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8/2/16 — Birthdays
Birthdays:
Little Willie Fletcher, 5 — Pizza Winner!
Brenda Vaughn
Wayne Morton, 75
Jerry Reed, 82
Manchester Receives Large Grant
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) Commissioner on Monday announced a series of grants totaling more than $17 million to help fund parks and recreation projects in Tennessee communities.
“These grants are very competitive so I applaud our local officials for their hard work on behalf of their communities,” Haslam said. “Our goal at the state level is to make Tennessee the very best place to live, work and raise a family, and I want to thank local officials for their partnership in making these grants happen and achieving that goal.”
TDEC will award $15.8 million in Local Park and Recreation grants to 55 different communities, as well as $1.9 million in Recreational Trails Program grants for a total of 12 parks and communities across Tennessee.
The City of Manchester will receive $105,000 to extend and pave parking areas in the park, develop another soccer field as a practice area, build a retention pond to use for irrigation of the fields and create a butterfly garden around the retention pond.
Man gets 90 Days in Jail for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor
Last year, then 72-year-old John Brown Ramsey, Jr. of Manchester was arrested on 33 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor. Manchester Police Investigator Butch Stewart served warrants on Ramsey to take his computer and send it to the TBI for testing. According to the indictments, Ramsey possessed the pornographic material.
In a plea agreement last week, Circuit Court Judge Vanessa Jackson sentenced Brown to serve 90 days.
According to Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott, Ramsey did not have a criminal past, and he has some mental issues due to him having strokes.
Northcott added that the images found on the man’s computer could have been from malware that was picked up while on the Internet.
Manchester Police said last year that they did not think any of the children shown on the computer images were local.
Ramsey will be on probation for a period of six years and will also be placed on the National Sex Offender Registry.
More on Fugitive Arrest
Brian Lee Cleckler… Facebook photo was altered to take out curse word.
We have an update on a story we brought you last week on WMSR and then had more on Monday. We now know that on Friday (July 29, 2016) investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, along with an FBI Agent and deputies with the Grundy County Sheriff’s office arrested Brian Lee Cleckler after about an hour standoff.
Officers found Cleckler in a cabin just off of Johnny Steifel Road in Marion County. Officers made contact with Cleckler who was in possession of a 9mm handgun and was threatening to kill officers and himself if they did not leave.
Investigators with Coffee County credit Special Agent David Street with the FBI for talking Cleckler into giving up.
Cleckler was taken into custody and he was also found in possession of approximately 3.5 grams of methamphetamine.
Cleckler who has been a resident of Manchester, TN was wanted by East Ridge Police and the Grundy County Sheriff’s office for various charges including failure to appear and assault on an officer.
Cleckler is currently in jail in Hamilton County.
In the original report we were told that Cleckler was wanted out of Georgia, but actually it was East Ridge, TN which is near the Georgia state line. He was also wanted in Grundy County.
Gas Prices have fallen for each day for almost 2 Months
Gas prices have fallen three cents since last weeks’ Gas Price Brief, reaching the average price of $2.14 per gallon, which is the lowest mark since April and the lowest price for this date since 2004. The price is 15 cents less than one month ago, 53 cents less than last year, and $1.38 cheaper than this same date two years ago. While gas prices are likely to remain relatively low heading into the fall, there is potential for an increase if there is an unexpected impact to supply or distribution, such as a hurricane.
Tennessee gas prices have declined for 53 consecutive days, dropping 30 cents during that time. In Coffee County the low price in Manchester and Tullahoma is $1.75 per gallon which matches the lowest price in the state.
THP Warns about passing School Buses
All area schools are back in session and the Tennessee Highway Patrol wants to make drivers aware of the rules and penalties for improperly passing a school bus.
Under state law, the driver of a vehicle, upon meeting or overtaking a school bus that is stopped to load or unload students, must stop before reaching the school bus. The driver cannot proceed until the school bus resumes motion or is signaled by the bus driver to proceed or if the visual signals are no longer engaged.
Failure to stop for a school bus is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000.
8/06/2016—Gerry Lou Bolton
Gerry Lou Bolton passed away August 1, 2016 at her residence. Gerry was born March 31, 1937 to the late Anthony and Elisabeth Smeenk of Vleuten, Netherlands. Preceded in death by a sister; Elisabeth Crocker, and a son; Robert Daniel Bolton. She resided in Manchester, Tennessee, with her husband Daniel Bolton. She is survived by 2 daughters; Barbara Daniels of Manchester, and Christina Grant, of Tullahoma, Tennessee, a son; Frederick Bolton, of Alaska, 7 grandchildren; Brittany Goodwin, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Billy, Beth, and Benjamin Daniels of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, Wade Grant, of Manchester, Tennessee, Whalen Grant of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Zach Bolton, of Alaska, 2 sisters; Rika Noggle, Tari Lankerd, both of Michigan, 2 brothers; Bernard Smeenk of Iowa, and Herman Smeenk of Kentucky.
Private Memorial
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations to the ALS Foundation.
CHS Golf Opens Regular Season on Tuesday
Coffee County Junior Golf Association Vice-President David Vinson(left) presents a check to CHS golf coach Mike Ray as teh Raider teams and CCJGA President Chad Reed(pink shirt) look on.
After a break of more than 2 months, prep sports teams and athletes return to action on Tuesday as the 2016-2017 high school sports season begins. The prep season tees off….literally..at 1 PM in Cookeville as the Coffee County Red Raider and Lady Raider golf teams open the season at Cookeville. The match marks the first regular season matchup of the school year as the members of those 2 teams attempt to return to the state tournament.
Also on Tuesday, the CHS Lady Raider soccer team will travel to Murfreesboro for a 7 PM scrimmage game with Oakland. The Lady Raiders will also travel to Ooltewah on Thursday for a scrimmage before hosting a scrimmage play day on Saturday. Coach David Amado and 3 of his Lady Raider seniors were guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show. You can hear our interview with them by downloading the podcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/
The CHS Golf team was recognized and honored on Monday night at Willowbrook by the Coffee County Junior Golf Association. Members of the team were treated to dinner at Boskey’s as part of the CCJGA Summer Celebration banquet celebrating a successful summer of junior golf in Coffee County. President Carl Reed, Vice-President David Vinson and Willowbrook golf pro Barry Bishop presided over the activities as the CCJGA presented a donation to the Coffee County Golf Team. Coach Mike Ray remarked that the junior golf program has contributed greatly to his team’s success as all of his current players have learned and competed in the CCJGA.
When interviewed, Coach Ray had this to say about the importance of the role of the Coffee County Junior Golf Association:
To learn more about junior golf, visit the CCJGA Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/Coffee-County-Junior-Golf-102421059808150/
or you can call Willowbrook Golf Club for more information.
Westwood Rockets Football Cranks up on Thursday
The Westwood Rockets football team will be holding their annual Blue/White game on Thursday at Dyer-Bouldin Field at 7 PM. This intersquad scrimmage game is open to the public and all proceeds go to benefit the football team. Admission is $5 for adults and $2 for students and concessions will be available.
The Rockets will travel to Wartrace on Friday night for the Cascade jamboree as they will take on Middle Tennessee Christian. That jamboree session is set to begin at 5:30 PM. The Rockets open their regular season on Thursday night when the play host to Forrest at Dyer-Bouldin Field. Kick-off is set for 6:30 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast as part of our First National Bank Hometown Sports series.
Sounds Shut Out Zephyrs, Win Third Straight
Three pitchers combined to shut out the New Orleans Zephyrs in a 7-0 win for the Nashville Sounds Monday night in New Orleans.
It’s the third shutout for the Sounds in their last six games. Three consecutive wins has pushed their record to 14 games over .500 at 62-48. The record is just one win shy of matching their high-water mark of 15 games over.
Daniel Mengden, fresh off of being optioned from Oakland, started for Nashville and delivered five scoreless innings. He scattered five hits, walked one and struck out five in his fourth win of the season with the Sounds. The scoreless performance lowered his Triple-A ERA to a minuscule 1.25.
Aaron Kurcz followed Mengden with three scoreless frames of his own before handing off to Patrick Schuster who tossed a scoreless ninth to preserve the shutout.
Newcomer Brett Eibner wasted little time making his mark with the Sounds. Playing in his first game since being acquired by the Athletics in a trade with the Royals, Eibner belted a solo homer in the second inning to give Nashville a 1-0 lead.
The center fielder walked in his final four plate appearances. The four walks matched a franchise record that has been accomplished only 15 times with the last occurring in 2008.
Back-to-back triples by Arismendy Alcantara and Jaycob Brugman increased the Sounds’ lead to 2-0 in the fifth.
They scored in four of the final five innings to break the game open. Alcantara manufactured a run in the sixth, an error by Zephyrs third baseman Matt Juengel brought in three runs in the eighth, and Colin Walsh knocked in a run with a groundout in the ninth.
Alcantara, Brugman and Joey Wendle had multi-hit games for the Sounds who will attempt to sweep the series Tuesday night.
Since starting the month of July 1-8, the Sounds have won 14 of 20 games to open a sizable lead in the American Southern Division. They opened play on Monday with a nine game lead in the division.
The series finale in the four-game set is scheduled for Tuesday night at Zephyr Park. Right-hander Raul Alcantara (1-0, 0.00) starts for the Sounds against right-handed pitcher Dylan Axelrod (7-5, 3.93) for the Zephyrs. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. CST.
The 2016 season is the Sounds’ 19th year in the Pacific Coast League and their second as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.