NATIONAL NEWS

ETSU graduate fellowship endowment established Graduate students in the Claudius G. Clemmer College of Education at East Tennessee State University will benefit from a new endowment established by Dr. David and Hilda Collins through an initial gift of $15,000. The purpose of the Collins Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Fellowship Endowment is to generate funds for graduate fellows to be used as either direct stipends or for research support. The chair of the Clemmer College’s Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis will determine the area of support for the fellows. The ETSU vice president for Business and Finance since 2003, David Collins has served the university for over 24 years. The principal of the endowment fund will remain intact with only the earnings used for the graduate fellowships. Additional contributions to the fund are encouraged from family and friends. Governor names Personnel Department head Governor Phil Bredesen today swore in veteran human resources executive Deborah E. Story as the new Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Personnel. Story has more than 20 years of experience in the field of human resources. Story’s career has included senior human resources positions at leading financial institutions including First American Corporation and SunTrust Bank as well as with Emerson Electronic, a Fortune 100 manufacturing company. “With more than 38,000 employees, state government is Tennessee’s largest single employer and I look forward to the opportunity to work with our employees across the state,” Story said.The Department of Personnel is responsible for providing effective, efficient human resource management systems to the departments and agencies of state government. The department is responsible for meeting the needs of employees in all 95 counties working in more than 1,400 different types of state jobs. Troopers conducted Hazardous Materials checkpoint The Tennessee Highway Patrol conducted a Homeland Security Hazardous Materials Checkpoint Tuesday. The checkpoint focused on trucks that carry Hazardous Materials, Overseas Containers and Rental trucks. The checkpoint was held at the Manchester Scales along I-24 westbound in Coffee County. Several state and federal agencies participated in the checkpoint including the state Department of Homeland Security, TEMA, TDOT, the State Fire Marshall’s Office, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and local police agencies. The checkpoint began at 10:00 a.m. and lasting until early evening. The Tennessee Department of Safety (www.tennessee.gov/safety) is responsible for ensuring the safety and general welfare of the traveling public.