I hope as a party, overall, we can continue to work on the big things and continue to work on the more local things like we are in Shelbyville-Bedford.”

Sen. Shane Reeves

Bedford County Republican Party (GOP) hosted a community forum Monday evening at Shelbyville-Bedford County Chamber of Commerce with State Rep. Pat Marsh and State Sen. Shane Reeves giving a state report and fielding questions from several in attendance. 

Marsh who’s been serving since 2012, is the Republican representative for District 62, which includes Bedford County and parts of Lincoln County. He began by detailing the $42.6 billion budget that was passed at the 112th General Assembly in January.  

Balanced budget  

In that budget: $100 million for broadband expansion across state; $435 million for state employee raises; $163 million increase for teachers—where each county gets a share and gets to decide how it will be spent; $160 million for criminal justice and public safety, as well as grants to agriculture, local airports, and volunteer fire departments.  

But the biggest part of the budget Marsh and Reeves said they worked on was the $42.4 million budget for the new Tennessee College of Applied Technology Shelbyville facility. And even with last year’s pandemic shutdowns, the Bedford County district is doing well financially, they stated.  

“Nashville being closed, we evidently got a lot of their business down here...I think we did it smart. I think we knew we needed to be safe, but we also knew to protect our economy,” Marsh said. 

Mandating vaccines  

When asked about Tyson’s recent decision to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine and how that affects individuals’ rights, Marsh defended the private company, saying the government should not interfere with their decision.  

“It’s a private company—just like we get the right to do what we want to get to do as private citizens. And if you don’t want to work for Tyson, you can go somewhere else...If they mandate it, then you’ve got a choice: either get it and go to work, or find another job,” said Marsh.  

Reeves is the Republican senator for District 14, which includes Bedford, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore and parts of Rutherford Counties. Outside of politics, Reeves is a Chief Executive Officer and pharmacist for his family-owned business. He’s been serving as state senator since 2018.  

He advised how it’s vital to get students back in school. As for vaccine or mask mandates, he gave his opinion.  

“We certainly don’t believe in mandating vaccinations; we’re not going to mandate wearing masks...But the math is the math,” said Reeves, referring to the statistic that 95 percent of hospitalization in the state are unvaccinated individuals.  

In his “Reeves Report,” the senator said Tennessee is the best in the country for taxes and state finances as well as tourism and hospitality. However, Tennessee’s worst category is health and crime and safety, he said, giving an example of how Tennessee ranks 46th in life expectancy.  

Current events  

During the forum, Reeves emphasized the need to “keep Tennessee, Tennessee,” and said how he’s excited to see where the area of Shelbyville-Bedford is headed.  

“I think it’s wonderful people are moving here from California—probably buying farms across Bedford County...I’m fine with people moving here. But you need to be Tennessean,” he said.  

Also, the senator mentioned he’s been in contact with the new Celebration CEO Warren Wells who he quoted as saying during their conversation “wait ‘til next year,” in which Wells said he wants the Celebration to be standing room only in 2022.  

Reeves finished his talk at the forum by explaining four main concerns which “keep him up at night.” That is, the attacks against faith, history, the Constitution, and capitalism.  

“I hope as a party, overall, we can continue to work on the big things and continue to work on the more local things like we are in Shelbyville-Bedford,” he said