Church Drive Thru Mobile Food Pantry Returns Friday, January 25

January 17, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church is again sponsoring a drive thru mobile food pantry on Friday morning, January 25 rain or shine.

All previous drive thru mobile food pantries by the church have been on Saturdays but this one will be on a Friday.

In partnership with Second Harvest Food Bank, the church plans to prepare enough food boxes to serve up to 300 families regardless of their income status, on a first come, first served basis.

(VIEW VIDEO FROM THE LAST DRIVE THRU MOBILE FOOD PANTRY ON NOVEMBER 10)

IMG_2628 from dwayne page on Vimeo.

Families will receive enough food to last them for a full week. Second Harvest will bring in pallets of food on trucks. The food will then be off loaded and organized in preparation for the distribution.

Registration begins at 8:00 a.m. and the food will be delivered from 9:00 a.m. until noon. Unlike most food distributions, those being served by the mobile pantry will not have to get out of their automobiles. They will drive thru in a pickup line and volunteers will deliver the food directly to their vehicles, placing the food boxes either in the back seat or trunk. Cars will line up facing north on College Street across from the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

“It’s a mobile food pantry but it’s also a drive thru. The recipients will stay in their cars. They will line up starting at 8:00 a.m. on College Street and when we have everything prepared and organized we’ll start the line moving, hopefully around 9:00 a.m. Recipients will drive through. As they enter in we’ll have a team there to put a box of food in their cars, either in their back seat or trunk,” said spokesperson Teresa Trapp Brown.

“We will line up right across from the church (Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church) on College Street. We’ll start registration at 8:00 a.m. We’ll need the name of the recipients and how many families are being served. We’re limited to two families per vehicle to make sure we have enough food,” added Isaac Gray, Minister of the Smithville Cumberland Presbyterian Church.

Others who wish to volunteer may show up Friday, January 25 or call for more information at 615-464-7896 or 615-597-4197.

January 16, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

A 19 year old DeKalb County man wanted since October for allegedly stealing $80,000 worth of tennis bracelets in Franklin has been captured in Texas.

Jario Godinez was arrested at a Dallas home after Franklin police coordinated with Dallas authorities to make the arrest.

Franklin police said they tracked Godinez to a home in Dallas. Dallas police arrested him as he tried to flee out of the back door of a home on December 28. Police said several of the stolen tennis bracelets were found on him at the time of his arrest.

Godinez was extradited to Franklin and charged with felony theft. He is in the Williamson County Jail on $100,000 bond.

On October 26, Franklin Police began investigating an $80k snatch & grab theft from Grogan Jewelers, located inside the CoolSprings Galleria. Investigators quickly identified the suspect as Jario Godinez, who snatched about a dozen tennis bracelets out of the hands of a sales associate.

January 16, 2019
By: Dwayne Page

The partial shutdown of the United States government currently impacts more than 25,000 Tennesseans. Many furloughed federal workers are not on the job, while others continue to work without pay.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD) manages the federally funded unemployment insurance program. The state received its appropriation for the program before the government shutdown and unemployed Tennesseans continue to receive benefits.

Depending on the length of the shutdown, many Tennesseans who work for the federal government may qualify to collect unemployment benefits.

The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) has strict requirements claimants must meet to receive benefits, one of which is an unemployed person must be willing and able to work. A furloughed federal worker meets this requirement because they are free to work.

Federal workers required to remain on the job without pay are not eligible for unemployment benefits because they are not able to work.

If the state approves an application for benefits, unemployment claimants must certify online each week they are available to work. The state also requires they conduct online job searches in order to receive benefits.

It is important to keep in mind, the first week a person files for benefits is considered their waiting week and the claimant will not receive money. They will receive their first payment after two weeks of filing. The state pays the waiting week after a claimant completes four consecutive weeks of certifying for benefits.

During the application process, the state must verify wages with the employer. Since these are federal employees, the shutdown could cause a delay in the verification process. The state has up to 21 days to approve or deny a claim for unemployment benefits.

The maximum weekly benefit in Tennessee is $275, which is subject to federal income taxes.

Once the shutdown ends, and if the federal government provides workers with back pay for the time they were furloughed, per USDOL guidelines, the worker will be responsible for paying the state of Tennessee for any unemployment benefits they received.

As of Jan. 10, 2019, the state of Tennessee has received applications for unemployment benefits from 400 federal workers since the shutdown began.
1.Federal employees can apply for unemployment benefits through the state’s workforce development website, www.Jobs4TN.gov. This is also the website where claimants complete their weekly job search certifications.

Anyone with questions can call TDLWD at 844-224-5818 or use the live chat function at www.tn.gov/workforce Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. CT.