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Rescue organization saves over 4,000 dogs
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Viola Valley Dogs, Inc. is celebrating 10 years of service to the community. Viola Valley Dogs is a no-kill rescue that strives to save as many homeless animals as possible through adoptions, while providing education and low-cost options regarding spaying and neutering, vaccinations, care and training.
Viola Valley Dogs was founded in April 2003 by Ralph and Linda Coursey because they felt a no-kill rescue was greatly needed in this area. Linda began taking dogs home hoping to save their lives.
Ralph is now the primary caretaker of the dogs, feeding and providing fresh water daily. According to Linda, her husband has given each and every dog a special nickname and treats them as his children.
“He can get even the most untamed dog to trust him,” Linda said.
Linda coordinates the intake of strays and surrenders and the pulls from various kill shelters in the area. She also administers shots and worm medication to each dog when they are due.
“In a short amount of time we have taken this small rescue and created something greater than we could have imagined,” said Linda. “Since April 2003, we have taken in well over 4,500 dogs and adopted out around 4,250 to date. We now take in puppies and hold them in isolation for a minimum of two weeks before taking them to Precious Friends Puppy Rescue in Clarksville. We also hold various adoptions in our area.”
Viola Valley Dogs received its 501(c)3 status effective March 23, 2005. All donations to the organization are tax deductible.
“We hope to obtain grants to provide spay/ neuter clinics and hope to be able to distribute educational material to the community,” said Linda.
New programs added to the organization include:
• Viola Valley Dogs, Inc. – to help with the care of abandoned dogs. This program will help provide food, care, vetting, and spay/ neuter until the dog is adopted or sent to another rescue. The Courseys are in charge of this program.
• Kastaway Kitties Cats Rescue – to help care for abandoned kittens and cats by providing food, care and helping with spaying, neutering and shots. Jamie Wheeler is in charge of this program.
• Sad Eyes Urgent Rescue – to help cats and dogs from Warren County Animal Control by providing medical care, spaying/ neutering, and by finding homes for the animals or by placing them with a rescue. Wheeler is also in charge of this program.
• Animal Alliance of Warren County – to help support all the rescue programs. Sally Brock will be in charge of this program.
Everyone involved with the programs are volunteers.
Coursey said, “We need your help to continue to give assistance to these homeless animals of Warren County and surrounding counties. Help us celebrate our 10 years of service.”
Anyone wishing to donate to any of the above organizations, may do so by mailing payment to P.O. Box 39, Viola, Tenn., 37394. Please specify which program your money should go toward. All funds will be used to help animals.

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.