A line of severe thunderstorms spawned a tornado that swept through the Irving College area of Warren County on Wednesday afternoon, knocking down trees and damaging homes. However, no serious injuries were reported.
According to Warren County 911 Director Chuck Haston, the 911 center began receiving calls of a funnel cloud over the Irving College area at a little after 5pm. Two trees fell on a home on Dry Creek Road and a mobile home was destroyed on Chapel Hill Drive.
There was also roof damage, numerous trees were knocked down, some trees over the roads and power lines down.
Law enforcement and Highway Department personnel worked for hours removing trees and debris, while utility personnel worked to restore power to the area.
EMS responded to one home that was damaged, but the injury was minor and no one was transported to the hospital.
In Bedford County their Emergency Management Agency director said most of the debris there indicated straight-line winds, but there were a few places where the evidence was less conclusive, so National Weather Service officials will determine if there was a tornado.

On Tuesday (April 4, 2017) Brandon Scott Stewart age 36 of Riddle Rd Manchester was at Starlight Bar in Lakewood Park when he allegedly became involved in a domestic dispute with his wife. According to the arrest warrant, Stewart drove his car into the side of his wife’s car causing damage to the driver’s door. The female then apparently went home and when she arrived Stewart was there. When the wife attempted to drive into their driveway she said the man was hitting their other cars and was allegedly breaking windows and had a shovel in his hand.
Stewart was arrested by Coffee County Deputy Lee Marcom and transported to the Coffee County Jail where warrants for public intoxication, aggravated assault, and domestic violence were obtained. Bond was set at $26,000 and he’ll be in court on Thursday.

A power bill payment scam has hit the Columbia area of Duck River Electric Membership Corporation’s service area.
This fraud appears to be aimed at small businesses, especially gas stations, small markets, and convenience stores. Owners and employees are informed by the caller that their DREMC bill is overdue, and the service is subject to immediate disconnection unless they pay via credit or debit card over the phone. A business in Maury County was told that the check used to make electric payment was unsigned and that this needed to be paid by other means to avoid disconnection.
According to the business owner, she did go and purchase a pre-paid credit card and give the card numbers to the caller. It was later the owner decided something did not seem right and called the Columbia office of DREMC. An employee in the DREMC office informed the member that her account was current and that her check had indeed cleared the bank earlier in the month.
DREMC members should be wary of anyone purporting to be a co-op representative who demands an over-the-phone bill payment to prevent service disconnection.
DREMC members will receive mail notices of bills past due and scheduled disconnection. There also are a variety of ways to pay bills, including in the local offices, by phone talking to a DREMC representative on lines manned 24/7, online at www.dremc.com and by using the co-op’s free mobile app.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm, have announced that attorney Tiffany Tant-Shafer has joined the firm.
Tant-Shafer joins Legal Aid Society’s Tullahoma office as its newest attorney with a focus on family, health and benefits and juvenile law. Prior to joining Legal Aid Society, she established her own firm where she was a sole practitioner primarily advocating for children.
Prior to launching her firm, Tant-Shafer was a full-time adjunct professor of legal studies at Missouri Western State University, where she coordinated a student project with the Midwest Innocence Project. She was previously an associate for The Law Office of Craig D. Ritchie, P.C., handling family and appellate cases and worked as a family law attorney for Legal Aid of Western Missouri.
Tant-Shafer graduated from The University of the South in Sewanee with a bachelor’s degree in English.

The Motlow College Foundation has launched the Motlow Alumni Association and will kick off the new association through a series of alumni gatherings called the Motlow Alumni Roadshow.
The alumni roadshow will take place in each of the cities where Motlow State Community College has a campus, and local alums from all years as well as alums from the surrounding areas are invited to attend.
Lane Yoder, director of the Motlow College Foundation, said, “Since Motlow first opened its doors in 1969, over 17,000 individuals have walked through our halls on their way to obtaining an associate degree or certificate.
At each of the gatherings, alumni will have a chance to socialize with other alums and hear about happenings on campus and across the Motlow service area from Motlow State President Dr. Tony Kinkel, have a drink and some appetizers, and get some Motlow alumni gear.
The event is free to attend, but the Foundation asks that all individuals interested in attending please register by visiting www.mscc.edu/alumni/roadshow/. The alumni roadshow starts on Tuesday, April 11, at Collins River BBQ in McMinnville and continues April 13, at La Tavola Ristorante Italiano in Smyrna; April 18, at Pebble Creek Golf Club in Fayetteville; and April 20, at Jack’s Rabbit Hole in Tullahoma.