Category: News

A controversial bill seeking to declare the Holy Bible the official book of Tennessee is headed back for a vote in the full state Senate.
The measure narrowly passed the House last year, but the Senate sent it back to committee amid constitutional concerns raised by the state attorney general.
Republican Sen. Steve Southerland of Morristown revived the measure Tuesday, and it cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee on a 7-1 vote. Southerland said it is aimed at highlighting the historical significance of the Bible in Tennessee, not as an official endorsement of a religion.
Opponents like Republican Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey of Blountville last year argued that the Bible is far too sacred to be placed alongside other official symbols like the state fruit, or a rock.

An audit of the state Department of Human Services by the Comptroller has called into question management and spending in the children’s food program.
Media outlets report most of the spending questioned in Tuesday’s audit involved an $80 million food program intended to provide meals to kids who lack access to nutritious food in Tennessee. It also called into question more than 10 percent of the program’s annual operating budget.
The audit described multiple violations of federal regulations and basic accounting practices, including examples in which DHS provided cash advances for food purchases to agencies that never requested them.
The audit places responsibility for the oversight failures on DHS management, including Commissioner Raquel Hatter.
Spokeswoman Stephanie Jarnagin issued a statement to the Tennessean on Hatter’s behalf saying the audit doesn’t mean the costs in question are the result of fraud, waste or abuse.

On Monday Tullahoma Police received a call about a vehicle that had struck Carroll Street Liquors and left the scene. Officers made contact with the subject who was asleep in her vehicle at 1309 Old Estill Springs Road after finding the vehicle had damage that was consistent with the report and matched the description of the vehicle that had left the scene. According to the arrest warrant police found the female with slurred speech and unsteady on her feet. Also in the warrant, the female identified as Casie Tennille Williams age 35 of Love Lane Road Hillsboro admitted to the officer to being intoxicated. The officer was unable to perform any field sobriety tests due to the subject’s condition. The officer then transported the subject to Tennova-Harton hospital for a blood/alcohol test. Williams was arrested for DUI 2nd offense.
Officer Mickey Blanton states that the woman struck a mailbox on 1021 Old Estill Springs Road and drove off without stopping. The officer states in the warrant that he located a headband in the subjects lap after transporting her to the jail and it contained 5 plastic baggies with a crystal like substance in each one weighing approximately 4.35 grams total that field tested positive for meth.
Along with the DUI, Williams was charged with driving on revoked/suspended license, leaving the scene of the accident, unlawful carrying or possession of a weapon (illegal possession) and manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of controlled substance.
Her bond was set at $20,500 and her court date is April 7, 2016.

“Rocky Top” is “home sweet home” for an increasing number of people, according to the latest U.S. Census Bureau data released this week. The growth is apparent particularly in metro areas like Nashville, says Ben Bolender, chief of the bureau’s Populations Estimates branch. “Nashville was amongst the top 20 fastest-gaining, in terms of numeric change, between 2014 and 2015,” says Bolender. “In general across the country, we do see the metro areas account for a large amount of the growth.” Between 2014 and 2015, Nashville gained 36,000 residents, accounting for more than half the people who moved to Tennessee. Bolender says the information can be invaluable to city planners and state government as they determine where to allocate resources. But while the additional population contributes to the economy, it also puts greater demand on infrastructure and school systems. He and other economic experts believe much of the population growth can be attributed to quality of life, with the state’s mild climate, abundant recreation and promising employment picture. “There are a lot of factors that cause people to move from place to place within the U.S.,” he says. “A lot of times, those are economic factors, but also depending on the age group, you might see draws due to better weather, better amenities in the area – a variety of factors.” According to the census figures, Tennessee’s population has grown every year since 2000. The Census Bureau compiled the new data from death, birth and other public records.

Just as a project in Grundy County nears completion to redirect Fiery Gizzard Trail around one private landowner who wants the trail off his land, a second property owner is forcing another reroute of the trail.
Park Manager George Shinn tells the Chattanooga Times Free-Press the first reroute request was made last summer. Now, Dr. Hugh P. Liebert has asked that the trail be moved from his property by Dec. 1.
Officials started routing the path onto preserved park land to satisfy the first property owner, and the additional mile of work isn’t viewed as a serious problem because of the support officials have had for the project. Shinn says more than 3,000 volunteer hours have been logged on the project since August.
Despite the potential inconvenience, Shinn says rerouting the trail onto protected park lands will preserve it.

Tennessee Republican Party officials, including Chairman Ryan Haynes, were in Coffee County on Tuesday to announce a current Coffee County commissioner serving Manchester was changing parties. The Republican Party announced that Steven Jones was leaving the Democrat Party for the Republican Party. Jones took an official oath of allegiance during a ceremony at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza.
Jones is currently in his second term as District 2 county commissioner and is planning on running for mayor of Manchester in the August 4 election.

On Sunday police officers responded to a call about a reckless driver entering the city limits of Manchester. Officer were provided a description and a tag number and they saw a vehicle that matched both. Officers recognized a previous be on the lookout for a stolen vehicle out of Shelbyville.
When an officer made contact with the male driver he drove away, leading deputies and Manchester Police on a pursuit on city streets toward the city park nearly hitting a police car.
The man later identified as Frank T. Johnson age 34 of N 5th St Nashville, crashed the car and fled on foot through the city park. After a foot chase authorities were able to place Johnson under arrest after it was confirmed the car he was driving was stolen out of Shelbyville.
Johnson was charged with evading arrest, resisting stop, halt, frisk or search (non-violent), reckless endangerment, driving on revoked/suspended 4th offence and theft of property. Bond was set at $18,500 and his court date is April 19, 2016.

More than 19 percent of Tennesseans receive government food assistance, but a report released by the United States Department of Agriculture looked at national data and found there was a slight decrease in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) enrollment. According to the report, nationwide two percent less in 2015 participated in SNAP. Report author and economist Victor Oliveira attributes his findings to one key factor. “The economy has been improving in recent years,” he says. “And during economic growth periods when the unemployment rate is low, that means fewer people are going to be eligible.” According to state data, as of February 2016 there were 553,000 Tennessee households receiving SNAP benefits, about 50,000 less than the same time last year. While finding a job may be easier for some in the state, a change in SNAP benefits in several states, including Tennessee, requires that food-stamp recipients must prove they’re working, volunteering or taking classes at least 20 hours a week. The requirement applies to people under 50 without children and will be implemented statewide starting in April. The number of people in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) also saw a decrease for the fifth consecutive year, explains Oliveira. “It’s heavily tied to the birth rate,” he says. “And in recent years the number of births in this country has been decreasing, so therefore the pool of potential people to participate in the program has been shrinking.” Tennessee’s unemployment rate is 4.9 percent according to the latest numbers released from the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development. According to the Census data, 18 percent of the state’s population lives in poverty and at least 27 percent of the state’s children remains in poverty.