Josh Peterson

Winchester Police Department are asking for the public’s help to locate Tori Henley, who they are classifying as a “runaway teenager.”

On Tuesday, February 4, a missing juvenile report was filed with the Winchester Police Department for Henley, who is currently 17.

Anyone with information regarding Henley’s whereabouts should contact the Winchester Police Department at 931-967-3840, or make anonymous tips to Crimestoppers by calling 931-962-4636.

Governor Bill Lee focused heavily on education during his State of the State address on Monday night.

The proposed state budget includes the largest investment in K-12 teacher salaries in Tennessee history, and a series of initiatives designed to ensure that Tennessee is recruiting, retaining and training the best teachers in America. The governor also announced legislative and budgetary priorities to build a comprehensive approach to advancing literacy across the state, which includes additional teacher training and development. In the coming fiscal year, the proposed budget includes more than $600 million new dollars for public education.

Additional education incentives include: investing an additional $117 million in teacher salaries, which would amount to 4% increase in the state’s contribution.

• Recommending moving the minimum teacher salary schedule from $36,000 to $40,000 over the next two years.
• Creating the K-12 Mental Health Trust Fund through $250 million in one-time funds to support the growth and placement of mental health services for students through a system-wide, evidence-based, whole child approach.
• Growing school-based behavioral health liaison program from 36 counties to all 95 counties.

• Setting new standards for public elementary literacy training and instruction and providing improved literacy supports and interventions for K-2 students
• Launching the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship to support the education of over 1,000 future teachers per year
• Supporting district-led “Grow Your Own” programs with new curriculum and grants
• Investing $4 million into professional development and career advancement opportunities for teachers and school leaders
• Applying for a new AP education teaching course
• Establishing the Tennessee Teacher and Leader Institute which will solicit proposals from across the country to help launch a new initiative to build the best educator preparation program in the nation

Gov. Lee emphasized that these education initiatives are designed to produce economic and workforce development.

“The true measure of a successful education system is a cohort of high school graduates who are well-prepared to be productive citizens, whether they choose a career or college. To me, education isn’t just about a test score,” said Lee.

Key economic and workforce development highlights include:

• Cutting the professional privilege tax by 50%
• Returning over $100 million to cities and counties
• Offering an enhanced incentive package for companies considering locating in Tennessee’s 15 distressed counties and 24 at-risk counties.
• Launching ApprenticeshipTN, a new effort that will realign our approach to getting individuals back into the workforce
• Investing $160 million for capital improvements and $70 million for capital maintenance projects on higher education campuses

The governor’s strong ongoing commitment to rural Tennessee was showcased through initiatives including:

• Increasing broadband accessibility through an additional $25 million investment
• Expanding the TN Agriculture Enhancement Program through a $7 million investment
• Investing $2 million for UT Extension Agents in distressed rural counties
• Investing $20 million in the Rural Opportunity Fund which supports site development, main-street development, and critical infrastructure assistance
• Investing $4 million for payment increases to rural health clinics and expanding rural access to dental care through the Department of Health and a new public-private partnership with SmileTN
• Supporting the Department of Tourism’s Office of Rural Tourism through a nearly $2.4 million investment

Gov. Lee also outlined plans to improve public safety.

“When properly implemented, criminal justice reforms save taxpayer dollars, shrink the size of government, properly punish wrongdoers, and make our communities safer,” said Lee.

Key public safety initiatives include:

• Increasing the criminal penalties associated with theft of a firearm and increasing the criminal penalties associated with reckless endangerment of a police officer or first responder
• Revising the occupational licensing process to encourage employment for those leaving prison
• Expanding recovery courts and community supervision

Gov. Lee further discussed plans to provide all Tennesseans access to high-quality affordable health care by:

• Investing $6.5 million additional recurring funds in the Health Care Safety Net
• Creating a Children’s Behavioral Health Safety Net through a $7.5 million investment
• Funding the third year of the Rural Hospital Transformation Program
• Extending postpartum coverage for women on TennCare to 12 months
• Providing a dental and oral health benefit to pregnant women on TennCare who do not currently receive dental benefits during the time of pregnancy through 60 days post-delivery

Finally, Gov. Lee discussed his previously announced comprehensive pro-life legislation to prohibit an abortion where a fetal heartbeat exists. That legislation also includes provisions to require a mother to undergo an ultrasound prior to an abortion and prohibit an abortion where the physician is aware that the decision to seek an abortion is motivated by the race, sex, or health or disability diagnosis of the unborn child.

Winchester Police Department are asking for the public’s help to locate a Tori Henley, who they are classifying as a “runaway teenager.”

On Tuesday, February 4, a missing juvenile report was filed with the Winchester Police Department for Henley, who is currently 17.

Anyone with information regarding Henley’s whereabouts should contact the Winchester Police Department at 931-967-3840, or make anonymous tips to Crimestoppers by calling 931-962-4636.

Unity Medical Center is one of the state’s top-rated hospitals, information verified by the Hospital Compare tool at www.medicare.gov.

Manchester’s hometown hospital ranks as one of the state’s few 4-star facilities. Williamson Medical Center is the state’s only 5-star hospital. Only three other hospitals within a 50-mile radius of Manchester were awarded a 4-star rating, making Unity Medical Center (UMC) a premier acute-care facility in the mid-state.

“This survey is used to gauge where we can improve our patient care and experience at Unity Medical Center,” explained Martha McCormick, CEO of Unity Medical Center. “While we always aim to improve in these areas, results like this 4-star rating offers vindication of the hard work of our staff every day. From administration all the way down the chain to our doctors, nurses, technicians, cafeteria staff and maintenance staff, every person at Unity is driven to provide an exceptional experience for our patients and that work is starting to show in how our patients rate us.”

That dedication to patient care is showing in survey results of patients. These Hospital Compare scores show that 88% of patients at UMC scored the hospital as a 9 or 10 (10 being the highest). That’s well above the state average, which shows that 72% of patients score their hospitals as a 9 or 10.

According to the survey results, an astounding 98% of patients reported that they were given proper information about what to do during home recovery. This is well above the state average of 86%, and the national average of 87%.

“Our goal is to provide quality healthcare to our rural community,” explained McCormick. “Part of providing that care is ensuring our patients enjoy their experience and share those experiences in the community. We also want our patients to not have to return, that is why we emphasize communication from our doctors, nurses and other caregivers, so that our patients can go home and continue to recover without having to return to our facility for the same issues.”

These survey results do not take into account the many new services being rolled out to patients at Unity Medical Center this year.

Unity launched its state-of-the-art Cardiac Telemedicine program in January of 2020, a pilot program with TriStar Centennial and Dr. Byron Haitas that allows patients at Unity to have instant access to specialists from Manchester using a robot.

Unity will soon be launching a medical detox program, as well as opening an Intensive Care Unit at the hospital.

“This is a very big year for Unity Medical Center,” stated McCormick. “We plan to improve to a 5-star rating as we step up our level of care for our patients.”

Unity Medical Center is located at 481 Interstate Dr. in Manchester.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Newell Brands officials announced today that the company will expand in Shelbyville. The consumer goods manufacturer will create 115 new jobs and invest $11 million in Bedford County over the next five years.

Newell Brands is a leading manufacturer and distributer of consumer goods including appliances and cookware, writing products, home fragrance and more. Newell Brands and its subsidiaries currently employ more than 1,000 Tennesseans across the state.

Newell Brands plans on expanding its Shelbyville operations to keep up with growing demand. The company will expand into an existing 211,000-square-foot facility in Bedford County.

Since 2013, TNECD has supported 13 projects in Bedford County, resulting in the creation of more than 1,500 jobs and $196 million in capital investment.