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10/2/16 — Birthdays
Birthdays:
Chester Totherlow
10/1/16 — Birthdays
Amy Clark
Coffee County Falls on Homecoming
2016 CHS Homecoming King Sammi Mai(left) and Queen Nikki Hernandez(right)
Despite 3 touchdowns from University of Tennessee commitment Alontae Taylor, the Coffee County Red Raider football team dropped a 42 to 21 decision to Cookeville on Friday night in the annual Homecoming Game. The Red Raiders got on the board first thanks to a 6 yard touchdown run from Taylor with 7:23 left in the first quarter. Cookeville responded with 35 unanswered points to build a 35 to 7 lead with 11:23 left in the 3rd quarter. Taylor added a pair of 2nd half touchdowns and Zach Vaughn added a 2 point conversion.
Taylor led Coffee County in rushing with 27 carries for 173 yards. Taylor also added 22 yards receiving on 4 catches to be named the Thunder Radio/Crazy Daisies Player of the Game. Colton Prater was 8 of 11 passing for 51 yards and Dearron Rozier rushed 17 times for 17 yards for the Red Raiders.
Nikki Hernandez and Sammi Mai were named the homecoming queen and king respectively during the halftime festivities. Coffee County will have an open week next week before traveling to McMinnville on October 14th to take on Warren County.
CCMS Soccer Loses in Tournament Finals
![The CCMS Soccer team after Saturday's runner-up finish [Photo provided]](http://www.thunder1320.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/CCMS-Soccer-10-1.jpg)
The CCMS Soccer team after Saturday’s runner-up finish [Photo provided]
Coffee Middle advanced to the final with a 3 to 0 win over Harris in Saturday morning’s semifinal. The Lady Raiders jumped on the Eaglettes early when Reagan Ellison scored off a feed from Maddy Jones in the 3rd minute. Jones made it 2 to 0 in the 28th minute with an unassisted goal. In the second half, Jones was ridden down in the 18 yard box in the 48th minute. Katie Cotton converted on the penalty kick to advance the Lady Raiders to the final.
Against Warren County, the Lady Pioneers got a goal in the 10th minute and carried that 1 to 0 lead into the half. Marley Perry banged home a deflection in the 42nd minute to send the game into the extra period. After the scoreless extra period, Warren County converted their penalty kicks to claim the title. After the match, Coach Travis O’Kelley had this to say about his team and their season: “It was a hard way to end a fantastic season. I’m proud of the effort put forth by our girls all season; going undefeated in conference play is no small achievement.”
Westwood Soccer Season Ends in Tournament Semifinals
![Alanna Coker of Westwood punts a ball during soccer action on Friday [Photo by Tiffany Clutter]](http://www.thunder1320.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Alanna-Coker.jpg)
Alanna Coker of Westwood punts a ball during soccer action on Friday [Photo by Tiffany Clutter]
Against St. Andrews, neither team could get a goal in regulation or the extra period. Westwood keeper Alanna Coker finished the game with 10 saves during regulation and extra time, but the Lady Lions out shot Westwood 3 to 0 in penalty kicks to claim the 1 to 0 win and advance to the finals.
Teheran, Braves Close Turner Field with Shutout
The Braves’ era at Turner Field is over. So, too, is the Tigers’ opportunity at the postseason.
Once again, Justin Verlander was stingy with the season on the line. This time, however, his opposing starter was stingier. And after 12 strikeouts from Braves ace Julio Teheran in a 1-0 win Sunday, the Tigers were eliminated from playoff contention.
Detroit needed a win Sunday along with a loss from either the Blue Jays or Orioles to extend its season in hopes of earning an American League Wild Card spot. The first part was the challenge in front of them, and Teheran answered, sending Tigers batters chasing high fastballs through the late afternoon shadows. His 12 strikeouts tied his season high, a day after Braves rookie starter Aaron Blair struck out a career-best 10 Tigers over six innings.
“I know he’s very tough on right-handed hitters,” Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of Teheran, “and unfortunately we’re a right-handed lineup. But we have good right-handed hitters. He had his stuff working today. Really, the story was him.”
Verlander did his part to answer, but Freddie Freeman’s first-inning sacrifice fly stood as the difference. Verlander struck out eight over seven innings, finishing his renaissance season with a 3.04 ERA. It was the Tigers’ third 1-0 loss this season with Verlander on the mound.
“There was a lot of pitching and a lot of history in this ballpark,” Freeman said. “For it to go down as a 1-0 game between Julio and Verlander, that was a fitting ending for this ballpark.”
Teheran entered Sunday’s game with a 1-6 record and a 3.84 ERA in 17 home starts this season. The right-hander made the most of his final outing at Turner Field, though, allowing only three hits over seven scoreless innings. The Tigers threatened to score in the second, when Teheran issued a one-out walk to Nick Castellanos to put runners on first and second. But Atlanta’s ace escaped the jam unscathed with a strikeout and a lineout. Only two more runners reached against Teheran, who reached 95 mph with his fastball and finished with a 3.21 ERA.
“[I was feeling] a lot of emotions,” Teheran said. “My friends, the crowd and the emotions you’re feeling in that place right now, it was unbelievable. I think I came with my best stuff, and I wanted to do this. Everybody was excited, and I’m glad I had my stuff. I couldn’t make it any better than that.”
The pitching duel left Verlander victimized by Freeman’s sacrifice fly, but he avoided a second such tally with some strategic pitching in the seventh after Adonis Garcia singled, stole second and reached third on a James McCann throwing error. Verlander struck out Matt Kemp on a offspeed pitch that ducked off the plate, intentionally walked Nick Markakis, then sent a 96-mph fastball past Tyler Flowers for a called third strike.
“I know I pitched well,” Verlander said, “but it doesn’t make me feel any better right now.”
After Jose Iglesias opened the eighth with a double, Jose Ramirez struck out pinch-hitter Victor Martinez, then induced an Ian Kinsler liner that shortstop Dansby Swanson snared before throwing to second base to double up Iglesias. The Tigers loaded the bases to begin Saturday’s eighth and saw that threat end when Swanson began a nifty double play after diving to grab J.D. Martinez’s sharp grounder.
“Huge defensive play,” said Braves manager Brian Snitker about Swanson’s defensive gem. “I have a feeling that’s going to be the norm with that kid. The bigger the situation, the bigger he’s going to come up. You feel really really good when he’s out there.”
Said Kinsler: “I didn’t hit it great, but anytime you can hit a ball on the line, you think it’s got a chance to find a hole. It just didn’t.”
The Tigers had one last chance to extend their season once Miguel Cabrera hit an opposite-field single off former teammate Jim Johnson with one out. Johnson struck out J.D. Martinez on three pitches, all fastballs, then recovered from a 3-1 count to Justin Upton with back-to-back called strikes, including a full-count fastball over the plate for the 15th strikeout of the afternoon. The Tigers were held to three runs over their final two games.
Issues Discussed over MCCCC
Members of the Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee expressed frustration during a recent meeting over continued operating losses of the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center (MCCCCS).
According to a report in the Tullahoma News, Coffee County Commissioner Bobby Bryan said, “As far as I am concerned, if it gets too far out of hand, shut it down.” “I would hate to do that, but I have seen it operating in the hole every year. Also, I feel the least they can do is report to us on a monthly basis.”
So far this fiscal year, Coffee County has paid about $82,000 for the conference center, which is $32,000 more than the county has budgeted for the entire fiscal year.
Coffee County and the City of Manchester equally share the losses of the conference center.
In a letter from the Public Building Authority it says that it reports activities in a public meeting attended by both the City and the County. Numbers generated directly from the current bookkeeping system are presented at every meeting and discussed. Since the discovery that some audit and other internal processes were not being managed correctly by the previous G.M., the Board took extensive measures to correct those deficiencies. During the cleanup process problems such as internal controls, developing a board approved handbook, correcting non-compliance of labor laws, electrical codes, fire codes, and music licensing were corrected, as well as money and cash handling controls. Service contracts were eliminated including outside sound, linen rentals, equipment rentals, and contracts with excessive rates and streamlined pricing has now been implemented.
It has been noted the two commissioners commenting in the meeting have never been introduced to the new General Manager, Rebecca French or requested financial records. The statements they have made seem unfounded whether they are talking about the new manager or the P.B.A. Continual improvements are being made toward the goals and sustainability of the Conference Center as well as advertising in the corporate market which is bringing customers in to fill up Monday thru Friday 9-5 business, our community does an excellent job of filling up the Weekends. The new phone and internet services are more competitive with the Chattanooga, Huntsville, Murfreesboro, and Nashville markets with 1 gig internet. In fact, new service gained a four month $17,000 contract. The Conference Centers services have attributed to approx. 196 hotel rooms for the month of September and approx. 771 hotel rooms for the month of August. This generates revenue in our community but the Conference Center doesn’t get any recognition from these rooms being rented. The money brought into our community from room rentals, sales tax, and hotel/motel tax does not show on the bottom line.
There have been 5 negative articles written about the Conference Center without any new developments. The newspaper coverage has scared customers for the coming year, with brides calling to see if they will need to find a new venue. These negative articles and comments affect the bottom line. The Conference Center leadership recently attended the Governor’s Conference and came home with a message to the community, “working together” and “putting the right people at the table.” The Conference Center employees are spreading this message and heading in the right direction. The Manchester Coffee County Conference Center is a valuable service for our community.
The letter was signed by Patricia Pinegar, Chairman of the P.B.A.
Man Allegedly Fires Shots at Shelbyville Church Arrested
Wendell Buchanan intake photo
On Saturday members of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office responded to yet another shooting into the church on Horse Mountain Rd. While investigating it, they were able to come up with a vehicle description. A few minutes later, a patrolman with the Shelbyville Police Department spotted the vehicle in question in the area and as a result they have identified and arrested the person responsible for shooting into the churches, vandalizing the power company, and cable lines as a Wendell Buchanan 36, of Shelbyville. He is in custody at the Bedford County Jail with a 500,000.00 bond. The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office wants to give a big “Thank you” to the Shelbyville Police Department, as this was a joint effort between the agencies, and their assistance was invaluable.
Controversy — Which Fire Department covers fire on I-24 near Monteagle Mountain
Fire scene from WKRN-TV
The Tennessee Department of Transportation says I-24 westbound on the Chattanooga side of Monteagle Mountain belongs to Battle Creek Volunteer Fire Department.
The eastbound lanes are in Monteagle Fire’s jurisdiction.
Marion County Mayor David Jackson says Battle Creek is working on a limited budget and the department can’t afford to respond to truck fires on the interstate.
Monteagle Fire Chief Mike Holmes says that part of the interstate is prone to truck fires.
“This mountain is bad on brakes. Brakes get too hot, catch on fire, and trailer load catches on fire,” he said.
Holmes says there’s at least one truck fire a month just in that area.
Last month, a bus full of Marines caught on fire.
When dispatch called for Battle Creek to come help, Chief Eddie Haggard can be heard on the 911 call responding:
I’ve been denying all the other fires on the freeway. I have to deny this one too.
No one was trapped on the bus carrying 40 Marines, so Monteagle Fire Department drove outside their jurisdiction to respond.
Tennessee Highway Patrol closed the interstate so the fire trucks could drive east down the westbound lanes to get to the fire.
Chief Holmes says typically, Battle Creek Fire can get to fires on that side of the interstate quicker.
Mayor Jackson says it doesn’t make much of a difference because by the time Battle Creek gets the truck filled with water up the mountain, they’re too late.
Mayor Jackson says he met with TDOT and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency several months ago and hasn’t heard back.
We asked TDOT if they’ll be able to help Battle Creek Fire Department.
Here is their response:
“While TDOT does not have any authority by law to reimburse local governments for costs associated with emergency services related to traffic crashes on state highways, our Finance Office is currently developing a more detailed explanation of our departmental processes for cost recovery due to crashes. This will include information on our billing processes and the data that we provide to owners/insurance carriers when we recover costs incurred by the Department due to crashes. Once this information is updated and compiled, we will share it with local governments, including Marion County, to assist them in understanding how they too can recover the associated costs incurred as a result of these events.
Meanwhile, TDOT says they will continue to work closely with their partners at the Tennessee Department of Safety, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and local governments to come up with other possible solutions to this problem. (WTVC-TV)
Lane Closure as New Exit ramp opens Soon
Work continues on the new exit ramp on the eastbound side of Exit 111. Civil Constructers, who has been working on the new ramp since January, will be closing the right lane of traffic on Monday and Tuesday. Milling work and paving on Monday and on Tuesday there will be rolling roadblocks while workers are installing new signage for the exit. Civil Constructers is asking the public to avoid the area if at all possible.
At the completion of the work, all eastbound traffic wanting to go to Tullahoma will take the new ramp and not have to cross over Hwy 55 in order to turn toward Tullahoma. Work should be completed very soon.