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CCMS and Westwood Golfers Fall to Fayetteville on Tuesday
The Coffee County Middle School and Westwood Middle School golf teams traveled to Fayetteville on Tuesday for a three way matchup with Fayetteville at Pebble Creek. The 3 teams matched up against one another in the new junior PGA scramble scoring format. At the end of the day, Fayetteville came out on top with 4 ½ team flags, followed by Coffee County with 3 ½ team flags and Westwood with 2 ½ team flags.
Individually for the Red Raiders, the team of Olivia Lewis and David O’Connor captured 2 flags. Logan Hale & Chase Hancock captured 1 ½ flags and the team of Bennett Williams, Caleb Jarrell and Keegan Grubbs captured 1 flag.
Individually for Westwood, Christopher Robinson and Gavin Prater grabbed 1 ½ flags, Macie Lawrence and Brayden Gray captured a flag and Ethan Rivera and Cara Bell captured ½ flag.
The middle school linksters will be back at home on Monday when they welcome Tullahoma to Willowbrook. That match is set to begin at 4 PM at WIllowbrook.
Down Big Early, Braves Can’t Bail Out Colon
Three heroes from the 1997 World Series championship team threw out the ceremonial first pitches before the Marlins’ home opener on Tuesday night. Miami’s bats took over when the game begun, with Marcell Ozuna clubbing two home runs and driving in six runs in an 8-4 win over the Braves at Marlins Park.
The excitement started pregame as the Marlins recognized the 20th anniversary of their first World Series championship team. Livan Hernandez, Charles Johnson and Edgar Renteria tossed out the first pitches to loud cheers.
Winners of four of five, the Marlins also were able to close out the Braves, a team they went 7-11 against last year.
“Last year, we had a couple of games where we had leads and didn’t tack on and they came back to beat us,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “That set a trend. We had trouble with Atlanta last year. We know you’ve got to keep scoring and give yourself some breathing room. Things are going to happen. Other teams are going to score.”
When the game began, Dan Straily and Bartolo Colon went to work for the Marlins and Braves, respectively. Nick Markakis homered for Atlanta off Straily in the fourth inning.
But that came after Ozuna’s three-run homer in the third inning gave the Marlins a six-run lead, and Colon was lifted after four innings, surrendering seven hits and two walks. This marked just the fourth time since the start of the 2014 season (97 starts) that the 43-year-old Braves pitcher has allowed at least six runs while completing four innings or fewer. But he’s now done so in both of his past two starts at Marlins Park.
“I was focused on hitting the ball [to right],” Ozuna said of his first homer. “I trusted myself and trusted my ability, and that happened. The second one, I hit it hard with two outs, man on second. I’m thinking, ‘Drive him in.'”
The Braves tallied a pair of fifth-inning runs after Straily loaded the bases with none out, but the visitors squandered too many opportunities and saw Colon’s early struggles too significant to overcome as they dropped to 1-6.
“Our record should be way better than it is,” Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips said. “We’ve had opportunities. I feel like we should have lost just one or two games. But things happen. We’re still learning each other. Hopefully we can learn each other quick and everybody can do their job a little better.”
Ozuna made an impact in the first inning with his sacrifice fly, but it was his three-run, opposite-field home run off Colon in the third inning that gave Miami some breathing room. Per Statcast™, the laser shot was projected at 401 feet with an exit velocity of 106.4 mph. The second Ozuna blast was a two-run drive to left, projected at 393 feet with a 101.8 mph exit velocity. It was the outfielder’s second multi-homer game, with the first coming on June 20, 2016, at Colorado. The six RBIs were a personal best. The club record is seven, shared by four players.
“Bartolo had been tough on him in the past,” Mattingly said. “To get that sac fly was good, I thought. He was in trouble there in that second AB, down two strikes. He fought him off, then got a pitch to hit and was able to do something with it. The next one, actually, was big too. They kind of got a couple of runs back. He pushes us back to eight.”
Down six early, the Braves kept battling, creating some stressful innings for Miami relievers, even if they didn’t always score. A potential turning point was in the seventh, when trailing 8-4, Atlanta loaded the bases with one out off Kyle Barraclough. The Braves weren’t able to break through as Freddie Freeman struck out, and on a 3-1 pitch, Nick Markakis lined out to left. The Braves also had the bases full with no outs in the fifth inning, they did score twice, but didn’t get any more in a 6-3 game at the time.
“We had the deck stacked in our favor in that one inning, but it just didn’t happen,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker, whose team has batted .183 (11-for-60) with runners in scoring position.
Jaime Garcia will attempt to get back on track when Atlanta concludes an eight-game road trip with Wednesday night’s series finale in Miami at 6:10 CT. A couple of sliders foiled Garcia as he allowed four earned runs over the six innings during Thursday’s season debut against the Mets.
Sounds Win Rain-Shortened Home Opener
The Nashville Sounds battled the Oklahoma City Dodgers and the weather in a rain-shortened 3-1 win in front of 8,871 fans Tuesday night at First Tennessee Park.
The two teams got six full innings in the books before play was halted and eventually called due to rain and unplayable field conditions.
After a two-hour, three-minute rain delay to start the game, Sounds’ (3-3) starter Michael Brady took on Trevor Oaks for the Dodgers (2-4). The two hurlers blanked the opposition in the opening inning.
Oklahoma City got the scoring started when third baseman Rob Segedin launched a solo homer to left field to make it 1-0. Brady shut down the Dodgers for the remainder of his four innings.
Nashville’s Ryan Lavarnway drew a walk to start the home half of the fifth. Bruce Maxwell followed with a double to the left-center gap to put Lavarnway at third with nobody out. The rally continued when Kenny Wilson lined a base hit to right field, scoring Lavarnway to even the game at 1-1.
One batter later, Franklin Barreto bounced into a 6-4 fielder’s choice to score Maxwell and give the Sounds a 2-1 lead. Dodgers started Trevor Oaks was charged with the two runs and was tagged with the loss.
Madison Younginer was summoned to face the Sounds in the sixth and was greeted by Renato Nuñez who blasted his second home run in as many days – a solo blast to left-center to give the Sounds a 3-1 lead.
Josh Smith worked in relief of Brady and was dynamite out of the bullpen. The right-hander tossed two shutout innings and struck out four in the process. He picked up his first win of the season.
The Sounds are now 24-16 all-time in home openers.
Game two of the four-game set is scheduled for Wednesday night at First Tennessee Park. Right-hander Daniel Gossett (0-0, 1.80) starts for Nashville against right-hander Wilmer Font (0-1, 10.80) for Oklahoma City. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.
The 2017 season is the Sounds’ 40th in franchise history and their third as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Season ticket memberships are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.
4/14/17 — Kelly Denise Edwards Owens
Kelly Denise Edwards Owens, age 29, of Estill Springs, Tenn. departed this life on Monday, April 10, 2017, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center from injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. She was born on September 6, 1987, in Salinas, California to Ralph Edwards, Jr. and Marty Mabry Edwards. She was employed as Office Manager at Al White Ford in Manchester. Mrs. Owens was a loving and devoted wife and mother to her eight month old twin girls. She enjoyed watching Disney movies with her girls. She was a member of the First Assembly of God Church of Tullahoma.
She was preceded in death by her Maternal Grandfathers, Jim Mabry and Billy Kimbrough and Paternal Grandfather, Ralph Edwards, Sr. She is survived by her husband, Jon Owens of Estill Springs, twin daughters; Samantha and Madison Owens, parents; Marty and Ralph Edwards, Jr. of Decherd, Maternal Grandmother, Lois Kimbrough of Winchester, Paternal Grandmother, Betty Edwards of Belvidere, Sister, Jennifer Edwards of Tullahoma, Aunt, Melinda “MeMe” Partin of Decherd, Uncle, John Edwards of Winchester and several other Aunts, Uncles and Cousins.
A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 A.M. Friday, April 14, at the First Assembly of God in Tullahoma with Pastor Ron Forrester and Pastor Joel Burroughs, officiating. Visitation with the family will be held at 9:00 A.M. until service time at 11:00 on Friday.
GRANT FUNERAL SERVICES IN CHARGE OF ARRANGEMENTS
4/11/17 — Birthdays
Birthdays:
Jacob Garms, 15
Local Attorney Arrested
Judith-Anne Ross St. Clair… Photo provided by the CCSD.
The arrest warrant says that St Clair was found to be in possession of 30 off-white colored pills believed to be oxycodone. St Clair was allegedly found to be in possession of these pills in the school zone near College Street Elementary school.
Also, Manchester Police say she was allegedly accepting Oxycodone for legal fees.
St Clair was charged by Manchester Police Investigator Jonathan Anthony with Schedule II drug violation and drug-free school zone.
She was released from the Coffee County Jail on a $7,500 bond and her court date was set for April 18, 2017.
Missing Woman from Tullahoma found Deceased
Tabitha Kolankiewicz
According to the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department, Tabitha Kolankiewicz, 36, of Maple Avenue, Tullahoma was found dead in the parking lot of a Wal-Mart in Tiftonia.
Kolankiewicz had been reported missing on March 27 by family members.
According to Franklin County Sheriff’s Investigator Todd Hindman, she was reported as traveling to Nashville for a job interview. Despite the fact that there were no significant leads in the case the sheriff’s department was searching for the woman. Then Monday night Hamilton County notified them that she had been found.
Bill to make it easier for Rural Areas to get access to the Internet Passes
The Tennessee legislature has passed a bill that could make it easier for rural areas to get access to the internet amid concerns that it doesn’t do enough to get high-speed access across the state.
During debate in the House Monday evening, lawmakers said they hoped the bill would be a start to getting everyone across the state connected.
The bill, named the Broadband Accessibility Act of 2017, was pushed by Gov. Bill Haslam as a way to help the economy in rural Tennessee.
The measure clears the way for nonprofit electric co-ops like Duck River Electric Membership Corporation to provide both internet and video service. It also gives $45 million in grants and tax credits to co-ops and internet service providers to encourage the development of internet in areas that don’t have it.
Gas Prices Rising
Gas prices are rising across the country. The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded jumped seven cents in the past week. Sunday’s average of $2.39 is the highest since September 2015.
Also in the past seven days, gas prices rose seven cents in Tennessee to an average price of $2.14.
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said the major factors weighing on the market right now are supply and demand. People are beginning to drive more as the weather improves, causing an uptick in demand and a decline in gasoline inventories. Also, many refineries have begun producing and selling summer-blend fuels which are more expensive to produce. AAA is forecasting the national average to peak around $2.70 this summer.
The low price in Manchester this week is $2.09 and the low price per gallon in Tullahoma is $2.07.
Bill to Require Tennessee Health Insurers to Cover Approved Autism Therapies Fails
Tennessee is one of five states that doesn’t require insurers to cover applied behavior analysis (ABA), a common and proven treatment for autism spectrum disorders. (MamiGibbs/Flickr)
Tennessee is one of only five states in the country that doesn’t require coverage for applied behavior analysis, or ABA, from private insurers, leaving many parents to pay for therapies out-of-pocket.
The exception is children covered by TennCare or Medicaid.
Lorri Unumb, vice president of state government affairs with Autism Speaks, explains the disconnect.
“As of right now, children in Tennessee are not able to access ABA at all, regardless of what kind of health insurance policy they have,” she explains. “So, it’s this perverse situation where privately insured children in Tennessee do not have access, but children on TennCare do, at least in theory.”
Neighboring Alabama also doesn’t require insurance companies to cover ABA. Opponents to covering it say they’re against any law that would serve as a mandate.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 1 in 68 children has been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in Tennessee. On average, medical expenses for people with autism are 4 to 6 times higher than others.
The Affordable Care Act lists what are called “habilitative services,” such as applied behavior analysis, as one of the essential health benefits insurance policies should cover.
Unumb says the problem is that how guidelines are interpreted was left up to the states.
“Rather than fleshing out what was meant by each of those 10 ‘essential health benefit’ categories, the Secretary of HHS (Health and Human Services) kicked the decision to each of the individual states,” she points out.
Numerous studies show that when offered at a young age, autism therapies can significantly improve a child’s ability to function, in school and later in a career. One study published in the journal Pediatrics, indicated ABA can even raise the IQ of a child on the spectrum.