A bill in Congress that would ensure pregnant women aren’t fired from their jobs for requesting reasonable accommodations in the workplace has received bipartisan approval in the House Education and Labor Committee, and soon should move to the House floor for a vote. The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is co-sponsored by 26 representatives from both sides of the aisle. Elizabeth Gedmark is vice president of the workforce advocacy group A Better Balance. She said gaps in current state laws leave Tennessee’s pregnant workers at risk of losing their jobs for making minor requests, such as needing to sit or avoid heavy lifting....

We have more news on the subjects accused of crimes involving prostitution and / or sexual crimes involving juveniles. Rutherford County Circuit Court documents show that a total of 16 men are scheduled to be in court on February 6, 2020 for a Discovery Hearing. A Discovery Hearing is a legal term used in a pre-trial court procedure, it provides an exchange of information between parties that are involved in a legal proceeding. Their original arrests took place over a two-day period this past October in Smyrna, TN The TBI headed the cases that revolved around a two-day undercover...

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department received a donation of two used vehicles last week. Protection Strategies, Inc., a contractor at AEDC, donated the used vehicles with a police package – the vehicles were donated due to a change of contract. The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department plans to use the vehicles as patrol vehicles, but they can be used as needed for other departments....

The owner of Farmers Family Restaurant has submitted a guilty plea accepting charges of six counts of hindering revenue collections and one count of tax evasion.  Billy Raynor entered the plea and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation in a Maury County Courtroom last week. Farmer’s Family Restaurant operates locations in Columbia and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Raynor opened a location in Manchester at 95 Skinner Flat Rd. in the spring of 2015, but it shuttered after approximately a year in business. Raynor, 66, has paid $41,000 in restitution to the Department of Revenue as part of a diversion...

Nine men are facing sexual related charges allegedly involving a juvenile in Rutherford County. One of the nine is a 43-year-old man is accused of “Trafficking” for “Sexual Servitude” in Rutherford County. Miguel Erazo, who remains behind bars at the local jail, is also facing charges of solicitation of a minor for sexual activity, patronizing a prostitute, attempted aggravated statutory rape and aggravated statutory rape. Also arrested was Deadrick Darrell Evans who was charged with two counts of trafficking of sexual servitude, two counts of solicitation of a minor, two counts of aggravated statutory rape, two counts of patronizing...

The Arnold Community Council (ACC) is now accepting nominations for the 2020 Fellows Program with submissions due no later than March 30, 2020.   Established in 1989, the AEDC Fellows program recognizes Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) personnel who have made substantial and exceptionally distinguished technical contributions to the nation’s aerospace ground testing capability at AEDC which includes AEDC facilities at Arnold AFB and all AEDC remote operating locations nation-wide.   Since the inception of the Fellows program, just over 100 individuals (Technical Fellows, Craftsmen Fellows, Lifetime Achievement Fellows and Honorary Fellows) have been inducted as AEDC Fellows.   Due to...

The following story contains details that may not be suitable for all readers Brad Anthony Majors, 37, of Shelbyville, on Wednesday was sentenced to 50 years in a federal prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. In addition to 50 years in prison, that will be followed by 15 years of supervised release and he will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release. In November of 2018, the mother of Majors’ 8-year-old...

Amtrak officials made a pitch to Tennessee state lawmakers last week to bring an Amtrak route from Nashville to Atlanta, with stops being at the Nashville airport, as well as in Murfreesboro, Tullahoma and Chattanooga. Even if plans are approved, officials caution that it will be four or five years before the route is available. The proposal calls for a six and a half hour trip from Nashville to Atlanta, with routes running twice per day. Amtrak officials told the state that public funding would need to cover approximately $3 million per...