Coffee County Court House in Downtown Manchester… Photo by Barry West

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced Friday that 12 Tennessee communities have been selected to participate in the fifth round of the Tennessee Downtowns program. The communities selected include Ashland City, Crossville, Dickson, Gainesboro, Hohenwald, Humboldt, Lenoir City, Livingston, Lynchburg, Manchester, Wartburg and Woodbury.
Each of the 12 communities selected this round has downtown commercial districts established at least 50 years ago and have demonstrated their readiness to organize efforts for downtown revitalization. The highly competitive selection process was based on historic commercial resources, economic and physical need, demonstrated local effort, overall presentation and probability of success.
Tennessee Downtowns is an affiliated program of Tennessee Main Street and is a community improvement program for towns and cities seeking to revitalize traditional commercial districts. The communities chosen to participate work through volunteer committees of local citizens who participate in a two-year program supported by the National Main Street Center. They also receive a $15,000 grant to complete a downtown improvement project upon completion of the training based on the successful Main Street Four-Point Approach.

On Thursday night just before 9pm Coffee County deputies and the Hillsboro Volunteer Fire Department responded to 544 Dean Shop Rd in reference to a house fire. Apparently no one lived in the home. The house was allegedly used to store items, but the electric power was still on at the residence.
The value of the house was estimated to be $10,000. The home was said to be over fifty-years old.
No one was injured in the fire.

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) members who are Comcast cable TV or internet subscribers in Franklin and Moore counties could experience a service interruption if the electric co-op is forced to disconnect power supplies and remove equipment for non-payment of pole attachment rental fees.
Notice was sent to Comcast that its facilities on DREMC poles are subject to removal unless overdue fees are paid prior to June 24.
Approximately 7,000 Comcast customers could be affected.
Almost two years ago, Comcast allowed a similar situation to develop by not paying annual pole attachment fees. The company averted loss of service to customers by finally making payment of the past-due amount and promising to enter into a new contract.
Comcast is still attached to DREMC poles without a contract and has allowed another past-due balance to accrue.
“We presume that over this period Comcast used these attachments to derive profit from services sold to customers in Franklin and Moore counties. Over the same period, we presume Comcast terminated service to its own customers for non-payment. Our contention is that no matter how large the companies might be that use our poles, they are subject to the same rules,” says DREMC President/CEO Michael Watson.
To ensure that DREMC members do not subsidize Comcast or others, the co-op charges an attachment fee that fairly reflects the cost of dedicating a portion of each pole for use by telephone, cable TV or other non-electric service providers.
Duck River sent notice to Comcast that, unless the delinquent pole attachment fees are paid, electric service will be disconnected to Comcast power supplies, and the process of Comcast equipment removal will begin under the co-op’s direction. Comcast will be billed for the expense of equipment removal.
Watson said, “We hope it does not become necessary for Duck River to take these steps. But it is unfair for tens of thousands of electric co-op members without access to cable TV or high-speed internet to subsidize the profits of a company like Comcast.”

Tennessee’s unemployment rate for May was 4.1 percent, a slight decrease from the April rate of 4.3 percent. That’s according to Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips. The U.S unemployment rate for May was 4.7 percent, down three-tenths of a percentage point from the previous month. Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.8 percent to 4.1 percent while the national rate declined from 5.5 percent to 4.7 percent.