Tag: Shelby County

Shelby County Criminal Clerk Reportedly Plagued with Problems

Chris Butler

The new Shelby County Criminal Clerk is finding countless uncashed checks all over her office – in folders, bookshelves, and in-between drawers in desks, according to LocalMemphis.com No one bothered to deposit the checks either, according to the website. These are checks made out to the clerk’s office. The clerk’s office is taxpayer-funded. County Clerk Heidi Kuhn, on the job for 90 days, wants an audit of her department, the station reported. That department oversees 10 criminal court judges and collects fines and fees from the public, LocalMemphis.com said. The checks were filed during the tenure of former clerk Richard De Seussure, according to the station. “We didn’t know who they went to, or what they were for,” the station reported Kuhn as saying. This reportedly happened because of problems with the county’s computer system, known as Odyssey, which Memphis officials started using in November 2016. “Kuhn says she has heard that the computer troubles were the reasons why the checks weren’t filed or cashed,” LocalMemphis.com reported. “And she says former clerk De Saussure said his office had finally caught up with the computer problems.” The station reported many previous problems with Odyssey. “Judges were sent to wrong courtrooms, inmates…

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The Tennessee Star Report EXCLUSIVE Interview With Incoming Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada

Julie Carr

On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – Gill and Leahy talked with State Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin), the incoming Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives about the challenges the Tennessee General Assembly will face in its new session, which began formerly later in the day. Gill and Leahy discussed a number of topics with Casads, including Shelby County’s defiance of state statutes regarding illegal immigration and sanctuary cities,  the new incoming freshman legislators and the challenges they face, school choice, and criminal justice reform. At the end of the segment, Gill and Casada touched upon what Bill Lee’s lack of conservative cabinet picks mean for the Tennessee legislation. Gill: The incoming house speaker who will soon move to that position, current state representative and soon to be house speaker Glen Casada is on the line with us this morning. Casada: Good morning Steve, how are you? Gill: Now when do you actually take over as house speaker? Casada: I am sworn in at approximately noon, Tuesday, January the 8th. Gill: So you’ve got about one more…

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Early Voting Begins Friday for GOP Primary Bid to Replace Former State Sen. Mark Norris, Who is Now a Federal Judge

Jason M. Reynolds

Early voting begins today for the primary in the State Senate District 32 race to replace Mark Norris. Formerly the Senate Majority Leader, Norris (R-TN-32) was appointed by the U.S. Senate in October as a federal judge in the Western District of Tennessee, The Tennessee Star reported in October. His appointment had languished since July 2017. Four Republicans filed paperwork to replace Norris, The Star reported last month. The general election is scheduled for March 12. Tipton and part of Shelby County make up that district. Michael Nelson of the Daily Memphian said in a column that he likes the chances of one candidate in particular: Because Norris held the seat so long, a number of credible candidates for the Republican nomination have lined up now that it’s vacant. The favorite is former Shelby County Commissioner Heidi Shafer, but in what’s sure to be a low-turnout contest, any or all of her three rivals could make a run for the money: former state representative Steve McManus, Tipton County construction executive Paul Rose, and defeated Shelby County Trustee candidate (also a former commissioner) George Chism. Why do I rate Shafer the favorite? Precisely because it will be a low-turnout affair in which…

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Shelby County Official: New State Law on Illegal Aliens Does Not Apply to Us

Chris Butler

Shelby County officials seem to say they won’t cooperate with a new Tennessee law that helps federal officials detain and deport illegal aliens. The state law took effect Jan. 1, according to The Associated Press. The law, The AP went on to say, “threatens local governments with the loss of future state economic and community development money” if they have sanctuary policies. Federal immigration officials have the power to deport illegal aliens arrested on other charges. But some local laws have kept those local law enforcement officers from cooperating with the feds. The new law bans those local policies, according to The AP. “That includes barring local policies that require federal officials to obtain a warrant or show probable cause beforehand,” The AP said. As The Tennessee Star reported last fall, county officials, specifically the folks at the county attorney’s office, tell their law enforcement officers to ignore the feds, especially Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Shelby County Sheriff’s spokesman Anthony Buckner said Wednesday that members of his office already know how they will respond to the new state law. “The Shelby County Attorney has advised the Sheriff’s Office that the new Tennessee laws governing sanctuary cities/policies do not apply to…

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Shelby County Delays Road Project Due to Minority Participation Concerns

Chris Butler
road construction

Shelby County officials will postpone an important road paving project because they can’t find an affordable contractor who offers at least 28 percent minority participation. The 28 percent participation rate is a goal for the county. It is not a requirement, said the county’s Chief Diversity Officer Shep Wilbun. “If the goal is not met then there is something called Good Faith Effort tests that show that if you tried to meet the goal but you weren’t able to then you are still eligible for receiving of a contract to be awarded,” Wilbun told The Tennessee Star. “If a good faith effort was not made in compliance with our ordinance and the goal was not met then that bid can be considered not one for us to award.” This road project is supposed to cover areas outside Memphis, in the northern and southern parts of the county, Wilbun said. He had no further details. According to LocalMemphis.com, representatives with two companies placed bids for the road paving project. The company that made the lower bid didn’t agree to hire 28 percent minorities. Officials with the other company agreed to meet the goal, but their bid was reportedly too high. County…

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Shelby County Commissioners Vote Themselves $6 Million More in Benefits

Chris Butler
Walter Bailey

Certain Shelby County commissioners are getting an upgrade in their health and life insurance benefits, and county taxpayers must pay an additional $6 million to $10 million a year because of it. Commissioner Walter Bailey Jr., in stealth mode, and using possible ninja-like reflexes, snuck the proposal through and got it passed under the other commissioners’ noses. According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, commissioners voted to reduce the years required for them to serve to collect retiree health and life insurance benefits. They changed that number from 15 years to eight years, “making previously ineligible commissioners — among 2,500 other employees — eligible.” The vote was 7-2, according to the paper. Outgoing Commissioner Heidi Shafer told The Tennessee Star many of her colleagues didn’t know what they were voting for. “But I voted against it,” Shafer said. “It was never brought up in discussion. There weren’t supporting documents in the system to show what it was really about, and we were hearing it was about county retirees. I’m not going to vote to change something without any numbers or figuring out whether it’s a good move.” Most other commissioners, Shafer went on to say, had no idea they were voting on something that…

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Democrats Censure Respected State Senator Tate For Private Remarks Made to Republican

Jason M. Reynolds
Reginald Tate

Common sense State Sen. Reginald Tate is questioning what it means to be censured by the Shelby County Democratic Party Executive Committee, since they never gave him the courtesy of informing him. The New Tri-State Defender reported the action taken against the Democratic senator from District 33 in Shelby County. The organization contacted him for comment, but that was the first he had heard about it. “I’m censured? What does that mean? Do you know what that means? Have I lost my right to speak? Do I have to stay in my room? I can’t come out without permission? I’m censured. This is the first I have heard of it, and I don’t know what it could possibly mean,” Tate told the TSD. The Executive Committee censured Tate during its July 17 meeting, according to a press release the organization sent to the TSD. The action was in response to remarks he made prior to the start of a committee meeting on May 30. The senator’s remarks were called “vulgar,” “detrimental to the Party” and “unbecoming of a Democrat.” Tate said, “I entered the room where the Fiscal Review Committee was meeting. It’s a joint committee, and on this particular…

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Memphis Democrat Tami Sawyer Uses Elite and Expensive Education to Push Radical Socialist Platform

Chris Alto

Tami Sawyer, winner of the Democratic primary to represent District 7 on the Shelby County Commission, is not only a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement and a #TakeEmDown901 statue destroyer, she is also a graduate of St. Mary’s Episcopal elite and expensive all-girls private school in Memphis. Tuition at the private school for the 2018 school year starts at $16,300 for kindergarten and increases to $21,660 for the senior year in high school. The base cost does not include fees for snacks, technology, facilities and some textbooks. After graduating from St. Mary’s in 2000, Sawyer continued her elite private school education at the private, historically black Hampton University, with tuition, board and fees totaling over $36,000 a year for 2018. Sawyer left Hampton University after two years, finished up her degree at University of Memphis and moved to Washington, D.C. to attend the historically black Howard University Law School. The cost of tuition, fees, and living expenses to attend  Howard Law School in 2014 was $60,240. There is no indication that Sawyer completed her law degree and no listing was found under her name in the public attorney directory maintained by the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility. Sawyer describes…

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Shelby County Commissioner Billingsley Suggests County Already Operating As a Sanctuary City

Chris Alto

Waiting until only eight of the Shelby County Commissioners were still present to conduct business on Monday, Shelby County Commissioner Mark Billingsley introduced a resolution urging Governor Haslam to veto the anti-sanctuary city bill that was passed with overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Tennessee General Assembly. In discussing his reasons for bringing the resolution, Billingsley said that Shelby County’s law enforcement was “not prepared for this” referring to the legislation determining the state’s policy about cooperation with federal immigration authorities and compliance with federal law. Billingsley’s comment is strongly suggestive that Shelby County law enforcement is currently releasing criminal illegal aliens into the community instead of transferring custody to ICE, a practice that if confirmed, would constitute a violation of the new anti-sanctuary law and potentially make the county ineligible for economic and community development grants from the state. Mauricio Calvo, director of Latino Memphis, spoke in favor of Billingsley’s resolution even though the reasons he cited are unsupported by federal court precedent and the experience in other states that have passed even stricter anti-sanctuary city and anti-illegal immigration measures. Seven commissioners passed the resolution while Commission Chairman Heidi Shafer did not vote citing a lack of information available to…

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JC Bowman Commentary: The Role of a School Board

JC Bowman
Tennessee Star

Local school boards reflect the needs and aspirations of the communities as well as the interests and concerns of professional and nonprofessional employees. We believe non-partisan control is what is best for our communities. This is best ensured when educational policy is made by representatives vested in the community they live, and whose undivided attention and interests are devoted strictly to education of the children in that district. What we stress in a nutshell: Public education is a federal concern, a state responsibility, and a local operation.

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Four Cases of Mumps Diagnosed in Shelby County

Tennessee Star Staff

  “Four cases of mumps have been identified in Shelby County since March 2017, according to the Shelby County Health Department,” WMC Action News reported on Thursday. “With outbreaks in our neighboring states, it is not unexpected to see cases here in Shelby County,” said Alisa Haushalter, DNP, RN, director of the Shelby County Health Department. “Experiencing mumps in our community serves as another reminder of the importance of everyone knowing their immunization status.” Mumps is caused by a virus and is transmitted through droplets expelled when people cough or sneeze. However, you may not become ill until approximately 2-3 weeks (12-25 days) after being exposed to the virus, and at least one in three infected with mumps may have no obvious symptoms. “A person who has mumps is contagious from two days before to five days after the onset of swelling of the cheek or neck (parotitis),” WMC reported: The most common symptoms include fever, headache, muscle aches, tiredness, loss of appetite, and swollen and tender salivary glands. Mumps can be prevented by vaccination. Two doses of vaccine against mumps are required for school attendance, and the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is the best protection against mumps. However, vaccinated people…

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Former Memphis Area Transit Authority CEO Makes Plea Deal In Prostitution Case

Wendy Wilson

Facing charges of patronizing prostitution, the former chief executive officer of the Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) made a plea deal Friday. Ronald Garrison, 60, entered an Alford plea, which is a guilty plea on the record but without an admission of guilt, according to a news release issued by the Shelby County district attorney’s office. An Alford plea is an acknowledgment that the prosecution has strong evidence. Garrison was placed on six months diversion. He can ask the General Sessions Criminal Court to have the misdemeanor offense cleared from his record if he abides by the terms of the diversion, which includes avoiding any new arrests. Garrison was one of 42 people charged in a police sting in January. The defendants responded to online ads posted by undercover agents posing as prostitutes. WREG News Channel 3 reported that Garrison agreed to pay a decoy for sex, but was uncomfortable when he got to a motel room in Cordova to meet the undercover officer and left. He was then detained. Garrison resigned the day before news of his arrest broke, citing health reasons. He had been CEO of MATA since 2014. Immigration and Customers Enforcement (ICE) was involved in the sting…

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