The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page B1

CYANMAGYELBLK TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 5 TennesseanBroadsheet Master TennesseanBroadsheet Master 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 5 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 1B LOCALNEWS TUESDAY, MARCH 30, 2004 www.tennessean.com INSIDE Midstate Obituaries Weather EACH WEEK Sunday: Meetings calendar Monday: School news Wednesday: Friday: Road construction update Saturday: Faith TO REACH OUR NEWSROOM Phone: 259-8095; fax: 259-8093 E-mail: Laurie E. Holloway, Deputy Managing Editor Phone: 726-5944 E-mail: tennessean.com Ricky Young, City Editor Phone: 259-8068 E-mail: By CLAUDETTE RILEY StaffWriter Schools that have been sweating a stiff federal requirement that they test of their students just got some relief. A change announced yesterday by the U.S. Department of Education allows schools that dip below to escape penalties if they can show they tested an average of of their students over the past two or three years. In addition, students who take a test because of a medical emergency count against the participation rate.

beginning to see a glimpse of said Connie Smith, executive director of innovation, improvement and accountability for the state Department of Education. applying some common sense to this The rule was originally set to make sure schools selectively test their best students or leave out a subgroup that was less likely to do well. But, it was so rigid that some schools were singled out publicly last year solely because they failed to test enough students in a single subject or subgroup. a lot of pressure on everybody with this Tough federal testing condition eased for schools State official sees signs By ANNE PAINE StaffWriter Tennessee risks losing jobs and future plant expansions and seeing wages cut if it clamp down on the high awards going to workers injured on the job, a Nissan official told state lawmakers yesterday. becoming, I think, a serious issue for the Greg Kelly, Nissan North America, senior director of human resources, told the joint compensation oversight committee yesterday.

The way costs for par- tial-but-perma- nent disabilities are calculated causes much of the problem, he said. The awards, for one, are multiplied even when a person returns to the same job for the same pay. Lost-time claims medical cost, time off work and the final settlement cost an average of $49,314 at two Tennessee Nissan plants in this fiscal year, while the amount was $8,997 for its employees in Mississippi, he said. In 2002, a permanent-partial disability award in Tennessee for someone with carpal tunnel problems who returned to work ran about $16,173, higher than eight other nearby states, according to a chart he provided. The second highest was South Carolina at $9,062.

The lowest was Alabama at $2,442. A back injury was listed at $63,254 in Tennessee, followed by South Carolina at $29,668, with Ohio the lowest at $10,047. will affect Tennessee in the long he said. Among recommendations was to reduce permanent- partial disability awards if the person returns to the same job at the same pay level. Lawmakers had been told earlier that not exempting small companies from comp plans could reduce the overall costs statewide.

There would be more cases in the system and the risk would be spread over more people, they were told. State Treasurer Dale Sims said Tennessee is one of only four states that exempts companies with fewer than five employers from comp plans. In Tennessee, exempted companies include about 91,500 employees, which is about 3.5% of the work force, Sims said. The possible effect of not having an exemption will have to be evaluated, he said. Cut awards for comp, urges Nissan aide He warns legislative panel state flirting with job loss Inside Healthcare providers not getting paid enough under TennCare could be the reason comp costs are higher here than in neighboring states, an East Tennessee hospital executive says.

On 4B P. CASEY DALEY STAFF The state Capitol is mirrored in the early evening light as spring rain glazes Legislative Plaza. A few showers, scattered storms are expected today. The high temperature will be 62 while the low will be in the lower 40s. Mirror image By CLAUDETTE RILEY StaffWriter Daniel Doyle says that if the state continues to dole out scholarships based on student grades, and should be the same in every school district.

The Wayne County High sophomore said unfair that students in some districts can score as low as an 80 and get a while he must score at least an 85 to get the same letter grade. should be the same everywhere across the said Daniel, 16, who hopes to get state-sponsored scholarships to help pay for college. certainly puts some students at a disadvantage when you have different scales across the That may be changing. A proposal making its way through the General Assembly would require high schools to use the same scale when reporting student grades to the Tennessee Student Assistance Corp. TSAC determines whether students are eligible for state-sponsored scholarships, including those funded by the lottery.

The Senate is expected Legislators seek uniform grade scale for schools Fairer system for scholarship awards sought Making the grade A proposal in the General Assembly would require the state Board of Education to develop a uniform grading system based on a 4.0 scale. If it is approved, all districts would be required to use the standardized system when reporting grades to the Tennessee Student Assistance which determines whether students are eligible for state-sponsored scholarships, including those funded by the new lottery. A survey last year by the Tennessee School Boards Association showed that grading scales varied greatly among school districts. There were at least five different scales for an A and at least 16 different grading scales for a B. What do you think? Should schools have a uniform grading policy? Go to Tenness- ean.com and type in keyword GRADES to voice your opinion.

Please see GRADE, 4B Please see LAW, 4B Jennifer Wix, 22, and her 2-year-old daughter, Adrianna, of Robertson County are missing. Here are the two during a past Easter holiday. By BONNA de la CRUZ StaffWriter Legislation to outlaw same-sex civil unions in Tennessee may be resurrected after being derailed in a House subcommittee last week. State Rep. Chris Clem, R- Lookout Mountain, the House sponsor, said the message from colleagues and the public was: let it Senate sponsor, Sen.

Jeff Miller, R-Cleveland, said he will ask the full Senate for approval as early as tomor- row. The bill was on the Senate schedule last night, but senators did not get to it. is an important issue for the state to decide said Miller, who had no trouble earlier getting the Senate Judiciary Committee to pass the measure. Robin Cohn, a Nashville retailer who opposes the measure, thought the issue was over this year and attended the Senate session last night for some very confusing to me, and it seems a little decep- Cohn said of the new life. was dead as far as the public was concerned, and now without informing the public Cohn said.

Last week the House Domestic Relations subcommittee stopped the movement on a 4-5 vote. Clem initially said he would try again next year. But yesterday Clem said exploring two routes to bypass the subcommittee: either to get a hearing in the House Children and Family Affairs Committee by a majority vote of the committee or get a hearing on the House floor with a two- thirds vote by the House. Tennessee does not recognize same-sex civil unions, but Vermont does and Massachusetts is considering Legislation to ban civil unions may get new life CLEM Please see UNIONS, 3B By LEA ANN OVERSTREET Robertson County Times SPRINGFIELD Robertson County officials are searching for Jennifer Wix, 22, and her daughter, Adrianna, 2, who were reported missing by their family on Saturday. Her mother, Kathy Holloway, told authorities that she heard from or seen her daughter since last Wednesday night when Wix called, upset over an argument had with her live- in boyfriend, William Joseph Benton.

just want to hear from her. We wish she would get in contact with us so we would know that all Hol- loway said. Wix is very close to her family and is known for staying in constant contact with them. is completely out of character for her not to call anybody in the said Lisa Robertson, aunt. calls several times a day and talks to some of us.

I knew something was wrong when she Yesterday Robertson County officials were following leads about possible sightings of Wix and her daughter. So far officials have no evidence of foul play, Lt. Don Bennett said. Over the weekend detectives questioned Benton, boyfriend, Bennett said. According to an incident report, Benton, 23, told authorities several stories about the last time he saw his girlfriend.

At first he told authorities that he last saw Wix on Thursday when she left with a friend he know. Then officials say his story changed when he told them that he took Wix and her daughter to an Exxon station and dropped them off at about 9:30 that night. When asked, he could not recall which Exxon, a report said. His story changed several times more, the report said. He told authorities that Wix left his house at 6681 Owens Chapel Road in a white, four- door Ford Mustang or a white, four-door Chevrolet Camaro.

Benton could not be reached for comment yesterday. tries to be a very caring parent. She could be anywhere because she is so trusting. We are so worried about said Nick Holloway, stepfather. Jennifer family said she is in the habit of sleeping in and staying up late at night.

She has the habit of chewing her nails and is an a regular smoker. She wears glasses sometimes, but mostly only to drive. She likes to visit Wal-Mart often and has a tribal- designed tattoo on the small of her back. Robertson County Times is part of the Middle Tennessee Community Newspaper group, which is owned by Gannett Co. Inc.

Family worried when she call Missing boyfriend changed story, police say Got tips? Anyone with information about the disappearance of Jennifer Wix, 22, of Springfield and her daughter, Adrianna, 2, can contact the Robertson County Department at 615-384-7971. Davidson 3 Sub.