On Sunday, December 22nd, at approximately 11:28 a.m., the Lewisburg Police Department was nitified of a vehicle crash in the area of 646 Hull Ave. with entrapment. Upon officers arrival, a white 1995 GMC truck was found to have left the roadway striking a tree. The driver, Brice T. Carr, age 17 of Lewisburg, was pronounced dead on the scene by Marshall County EMS Medical Examine. It appears at this time that Mr. Carr lost control of his vehicle due to the wet roadway. The accident is still under investigation.

 

Grants Will Help Communities Meet Waste Reduction Goals 

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation Commissioner Bob Martineau today awarded approximately $2.3 million in Recycling Equipment and Hub / Spoke Grants for FY 2014 projects to help reduce landfill waste in Tennessee. 

“We are pleased to fund these projects through the state’s Solid Waste Management Fund,” Martineau said. “These grants promote and increase recycling across the state and engage partnerships among counties and municipalities.” 

Recycling Hub and Spoke Grants

The Recycling Hub and Spoke Grants are for the development and expansion of regional facilities to collect, transport and process recyclable material for multiple counties and municipalities. The project purpose is to increase recycling between counties and municipalities by promoting greater regional cooperation. Matching funds are not required for the Recycling Hub and Spoke Grants.

Recycling Hub and Spoke Grants totaling $2,130,100 were awarded to several counties including Marshall in a partnership with Maury, Giles, Lincoln, and Bedford Counties and the sities of Lewisburg, Columbia, Petersburg, Chapel Hill and Cornersville. Marshall County was rewarded $150,000 and the City of Columbia was rewarded with $150,000 as well. Marshall County will purchase a Ram Baler with a feed conveyor with their project money and Columbia will purchase 3,000 roll out carts.   

More information about Recycling Equipment or Recycling Hub and Spoke grants may be found on the Department of Environment and Conservation’s website at http://www.tn.gov/environment/solid-waste/solid-waste_grants.shtml.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation today arrested a former captain of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department for taking money collected by the department from registered sex offenders after she was indicted by the Bedford County grand jury this morning.

Rebecca Hord, 58, of Shelbyville, Tenn. was indicted on one count of theft over $10,000, four counts of forgery and one count of official misconduct. The 17^th Judicial District Attorney General’s Office requested TBI investigate the missing funds in January of 2012 after an internal audit discovered the discrepancies. Hord would take the money sex offenders paid as registration fees and issue generic receipts, but the county records showed they were in arrears. In all, Hord took approximately $10,200. The Office of Comptroller of Treasury, Division of Investigations also investigated the theft. The 16^th Judicial District Attorney General’s office has been assigned to oversee the prosecution of the case. 

Hord was booked into the Bedford County Jail and released on her own recognizance. She is scheduled to appear in court on December 20, 2013.

 

The city of Lewisburg, Tenn., has been named a Valley Sustainable Silver Community by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The Valley Sustainable Communities Program initiated by TVA Economic Development helps communities document and improve existing sustainability programs to increase their competitiveness when companies are considering investing in new or expanded locations. 

Lewisburg recently completed the program sponsored by TVA, which was developed and administered by consultant Boyette Strategic Advisors (BSA).

“We are proud that Lewisburg has completed the Valley Sustainable Communities Program,” said Del Boyette, president and CEO of Boyette Strategic Advisors. “The Silver level designation recognizes that Lewisburg has community-wide sustainability in place, with some programs available to support the business community and take advantage of economic development opportunities.”

Sustainability has become a key issue for economic development organizations and communities as more corporations have demonstrated an increasing commitment to sustainability. More than 90 percent of corporate real estate executives who responded to a CoreNet Global survey on sustainability said that it is a consideration in their company location decisions. The typical reasons for this corporate commitment are reduced operating costs for increased profitability and greater employee satisfaction. 

“TVA Economic Development’s mission includes working with Valley communities to help prepare them to be ready for economic growth opportunities,” said John Bradley, TVA senior vice president of Economic Development. “We are seeing that more and more companies have an increasing business emphasis on sustainable operations, and are adding this component to their RFIs as they search for a community where they can locate, grow, and enhance their company’s sustainability commitments.”

Lewisburg Sustainable Community Team Members, Mayor Jim Bingham, Barbara Woods, Lisa Jackson, JECB Director Mike Wiles and Lewisburg ED Director Greg Lowe were presented the TVA Sustainable Community Silver Level Award at a luncheon on December 3 in Nashville. 

“This kind of recognition validates our efforts to become a progressive, business-friendly and environmentally sound community,” said Lewisburg Mayor Jim Bingham. “We are going to continue efforts such as this as we move forward with more plans and projects to make the best city to live, work and do business.”

Anthony Praino, 51, of Columbia, Tennessee, pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to interstate transportation of stolen property and filing a false tax return, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.    The charges stemmed from a joint investigation conducted by the Maury County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the IRS-Criminal Investigation, which revealed that in 2011 and 2012, Praino stole nearly a million dollars’ worth of equipment from the General Motors (GM) Spring Hill, Tenn. Plant and then failed to disclose to the IRS the $145,000 profit he received from the sale of the stolen equipment.            

Testimony presented at the guilty plea hearing before District Judge Todd Campbell established that in 2011 GM investigators discovered that a significant amount of expensive equipment was missing from their Spring Hill plant, where Praino was employed as a fork lift operator.   Praino emerged as the prime suspect when GM investigators identified some missing equipment being advertised for sale on eBay, and then clandestinely purchased it. 

When the equipment was delivered to them, the return address for the sender was determined to be Praino’s. GM referred the matter to the Maury County Sheriff’s Office, who in turn alerted the FBI and the IRS, given the value and volume of the stolen property.

In April 2012, while agents were conducting surveillance, they observed Praino depositing a large parcel for delivery by a commercial shipping company.  Agents quickly determined that the package contained expensive, stolen GM equipment, and was to be delivered to Thailand. Agents obtained and executed a search warrant for Praino’s home in Columbia, Tenn. and found more equipment that had been stolen from the Spring Hill GM facility, which was worth over $500,000.     

Follow up investigation disclosed that Praino had received more than $145,000 from selling the stolen GM equipment, which he failed to disclose when filing his tax return.  He owed, but failed to pay about $48,000 in additional income tax for that income, which constituted a second separate federal crime.  Praino faces a maximum of 13 years in prison and an order of restitution.   

The case was investigated by the FBI, the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Maury County Sheriff’s Department.  The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hilliard Hester.