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FAYETTEVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer announced today the award of a $1,099,037 transportation alternative grant to the city of Fayetteville for the Stone Bridge Park to Camp Blount Connector Project. The project will provide a pedestrian connection between Stone Bridge Park and historical Camp Blount via the Elk River. It will include widening an existing trail from five to ten feet and addressing current ADA deficiencies. The trail would continue over a proposed 10-foot-wide steel truss pedestrian bridge that would provide a safe crossing over the Elk River, and connect with the historical overlook Camp Blount.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed Jody S. Pickens of Jackson as district attorney general for the 26th Judicial District, replacing retiring District Attorney General Jerry Woodall, effective August 1. The position will be up for election in 2018. Pickens has been assistant district attorney general in the district since 1996. He was a special assistant in the U.S. attorney general’s office for the Western District of Tennessee from 2010-2012. He has received honors in the community as a leader on victims’ rights, including the Champion of Victims’ Rights Award from Union University, Friend of the Family Award from the American Family Association and for outstanding service to victims of violent crime from West Tennessee Legal Services.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips today announced Tennessee’s unemployment rate for June 2017 was 3.6 percent, the lowest in Tennessee recorded history. The June 2017 preliminary seasonally adjusted rate surpasses the previous low of 3.7 percent from March 2000. The state has not experienced an unemployment rate below 4.0 percent since it was 3.9 percent in February 2001.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced the state has set a new record and for the third year in a row has led the nation in the number of students filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Nearly three quarters of all Tennessee high school seniors—73.5 percent—filed the FAFSA for the 2017-18 academic year, a requirement for Tennessee students to be eligible for both federal and state aid, including Tennessee Promise and the HOPE Lottery Scholarship.

RIPLEY – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today awarded state workforce development grants to two Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) institutions in West Tennessee to expand higher education opportunities and support the Drive to 55 goal to increase the number of Tennesseans with a degree or certificate to 55 percent by 2025. The Community Development Block Grants (CDBG) will expand current programs and develop new training programs at TCAT-Ripley and TCAT-Covington in communities with limited higher education options.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Commissioner Bonnie Hommrich today announced that after more than 16 years of system-wide reform and a massive turnaround, Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) is now free of federal court oversight. U.S. District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw has approved the historic agreement between the state and Children’s Rights, the New York-based advocacy group that in 2000 filed litigation known as the Brian A. lawsuit that charged that Tennessee youth in foster care suffered in an overburdened system, describing children in crowded congregate care shelters and social workers with overwhelming caseloads.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today officially opened the Tennessee Volunteer ChalleNGe Academy, an alternative residential program operated by the Tennessee National Guard that offers youth between ages 16-18 who have dropped out of school a chance to earn a high school equivalency diploma outside of a traditional school setting. The academy is housed at the site of the former Woodland Hills Youth Development Center in Nashville where Haslam was joined Friday by Deputy Gov. Jim Henry and Major General Max Haston for a ribbon cutting ceremony. The first class of approximately 100 cadets is set to begin July 9.

ELIZABETHTON – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today highlighted the 20 percent reduction to the grocery tax included in the newly implemented IMPROVE Act by visiting local grocery stores in Elizabethton and Mount Juliet. Effective July 1, the IMPROVE Act, “Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy,” creates the largest tax cut in state history while delivering a safe, reliable and debt-free transportation network.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today appointed William K. Rogers of Kingsport as circuit court judge for the Second Judicial District, which serves Sullivan County. Rogers, 59, replaces Judge R. Jerry Beck, whose retirement is effective June 30.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has named William A. Young of Knoxville to the Tennessee Claims Commission, replacing William O. Shults of Newport whose terms expires June 30. The appointment is for the Eastern Division and is subject to confirmation by resolution of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly. The three commissioners hold eight-year terms.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today announced that David Smith, his director of communications and one of the longest serving members of his staff, will leave the administration in August to start his own business as a communications consultant. “Dave is trusted, respected and well-liked both by those in the media and throughout state government. I value his perspective, insight and counsel on not only communications but also policy and strategy,” Haslam said. “Since 2010, Dave has been a critical part of our team and its success, and I wish him the very best as he starts this new phase of his career.”

CHATTANOOGA – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam today in Chattanooga held the first ceremonial signing for the IMPROVE Act, “Improving Manufacturing, Public Roads and Opportunities for a Vibrant Economy,” which enacts the largest tax cut in state history while delivering a safe, reliable and debt-free transportation network. “The IMPROVE Act puts money back in the pockets of all Tennesseans and has already helped us attract manufacturing jobs to Tennessee – all while putting us on the path to deliver nearly 1,000 road and bridge projects across the state,” Haslam said. “The Tennessee we can be provides not only access to opportunity but the tools to be successful. Good roads that take you to good jobs. IMPROVE is a conservative and responsible approach to build and sustain the state’s economic growth and competitiveness for the next generation of Tennesseans.”

NASHVILLE – In front of military personnel of the Tennessee Army and Air National Guard at the Tennessee Department of Military, Gov. Bill Haslam on Thursday signed the Tennessee STRONG Act that provides tuition free higher educational opportunities for eligible members of the Tennessee National Guard and supports the Drive to 55 goal to increase the number of Tennesseans with a degree or certificate to 55 percent by 2025.

NASHVILLE – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam will hold a bill signing ceremony Thursday, May 25, for the Tennessee STRONG (Support, Training and Renewing Opportunity for National Guard) Act at the Tennessee Department of Military in Nashville. Haslam will be joined by Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris (R-Collierville), Rep. Tilman Goins (R-Morristown), Rep. David Hawk (R-Greeneville) and Major General Max Haston.

MORRISTOWN – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam made history today as he signed the Tennessee Reconnect Act, making Tennessee the first state in the nation to offer all citizens – both high school graduates and adults – the chance to earn a postsecondary degree or certificate free of tuition and fees and at no cost to taxpayers.