Tennessee Truck Driving Champion Crowned

Nine Drivers Continue on to National Competition

Terry Certain, of Murfreesboro, was named the best professional truck driver in Tennessee after winning the three axle competition and receiving the highest overall score in the nine competing categories at the 2009 Tennessee Truck Driving Championships. The annual event is sponsored by the Tennessee Trucking Association.

Certain, who drives for Con-way Freight, now qualifies to compete in the American Trucking Associations' National Truck Driving Championships August 18-22, 2009 in Pittsburgh, Penn. -- also known as the "Super Bowl of Safety." The winners from each of the eight other categories are also eligible to compete in the national championship.

Nearly 400 drivers from all 50 states will compete in Pittsburgh for four days, challenging their driving skills, and knowledge of safety, equipment and the industry. From 18-wheeler five axle sleepers to tank trucks to twin trailers--they will drive a course that recreates situations truck drivers face daily. These maneuvers may include: an alley dock, a rear line stop, a side park, a scale stop, a right turn, a front line stop, and straight line driving through a diminishing clearance.

On Saturday night, August 22, one contestant will drive away as the 2009 National Grand Champion Truck Driver.

"The Truck Driving Championships represent the culmination of the industry's dedication to safety," said Tennessee Trucking Association President Dave Huneryager. "I congratulate all the contestants, and I hope Tennessee roots for our drivers as they move on to Nationals in Pittsburgh."

Tennessee participants at Nationals for each category include:

Shaune Robles, H.B. Phillips, Inc., Memphis, Tenn. (Straight Truck)

Terry Certain, Con-way Freight, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Three-Axle)

Terry Jones, Averitt Express, Inc., Johnson City, Tenn. (Four-Axle)

Thomas Vandivort, Martin-Brower, Dickson, Tenn. (Five-Axle)

Thomas "Dale" Williams, Con-way Freight, Strawberry Plains, Tenn. (Five-Axle Sleeper)

David Magee, FedEx Freight, Huntington, Tenn. (Tankers)

Steven Heinz, Con-way Freight, Morristown, Tenn. (Flatbed)

John Lawrence, UPS Freight, Jackson, Tenn. (Twins)

Brady Todd, FedEx Express, Drummonds, Tenn. (Step Van)

Families struggle as job losses hit home

3 neighbors, 3 vanishing paychecks

More cars sit idle in the driveways of the ranch-style homes on Bill Eller Drive in La Vergne.

The road ends in a small cul-de-sac, where three families know too well why the cars travel less.

They know because the men in those homes — the house at the end of the street and the ones on either side — fell victim to the struggling economy and lost their jobs.

Shayne Pulley, laid off in March, was first. A month later, neighbor Dan Johnson got a certified letter from his company with the same news. Three weeks ago, it was Garry Lawson who was let go.

"It's symptomatic of what is happening in the whole economy," Pulley, whose house is in the middle, said about his cul-de-sac. "It makes it seem like the more who are out of work, the less I feel like a failure. But I certainly don't wish it to happen to anyone else."

He and his neighbors joined the ranks of the unemployed in Rutherford County, where 9.2 percent of the work force was without a job in April, according to the most recent county numbers from Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

Statewide, the numbers, released last week, jumped from 9.9 percent for April to 10.7 percent for May.

Every state and every industry has been affected by the economy, said Bill Fox, economics professor and director of the Center for Business & Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. Full Story.......