To Elect or Not To Elect? Commission Votes To Support Choice For Counties
The Jefferson County Commission recently passed Resolution 2022-11 on a 13-6 margin. Motioned by Commissioner Colemen and 2nd by Commissioner Blevins, Resolution 2022-11 requests that the State of Tennessee Legislature provide the option for counties to return to elected School Superintendents of Education, rather than appointed Director of Schools. This resolution is in support of […]
Hometown Dental Opens In Jefferson City, TN
Hometown Dental in Jefferson City cut the opening ribbon on Tuesday, February 15, 2022. Hosted by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce, the event marked the expansion of Hometown Dental from their flagship office in Greenville to their new location at 154 W. Broadway Blvd, Jefferson City, TN 37760. Welcoming the friendly staff and trio […]
Great Smoky Mountains National Park receives $31 M to repair Foothills Parkway West
Great Smoky Mountains National Park is using $31 million in funding from the Great American Outdoor Act (GAOA) to repave the Foothills Parkway West, from Chilhowee Lake to Walland. The 17-mile roadway provides recreational experiences for more than 700,000 visitors annually. The rehabilitation project will include a series of full-lane closures starting on March 14. […]
Oral Antiviral Therapeutics More Readily Available In Tennessee
The Tennessee Department of Health continues to receive increased bi-weekly allocations of oral antivirals to treat mild to moderate COVID-19. There are currently two oral antiviral medications available for COVID-19 treatment. Paxlovid® by Pfizer and molnupiravir by Merck are available to treat mild to moderate disease in individuals at high risk of progression to severe […]
New Online Dashboard Tracks Redistricting Changes in Tennessee
Tennesseans can now see how the 2021-2022 redistricting process has impacted them through a simple address search. The Tennessee Comptroller’s Office has created a new online dashboard entitled Tennessee District Lookup that makes it easy to see which legislative districts are now assigned to each address in the Volunteer State. The new dashboard includes updated legislative district […]
Tennessee Needs at Least $61.9 Billion of Public Infrastructure Improvements
Tennessee needs at least $61.9 billion worth of public infrastructure improvements during the five-year period of July 2020 to June 2025—a $3.4 billion (5.7%) increase from the year before—according to a new report by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR). Of the $3.4 billion increase in infrastructure needs reported in this year’s inventory, […]
Is Your Dog a Hero to You? Nominations Open for the 2022 American Humane Hero Dog Awards
American Humane, the country’s first national humane organization, has announced the official start of the 2022 American Humane Hero Dog Awards® campaign. The twelfth annual, year-long campaign seeks to identify and honor the best of our best friends and will culminate this fall with the star-studded “American Humane Hero Dog Awards” gala on November 11 […]
Tennessee Pioneers Permanent Program to Become a Teacher for Free, First State to Sponsor Registered Teacher Occupation Apprenticeship
Paving the way for teaching and educator workforce development nationwide, the Tennessee Department of Education announced today it has pioneered a new way to develop teacher pipelines, and is the first state to be approved by the U.S. Department of Labor to establish a permanent Grow Your Own model, with Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and Austin Peay State University’s Teacher Residency program becoming the first registered apprenticeship program for teaching in the country. Tennessee is the first state in the country […]
Michael Phagan, CPA to run for Trustee
Michael Phagan, CPA announced he will be seeking the office of Jefferson County Trustee in the May Republican primary. Michael currently serves as a County Commissioner for the 3rd District. In that capacity, he serves as Chaplain, as well as Chair of the Long-Range Planning Committee, as a member of the Facilities and Nominating Committees, and formerly as a […]
State Rep. Jeremy Faison’s Capitol Report
House Committees begin work, bill filing deadline set for Feb. 2 The pace picked on Capitol Hill this week as House members worked to finalize their legislative proposals before the Feb. 2 bill filing deadline. House committees began to meet as bills are being introduced and referred to their respective committees. Omicron COVID-19 and TANF […]
Andrew Farmer appointed to Southern Legislative Conference Committee
Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, has appointed State Rep. Andrew Farmer, R-Sevierville, to serve on the Human Services & Public Safety Committee of the Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) of the Council of State Governments (CSG). “Chairman Farmer’s extensive knowledge and his professional experience related to public safety will be extremely beneficial to the Human […]
Payroll employment rises by 467,000 in January; unemployment rate changes little at 4.0%
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 467,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 4.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment growth continued in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in retail trade, and in transportation and warehousing. This news release presents statistics from two monthly […]
CDC Reports Increase in Human Rabies Cases Linked to Bats in the U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is raising awareness of the risks of rabies from bats in the U.S. after three people, including one child, died from rabies between late September and early November 2021. The three cases, described in the January 6, 2022, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, bring the total number of cases […]
TN Attorney General, Commerce & Insurance Join CFTC to Stop $68 Million Precious Metals Scheme
The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office and the Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) are participating in a consolidated enforcement action to stop a fraudulent precious metals scheme that resulted in solicitations exceeding $68 million from at least 450 investors nationwide. The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office- on behalf of the TDCI- joined the U.S. Commodity […]
Texas A&M study shows paternal alcohol use increases frequency of fetal development issues
Prenatal visits have traditionally focused almost exclusively on the behavior of mothers, but new research from the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS) continues to suggest that science should be looking more closely at the fathers’ behavior as well. Dr. Michael Golding, an associate professor in the CVMBS’ Department of Veterinary Physiology […]
