State lawmakers may consider raising Tennessee’s gas tax this year.
The push is coming from more than forty Middle Tennessee mayors who are calling on the Governor to find additional revenue for transportation projects across the state.
Tennessee imposes 21.4 cents in taxes per gallon of fuel. That hasn’t been increased since 1989. The federal gas tax, which hasn’t changed since 1993, is 18.4 cents per gallon, meaning drivers in Tennessee pay a total of 39.8 cents on each gallon of gas purchased.
In an interview with WJLE Wednesday, State Senator Mae Beavers said she opposes any higher taxes. “I’m not for any more new taxes. I think we need to manage with what we have right now and get rid of the waste. One of the things we’ve been doing in the legislature is trying to get rid of all the boards and commissions that we could under the Government Operations Committees. There’s a lot of things we can do to streamline state government rather than pass a new tax,” she said.
“If they do pass a new tax (raise gas tax), it should all go to roads and bridges. I think we need to cut out what I consider some of the waste and that’s money going to greenways and walking trails and projects like the Amp that was being considered in Nashville (Bus rapid transit project). I would not be for any of that money going to those kinds of projects. I think there’s a lot we could do right now. We need to be calling on our Congressmen in Washington to cut out all of that waste and quit designating money. We have money that has to go to the Governor’s Highway Traffic Safety Office simply because we haven’t adopted the “Pass the Bottle” bill in Tennessee to affect our DUI’s. We’ve got Washington telling us what we have to do with our own money. We send money to Washington. They send it back and tell us what we have to spend it on. We have a Republican majority in Washington now and I’d be for calling on our Congressmen to stop some of the mandates coming out of Washington on our state government,” said Senator Beavers.
Governor Bill Haslam said gas tax revenue goes exclusively to help fund roads, and in no way helps the state general revenue fund. Although he hasn’t explicitly started pushing for an increase, he’s framed the issue as something that must be addressed.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said he could favor an increase as long as it’s part of a larger comprehensive measure. House Speaker Beth Harwell reportedly hasn’t revealed a position.

Many of us have often had a longing for the past, a yearning for yesterday.
With nostalgia in mind, another edition of “Reeling in the Years” will air on WJLE the night of January 10.
Former WJLE announcers Dennis Stanley and Shawn Jacobs host the program that will feature the pop/rock music and artists of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
“We’ll be playing many of the songs that today’s 50 to 65 year old residents remember as teens and young adults,” said both Jacobs and Stanley. “The music you will hear on our show will bring back many fond memories. We’ve made sure our playlist includes a few songs that were popular during 1975, which was 40 years ago. It’s those little details we want to incorporate into our show to make it even more enjoyable.”
The program will also showcase the diversity of the pop/rock music scene during a time of transition in the lives of our listeners and in the world.
“During the days we were ‘disc jockeys,’ WJLE and radio stations throughout the country were playing music that ranged from soul, rock, southern rock to disco music. All of those genres were mixed within the same program, and ironically, it worked,” said Jacobs and Stanley.
The January 10 program will air from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on WJLE FM and will be the first of four shows planned for 2015.

A DeKalb County man was caught driving on a suspended license two days in a row last week, Monday and Tuesday, December 29 & 30.
44 year old Kevin Donald Bogle of Barnes Mill Road, Smithville already had two prior charges against him for the same offense. Bogle is charged with two counts of driving on a suspended license (3rd offense). His bond is $14,000 and he will be in court January 8.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that on Monday, December 29 a deputy spotted Bogle operating a motor vehicle on Duncan Street pulling onto West Broad Street. The officer had prior knowledge that Bogle’s license were suspended and obtained a warrant for Bogle’s arrest. The next day, Tuesday December 30, an officer saw Bogle driving on West Broad Street, turning onto Walmart Drive. Bogle was arrested and brought to the jail for booking.
Meanwhile, 24 year old Spencer Montgomery Wallace of South College Street, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. He was further issued citations for violation of the implied consent law, driving on roadways laned for travel, and violation of the seatbelt law. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court January 15. Sheriff Ray said that on Wednesday, December 31 a deputy was dispatched to Bright Hill Road due to a vehicle that had run off the roadway. Upon arrival, the officer spoke with Wallace who reported that he had been driving the truck which went off the road into a ditch. Wallace had slurred speech and he was unsteady on his feet. Wallace submitted to and performed poorly on field sobriety tasks. Wallace admitted that he had not been wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident. He also refused to give blood for testing. He was placed under arrest.
41 year old Steven Jeffery Lohr of Martin Street, Alexandria is charged with resisting stop, frisk, halt, or arrest. His bond $1,500 and he will be in court January 29. Sheriff Ray said that on Thursday, January 1 an officer went to a residence on Martin Lane in Alexandria to serve a Rutherford County warrant on Lohr. Upon arrival the officer spotted Lohr in the window of the home and motioned for Lohr to come outside. Lohr came outside but when the officer identified himself and explained why he was there, Lohr turned his back to the deputy and appeared to be doing something with his waist band. The officer asked Lohr to show his hands but he refused. When the deputy tried to grab Lohr to see what he was doing with his hands, Lohr aggressively pulled away from the officer and resisted being handcuffed. He was subsequently placed under arrest.
38 year old Nathan Charles Cantrell of Puckett Point Road, Smithville is charged with driving under the influence. He was further issued citations for driving on the wrong side of the roadway and for simple possession. His bond is $1,500 and he will be in court on January 22. Sheriff Ray said that on Friday, January 2 a deputy was traveling in the southbound lane of Highway 56 when he saw a white Chevrolet Caprice leave its northbound lane of travel. The oncoming car almost struck the deputy’s cruiser head-on. The officer made a traffic stop and spoke with the driver, Cantrell. He detected a strong odor of alcohol on Cantrell’s person. Cantrell’s speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet. Cantrell submitted to and performed unsatisfactory on field sobriety tasks. He also took a blood test and was placed under arrest. While conducting an inventory of the car, the deputy found a small round orange pill believed to be Adderall, a schedule II drug.

DeKalb County students and teachers will return to the classrooms next week as the winter break comes to a close.
Monday, January 5 will be a stockpile day for teachers. Students will be back in school on Tuesday, January 6.
The remainder of the school calendar is as follows:
Schools will be closed for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday, January 19 and for President’s Day, Monday, February 16.
Schools will be closed for spring break March 30 through April 3
No school for students Memorial Day, Monday May 25.
The following are designated as Early Release dates: Friday, February 13 and Friday, March 6
Students will not attend on Friday, May 22. That will be an administrative day and all teachers must attend. The last day of school will be Tuesday, May 26. That will be an abbreviated school day and report cards will be sent home.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will be held on Tuesday, March 10 at DeKalb County High School from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m.
Parent-Teacher Conferences will also be held from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. Thursday, March 12 at DeKalb Middle School, Northside Elementary, Smithville Elementary, and DeKalb West School.
DCHS report cards will be sent home on Monday, March 9 and at all other schools on Tuesday, March 10.

Deer hunting season is coming to a close in Tennessee. The gun season for deer concludes on Jan. 4 while the second Young Sportsman Hunt for 2014-15 is Jan. 10-11.
For the Young Sportsman Hunt, youth, 6-16 years of age, are allowed to participate. The young sportsmen must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult at least 21 years of age who must remain in a position to take control of the hunting device.
The accompanying adult must comply with fluorescent orange regulations, as specified for legal hunters. Multiple youth may be accompanied by a single qualifying adult.
The first youth hunt of the season was held Oct. 25-26 and the young hunters had a harvest of 5,663. The gun season for deer for everyone across the state began Nov. 22. Archery and muzzleloader equipment are also legal during gun season.
Heading into the final regular hunting week, there have been 148,763 deer harvested since archery only season began Sept. 27. A final harvest tally for 2014-15 will be completed a few weeks following the completion of the Young Sportsman Hunt.
Giles County is the overall leader with 4,582 deer harvested since the start of archery season. Rounding out the top 10 counties are Fayette 4,118, Henry 3,908, Lincoln 3,655, Hardeman 3,596, Maury 3,549, Montgomery 3,228, Carroll 2,910, Weakley 2,840, and Franklin 2,795.

State lawmakers will have more authority to regulate laws on abortion with passage of Amendment 1 to the Tennessee Constitution in the November election.
Amendment 1, which passed with 53 percent of the vote, was one of the most hotly contested issues in Tennessee’s general election. Since its passage, lawmakers have already stepped forward to propose new restrictions including waiting periods, mandatory ultrasounds and new inspections of abortion clinics.
State Senator Mae Beavers told WJLE Wednesday that she supports “sensible” laws on abortion. “Amendment 1 allowed people to say whether or not they wanted the legislature or the Supreme Court making the laws on abortion. The Supreme Court had overturned every sensible piece of legislation that we had passed. We’re talking about sensible laws like informed consent. If I go to the doctor for any other kind of procedure or to the hospital, I have to sign a consent form. Why shouldn’t a woman have to do that who is having an abortion. We’ll be looking at whether or not facilities that do abortions should be licensed just like our hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers. We’ll be looking at whether they should have health inspections like our other surgery centers. Those are just some common sense things we’ll be considering this year because of Amendment 1 that was passed,” said Senator Beavers.
Opponents of Amendment 1 are seeking to overturn it calling the election process “tainted”. They’re asking a federal judge to allow a lawsuit to continue that seeks to either re-count or reject the vote count in favor of the measure.