On August 6, students throughout the county will be heading to school for the first day of the 2014-2015 school year.  To get the youngsters prepared for a successful first day, the county’s elementary schools have scheduled open house events for the boys and girls and their parents.

Chapel Hill Elementary School:  Kindergarten – August 4, 5:00 p.m.; First Grade – August 4, 6:00 p.m.; Second Grade – August 4, 7:00 p.m.; Third Grade – August 5, 5:00 p.m.; Fourth Grade – August 5, 6:00 p.m.; Fifth Grade – August 5, 7:00 p.m.

Cornersville Elementary School: August 5, 6:00 p.m.

Oak Grove Elementary School: Kindergarten – August 4, 5:30-6:30 p.m.; First Grade – July 30, 5:00-6:00 p.m.

Marshall Elementary School: Second Grade – July 31, 5:00-6:00 p.m.; Third Grade – July 31, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Westhills Elementary School: Fourth Grade – August 4, 5:30 p.m.; Fifth Grade – August 5, 5:30 p.m.; Sixth Grade – August 5, 6:30 p.m.

Blood donations needed now to prevent emergency situation 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (July 22, 2014) – The American Red Cross is facing a looming blood shortage, leading to an urgent need for donors of all blood types to roll up a sleeve and give. 

Donations through the Red Cross are down approximately 8 percent over the last 11 weeks, resulting in about 80,000 fewer donations than expected. The number of donors continues to decline, and the shortfall is significant enough that the Red Cross could experience an emergency situation in the coming weeks.  

Eligible donors with types O negative, B negative and A negative blood are especially needed at this time. Type O negative is the universal blood type and can be transfused to anyone who needs blood. Types A negative and B negative can be transfused to Rh positive or negative patients. 

There is also an urgent need for platelet donations. Platelets – a key clotting component of blood often needed by cancer patients, burn victims and bone marrow recipients – must be transfused within five days of donation, so it’s important to have a steady supply of platelets on hand.

Every day this summer is a chance to give hope to patients in need and their network of family and friends. July 13 marked the half-way point for the Red Cross campaign “100 Days of Summer. 100 Days of Hope.” Blood and platelet donations are needed now and for the rest of the summer. Individuals who donated blood earlier this summer may now be eligible to donate again and help patients such as accident victims, heart surgery patients and children with blood disorders.

Upcoming Blood Donation Opportunities

Marshall County, TN August 14^th at 1:00 pm until 5:00 pm at Church Street Church of Christ, 305 West Church Street, Lewisburg.

Parents who reside in Marshall County and are planning to home school their children for the 2014-15 school year need to register with the Marshall County Board of Education between the dates of August 1^st and August 15^th at 700 Jones Circle in Lewisburg.

 Independently Home Schooled children who hope to be eligible for athletics in their home district must register by August 1.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced today the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for June was 6.6%, two tenths of one percentage point higher than the 6.4 May revised rate. The U.S. preliminary rate for June was 6.1%, down from 6.3% in May.

Economic Summary:

• Over the past year, Tennessee's unemployment rate decreased from 8.4% to 6.6% while the national rate decreased from 7.5% to 6.1%.
• Total nonfarm employment decreased 2,600 jobs from May to June. The largest decreases occurred in mining/logging/construction, government, and other services.

• Over the year, nonfarm employment increased 53,600 jobs. The largest increases occurred in professional/business services, leisure/hospitality, and trade/transportation/utilities.

Marshall County Schools will have a New Student Enrollment Day on Thursday, July 24th, from 9:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m.

Students who have moved into the Marshall County School district may report to the schools on that day to enroll for next year. All students must register with their legal guardian.

You may call the appropriate school for more information or the Marshall County Board Education at 359-1581.

In 1994, Bill and Vicki Forgie set out 37 peach trees to see if the fruit would grow and if they would enjoy a small agri-business. Twenty short years later, Forgie’s Peach Farm is one of the largest producers of peaches in Middle Tennessee. They have 1500 peach trees of seven varieties and 500 cherry trees. 

In those twenty years, the orchard has only been struck with bad weather in early spring three times. The orchard did not produce fruit the first four years. Unfortunately, this year the cherry trees did not produce due to the big frost on April 15^th and the peach production is also limited this year. Overall however; the Forgie family feels blessed to be able to sell an average of 5000 pounds of peaches on a day when the orchard is up and going in full swing. 

Two years ago they added the kitchen. They sell lunch, fresh peach cobblers, peach cheesecakes, salsas, jams and jelly’s whenever the orchard is open from 8 am until 6 pm. You may also call and place your order for a cheese cake or a fresh cooked cobbler. Forgie’s employ 20 people over the summer and have several employees who work well into the fall and the off seasons to prune, thin, and spray the orchard to prepare for the next growing season. The orchard has added fresh vegetables to their line of home grown products as well. 

Agriculture is the number one industry in the State of Tennessee. It is imperative for people to support the people who feed us and the world over. Tennessee has a number of growers all over the state who have small and large agri-businesses such as Forgie’s Peach Farm. You may even download an app on your smart phones that will tell you within a 100 mile radius where the next orchard, winery, or farm that sells Tennessee home grown products is located. To learn about this and other Tennessee grown products check out PickTNProducts.org.

The Lewisburg Police Department is currently investigating the following:

Five Exmark Zero Turn Mowers were stolen from the Lewisburg Co-Op. The mowers were taken sometime after 5:00 p.m. on July 13th, 2014, and before 6:30 a.m. on July 14th, 2014. All the mowers were factory new.

On Friday the 11th of July, 2014, between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. someone forced open the backdoor of a residence located at 1175 Franklin Road. A 42" Vizio television was taken from inside the residence.

On July 8th between 2 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. someone threw two large rocks through the window of an apartment located at 210 Martin Street. The damage was reported in excess of $500.

Pesons with information relating to these cases or any other criminal activity are asked to contact the Lewisburg Police Department at (931) 359-4044 or Crimestoppers at (931) 359-4867.

LEWISBURG, Tenn. – The second leading cause of death for children ages one to 14, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is drowning. Now that the summer is in full swing, Marshall Medical Center (MMC) would like to remind you of some guidelines for swimming pool safety and the importance of knowing how to perform life-saving measures. 

Drowning can be prevented by following some important rules: 

• Designate a responsible adult to monitor children swimming or playing in or near the water. The supervising adult should not be distracted with other activities or be influenced by alcohol use.
• Make certain that infants, toddlers and weak swimmers are within an arm’s reach at all times.
• Never swim alone and choose pools that have lifeguards on duty, if possible.
• Keep a telephone nearby in case of an emergency.
• Consider enrolling children in formal swimming lessons, but do not have a false sense of security.
• Remove floats, balls and other toys from the pool and surrounding area after swimming. This eliminates some of the temptation for a child to enter the pool area or lean over the pool’s edge to reach for a toy.
• Install a four-sided fence around residential pools and consider installing motion detectors and alarms in the pool area.
• Always check the pool first when a child cannot be immediately located.
• Learn how to correctly perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). 

In the event of a potential drowning, have someone call 911 immediately. Until emergency help arrives, begin CPR by placing the heel of one hand on the center of the chest and pushing with both hands hard and fast about 100 times per minute. CPR should be continued until the person regains consciousness or a rescue team arrives.