Tennessee
Tennessee lawmaker proposes bill to force charities to distribute disaster relief funds within two years
![Tennessee lawmaker proposes bill to force charities to distribute disaster relief funds within two years Tennessee lawmaker proposes bill to force charities to distribute disaster relief funds within two years](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6040979/2147483647/strip/true/crop/3840x2016%200%2072/resize/1200x630!/quality/90/?url=http://ewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com/a5/04/ee5cc8064026936e0d4273d4eac5/5p-conte-east-nash-vo-frame-91.png)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — When catastrophe strikes, you may ensure that Tennesseans won’t hesitate to open their hearts and their wallets.
However a state lawmaker believes that cash doesn’t all the time get to the individuals who want it after they really want it.
Now he is proposed laws that might give charities a deadline to distribute the funds and would take away that cash if it nonetheless hasn’t been spent.
After the historic flooding in Humphreys and Dickson Counties in 2021, state Senator Mark Pody advised NewsChannel 5 Investigates that folks he is aware of wanted assist.
“And so they weren’t getting assist, and we talked and there have been nonprofits that also had cash. And plainly they didn’t need to launch that cash as a result of they have been saying we’d want it for long-term,” Pody defined.
That is why the Republican senator from Lebanon is now sponsoring Senate Invoice 594 which, if accredited, would require charities that acquire cash after declared disasters in Tennessee to spend or distribute that cash on catastrophe reduction inside two years.
Beneath Pody’s invoice, any cash not spent inside two years can be transferred from the charity to a fund managed by TEMA and used for future catastrophe reduction within the state.
“The those who gave that cash had the anticipation that that cash would’ve been used for these people instantly. After a yr or two, there’s different assets that they’ll get. It’s now not an emergency,” Pody acknowledged.
Hal Cato is the brand new president of the Neighborhood Basis of Center Tennessee.
“I perceive his [Senator Pody’s] perspective and his level,” Cato mentioned.
However Cato disagrees with Pody’s laws and its timeline.
“Restoration just isn’t a dash. It’s a marathon,” Cato defined.
The CFMT collects and distributes donations to nonprofits after disasters to assist these most affected.
The Neighborhood Basis was not the group, in accordance with Pody, that prompted his invoice, however the basis can be affected by the laws because it usually doesn’t instantly distribute all the cash it takes in.
“Normally, native {dollars} aren’t touched till FEMA and insurance coverage has been exhausted, and that doesn’t occur in a single day. The explanation that’s is we would like these with out these assets to have what they want. So, it’s all about making certain that there’s fairness and equity within the course of and doing it a considerate means and never in a right away knee-jerk response,” Cato shared.
The Neighborhood Basis’s grant course of usually takes years.
It took three years for the CFMT to spend all the cash after the 2010 flooding and two years after the Christmas day bombing in downtown.
And whereas it has been practically three years now because the March 2020 tornadoes, the Neighborhood Basis nonetheless has hundreds of thousands of {dollars} in donations that haven’t been spent.
Of the greater than $12.5 million the Neighborhood Basis took in, it has given greater than $8.5 million in grants to nonprofits, 1,000,000 {dollars} to its Metro Catastrophe Fund, and one other quarter of 1,000,000 {dollars} to its Tennessee Emergency Catastrophe Fund, each after wind and flood injury in 2021.
However there may be nonetheless greater than $2.5 million sitting within the twister account.
“Holding that emergency cash that was given to them by the kindness of Tennesseans after which simply maintain that cash, that’s incorrect. In the event that they don’t have a plan for that cash, we have to get that cash to different emergencies the place folks had wished it to go and assist any individual instantly,” Pody instructed.
Pody believes greater than two years is just too lengthy.
“After a yr or two, the folks have gone on with their lives, gotten their homes mounted. They’ve acquired their jobs again. They’re again into regular society, usually working, and they’re now not saying, ‘Hey, we want this cash. The place is it?’” Pody mentioned.
After we shared Pody’s feedback with Hal Cato, he responded, “Yeah, come and spend a while driving round communities which have suffered and are struggling and speak to survivors and people households. It’s greater than rebuilding a construction and a system. It’s trying on the long-term, psychological, bodily, and monetary and emotional wants that survivors have.”
Pody then made positive to emphasise that he helps nonprofits concerned in catastrophe reduction.
“We just like the work that you simply’re doing. We, we actually actually do. I don’t need to step on any charity,” he defined.
However he added that he additionally desires what’s greatest for catastrophe victims and those that donate to assist them.
“If the rationale was to gather it for that emergency, let’s spend it on that emergency,” Pody mentioned.
However Hal Cato believes, normally, what’s greatest just isn’t speeding the method.
“It’s a long-term course of and we have to take a look at that and be certain that we aren’t placing in simply an arbitrary timeline on one thing as a result of it feels good, and as a substitute actually take a look at what the wants of survivors are and be there for his or her second of want,” Cato replied.
Senator Pody is speaking with charities throughout the state now, together with the Neighborhood Basis, and getting enter from them.
In the meantime, the Neighborhood Basis has a committee that’s assembly to determine what to do with the $2.5 million {dollars} left within the twister restoration fund. And after they determine, we’ll let you recognize.
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Tennessee
Disgraced Tennessee middle school teacher who filmed students in locker room whimpers in court after hearing victim’s parent’s testimony
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A disgraced Tennessee middle school teacher whimpered after being slapped with a 4-year prison sentence for placing a camera in a girl’s locker room and filming up one student’s skirt.
Christopher Schroll, 33, a former 8th-grade science teacher and soccer coach at Cleveland Middle School, pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated unlawful photography of a minor in a Bradley County courtroom on Monday, according to WTVC.
Schroll was arrested in March 2022 after students complained that they found a camera inside the locker room.
The creep told Cleveland Police detectives that he purchased a DivineEagle Spy Camera off Amazon and placed it in the girl’s locker room after claiming he received “complaints” about students being “bullied and harassed,” News Channel 9 previously reported.
He told investigators that he would take home the footage daily and store it on his personal computer to “review.”
School administrators, however, say they never received complaints about bullying and that Schroll never informed them of any incidents.
His covert recording of students took place over two days, with 30 female juveniles being captured on camera, including some who were changing, according to investigators.
Police were forced to comb through around four million images on an SD card linked to the secret recording device, the outlet reported.
Detectives also say they found a deleted video on one of his devices that filmed up the skirt of a student.
Upon his arrest, parents of Cleveland Middle School students were immediately notified of the teacher’s then-alleged disturbing misconduct.
Before his sentencing on Monday, Schroll was forced to listen to several families of the young victims testified how his disgusting actions affected their lives.
“She didn’t have words for what happened in school that day because she didn’t know people could do bad things,” one choked-up unidentified parent told the court. “She asked me, ‘Why, Momma? I trusted him!’”
“I’m asking you to give justice to my daughter and all the other daughters in this case because they have not seen that yet for these girls — and for you to understand the impact it has had on our children and how it has changed their lives in how they handle dealing with other teachers, how it affects them in school, and how it affects their personal lives,” another mother said.
Sex offender counselor Dr. Michael Adler testified in Schroll’s defense during his trial that the disgraced educator should receive treatment and not jail time, according to WTVC.
Still, parents argued that since his arrest, he’s been seen around the girl’s soccer practice and that his presence in the community is unsettling.
Schroll also spoke at Monday’s sentencing hearing, with the teary-eyed creep apologizing to the victims and their families.
“To the parents and your children, I’m deeply sorry. I know you placed a lot of trust in me and I broke that, and all I can ever say is I’m sorry,” he said, facing the parents in the courtroom.
Schroll will also be forced to register as a sex offender.
Tennessee
Tennessee dog rescue warns of fake puppy schemes
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Before adopting a dog, you might want to make sure it’s a real organization before potentially losing hundreds of dollars. Russell Rescue Tennessee has been a target with people impersonating them online.
“Russell Rescue is an all-volunteer dog rescue we specialize in small dogs,” Volunteer Tara Shaver said.
Theo is one of the many dogs Russell Rescue Tennessee has helped give a forever home. They’re looking to do that for more of the 200 hundred dogs they have, but they’ve been running into some issues.
“Imposter pages are popping up, and they’re responding to comments on our Facebook page, and it makes it look like that we are responding,” Shaver said.
Pages like that have been offering to hold puppies for people if they pay, the problem is they’re fake. It’s getting worse too. They say fake accounts used to be reported about once a month, recently it’s happening every day.
“If they see someone reaching out who appears to be us, and then they’re asking for money to hold a dog, or they’re asking for more money, or they’re saying, well, you know, we could offer you this other dog, then people start to question the legitimacy of Russell Rescue Tennessee because they’re just not sure. You know what’s truth and what’s not,” Shaver said.
There are three steps the AARP says you should take to verify an organization is legitimate. One, do your research, and check to see when the page was made and if they have any followers. Two, meet the dog in person before agreeing to adopt. Three, never pay upfront.
“It’s as much about protecting ourselves as it is helping protect other people who maybe don’t get this message, and helping to remove those scammers before they can take advantage of people,” Shaver said.
If you think you found a fake organization or have fallen for a scam some resources can help on AARP’s website here.
Copyright 2024 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Tennessee
Why the offensive versatility of Tennessee separates them from the rest
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Why the Offensive Versatility of Tennessee Separates them from the Pack
The Tennessee Volunteers had one of the most impressive performances of Week 2, which resulted in them moving from No. 14 to No. 7 in the most recent AP Top 25 poll following their dominant 51-10 win over NC State in Charlotte on Saturday.
Tennessee’s offense had their way versus the Wolfpack, getting it done in the run game and the pass game with an offensive attack led by redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava. A scheme that Volquest‘s Brent Hubbs believes is misunderstood and dangerous for any defense they face this season.
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“I don’t think anybody truly understands the versatility of the Josh Huepel offense, it’s the Art Briles system that he’s tweaked,” Hubbs said at the On3 Roundtable. “And everybody thinks of Jalin Hyatt going down the middle of the field against Alabama and they think of just over the top throwing plays, explosive plays, 60-70 yard touchdowns.”
“The reality of this offense is they’re very much rooted in the run game and they can play the run game in a variety of ways.”
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After leading the SEC in passing yards per game in 2022, Heupel and the offense adapted last season and led the conference in rushing. But so far this season with Tennessee’s personnel on offense, the offensive mastermind has been able to place the Vol’s rushing attack in a position where they may now be at the peak of their powers.
“They got RPO off of it, they can run the stretch, they can run tight end lead, power. They got into a two tight end set Saturday night against NC State to kind of neutralize some of that 3-3-5 look that State plays. And Dave Doeren, NC State’s head coach, said after the game we weren’t expecting that and we really hadn’t prepared much for that. And Tennessee got into it, liked it, and stayed in it, and adapted to it,” Hubbs explained.
The Vols rushed for 249 yards on Saturday, highlighted by 132 yards and two scores on the ground for running back Dylan Sampson and Iamaleava ending the game as the team’s second-leading rusher with 65 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown of his own. A ground attack that will only make things easier for the young, talented signal caller in the passing game.
“So the versatility that they have in the run game makes Tennessee unique and I think we’re only going to see Nico get better as the season goes along here,” Hubbs added. “But they can run the football effectively with Dylan Samson, those backs, to take some of the pressure off of Nico. Which I think is a good thing, it’s not going to be all on him to make a bunch of plays if they can continue to run the football schematically the way that they did.”
Iamaleava threw for 211 yards and two touchdowns as well in Saturday’s game, and it will surely be fascinating to continue watching him grow within Tennessee’s offense and see what heights he can potentially lead the Volunteers to this season.
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