CROSSVILLE CHRONICLE Volume 128 • Issue 127
Tuesday, October 28, 2014
www.crossville-chronicle.com
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Four Sections • 38 pages
Engineering contract for radios OK’d By Gary Nelson
Chronicle senior staffwriter
radio system. “They come highly recommended and the county commission has OK’d an amendment for engineering services. This is just a matter of the contract for the communications system project. They worked
in hundreds of communities on these types of projects and they are not tied to any one manufacturer. They will do as little or as much as we want them to and will work from the beginning all the way to final testing of the system,” Cumber-
‘Once a Bulldog, always a Bulldog’ Page 1D
Federal Engineering, Inc. will serve as engineering consultants for Cumberland County during the upgrade of the county-wide emergency communications
Steve Norris’ Forecast
Spinning at the Depot
land County Mayor Kenneth Carey Jr. said. Earlier this month, county commissioners approved a budget amendment of $100,000 for hiring engineering professionals to assist in the upgrade process of enhancing the coun-
ty’s emergency radio and communication system. Carey recommended the amendment for costs not to exceed $100,000. “Have you checked their references?” Nancy Hyder, See CONTRACT page 7A
Good financial reports for Crossville
Partly cloudy Tuesday with a high of 75. Showers likely Tuesday night with thunder possible. Rain ending Wednesday.
By Jim Young
Chronicle correspondent
Obituaries
Leslie Cavell Ronnie Johnson Cecil McFarland Barbara Smith Leonard A. Stark Dr. Robert Yatto
Death Notices
Ruby Oakes Nina Owens
Transportation hearing plan set
The Center Hill Rural Planning Organization (CHRPO) technical committee meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Oct. 30 at the Upper Cumberland Development District at 1225 S. Willow Ave., Cookeville. The CHRPO is responsible for the comprehensive transportation planning for Cannon, Cumberland, Dekalb, Putnam, Van Buren, Warren and White counties. This is an open public meeting. If you would like an agenda, contact CHRPO Coordinator Nichole Hoose at (931) 476-4121.
Fruit insurance deadline set
The deadline for producers of apples, blueberries, grapes, and peaches to purchase USDA’s NAP insurance at the Cumberland/Bledsoe County Farm Service Agency (FSA) office is Tuesday, Nov. 17.
THP to hold checkpoint
The Tennessee Highway Patrol will be conducting a driver’s license roadside safety checkpoint in Cumberland County Oct. 31 on U.S. 70 E at Browntown Rd. from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. The Tennessee Highway Patrol recognizes the danger presented to the public by unqualified drivers. Troopers will concentrate their efforts on vehicles being operated by drivers who violate the driver’s license laws of Tennessee. The Tennessee Highway Patrol has found these driver’s license roadside safety checkpoints to be an effective means of enforcing driver’s license laws of Tennessee while ensuring the protection of all motorists.
Index
Local News 2, 5-7A Obituaries 3, 6A Opinion 4A Business 8-9A Sports 10-12A Living 1-8B, 1-4, 9C Briefly 7-8B Classifieds 5-9C School News 1-7D
Photo courtesy of Sharron Eckert
Lucy Elmore, an experienced spinner, always enjoys showing and teaching the art of spinning fine fibers. Elmore was one of several artists and musicians who came out Thursday to help celebrate the grand reopening of the Crossville Depot, which is now under the management of the Cumberland Artisans of Tennessee Studio (CATS) Gallery. See Friday’s Crossville Chronicle for more coverage from the event.
Student who missed class for project learns lesson about rules By Michael R. Moser
BOE upholds decision on unexcused absence
Chronicle editor
The reason a Cumberland County High School student missed half a day last month was commendable, but not excuseable. That was the decision of school administrators and was upheld by members of the school board during an attendance
hearing last week. enough to overcome the failure The issue left members of to follow school board policy the board of education uneasy concerning absence from school. with the decision that was made, It was an odd hearing in that with the majority in sympathy See LESSON page 3A of the student’s plight. It was not
Crossville’s city finances are in very good shape with an impressive bond rating, recently reported record sales tax collections and the most recent fiscal year ending in a surplus. The highest sales tax revenue in a threemonth period was reported by Crossville City Manager David Rutherford at the October city council meeting and the city recently received the report on their current bond rating issued by Standard and Poor’s rating service. Sales tax is one of the main revenue sources for the city’s general fund operation. Also, the city manager has released the annual financial report on city finances for the 2013-’14 fiscal year that, while originally a deficit of $282,500 was budgeted, the actual amount of revenue over expenses for the fiscal year was in the black by $193,000. The turnaround during the fiscal year from a deficit to a surplus totaled $475,500. In addition, the water and sewer fund is showing over $1 million in revenues over expenses. The unusual surplus is due in part to a change in the way the city counts water and sewer department depreciation, reducing the cost of depreciation by about 50 percent. The city’s bond rating is currently ranked at AA- according to the report issued in September 2014. The double A rating is the second highest rating issued by S & P and is considered “very strong capacity to meet financial commitments.” The ranking is based on a number of factors that are spelled out in the report and even though the city is currently in a weak economy, the excellent management and financial status of the operation were praised by the analysts. The report describes Crossville’s local economy as weak with a projected per capita effective buying income at 69 percent of the national average. Crossville has retiree and tourism jobs as well as health care, manufacturing and light industry. The report expects modest economic growth for the city. “Crossville’s management conditions are strong with good practices under our financial management management assessment methodology,” reads the report. It goes on to say, “The city follows state investments guidelines and has a fairly comprehensive debt management plan. It uses conservative budgetary assumptions, which are especially important given the significance of local option sales tax revenues to the general fund.” See REPORTS page 7A
County jobless rate drops one percent Cumberland County’s jobless rate dropped from 8.5 percent in August to 7.5 percent in September, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reported. State-wide preliminary unemployment rate for September was 7.3 percent, down from 7.4 per-
cent from the August revised rate. The U.S. rate for September was 5.9 percent, down from 6.1 percent in August. Cumberland County’s rate of 7.5 percent jobless means that, of the county’s 22,950-person labor See JOBLESS page 3A
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