Nomination Period Underway for Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committee Election

May 28, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Donny Green, DeKalb-Cannon County FSA County Executive Director, announces that the nomination period for the 2021 Farm Service Agency (FSA) County Committee Election is underway. The nomination period continues through August 2, 2021.

“I encourage all producers to participate in the county committee election process by nominating candidates by the August 1 deadline,” said Green. “We are counting on as much participation as possible, because county committees are an important link between the farm community and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. We have seen a trend in recent years of increased nominations of minority, beginning farmers, and women producers and we hope that will continue.”

Committees apply their judgment and knowledge to make decisions on county commodity price-support loan eligibility, establishment of allotments and yields, conservation programs, disaster programs, employment and other farm program-related issues. Nationwide, there are more than 7,700 farmers and ranchers serving on FSA county committees. Committees consist of three to 11 members who are elected by eligible local producers. Member serve three-year terms.

To be eligible to serve on an FSA county committee, a person must participate or cooperate in a program administered by FSA, be eligible to vote in a county committee election and reside in the local administrative area in which the person is a candidate.

Nominees must reside in Local Administrative Area (LAA) for which they are seeking to be elected. For the 2021 Election, the DeKalb-Cannon FSA County Committee Election will conduct elections in LAA-1 (DeKalb County) and LAA-5 (Cannon County). Below is the description of the LAA’s that will be conducting elections this year:

Local Administrative Area # 1, the portions of DeKalb County described as following:

East of a line where Hwy. 146 crosses the Cannon County line; following Hwy. 146 North to Hodges Rd.; thence north to Tabernacle Rd.; following Tabernacle Rd. to Dry Creek Rd.; east of Dry Creek Rd. to Hwy. 70 West; south of Hwy. 70 to Hwy. 96 (Dale Ridge Rd.); thence north to Hwy. 96 to Hwy. 141 (Wolf Creek Rd.) to Center Hill Dam; from Center Hill Dam following Center Hill Lake southwest to include the area south and southwest of the lake to Sligo Bridge; thence following Hwy. 70 East in a westward direction to the intersection of Hwy. 70 and Hwy. 56; thence the area west of Hwy. 56 South to the Warren County line; north of the Warren/DeKalb County line back to Hwy. 146 at the Cannon County line.

Local Administrative Area # 5, the portions of Cannon County described as following:

That portion of Cannon County that lies west of Highway 53 (a state highway that runs south from the DeKalb County line and north from the Coffee County Line).

Individuals may nominate themselves, or others, as a candidate. In addition, eligible candidates can be nominated by community-based and other organizations in the county where the election is being held before the close of the nomination period, especially groups representing socially disadvantaged farmers or ranchers. Nominations and elections are open to all eligible candidates and voters without regard to race, color, religion, nation origin, age, sex, marital status or disability. The nomination form (FSA-669A) is available at USDA Service Centers and online at: http://www.fsa.usda.gov/elections

Ballots will be mailed to all eligible voters in LAA’s # 1 and # 5 on November 1, 2021. Completed ballots must be returned, either in person or postmarked, no later December 6, 2021. For more information about FSA county committees, visit the DeKalb/Cannon County USDA Service Center or call 615-597-8225, extension 2.

May 28, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Tennesseans continued returning to the workforce in counties across the state in April.

According to newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, nearly all counties experienced a decrease in unemployment during the month. In year-to-year comparisons, each county showed a remarkable recovery from pandemic-era unemployment rates one year ago.

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for April was 4.8%, down from 6.1% in March. A year ago the local jobless rate was 23.5%.

The DeKalb labor force for April was 7,631. A total of 7,263 were employed and 368 were unemployed.

The department reported 87 counties saw lower unemployment rates in April when compared to the previous month. The rates remained the same in two counties, while six counties did experience higher unemployment.

Seventy of the state’s 95 counties now have rates less than 5%. Unemployment is 5% or greater in the remaining 25 counties.

At 2.8%, Williamson and Moore counties recorded the state’s lowest unemployment for the month. Williamson’s rate is down 0.5 of a percentage point from March and 7.9 percentage points from April 2020, during the height of business closures due to the pandemic. Moore County’s rate is down 0.9 of a percentage point from March and 9.8 percentage points from its rate one year ago.

Maury County had the highest unemployment in April, at 8%, a 3.3 percentage point increase from its rate in March. When compared to April 2020, Maury County’s rate is down a staggering 14.5 percentage points. Perry County’s rate is the second-highest but remained unchanged from March at 7.8%. One year ago, the county recorded a rate of 24.1%, which is a decrease of 16.3 percentage points when comparing the two years.

While Tennessee has seen great improvement in unemployment over the last 12 months, many residents still need to find a path back into the workforce. The state stands ready to help them navigate the job market to gain meaningful employment.

Online or in-person resources are available to job seekers in every county. Jobs4TN.gov, TNVirtualAJC.com, ApprenticeshipTN.com, and more than 80 American Job Centers across the state can provide a starting point to a new job

May 28, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

The Tennessee Department of Transportation has announced that State Route 96 (Dale Ridge Road) has been reduced to one lane with temporary signals (near Center Hill Dam). This will remain in effect until slope stabilization work is completed on the eastbound lane.

« First ‹ Previous 1 975 1065 1073 1074 10751076 1077 1085 1175 2457 Next › Last »