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Crash Injures local Pastor
A Tullahoma man was transferred to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after being injured in pickup/motorcycle crash earlier this week.
According to an accident report by Tullahoma Police Officer Tyler Walls, Stephen Groves Yates, 46, of Quail Drive Tullahoma was riding his 2010 Honda motorcycle when he collided with 2006 Ford pickup operated by James Wade Frazier, 44, of Allen Street, Tullahoma.
According to the police report, Frazier stated that he was traveling on East Warrant Street when he stopped at a stop sign and proceeded into traffic not seeing the motorcycle. He then noticed the bike and pulled his vehicle in the center of the road to avoid a collision. Yates stated that he saw the truck stopped and he slammed on his brakes and the motorcycle slid for approximately 100 feet injuring his right shoulder and forearm.
Yates is the pastor of Tullahoma Presbyterian Church.
Frazier was issued a citation for failure to yield the right of way.
Beware of IRS Imposters
Area law enforcement continues to receive tips about IRS imposters threatening arrests, lawsuits, and property seizures unless the victim pays up. Law enforcement says they’re investigating alongside several other law enforcement agencies across the United States. Police say these calls are not coming from the IRS. The department will never demand payment over the telephone. Typical IRS communication comes in the form of U.S. Mail. If you receive a phone call that you suspect is a tax scam, hang up and report it to the US Treasury, Office of Inspector General at 1-800-366-4484. To help avoid becoming the victim of a scam, police recommend never transferring funds through third-party wire or card services.
Stamp Out Hunger is Saturday
The 24th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is on Saturday, May 14. The food drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is the world’s largest one-day food drive, taking place in more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.
Participating in the food drive couldn’t be easier. Before their regular mail pick-up on Saturday, May 14, postal customers are asked to leave bags of non-perishable food items by their mailboxes. Letter carriers will pick up the bags and—with help from retired letter carriers, other postal employees and countless volunteers—deliver the bags to local food agencies.
In its 23 years, the Stamp Out Hunger food drive has collected more than 1.4 billion pounds of food; last year’s drive collected approximately 71 million pounds.
Food collected locally will go to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee.
Beekeeping Classes to begin
The University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture will be hosting a series of master beekeeping classes around the state beginning next week and continuing into June.
The classes will feature hands-on training at a bee yard, and presentations and lectures will cover bee biology and behavior, disease and pest management, tools and equipment and tips on improving beekeeping skills.
The master beekeeper program is aimed at increasing the knowledge and skill of beekeepers as well as improving the overall health of the bee industry.
Classes in June will be held in Charlotte, Winchester, Lawrenceburg and Cookeville.
New Rules coming for Students concerning Physical Activity
State Comptroller Justin Wilson
Approximately 25 percent of Tennessee high school students indicated they were physically active for one hour per day; the national rate was 27.1 percent. The national rate for high school students who attended physical education class at least once per week was 48 percent; Tennessee’s rate was 40.1 percent. The comptroller also explains the differences between physical activity and physical education.
Physical activity includes activities such as recess or walking. Tennessee law currently requires that elementary and secondary students receive at least 90 minutes per week of physical activity, but beginning on July 1, 2016, state law will begin requiring the equivalent of 225 minutes per week for grades K-1 and 160 minutes for grades 2-6. The current requirement for grades 7-12 of 90 minutes per week will remain unchanged. Schools are prohibited by law from counting walking between classes toward meeting the physical activity requirement.
Unlike physical activity, which includes free play during recess, physical education is a standards-based program of instruction. Tennessee schools must provide P.E. programs annually, though a minimum number of minutes or days per week is not currently required.
The nationally recommended amount of physical education for high school students is 225 minutes per week. No states currently meet the recommended amount, though some specify a minimum number of minutes per week.
Tennessee students must obtain a one-half credit of physical education in order to graduate from high school.
05/15/16-James William (Billy) Wagnon
Mr. James William (Billy) Wagnon of Tullahoma, Tennessee, passed from this life on Wednesday, May 11, 2016, at Life Care Nursing Home in Tullahoma at age 85. Mr. Wagnon was born on February 11, 1931, in Wetumpka, Alabama, to the late Mr. William Marlowe Wagnon and the late Odessa Turner Wagnon. He was a United States Army Veteran, having served his country in the Korean Conflict. Later he attended Alabama Polytechnic Institute (Auburn University) where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Electrical Engineering in three years, War Eagle! Mr. Wagnon was employed at AEDC where he worked in the Instrumentation Engineering section of the Propulsion Wind Tunnel Facility, retiring in 1993 after 37 years of dedicated service. He was an active member of First Baptist Church Tullahoma, where he and his wife, Mary, taught Sunday School for many years in the children’s and preschool departments. He also coached Little League baseball in Tullahoma for many years. Mr. Wagnon was an avid golfer and loved to play both the AEDC and Lakewood courses. In addition to his parents, Mr. Wagnon is preceded in death by his sister, Dorothy Skinner, his identical twin brother, Bobby, and his faithful companion and golf buddy, Muffin. He is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Mary Frank Wagnon of Tullahoma, two sons, Bill (Pam) Wagnon of Decatur, Mississippi, Fred (Brenda) Wagnon of Normandy, Tennessee, and two daughters, Kathy Abel of Tullahoma and Amy (Ed) Dorman of Tullahoma, and by fourteen grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Visitation with the family will be Saturday, May 14 from 4 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Kilgore Funeral Home. Funeral Services will be Sunday, May 15at 2 p.m. at First Baptist Church Tullahoma with Dr. J. Herbert Hester officiating. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Memorial Gardens in Tullahoma with Mr. Wagnon’s grandsons to serve as pallbearers. The family is especially grateful to the staff of The Life Care Center of Tullahoma for outstanding service and ministry during his stay there.
Lady Raider Softball Blanks Lincoln County to Stay Alive in District Tournament
Kasarah Scheller
“Let’s win this inning” was the battle cry of Coffee County Lady Raider coach Steve Wilder on Wednesday as the Lady Raiders scored in 4 of their 6 innings to eliminate Lincoln County in the quarterfinals of the District 8AAA softball tournament by a score of 5 to 0.
Coffee County banged out 10 hits on the night as the Lady Raiders plated a pair of runs in the 1st inning and junior pitcher Kaylee Skipper breezed her way through the 4 hit win notching 6 strikeouts. A diving catch of a pop up on the right field foul line by Kasarah Scheller shut down the only real scoring threat of the game by the Falcons in the first inning as they only got 1 runner past 1st base the rest of the way. Scheller also ended the game when she triggered a 4-3 double play.
Offensively, Shelby Scrivnor, Abby Woods and Katie Rutledge all had 2 hits while Scheller laced a triple over the right fielders head to lead-off the 5th inning. Scrivnor had the 2 RBI single in the 1st inning to get the Red Raiders off to the hot start and Haley Richardson drove in Scheller to plate the Raiders last run in the 5th. For her all around great performance, Scheller was named the Ascend Federal Credit Union player of the game.
The Lady Raiders will now advance to Thursday night’s semifinals against Tullahoma with a region tournament berth on the line. That game will get underway at 5 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast beginning at 4:50. A win in the semifinals would send Coffee County to the district finals where they would face Shelbyville at 7 PM. A win against Shelbyville would result in a winner take all “if game” on Friday night at 6 PM to decide the district championship.
Red Raider Soccer Season Comes to a Close
Turns out, 3rd time was the charm on Wednesday night at the Raider Soccer Field as Tullahoma notched the game winning goal in the 101st minute to end the Red Raiders soccer season in the District 8AAA semifinals by a score of 1 to 0. Tullahoma had goals waved off at the end of the 1st half of the first overtime period due to the clock expiring and in the 97th minute due to an off-sides call before sophomore Chase Farler found the back of the net in the 101st minute to advance the Wildcats to Friday’s district finals in Shelbyville.
In a match that seemed to favor the Wildcats all night in terms of scoring opportunities, Coffee County got a great performance from junior keeper John Parigger to be able to take the match to a 2nd overtime period. Coffee County had excellent scoring chances in the 87th and 95th minutes but could not get a shot on frame to take the goose egg off of the scoreboard. A brilliant Wildcat counter attack got the ball to Farler in front of the net in the first minute of the “Golden Goal” 2nd overtime period to give Tullahoma their 2nd overtime win this week.
After the match, Coach Robert Harper was distraught at the outcome but appreciative of the effort of his young team. “I am proud of how we competed tonight, but give Tullahoma credit; they found a way to get the win” said Harper.
Senior captain Nick Hough was also emotional following the game as the magnitude of his final game as a Red Raider sank in. “I thought that we played very, very well this season and I could not have asked for more from (my teammates). I am proud of our work ethic and I am proud of my brothers” said Hough.
District 8AAA Tournament Brackets – UPDATED 5/11/16 – 10 PM
District 8AAA Softball
District 8AAA Soccer
District 8AAA Baseball
Freeman Backs Perez’s Gem to Top Phils
Although he might not have ended what was an odd and hectic day in perfect fashion, Williams Perez took full advantage of a surprise start and benefited from Freddie Freeman’s three-hit game as the Braves snapped an 11-game home losing streak with Wednesday night’s 5-1 win over the Phillies.
Perez, who was perfect until Ryan Howard began the fifth inning with a home run, ended up limiting the Phillies to two hits over eight innings. Not bad, considering he began the day in Rochester, N.Y., and traveled to Atlanta once he learned he’d been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett to make this start in place of Jhoulys Chacin, who was traded to the Angels on Wednesday afternoon.
“He pitched a hell of a game,” Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said of Perez. “He made a mistake to Howard, but he didn’t give us a lot to hit.”
Freeman began his three-hit game by notching one of the three first-inning singles surrendered by Jerad Eickhoff. The red-hot first baseman chased Eickhoff with a one-out homer in the fifth inning. His contributions enabled the Braves to win for just the second time in 18 tries at Turner Field this year.
“I think we finally played a solid game in all three facets,” Freeman said. “I think it’s probably the first time we’ve played good defense and pitched well. It’s definitely a nice thing tonight to score a run in [each of the first three innings] to give some cushion to Williams, and he definitely took off with that.”
Perez encountered just one three-ball count and needed three or fewer pitches to retire 12 of the 25 batters that he faced. After surrendering Howard’s opposite-field homer on the fifth inning’s first pitch, he retired 10 consecutive batters before Freddy Galvis singled with one out in the eighth. The Braves right-hander ended his 85-pitch outing by getting Darin Ruf to ground into a double play.
“You couldn’t ask for anything more,” Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. “It’s nice to get a pitching performance like this and get a [win], instead of the last couple nights where you had [Mike Foltynewicz and Matt Wisler] providing an almost equal pitching performance and they got losses.”
Nick Markakis made Eickhoff pitch from the stretch after throwing just one pitch by hitting a single. The Braves made contact early and often as Eickhoff threw 27 pitches in the first. Overall, Braves lefties were 7-for-15 against the righty.
Freeman’s fifth-inning homer was his fifth in the past 12 games. The former All-Star first baseman also singled before scoring on A.J. Pierzynski’s third-inning sacrifice fly. Freeman has batted .422 (19-for-45) dating back to April 27.
“It’s nice to finally get some hits and come out on the winning side of things,” Freeman said. “It’s a good feeling. So hopefully I can continue to keep hitting, and hopefully we can continue to keep winning, too.”
Howard’s fifth-inning homer ended Perez’s perfect-game bid and increased his lead for the most homers hit by an opponent at Turner Field. He’s hit 22, and David Wright ranks second with 19.
Aaron Blair will make his fourth career start when this three-game series concludes on Thursday night at 6:10 CT. Blair ranks as baseball’s 52nd-best prospect, according to MLBPipeline.com.