Southern Progressives

National News:

State News:

State Rep. Mark Cochran (R-Englewood) believes that the growth seen in the local area over the past few years has been similar to what the rest of the state has experienced in that time.

Across the state, he said, Tennessee has steadily been growing in population, travelers and industry over the past five years.

“I think because of the quality of life here, it attracts thousands of new people every month,” Cochran said. “The biggest way that we are addressing the growth in this year’s session is with the highway bill.”

The bill will “inject” new funding into roadway infrastructure in an attempt to ease the heavier traffic sites across the state, he said. That bill is being led through the House of Representatives by State Rep. Dan Howell (R-Ocoee), who represents Meigs County.

“With so many people moving to your state, you have to make sure that you have the infrastructure to keep up with that growth,” Cochran expressed. “The bill that is working its way through the House and the Senate is an additional $3 billion being put into our roads, highways and bridges.”

In addition to that, the large metropolitan areas such as Memphis and Nashville are looking into the possibility of express lanes.

“We have such congestion in those areas that without the express lane option you would use up all of the gas tax dollars fixing those congestion problems,” he noted. “That’s tax dollars that could be going to other areas of the state, but with the express lane option you would have several new lanes that would allow people to pay to travel faster.”

According to Cochran, the express lane would be different from a toll lane.

“Another part of the same transportation bill will be another $300 million to local governments,” he stated. “It will go directly to highway departments and the money is through a grant program. We know that state roads aren’t the only ones being traveled on frequently and that county roads will need work as well.”

Cochran believes the future for Tennessee will be a bright one.

“We have seen growth in many different areas. People like to be where they are free and Tennessee is one of those places,” he stated. “Where other states aren’t doing well, the people who are seeking freedom are moving to Tennessee.”

Cochran stated residents have seen a lot of new industry move to Tennessee, including areas that had been exclusive to other states.

“Companies like Smith & Wesson, which had been in Massachusetts, has moved into Maryville so that industry growth is certainly leading to the population growth,” Cochran said. “Certainly I think over the last five years we have seen a vast increase in growth. I think over the last three or four years that growth has increased and part of that could have been due to how other states handled the response to the pandemic and they saw that Tennessee erred on the side of freedom.”

Cochran welcomed all of the new residents of Tennessee with a cautionary message.

“Remember why you are moving here to Tennessee and why you are leaving your home state,” he expressed. “Don’t try to enact the same policies that negatively impacted the state you left. You want to keep what attracted you to Tennessee and we are happy that Tennessee is your new home.”

In case you might want to give him a piece of your mind...

Local News:

McMinn County has been awarded Federal Funds made available

through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)/Federal Emergency Management Agency under the Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program. McMinn County has been chosen to receive

$17,586 to supplement emergency food and shelter programs in the

county in Phase 40. The Local Board was charged to distribute the funds

appropriated by Congress to help expand the capacity of food and shelter

programs in high-need areas around the country. A Local Board made up

of area government officials, agency representatives, United Way, etc.

will determine how the funds awarded to McMinn County are to be distributed among the emergency food and shelter programs run by local

service agencies in the area. The local board is responsible for recommending agencies to receive these funds and any additional funds made

available under this phase of the program. Agencies interested in applying are urged to call the United Way office at 745-9606 to review the

requirements before applying. Public or private voluntary agencies interested in applying for Emergency Food and Shelter Program funds must

contact Paige Zabo at 745-9606 for an application and information about

requirements. The Local Board will meet on Tuesday, March 7th at 2 p.m.

at the United Way office. The deadline to submit an application is Friday,

March 3rd by 3 p.m

The Arts: