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New judicial commissioners hired
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County commissioners hired two new judicial commissioners Monday night bringing the total up to eight after losing two who resigned.
Hired were Herb Rowland and Dawn Cantrell to be as-needed, fill-in judicial commissioners. They were chosen from approximately 30 applicants, with five brought in for interviews Monday night.
“We had a good group of applicants this time,” said Policy and Personnel Committee chairman Ken Martin. “We usually do. I wish we could hire all five that we interviewed, but we can’t. They are all highly qualified individuals.”
Rowland retired last year after a 40-year law enforcement career.
“After 40 years I know all about writing warrants,” he said. “Back when I was hired by the department, we wrote our own warrants. That was before judicial commissioners. My brother, Gerald, was hired as a judicial commissioner last month.”
Herb retired in March 2011.
“I just want something to do,” said Rowland. “I want to keep busy. I do a little farming on the side with cattle and horses, but it doesn’t take up all my time.”
Prior to the interview process, Martin says he checked on a possible conflict between hiring brothers to be judicial commissioners.
“Just in case someone was wondering, I checked with the county’s attorney about a possible conflict. There isn’t one. There is no problem with hiring him as a judicial commissioner, especially since he will only be a fill-in.”
Cantrell is a biology and science teacher at Warren County High School. She has held that position almost 10 years.
“I enjoy new situations,” said Cantrell. “This will be a learning experience for me, a new challenge. If I can also give back to the community by being a judicial commissioner, it’s all the better.”
Cantrell works with Hilda Martin, a current judicial commissioner.
“I don’t have any experience as a judicial commissioner, but I work with Hilda and the SROs at the high school. I feel like I know what the job requires.”
It is not required to have prior knowledge of the position as the county offers intensive training prior to individuals being allowed to write warrants, according to Martin.
“You’re not ready until you say you are ready,” he said. “That way, I feel comfortable with cutting you loose. We will continue training until you feel ready.”
Two fill-in judicial commissioners were recently hired and trained. However, after the resignations of two regular judicial commissioners, those individuals went from fill-ins to filling regular shifts prompting the county to begin the hiring process again.
“We have 168 hours during the week to fill,” said Martin. “With these two, we have eight judicial commissioners. That’s what we need. Right now, we have some who are working a lot of hours.”
Rowland and Cantrell must be accepted by the full Warren County Commission.

Local law enforcement on the lookout for distracted driving
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April is National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Distracted Driving Awareness Month and McMinnville Police Department (MPD) is on the roads to educate motorists about appropriate hands-free driving.

The amplified focus of cracking down on distracted driving is a nationwide initiative, with many states taking part. MPD Officer Mark Mara indicated the local department is increasing patrols, funded by overtime grants, to enforce and educate about Tennessee’s Hands Free Law.

“We’re trying to get people to change their habits,” Mara said. “There’s a lot of people that are distracted while driving, whether its their cell phones or not. When driving, there are already so many distractions, so having electronics in your hands while you’re driving down the road is dangerous. We need to focus on getting where we need to go and getting there safely.”

According to its records, NHTSA estimates 3,308 lives were lost in crashes involving distracted drivers in 2022 and 8% of all fatal crashes could be attributed to the same. To illustrate the point on a larger scale, it approximates over 32,000 people have died and nearly 290,000 were left injured from crashes attributed to distracted motorists between 2013 and 2022.

Violation of the Tennessee Hands Free Law is a Class C misdemeanor and traffic citations based on the violation are considered moving traffic violations. A first-time offense is typically $50 with third-time offenses and violations resulting in a crash rising to $100; citations received in a work zone while workers or present or in a marked school zone while flashes are in operation carry a penalty of $200. Three points are also added to a motorist’s driving record for each violation with 12 points leading to license suspension.

While the law specifically mentions hands in its name, it is similarly illegal to prop the phone up with any other part of their body.

“We’re going to be stopping vehicles whose operators are distracted by using their cell phones or other electronic devices,” Mara said. “It is against the law for a motorist to be holding their electronic device or having it on their body, so if you’re holding it to your ear or with your shoulder, it’s against the law all the same.”

When using GPS technology, Mara recommends investing in windshield-, vent- or dash-mounted mobile device holder to support the phone while using it for those purposes so your hands can remain on the wheel without compromising your ability to navigate to a destination.

“I understand that your cell phones are a lifeline and we get that — we use them ourselves for GPS. If you have an important phone call that’s coming in and you really need to focus on talking to that person, just pull over to the side of the road and turn on your emergency lights,” Mara said. “When you’re on a phone call, you’re not paying attention to all of the things you need to. You’re going to be concentrating on that conversation and you’re going to find yourself drifting in your lane, going through a stop sign or not stopping properly before a red light.”

Mara additionally recommended drivers sync their phones to their vehicles in models with Bluetooth capabilities and to use phone mounts that do not obstruct vision of the roadways through the windshield.

“The greatest danger of distracted driving is ending up in a crash that was absolutely avoidable, which might hurt yourself or someone else,” Mara said. “You’ve got a lot in front of you when you’re driving and a vehicle is a piece of machinery. We want all motorists to be driving safely on the roads and getting to their destinations without misadventure.”

Warnings and citations will be rendered at officers’ discretion during the increased patrols.