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11/12/16 — Birthdays

birthday cakeBirthdays:
Riley Benton, 18 — Pizza Winner!

Ryan Benton, 18

Anjalee Cutshaw-Massey, 25

11/16/16—Luann Catherine Schmidt

Luann Catherine Schmidt

A Celebration of Life Gathering for Mrs. Luann Catherine Schmidt, age 56
of Manchester, will be held on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 from 5:00
P.M. until 8:00 P.M. in the Hospitality Suite at Coffee County Funeral
Chapel. Mrs. Schmidt passed away on Saturday,
November 12, 2016.

Luann was born on September 16, 1960 in Mendota, Illinois. She was a
school bus driver for Coffee County Schools and formerly worked at Sonic
for over 10 years. Luann was very “crafty” and enjoyed antique shopping,
painting and sewing. She also loved to decorate for the holidays. Above
everything, her family came first.

Preceded in death by her father, Warren Peasley; father-in-law, William
“Bill” L. Schmidt; mother-in-law, Winifred Jean Schmidt. Survived by her
mother, Norma Peasley; her loving husband of 36 years, Bill Schmidt; her
children, Ashley Nichole Schmidt, Aaron Jacob Schmidt, Adam William
Schmidt, Austin Lee Schmidt; grandchildren, Brennon Dax Schmidt, Abigail
Ray Schmidt; brother, Mark Peasley; sister, Carrie Delhotal.

Coffee County Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Schmidt family.

11/16/16—Richard Earl House

Funeral services for Mr. Richard Earl House, age 86, of Manchester, TN, will be conducted at 10:00 AM on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 at Manchester Funeral Home with Dr. Kerry Walker officiating. Interment will be held at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 from 5:00-8:00 PM. Mr. House passed away at St. Thomas Rutherford in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on November 13, 2016.

Mr. House was born in Hamilton, Mississippi, the son of the late William Leonard House and Lela Easter. He was a member of Trinity Baptist Church. He worked for AEDC as an instrument technician.

He was preceded in death by his parents, William Leonard House and Lela Easter; three brothers, Bill House, Herbert House, Durwood House; sister, Alzie Blair. He is survived by his loving wife, Betty Jean House; sons, David House and Neal House; daughters, Jackie Barnes and Peggy House; grandchildren, Chris Barnes, Calvin Barnes, Angie Barnes Shelton, John Collins, Kyle Chumbley, Terri Walker, Kelly Smith, Kristen House, twelve great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild.

MANCHESTER FUNERAL HOME IS HONORED TO SERVE THE HOUSE FAMILY

TSSAA Unveils New Classification Plan

TSSAAIn the most comprehensive change in the classification of high school athletics in the last 20 years, the TSSAA released its new regions for the 2017-20 school years on Friday. The new alignments will feature a revised 6 class system for public schools in football.
There will also be a 3 class system for baseball/softball & basketball. There is a new classification for volleyball which will feature 3 classes equally divided by participating schools. Soccer will feature 3 classes as well, equally divided by participating schools. Wrestling will be classified based on the basketball classifications with Class AA and Class A combined. All other sports at Coffee County(tennis, golf, track and cross country) will be divided into 2 classes split evenly be participation and enrollment.
For all sports, Coffee County will remain in the largest classification. The Red Raider football team will play in Region 3-6A with Cookeville, Warren County, Riverdale, Blackman, Oakland and Siegel. There is no change in the district alignment for baseball, softball, and basketball as Coffee County will remain in District 8AAA with Tullahoma, Franklin County, Columbia, Shelbyville, Lincoln County and Lawrence County. In volleyball, soccer, Coffee County will be in District 8AAA with Columbia, Franklin County, Lincoln County and Shelbyville. In wrestling(duals), Coffee County will be in District 9 with Franklin County, Lawrence County, Shelbyville, Tullahoma, Warren County and White County. There are slight changes to the district/region alignments in tennis and golf as the old district 8AAA will also see new members Giles County and Marshall County enter.
Schools have until Wednesday at noon to appeal which region they are in. Those appeals will be heard Thursday at the TSSAA’s Board of Control meeting. You can see a state-wide breakdown of all of the new TSSAA region/district classification plan, you can visit the TSSAA website at: http://tssaa.org/2017-2021-district-region-alignments/

Forsberg, Rinne Help Propel Preds Over Ducks

Pekka Rinne

Pekka Rinne

Filip Forsberg scored his first of the season, and Pekka Rinne stopped 27 shots as the Nashville Predators concluded their four-game home stand by trouncing the Anaheim Ducks, 5-0.

The victory gives the Preds three wins in a row and bumps their overall record to 6-5-3 for 15 points. They’ve collected at least a point in six consecutive games (4-0-2) and their confidence only continues to grow.

Winger James Neal also tallied twice in the win, and Nashville’s top players are elevating their game as the club gets on a roll.

“Even when we weren’t scoring, we knew we had players that were capable of scoring goals,” Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “[James] Neal has had lots of opportunities since the start of the year, and it’s nice to see that they finally [are going] in. Goal-scorers continue to shoot the puck as much as possible because they’re good at what they do.”

As the month of November has gone along, Pekka Rinne has seemingly gotten better and better – his 4-0-2 record supports it. So perhaps it was only fitting he finished off the four-game home stand with a 27-save shutout, the 41st of his career and first of the season.

Arguably Nashville’s best player to date, Rinne has consistently given his team a chance to win, and as of late, that’s exactly what they’ve done.

“He’s been so strong,” Laviolette said of Rinne. “It’s not like because he didn’t get a shutout last game he wasn’t good. He was brilliant last game. But tonight, he puts the exclamation point on it with a shutout. He’s seeing it really well right now, he’s in position and I think our guys are feeding off of that in front of him.”

“My main goal is to be consistent and be able to maintain a level where I felt like I’m playing my best game every night,” Rinne said. “This home stretch has been really good for me and my teammates and hopefully we can keep it going.”

The chances that Filip Forsberg would go much longer without finding the back of the net weren’t great. But still, when he beat John Gibson for his first of the season and his team’s fourth of the night, he returned to the bench, let out a long breath, and then flashed a familiar smile. After going the first 13 games without doing what he does best, the drought was over.

“Every guy on this team knows what type of player we have to be to be successful and we didn’t do that in the start,” Forsberg said. “I think that was basically the thing, to start working hard and playing our way of hockey. We’ve been playing better hockey, and it’s been coming to us all. ”

“He was determined, and he was bringing the puck to the net,” Laviolette said. “It was just a matter of time. Again, goal-scorers that bring it to the net usually wind up scoring goals at some point.”

When the Predators returned last week from a five-game road trip, they were not only happy to return to Tennessee, but they knew they had a chance to collect eight points at home. Finishing the home stand with seven out of eight isn’t too shabby.

With the win, the Preds have climbed their way back into the thick of the NHL schedule as they continue to erase what was a poor start and turn it into their first win streak of the season.

“I think you learn a little about yourself when you go through a tough stretch of games,” forward James Neal said. “I think we have a lot of new guys and a lot of different roles that guys are going into. So, we thought if we just did the right things and kept working it will come, and I like the way we’ve played at home the last five or six games.”

Notes:

James Neal has scored a goal in four consecutive games for the first time since the 2013-14 season. It matches the second-longest streak of his career.

Neal has registered eight points (5g-3a) in his last seven games and earned two multi-point games during that stretch.

Viktor Arvidsson matched a career high with two assists tonight.

Colton Sissons’ shorthanded goal was the first of his NHL career.

The Preds head out on the road next week for a three-game swing, beginning on Tuesday night in Toronto to face Auston Matthews – the No. 1 overall selection in the 2016 NHL Draft – and the Maple Leafs.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast following Coffee County basketball.

Titans Turn in Dominating Performance in Win Over Packers

Titans4The Titans wanted to make a statement on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.

Mission accomplished.

The Titans came out swinging on Sunday, and they never stopped.

The end result was a dominating 47-25 win over the Packers. The point total was the highest in a game since the 2009 season. The Titans have now scored 35-plus points in three straight regular season games for the first time in franchise history.

“We were going to leave it all on the field,’’ tight end Delanie Walker said. “We said we needed to make a statement, and this was a game to make a statement in and I think we did that. We felt like we controlled the game.”

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota connected on 19-of-26 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns, with a passer rating of 149.8. He now has 17 touchdown vs. only three interceptions in the last six games.

In the past six games, Mariota has 17 touchdowns vs. only three interceptions. Mariota has at least two touchdown passes in six consecutive games, and he’s already surpassed his rookie total for touchdown passes on the season with 21. Mariota became the first Titans quarterback since Steve McNair in 2003 to thrown for 20 touchdowns in a season. McNair threw for 24 touchdowns that season.

“It is a huge stepping stone,’’ Mariota said of the win. “It is getting us in the right direction. There’s still a lot of season left, a lot of things we have to go and accomplish. But hopefully we can use this as momentum for the rest of the year.”

Running back DeMarco Murray ran for 123 yards on 17 carries, including a 75-yard touchdown run the team’s first offensive play.

The Titans improved to 5-5 with the win, and in the process matched their win total for the previous two seasons combined.

“There was a lot of energy on the sideline,’’ Titans coach Mike Mularkey said. “They wanted it bad and you could see it on the sideline. The body language and just the offense pulling for the defense, being up there when they were coming off the field, it’s great. These guys pull for each other more than you know, and it was fun to watch that today.”

Murray busted through a hole on the left side of the line and raced untouched on his 75-yard touchdown run.

On the team’s next series, the Titans scored again, this time with some trickery, when Murray threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Walker, which made it 14-0. Murray became the first non-QB with a 75-plus yard touchdown run and a touchdown pass in a single game since Hall of Famer John Henry.

The Titans jumped out to a 21-0 lead when Mariota connected with tight end Anthony Fasano for a nine-yard touchdown pass.

The quick start sent Nissan Stadium into a frenzy, as fans chanted “Go Titans Go!” time and again early. It continued.

The Packers got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when quarterback Aaron Rodgers connected with receiver Jordy Nelson for a one-yard touchdown pass, making it 21-7.

But the Titans had a quick answer. A 35-yard pass from Mariota to Murray moved the ball across midfield, and then Mariota connected with receiver Rishard Matthews for a 32-yard touchdown catch to make it 28-7. The touchdown was the sixth for Matthews in the last six games.

The Packers got a 29-yard field goal from kicker Mason Crosby to make it 28-10 with 3:55 left before halftime.

But the Titans kept on swinging, and they were in a good chance to do so late in the first half when LeSeaun Sims recovered a fumbled punt by the Packers. Three plays later, Mariota connected with receiver Kendall Wright for a six-yard touchdown to give the Titans a 35-10 lead at the half.

The 35 points tied for the second-most first-half points in franchise history.

The Packers added another score just before halftime as Rodgers connected with James Starks for a 13-yard score to make it 35-16 at the half.

The Packers then cut the lead to 35-22 midway through the second half on a 20-yard touchdown run by Rodgers.

And back came the Titans. Mariota connected with receiver Tajae Sharpe for a 33-yard touchdown pass to give the Titans a 41-22 lead with 6:27 left in the third quarter. Another field goal from Crosby late in the third quarter made it 41-25 Titans.

The Titans took away any suspense with a pair of field goal from kicker Ryan Succop, from 51 and 23 yards out.

The Titans travel to Indianapolis next Sunday to face the Colts.  Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast beginning at noon.

Tullahoma Man Killed in I-40 Crash

fatal accident 3Three people have were killed after a fiery crash on Interstate 40 in Cumberland County on Friday afternoon including a man from Tullahoma.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a semi with no trailer was traveling east on Interstate 40 and traveled through the median into westbound traffic, crashing into a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle.
The trucks caught fire. The drivers of both trucks and the passenger vehicle were killed. A passenger in the passenger vehicle was taken by helicopter to a Knoxville hospital.
THP released the names of the crash victims late Friday. Officials say 44-year-old Erik New, of Tullahoma, was driving a tractor-trailer with no trailer eastbound on I-40 when, for unknown reasons, he crossed the median into the westbound lanes of traffic.
The tractor-trailer hit a 2016 Nissan Sentra driven by 50-year-old Nancy Tooley, of Tompkinsville, Ky. The Sentra went airborne and started rolling before coming to a stop on the shoulder.
The tractor-trailer then hit another tractor-trailer that was hauling automobiles head on. Both tractor-trailers stopped in the middle of the westbound lanes and burst into flames, THP said.
A fourth vehicle swerved into the median to avoid the crash and hit several pieces of debris, THP said.
New, Tooley and the driver of the second tractor-trailer, Noel Feliciano, 60, of Winchester, Va., were pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger from Tooley’s car, 66-year-old Jack Tooley, was flown to UT Medical Center in Knoxville.
The driver of the fourth vehicle and their passenger were uninjured.
It took around 6 hours to completely reopen the interstate.

Fires Continue, Level 3 State of Emergency in Tennessee

fire 1Tennessee is under a state of emergency due to a drought and the threat of wildfires.
It’s a Level 3 state of emergency, meaning the situation is deteriorating rapidly.
Approximately 302 of Tennessee’s 480 water systems are experiencing some level of drought impact. At least three counties have requested water because wells have run completely dry.
Fifty-three wildfires are currently burning in East Tennessee, impacting almost 10,000 acres.
The state of emergency will allow resources for state and federal partners to be more readily available if needed to protect lives and property.
State Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton has issued a burn ban for Clairborne, Cumberland, Hamilton, Jefferson, Loudon, Marion, Monroe, Robertson and Sevier counties. State officials say the burn ban will remain in place until further notice.
Coffee County has had several brush and grass fires, but local fire departments have done a great job extinguishing the fires.
The level 3 describes an event or period when a serious emergency has occurred or the situation is deteriorating rapidly, and public warnings are being issued. The Tennessee Emergency Management Plan (TEMP) and the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) are activated at this level in accordance with and this action by law declares a state of emergency. Only key or specifically needed emergency service coordinators are called to duty.

Man Arrested after Crashing Car into Sheriff’s Dept. Vehicle in Grundy Co.

Grundy Co. Sheriff's CarThe Grundy County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man last week after a chase ended with the suspect crashing into a deputy’s vehicle.
Daniel Morrison, 33, was arrested after deputies responded to a possible assault call on Rock Avenue in Palmer, according to the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office.
As they arrived, Morrison had left the area, and began searching for him.
Grundy County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Paul Sweeton found Morrison in a wooded area near Slatton Road.
That’s when Morrison attempted to flee and ended up striking Sweeton’s vehicle and then fleeing on foot. Morrison was caught after a short foot pursuit.
He has been charged with DUI, driving on revoked, evading, several drug charges and a number of others.
Grundy County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Paul Sweeton was uninjured in the crash.

Thanksgiving Hours at Motlow

happy thanksgivingMotlow State Community College will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday from Thursday, Nov. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 27, according to college officials.
The closing applies to computer labs, libraries and other facilities at all Motlow State campuses, including the Moore County, Fayetteville, McMinnville and Smyrna campuses.
There will be no classes on Wednesday, Nov. 23, although Motlow facilities will remain open. Classes scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 27 will not be meeting.
All classes will resume their normal schedules, and all campuses their normal hours, on Monday, Nov. 28.