WBBJ TV
April 14, 2021
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. The Madison County Sheriff’s Department spent a long afternoon discussing the funds required to meet their needs.
The Madison County Commission’s budget committee met on Wednesday to start the budget process for their next fiscal year.
The sheriff’s office is again requesting a significant increase.
“It’s around 25 million. Lot’s of it has to do with a change in overtime policy on holidays, then a change in the raises that went in because the award back in the first part of the year,” said Madison County Sheriff John Mehr.
Sheriff Mehr says what’s also in the budget request is funding to hire new school resource officers, additional K-9 officers, two investigators and four additional deputies for the road.
A Union University professor, who started his educational career in Jackson-Madison County Schools with teaching and administrative roles, will take a vacated school board seat until the August 2022 general election.
The Madison County Commission appointed educational leadership professor Ken Newman to the District 2 school board seat, vacated by board member O’Neal Henley’s resignation. Henley was elected in August 2020, meaning the person elected to the seat in 2022 will serve until 2024.
“I am very humbled and appreciative of their support and trust in me,” Newman said after the commission s appointment. “I’m going to do the best I can do.”
TravelNest chief executive Doug Stephenson and chief operating officer Rebecca Moore By Kristy Dorsey Vacation rental platform TravelNest has secured £1.8 million in government-backed funding to grow its customer base following what its founder has described as a fundamental shift in the travel market. Like the wider industry, the Edinburgh-based start-up saw a plunge in bookings in the weeks immediately after the first national lockdown in the spring. But as restrictions loosened through the summer, founder Doug Stephenson said the firm noticed distinct trends taking hold that are expected to drive demand for its service, which automates the marketing for vacation rental properties on sites such as Airbnb, Expedia and TripAdvisor.
Scottish start-up TravelNest has secured £1.8 million from Silicon Valley Bank UK Branch (SVB) and Scottish Enterprise to help drive staycation growth and support a strong rebound from Covid-19. In common with the wider travel industry, TravelNest experienced a bookings downturn in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic but the vacation rental platform has seen a significant bookings bounce back as traveller confidence returns. TravelNest’s product improves occupancy rates for vacation rental properties by automating marketing and increasing exposure on top booking sites like Airbnb, Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, Vrbo and TUI, while reducing administration time for vacation rental owners. Since lockdown measures eased earlier this year, TravelNest has recorded triple-digit increases in nights booked via its platform.