Weaver appointed to Agriculture; Children and Family; Education Committees

State Representative Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster) has been appointed to three key committees in the 106th General Assembly. This appointment includes membership to the Agriculture, Children and Family, and Education Committees. The announcement came yesterday by Speaker of the House Kent Williams in collaboration with Republican and Democratic Leaders.
“I am honored to have been selected for these three key committees.” said Rep. Weaver. “As a new member, I look forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead of me and am humbled by the ability to serve the people of the 40th District in this capacity.”
The legislation presented before these committees is assigned based upon the subject matter. The Children and Family Committee considers legislation dealing with domestic issues such as divorce, child custody, and domestic violence. The education committee takes up legislation concerning both K-12 matters and higher education issues.
“As a grandmother of two and mother of one, I am committed to helping better the lives of Tennessee’s youngest citizens and ensure they have a hopeful, fulfilling future.” stated Rep. Weaver.
Terri Lynn Weaver is serving her first term in the General Assembly. She resides in Lancaster with her husband where she is a Singer, Songwriter, and small business owner.

Roy Bass

83 year old Roy Bass of Smithville died Friday at NHC Healthcare Center. He was a Baptist, a retired owner of Georgia Girl, member of the Royal Orders of Elk & Moose, Shriners, American Legion, and VFW. The funeral will be Saturday at 2:00 p.m. at the Chapel of Love-Cantrell Funeral Home. Bobby Thomason will officiate and burial will be in the Barrow Memorial Gardens in Winder, Georgia. Visitation will be Friday from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. He was preceded in death by his parents, Johnny Bedford and Lattie Elizabeth Johnson Bass. He is survived by his wife, Linda Jane Bass of Smithville. One daughter, Vivian and Louie Oakley of Alexandria. Four sons, Phillip Bass of the Dominican Republic, Colin and his wife Sharon Bass of Nashville, Steven and his wife Barbara Bass of Alabama and John and his wife Tonya Bass of Smithville. One brother, Willie and his wife Dorothy Bass of Mount Juliet. Seven grandchildren, Six great grandchildren and a number of step-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and friends. Love-Cantrell Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Louise Moore Moss

82 year old Louise Moore Moss of Woodbury died Thursday at the Carestone Assisted Living Center in Chattanooga. She was born in Lawrenceburg. Moss was a Baptist, a member of the Eastern Star, and a retired RN at the Alvin C. York V.A. Medical Center. A graveside service will be Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at DeKalb Memorial Gardens. Bobby Nichols will officiate and burial will be in DeKalb Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Saturday. She is survived by a sister-in-law, Eva Gray Youngblood of Woodbury. Nieces, Cortilla Fann of Woodbury, Linda Eller of Chattanooga, Kathleen Dunn of Phoenix, Arizona, and Betty Depew of Midland Texas, and several great and great great nieces and nephews. Woodbury Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

County Seeks Action by TDOT to Make Dangerous Intersection Safer

County Mayor Mike Foster says the intersection at Highway 70 and Highway 83 near Kilgore’s Restaurant is dangerous and several wrecks have occurred there in recent months. So he will ask the county commission Monday night to join him in requesting that TDOT consider installing caution lights there.
“We’ve talked to the guy in Chattanooga who is over engineering and asked that they look at it. There have been about twelve wrecks there. Three of them required extrication and several of them had to be life flighted. We’re asking first that they do the engineering study. Really what it amounts to is we would like to see a caution light, where it would be a caution light for Highway 70 and flashing red lights on Highway 83 on either side. At least, we would like to see installed those small ripples on the road to alert you (motorists) that something (intersection) is coming up and some signs that say ‘Dangerous Intersection Ahead’. There is a sign there that has like a red centerpiece that says ‘Ahead’ but it doesn’t say stop. Butch Agee (of TDOT) has been helpful and so have the people in Chattanooga so hopefully we’ll get this done”.
Foster says he and the commission may also request a street light be installed to better illuminate the intersection of Highway 70 and Dry Creek Road.
In addition, Foster says the county commission may request the Tennessee Highway Patrol to recommend a safe speed limit for Holiday Haven Road and the Old Sparta Highway as requested by local residents there. “We’ve had several local residents that have called about the speed on those roads. I think the Old Sparta Road used to be a 35 mph speed limit. They’re asking for the highway patrol to go determine what a safe speed is for both of these roads and to recommend to the commission that speed limits be established there. These are county roads.”

Dona Mai Turner

91 year old Dona Mai Turner of McMinnville Highway in the Highland Community died Wednesday at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville. She was born in Warren County. Turner was a homemaker and a member of the Highland Church of Christ. The funeral will be Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at McMinnville Funeral Home Chapel. Robert Moss and Glendon Cantrell will officiate and burial will be in the Corinth Cemetery in DeKalb County. The Turner family will receive friends on Friday from 2:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home. She was preceded in death by her parents, John Henry and Sallie Cope; her husband, James Norman Turner; a daughter, Yvonne Turner; a brother, Rayburn Cope; and a sister, Mary Cope. Survivors include her sisters, Gladys Cole of McMinnville and Belle Rankhorn and Martha Rankhorn both of Smithville. Special niece, Brenda Young and special nephew, Doug Pack, and several nieces, nephews, family members, and friends. McMinnville Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

Sligo Bridge Could be Replaced If Congress Approves New Economic Stimulus Package

Funds could become available to replace Sligo bridge if the Congress approves a new economic stimulus package.
County Mayor Mike Foster said Thursday that TDOT has included Sligo bridge in it’s request for funding of projects in Tennessee. “Mr (Paul) Degges, who is the chief engineer for TDOT, said at a recent public meeting that Sligo was not on the list of roads and bridges that would be proposed for the stimulus package. But we were told about two weeks ago by TDOT that it is now on the list for the proposed stimulus package, if it happens. Senator (Lamar) Alexander’s office called and said that it (Sligo bridge) is on the stimulus package list that has been submitted by TDOT for the state. So if the stimulus package passes the U.S. House and Senate, then hopefully we are in line for a replacement bridge, which would be just north of the existing bridge. If you’re going toward Sparta, the new bridge would be on the left side of the old bridge and the road on either side of the bridge would be straightened for better access. If all this happens, they would probably have meetings here in March for a pre-bid letting, and possibly be on line for contracts to be let in July and maybe the bridge could be started in September, which is really good news for tourism, school buses, and people who travel back and forth through there to go to work.”
Degges, during a public meeting last month, said it would cost about $32 million to replace Sligo bridge at today’s estimates, while a rehab would be about $12 million and extend the life of the bridge by 10 to 15 years. “From a time frame standpoint, between two and four years from now this bridge is going to be in a condition to where we’re going to have to replace the bridge or do a rehab on it.”
“If we were able to find the funding for this project, I could see us under contract in maybe fifteen months or less if we were going to go with the new bridge. If the money doesn’t materialize somewhere, I would guess somewhere between two and four years from now we would be looking at a rehabilitation project on the existing bridge.”

Corps to Conduct Test of Emergency Evacuation Siren at Long Branch Campground

The Corps of Engineers will be conducting a test of an emergency evacuation siren at Long Branch Campground, located directly below Center Hill Dam, on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 1 p.m.
This siren serves the Long Branch and Buffalo Valley Recreation Areas immediately below the dam. Additionally, neighboring private landowners downstream of the dam may possibly hear the siren. The test will last for approximately one minute.
This is only a test.
In the unlikely event of a breach of the dam, the siren will be activated and an evacuation plan put into effect to assist the visiting public in the Long Branch and Buffalo Valley Recreation Areas. Anyone with questions should call the Center Hill Lake Resource Manager’s Office at 931-858-3125 or 615-548-4521.

Elizabeth Rose Abston

70 year old Elizabeth Rose Abston died Monday at UMC in Lebanon. The funeral service will be Saturday at 12 noon at Mays Chapel Baptist Church. Visitation will be Saturday starting at 11 a.m. Belita Fite will officiate and burial will be in the Hermitage Memorial Gardens.
Survivors include her husband Alfred Abston; a son, Marcus and wife Ebony Stokes; a granddaughter, J’mia Covington; a sister, Margaret and husband John Johnson; brothers, Robert and wife Bessie, and Thomas and wife Eula Stokes; sisters-in-law, Mai B. and husband John Stafford, Margaret and husband John Bell, Estelle Oldham, Geneva Adams and Debra Abston. Several nieces, nephews, cousins, and other relatives and friends also survive.
She was preceded in death by a daughter, Rosa Stokes.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Rosa Stokes Memorial Fund at Cumberland University. JC Hellum Funeral Home in Lebanon is in charge of the arrangements.

TBI Investigating Cash Shortage in Circuit Court Clerk’s Office

The DeKalb County Circuit Court Clerk’s Office is under investigation over a cash shortage of $8,501 in General Sessions Court funds.
The shortage was discovered during an annual state audit and is included as a finding in the latest audit report just released.
Circuit Court Clerk Katherine Pack says she has made the District Attorney General’s Office aware of the shortage and the D.A. has requested the TBI investigation. Ms. Pack says the shortage occurred during the period of time when she was out of the office undergoing surgery.
According to the audit report, “A cash shortage of $8,501 existed in the General Sessions Court at June 30th, 2008. This cash shortage resulted from numerous bank deposits for the period April 2008 through June 2008 being less than the amount of deposits posted to the general ledger. We noted the following internal control deficiencies that should have alerted officials of possible irregularities:
A. “The bank reconciliation prepared at June 30th, 2008 did not reconcile with the general ledger by $515. This variance should have been investigated and corrected promptly.”
B. “Deposits for May 22, 28, 29, and June 11 totaling $8,331 were listed as in transit on the June 30th, 2008, bank reconciliation; however, these deposits actually cleared the bank prior to June 30th, 2008; therefore, these deposits could not be in transit.”
C. “Beginning April 11, 2008, several bank deposits were not made intact; i.e., funds collected during a specific period of time were not deposited together. Because the clerk used this method of depositing collections, we could not trace specific collections to specific deposits.”
D. “Of the bank deposits that were not made intact, the difference between the sum of the receipts and the sum of the bank deposit was in cash receipts. This difference indicates that cash was being manipulated.”
“This cash shortage has been reviewed with the district attorney.”
Auditors made the following recommendation:
” The clerk should take steps to liquidate the cash shortage of $8,501. Bank statements should be reconciled with the general ledger monthly, and any differences should be investigated and corrected promptly. Deposits should be made intact.”
In the management response, Ms. Pack states that “I have been in contact with the District Attorney General’s Office and have extended our full cooperation to the district attorney. We have taken steps to improve the deposit and reconciliation process.”
All employees of the Circuit Court Clerk’s office remain on the job, pending the outcome of the investigation.
The annual audit report also reveals accounting and other deficiencies in offices of other county officials. To read the entire audit report, click the following link. (Findings, reccomendations, and management responses contained on pages 176-184 of audit)
http://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/repository/CA/2008/DeKalb.pdf
Orhttp://www.comptroller1.state.tn.us/RA_CA/CountyAudits.asp?C=21

Richard Lee Sackett

59 year old Richard Lee Sackett of Smithville died Saturday at his residence. His body has been cremated and no service will be held. He was preceded in death by his father, George Sackett. Survivors include his mother, Dorothy Sackett; a daughter, Tammy and her husband Jimmy Williams of Carthage; a brother, Carl Sackett; and a sister, Patricia Arthur. DeKalb Funeral Chapel is in charge of the arrangements. Donations may be made, in lieu of flowers, to DeKalb Funeral Chapel to help with final expenses.