Broadband Surveys
Ben Lomand Connect and Bledsoe Telephone Cooperative are again preparing broadband grant applications and need your help. Other providers will be applying for grants in various parts of the county as well, but for now these are the two that have asked me to help get the word out.
BTC Fiber plans to complete a fiber optic expansion to the southern portion of Cumberland County, including the Vandever and Breckenridge Communities, that is only possible through the assistance of grants. BTC Fiber is seeking input from community members as an important component of the grant process. BTC Fiber asks potential customers to assist with the procedure by filling out a short survey, which can be found at http://btcfiber.com. A service map is also available on the website.
Ben Lomand Connect is applying for grants in large portions of the county that are not covered by BTC Fiber. They plan to include parts of County Commission Districts 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 in the grant application. If you live in these areas and are interested in high-speed broadband service from Ben Lomand Connect, please fill out the online survey at www.benlomandconnect.com/broadband-survey. Support letters for this grant application can be emailed to communitysupport@benlomand.net.
Both providers request that you are sure to use your home internet connection (*not from your cell phone or other location since the survey measures download/upload speeds). Grant support is critical to this project, and community support is an important component of the grant application, so be sure to complete these surveys even if you have done so in the past.
Remember, just because your location may not be in one of these areas, it doesn’t mean you are out of luck. Other providers are seeking grants as well. I will keep you updated as more information becomes available.
COVID-19 Update
The state of Tennessee has moved to reporting COVID-19 data on a weekly basis on Wednesday of each week for the previous Sunday through Saturday. This report includes data for the week ending February 5th.
According to the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH), in Cumberland County there are 1,211 active cases of COVID-19. This number appears to be peaking/declining. There have been 294 cumulative deaths reported as of the date of this newsletter. Datasets for additional information can be found at https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov/data/downloadable-datasets.html.
CMC and Covenant released a dashboard with information about current COVID-19 patients. You can see from the graphic that 33% of all COVID-19 ICU patients at CMC are unvaccinated, and 80% of all COVID-19 patients at CMC are unvaccinated. Currently there are 14 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations at CMC. At CMC, the median age of those in the ICU is not available as the volume is too small to report, and the median age of other COVID-19 hospitalizations is 65.5.
Covenant also released aggregate data for the entire hospital system. Data provided indicates 60% of all COVID-19 ICU patients in a Covenant hospital are unvaccinated, and 61% of all COVID-19 patients in a Covenant hospital are unvaccinated. Currently there are 323 confirmed or suspected COVID-19 hospitalizations in a Covenant facility. The median age of those in the ICU is 64 and the median age of other COVID-19 hospitalizations is 67.
Complete Covenant COVID hospitalization data can be found here:
https://www.covenanthealth.com/covid-19-dashboard/
State Vaccination Dashboard:
https://data.tn.gov/t/Public/views/TennIISCOVID-19VaccineReporting/SUMMARY?:showAppBanner=false&:display_count=n&:showVizHome=n&:origin=viz_share_link&:toolbar=no&:embed=yes
Cumberland County Schools Update
According to Director of Schools Dr. Ina Maxwell, as of Friday, February 4, there are 51 students that are positive for COVID-19 and 12 staff members.
Cumberland County Health Department Update
The Cumberland County Health Department is currently offering the Pfizer COVID 19 Vaccine and Booster. Unfortunately, the Moderna Booster is not available at the Cumberland County Health Department at this time. There are several other local facilities that offer Moderna. A complete list can be found at www.vaccines.gov. If the status changes for the Moderna vaccine and booster, the Health Department will send out an announcement.
COVID-19 Testing Hours Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 11:00 am (MWF are self-testing days)
COVID-19 Vaccine Hours Monday – Friday, 8:00 pm – 4:00 pm
All COVID-19 Vaccines are currently being given inside the Health Department. No drive-thru option will be offered.
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.com
Note the change of email address to allen@allenfoster.com
allenfoster.com 