Governor Phil Bredesen has appointed John M. Roberts of Livingston, Tenn., to serve as temporary criminal court judge for the 13th Judicial District, which includes Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Overton, Pickett, Putnam and White Counties. Roberts, who currently serves as executive director of the Livingston-Overton County Chamber of Commerce, is a former U.S. Attorney for Middle Tennessee.
?The experience John Roberts brings to this position will allow matters before the criminal court to proceed while the matter of the contested election is resolved,? said Bredesen. ?I believe this is certainly in the best interest of the citizens of the 13th Judicial District. With his outstanding qualifications in the area of criminal law, John will enjoy the confidence of the lawyers in the district, and I very much appreciate his willingness to serve the state in this capacity on a temporary basis.?
Roberts has served as District Attorney for the 13th Judicial District. He is a former General Sessions judge and graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Law in Knoxville.
?It is certainly an honor to have the confidence of Governor Bredesen in making this appointment, and I am happy to be able to help out by serving in this capacity on a short-term basis,? said Roberts.
Tennessee law (TCA 17-2-119) states the governor shall appoint a temporary judge in the event of a contested election. Judge Lillie Ann Sells is contesting the results of the Aug. 3, 2006 election in which she lost to challenger David Patterson by 10 votes. Trial in the case has been set for Sept. 26, 2006, in Putnam County.

The Governor?s Highway Safety Office (GHSO)has announced that the state will fund High Visibility Law Enforcement Grants to 317 agencies across Tennessee including the Alexandria and Smithville Police Departments. These campaigns will focus on seat belt safety and alcohol countermeasure programs.
A statewide request for applications was issued to all law enforcement agencies throughout Tennessee to conduct High Visibility Law Enforcement Campaigns during the period of October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007. Each agency that applied is receiving a grant up to $5,000 for a total of $1.5 million in funding. These campaigns will be federally funded through the Tennessee GHSO.
?Impaired driving is the most frequently committed violent crime in the state,? said Governor Bredesen, when approving the grants earlier this month. ?Someone dies in an alcohol related crash every 28 hours. I am proud that we are able to fund these enforcement campaigns to save lives on Tennessee roadways.?
?The population in our great state continues to grow by leaps and bounds,? said Chairman Phillip Pinion, House Transportation Committee. ?We must be diligent in our duties to keep Tennesseans safe on our roadways that are becoming more and more crowded.?
?I?m happy the state is able to support our local communities and law enforcement agencies through this special grant program,? reported House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh.
?This program will make a difference, I believe, for many people because it will touch so many communities across the state,? said Lieutenant Governor John Wilder.
?These high visibility grants will translate into lives saved,? stated Commissioner Gerald Nicely, Tennessee Department of Transportation. ?These grants will make a difference in the day to day safety of Tennesseans.?
?High visibility law enforcement grants will achieve measurable results because law enforcement agencies must make a concerted effort to conduct and participate in sobriety checkpoints, will partner with law enforcement liaison networks, and be involved in other activities that promote highway safety,? added GHSO Director Kendell Poole. Poole explained that each agency will submit data including number of hours officers participate, number of citations and arrests for DUI, seatbelts, speed and misdemeanor and felony charges. The data collected will be transferred to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The Governor?s Highway Safety Office will continue to search for innovative ways to drive the fatality rates down.

Governor Phil Bredesen has requested a federal designation of agricultural disaster for eight more counties in East and Middle Tennessee to help farmers who have suffered drought-related damages. The designation would allow farmers to apply for low-interest emergency loans to help them manage crop and livestock losses due to extreme heat and dry conditions.
In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Mike Johanns, Bredesen requested the designation for Bledsoe, Cannon, DeKalb, Hamilton, Overton, Pickett, Rhea and Warren counties.
?Again, I have asked the Secretary of Agriculture to give special consideration to designating these counties as an agricultural disaster,? said Bredesen. ?Farming is a tough business made tougher by unpredictable weather conditions. It?s important that we provide assistance to those who need it because these farms are small businesses that are important to our rural economy.?
Earlier this month Bredesen requested assistance for Fentress, Franklin, McMinn, Meigs, Morgan and Scott counties. USDA is still considering Bredesen?s earlier request and is expected to make a determination within the next few days. Bredesen also promised to continue to work with Tennessee Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens to make additional requests for other counties as needed.
Farmers in the affected areas have reported an average loss of 30 to 65 percent for major crops including corn, soybeans, hay, tobacco, nursery stock and vegetables. Many livestock farmers have been forced to supplement pastures with stored feed and hay, and others have had to find alternate watering sources as ponds and creeks have dried up in some cases.
According to the Tennessee Field Office of USDA?s National Agricultural Statistics Service, recent rainfall across the state has helped crop conditions to remain in mostly good condition. However, some dry areas still remain, especially in East Tennessee, where crop conditions range from very poor to fair. The agency?s weather and crop report for the week ending Aug. 28 listed topsoil moisture levels as very short to short in over half the state and 38 percent of pastures in very poor to poor condition.
USDA is expected to make a determination on Bredesen?s most recent request in three to four weeks as the federal agency reviews damages. Once approved, eligible farmers can apply for assistance through their local USDA Farm Service Agency office.

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A 23 year old man was seriously injured in a traffic accident around 3:50 a.m. Friday morning on Highway 56 south near Sink Creek.
Sergeant Billy Prater of the Tennessee Highway Patrol says Jose M. Castillo of McMinnville was driving north in a 1998 Dodge Dakota pickup truck when he failed to negotiate a curve after cresting a hill, went off the right side of the road, traveled 317 feet down a ditch line, struck the end of a guard rail, and continued another 163 feet. The truck overturned several times before it finally came to rest on it’s right side at a drainage ditch.
Sergeant Prater says three other motorists on Highway 56 struck a portion of the guardrail that protruded out in the road after the crash, but none of them was injured.
Prater says Castillo was airlifted from near the scene and flown to either Vanderbilt or Erlanger Hospital.
In addition to DeKalb EMS, members of the DeKalb County Volunteer Fire Department and Sheriff’s Department assisted at the scene.

A hearing is set for Tuesday morning in Putnam County Chancery Court to determine whether an injunction should be ordered to keep David Patterson from taking office as Criminal Court Judge this week.
A swearing-in ceremony is set for Wednesday for the new Chancellor as well as the Circuit and Criminal Court Judges in the 13th Judicial District
However Judge Lillie Ann Sells is seeking an injunction and a restraining order to prevent Patterson from taking the oath of office, until her election contest in Chancery Court has been adjudicated.
A hearing on her motions is set for 10 a.m. Tuesday in Chancery Court in Cookeville before Judge Ben H. Cantrell, a retired Nashville judge who has been appointed to hear the Sells election contest lawsuit.
Attorney Craig Fickling of Cookeville, attorney John Knowles of Sparta and attorney Amy Hollars of Livingston represent Patterson in the lawsuit Sells has filed against him and the election commissions in seven counties.
Sells contends in her lawsuit that various voting irregularities in the August 3rd election cast doubt on whether Patterson is actually the winner.