Here is your Cleveland, Tenn. | Bradley County, Tenn. news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland: In news today… The BCSO is very pleas
Here is your Cleveland, Tenn. | Bradley County, Tenn. news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland:
In news today…
The BCSO is very pleased to announce that all Bradley County patrol deputies have been issued brand new body cameras and, as of Thursday, January 21, have received full training on the functions and policies of these new products.
In March of 2020, Sheriff Steve Lawson first presented the proposal for new body cameras to the Bradley County Commission and has worked very closely with them and Mayor Gary Davis to make this upgrade possible.
Funding for this project has been made possible by the state of Tennessee, the Bradley County government and donations from generous supporters.
In news today…
Cleveland City Schools continues to monitor active case counts and other data points in the community. In consultation with the health department and a downward trend of local cases, the district will be in the Yellow Phase this week.. All students will be in a traditional, in-person school setting everyday. All schools will require a temperature check for students and staff as they enter the building. Students will have a second temperature check around mid-day. Please note masks continue to be required for all bus riders and students in grades 3-12 in classrooms. If you have any questions, please contact cvquestions@clevelandschools.org or contact your local school.
From the Chattanooga Times Free Press…
Three Tennessee Republican lawmakers whose homes and legislative offices were raided Jan. 8 by the FBI collectively paid $182,794 during the 2020 election cycle for work done by newly minted political firms with little known campaign track records, state filings show.
At this point no one — except the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee — knows for sure why federal agents served search warrants on Rep. Robin Smith of Hixson, a business and political consultant, as well as Rep. Glen Casada, the former House speaker from Franklin, and freshman Rep. Todd Warner of Lewisburg.
Also raided was the home of Casada’s former top aide, Cade Cothren, who along with his former boss was embroiled in a 2019 scandal over sexist and racist texts, which helped fuel Casada’s downfall as speaker.
The inclusion of Warner, who defeated then-Rep. Rick Tillis, R-Lewisburg, in an ugly House District 92 Republican primary in August, however, has fueled scrutiny of shared political activity among the three legislators.
In that primary campaign, a new political action committee, the Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC, launched digital and direct mail attack ads against Tillis in the district, which includes Marshall County and parts of Marion, Franklin and Lincoln counties.
The Faith Family Freedom Fund PAC, Warner’s campaign, Smith and a number of House GOP colleagues she has done work for shared the same Chattanooga postal permit number, 383, on mailers filed last year as part of a complaint filed with the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance against Warner and the fund.
In his complaint, Hazelwood said the PAC “appears to have coordinated” with Warner, a practice that’s limited for certain kinds of political groups. He told the Times Free Press that a number of the mailers “had ties back to that Chattanooga address, that was associated with Robin Smith, I believe.”
In his written response to the election registry, Warner denied any coordination with the PAC, saying the accusation “holds no merit and is completely and totally false.”
The lowest-price vendor, Warner said, simply “ended up being a large mail house out of Chattanooga” that uses permit number 383.” He noted a “significant number of sitting legislators” use “the same Chattanooga mail house because of the low rate.”
Registry members dismissed the complaint.
From the Associated Press…
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and leaders in the Tennessee General Assembly touted their efforts during a special session of the legislature addressing education in the state.
Gov. Lee called the special session to address learning loss and funding in the state impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Speaking Friday, Gov. Lee said “what we accomplished here is remarkable,” praising both lawmakers and Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn.
The legislature passed a $160 million package aimed at addressing these issues although some items, such as teacher pay and compensation will rely on bills to be passed during the legislature’s regular session.
Among these items is additional compensation for teachers, lawmakers hoping to give a 4% boost to teacher salaries. The legislature did pass a 2% increase but the Democratic Caucus in the Senate said it is really just a 1% raise since the increase is based on a 2% increase for half of the school year which amounts to a 1% raise. Additional raises for teachers could be passed during the regular session.
From NewsChannel 9…
Tennessee Department of Health is projecting a new, more contagious strain of coronavirus to be the dominant virus in the state by March.
Health officials said Thursday two cases, out of seven specimens, of the U.K. strain, commonly known as B-117, have been identified in Tennessee and confirmed by the CDC, TDH said.
While B-117 is much more highly transmissible than the current strain, TDH Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said “it doesn’t appear to increase disease or mortality.”
Regarding the new strain, Dr. Piercey explained that viruses mutate to get into more hosts.
Tennessee is among 20 U.S. states reporting COVID-19 cases caused by variants. Officials aren’t planning on changing their coronavirus response with the new strain.
The U.K. strain is a more contagious strain of the coronavirus, It first emerged in the U.K. in late 2020. Health officials said the current vaccines are believed to be effective against the variant.
