Marion Tribune

The Marion Tribune, Thursday, June 13, 2024— 3A TennCare to offer 100 free diapers monthly for children under two T he Centers for Medicare & Med- icaid Services (CMS) have approved a radical amendment to Tennes- see’s Medicaid Waiver, TennCare III, aimed at enhancing healthcare access and support for TennCare members. This amendment is part of Governor Lee’s ‘Strong Families Initiative,’ which was approved by the General Assembly last year to strengthen support for Tennessee’s families. With this approval, starting June 1, more parents and caregiv- ers will qualify for TennCare. Additionally, e ff ective this August, TennCare will become the fi rst Medicaid agen- cy in the nation to cover the cost of diapers, pro- viding up to 100 diapers per month for TennCare and CoverKids mem- bers under two. These new initiatives are ex- pected to ease fi nancial burdens for families and ensure the well-being of TennCare’s youngest members. Kara Cocks, Presi- dent of Tennessee Val- ley Diaper Bank, praised the program for the relief it will bring to parents across the state. “A lot of people reaching out to us are grandparents raising their grandchil- dren. They have tempo- rary custody and need a supplement,” said Cocks. She also noted that there are other options avail- able for those who do not qualify for the program. The necessity for such a program is under- scored by several impor- tant facts: •Local childcare fa- cilities require parents to supply an adequate amount of diapers for their infants and tod- dlers. Without them, children cannot stay, preventing parents from going to work. •One out of two fami- lies struggles to provide diapers for their child. •Federal programs like SNAP andWIC do not cov- er diapers, as they are cat- egorizedas non-food items. •An infant typically uses 8-10 diapers per day, totaling 240-300 diapers per month, which can cost $96-$100 or more. To address this need, the Tennessee Valley Diaper Bank, along with annual sponsors, lo- cal clubs, churches, and other organizations, is actively involved in creating diaper aware- ness through donations, drives, and fundrais- ers. Community volun- teers play a crucial role by collecting, sorting, wrapping, labeling, and distributing the diapers to local partnering agen- cies that serve families in Bradley and Cleveland. The process involves several steps: •Donors and the community provide and donate diapers, and the Tennessee Valley Diaper Bank purchases addi- tional diapers. •Volunteers re-wrap the diapers for distribu- tion. •The Tennessee Val- ley Diaper Bank supplies the re-wrapped diapers to partnering agencies. These agencies then distribute the diapers to families in need. The combined e ff orts of the Tennessee Valley Diaper Bank and its vol- unteers help ensure that the future leaders of to- morrow receive the sup- port they need today. T ennessee American Water fi led a petition with the Tennessee Public Utility Commission (TPUC) for approval to adjust rates, re fl ecting $173 million in water system investments made by the company since its last general rate increase in2012 throughDecember 2025, to continue providing clean, safe, and reliable service. The request reinforces the company’s commitment to investing in its water system to replace aging infra- structure, provide reliable service, enhance water qual- ity, and comply with environmental regulations. “Our approach for long-term, e ffi cient, and consis- tent investment in our water system helps us deliver high-quality a ff ordable and reliable service to our cus- tomers,” saidGrantEvitts, president of TennesseeAmer- ican Water. “By making prudent, ongoing investments, Tennessee American Water is committed to protecting public health and safety in the communities we serve. At the same time, we remain committed to addressing the needs of ourmost vulnerable customers.” The company’s last general rate increase was fi led with the TPUC in June 2012. Since then, the company hasmadeover$173million incapital investments. These projects are important to continue providing quality wa- ter, increasing fi re protection and service reliability for our customers. The investments have included: • Replacement of two water basins that had reached the end of their service life with newer, more e ffi cient technology. • Installation of two newwater tanks inWhitwell and emergency interconnects with the Dunlapwater system. •Completionof twelve tank rehabilitations, including two water tanks on Lookout Mountain. • Completion of a disinfection building that enhances public and employee safety standards at the treatment plant. Tennessee American Water’s rates are based on the cost of providingwater service as reviewedandapproved by the TPUC. If the company’s proposed rates are ap- proved as requested, the water bill for the average Chat- tanooga residential customer would increase approxi- mately $4.00 permonth. Part of today’s fi ling with the TPUC includes a pro- posal for a new universal a ff ordability tari ff to help provide eligible customers bill payment assistance. Customers who are at or below 150%of the federal pov- erty level would qualify for a tiered discount. Currently, Tennessee American Water o ff ers customer assistance through the Project Water Help program, payment plans and budget billing. To request assistance through Project Water Help, customers can call UnitedWay 2-1- 1. Information about this as well as payment plans and budget billing is available at the company’s website. Final rates are subject to the TPUC’s approval, which includes a thorough public review of Tennessee Ameri- canWater’s rate request. TheTPUC’s rate reviewprocess o ff ers opportunities for customer involvement. Custom- ers can participate through the submission of written comments andproviding oral comments at a future pub- licmeeting. Formore information on the company’s rate proposal and to fi nd out what actions customers may take, visit https://www.amwater.com/tnaw/Customer- Service-Billing/Your-Water-Rates/. The proposed rates in the request are not e ff ective until a ruling by the TPUC. Once a decision ismade, cus- tomerswill receive information on the new rates on their bills and on the TNAWwebsite. ABOUT AMERICAN WATER American Water (NYSE: AWK) is the largest regulated water and waste- water utility company in the United States. With a his- tory dating back to 1886, We Keep Life Flowing® by providing safe, clean, reliable and a ff ordable drinking water and wastewater services to more than 14 million people with regulated operations in 14 states and on 18 military installations. American Water’s 6,500 talented professionals leverage their signi fi cant expertise and the company’s national size and scale to achieve excellent outcomes for the bene fi t of customers, employees, inves- tors and other stakeholders. For more information, visit amwater.com and join American Water on LinkedIn, Facebook, X and Insta- gram. ABOUT TENNESSEEAMERICANWATER Tennessee American Water, a subsidiary of Ameri- can Water, is the largest regulated water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water services to approximately 420,000 people in Tennessee and north Georgia. For more information, visit www.tennes- seeamwater.com and connect with us on Facebook, X, Instagramand YouTube. TNAW files rate request driven by $173 million in water system investments MTSU congratulates local students among 5,475 undergrad scholars on spring 2024 Dean’s List M iddle Tennessee State University is congratulating 5,475 stu- dents who appear on the dean’s list for the spring 2024 semester. To qualify for this dis- tinction, an undergradu- ate student must main- tain a current semester grade-point average of 3.5 or above and earn at least 12 semester hours. Area students who made the list include: Jasper: Hazel Barnes, Elizabeth Baxter, Ansley Blevins, Emmalee Chance, Will King, and Megan Perry Whitwell: Riley Beck, Marissa Pickett, and Riley Wells South Pittsburg: Grace Chu, Curtis Gill, Alexander Lipton, andMeredithPow- ers Monteagle: Hannah Moss Founded in 1911 as one of three state normal schools for teacher train- ing, Middle Tennessee State University is one of the oldest and largest un- dergraduate universities in the state of Tennessee. With a fall enrollment av- eraging more than 21,000 students for the past sev- eral years, MTSU remains committed to providing individualized service in an exciting and nurturing atmospherewhere student success is the top prior- ity. For more informa- tion, call 615-898-2300, visit https://mtsu.edu/ or https://mtsunews.com . Follow MTSU on X/Twit- ter @MTSUNews and like us on Facebook. Local students named to TN Tech Spring 2024 Dean’s List T ennessee Tech Uni- versity is proud to an- nounce that nearly 4,100 students have been named to the Spring 2024 Dean’s List. To qualify for the Dean’s List, students must attend the university full- time and achieve a grade- point average of at least 3.1 on a 4.0 scale. The following local stu- dents earned this presti- gious honor: Guild: HannahHood Jasper: Charles Hen- derson. Christian Munn, Harrison Cardin, Olivia Newson, Shelby Lyle, Sydney Barker, Timothy Blevins South Pittsburg: Abi- gail Blansett, Alonzo De- vore, Evan Winnie, Justin Schlenkert, Matthew Nel- son, Olivia Bradford, Syd- ney Boggs Whitwell: Allison Pritchett, Destiny Nun- ley, Ethan Hooper, Hope Boynton, Jaron Turner, Katrina Smith, William Spradlin “Tennessee Tech stu- dents continue to excel in the classroomand beyond. Their dedication to their studies and determina- tion to succeed helpsmake Tech a place that we can all be glad to call home,” said Tech President Phil Oldham. “Congratulations to all our students whose hard work earned them a place on the Dean’s List. They have made their uni- versity, their families and their hometown commu- nities very proud.” Tennessee Tech is ranked as a “Best National University” by U.S. News & World Report. The uni- versity o ff ers more than 200 programs of study and Tech grads leave with the least debt of all public universities in the state. In fact, based on total cost and alumni earnings, Tech provides students with the highest return on invest- ment for any public uni- versity in Tennessee, ac- cording to PayScale. Find out more at tntech.edu. Local student named to Spring 2024 Chancellor’s Honor Roll at the University of Mississippi E van England, of Jas- per, was named to the University of Mississippi’s Spring 2024 Honor Roll lists. England, majoring in Public Policy Leadership, was named to theChancel- lor’s Honor Roll, which is reserved for students who earn a semester GPA of 3.75-4.00. “The remarkable stu- dents achieving Chancel- lor’sHonorRoll areamong the best and brightest at the University of Missis- sippi,” Chancellor Glenn Boyce said. “I commend them for their hard work and dedication resulting in their outstanding aca- demic achievements and thiswell-deserved recogni- tion.” To be eligible for honor roll designation, a student must have completed at least 12 graded hours for the semester and may not be on academic probation during the semester. The University of Mis- sissippi, a ff ectionately known as Ole Miss, is the state’s fl agship university. Included in the elite group of R1: Doctoral Universi- ties - Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Classi fi cation, it has a long history of producing lead- ers in public service, aca- demics andbusiness. Its 16 academic divisions include a major medical school, nationally recognized schools of accountancy, law and pharmacy, and an Honors College acclaimed for a blend of academic rigor, experiential learning andopportunities for com- munity action. Recognized among the nation’s most beautiful, Ole Miss’ main campus is inOxford,which is routinely acknowledged as one of the country’s best college towns. W almart hourly store associates in Ten- nesseereceivedgreatnews this morning. Walmart just announced it is start- ing a new annual bonus program for eligible full- and part-time hourly as- sociates in stores, includ- ing hourly associates in the pharmacy and optical departments. Associates must be employed with the company for one year to be eligible - that means approximately 20,000 of the hourly store associates in Tennessee are eligible for this new bonus. This new bonus for hourly store associates is one of four new ways Walmart announced to- day that it is investing in its people. Here are the key highlights: 1. Launched the Associate to Technician program, a new program to help address the skilled trade labor shortage and create new career oppor- tunities at Walmart. The program provides front- line associates with the training and pathways to move into higher-paying technician jobs in our stores and supply chain facilities. 2. Doubling the number of skills certi fi - cates available through the Walmart-paid Live Better U (LBU) bene fi t. These certi fi cates will help fast-track front-line as- sociates into the 100,000 higher-paying and in- demand jobs at Walmart over the next three years. 3. Starting a new Associate Bonus for eli- gible full- and part-time storehourlyassociates that rewards long-termservice- the longer an associate is with the company, the higher their bonus poten- tial is, up to $1,000 a year. 4. A new Total Pay & Bene fi ts feature in the Me@Walmart app. This new feature gives store as- sociates the opportunity to quickly and easily see their pay, 401k, Associate Stock Purchase Plan, ben- e fi ts and more right in the palm of their hand. Today’s announce- ments mark the latest step inWalmart’s ongoing commitment to invest in its associates. More information about these announce- ments can be found on Walmart’s corporate blog Walmart of TN launches new program