Career-Technical Education Coordinator Named for CMCSS
Karen Pitts has been named coordinator for Career-Technical Education (CTE) in CMCSS. She replaces Biba Kavass, who resigned to relocate.
Pitts has more than a decade in service with CMCSS, with an interlude working with the State Department of Education in the CTE Division. [Read more]
2010 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards
NASHVILLE, TN – Governor Phil Bredesen and Environment and Conservation Commissioner Jim Fyke announced the winners of the 2010 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards today. The 14 winners will be recognized for their achievements and positive impact on the state’s natural resources in an awards ceremony to be held in Nashville on June 24th.
“Tennesseans continue to make tremendous strides to protect and preserve our environment,” said Bredesen. “This year’s roster of honorees is exemplary. Their efforts are raising the bar while demonstrating environmental stewardship can come from every facet of our communities – from dairy farms and educational institutions to the hospitality and music industries.” [Read more]
3rd Special Troops Battalion changes command
By U.S. Pfc. Christopher McKenna
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Public Affairs
Forward Operating Base Salerno, AFGHANISTAN – May 25th marked a new era chapter in the history of the 3rd Special Troops Battalion, as command of the unit changed hands in a ceremony at Forward Operating Base Gardez, Afghanistan.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Paul Sarat, outgoing commander of 3rd STB, from Elizabeth, NJ, transferred the battalion command responsibilities to U.S. Army Lt. Col. Walter Smiley, from Oklahoma City, Okla. [Read more]
HUD secretary Donovan issues statement on HUD effort to transform rental assistance
Washington, DC – Today U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Shaun Donovan testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services on The Preservation, Enhancement and Transformation of Rental Assistance Act (PETRA). The multi-year initiative proposed in President Obama’s FY2011 Budget seeks to preserve HUD-funded public and assisted housing, enhance housing choice for residents and streamline the department’s rental assistance programs. [Read more]
TVA Police urge reservoir users to play safely
KNOXVILLE, TN — With the start of the traditional summer recreation season this Memorial Day weekend, Tennessee Valley Authority Police are urging the public to use caution and common sense around the water. In 2009, 27 people drowned in TVA reservoirs.
“Most of the drowning deaths we investigate can be prevented if people simply wear a personal floatation device and avoid using alcohol or drugs around the water,” said Raymond Jordan, TVA Police field operations commander. “It’s a tragedy every time a life is lost, but it’s even worse when many of these accidents didn’t have to happen.”
Two-thirds of all boating accidents and half of all boating fatalities involve alcohol. [Read more]
APSU GIS Center helps develop Damage Assessment application
The building, like so many homes and businesses in middle Tennessee, was a pale brown from where the floodwaters covered it. Mike Wilson, manager of Austin Peay State University’s Geographic Information Systems, stood among the tree limbs and other debris in the Woodlawn community and pulled out his cell phone.
He wasn’t making a call. He was filling out a damage assessment of the property and filing it to an electronic server. It took him only a few minutes to complete. For years, the long, drawn-out process of recording the destruction inflicted by a disaster has sometimes taken days or weeks, delaying the time it takes for needed aid to reach an area, but a new cell phone application, developed by the APSU GIS Center and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, may soon allow emergency responders to document immediately any damage they come across. [Read more]
Radford named Outstanding Trustee of the Year
Memphis, TN — Trustees from all 95 counties selected Brenda Radford as the Outstanding Trustee of the Year for the Middle Tennessee Division. The banquet was held at the Doubletree Hotel in Memphis at the Annual Tennessee County Trustees Conference.
The coveted Outstanding Trustee Award is given in recognition of innovation, community involvement, service to the State of Tennessee, and overall achievement while in Office. The recipient was selected by ballot and was named according to each Grand Division. [Read more]
Tennessee recognized for efforts to become a more bicycle friendly state
Tennessee Moves Up 19 Positions in Most Bicycle Friendly States Ranking
As Tennesseans celebrate National Bike to Work Week a new ranking shows they now have more bike friendly paths and roadways to travel. The League of American Cyclists recently announced their third annual Bicycle Friendly State rankings. Tennessee jumped an astounding 19 spots in one year. The state moved to 24th place this year from a ranking of 43rd in the 2009 report.
“I’m pleased to see this marked improvement in Tennessee’s bicycle friendly ranking, but there is much work left to do,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “Clearly one area where improvement is needed is educating the public about safe bicycling and driving practices. [Read more]
Tennessee’s workforce investment act programs make the grade
Statistics show Tennessee ranks in the top percentile in re-employment success of retrained adults
NASHVILLE, TN, – The latest figures released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development show programs created by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 are succeeding in helping Tennessee’s adult population get back to work and at a higher rate of pay.
Tennessee is ranked 4th nationally overall and 3rd nationally for adults employed after WIA training programs. Tennessee also ranks in the top 11 percent nationally in employment rate and retention of their jobs. The latest figures show after exiting these WIA programs, participants who remain employed after six months have average yearly earnings of $27,000. [Read more]
Tennessee Highway Patrol remembers fallen troopers and officers
In observance of National Police Week, the Tennessee Highway Patrol today honored State Troopers and other law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty at its annual Memorial Service at the Tennessee Department of Safety Headquarters on Foster Avenue in Nashville.
TDOS Commissioner Dave Mitchell welcomed Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn as the event’s keynote speaker, while Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Mike Walker, members of THP’s Command Staff, current and former State Troopers, and family members of fallen officers were also on hand for the ceremony. 
[Read more]
