Category: News

A 9-year-old special needs child from Shelbyville continues to recover from injuries allegedly inflicted by a caregiver.
Maurice and Rochelle Clayton were first charged in the case. Maurice with failure to report child abuse and filing a false report. Rochelle was facing one charge of aggravated child abuse. The District Attorney has now added two more aggravated child abuse charges to Rochelle and three aggravated child abuse charges to Maurice.
Three other children in the Tanner Circle home, ages 14, 8 years, and 8 months, were not abused, according to investigators.
Rochelle age 38, was being held on $116,000 bond and Maurice on $90,000 bond Friday at Bedford County Jail.

April is Autism Awareness Month and efforts also are under way to build support for Avonte’s Law, a bill in the Senate that would help reduce the risk of injury and death related to wandering. Photo credit: tangle_eye/morguefile.com

Nearly half of the children on the autism spectrum are believed to engage in wandering, a behavior that can end in tragedy.
The U.S. Senate is considering a bill known as Avonte’s Law, which would provide funding for police departments to purchase equipment that can help locate people with autism who go missing.
Wendy Fournier, president of the National Autism Association, says those with autism typically wander to something of interest, or they flee an overwhelming environment.
“Noises, lights and people and hearing five different conversations at the same time,” she points out. “That kind of stuff can be magnified for people on the spectrum.
“A lot of times the only thing they can do is run away. That’s the only way they can get any relief from that sensory overload.”
Fournier says due to challenges with communication and safety awareness, children or adults with autism can end up in dangerous situations when they wander.
Avonte’s Law is named after a 14-year-old with autism whose body was discovered in a river three months after he ran away from his New York City school.
Fournier says the legislation also calls for training for law enforcement agencies to better recognize and respond to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
“It’s really easy for a person with a communication disorder to come across as being uncooperative to the police, so the police really need some training to start recognizing autism and other cognitive disorders,” she explains.
Fournier says parents are encouraged to implement measures that can prevent wandering, including security alerts on doors and ID bracelets or tracking devices for their child. She says swimming lessons are also crucial.
“About 90 percent of the kids who die following a wandering incident die from drowning,” she stresses. “Our kids are very, very attracted to water. So we recommend that everybody teach their child, make sure they know how to swim.”
April is Autism Awareness Month. On Saturday, the NCG Cinemas in Gallatin will host a special screening for audience members who have autism.
The movie will not be preceded by any previews, the sound will be running at 50 percent levels, the lights won’t be completely dimmed and running and talking during the film will be allowed.

President Barack Obama

President Barack Obama declared a major disaster in Tennessee on Thursday following February’s ice and snowstorms that slammed the southern and eastern portions of the state.
The President ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by the severe storm and flooding.
The funding is available to state, eligible local governments, and certain private nonprofit organizations for emergency work and the repair or replacement of facilities.
Counties that get the funding are Anderson, Bedford, Bledsoe, Blount, Campbell, Clay, Coffee, Cumberland, Fentress, Giles, Grainger, Grundy, Hamblen, Hancock, Hardeman, Jefferson, Knox, Lawrence, Loudon, Marshall, McMinn, McNairy, Meigs, Monroe, Moore, Morgan, Obion, Overton, Putnam, Roane, Scott, Sevier, Van Buren, Warren, and White.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested and warranted by further damage assessment.

A prosecutor says the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is treating the death of a 5-year-old boy as a homicide.
Few details have been released in the death of Lucas Michael Dillon. He died Monday at a hospital after suffering an injury Saturday at a home in Whitwell.
Marion County District Attorney Mike Taylor told media that an autopsy in Nashville found the boy died of blunt force trauma to the head and his death is being investigated as a homicide.
Taylor said investigators are interviewing everyone who had access to the boy to determine what happened.

We are all excited about the arrival of spring and the increased outdoor activities. Included in those outdoor activities are people getting their motorcycles and bicycles out and enjoying the spring weather. Just as the cycles presence on our roadways will increase, the possibility for accidents increase also.  Operators of motorcycles and bicycles understand they must always be looking for potential traffic hazards, oncoming vehicles and inattentive drivers.  The Tullahoma Police Department encourages all drivers to respect the cycles and share the road with them. Drivers should remember that there are blind spots while driving and the cycle operators may not be easily seen due to other traffic or obstructions.
Over the next few weeks there are several cycle events scheduled. These events may include a handful of riders or large events with many riders, or simply a solo rider.
According to Tullahoma Police Chief Paul Blackwell, the state law has some specific regulations for the operation of motorcycles and bicycles. Such regulations include; all motorcycles operators must wear a helmet, the headlight must be illuminated, and no more than two motorcycles shall ride abreast on the road.  The statutes also require bicycle riders to abide by the rules of the road. Of major concern to bicycle riders is the statute indicating that any vehicle passing a bicycle rider must give at least three (3) feet of clearance until safely past the overtaken bicycle.  Also remember that bicycle riders under the age of sixteen (16) must wear a helmet while riding.
Let’s all enjoy the spring weather and our outdoor activities. Safety is everyone’s responsibility. All automobile drivers, motorcycle drivers, and bicycle riders must respect the rules of the road and practice operating skills that will contribute to the safety of our roadways.

James David Sanders a teacher Cascade High School in Bedford County has been charged with solicitation of a minor in alleged texts to a student.
Sanders, 58, of Idle Drive in Shelbyville is a math teacher. According to officials with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department, Sanders was arrested Sunday after he allegedly texted inappropriate messages to a 17-year-old girl in one of his classes. They say the messages were sexual in nature. One of the girl’s parents reported the texting to police.
Sanders has been a teacher at Cascade since 2002.

A 9-year-old special needs child is in a Nashville hospital due to injuries allegedly inflicted by a caregiver.
Rochelle Lee Clayton, 38, of Tanner Circle in Shelbyville is charged with aggravated child abuse. The child is being treated at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital.
Clayton allegedly struck the child, a relative, in the face numerous times and forced her to stand in a corner with her hands tied behind her back with zip ties, according to Shelbyville Police.
The child was living in the home of Clayton and her husband, Maurice Jason Clayton, 39.
Maurice Clayton was charged with failure to report child abuse. Both were charged with filing a false report due to refusing to tell police where the child was.
Rochelle Clayton posted $30,000 bond and Maurice Clayton $16,000 bond. (Shelbyville Times-Gazette)

Dead people, prisoners and state employees are on the rolls of those receiving unemployment benefits in Tennessee, in spite of repeated warnings that the state is improperly paying out tens of millions in jobless claims.
Those were among the findings of a state comptroller’s office audit released Tuesday that said the unemployment benefit system made overpayments of $98 million in the past six years. It estimated a backlog of payments could balloon that figure to $171 million.
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development officials took issue with that estimate and other findings in the audit.
Officials said in an email that they have overpaid $165 million in the past six years but have been able to collect $71.5 million of it and continue to pursue the money.