Tennessee Nurse Wanted for Negligent Homicide of Patient Arrested in Georgia

A Tennessee nurse who was wanted for negligent homicide in the death of a patient has been arrested in Tennessee after nearly nine months on the run, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). 

“After a referral from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents began investigating an allegation that in March 2022, a certified nurse aide who worked in a care facility in Clarksville failed to properly use a lift while attempting to move a patient,” TBI said in a news release. “As a result, that resident, Patricia Oliver, sustained a fall that caused her serious bodily injury, ultimately resulting in her death. The investigation identified Takesha Tucker as the nurse aide responsible for the incident.”

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Clarksville Mayor: State and Federal Government ‘Have Been Helpful’ in Wake of Deadly Tornadoes

The mayor of Clarksville Monday told The Tennessee Star that his city is receiving help from the state and local levels after several deadly tornadoes ripped through middle Tennessee over the weekend. 

“The Governor and Mrs. Lee, along with TEMA were on the ground with us yesterday,” Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts told The Star Monday. “The White House reached out to me and offered any help we needed.  So, yes, state and federal government have been helpful.”

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State Representative Urges Pennsylvania Governor to Attack Deficit with Zero-Based Budgeting He Used Before

Going into annual budget deliberations, Pennsylvania faces a structural deficit exceeding $1 billion, a problem Republicans say Governor Josh Shapiro (D) should address with a concept he once embraced: zero-based budgeting.

The practice involves setting initial the budget amount at zero and forcing agencies to justify each proposed expenditure rather than using the previous year’s budget as a base upon which to request spending increases. 

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American Classical Education Announces Intent to Apply for Charter Schools in Five Tennessee Counties

American Classical Education (ACE) informed the Tennessee Department of Education and school boards of education in five counties – Rutherford, Montgomery, Madison, Maury, and Robertson – in separate letters last week it intends to apply for public school charters to operate classical schools in those five counties.

“We’ve filed our letters of intent with the school districts and the department,” Dolores Gresham, an ACE board member, former Tennessee State Senator, and former Senate Education Committee Chair, told The Tennessee Star.

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State Representative Proposes Emergency Response Devices for Pennsylvania Schools

State Rep. Karen Boback (R-PA-Dallas) on Friday proposed legislation to equip Pennsylvania K-12 public schools with emergency response devices. 

The representative modeled her bill on “Alyssa’s Law,” named after Alyssa Alhadeff, a 14-year-old Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student who was killed in the mass shooting that occurred on February 14, 2018. Alyssa’s Law, which Florida, New York, New Jersey and Nebraska have already enacted, requires all elementary and secondary schools to install panic alarms which are connected to area law-enforcement agencies. 

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Montgomery County, Pennsylvania GOP Asks Commissioners to Consider Election Reforms

NORRISTOWN, PA—Montgomery County, Pennsylvania’s Republican Party yesterday asked the county’s Democrat-controlled Board of Elections to consider several election-security measures, mainly regarding absentee voting.

At a County Commissioners’ meeting, Montgomery County Republican Committee (MCRC) Chair Liz Preate Havey said the reforms her organization proposes will curb alleged breaches of law and foulups in administration that have already taken place in the county during recent elections.

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Bail Calculator Developed by Leftist Billionaire Used for Accused Waukesha Murderer Also Used in Two Pennsylvania Counties

Two Pennsylvania counties use the same lenient bail-calculation system that is used in Milwaukee County, WI and that is now being scrutinized in the wake of the Nov. 21 Waukesha Christmas-parade massacre.

Suspect Darrell E. Brooks Jr. faces homicide charges for killing six people at the holiday celebration with his car. Earlier that month, prosecutors handling a case of physical abuse and vehicular assault regarding Brooks asked a court to set bail bond for the defendant at a mere $1,000, to which the court agreed.

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Nashville Area’s Population Approaches Two Million People

The Nashville metropolitan area was the 20th-fastest growing statistical area in the country since 2010, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

With a growth rate of 20.9% from 2010 to 2020, the Nashville area now is the 36th-largest metropolitan area in the country with nearly 2 million residents. The census numbers showed the metro Nashville population increased by 343,319 people to 1,989,519.

Tennessee’s population grew by 8.9% between 2010 and 2020; lower than the 11.5% and 16.7% increases during the previous two census counts. Four of the past six census counts have shown double-digit increases in Tennessee’s population growth.

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Jason Knight Commentary: Now Is Not the Time for a Pay Raise for the School Board Director

With the Covid-19 Pandemic causing many to be out of work, and without financial means to take care of their families. With individuals who are still contacting me asking for assistance on how they can go about collecting unemployment benefits provided by the state. With Teachers who work hard juggling between virtual and classroom environments while maintaining menial pay. There is no reason why any individual should be receiving an increase in pay in Montgomery County that is almost more than both city and county mayor combined.

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Montgomery County Gave ICE a 28-Minute Warning Before Releasing Illegal Immigrant Charged with Second Degree Rape

Officials in Montgomery County, Maryland, gave Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) a 28-minute notice before releasing an illegal immigrant charged with second-degree rape and sexual abuse back into the public, according to county data obtained by the Immigration Reform Law Institute.

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich had pledged to allow more cooperation with ICE on Nov. 4 when he rolled back a sanctuary policy he signed into law three months prior that prohibited county officials from working with ICE.

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Montgomery County Sued For Doling Out Coronavirus Money to Illegal Aliens

Montgomery County, Maryland, a sanctuary jurisdiction that garnered national attention in 2019 for a string of alleged rapes by illegal aliens, is being sued for allotting millions in coronavirus relief funds to its undocumented community.

Two residents in Montgomery County sued county executive Marc Elrich, a Democrat, and the director of the Department of Health and Human Services for green-lighting a program that provides direct financial assistance to illegal aliens who live in the county, but are not eligible for any federal or state relief, according to The Washington Post.

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State House Subcommittee Allows Businesses Receiving Taxpayer Funds to Continue to Determine What Becomes Public Information by Claiming ‘Trade Secret’

NASHVILLE, Tennessee – A bill that would have shed light on taxpayer funded payments by Tennessee state and local governments to private entities was killed at its first stop in the House Public Service & Employees Subcommittee. By an obvious voice vote on HB 0370, Chairman Bob Ramsey (R-Maryville) ruled that the Nays prevailed. In his introduction of the bill, Representative Martin Daniel (R-Knoxville) told the subcommittee members, “The intent of this bill is to require disclosure – to shine a light, if you will – on what our government entities are paying for goods and services.” Representative Daniel told the committee, “I would submit that transparency and accountability in government instills public trust in government.” “However, vague and broad exceptions to the (Tennessee) Public Records Act concerning what a private entity might deem to be trade secrets or confidential information can obscure information concerning benefits that are conveyed by government entities to these privately-owned recipients,” continued Daniel. To clarify, Daniel emphatically stated, “This bill would not act on or touch such information” that may actually be confidential and disclosed by the private entity in connection with receiving government payments, benefits or properties. “It is we,” Daniel fervently stated, emphasizing…

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Montgomery County Has Documented History of Theft Among County Employees

A former employee of the Montgomery County School System used his school system- issued procurement card to make more than $1,000 in personal purchases, according to a state audit released this week. The Montgomery County Grand Jury indicted that former employee last December on one count of theft over $1,000 and one count of fraudulent use of a credit or debit card, Tennessee Comptrollers said. The audit did not identify that former employee. Comptrollers said they found inappropriate charges while going over county records. A search through the Tennessee Comptrollers’ website also showed improprieties in last year’s Montgomery County audit. “On December 22, 2017, a taxpayer visited the Trustee’s Office to verify his 2017 property taxes were correctly posted in the office’s accounting system as having been paid; however, the property taxes were not reflected as paid,” according to the 2018 audit. “The taxpayer then presented a receipt verifying the payment had been made with cash. When questioned, the deputy clerk who issued the receipt admitted stealing the cash. The trustee then terminated the deputy’s employment and contacted the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Department. After learning about the theft, the Director of Accounts and Budgets filed a Fraud Reporting Form with…

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