HomeLocal News

Monday, August 17th

Here is today's news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland: Topping our news today… As schools have reopened across Tennessee, many sch

Here is today’s news on mymix1041.com, sponsored by Toyota of Cleveland:

Topping our news today…

As schools have reopened across Tennessee, many school system employees have been exposed to COVID-19. Based upon directions from the Tennessee Department of Health, these employees have been quarantined at home for 14 days. These mandatory quarantines have left school systems struggling with the logistics of how to provide essential services and to say open.

The Center for Disease Control allows employees who are part of “critical infrastructure” to continue working if they are symptom-free, if they can maintain social distance, and if they use protective equipment like masks. This allowance takes into account that some essential services simply have to keep working even in the midst of a pandemic. Public education is one such essential service.

Bradley County Schools has adopted this policy. This will help keep bus drivers driving buses and teachers in classrooms. Decisions on whether to keep people at work will be made on a case by case basis. 

In news today…

The Cleveland Fire Department has received a new ISO 2 rating, placing it in the top 5% of all department ratings in the nation. 

The CFD rating was reduced from class 3 to class 2,  which is good news for Cleveland residents, who may see a reduction in their insurance premiums, according to Cleveland City Manager Joe Fivas.

The new rating, which takes effect on July 1, is the result of an evaluation of fire standards by the Insurance Service Organization. 

The new ISO 2 rating will result in an approximate 2% to 3% savings on average, on the base rate of homeowner premiums and it could mean more savings for businesses on commercial premiums. Once insurance companies are notified of this change, rates will most likely take effect upon renewal.

From the Cleveland Daily Banner…

Tim Siniard reports: The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance has opened an investigation looking into the financial records of a local cemetery that has been the focus of complaints over its unkempt conditions for nearly a decade.

Melanie Marshall, a Cleveland woman who has been leading an effort to get the State of Tennessee to force the owners of Sunset Memorial Gardens to clean up its act, met with officials from the state’s Department of Commerce & Insurance Thursday during a virtual meeting online.

Cecil Lawrence Inc., is the Georgia firm that owns Sunset, as well as another Cleveland cemetery, Hilcrest Memorial Gardens. 

Marshall said the 10th Judicial District Attorney’s office is currently looking into the legal aspects of the case, such as determining whether to bring criminal or civil charges against the company that owns the cemetery

Also from The Banner…

Tim Siniard reports: A motion for a hearing to disqualify the 10th Judicial District Attorney Office from a murder case has been set for Oct. 9 in the Bradley County Criminal Court.

The original case resulted in the second-degree murder conviction of a Cleveland woman in the 2016 shooting death of her husband.

The woman, Miranda Cheatham, who last year was sentenced to 18 years in prison in the death of her husband, James “Tooter” Cheatham, appeared in court Friday, along with counsel, Chattanooga attorney Bill Speek.

The motion, the second of two filed by Cheatham’s attorney, seeks to remove 10th District Attorney General Steve Crump’s office from the case in its entirety, claiming the DA was being blackmailed by the victim’s sister, Danna Cheatham, with whom Crump is alleged to have been in a relationship.

A first motion — filed last month — asks the Bradley County Court for a judgment of acquittal or a motion for a new trial, arguing  the state committed a number of “acts that constitute prosecutorial misconduct both prior to, and during trial, in this matter.”

In news today…

Several online classes at Lee University are now available for dual enrollment students. LeeU has expanded its online course selection not only for currently enrolled students but also for high school students who may be graduating soon. The Enrollment Management Office at Lee is prepared to assist any dual enrollment students interested in the following online courses:

  • ENGL-110 Rhetoric & Research, 3 credit hours
  • ENGL-221 Western Literature, 3 credit hours
  • ENGL-222 Western Literature, 3 credit hours
  • HUMN-201 Foundations of Western Culture, 3 credit hours
  • MTHS-135 Introduction to Statistics, 3 credit hours
  • GSCI-122 Earth and Space Science (Lab), 3 credit hours

For more information about the Lee Online Dual Enrollment program, contact Ashley Wilson in the Admissions Office by phone at (423) 614-8509 or by email at ashleywilson@leeuniversity.edu.

And finally…

While many colleges and universities are facing enrollment challanges for the new school year, Cleveland State took time-out recently to celebrate a milestone.  For the previous two years, our local college has been leading the state in percentage enrollment increases.  Much of this success has been due to increasing student retention. This has caused an upsurge in graduation rates.

In just one year’s time, the Tennessee Board of Regents institution has seen a 27% increase in the number of degrees and certificates awarded to its students. At the end of the 2018-19 academic year, Cleveland State helped 900 students complete their programs of study. Now, as the 2019-20 academic year concluded, the college graduated 1,147 students from its rolls. This is the second highest number of graduates from Cleveland State in the school’s history.

The 2019-20 academic year is the fourth year Cleveland State has graduated more than 1,000 students in its 54-year history. The high occurred on the tail end of the “Great Recession” in 2012-13 when the college graduated 1,183 students. This past summer’s graduation was the first ceremony in the history of the college not held on-campus. COVID-19 forced the college to move the 2020 Spring and Summer Commencement Ceremony online.