There are several updates today. The COVID-19 update follows the broadband, TCAT, and special called meeting updates.
Broadband Grant Application
Ben Lomand is working on another grant application in the fourth, seventh, and eighth districts here in Cumberland County. They need residents of those districts to fill out a broadband survey and to email letters of support stating why you need better broadband service. I’ve been working on this with them for a while and wanted to have a map of the areas that will be in the grant application before requesting the surveys, but the graphic isn’t completed yet.
I verified with Ben Lomand that everyone in all three of those districts should fill out the survey and send a letter of support regardless, so if you live in one of those districts, please fill out the survey. If you recently (the past week or so) completed this after hearing about it from one of your Commissioners for the Ben Lomand project, you do not need to do another one.
Ben Lomand Broadband Survey: http://www.benlomandconnect.com/broadband-survey
Ben Lomand support letters can be emailed to communitysupport@benlomand.net.
If you aren’t sure if you live in one of those districts, click the link below to see district maps: https://cumberlandcountytn.gov/voting-districts/
I have also been involved in other grant applications for other parts of Cumberland County that are being prepared. Please follow these updates to see if the providers need surveys, letters, etc. Community feedback is important on these applications, and these applications are important to fixing the problem with poor broadband here in Cumberland County. It will take all of us working together to get this done!
TCAT Presentation
Congratulations to our local Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) as they received a $7,000 donation from TVA/VEC for new welding equipment. Our local TCAT is a great partner in our community. They work hard help our county government by doing everything from pulling network cable, to construction, and even being the keeper of the Courthouse clock (it’s almost working again, by the way!). The area where they really shine is in preparing the students for a successful career. Again, congratulations to TCAT and thank you to TVA and VEC!
Special Called Commission Meeting
There was a special called meeting of the County Commission tonight, with all commissioners in attendance except Jerry Cooper and Colleen Mall. The purpose of the meeting was to elect officers, set the Commission committees and to reappoint Philip Burnett as the County Attorney. I was elected Chairman, Terry Lowe was elected Chairman Pro-Tem, and Nancy Hyder was elected Parliamentarian. All votes were unanimous. The committee assignments and the reappointment of Philip Burnett were both unanimous as well. My office is working on getting the committee assignments updated on the county website. It may take a day or so but they will be updated soon.
COVID-19 Update (difference from previous day)
The following are the numbers from the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH) for Cumberland County as of 2:00 PM today. The change from the prior day is in parenthesis.
For the last three days, our positive case count has been 992, but for the last three days our total tests resulted have been 142, 42, and 16 respectively. That is a total of only 200 test results, which is a bit low. I’m not sure what has happened other than I believe the labs were reasonably caught up, so with no testing at the Health Department over the long holiday weekend there were possibly just very few tests for the lab. Still, that is 200 tests with 7 positives in that time which is a positivity rate of just 3.5%.
178 active cases (-27)
805 inactive/recovered (+27)
9 deaths officially reported (+0)
992 positive cases (+0)
43 hospitalizations (+0) *
18,536 negative tests (+16)
81.15% Inactive/Recovered
5.08% cumulative positivity rate (positive cases / positive cases + negative tests)
1.64% of residents have tested positive
0.29% of residents have active cases
These numbers are intended to be a brief summary of the information provided by the Tennessee Department of Health. More detailed information can be found at the online dashboard: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html
* Hospitalization data reflect the cumulative (total) number of cases of Cumberland County residents that were ever hospitalized from COVID-19. It does not reflect the number of people currently hospitalized. This does not mean the patient was hospitalized in Cumberland County. It means that a Cumberland County resident was hospitalized at some point.
Health Department Testing and Face Coverings
Masks/face coverings can help to slow the spread by slowing or stopping the droplets that carry the virus. Free cloth masks are available upon request at the Health Department for those that want one. Stop by Monday through Friday from 8:00 am until 4:30 pm to pick one up for each individual in your household.
The local Health Department (1503 South Main Street) is conducting drive through testing, free of charge, Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. No doctor’s order is required, and no appointment is necessary. Anyone can be tested regardless of symptoms.
Thank you for being part of the solution and thank you for the opportunity to serve as your County Mayor. If you are interested in hearing my thoughts and views on news, events, and activities in Cumberland County, please subscribe to my newsletter, and follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Thank you,
Allen Foster
Cumberland County Mayor
http://allenfoster.net
allenfoster.com 