Franklin County Sheriff’s Department investigators are attempting to locate a man identified as Cody Dewayne Hill, of 1799 Blue Springs Rd. in Decherd. (pictured below)
Mr. Hill was last seen at 3250 Lynchburg Rd. on Sunday at approximately 6:30 p.m. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket, gray shirt and Nike shoes. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is asked to contact FCSD Sgt. Todd Hindman at 931-962-0123
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Monday announced all Tennessee adults will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination no later than April 5. Tennesseans aged 55 and older and those in Phase 2 of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan
Governor Lee shared the announcement in a video Monday morning.
By April 5, all Tennesseans age 16 and over will become eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. Eligibility for those in Phase 3 of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan will run concurrently with age-based eligibility. Phase 3 includes residents and staff members of congregate living facilities including college dormitories, group homes and shelters and those in the corrections system. Phase 3 also includes grocery store workers who were not eligible for vaccination based on previous age or risk-based categories. To help ensure vaccines are available to these populations, direct allocations of vaccines will be made to these facilities.
Tennessee continues to see increasing supplies of COVID-19 vaccines, which allows the state to rapidly accelerate eligibility to receive the vaccination. TDH requests every dose of COVID-19 vaccine made available to the state:
* 2.9 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been delivered to Tennessee providers to date
* Expecting approximately 311,000 vaccine doses week of March 22
* Expecting new allocations of Johnson and Johnson vaccine week of March 29, which will increase weekly supplies by 30 percent
“As we’ve promised, we’re able to expand our COVID-19 vaccine eligibility as vaccine supplies have increased and we’ve made substantial progress in protecting those most at risk of serious illness and death from COVID-19,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP. “Tennessee will now open COVID-19 vaccination to all eligible adults well ahead of the federal goal of May 1.”
Expanding COVID-19 Vaccination Eligibility
Effective Mar. 18, Tennesseans aged 55 and older and those in Phase 2 of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan are eligible. Phase 2 includes those who work in settings that have experienced high numbers of COVID-19 infection clusters, and whose work is critical to continuing vital state operations. These groups include:
* Child welfare and adult protective services agency workers with direct public exposure
* Commercial food manufacturing workers
* Commercial agriculture workers involved in production and safety of food supplies and commodities
* Corrections system workers not previously covered under Phase 1a1
* Public transit drivers and maintenance personnel
* People working in other transportation, public infrastructure, telecommunications and utility industries
Legislation creating lifetime orders of protection for victims of violent crimes passed both chambers unanimously and now heads to Gov. Bill Lee’s desk for his signature. House Bill 434 creates a lifetime order of protection to strictly prohibit communication between an offender and their victim.
Republican Leaders partnered with Nikki Goeser, a victim of stalking, to create this legislation. She was present in the House chamber for the unanimous vote on Monday. Goeser’s stalker shot and killed her husband, Ben, in front of her in a crowded restaurant in 2009. Her stalker has been behind bars serving time for second-degree murder, but has continued to try to contact Goeser, sending her letters from prison.
Offenders that violate the order could receive up to a Class A misdemeanor, ensuring that these penalties will tack significant time onto ongoing sentences. The legislation is retroactive, so persons who have previously been victimized can receive lifelong orders of protection. This bill also permits service of ex parte orders of protection for up to one year from issuance.
After multiple weeks of significant increases at the pump, Tennessee gas prices, on average, only increased about a penny over last week. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $2.69 which is 28 cents more than one month ago and nearly 78 cents more than one year ago.
The National Average is $2.88. In Coffee County, the average price is $2.59, which is 10 cents below the state average and 29 cents below the national average.
“A dip in demand along with a simultaneous increase in supply and refinery utilization has contributed to slower movement in gas price increases,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “This week, motorists can expect fluctuation at the pump. However, large jumps are not likely for the majority of consumers.”
Quick Facts
· 76% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $2.75
· The lowest 10% of pump prices are $2.48 for regular unleaded
· The highest 10% of pump prices are $2.94 for regular unleaded
· Tennessee ranks as the 12th least expensive market in the nation
National Gas Prices
After weeks of seeing almost daily increases, the national gas price average is showing signs of stability, holding steady at $2.88 for the last 5 days. Still, today’s average is the highest price since May 2019 and is more expensive on the week (+2 cents), month (+25 cents) and year (+74 cents).
In its latest weekly reports, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) shows demand decreased from 8.7 million b/d to 8.4 million b/d indicating that Americans are slowly returning to the road, likely due to more schools opening and spring break. Further, supply increased from 231.6 million bbl to 232 million bbl. While still one of the lowest levels of 2021, the increase in supply is promising especially alongside increasing refinery utilization rates, which jumped from 69% to 76%. That is just 7 percentage points away from utilization levels before February’s Texas winter storm.
Further aiding the more modest jumps at the pump in the last week is the lower price of crude oil. Crude averaged around $63/bbl, down $2/bbl from the previous week’s average of $65/bbl.
National Oil Market Dynamics
At the close of Friday’s formal trading session, WTI increased by $1.42 cents to settle at $61.42. Although the price of crude increased (Friday) after Saudi Arabia reported a drone attack on an oil facility that caused a fire but no injuries or damage, crude prices declined on the week due to market concern that demand may stumble as some countries restart coronavirus restrictions to curb growing infection rates. The decrease in crude prices was also supported by EIA reporting that total crude inventories increased by 2.4 million bbl to 500.8 million bbl. For this week, crude prices may decline further if demand concerns persist.
The Agriculture Council of America will host National Agriculture Day on Tuesday, March 23.
This marks the 48th anniversary of National Ag Day, which is celebrated in classrooms and communities across the country.
The theme for this year’s National Ag Day is “Food Brings Everyone to the Table.”
On Tuesday, the ACA will host a virtual Ag Day event.
This event will honor National Agriculture Day and mark a nationwide effort to tell the true story of American Agriculture and remind citizens that agriculture is part of all of us.
The National Ag Day program encourages every American to:
*Understand how food and fiber products are produced
*Appreciate the role agriculture plays in providing safe, abundant and affordable products
*Value the essential role of agriculture in maintaining a strong economy.
*Acknowledge and consider career opportunities in the agriculture, food and fiber industry.
Learn more at www.agday.org.
Misti Garrett, owner of Transformation Wellness & Martial Arts and Snap Fitness in Manchester, has launched a platform for women to learn to defend themselves and there is no cost to participate.
Recognizing the need for women to be able to defend themselves in any situation, including against sexual assault and unwanted advances, Garrett launched a Women’s Self Defense Class last week and has committed to holding two sessions every Wednesday through at least the end of April. Sessions are free (donations to the Children’s Advocacy Center are welcome) and the class is for females age 14 and older. Before signing up a minor, parents should be aware that sexual situations will be discussed in these classes.
There will be a session from 4:30-5 p.m. and another session from 5-5:30 p.m. Garrett says anyone is welcome to attend one session or both. However, there is a cap of 30 participants per session.
Sessions are held at TWMA on S. Woodland St. in Manchester.
You need to reserve your space online by visiting www.mindbodyonline.com or by downloading the Mindbody App in the app store.
Create an account, choose the TWMA location, view the schedule and then book your times.
Constitutional Carry legislation is continuing to move through the House, passing the Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee last Wednesday.
House Bill 786 allows Tennesseans to exercise their constitutional right to defend themselves and their families while cracking down on criminals who steal guns or possess them illegally. The bill also includes sentencing enhancements and increases minimum sentences for gun-related crimes, and increases sentences on felons illegally carrying firearms or unlawfully providing a minor with a firearm.
House Bill 786 now moves to the full Finance, Ways, and Means Committee for consideration on Tuesday, March 23.
Legislation authorizing the use of deadly force for sexual assault victims was approved unanimously in the House chamber this week.
House Bill 50, known as the 2021 Defense Doctrine, allows victims that have a reasonable belief they are imminent danger of serious sexual abuse, sexual assault or rape to utilize deadly force as a method of self-defense to avoid serious bodily injury and escape dangerous threats to their personal safety.
Recent data from the Tennessee Department of Health reveals that sexual violence is a major public health crisis resulting in long-term societal and economic costs. Approximately 6,177 people were assaulted in Tennessee in 2017, according to the department. House Bill 50 now awaits final passage from the Senate Chamber.
Most of Tennessee’s 95 counties started 2021 with lower unemployment numbers, according to data released by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development.
Seventy-eight counties began the new year with a decrease in unemployment. The jobless rate remained the same in seven counties and increased in ten counties.
In Coffee County, the unemployment rate for January is at 4.7 percent according to data released by Tennessee Department of Labor. This is down 0.5 percent from December’s rate of 5.2 percent and is inching closer to pre-pandemic levels. The unemployment rate in January of 2020, prior to the pandemic effect, was 4.0 percent.
Rates in 24 counties came in under 5% for the month. The remaining counties, 71 out of the 95, have rates higher than 5%, but less than 10%.
Williamson County recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rate. The new rate of 3.2% is down 0.6 of a percentage point from the December 2020 statistic. Moore County followed Williamson with a rate of 3.8%, down 0.3 of a percentage point from December. Cheatham County had the third-lowest rate at 3.9%, a decrease from 4.4%.
Cocke County had Tennessee’s highest unemployment in January. It increased by 2 percentage points in January to 8.5%. Lake County’s rate was the second-highest at 8.4 percent, which represents a 0.8 of a percentage point drop from December’s rate of 9.2%. Hardeman County had the third-highest rate, but at 7.8%, the county saw unemployment drop by 0.1 of a percentage point.
Statewide, unemployment was down in January. Tennessee started 2021 with a seasonally adjusted rate of 5.1%, down 0.5 of a percentage point from December.
The national unemployment rate for January is 6.3%, down 0.4 of a percentage point.
The Department has compiled a comprehensive analysis of the January 2021 county unemployment data the public can access here .
Tennesseans searching for employment can find over 230,000 job openings for every skill level, in every area of the state, on Jobs4TN.gov. They can also utilize the service matcher, which can help remove barriers to employment by matching the job seeker with services from several state agencies. The service matcher is located within the virtual American Job Center at TNVirtualAJC.com.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released a new study Thursday, detailing the volume and nature of crime identified as having a domestic violence nexus.
Among the findings of ‘Domestic Violence 2020’:
* A total of 69,385 offenses were flagged as domestic-related in 2020. Of those, 45,854 were reported as Simple Assault.
* The overall number of domestic-related offenses decreased by 2.6% from 2019 to 2020.
* Data on victim-to-offender relationship revealed that ‘Boyfriend/Girlfriend’ was the most frequently reported relationship type for domestic-related offenses.
“The issue of domestic violence is by no means a novel problem in American society,” said TBI Director David Rausch. “The persistence of domestic violence and the large number of related incidents reported to law enforcement necessitate continued awareness about this issue.”
Full reports are now available for further review and download on the TBI’s website by clicking here.
