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News Headlines
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Election Commission Examines Electronic Voting
Atwood Will Use First |
By Joel Washburn
washburn@mckenziebanner.com |
Administrator of Elections Linda Radford checks the results
of a mock vote using the new voting machine. Punch card balloting is just a memory in Carroll County,
making way for mandatory electronic balloting. Carroll
County Election Commission members on Tuesday, August 16,
inspected a new electronic system known as E-Slate,
manufactured by Triad-GSI of Ohio.
In compliance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA),
all punch card and lever-style voting machines must be
eliminated nationwide by the next federal election in 2006.
August 2006 is the next federal election in Tennessee.
Residents of Atwood will be the first to use the Triad-GSI
system during the Atwood City Election early voting period
and September 1, 2005 city election; all three are
uncontested races for mayor and two aldermen seats.
The Triad-GSI system was demonstrated by company
representative Jeff Collins of Cookeville, Tennessee, for
possible purchase by the county. Commissioners Sam Barger,
Joyce Scates, Dennis R. Coleman, Nellie Hale, and Mike
Carrado and had the
chance to cast their ballots for fictitious candidates and
observe the results as they were reported after the
simulation ended.
If the E-Slate system were adopted, voters at each polling
booth would input a unique, randomly generated four-digit
number, which will display the appropriate ballot. Using the
jog dial, voters would then select their choice of
candidates and push the "cast ballot" button to record the
final vote.
Collins said the vote totals are recorded redundantly on the
individual tablet, on the precinct judge's machine, and on a
memory card known as the "mobile ballot box". The memory
card is locked in the judge's machine until submission to
the registrar once the polls close. All machines operate on
D-size batteries in case of a power outage, said the
representative. The machines have a local area
network--daisy-chained to each other--in a single precinct,
but never connected to the Internet, said Collins.
Handicap-accessible machines would be located at each
precinct for mobility- and visually- impaired voters.
Handicap machines are equipped with headphones for the
visually impaired, foot-operated jelly pads for
mobility-impaired voters, and a blow tube interface for
paraplegics, said Collins.
Persons who vote absentee would receive a ballot printed on
a laser printer, eliminating the need for inventorying a
variety of pre-printed ballots. Paper ballots would be
scanned into the computer for counting.
Commissioners are awaiting the Atwood trial and additional
decisions by the state before purchasing the equipment. The
state is yet to decide on the number of machines it will
purchase for Carroll County.
In other business, the Trezevant Senior Citizens Center was
approved as the city's voting precinct following the
demolition of the former Trezevant gymnasium. Radford said a
small ramp would have to be installed to make the building
wheelchair accessible.
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Carroll County Fair Underway This Week |
Carroll County Fair is underway this week at the fairgrounds
in Huntingdon. Week-long activities, which continue through
Saturday, includes carnival rides, beauty revues, exhibits,
activities, and food booths.
"We hope to have something to offer that everyone will
enjoy," said Fair Official Billy Keeton. "We hope to have
good weather and hope people will be anxious to come to the
fair.
Admission into the fair varies throughout the week. Tuesday
offers a school day special with students, kindergarten
through twelfth grade, admitted free all day. On Wednesday
admission is $8.00 for all ages, with all rides free on that
date. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, admission
will be $3.00, with children ages 12 and under admitted
free. The fair is open 5:00 - 10:00 p.m. Tuesday through
Friday and 11:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. Saturday.
The carnival opens at 6:00 p.m. each evening through Friday
and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. Special Tuesday carnival
price will include $2.00 off the cost of an arm band with
coupon. All rides will be free Wednesday night with $8.00
admission. On Thursday, armbands will be available for
$15.00 and on Saturday, between the hours of 1:00 and 5:00
p.m., arm bands will be $15.00.
A new event has been added to the fair this year. Wrestling
matches have been scheduled for Wednesday and Saturday
nights at 7:00 p.m. The events will be held outside near the
horse show arena. The promoter is James Holifield of
Huntingdon.
Several pageants and baby shows are planned. Tuesday evening
activities include selection of a junior royalty, beginning
at 7:00 p.m. The pageant is open to boys and girls ages
four, five and six. On Wednesday, Little Miss Carroll County
will begin at 7:00 p.m. for ages seven, eight and nine; and
Junior Fairest of the Fair will be held at 8:00 p.m. for
ages 10, 11 and 12. On Thursday, Junior Miss Fairest of the
Fair will begin at 7:00 p.m. for ages 13, 14 and 15; and
Fairest of the Fair will begin at 8:00 p.m. for ages 16-20.
Committee members in charge of the Wednesday and Thursday
pageants are Connie Bond, Jennifer Rogers, Zona Williams,
Amy Carter, Amanda Edwards and Lauren Williams.
A baby show for ages two and three year olds will begin at
7:00 p.m. Friday and a baby show for children two and under
will begin at 12 o'clock Saturday. Kerri Newbill is
chairperson for both events. Committee members for ages two
and three are Felecia Bass, Kortney Baker, Cassie Crider,
Melissa White and Sherry Goble. Committee members for age
two and under are: Lori Cagle, Lori Pierce, Kortney Baker
and Lindsey Pierce.
Thursday will be senior adult day with several contests
throughout the day. Senior citizens will be admitted to the
grounds free until 5:00 p.m. A Senior King and Queen will be
crowned in a contest that begins at 1:00 p.m. Contestants
must be 60 years of age or older and a resident of Carroll
County. Committee members are Albenda Webb, Mary Humphrey,
Lena Newbill and Amy Williams. Transportation will be
available if needed. Call 986-1985 or 986-1986 to make
arrangements for transportation.
A 4-H Pullet Show and Sale will begin at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
The dog show begins at 7:00 p.m. on Saturday with
registration beginning at 6:00 p.m. Ribbon prizes will be
awarded to first, second, third and fourth places. Classes
will include: miscellaneous, puppy, showmanship, mixed
breeds, toy group, non-sporting group, hound group, working
group, sporting group, herding group and terrier group.
Patti Foster is chairperson.
Exhibits have been entered in various categories including
domestic arts, floral department, culinary department,
poultry department, field crops and horticulture, and school
exhibits.
Extension Homemaker Clubs also have exhibit booths on
display. Each club entering a booth receives an award of
$75.00 and booths are placed in blue, red and white groups.
One entry will be designated as a Grand Champion booth. Gwen
Joyner is chairperson for that event. |
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Health Fair Poorly Attended |
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TennCare advocacy staffers Sarah Hall and Noell Rembert
offer assistance to TennCare disenrollees as well as those
who remain on TennCare. HUNTINGDON - Only a handful of people attended the
state-sponsored health fair held Monday evening from 4 to 7
p.m. at the Carroll Academy gymnasium in Huntingdon. Two
hours into the event, a sparse two dozen visitors had made
their way around booths staffed by legislative aids,
TennCare advocates, health care and mental health
organizations, and members of the Department of Human
Services. Missing were representatives from the Carroll
County Health Department, a sign marking their vacant booth.
"They were on the list; I assume the local office must be
pretty busy," said Legislative Coordinator Mark Brown,
representing the state Department of Human Services. He said
health departments were busy "beefing up their services and
hiring primary care physicians" as they shift into full gear
in an effort at strengthening the state's health care safety
net for Tennesseans who have lost TennCare coverage.
Brown said Governor Phil Bredesen refers to the Health
Department component of the safety net plan as "the English
model."
"That's the way they do it in England the way they used to
do it in Tennessee," he said, referring to years when the
Health Department was a major player in delivering health
care services to citizens. He said the trend away from the
Health Department occurred when their funding was cut to
provide more money to TennCare at a time when the federal
government was contributing $2 for every TennCare dollar, a
practice that was later discontinued.
Brown said another information health fair was tentatively
planned to be held in Paris in early September. Scant notice
was given for the Carroll County health fair, with a press
release distributed Tuesday afternoon, last week, which
could explain the low turnout.
State Representative Mark Maddox and state Senator Don
McLeary, on hand to speak with constituents, were clearly
concerned with the rocky transition some Tennesseans are
experiencing.
The legislators spoke with Mixie resident John Mann, who was
seeking help for an 80-year-old friend with diabetes who was
among individuals removed from TennCare rolls July 31.
Mixie resident John Mann engages state Senator Don McLeary
in a conversation regarding a friend with diabetes.
Other concerns they listened to included transportation for
the mentally ill and timely receipt of necessary
medications, such as insulin. They acknowledged gaps were
being discovered in the safety nets, however, Maddox said
part of the problem is the need to inform the public about
options that are in place to help, referring to the health
fair as a step in that direction.
Carey Counseling Center clinical director Amy Vawter said
the safety net services provided by the agency--including
initial assessment, individual therapy, group therapy,
psychiatric evaluation, and medication management--leave out
the services needed most by its clients: case management,
crisis services, and transportation.
While the center has devised group therapy sessions to help
offset the changes, she said people are so distressed that
the first few sessions are being used simply to educate
people regarding what is available.
Rita Foster, administrative assistant with Baptist Hospital
in Huntingdon, said programs are in place to work with
people according to their ability to pay.
"We've never turned anyone away for inability to pay before
TennCare or after TennCare," she said.
Gibson County resident Terry McCaleb came to the fair
seeking help with medication since he and his elderly
parents were removed from TennCare. He said he has been
skipping doses of Nexium (a drug that treats acid reflux
disease) in order to make his current prescription last
longer.
McCaleb said it was "too early to tell" whether remedies he
learned about at the fair would be adequate substitutes for
his lost coverage.
Information was available regarding PPA (Partnership for
Prescription Assistance) and Rx Outreach, a program provides
free generic medicines from a list of over 55 FDA-approved
drugs to help treat problems like asthma, high blood
pressure and depression. The State will cover the cost of
the generics program--approximately $12 million--through
December 31, or June 30, 2006 for those identified by
TennCare as mentally ill. Bredesen on July 18 announced an
agreement that allows local pharmacies to join the
prescription drug safety net program. A list of
participating pharmacies will be available through the
state's Health Options Web site at www.tnhealthoptions.org.
People coming off TennCare will receive information during
the month of August on how they can get free brand name
drugs directly from the drug makers. Those who have not
received the information may call 1-800-772-7986 or log on
to www.pparxtn.org.
Other Tennessee Health Options services include the Health
Options Hotline at 1-888-486-9355, which connects TennCare
disenrollees to Ask-A-Nurse, where they can discuss a health
or medical condition with a registered nurse. The Web site (www.tnhealthoptions.org)
provides a list of healthcare resources by county, including
local health departments, hospitals, and nonprofit clinics
as well as services for people with severe mental illness,
including prescription drugs and services provided through
community mental health agencies.
Agencies represented at the health fair and ways persons may
obtain more information about them include: Rx Outreach,
www.rxoutreach.com, 1-800-769-3880; Partnership for
Prescription Assistance, www.pparx.org, 1-888-477-2669;
Schering-Plough (hepatitis C treatment),
www.schering-plough.com; Carey Counseling Center,
731-642-0521, or 1-800-611-7757 (crisis hotline
1-800-353-9918); Tennessee Mental Health Consumers'
Association, www.tmhca-tn.org, 731-235-0854 in Greenfield;
American Cancer Society, www.cancer.org, 1-800-ACS-2345;
Baptist Memorial Hospital Huntingdon and the Delta Special
Initiative, Carroll County (screens for diabetes, heart
disease, stroke and cancer), 731-986-4461; Dept. of Commerce
and Insurance, 1-866-311-4287; Tri-County Family Medicine
and Urgent Care, www.ourfamilymd.com, 731-352-4504; TennCare
Consumer Advocacy Program, www.tenncareadvocacy.org,
1-800-722-7474; TennCare Partners Advocacy Line,
www.tpal.org, 1-800-758-1638; and Henry County Medical
Center, www.hcmc-tn.org, 731-642-7600. |
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Long Heights Celebration Sunday |
By Linda Bolton
linda@mckenziebanner.com |
Long Heights Pastor Kenny Carr invites one and all to
the first day of services at the new Long Heights
Baptist Church facility, located at 260 Old Paris Road
in McKenzie. |
The congregation of Long Heights Baptist Church will enjoy
its first service "on the hill" Sunday, as the location of the
new church facility has come to be known. Located on a hill
overlooking the Highway 22 bypass in McKenzie, the facility is
accessed from Old Paris Road on the north side of the junction
of highways 22 and 79.
The historic day will begin as parishioners meet at the former
worship center at 95 Doug Lane at 9:45 a.m. for a short prayer
service, after which a caravan will proceed to the new
location. There, they will meet others who chose to forgo the
earlier meeting. At about 10:30, a testimony and dedication
service will take place, led by Pastor Kenny Carr.
The celebration will continue at 6:00 p.m. with a double
feature of music brought by Alabama singer/songwriter Mark
Harris in his first solo tour, performing songs from his album
"The Line Between the Two", and the message of Mike Gottfried,
a former ESPN football analyst and head coach for 12 seasons
with Murray State, Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh.
Says Carr, "We would like to invite everybody to join us as we
celebrate our first day in our new ministry facility. It's
been four years in the planning and this Sunday the facility
vision becomes a reality and starts a new era in the ministry
life of Long Heights Baptist Church in the tri-county area. We
would be honored if you could join us in our celebration." |
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