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Wednesday, June 7th

From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Wednesday, June 7th, on Mix 104-1 and Talk 101-3 The Buzz. From the Cleveland

From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Wednesday, June 7th, on Mix 104-1 and Talk 101-3 The Buzz.

From the Cleveland Daily Banner…

Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson said Monday that Commissioner Dan Rawls has never contacted him or his staff concerning the commissioner’s claims salaries are being “inappropriately” paid from the BCSO’s corrections budget.

During Monday night’s County Commission voting session, Rawls presented a listing of BCSO employees being paid out of the corrections budget with 19 out of the 95 of those salaries being questioned.

Rawls called for the Law Enforcement committee to hold a meeting to look into the matter. His list was given to members of the County Commission; however, he did not move to providing that list to a Cleveland Daily Banner reporter. The Banner obtained the list from another commissioner.

Rawls went on to say that the employees whose names he circled “are clearly not in corrections.” “I’d like an explanation,” Rawls added.

Watson, contacted after the meeting, told the Banner that Rawls has never approached anyone in his department about getting that explanation.

“I think that Commissioner Rawls has once again not done his homework before making allegations using his platform as a commissioner in a public setting,” Watson said. “A two-minute phone call to me or my staff would have answered his question. He may not have liked the answer, but he would have been told the truth.”

The sheriff responded to each name Rawls had circled on his list, described their correctional duties, and explained that just because an employee is not stationed as a deputy at the jail itself does not mean they do no work for corrections.

Watson added that instead of continuously trying to find fault against the department, “Rawls should try to find ways to improve the correctional officers’ salary, retirement and benefits package.”

From the Daily Post Athenian…

One person was killed and three more injured in a Saturday afternoon wreck on Interstate 75.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a recreational vehicle (RV) collided with a tractor-trailer truck on the Exit 49 ramp at around 3 p.m. Saturday and a passenger in the RV was reportedly killed.

The report indicates the tractor-trailer truck was on the exit ramp and the RV was traveling northbound on the interstate when its right front tire blew out. The RV then veered onto the ramp, according to the THP, until it struck the rear end of the truck and both ended up stopping on the exit ramp.

As a result of the wreck, Donna S. Miller, 70, of Toledo, Ohio, a passenger in the RV, was killed.

The Cleveland Daily Banner reports…

Bradley County Mayor D. Gary Davis got to use his favorite phrase Monday as he presented his 2017-18 county budget: “No tax increase.”

Davis was making the first formal presentation of the new budget during the Bradley County Commission’s voting session Monday night.

The $36.7 million budget is $1.7 million more than last year and meets all four of the goals Davis said were used in its preparation: no tax increase, a 2 percent raise for employees, maintains a fund balance of approximately 20 percent, and uses the Capital Projects fund with growth dollars to pay the extra $2.5 million for the new Lake Forest Middle School over a three-year period.

The new budget will also add an assistant property assessor position, add five new patrol cars for the Sheriff’s Office, re-chassis two ambulances with larger trucks, replaces lights at the Urbane Road softball fields, funds a part-time receptionist position for the Veterans department, gives the county coroner’s office its own place with funds to install a cooler, and budgets an estimated increase for health insurance.

The mayor also reported the debt service for both the new workhouse and Spring Branch Industrial Park will begin next month. Debt service for Lake Forest will begin in September. The industrial park bonds will be paid for by hotel/motel revenue and the workhouse will use revenue from operations to cover that cost.

The Finance Committee will meet Thursday at 10 a.m. for a review of the proposed budget. The Commission is scheduled to vote for final approval in July.

This has been your local and state news. You can get news anytime by visiting our website, mymix1041.com, powered by Pioneer Credit. From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, this is Jeremy Gault reporting.