instance. Or perhaps they’ve fallen behind on opening mail and the letter is sitting in a pile of things to deal with. Maybe the offer of free money sounds too good to be true.
Legal Aid wants veterans to know that this program is real, and if they’re eligible, they have a right to this money. But they do need to act quickly before the window of eligibility closes.
To be eligible, a veteran has to meet the following five criteria:
• Be found unfit for duty
• Have fewer than 20 years of service
• Have a disability rating of less than 30 percent (more about disability ratings below)
• Have left the military after Jan. 17, 1991, and
• Have gotten severance pay for injuries that the military says were combat-related at the time the person left the military.
When a service member suffers a medical disability that makes them unfit for duty, the VA assigns him or her a disability rating based on the severity of his or her disability. Those with ratings over 30 percent are eligible for early retirement with ongoing benefits. Service members with a disability rating of less than 30 percent are traditionally offered a disability severance package as a one-time payment — which is not supposed to be taxed. The government’s error in taxing this benefit was corrected with a recent piece of legislation, the Combat-Injured Veterans Tax Fairness Act of 2016.
The amount of money available through the program largely depends on each veteran’s circumstances, including his years of service and how he originally filled out his federal tax withholding form. If he had several dependents, for instance, he might not have had much money withheld, but a person who was single with zero dependents might be eligible for more. Most people are eligible for between $1,750 and $3,200. These amounts of money can make a big difference in a person’s life, particularly if they’re living paycheck to paycheck.
To apply for the benefit, you have to fill out an amended tax return (1040X) and write the words “veteran disability severance” across the top. People at the IRS are trained to catch that wording if it’s clearly written on a form.
The form itself can be tricky to fill out correctly, and unfortunately, there’s no appeal process in place when a form has errors on it. However, if you know your original form is wrong for some reason, you can correct the error by refiling.
In addition, government response time has been slow — one person we’ve worked with who filed in November still hasn’t heard back on the status of her filing, for instance. The recent 34-day government shutdown also complicated the process, since it represented more than one-twelfth of the time that the benefit is available.
The most important piece of advice to veterans is not to procrastinate on exercising your rights. If you’ve received a 6060-A or 6060-D letter from the IRS, read it and determine if you qualify. Follow the instructions very carefully and call the IRS’ special team number (833-558-5245, ext. 378) to get answers if you’re unsure about something. They are open between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.
The Tennessee Taxpayer Project at the Legal Aid Society also offers free legal aid to clients who fall within a certain income threshold (250 percent of the poverty level). If you believe you qualify, call Legal Aid at 866-481-3669 to see if they can help you in applying for this benefit.
Graduation Rates Up at Tennessee Community Colleges
Tennessee higher education officials say community college graduation rates are on the rise.
The Tennessee Board of Regents reported 13.6 percent of students who began in 2010 graduated within three years. That has increased to 25.4 percent.
Russ Deaton, the board’s executive vice chancellor for policy and strategy, expects the rate to increase even more with this year’s graduating class. He said that means the rates will have roughly doubled over about six years.
Community college is a major focus of Tennessee’s free tuition programs. For Tennessee Promise students, 13.8 percent of first-time freshmen who started in 2014 graduated within five semesters. Those who started in 2016 had a 22.9 percent graduation rate in five semesters.
The Board of Regents includes the state’s 13 public community colleges, including Motlow College.
MADD License Plates might be headed back to Tennessee Vehicles
Efforts are underway to get MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING license plates back on Tennessee vehicles.
Back in 2016, the group lost their specialty license plates after drivers failing to purchase the required minimum number to keep the plates in circulation. However, State Senator Paul Bailey has granted MADD Tennessee another chance.
The Sparta, Tennessee Republican state senator said, “If MADD can pre-sell 1,000 plates before June 30, 2019, the design will be back in circulation.”
Specialty plates cost an extra $35.00 each year in Tennessee. Anyone interested in pre-ordering a MADD plate should visit tnmaddplates.com and sign up. When the minimum of 1,000 pre-orders has been reached, then the $35 per plate will be due. (WGNS Radio)
3/26/19–Diane B. Foley
Diane B. Foley, age 65, of Manchester, TN, passed away on Saturday, March
16, 2019 at Unity Medical Center in Manchester, TN. Private services are
planned for a later date.
Diane was born in Pontiac, Michigan, the daughter of Nelson W. King and
Lois M. Beach (King), and then later retired and moved to Tennessee in
2015 to be closer to her children. She was a self employed housekeeper in
Michigan with her own company.
Diane enjoyed tending to her garden, camping and spending time with her
family, collecting her Snowbabies, and taking care of her animals.
Diane is preceded in death by her father, Nelson W. King, mother, Lois M.
Beach (King), sister, Karen J. Black (King), and her niece, Melissa
Kelly.
Diane is survived by her husband, Patrick Foley; two daughters, Bobby
Peavey (Maddox) and Sheila and Robert Ichenberg (Maddox); two sisters and
their children, Shirley Earich and Art Earich (King) and Yvonne and Wayne
Kelly (King); six grandchildren and two great grandchildren, Tyler and
Beth Ichenberg and their children (Thorson and Torunn Ichenberg), Krista
Estep, Chase and Cheyene Ichenberg, Paige and Cody Sullivan (Ichenberg),
Gabriel Peavey, and Trinity Peavey; and several nieces, nephews, and
in-laws.
Manchester Funeral Home is honored to serve the Foley family
Monday Prep Results and Tuesday Prep Schedule
Monday Prep Results
WMS Baseball HOSTS Cascade – – See the results HERE
CHS Softball at Tullahoma – PPD, Makeup Date is TBD
Tuesday Prep Schedule
5:00 PM – WMS Baseball HOSTS Cascade
5:30 PM – CHS Baseball HOSTS Lawrence Co
Westwood Middle Baseball Drops Heartbreaker to Cascade
Timothy Henderson of Westwood baseball
In a game that was exciting for all 7 innings, the Westwood baseball team saw the deciding action all come on the 1st inning on Monday night. Traveling to Wartrace on Monday for a conference matchup with Cascade, Westwood saw the Champions push across a run in the 1st inning and hold on for a 1 to 0 win over the visiting Rockets.
Westwood had a chance to get on the board early when Jayden Carter led off the game with a walk and stole 2nd and 3rd base. Carter was cut down at the plate for the final out of the inning ending the early threat. Westwood missed out on a bases loaded opportunity in the 5th inning as they loaded the bases with 1 out on a single, a walk and an error, but back to back strikeouts ended the frame. Westwood was held to 2 hits in the game as Timothy Henderson and Jonathan Nelson each had singles. Henderson took the hard luck loss on the mound.
Westwood returns home on Tuesday for the 2nd game of the season series with Cascade. The Rockets will host the Champions at Looney Riddle Field at Fred Deadman Park. First pitch is set for 5 PM.
Preds Clinch Playoff Berth, Shut Out Wild
Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators
They’re in.
Ryan Johansen scored the goal, Juuse Saros stopped every shot he faced, and the Nashville Predators defeated the Minnesota Wild by a 1-0 final on Monday night to clinch their spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The result gives the Preds a sweep of the season series, as well as 92 points to hang onto second place in the Central Division.
Looking to rebound from a loss in Winnipeg on Saturday night, Nashville got the monumental first goal – and what turned out to be the only goal – as Saros locked it down the rest of the way with 29 saves overall to send his club back to the postseason.
“You work all year to work your way and get into the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so tonight was the night we marked it,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “It was a good road win.”
“It was a good day for us,” Saros said. “That was a big thing for us to clinch the playoff spot now and then just focus on getting better.”
The game’s only goal came less than five minutes into the contest when Johansen sniped a shot – while shorthanded – over the shoulder of Devan Dubnyk for a 1-0 advantage. From there, the night belonged to Saros, who kept Minnesota off the scoresheet until the final horn.
“Juice is phenomenal,” Johansen said of Saros. “He’s such a quiet leader on this team. For such a young kid, he’s an absolute professional every single day. He earns everything he gets, and it’s easy to play for him. He’s a workhorse, and he’s going be a big part of this club for a long time.”
Forward Rem Pitlick made his NHL debut for the Predators on Monday night and skated 9:43 of ice time while leaving his head coach impressed.
“He played a smart game,” Laviolette said of Pitlick. “It’s a big task to come in as a young player that is meeting a team for the first time and a coach and a system – it can be a bit overwhelming, but our guys are pretty good in there. They’re good guys, and they took care of him, but then he’s got to go out and play the game… and I thought he did a good job in his first game.”
“That was crazy out there,” Pitlick said. “It was a lot of fun, definitely some learning moments, but something that I’ll never forget.”
Ticket Punched:
The Predators are starting to make a habit of this whole postseason appearance thing.
For the fifth-consecutive season – a franchise record – the Preds will be vying for Lord Stanley’s Cup when the postseason begins on April 10.
It’s no easy feat – only 16 out of 31 teams in the NHL get there in a single year, and to do it in five consecutive seasons is quite an accomplishment.
“It’s a good feeling, but you really have to look at how hard it is to make the playoffs over an 82-game season,” Johansen said. “You need to be healthy, and need guys to chip in and make big plays throughout the year. It’s a great accomplishment, and it’s something to be very proud of, but at the same time, we have a goal in mind and there’s a lot of work ahead still. We’re going to keep our foot down.”
“It’s a credit to the guys in the room,” Laviolette said. “It’s not an easy thing. Everybody goes into a year with good intentions and everybody has a plan in mind, and I’m sure they’re all including the playoffs. It’s not an easy thing and should never be taken for granted, but our guys worked hard and we got to this point. We have to continue to work on our game and get ready.”
While the Predators are certainly satisfied with achieving their goal, it’s not the only one they have in mind. With just five games to play in the regular season, there is still work to do, and the Preds can’t wait for the challenge that lies ahead.
“You look at our team and see the depth and go through the whole lineup, there’s a lot of tremendous players on our club,” Johansen said. “We’re all coming together, and we’re a pretty darn good hockey team. The focus right now is that there’s still a lot of work to be done. We’ll just enjoy this one tonight, enjoy making the playoffs here and get home, go to bed and get back to work.”
Notes:
Preds forward Rocco Grimaldi was absent from Monday’s game and is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Prior to Monday’s contest, the Predators assigned forwards Austin Watson and Miikka Salomaki to Milwaukee of the AHL on long-term injury loan.
Grimaldi, Watson, Salomaki, Matt Donovan, Cody McLeod and Frederick Gaudreau were all listed as scratches for the Preds on Monday.
Nashville will now head home, but their next game will also come on the road on Friday night at Pittsburgh.
Pete Weber’s Postgame Report
Sounds Edge Rangers in Front of Record-Breaking Crowd at First Tennessee Park
The Nashville Sounds edged the Texas Rangers, 4-3, in front of a record-breaking crowd of 11,824 at First Tennessee Park Sunday afternoon. It was the first Major League exhibition game in Nashville since June 3, 1999.
Outfielder Preston Beck provided the difference when he gave the Sounds a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when he belted a two-run homer into The Band Box off Texas reliever Shawn Kelley.
Taylor Hearn got the starting nod for Nashville and cruised through five innings after a 44-minute rain delay prior to first pitch. Hearn’s lone hiccup came in the first when Texas plated a run on Hunter Pence’s sacrifice fly. The southpaw went five innings and allowed one unearned run on two hits. He walked two and struck out seven.
Ariel Jurado opposed Hearn and limited the Sounds to one run in 3 2/3 frames. After the sacrifice fly by Pence in the first, the Sounds evened the game at 1-1 on a run-scoring ground-rule double by Zack Granite.
It stayed 1-1 until the top of the sixth when the Rangers took advantage of Nashville’s second error. An errant throw by second baseman Nolan Fontana allowed Juremi Profar to score and give Texas a 2-1 lead.
The slim advantage didn’t last as Nashville bounced back in the home half of the sixth. Eli White started the rally by working a one-out walk off Kelley. Beck followed with his two-run homer to right field to put the Sounds on top for good.
A pair of walks issued by Texas closer Jose Leclerc came back to hurt him in the seventh. The right-hander walked Hunter Cole and Fontana before Ryan Dorow lined a base hit up the middle to bring in Cole to make it a 4-2 game.
Four relievers worked for Nashville after Hearn’s five frames. CD Pelham allowed the unearned run in the sixth, Tennessee native Brett Martin tossed a scoreless seventh, Tim Dillard followed suit in the eighth and Brady Feigl shut the door in the ninth despite Texas scoring a run to make it 4-3.
Pelham picked up the win in relief and Kelley was charged with the loss. Feigl earned the save in Nashville’s win.
The Rangers head to Arlington where they’ll host the Cleveland Indians in an exhibition game at Globe Life Park Monday night. Texas opens the 2019 season against the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon, while the Sounds open their 2019 season on Thursday, April 4 at First Tennessee Park.
The 42nd season of Nashville Sounds baseball officially begins on Thursday, April 4, when the Sounds host the Iowa Cubs at 6:35 p.m. Season ticket memberships for the 2019 season are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.
Birthdays Sunday March 24th
Ann Wells – 84
Jacob Prosser – 29 – Pizza Winner
Sally Singles
Jimmy Pruitt – 61