Josh Peterson

House Bill 16, also known as the “Teacher Discipline Act” began moving through state government committees last week. The House of Representatives unanimously approved the legislation 91-0 last June, however, the bill did not come to a vote in the Senate Chamber due to the pandemic. The legislation establishes a process for local school districts to enable teachers to remove a student who causes repeated disruptions.

Once the disruptive student is disciplined, principals could use their discretion to send them back into the classroom or permanently remove the child. The bill allows teachers to file an appeal with a schools’ director or local superintendent if they disagree with that decision..

House Bill 16 paves the way for local directors to work with school officials to address issues impacting a disruptive student’s ability to learn. To read more about House Bill 16, go here.

Gov. Bill Lee delivered his third State of the State address last week in a joint convention of the House and Senate at War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville. The governor’s speech focused on recent Republican accomplishments and shared legislative and budget priorities for the 2021 legislative session. Lee presented his $41.8 billion budget plan to members which included key investments in public education, economic recovery, health care, public safety, and an emphasis on business and rural Tennessee communities. His spending package includes a $341 million increase for K-12 education, $200 million to expand broadband to every Tennessean, $931 million for capital maintenance and improvements, $150 million for pandemic relief and Covid-19 vaccine support, $200 million to improve local infrastructure, and $135 million to expand transportation.

Tennessee marks 225 years of statehood this year, and to mark the occasion, Lee announced he would travel to all 95 counties beginning this summer.

The governor also provided an update of Tennessee’s Covid-19 response and continued economic recovery. Case counts have dropped significantly and hospitalizations for Covid have declined more than 60 percent in the past six weeks, Lee said.

The governor announced plans to make Tennessee a national leader in foster care and adoption. The proposed budget provides TennCare coverage assistance allowing adopted youth to retain their eligibility for physical, mental and behavioral health services until age 18 which reduces the financial burden on their adopted family.

Legislative priorities include:

• Legislation aimed at reducing crime, supporting families, and continued economic recovery
• Preparing students for successful life beyond the classroom
• Expanding broadband to most communities in Tennessee
• Legislation making Tennessee a national leader in foster care and adoption

Gov. Lee’s proposed budget for FY 2021-22 includes the following investments:

• $71 million to fully fund the Basic Education Plan
• $200 million for broadband expansion
• $120 million for teacher pay raises
• $50 million rainy-day fund deposit
• $150 million in COVID relief and support
• $931 million in capital maintenance and improvements
• $2 million for health care safety net
• $7 million in postpartum care for TennCare population
• $21 million for rural opportunity site grants
• $200 million in local infrastructure grants
• $30 million for state park improvements
• $8 million in tourism incentives

There will soon be more ways to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in Coffee County if you choose to receive it.

The Manchester Walmart will soon be offering the vaccine. Also, Marcrom’s Pharmacy in Manchester announced Wednesday that it has received its first supply of COVID vaccines.

If you wish to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine at Marcrom’s, you will need to do so online by clicking here. 

Marcrom’s officials say that calling the pharmacy will not get an appointment faster. The pharmacy is following Tennessee Department of Health phased vaccine approach.

Coffee County Communications Board (CCCB) on Wednesday (Feb. 10) made a motion to pursue leadership changes at the Coffee County 911 Center.

In a special-called meeting, Tullahoma Police Chief Jason Williams made the motion that was seconded by Tullahoma alderman Daniel Berry.

The motion asks for the 911 board, which is the funding body for the CCCB, to look at an exit package to present to Diane Argraves, who is the director of the 911 Center.

Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin, who is chairman of the CCCB, told Thunder Radio that an exit strategy will be presented to Argraves in the next couple of days for her consideration and she will be given the opportunity to accept that at the next regular meeting, which is 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17.

“We have to look for new vision,” said Partin. “We need someone who can take the bull by the horns, with a vision who can take our 911 center forward into the future.”

PREVIOUS STORY ON THUNDER RADIO THAT WAS PUBLISHED LAST WEEK:

Tensions have risen lately after 911 Director Diane Argraves submitted a formal complaint to the Coffee County Government HR department that leveled accusations at Sheriff Chad Partin, who happens to be the chair of the Coffee County Communications Board (CCCB), accusing him of being a bully and discriminating against her because of her gender and her age.

In a meeting last month, Partin addressed the CCCB and read an overview of ongoing issues the board has had with Argraves over the past two years.

Bluntly, Partin told Argraves he felt that the position of director was “over your head. “

Partin said the he and other board members have received complaints about dispatcher
attitudes, lack of checking on first responders after arrival on a call, putting too much detailed information over the radio, speaking disrespectfully over open microphones and dispatchers acting unprofessionally, “leaving in the middle of a shift to spy on a husband.”

“This puts coworkers in distress and left citizens and officers in distress,” said Partin.

Tullahoma Police Chief Jason Williams, who is also a member of the 7-person CCCB, said during the January meeting that his primary problem is that there is no real direction or vision for the building. Williams added that when he brings problems to Argraves’ attention, she addresses or responds, but there is no initiative.

Among the issues Partin highlighted was the issuance of bonuses paid to employees of the 911 center. Money was made available and Argraves was divvying it out without structure. Partin said that Argraves told the board that there was no record of evaluations to gauge bonuses, that it was ‘in her head.”

“Members of the board explained to [Argraves] that we could be sued over the current way it was being done and that this had to be corrected,” said Partin.

Partin said the board devised a plan to tie these bonuses into training, with checks given at the end of the year once each employee completes training, with money amounts to be consistent for each employee.

Partin said in December when he asked Argraves for a record of the training, records were not ready. He said once he received them, there was training written down for dates that had yet to take place. He added that he felt the 911 board was “being misled.”

“The attitude of our director is to the point of a rebellion and resistance.”

In Argraves’ letter to the county with a complaint about Partin, it stated that Partin came to the 911 center and slapped the glass and was yelling.

Partin addressed this, saying that incident happened in the summer and found it interesting that it was just now being brought up.

Argraves serves at the pleasure of the CCCB. She was appointed by the board as director in 2017.