Since 2002, Manchester and Coffee County have hosted one of the most popular live music events in the country – the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Held on a 700 acre farm, the festival is a four-day, multi-stage event that showcases a diverse assortment of musical styles and performers. Thousands of people from all over the country make the yearly trip to attend the festival, and Manchester becomes their temporary home for several days in June. As in years past, over 80,000 music lovers are expected to attend this year’s festival, which kicks off Thursday night, June 9, and winds down Sunday night, June 12.
With 80,000 festivalgoers converging on the festival site, the area in and around Manchester always sees increased traffic throughout the festival. As Manchester prepares to welcome a multitude of visitors, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Highway Patrol are gearing up for the extra traffic expected in the area. TDOT and the THP are working closely with the Manchester Police Department, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and festival promoters to keep traffic moving on I-24 while also getting Bonnaroo attendees to their destination.
“As always, the main goal is to keep through traffic moving smoothly on I-24 during the Bonnaroo festival while getting festivalgoers safely into and out of the festival site,” said TDOT Commissioner John Schroer. “TDOT has once again coordinated with our partners at THP and other agencies well ahead of the festival to ensure that traffic delays are kept to a minimum throughout the festival period.”
The 15th annual Bonnaroo will officially open all its gates on Wednesday evening June 8 to allow more time for vehicles to enter the campgrounds.

Sunday morning (June 5) around 3 a.m. two people were traveling eastbound on I-24 in Coffee County when the vehicle they were in left the interstate crossing the westbound lanes traveling approximately 1/4 mile through a field before crashing into a home on Joe Hickerson Road.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, driver Carmen Reyes age 35 was operating a 2003 Acura and apparently fell asleep and ran into the house.
A female was asleep inside the home and suffered minor injuries.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a theft and aggravated burglary that occurred at 990 Old Mansford Rd. Winchester, Tn. A preliminary investigation revealed that between May 22nd and May 28th person(s) unknown gained access to the residence and removed several items from the home and property. One major item taken was a 2007 Seadoo 200 Speedster. The value of the property stolen is estimated at $29,000. Anyone having any information regarding this matter is asked to contact Investigator Robert Tipps at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office 931-308-9424.

The director of the state health department’s vector borne diseases program gave area officials an update on mosquito borne disease. He advised local city and county officials at a recent event in Tullahoma to take precautions against mosquito borne diseases such as Zika and other viruses. He noted that residents should clear their homes and businesses of anything holding standing water like tires, buckets, planters, toys, etc., this will decrease the probability of mosquito infestations. Daylight hours are the most dangerous due to the mosquitoes harboring Zika and other vector-borne diseases biting most often before dark. Although, nighttime bites from these mosquitoes are not unheard of. Wearing longer pants and sleeves can also help prevent aggressive bites from mosquitoes.

The state legislature has changed the date for TENNESSEE’S SALE TAX FREE WEEKEND, but the value remains the same. Freedom from sales tax on certain items begins at midnight Friday, July 29th, rolls in and continues until midnight Sunday, July 31st.
The great news is that the benefits remain the same. No sales tax on clothing, school and art supplies costing $100 or less per item; and no tax on computers that cost $1,500 or less.
And if you’re trying to figure out when this major sales weekend began, it was back in 2007–when our economy had many challenges. It accomplished its goal of increasing business. In fact, Tennessee’s Sales Tax Free Holiday has become so popular, legislators have decided to leave it alone.
For more information, check the state’s website: www.tntaxholiday.com.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD issued a release stating the organization is in danger of losing a key piece of funding if it fails to maintain 500 license plates in circulation by June 30. The organization says their license plates will lose over $15,000 in annual funding if they fall short of the 500 plate minimum by the end of the month. Currently, MADD is 70 plates short of what needs to be purchased. The plates cost $35 for drivers with $30.75 going towards the organization’s efforts in fighting impaired driving. MADD license plates went into production in Tennessee in 1997 and the organization is urging drivers to purchase a plate from the county clerk’s office so they can reach the 500 minimum needed or else the plate will be retired.

According to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, 19 year-old Donny Everett a freshman baseball pitcher for Vanderbilt University was at Normandy Lake with two teammates and two other people fishing on Thursday afternoon.
Witnesses told authorities Everett was swimming when he started asking for help. They said they thought Everett was “just joking around” because he was smiling and did not seem to be struggling.
A friend went in and pulled Everett several feet along. The friend said he is not a good swimmer and was struggling to stay afloat when he let Everett go and swam back to shore.
When the friend looked back, he saw that Everett went under the water and did not come back up.
Divers with the Coffee County Rescue Squad recovered Everett’s body just before 7 p.m. about 15 feet from the water bank near the Cat Walk along Mt. View Road.
Everett was taken to a hospital in Tullahoma before being transported to Nashville for an autopsy.
The Commodores tried to pull themselves together as they hosted the Regional NCAA baseball tournament. It turned out to be a difficult task, as Vandy lost both games they played on Saturday to end their bid to return to College World Series where they won the National Championship in 2014 and finished 2nd last season.

On May 29 someone entered a storage building at Stone Fort Storage on Hendrixson Drive in Manchester and stole a Honda 150 dirt bike along with several accessory items, a gas leaf blower and a century safe with contents. On the following day, the male subject reentered the same space and stole a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Items were valued at several thousand dollars.
On June 2 Manchester Police say Todd Shannon Marshall age 46 of Hickerson Rd Manchester admitted and signed a statement that he took the items.
He was arrested Manchester Officer Brandon Tomberlin and charged with theft of property. Marshall was booked in at the Coffee County Jail under a $50,000 bond and he’ll appear in court on July 26, 2016.