Gubernatorial candidate Mae Beavers addresses supporters in Crossville at a recent campaign stop.

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mae Beavers stopped by Crossville for a visit with supporters and spoke about her plans for Tennessee's future.

The event was held at the Christmas decorated home of Donna McDermott who ran for mayor of Crossville 8 years ago. The event gave supporters the opportunity to chat with the candidate and discuss politics before the candidate spoke for a few minutes about the issues she sees in the upcoming race to replace Bill Haslam.

Beavers told supporters that she fought the increase in the gasoline tax because the state currently has a surplus that could be used for roads. She said the wants to see the gas tax removed and sales tax removed from food. On other taxes, Beavers said she had fought the income tax proposed several years ago.

Gubernatorial candidate Mae Beavers addresses

supporters in Crossville

According to Beavers, “lots of legislators are leaving or running for other offices and concerned about elections.

Education is another topic Beavers talked about saying she'd like to get rid of common core. The race to the top funding is also a problem and currently, the state testing contractor can't get results to the state in time for test results to be used to grade students or teachers on their progress. She added that there should be transparency from the testing company and school decisions are better when they are local as not all schools are the same.

Concern about the opioid crises was also discussed by Beavers. She said one business owner she talked to said he can't hire half the people that apply because they can't pass a drug test. One business owner she talked to took men from jail, helped them get off of drugs and give them jobs and his company has been very successful doing that. The substitute drugs that people are given keep them addicted just one something different.

Beavers said she thinks the State Attorney General should be elected to represent the people. She proposed that each state department should have an inspector general to watch for waste and fraud.

Beavers told those gathered that she was the most conservative candidate in the race and added, “I'd put my record up against anyone. She said she was targeting conservatives, tea party members and Republican women's groups adding that money is needed for impact and grassroots support is very important in this race.

When asked what she'd like to be remembered for she said she'd want to be remembered as a governor with common sense.   

TBI Accepting Entries for Missing Children’s Day Poster Contest

TBI NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is calling on all 5^th graders, from across the state, to participate in 2018 National Missing Children’s Day poster contest!

The annual contest, sponsored by the United States Department of Justice, strives to demonstrate America’s united effort to bring missing children home safely while highlighting the importance of proactive education programs. By entering at the state level, each participant will learn about the plight of missing children and, if selected as the national winner, will receive a free trip to Washington, D.C.

The poster contest provides teachers and parents with valuable tools to educate children, as students explore the contest’s theme of ‘Bring Our Missing Children Home.’ The national ceremony will be held in late May 2018 and will be a time to recognize people who work to bring missing children home safely and remember the children who remain missing.

Fifth graders in Tennessee can enter the poster contest by submitting them to TBI, where a panel of staff members will select a state winner to enter the national contest. The winner of Tennessee’s 2017 contest was Khushi Patel, a student at Farmington Elementary in Germantown. Her winning design appears on this news release.

Each entry requires the completion of an application packet and waiver, which can be found on TBI’s website: www.tn.gov/tbi.

Tennessee entries and completed applications should be mailed to:

Tennessee Bureau of InvestigationC/O James Coughlin, Criminal Intelligence Unit901 R.S. Gass BoulevardNashville, TN 37216

TBI must receive entries by January 31, 2018 for consideration. The state winner will be notified soon thereafter and their entry will be submitted to the national contest. The national winner will be selected and notified in April 2018.

Burn ban issued for Cumberland County--absolutely no outdoor burning allowed.

State Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton has issued a burn ban for Clairborne, Cumberland, Hamilton, Jefferson, Loudon, Marion, Monroe, Robertson and Sevier Counties. The burn ban is effective immediately and will remain in place until further notice.

The ban applies to all open-air burning including leaf and woody debris and construction burning, campfires, outdoor grills and other fire activity in areas outside of municipalities where local ordinances apply.

“Due to dry conditions and little prospect for rain, firefighters are seeing an increase in fire activity across the state,” Commissioner Templeton said. “The public should use good judgment and avoid situations that cause fire and put citizens, property and emergency workers at risk.”

Under state law, the Commissioner of Agriculture, in consultation with the state forester, has the authority to issue burn bans at the request of county mayors under certain weather conditions. Requests for a burn ban are considered based on a number of factors including weather, climate, fire danger, fire occurrence and resource availability.

A violation of a burn ban issued by the Commissioner is considered reckless burning and is punishable as a Class A misdemeanor which carries a fine of $2,500 and/or up to 11 months 29 days in jail.

The ban includes ALL of the following:

• leaves
• brush
• fence rows
• ditch banks
• construction debris
• boards, plywood, decking, etc.
• fields
• gardens
• wooded areas
• grassland
• campfires
• cooking fires
• grills, charcoal or wood fired (but not natural or propane gas fired)
• burn barrels
• household waste
• cardboard
• air curtain destructors