Middle Tennessee Education Center

TWHNC backed, concern shown (05/24/12)
National media reports regarding the training practices of trainer Jackie McConnell have played a role in influencing local public perception of the Tennessee Walking Horse industry. This week the Times-Gazette has invited public comment from readers, called upon local business people and solicited information in an online poll. Here's what they have shared...

Celebration punishes McConnell (05/23/12)
The Celebration Board of Directors took decisive action Tuesday afternoon, condemning the actions of walking horse trainer Jackie McConnell, who pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges related to the conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act. The Celebration Board voted Tuesday to suspend McConnell for life from entering the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration Grounds for any and all events, regardless of the event's affiliation or ownership...

Sullivan promoted to Harris principal (05/23/12)
James J. Sullivan, the current assistant principal of Harris Middle School, has been named principal. Sullivan succeeds Dr. Tracy Lampley, who has resigned the position effective in June. Sullivan came to Bedford County Schools in July 2011, at the same time as Lampley, to serve as assistant principal at Harris...

TWH industry reacts to video (05/17/12)
An ABC Nightline news investigation aired video Wednesday evening showing abuse inflicted by a legendary Tennessee walking horse trainer. Consequences of that video included Pepsi-Cola withdrawing from their select sponsorship of the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration...

Fish fry is 'biggest yet' (05/16/12)
The fish almost got the upper hand this year, according to organizers who served 877 guests at the First Choice Pregnancy Counseling Center Fish Fry on Saturday afternoon. "Our fish are usually caught and donated by a group of local fishermen," said Donna Thomas, director at First Choice. "The fish were slow to bite this year, so for the first time ever we had to buy fish -- and the fisherman took it hard!"...

Schools face budget crunch (05/15/12)
There's a gap of nearly $800,000 between where next year's school budget is and where it needs to be. That's what Bedford County Board of Education learned at a budget study session Monday night. For the past two fiscal years, 2010-11 and 2011-12, the school system has been spending more than it has taken in. The difference came out of the school system's fund balance...

Harris horse show funds benefit athletic programs (05/11/12)
The Harris Middle School Athletic Department launched fundraising efforts for school programs last weekend at the Walking with Eagle Pride Horse Show. Coordinated by Allison Smith, Dana Edwards and the HMS faculty, proceeds from the event are earmarked for various needs in the school's athletic department...

Fire school graduation Friday (05/10/12)
Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak will deliver the commencement address to the recruit firefighter class 9 a.m. Friday at the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy on Unionville-Deason Road. As TDCI Commissioner, McPeak also is the State Fire Marshal...

State commissioner visits Vietnam vets (05/08/12)
More than 60 attended this month's Vietnam Era Veterans meeting at the American Legion Center. Many-Bears Grinder, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Veterans Affairs, was guest speaker. Grinder, who spent 35 years in the Tennessee Army National Guard, comes from a long line of military servitude. ...

GED hopefuls urged to take exam in 2013 (05/04/12)
Have you thought about getting a GED? Perhaps you've started the process in the past, and passed some of the five sections of the test, and you keep meaning to go back and finish the rest. Now would be a good time, say state and local adult education officials...

HMS principal takes Franklin Co. position (05/01/12)
Dr. Tracy Lampley, principal of Harris Middle School, has been named principal of Rock Creek Elementary in Estill Springs, part of the Franklin County school system. Lampley, who was named principal of Harris last summer after having worked previously in Williamson County, will continue to serve at Harris through June 30...

Calling Dr. Kid! Stat! Students get insider's view of hospital (04/29/12)
Miniature surgeons flooded the halls of Heritage Medical Center on Friday morning to tour the facilities -- at least that's what it looked like. Kindergartners from East Side Elementary donned surgical masks, caps and gloves while making the rounds at the Shelbyville hospital. During their visit, they made stops everywhere in hospital, from the helipad to the critical care unit...

Celebrating changes: New boxes in south turn (04/27/12)
The Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration is renovating the upper tier of boxes on the south end of the outdoor arena, in a $500,000 project which CEO Doyle Meadows says will enhance safety and the fan experience. The lower level of boxes, at ringside, are built on concrete slabs and are in good shape, as are the general admission grandstands at the top of the south end. The renovation project focuses on the upper rows of boxes -- I, J, K and L -- on the south end...

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...

Schools decision draws criticism (04/25/12)
Two members of Bedford County Board of Education criticized School Superintendent Ray Butrum and school board chairman Barry Cooper on Thursday night for committing to an educational software package prior to final approval by the board. The board was asked on Thursday night to approve a three-year agreement with Curriculum Advantage Inc. ...

Aging Highway 130 bridge nears replacement date (04/24/12)
Nearly $4 million worth of bridge replacement work will begin later this year over the Duck River, with another important safety project kicking off this week. State Sen. Jim Tracy informed the city of the Tennessee Department of Transportation's current project status list, which shows that bids for the Sydney "Bud" McGrew Memorial Bridge over Duck River on State Highway 130 were recently awarded to Concrete Structures, Inc., at a price of $3,821,199.68...

Digging in (04/22/12)
Members of the Walmart Distribution Center's Volunteer Always Pays program got busy Saturday morning to spruce up Purdy Court Park as part of an "Earth Day Celebration" held by the city's parks and recreation department. Department director Sylvia Pinson expects the playground to be ready by June 1, and the park will be set for rededication sometime in August.

TCAP week challenges students (04/22/12)
It's TCAP week in Tennessee, and local students will begin participating in the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program on Tuesday morning. "The end of year TCAP tests are very important and allow teachers to identify learning gaps and also areas of strength for each individual student," said Janice Womble, secondary instruction supervisor. "This data can also be used to project student academic success as they move through the grades."...

Down...but not out: Connie Bobo slowed but not stopped by disease (04/22/12)
With the busy lifestyles of today, it's easy to take things for granted. Each day we wake up, go about our business as best we can and hope for a few smiles along the way. For most folks, worrying about illness and infection is a seasonal thing that might reserve a place in the back of your mind. For those affected by primary immunodeficiency disorders (PIDD), however, this is a daily concern that cannot be taken lightly...

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...

Legacy of learning (04/18/12)
A longtime colleague of beloved MTSU education professor Robert "Dr. Bob" Womack is confident. "They say 'there'll always be an England,'" said the College of Education's other "Dr. Bob," Professor Emeritus Robert "Bob" Bullen. "Well, at MTSU, we say there'll always be a Womack."...

Celebration differs with T-G article (04/12/12)
The Celebration Board of Directors and staff take exception to the article in the March 6 edition entitled "Much Soring Alleged" by Brian Mosely. It is a one sided advertorial for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and Keith Dane causing serious harm to The Celebration and walking horse industry....

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...

TWH leaders hit 'renegades' at listening session (04/05/12)
MURFREESBORO -- USDA officials urged Tennessee Walking Horse organizations Wednesday to unite and speak with one voice, while those in the local equine industry were equally united in opposing a proposed ban on pads and "action devices." Officials from the Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) Animal Care Program held a three-hour listening session at the Doubletree Hotel to hear feedback from walking horse trainers and owners...

New approach to nepotism (04/04/12)
Bedford County School System's policy on nepotism is getting a complete rewrite, according to discussion at a Board of Education study session on Tuesday night of last week The former policy was two paragraphs long and only addressed the initial hire of the most immediate family members of sitting members of the school board...

State grant boosts airport (04/04/12)
Shelbyville's airport has received a $45,000 aeronautics grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) for grounds maintenance equipment. The grant, which will be combined with a $15,000 local match, was recommended earlier this week through the Department of Transportation's Division of Aeronautics...

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...

WHTA preparing a new initiative (03/29/12)
From a press release: The Walking Horse Trainers' Association (WHTA) serves the best interest of its members and remains committed to protecting the welfare of the Tennessee Walking Horse. Since the passage of the Horse Protection Act and introduction of the Horse Industry Organization (HIO) program by the USDA, the WHTA has strongly supported inspections at affiliated shows...

McConnell out on bond; training limited (03/27/12)
Walking Horse trainer Jackie McConnell of Collierville will remain free on bond but will not be allowed to train any horses he doesn't own. McConnell and three associates have been charged with conspiracy to violate the Horse Protection Act by transporting and showing horses they knew to be "sored" and also falsifying entry forms and paperwork. Earlier this month, agents with the U.S. Department of Agriculture raided McConnell's Whitter Stables in west Tennessee, taking eight of 28 horses...

Report cites 'substances' (03/23/12)
Data released this week from the USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) shows that every horse randomly sampled at last year's Celebration tested positive for illegal substances. A local industry veterinarian, however, said Thursday the substances revealed by the swab test samples (results of those tests were only recently published) are already deemed illegal under the Horse Protection Act...

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...

Imagine...'John Lennon and Me' (03/22/12)
The Heart House in Nashville is the scene of this weekend's play, "John Lennon and Me," presented by the Community Middle School Drama Club. Hollywood-wannabe Star (played by Jessica Hesson) is the ultimate Beatles fan. Her dreams are complicated by cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease which often assures a young death. Star is a frequent resident at the facility for seriously and terminally ill young people...

Harris dreams of ballfields (03/18/12)
Harris Middle School approached the Board of Education Thursday night for permission to apply for grant funding from Major League Baseball. Although land was designated for use as baseball and softball fields in the original design of the campus which includes HMS and Learning Way Elementary, those features have yet to be constructed...

May trial set for McConnell, co-defendants (03/18/12)
A May trial date has been set for a prominent walking horse trainer and three others accused in a horse soring conspiracy. Jackie McConnell, 60, along with Jeff Dockery, 56; John Mays, 47; and Joseph Abernathy, 29, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge William B. Carter in Chattanooga for arraignment and to hear their conditions for bond...

Fallout Teen center offers weekend fun for students (03/18/12)
The dream has been in the heart of Kathy Gregory for 25 years now, and became a reality when the Fallout Teen Center opened for the first time last year. Since then, more than 150 local students have passed through the doors. For years, the perennial cry of teen students has been, "There's nothing to do in this town," and the Fallout Teen Center hopes to satisfy -- serving as a safe place to play games, eat and hang out with friends on a weekend -- all while under adult supervision...

Much soring alleged (03/06/12)
An undercover investigation into animal abuse in the Walking Horse industry is only "the tip of the iceberg," a spokesman for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) told the T-G. Late last week, a 52-count federal indictment alleging a conspiracy to sore horses was unsealed against prominent trainer Jackie L. McConnell, 60, along with employees Jeff Dockery, 54, John Mays, 50, all from Collierville, and Joseph R. Abernathy, 30, of Olive Branch, Miss...

SHOW says inspection leads to criminal prosecution (03/01/12)
The successful prosecution of Spotted Saddle Horse trainer Barney Davis is a clear demonstration of the effectiveness of the Walking Horse industry's commitment to enforcing the Horse Protection Act, according to a press release issued by the Sound Horses, Honest Judging, Objective Inspections and Winning Fairly (SHOW) organization...

USDA plans discussion over horses (02/29/12)
The USDA will hold a "listening session" in Murfreesboro in April to get public feedback on a number of issues concerning the walking horse industry. The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS) Animal Care Program of the USDA will hold the session on April 4 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Doubletree Murfreesboro Hotel at 1850 Old Fort Parkway...

Horse show funding request rescinded (02/28/12)
Funding requests for two upcoming horse shows to Shelbyville's council have been rescinded -- due to one moving elsewhere and the other acquiring the needed money.... For the complete story, see the print edition of today's Times-Gazette.

World embraces Alex (02/26/12)
A local story about a local boy has captured international attention this week. Cancer patient Alex Rodriguez, 12, was profiled in last Sunday's Times-Gazette as his local middle school sold blue ribbons to show their support for he and his family...

Celebration $1.5K plea reappears (02/22/12)
A proposal to give $1,500 to the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration to help it recruit a quarter horse show will be back on the agenda of Bedford County Board of Commissioners next month. Last week, the commission failed to approve the allocation; it got 8 votes in favor, with one opposed, six abstaining and three absent. The commission's rules require a majority of the full commission -- 10 votes -- to pass a motion, regardless of how many are in attendance...

State's top trooper survives gunshot (02/21/12)
Tennessee's Trooper of the Year holds the award for the second straight year, while one of the runners-up -- the regional winner for the Lawrenceburg district -- was honored for handling an incident that started in Bedford County. Dwayne Stanford of Henderson County was cited as Trooper of the Year by the Tennessee Highway Patrol after several significant events, including the arrest of suspects involved in armed robbery, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, possible terrorism, home invasions, and possession of stolen guns and stolen vehicles.. ...

School board chair says it's time to go (02/17/12)
Bedford County Board of Education Chairman Barry Cooper announced at the end of Thursday night's meeting that he will not seek re-election to his 5th District seat during this year's election cycle. Cooper will continue to serve until a new school board member is elected to his seat in August, and then in September the board will need to elect a new chairman. Five of the nine school board seats are up for election this year...

Holiday filled with stage delights (02/17/12)
Community High School will use the upcoming President's Day school holiday to promote Middle Tennessee theater efforts. Tony Davis, a drama and speech teacher, began the Smokestack Theatre Group in 1994 with the school's first play "Wait Until Dark." Since then, the group has offered ambitious productions such as Steel Magnolias, The Wizard of Oz and It's a Wonderful Life...

USDA official slams horse groups hard (02/16/12)
A Department of Agriculture representative who enforces the Horse Protection Act had critical comments for the local equine industry this past weekend. Dr. Chester Gipson, Deputy Administrator for Animal Care with USDA-APHIS, met Saturday with members of the Walking Horse Owners' Association (WHOA) in Murfreesboro, telling members enforcement of the Act would be no different during the 2012 show season than it was last year...

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...

Horse show gets $2.5K from city (02/10/12)
Shelbyville's city council voted Thursday night to donate $2,500 to the upcoming Spring Showcase horse show set for next month. The show, put on by the Foundation for the Advancement and Support of the Tennessee Walking Show Horse (FAST), is to replace the void left by the departure of the National Trainer's Show from Shelbyville...

Appeals court agrees with 17-year sentence (02/10/12)
Tennessee's appeals court says a local judge made no mistake in sentencing a Bedford County man to 17 years in prison for selling crack. Larry Thomas Johnson had appealed his guilty-pleaded convictions for the sale of 0.5 grams or more of cocaine and possession with the intent to sell...

Futurity move may be costly (02/09/12)
Moving the Tennessee Walking Horse Futurity to Murfreesboro could end up costing horse owners who were hoping to qualify for the Celebration in August. On Saturday, the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders' and Exhibitors' Association (TWHBEA) announced that this year's Futurity will be held in July in conjunction with the World Versatility Show at MTSU's Miller Coliseum...

Related subjects

Home