Category: News

The Tennessee Republican Party appears to be standing by a freshman congressman seeking re-election despite the revelation of a recorded conversation of the pro-life proponent urging his mistress to get an abortion.
Executive Director Adam Nickas said in a statement this week that the transcript first reported by the Huffington Post is the same type of “smear campaign” tactics used against Rep. Scott DesJarlais when he ran in the 2010 election, “which voters overwhelmingly rejected.”
DesJarlais on his website espouses a platform that opposes abortion.
Nickas did not immediately respond to follow up questions Thursday from The Associated Press on whether the GOP plans to distance itself from DesJarlais and voter perception that indicates the congressman acted opposite his platform.
The phone recording appears to have been made before DesJarlais’ divorce from his wife, Susan, was finalized in 2001.

A former Bedford County employee has appealed her recently dismissed federal civil lawsuit to the United States Court of Appeals.
In a report in the Shelbyville Times-Gazette, two weeks ago, District Court Judge Harry S. Mattice dismissed Cynthia L. Ray’s suit against the county and trustee Tonya Davis filed in late 2010, claiming she had been fired for openly supporting Davis’ opponent during that year’s election.
She claims Davis and the county violated her 1st and 14th Amendment rights, state rights, fired her in retaliation for exercising her constitutional rights, and intentionally inflicted emotional distress.
Mattice dismissed the federal part of the suit “with prejudice,” meaning that it could not be refiled in federal court, also dismissing “without prejudice” the state claims in the case. But now Davis has appealed the matter to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Shelbyville police said a woman for whom they had been searching after reports of a possible abduction Thursday has been located. Police said Susita Darjee was found with family in Nashville and said she was not taken against her will. Earlier, investigators believed Darjee had gone missing just before midnight from the parking lot of Tyson Foods. Prior to leaving the parking lot she told her friend that someone was driving through the parking lot calling her name. Police said the information she provided to her friend was false. No charges are being filed, police said.

Motlow College, in order to provide more adult learners throughout the state with high school credentials, is partnering with the GED Testing Service to offer the GED test on computer. Registration and scheduling will be available to candidates on Oct. 15, and testing will begin on Nov. 13. Registering, scheduling and testing on computers will provide a new experience and new benefits for GED test-takers. These new features will improve the GED testing program, which is a gateway for adults to find jobs or better paying jobs, enter the workforce or college training programs, and better support themselves and their families. The GED test on computer includes the same test content currently offered on paper. Its accompanying systems will provide an array of new benefits for both the testing center and GED test-takers. Some of the initial benefits include one-stop online registration and scheduling available 24/7, flexible testing appointments for test-takers, instant test scores on four of five content areas, an introduction of basic keyboarding and computer skills, and enhanced test security. “Motlow College is proud to lead the way on GED testing on computer,” said Regina Burden, assistant vice president for student affairs at the College. Test-takers interested in taking the test on computer at Motlow College should go to GEDtestingservice.com. Offering GED testing on computer also has an important role to increasing accessibility and flexibility for test-takers, since a double-digit increase in the number of GED test-takers is expected by 2013. A new GED assessment is scheduled to be released in Jan. 2014, and a significant number of adults who haven’t taken or passed all five content areas will want to test before their scores expire at the end of 2013. The GED test is the only high school equivalency program recognized by all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Since 1942, more than 18 million adults have earned GED test credentials.

The Manchester Fire & Rescue would like to invite you to participate in its 3rd annual Chili Cook-Off scheduled from 12 to 4 p.m. this Saturday, October 13, 2012 on the downtown square in Manchester. Buy a $5 spoon and try all the chili and vote in the People’s Choice Award. Winners in 3 categories will win $500 each and a nice trophy. This year’s proceeds will go to the Children’s Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization that provides a child-focused facility in a safe, neutral location.

A freshman Tennessee congressman running for re-election on a pro-life platform urged his pregnant mistress to get an abortion a decade ago, according to a transcript of the recorded conversation.
The undated phone recording appears to have been made before Republican Representative Scott DesJarlais’ divorce from his wife, Susan, was finalized in 2001.
In the undated conversation, DesJarlais tells the unidentified woman that he is concerned that she hadn’t taken steps toward terminating the pregnancy.
The DesJarlais campaign did not immediately return a phone message from The Associated Press seeking comment, but did not dispute the contests of the transcript to the Huffington Post, which first reported about its existence. But the campaign in a statement condemned its publication.
“Desperate personal attacks do not solve our nation’s problems, yet it appears my opponents are choosing to once again engage in the same gutter politics that CBS news called the dirtiest in the nation just 2 years ago,” the statement said.
The freshman congressman on his website espouses a platform that opposes abortion.
DesJarlais, a Jasper physician, defeated Democratic Representative Lincoln Davis in 2010. Davis said his campaign was aware of the transcript during that race, but he wasn’t able to confirm its authenticity until a recent conversation with DesJarlais’ ex-wife.
DesJarlais faces Democratic state Senator Eric Stewart this year.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Wednesday began assisting in the search for two missing Bedford County children.
Authorities said they don’t believe 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and her half-brother, 7-year-old Gage Daniel, died in a Sept. 23 fire that incinerated their home, but there is also no indication where or when they could have gone.
On Wednesday, ATF agents started sifting through the remains of the house. Several teams are slowly going through piles of rubble.
The ATF said they added 11 to 12 additional personnel, who might be able to help decide whether there are any remains in the debris that have not been detected.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation issued an Amber Alert for the children a couple weeks ago after previously issuing an endangered child alert.
The sheriff’s department brought in additional cadaver dogs to assist in the search, as well as forensic teams from Middle Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee.
Chloie is described as a white female, approximately 4’8″ and 75 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Gage is described as a white male, approximately 4′ and 75 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. If you have any information concerning the current whereabouts of Chloie and Gage, please contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Tennessee’s tax collections have shown marginal growth in the second month of the budget year.
Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes said in a release Tuesday that September revenues “continue to reflect the sluggish national economy.”
The state’s overall revenues were $1.1 billion, or 5.4% above the budgeted estimate. The September collections reflect economic activity in the previous month.
Sales tax collections were $2.2 million less than the estimate for September, where combined franchise and excise taxes were $54.9 million above the budgeted estimate of $254.2 million.
Gasoline and motor fuel collections were $3 million below the budgeted estimate of $71.5 million.

Health officials said Wednesday the number of people sickened by a deadly meningitis outbreak has now reached 137 cases across the U.S., including one new death in Florida.
The death toll from the fungal meningitis outbreak is now at twelve in the U.S. There are no new deaths in Tennessee, even though has the most deaths at 6.
Tennessee, Florida, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey and Ohio all have reported cases.
The Tennessee Department of Health said Tuesday there could be new patients emerge through the beginning of November.
Officials have tied the fungal meningitis outbreak to steroid shots for back pain. The steroid was made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts.