W E D N E S D AY
JANuARy 6, 2016
161st yEAR • No. 214
cLEVELAND, tN 26 PAGES • 50¢
TACIR hears broadband summary on needs, options
By JOYANNA LOVE
Banner Senior Staff Writer
The Tennessee Advisory Commission
on Intergovernmental Relations was
given an overview of broadband
Internet capacities, availability and
types during a meeting in Nashville
Tuesday.
The lesson in “Broadband 101,” as
one presenter called it, was the first in
a series of educational presentations
TACIR plans to have while studying
the issue of whether public utilities
should be permitted to provide broad-
Inside Today
band Internet service beyond their
electric service area.
Presenters used the word “capacity,”
instead of “speed,” to place emphasis
on how much information can actually
be transmitted in a timely fashion,
rather than just the maximum speed
offered.
Victor Hazlewood of the Joint
Institute for Computational Sciences
pointed out that connectivity speeds
are affected by how many devices are
trying to access data via the same line.
The average home has four devices:
laptop, tablet, computer, cellphone,
etc. that are trying to access the
Internet
Lynnisse Roehrich-Patrick, TACIR
executive director, said that after the
October meeting, “It became evident
we would need some time to get up to
speed ourselves on the level of knowledge you need, as well to decide what
should be available in the final report.”
The final report will be given to the
Tennessee General Assembly and will
be accessible to the public from the
TACIR website. January 2017 is
TACIR’s target date for the report.
However, legislators may pass a bill
addressing the issue before this study
is completed.
The Tennessee Department of
Economic
and
Community
Development has announced it is
doing a survey on broadband Internet
access. The findings of this survey will
be presented to TACIR at its spring
meeting.
TACIR staff are also researching
existing data, such as the National
Telecommunications and Information
Administration national broadband
mapping project, which details the
areas in Tennessee that have access to
broadband Internet. The mapping
project collected information from
broadband Internet providers about
where they offer service and the fastest
advertised speeds. Service providers
also had the opportunity to provide the
typical attainable speed in an area.
Many did not report this information.
Dr. Matthew Owen, senior research
associate for TACIR, said the data was
based on census blocks, not individual
addresses. Thus, coverage may be
offered in a census block, but not
See TACIR, Page 6
A quest for sidewalks
Northwest
residents
give their
opinions
By JOYANNA LOVE
Banner Senior Staff Writer
Bears split on road
The Bradley Central Bears split
a pair of basketball games
against Cumberland County on
the road Tuesday. The Bearettes
fell to the Lady Jets in the opener
while the Bears pulled off a win in
the nightcap. On the wrestling
mat, the Bears also had a good
night with a tri-meet win over East
Hamilton and Rhea County. The
Walker Valley Mustangs held off
the Ooltewah Owls for a wrestling
victory. See Sports, Pages 11-13.
‘Chipping’ offer
to end Saturday
By now, most Christmas trees in
Cleveland and Bradley County have
been taken down. For any that
haven’t, and especially if they are
live evergreens, area residents have
until Saturday to discard them using
“Chipping of the Green,” the 21st
annual recycling program offered by
Santek Waste Services Inc. and the
Bradley County Road Department.
Read about it in the editorial on
Page 14 of today’s edition.
Residents of the northwest
section of the city want more
sidewalk projects in their area.
Harrison
Pike
and
Georgetown Road were mentioned Tuesday night as key
areas for safety and accessibility reasons. Harrison Pike was
also mentioned as a street that
could provide sidewalk access
for several neighborhoods to the
Cleveland/Bradley
County
Greenway.
Cleveland residents offering
these opinions did so during a
public input gathering by the
Cleveland
Urban
Area
Metropolitan
Planning
Organization as part of developSee SIDEWALKS, Page 6
Watson
Skies remain sunny today with
temperatures still on the cool side
with a high of about 47. Winds will
be calm from the south at 5 mph.
Tonight, increasing clouds with a
low around 30. Calm wind.
On Thursday, skies will be partly
sunny with a high inching up to 54.
Index
Classified................................15-17
Comics.........................................24
Editorials......................................14
Horoscope....................................24
Lifestyles.................................19-21
Obituaries.......................................2
Stocks............................................4
Sports......................................11-13
TV Schedule................................25
Weather..........................................9
Around Town
Dr. Linda Cash talking about
her great staff ... Tom Thomas
getting “pinned” ... Pam Nelson
recalling a day with a warm quilt
and a cup of tea ... Gary Sears
spreading a smile ... Peggy
Pesterfield having a pleasant conversation ... Melanie Connatser
working to run down some needed information for a friend ...
David Orr reflecting on the past
and the present ... Barry Currin
talking about the benefits of having an outlet for expression.
6 89076 75112 4
Final appearance
in court is Feb. 4
By ALLEN MINCEY
Banner Staff Writer
Banner photo, JoyANNA LoVE
MEtRoPoLItAN PLANNING oRGANIZAtIoN DIREctoR Greg Thomas talks with David
Coulter at a public input meeting held Tuesday.
BCSO says burglaries down, more solved
Forecast
Opaso
future
hinges
on next
hearing
From Staff Reports
The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Inciden G0