2022 Democratic Candidate for Governor Visits DeKalb County

September 21, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Jason Martin, a Nashville physician and vocal critic of the state government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, officially launched his bid last month for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 2022, with hopes of taking on Republican Gov. Bill Lee next year.

Dr. Martin was in Smithville last week as part of his 95 county listening tour across the state. He met with local party leaders and others at Green Brook Park. He currently serves as Director of Hendersonville Medical Center’s critical care unit.

“We are excited to go around Tennessee to mainly listen. We want to hear what is on people’s hearts and minds and see what we can do to make Tennessee a better place,” Martin told WJLE.

Entering the race with no prior government experience, the 46 year old Martin – a self-proclaimed “authentic outsider” said he will run on a platform of affordable health care, fully-funded public education and job creation.

“I have never been a super political guy in the past. I have been an ICU or critical care doctor but over the last 18 months I have seen so much death and destruction due to COVID. I have been a first party witness to holding up an Ipad while moms and dads, brothers, and sisters cry at that screen watching their loved ones take that last breath remotely. That has been a life changing experience. I realize if there had been some politically courageous leadership I think we could have been in a better position. I think our schools would be open safely and I think fewer people would have passed way from this virus. That was my call to action. We could use some better leadership when it comes to health care more generally and when it comes to funding our education system. That’s why I am excited to be in the race,” said Dr. Martin.

Originally from Alabama, Dr. Martin said the place where he grew up is much like rural Tennessee.

“I grew up in Mobile Alabama. It was a pretty rural community much like the rural communities in Tennessee. I had hard working parents. When I was in college I would call my dad and complain about having to study hard for a test and he would say “son try it with two kids and a mortgage”. He was a hard working man. He and his brother were the first ones in our family to go to college so I was real proud of that. Because of my parents’ sacrifices and good public schools in our community my family was able to change the track of our family trajectory in just a generation so I was able to go to med school and college and eventually end up here in Nashville for my medical training about 20 years ago,” Dr. Martin continued.

Asked how he would have handled the COVID pandemic as governor particularly in the public school system , Martin said “if we want our teachers and kids to go to school safely, I think a temporary mask requirement is important. I don’t like masks and I don’t like requirements but I think to protect the health and safety of those in the public schools that’s a good place to start. We need to speak the truth about the effectiveness of the vaccine and we need to speak the truth when people say misinformation. Right now the voice of truth is missing. We need to improve the health care of the folks in Tennessee so they can be healthy and go out and work hard and provide for their families and that means not giving up on the billion dollars a year we are passing up on Medicaid expansion. If you want people out there working hard they need to be healthy. One in five Tennessee counties don’t even have an emergency room and there have been 14 hospitals primarily in rural Tennessee that have closed since 2012. We need to get more money into the system so that folks don’t have to drive two or three counties away if they have a medical emergency. That’s why we need Medicaid expansion. That means hard working Tennesseans can have affordable insurance. That brings more money into the system so that more healthcare providers can set up shop,” Dr. Martin said,

“We also need to fully fund our public schools. We are 47th in the nation when it comes to funding our public education system. I think we can do better than that. We have billions of dollars in our rainy day fund in Nashville. I think we can do a lot better to support our teachers. If 2 or 4 year college isn’t right for every child out of high school then let’s have some good vocational training programs so we can give kids a skill . I think we could do that with some money we already have on hand and with public and private partnerships,” he added.

Although the odds may be stacked against him and other Democrats in a heavily Republican state where the GOP has firm control of the state Senate, House and the governor’s office. Martin said he is still hopeful.

“All of us have to learn to play nicely together and stop talking about politics as a team sport because when we do everybody loses. We need to identify the things that we have in common and I happen to think that adequate access to health care for hard working folks , a good education, and a good job are Tennessee values and not Republican or Democratic values. I do think people will rally around those ideas,” said Dr. Martin.

September 21, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

A DeKalb County native is part of a team receiving national recognition for their scientific research in exploring a “greener” way to make nylon 6-6, a thermoplastic used for tire reinforcements, ski bindings, outdoor stadium seats and more.

Dr. Brian Agee , a chemistry lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and Physics in Augusta University’s College of Science and Amina Aly, undergraduate biology student, presented their research at the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society.

According to Augusta University’s Jagwire news website, the main presentation covered nylon 6-6, one of the most common nylons used for textile and plastic products. Nylon 6-6 is among the most versatile engineering thermoplastics and is used to make products that need durability, strength and weather resistance.

During their research, Aly and Agee used a solar reflector instead of a hot plate to create nylon 6-6. This decreased the process time from four hours to 30 minutes, and saved energy, since no electricity was used.

However, producing nylon 6-6 is not eco-friendly: It requires the endangered element zinc as a catalyst. But Aly and Agee’s research found that iron catalyzes almost as well as zinc — and iron is available nearly anywhere in the form of rust (i.e. ferric oxide).

“The difficulty of synthesizing nylon 6-6 in this manner is the associated risk of extinction of a primary reagent in the synthetic pathway, zinc,” said Agee.

“Zinc is currently 50-100 years away from extinction, giving focus to finding alternative synthetic methods without involving the use of zinc.”

ACS Fall 2021 was a hybrid meeting that was conducted virtually and in person from Aug 22-26.

Dr. Agee is the son of Jimmy and Caroline Agee and a 2002 graduate of DeKalb County High School.

September 21, 2021
By: Dwayne Page

Thirteenth Judicial District Attorney Bryant C. Dunaway has announced he is running for re-election

The following is Dunaway’s prepared announcement:

“Seven years ago, YOU, the people of Clay, Cumberland, DeKalb, Overton, Pickett, Putnam and White Counties elected me to serve as your District Attorney General. I am as humbled today as I was then. Holding this office is both a professional and personal privilege. Every day I have taken the awesome responsibility that you have entrusted me with very seriously; I have never taken for granted the trust you have placed in me,” said Dunaway.

“Today, with the blessing and support of my wife, LeeAnn, I announce that I will be seeking re-election in 2022 and I am once again asking for your vote, support, trust and prayers. I will be on the ballot in the May 2022 Republican Primary”.

“I believe that among of the most important functions of the District Attorney is work to ensure public safety and to stand up for victims of crime. Over 200 years ago the Tennessee Supreme Court described the role of the District Attorney as having the responsibility to pursue the guilty and at the same time protect the innocent. Since assuming this office in 2014, I have taken that mission to heart. I work every day to accomplish that mandate”.

“I believe that our communities’ most vulnerable citizens deserve protection and that those who abuse them should be held especially accountable. Since 2014, I have created a specialized child abuse prosecution team in the DA’s office. I have maintained specialized Domestic Violence and impaired driving prosecution units. I have created, implemented and personally lead the Vulnerable Adult Protective Investigation Team (VAPIT) that reviews every allegation of abuse of the elderly and vulnerable adults. This team has been extremely successful. It’s work has resulted in the protection of abused and neglected persons and the prosecution of their abusers”.

“It has also been said that the citizen’s safety lies in the prosecutor who tempers zeal with human kindness, who seeks the truth and serves the law and who approaches his task with humility. I am committed to continuing to serve you with those ideals at heart. I get up every day committed to keeping people from hurting each other and to punish those who do,” Dunaway continued.

“Please know that I consider it a privilege to serve you in this role. I ask for your vote and would be honored and humbled to have your support”.

Bryant C. Dunaway has been practicing law for over 20 years. He was elected District Attorney General for the 13th Judicial District in August 2014. He has been married 25 years to his wife LeeAnn McCarter Dunaway; he is father to twin daughters, Katie and Julianne (19) and son Jennings Grant (15). General Dunaway and his family are members of the Church at Collegeside Church of Christ where he serves as a Deacon.

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