Emergency Communications District

Vannatta seat stays unfilled (05/09/12)
Bedford County Board of Commissioners failed Tuesday night to fill recently retired commissioner Bobby Vannatta's request that his son-in-law fill his vacant District 2 commission seat. Vannatta, who retired from the commission last month after 19 years of service due to illness, had recommended Ralph Edwards fill his seat until the countywide general election is held in August...

E-911 sues for return of $76,000 (04/26/12)
The Bedford County Emergency Communication District filed a federal lawsuit against BellSouth (now known as AT&T) last week, demanding the recovery of $76,000 in service charges. The suit claims the phone company has billed the ECD "far in excess" of the number of phone lines for which BellSouth reported and remitted 911 charges...

Investigators take aim at drug dealers (04/25/12)
Investigators aren't identifying the source of 15 pounds of marijuana with a street value of $18,000 yet -- saying arrests are anticipated -- but they have a message for drug dealers. "If you're dealing drugs in Bedford County we're gonna get you," Sheriff Randall Boyce said...

Com Center interim chief to continue (04/19/12)
Jim Miller will continue as interim director of Bedford County Communications Center for the time being, according to action by Bedford County Emergency Communications District (E-911) board on Wednesday night, and the center will contract with County Finance Director Robert Daniel to handle its purchasing and other finances. The county had already been doing payroll for com center employees...

Com Center draws close look (04/05/12)
Bedford County Emergency Communications District (E-911) board voted Wednesday night to name administrative assistant Jim Miller as interim director of Bedford County Communications Center, and also to secure the center's financial records during the transition period...

E-911 director resigns (03/29/12)
Bedford County Communications Center director Cathey Mathis has announced her resignation and that she has terminated her daughter, com center employee Lisa Cook. According to Bedford County Emergency Communications District (E-911) board chair Mark Thomas, Mathis announced the resignation and termination by way of e-mail...

Gift cards violated IRS policy (03/22/12)
Bedford County Emergency Communications District (E-911) board will self-report to the Internal Revenue Service that on two or three occasions, it used pre-paid gift cards to award employee bonuses or service awards, without deducting any tax payments or reporting that income...

Courtroom to classroom (03/06/12)
District Attorney Chuck Crawford, the top prosecutor in Bedford, Marshall, Lincoln and Moore counties' criminal courts, has been hired by the Fayetteville City School System to teach American history and government. Dr. Janine Wilson, director of the city school system, announced to the Board of Education on Monday night that Crawford, who's also served as Lincoln County's session and juvenile court judge, would be teaching at the city's new high school next fall...

Most of E-911 board skips regular meet (02/16/12)
Bedford County Emergency Communications District (E-911) board, which has been involved in a dispute over personnel issues, failed to hold its regular meeting Wednesday night, with six of the nine board members absent. Five of the six absent members called Bedford County Communications Center director Cathey Mathis earlier in the day to say they would not be attending, and someone -- it's not clear who -- posted a notice on the door of the meeting room saying that the meeting had been cancelled...

E911 board committee humbled (02/14/12)
Members of the Bedford County Emergency Communications District (E-911) personnel committee heard an earful of complaints Monday over an unsuccessful attempt to have a communications center dispatcher fired without going before the full board. The board does not have the power to directly hire or fire personnel...

Quake drill is critical (01/19/12)
Tennessee Emergency Management Agency is encouraging schools, families and businesses to participate in an earthquake drill next month. Registration is open for the second annual Great Central U. S. ShakeOut earthquake drill, scheduled for Feb. 7 at 10:15 a.m.. Last April, more than 3 million people in 11 states, including 250,000 Tennesseans, took part...

New House for Bedford (01/17/12)
State lawmakers on Friday approved redistricting plans for congressional and state legislative districts, and Gov. Bill Haslam is expected to sign the proposal. The biggest change for Bedford County is that the county moves from the 6th Congressional District, currently represented by Rep. Diane Black (R-Gallatin), to the 4th, currently represented by Rep. Scott DesJarlais (R-South Pittsburg)...

CodeRED system to be tested Friday (01/11/12)
Expect a call Friday afternoon. Bedford County 911 Communications Center will use the CodeRED Emergency Notification System on Friday to call more than 15,000 land-line telephones in Bedford County. The calls, which will be made during the afternoon on Friday, are meant as a test of the CodeRED system, but will also serve to promote the system to local residents, whom officials say can benefit by registering themselves at the CodeRED website. ...

Drug fight tops DAs' concerns (12/28/11)
Tennessee's district attorneys say that synthetic and prescription drug abuse will be the biggest challenges they face going into the new year. District Attorney General Charles Crawford and 30 others recently met for the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference to identify what they termed "serious areas of concern" which must be addressed at the state level in 2012...

Code Red ready to go if disaster strikes Bedford Co. (11/30/11)
A new notification system gives local emergency departments a variety of new options for notifying the public in case of a disaster, and members of the public can opt in to receive notices related to severe weather. Bedford County Emergency Communications District (E-911) has signed up for the Code Red program, which gives departments options for making automated calls or sending cell phone text messages, according to Bedford County Communications Center director Cathey Mathis...

Johnson had close call during attacks (09/11/11)
In September 2001, Scott and Alice Johnson were living in Washington, D.C. Scott was working as an agent for the U.S. Air Force, while Alice taught at a local elementary school. Their two children were in high school in northern Virginia...

Area not immune to terror (09/11/11)
Shelbyville may seem like an unlikely place to find terrorists, but that doesn't eliminate the need for vigilance or homeland security, according to Scott Johnson, director of Bedford County Emergency Management Agency and a terrorism liaison officer for the state...

Audit finds offices of drug task force, district attorney in good shape (07/17/11)
The offices of the 17th Judicial District Drug Task Force and District Attorney Charles "Chuck" Crawford got a clean bill of health from state auditors, who found no problems with their books. The Comptroller's Division of County Audit recently released the review of funds administered by the state's district attorneys general and the task forces of the state's 31 judicial districts for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2010...

Soring suspect seeks delay in court date (07/13/11)
A Shelbyville woman accused of soring horses, money laundering and wire fraud is asking a federal judge for more time to prepare her defense. Christen Altman, 25, of Shelbyville filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Chattanooga asking to declare the case against her as "complex litigation" and is requesting a continuance in the matter, which is set for trial on Tuesday, Aug. 9...

'Everyday heroes': Ambulance workers devote lives to saving lives (05/17/11)
National Emergency Medical Services Week is May 15-21, and this year's theme is "Everyday Heroes." To mark the occasion, two long-time employees of Bedford County Emergency Medical Service spoke to the Times-Gazette about what they do. There are two major training levels for ambulance workers: emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic. ...

A 'smarter' 9-1-1 (05/13/11)
Bedford County has joined the Smart 9-1-1 program, and while it will take two months for the equipment to be installed at the local com center, director Cathey Mathis has urged citizens to go ahead and enter their personal information at the Smart911.com web site so that the information will be ready when the com center is...

Thomas asked to back claims (04/21/11)
A federal judge is being asked to compel a man suing the county for $6 million to produce documents and answer questions about the litigation. Attorney W. Carl Spining filed a motion to compel on Tuesday against John Darron Thomas, who is suing three deputies over a traffic stop in 2008...

Wartrace offers deal on Bell Buckle water (04/12/11)
And the issue trickles on ... The ongoing saga of getting clean, healthy water to Bell Buckle has taken yet another turn at the Monday night board of mayor and aldermen meeting -- in Wartrace. "Bell Buckle has been switching back and forth," said Wartrace Mayor Ron Stacy...

Healthy response hoped for test (04/03/11)
Bedford and 11 other counties will participate in a drill April 14 to test state and local responses to a public health emergency. The scenario for the exercise involves the release of a nerve agent affecting a limited number of people, and how to deploy medical countermeasures for treatment...

Smart 9-1-1 could save lives (03/22/11)
Bedford County Communications Center is considering joining the Smart 9-1-1 program, which supporters say allows users to voluntarily and securely input personal information which might be useful in case of an emergency. Com center director Cathey Mathis said the Emergency Communications District (E-911) board has funds available to subscribe to the service but would first like feedback from citizens about whether or not it would be used...

Storm causes little damage (02/25/11)
Scott Johnson of Bedford County Emergency Management Agency said the county experienced "sporadic power outages, downed trees and some temporary flash flooding" as the result of Thursday night's severe weather. "As the strong squall line moved into Marshall County from west to east about 10 p.m., it had some indications of potential tornado activity," wrote Johnson in an e-mail to the Times-Gazette. ...

City firefighters may respond to medical calls (02/17/11)
An agreement formalizing the use of Shelbyville firefighters as first responders in certain medical emergencies was placed on Bedford County Board of Commissioners' March agenda by the commission's rules and legislative committee, which met Tuesday night...

Storms spring up; be prepared (02/16/11)
In order to survive severe weather, you need to do two things: know, and act. You must know when there is a danger of severe weather. The most-recommended tool for that is a NOAA weather radio receiver, widely available at a variety of local stores...

Old Med Center lot to house seized cars (02/09/11)
Bedford County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday night to turn a parking area at the old Bedford County Medical Center campus on Union Street into a lot for the storage of vehicles seized from drug offenders, DUI offenders and driving-on-revoked-license offenders...

Black takes aim at federal spending (02/06/11)
LEWISBURG -- U.S. Rep. Diane Black, in her first round of open meetings since being sworn in as Sixth District congressman a month ago, told a friendly audience in Marshall County Friday night that her priority is reducing federal spending. "We are living way outside our means," said Black during an open meeting held at the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association headquarters...

Bell Buckle, BCUD extend water contract (01/19/11)
The water issue in Bell Buckle is still in limbo. At the Tuesday night meeting of the board of mayor and aldermen, Mayor Dennis Webb told board members he, Water Board Chair Jenny Hunt and Water Department Supervisor Ronnie Lokey had met with Bedford County Utility District...

Water woes among year's top issues (12/29/10)
Water was a problem in 2010 between Wartrace and Bell Buckle -- both in the literal and figurative senses of the word "between." The towns' water woes and a verdict in a murder trial are the next two entries on the Times-Gazette's annual countdown of the biggest news stories of 2010 as selected by a vote of staff members...

Bell Buckle faces major choice on water source (12/29/10)
Bell Buckle water customers, there may -- or may not -- be more dirty water headed your way. At the special called meeting Tuesday night, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen discussed the water quality issues that have plagued Bell Buckle water customers since early July...

Tornado forecast creates 'a momentary scare' (10/26/10)
Bedford County Emergency Management Agency director Scott Johnson said that local officials had "a momentary scare" when the county seemed likely to fall victim to a tornado. "We did have a momentary scare this afternoon from the storms," stated Johnson in an e-mail to the Times-Gazette....

Communications Center recipient of $12K grant (09/03/10)
Bedford County Communications Center has received a $12,000 training grant from Tennessee Emergency Communications Board. Com center director Cathey Mathis said she's delighted by the grant, which followed a similar but slightly smaller grant last year...

McWherter, Black visit TWHNC (08/29/10)
Gubernatorial candidate Mike McWherter and U.S. House candidate Diane Black visited the Celebration on Friday, eager for the chance to greet potential voters. McWherter is a past visitor to the Celebration whose cousin once exhibited here. Black, a state senator from Gallatin, made her first Celebration visit on Friday...

UPDATED: Horses aren't the only competitors at show (08/27/10)
It's Celebration season, and it's also election season, which means candidates for governor and the 6th District House seat will be making the pilgrimage to Shelbyville. Businessman Mike McWherter, the Democratic nominee for governor, plans to be at the show tonight, while Republican nominee and Knoxville mayor Bill Haslam will be at the show on Sept. 4, the night of the World Grand Championship...

6th District hopefuls speak out at forum (07/14/10)
MURFREESBORO -- Nine candidates and one spokesperson gave their views as the clock ticks down on primary season in Tennessee's 6th Congressional District race. With ten people in the running -- six vying for the Republican slot, three wanting the Democratic nomination and one running as an independent -- the stage at the Tennessee Livestock Center at Middle Tennessee State University was packed...

Water system divides towns it once joined (07/04/10)
Wartrace and Bell Buckle are at odds over water -- who supplies it and how much it costs. This was evident Thursday night at a special called water board hearing in Wartrace where both Wartrace Mayor Don Gallagher and Bell Buckle Mayor Dennis Webb explained their recent actions and reactions...

Bell Buckle switches to BCUD water (06/27/10)
Bell Buckle Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted Thursday night at a special called meeting to sign a contract with Bedford County Utility District, making BCUD the town's primary water source. Wartrace had been the primary supplier, and Bell Buckle will now have to seek a contract with Wartrace as a secondary supplier...

'Joe the Plumber' backs Zelenik (06/22/10)
Joseph "Joe the Plumber" Wurzelbacher appeared Friday at the Bell Buckle Caf� to campaign for Republican Lou Ann Zelenik in the Sixth District U.S. House of Representatives race, saying that citizens should do their own research on the issues and should let principles guide them...

Marine joins Leming on campaign trail (06/11/10)
Retired Marine John Castellaw visited Shelbyville on Thursday to campaign with Ben Leming, a Democratic candidate for the Sixth District U.S. House seat who is also a former active duty Marine. Before retiring two years ago, Castellaw served as what he described as the chief financial officer for the Marine Corps. He had also been chief of staff for U.S. Central Command and commanded U.S. operations in East Timor in 1999-2000...

GOP candidates argue over immigration bill (06/11/10)
On Wednesday, the Tennessee Senate and House approved a bill which requires jails in Tennessee to send information to federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding prisoners who don't have documentation that they are in the U.S. legally. State Sen. ...

Candidates discuss illegal aliens, landfill (06/04/10)
Recent activity among candidates for the Sixth District U.S. House of Representatives seat being vacated by Rep. Bart Gordon: State Sen. Jim Tracy of Shelbyville and State Sen. Diane Black of Gallatin, both Republicans, have traded charges over Black's position on illegal immigration. ...

Candidates for House seat (06/04/10)
Here is a list of official ballot candidates for the Sixth District U.S. House seat: Diane Black, Gallatin Dave Evans, Wartrace Gary Dewitt Mann, Franklin Bruce McLellan, Livingston Kerry E. Roberts, Springfield Jim Tracy, Shelbyville Lou Ann Zelenik, Murfreesboro...

Barry enters Democratic primary for House seat (05/06/10)
Henry Clay Barry of Lebanon has announced his candidacy for the Sixth District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in the Aug. 5 Democratic primary. Barry has had his own legal practice in Lebanon for 31 years and has tried lawsuits in every county in the district except Bedford and Morgan counties. He describes himself as a "small-town country lawyer."...

Leming hits campaign trail at midnight (05/02/10)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben Leming of Murfreesboro, legally prohibited from campaigning until midnight Saturday morning, wasted no time crossing the Sixth District with a 15-county tour that hit Shelbyville at 1 a.m. Saturday. Leming visited the Huddle House on North Main Street...

House hopefuls address Democrats (04/30/10)
State Sen. Eric Stewart of Belvidere told Bedford County Democratic Party on Thursday that the party stands for "a hand up, not a hand out," but said Democrats make a priority of caring for "the least of these," as commanded in Matthew 25. "Folks, that's why I'm a Democrat," said Stewart, the keynote speaker at the annual party banquet, which was held at the American Legion hall on Kingree Road...

GOP hears House hopefuls, Ramsey (04/27/10)
Republicans running for the Sixth District U.S. House of Representatives seat were the keynote speakers at Bedford County Republican Party's annual banquet Saturday night at the Blue Ribbon Circle on the Celebration grounds. State Sen. Diane Black of Gallatin, Dave Evans of Wartrace, Gary Mann of Franklin, Kerry Roberts of Springfield, Jim Tracy of Shelbyville and Lou Ann Zelenik of Murfreesboro participated. ...

Hunt enters Democratic primary for state House (04/18/10)
Jenny Hunt of Bell Buckle has announced her candidacy for the 62nd District State Representative seat in the August 5 Democratic primary. A Bedford County resident since 1994, Hunt holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration from Auburn University, majoring in personnel management and industrial relations...

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