Nashville Explosion-related 9-1-1 Outage affects DeKalb County

December 25, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

An AT&T outage related to the explosion in Nashville Christmas morning is causing issues with calling 911 from cellular phones in much of Middle Tennessee, including DeKalb County.

Due to the outage, anyone with an emergency needing to call 911 is urged to use a landline rather than a cell phone or call the DeKalb Central Dispatch non-emergency line at 615-215-3000 until further notice.

Bradley Mullinax, Director of the DeKalb County E-911 Center, and Charlie Parker, DeKalb Emergency Management Agency Coordinator, have issued the following statement.

“Due to the recent RV explosion in Nashville, all 911 traffic from cell-phones and wireless devices has been affected. The explosion in Nashville impacted the AT&T network operations center resulting in the inability for 911 calls to be routed to the appropriate county. In addition, we have noticed that all AT&T cell phones are down for calls and texts”.

“At this time, we do not know when service will be restored to the Nashville center. However, service technicians are working to route traffic through a redundant network center located at other locations in the state. We want to stress this is not a local problem with our communications center or our local telephone providers. 911 calls placed from landline or traditional home telephones have not been affected and continue to work as usual. If you have an emergency, please utilize a landline or phone or call our non-emergency line at 615-215-3000. We will continue to monitor the situation in Nashville, and we will update local media when we receive notifications”.

“Finally, this outage will not impact our ability to dispatch local responders to your location, but again please use our 10 digit non-emergency number for any public safety request at 615-215-3000,” the statement concluded.

According to Metro Nashville Police, “MNPD, FBI, and ATF are investigating Friday’s intentional 6:30 a.m. explosion of an RV outside 166 2nd Avenue North downtown. Vehicle and pedestrian traffic downtown is restricted as the investigation continues”.

“Officers responded to a shots fired call on 2nd Avenue at approximately 5:30 a.m. Friday morning. The department’s Hazardous Devices Unit was called to check an RV. As those officers were enroute, the vehicle exploded outside an A-T-&-T transmission building. Multiple buildings on 2nd Avenue were damaged, some extensively”. Three people reportedly suffered minor injuries.

December 24, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

The number of fatal crashes is up in DeKalb County this year compared to 2019.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 6 people have lost their lives in DeKalb County wrecks this year compared to 2 last year.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) will conduct an aggressive traffic safety enforcement campaign during the Christmas holiday. Some plan to travel, while others will experience the holidays virtually. THP’s mission is to keep drivers safe when traveling.

“This campaign is aimed at deterring impaired driving and reducing fatal crashes on Tennessee roadways. THP will focus our attention on distracted, reckless, speeding and unrestrained motorists. State troopers will perform saturation patrols, as well as seat belt, sobriety and driver license checkpoints. All of Tennessee’s 95 counties will have troopers working to ensure a safe holiday. Please help us make this a joyful Christmas,” said THP Colonel Matt Perry.

“The goal of the THP is to keep everyone who is traveling on Tennessee roadways safe. We do not want our troopers to knock on your door to deliver the tragic news that no one wants to receive. Therefore, state troopers will aggressively enforce the drinking and driving law. I wish for you and yours a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year,” said Colonel Perry.

During last year’s Christmas holiday period, six people were killed in six traffic crashes on Tennessee roads. Of the six vehicular fatalities, alcohol was involved in one of the traffic deaths. Two were passenger vehicle occupants, three were pedestrians and one was a motorcyclist.

“This enforcement campaign is not at all about issuing citations,’” said Colonel Perry. “It is about ensuring your safety, your family’s safety and the safety of everyone that is sharing the roadways. We care about you and the safety of all”.

December 23, 2020
By: Dwayne Page

Each of Tennessee’s 95 counties experienced decreased unemployment in November 2020, according to new data released Thursday by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).

Unemployment rates in 41 counties are now less than 5%. Fifty-four counties recorded rates of 5% or higher during the month.

DeKalb County’s unemployment rate for November was 5.8%, down from 8.3% in October. The rate for November 2019 was 4%.

The local labor force was 7,908 in November. A total of 7,452 were employed and 456 were without work.

Williamson County had the lowest unemployment rate. At 3.3%, its November rate dropped by 1.3 percentage points when compared to October. The new rate is just 1 percentage point higher than it was in November 2019.

At 3.6%, Moore County had the state’s second-lowest rate for the month. The new figure is 1 percentage point lower than its October rate of 4.6%.

Lake County recorded the highest jobless rate in November, but it still experienced a significant drop in unemployment. The county’s new rate is 8.1%, down 2 percentage points when compared to October.

Shelby County’s unemployment rate dropped more than any other county in the state. At 7.3%, it has the second-highest rate for the month, but it decreased by 3.7 percentage points when compared to its October rate of 11%.

Statewide, Tennessee experienced significantly lower unemployment during the month. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November is 5.3%, a 2 percentage point drop from October’s revised rate of 7.3%. The new statistic is just 2 percentage points higher than the state’s unemployment rate one year ago in November.

The state offers online options for Tennesseans searching for employment. Currently, on the state’s workforce development website, Jobs4TN.gov, job seekers can find more than 230,000 open positions in a wide range of occupations and skill levels.

TDLWD recently launched the Tennessee Virtual American Job Center (VAJC). The new website located at www.TNVirtualAJC.com allows Tennesseans to research different programs, from different state agencies, that can help them remove barriers to employment so they can more easily reenter Tennessee’s workforce. The VAJC allows job seekers to do this on their schedule, anytime, anywhere.