Franklin County events affected by coronavirus - Winchester, TN - News Article Locations on Waymarking.com

The Franklin County Chamber of Commerce is located in Winchester, Tennessee. Upcoming events that were planned by the Chamber are on hold.

Article text:

The coronavirus threat has affected planned community events in Franklin County with the Chamber of Commerce postponing its upcoming scheduled gatherings until further notice.

Court proceedings have also been put on hold, and Motlow State Community College announced it is moving to online courses as a reaction to the coronavirus threat.

The Chamber provided the following statement Friday afternoon:

“Out of abundance of caution from health officials that people should avoid gatherings in large groups, we at the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce have decided to postpone the numerous events, ribbon cuttings and meetings that we have coming up.

“Please continue to do your part to prevent the spread of any illness in your workplace and community by engaging in universal precautions and staying home when ill.

“We will continue to update you with any additional information or any updates on future Chamber events. Of course, we will always support and engage our valued membership, and will be following up with helpful strategies and tactics to assist you during this challenging time.”

The Franklin County Prevention Coalition also postponed its March meeting which was scheduled for Monday at noon.

The Tennessee Supreme Court issued an order to suspend all in-person judicial proceedings through March 31, and the closure extended to court proceedings in Franklin County.

Chief Justice Jeff Bivins declared a state of emergency for the judicial branch of Tennessee government, which followed Gov. Bill Lee’s Executive Order and his declaring a state of emergency for Tennessee on Thursday.

The order applies to all state and local levels of courts including appellate, trial, general sessions, juvenile and municipal courts.

“Each day across the state of Tennessee, thousands of people attend court proceedings in-person when they come to the courthouse as jurors, witnesses, litigants, or in another capacity,” Bivins said. “Public spaces in courthouses tend to be small, tightly packed bench seats that provide the type of situations public health officials have encouraged people to avoid during the COVID-19 outbreak.”

Bivins said judges, court clerks and others help to provide essential constitutional functions that must be carried out, so the order created a list of exceptions for the suspension which include:

? Proceedings necessary to protect constitutional rights of criminal defendants, such as bond-related matters and plea agreements for incarcerated individuals, and civil and criminal jury trials that are in progress as of March 13.

? Proceedings relating to orders of protection.

? Proceedings related to emergency child custody orders, Department of Children’s Services emergency matters related to child protection, proceedings related to petitions for temporary injunctive relief and proceedings related to emergency mental health orders.

? Proceedings related to emergency protection of elderly or vulnerable persons and proceedings directly related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Other exceptions to the suspension of in-person court proceedings may be approved by the chief justice. Any permitted in-court proceedings will be limited to attorneys, parties, witnesses, security officers, and necessary persons as determined by the trial judge.

“We are reducing the number of people physically in the courthouse each day while ensuring judges and court clerks have the ability to continue with their constitutionally required duties,” Bivins said.

Motlow stated it will be moving to online courses after its spring break has concluded in response to the coronavirus threat.

The school announced Friday afternoon that it had extended its spring break through March 22, and classes would resume online through April 5.

The school is also operating on a “modified operations” schedule, according to a post on its Facebook page.

According to the Motlow coronavirus website, the school is at Status Level 2 out of a possible 4-level operational schedule.

Status 2 means the campus is open with limited/modified operations. Libraries are open with computer access, though all other computer labs are closed.

Many campus areas will be closed to protect their sanitized status, according to the website.

No non-student visitors will be allowed on campus in this or further stages, and some staff may be required to work remotely.

According to the Motlow website, all public spaces at each campus were disinfected during the weeks of March 2 and March 9. Faculty and staff received training and support for transitioning traditional classes to an online format.

During this stage, all college-related out-of-state travel has been suspended.

“Motlow State is monitoring and following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Tennessee Department of Health,” the site says.

During this time, the college’s Pandemic Emergency Management Team has been meeting regularly and will continue to meet regularly until the situation has been resolved.

For more information, visit news.mscc.edu/coronavirus.

Type of publication: Newspaper When was the article reported?: 03/13/2020 Publication: Herald Chronicle Article Url: [Web Link] Is Registration Required?: no How widespread was the article reported?: local News Category: Business/Finance

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