Category: News

Wading through the paperwork involved in getting government help to pay for child care can be overwhelming to already overworked parents. A new report by the Center for American Progress looks at how difficult it can be for low-income families to navigate an underfunded child-care support system. As child-care costs keep rising, applying for and finding assistance can become a full-time job of its own, said Judith Warner, a senior fellow for the center who authored the study, “Jumping Through Hoops and Set Up to Fail.” “It’s the sort of psychological, emotional side of things that really hit me in a very, very gut way,” she said. “Imagine doing all of the things you already do, while in addition you have to file a degree of paperwork that goes far beyond all those medical forms and permission forms you normally file just for school.” According to Child Care Aware of America, day care costs nearly $6,000 a year for infants in Tennessee and a little less for pre-schoolers. While that figure is less than many other parts of the country, Warner said that when budgets are tight, families are forced to choose cost over quality in child care. Warner said parents who qualify for assistance with child-care expenses often aren’t given a lot of help to navigate the system. “You’re dependent on people who may or may not lose your paperwork, and may or may not want to help you,” she said, “and if things go wrong, your child loses a stable, good place in child care that brings them so many advantages.” The Center for American Progress report made some recommendations – including less paperwork for parents and more child-care funding. Last fall, the group also proposed a “High-Quality Child Care Tax Credit,” worth up to $14,000 per child, based on family income. The money would be paid directly to a child-care provider chosen by the parents. The report is online at americanprogress.org.

Carlie Trent was found, safe, Thursday afternoon, a week after an AMBER Alert was issued after her uncle Gary Simpson kidnapped her from school. Two Hawkins County men spotted Carlie and Simpson while riding on their property on Hawkins County, and contacted authorities.

Below is the statement TBI Director Mark Gwyn delivered upon learning of Carlie’s safe return:

I am very pleased and relieved tonight to announce that the AMBER Alert issued for the Rogersville Police Department on May 5^th, for Carlie Trent, has been successfully resolved. Carlie is safe tonight because an entire community pulled together and worked with law enforcement to bring her home. But, our work isn’t done. In the coming days and weeks, we will work with District Attorney Dan Armstrong to ensure that Gary Simpson is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Gary Simpson is charged with Especially Aggravated Kidnapping, but officers and agents will pursue additional charges if warranted.

As part of the Child Abduction Response Protocol, strategies were put in place to aid in bringing Carlie home. One of those techniques is to ask the public to check their property, barns, outbuildings and four-wheel trails. Two conscientious Hawkins County residents did just that. Donnie Lawson and Stewart Franklin found Gary Simpson and Carlie Trent deep into their property along trails only accessible by four wheel drive.  One man held Gary Simpson at gun point while the other called 911 and rescued Carlie. We are sure that the family of Carlie Trent sends its heart-felt thanks for their actions today.

We would like to thank the Rogersville Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, the United States Marshal’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for their assistance in this case.

A Tullahoma man was transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being injured in pickup/motorcycle crash earlier this week.
According to an accident report by Tullahoma Police Officer Tyler Walls, Stephen Groves Yates, 46, of Quail Drive Tullahoma was riding his 2010 Honda motorcycle when he collided with 2006 Ford pickup operated by James Wade Frazier, 44, of Allen Street, Tullahoma.
According to the police report, Frazier stated that he was traveling on East Warrant Street when he stopped at a stop sign and proceeded into traffic not seeing the motorcycle. He then noticed the bike and pulled his vehicle in the center of the road to avoid a collision. Yates stated that he saw the truck stopped and he slammed on his brakes and the motorcycle slid for approximately 100 feet injuring his right shoulder and forearm.
Yates is the pastor of Tullahoma Presbyterian Church.
Frazier was issued a citation for failure to yield the right of way.

Area law enforcement continues to receive tips about IRS imposters threatening arrests, lawsuits, and property seizures unless the victim pays up. Law enforcement says they’re investigating alongside several other law enforcement agencies across the United States. Police say these calls are not coming from the IRS. The department will never demand payment over the telephone. Typical IRS communication comes in the form of U.S. Mail. If you receive a phone call that you suspect is a tax scam, hang up and report it to the US Treasury, Office of Inspector General at 1-800-366-4484. To help avoid becoming the victim of a scam, police recommend never transferring funds through third-party wire or card services.

The 24th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is on Saturday, May 14. The food drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is the world’s largest one-day food drive, taking place in more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
Participating in the food drive couldn’t be easier. Before their regular mail pick-up on Saturday, May 14, postal customers are asked to leave bags of non-perishable food items by their mailboxes. Letter carriers will pick up the bags and—with help from retired letter carriers, other postal employees and countless volunteers—deliver the bags to local food agencies.
In its 23 years, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive has collected more than 1.4 billion pounds of food; last year’s drive collected approximately 71 million pounds.
Food collected locally will go to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.

According to the State Comptroller Justin Wilson, Tennessee high school students ranked below the national rate for being both physically active and attending physical education class based on a 2013 national survey of high school students’ health-related behaviors.
Approximately 25 percent of Tennessee high school students indicated they were physically active for one hour per day; the national rate was 27.1 percent. The national rate for high school students who attended physical education class at least once per week was 48 percent; Tennessee’s rate was 40.1 percent. The comptroller also explains the differences between physical activity and physical education.
Physical activity includes activities such as recess or walking. Tennessee law currently requires that elementary and secondary students receive at least 90 minutes per week of physical activity, but beginning on July 1, 2016, state law will begin requiring the equivalent of 225 minutes per week for grades K-1 and 160 minutes for grades 2-6. The current requirement for grades 7-12 of 90 minutes per week will remain unchanged. Schools are prohibited by law from counting walking between classes toward meeting the physical activity requirement.
Unlike physical activity, which includes free play during recess, physical education is a standards-based program of instruction. Tennessee schools must provide P.E. programs annually, though a minimum number of minutes or days per week is not currently required.
The nationally recommended amount of physical education for high school students is 225 minutes per week. No states currently meet the recommended amount, though some specify a minimum number of minutes per week.
Tennessee students must obtain a one-half credit of physical education in order to graduate from high school.

Jacquelin Gayla Sims age 44 of Trussell Road Monteagle was arrested by Manchester Officer Dustan Foster at the Goodwill Store in Manchester on Tuesday. According to the arrest warrant, Sims appeared to be in an intoxicated condition and was unsteady of her feet falling over the store displays. Allegedly the woman put on a shirt and left the store without paying for it. The shirt was valued at $4.92. The arrest warrant goes on to say that after being arrested Sims gave Officer Foster permission to look inside her purse. The officer says that he found a bag with 1.5 grams of a white powder inside. Foster says in the warrant, that Sims told him that the powder was meth. After Sims was arrested her property was inventoried at the Manchester Police Department where the officer allegedly found 33 twenty dollar bills, 4 five dollar bills, and 6 ten dollar bills that had been made to look U.S. currency.
Sims was charged and booked at the Coffee County Jail with Public Intoxication, Theft of Property (Shoplifting), Schedule II drug violation and Criminal Simulation. Her bond was set at $12,500 and she is set to appear in court on July 12, 2016.