State expungement fees could soon be eliminated because of a bill that’s passed both houses of the legislature.
Currently, it costs $450 in many cases for someone to have their criminal record cleared. State Representative William Lamberth said the new bill would use general fund money to cover the costs of processing expungements.
According to officials, many are unable to pay the large fines.
The idea is part of Governor Bill Lee’s focus on criminal justice reform. Now that the bill has passed through the legislature, he’s expected to sign it into law.
Category: News
Expungement Fees could be Eliminated
Waiver will Help Children in Tennessee with Severe Disabilities that are Ineligible for Medicaid
President Ronald Reagan meets Katie Beckett, along with her parents, Julia and Mark Beckett as the President exits Air Force One on the tarmac of Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, Iowa, 20 September 1984. Photograph by official White House photographer Michael Evans, courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.. Photo and information from WGNS Radio.
The money helps to pay for home-based medical services for children nineteen and under.
If signed by the governor, a new Katie Beckett program to utilize the funds will be designed with the help of the Commissioner for the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
Motlow has New Chief of Staff
Dr. Marvin Thompson
Prior to coming to Motlow, Dr. Thompson was a consultant to the Delaware Department of Education, developing statewide needs assessment and school improvement policies and procedures to meet federal requirements in addressing the needs of all students.
“Dr. Thompson has long been an advocate for students’ success, and has already started to identify opportunities, connections, and visions for Motlow,” said Michael Torrence, Motlow President. He added, “His work will assist in leveraging obvious partnerships to support our students, faculty, staff, and administrators while strengthening our communities.”
Thompson was the Chief Academic Officer at Future is Now Schools in New Orleans from 2012-14, where he supervised all facets of school operations. He served as an Educational Consultant at EmpowerED from 2007-12, providing training and support to schools and school districts in the development and implementation of quality management systems. He developed data collection systems to guide instructional decisions at the classroom, school and central office level.
Scam Alert!
The Manchester Police Department has received numerous reports indicating that residents are being contacted via telephone regarding fines of criminal cases. The complaint has been that a male subject is the caller and identifies himself as Bobby Johnson, an officer with the Manchester Police Department.
The caller is stating that he is calling to collect fines owed on pending criminal cases. The Manchester Police Department City Court only deals with citations issued for traffic violations and citations issued for violation of city ordinances. Furthermore, those citations that are issued by the Manchester Police Department are assigned a court date and fines are NEVER collected via the telephone. All criminal cases that are involving the Manchester Police Department are handled in Coffee County General Sessions Court.
If you receive one of these calls, do NOT agree to pay any fines via the telephone. If you are concerned about any citation issued by the Manchester Police Department you can contact their office at 931.728.2099. If you have questions or concerns about a pending criminal case in Coffee County General Sessions Court, you can contact the Clerk’s Office located at the Coffee County Justice Center at 931.723.5110.
Freds to Close Many Stores
Fred’s Inc. says it will close 159 underperforming and unprofitable stores in 13 states by the end of May.
The Memphis-based company said in a news release Thursday that a liquidation sale at those stores began Thursday. The company’s 398 other discount stores will remain open.
CEO Joseph Anto said in the release the company will work to move employees to other stores if possible.
The company said it is continuing to pursue the sale of its remaining pharmacy assets.
The list of stores being closed includes 31 in Mississippi, 25 in Georgia, 23 in Tennessee, 19 each in Alabama and Arkansas, 14 in Louisiana, 11 in South Carolina, six in Texas, four in Kentucky, three in North Carolina, two in Missouri and one each in Illinois and Oklahoma.
Store closings announced included Decherd, Woodbury and McMinnville. The store in Monteagle was not on the list to be closed.
Conservationists Release Endangered Sturgeon into Tennessee River
Lake sturgeon are migratory fish, traveling an average of 62 miles to spawn. (Vladimir Wrangel/Adobe Stock)
These fish, which are listed as endangered, once thrived in the United States, but nearly went extinct in the 1970s because of overfishing, dam building, and poor water quality.
Meredith Hayes Harris is a biologist with the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute that participated in the sturgeon release this week. She says each fish is marked with a tracking tag identifying it with a unique number.
“We sample every winter the Tennessee River and all the other rivers where they are released, and when we recapture a fish, we will be able to read that number with a special wand that really enables us to get a lot of good data,” says Harris.
Lake sturgeon are one of three native sturgeon species found in Tennessee. They can grow up to nine feet long, weigh hundreds of pounds, and can live to be one hundred and fifty years-old.
Harris says lake sturgeon play a critical role in the marine life ecosystem, and that’s why Tennessee conservationists have been working so hard to replenish the population.
“Sturgeon being such a large and a long-lived fish, are incredibly important to the ecosystem,” says Harris. “They have a very, very large impact on all the other fish and aquatic life in these rivers, and we’re part of this ecosystem too, conserving the sturgeon is ultimately conserving the life-support system for us as humans.”
Since the late 1990s, more than 200,000 lake sturgeon have been released into the Tennessee, Cumberland and French Broad rivers.
51 Correctional Officers during Graduation Ceremony in Tullahoma
Prison correction officer grads
On Friday, (April 12, 2019) the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) welcomed new correctional officers into the workforce during a graduation ceremony at the Tennessee Correction Academy in Tullahoma, Tennessee. The ceremony celebrated the hard work of 51 Correctional Officers who will be serving the citizens of Tennessee by working in prisons across the state.
During their weeks of training, the class learned skills that will assist them in being effective correctional officers. Classes on leadership, effective listening and interviewing techniques, teamwork and defense skills were taught during the six-week academy.
The graduates will return to their respective facilities where they will be assigned a facility-based mentor. During the mentorship period, the officers will apply their newfound skills to the prison environment with the goal of enhancing public safety.
Holy Week Services in Manchester
The Coffee County Ministerial Association will host their annual HOLY WEEK SERVICES, Monday, April 15 through Friday, April 19 at noon each day.
The Monday through Thursday services will be held at Manchester First Presbyterian Church, 1001 Jackson Street in Manchester and the Friday service will be at St. Bede’s Episcopal Church, 93 St. Bede’s Drive.
Each daily service will feature a local pastor as speaker and lunch will follow the 30-minute service. Proceeds from the lunch will benefit Good Samaritan of Manchester. Everyone is invited.
Coffee County Government Meetings WEEK OF APRIL 15, 2019
MEETINGS THE WEEK OF APRIL 15, 2019
Tuesday, April 16
5:00 p.m. – Budget & Finance Committee
Thursday, April 18
4:00 p.m. – Board of Zoning Appeals
5:00 p.m. – Ambulance Authority
Friday, April 19 – GOOD FRIDAY – COUNTY OFFICES CLOSED
Bricken (R-Tullahoma) Passes his First Bill in the Tennessee General Assembly
District 47 State Rep. Rush Bricken
House Bill 304 exempts members of the armed forces and their spouses stationed in Tennessee from licensure requirements to practice professions and occupations regulated by the Department of Commerce and Insurance and the Department of Health, if they hold a current license in another state that is recognized by the departments as having equivalent licensure requirements to Tennessee.
“The members of our armed forces and their spouses make many sacrifices to defend our freedoms; it is important that we do everything we can to help them along the way,” said Representative Bricken. “This legislation will allow military members and their spouses to continue working in the state of Tennessee for a year while applying for a new state license. I am pleased House Bill 304 passed with strong bipartisan support because it sends a message to our troops and their families – we stand with you.”
Rush Bricken represents House District 47, which includes Coffee County. He serves as the vice-chair of the Consumer and Human Resources Committee. Bricken also sits on the State Committee, the Employee Affairs Subcommittee and the Public Service & Employees Subcommittee.
