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NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) today elected two new officers during the quarterly meeting. Mr. Vernon Stafford was elected Vice-Chair for West Tennessee, and Ms. Mintha Roach was elected Vice-Chair for East Tennessee.

NASHVILLE - The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation that led to the indictment and arrest of Brandon Alan Tramel for tax evasion, theft, and aggravated perjury. Revenue special agents arrested Tramel, 30, at his home. Bond was set at $25,000.

FRANKLIN – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer announced today the award of a $1,000,000 transportation alternative grant to the city of Franklin for Phase II of the State Route 96 Multiuse Trail Project. The SR 96 Multiuse Trail currently begins near Carlisle Lane and extends to Vera Valley Road. Phase I of the project is under development, and will extend the trail to Jim Warren Park on Boyd Mill Avenue. The Phase II project will begin there and run all the way to 5th Avenue North. Once completed, the trail will provide connections between residential areas, schools, shopping, and city centers.

MURFREESBORO – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer announced today the award of a $1,027,178 transportation alternative grant to the city of Murfreesboro for the Mercury Boulevard Sidewalk Project. The project will provide a complete sidewalk linkage from SE Broad Street to Middle Tennessee Boulevard along Mercury Boulevard. All 7,200 feet of sidewalks will be ADA compliant, and will include pedestrian crosswalks at the signalized intersections along Mercury Boulevard.

PULASKI – Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer announced today the award of a $617,073 transportation alternative grant to the city of Pulaski for the North 1st Street Improvements. The project will consist of sidewalk improvements and landscaping along 1st Street from Jefferson Street to Perkins/Chestnut Street. This will be the eighth phase of sidewalk improvements, and will tie into existing sidewalks around the downtown square. The project will provide a connected sidewalk route between residential areas, schools, parks, and the downtown business district.

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.