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1/26/16 — Vickie Lynn Sitz
Vickie Lynn Sitz, age 56 of Manchester, Tennessee, entered into rest on
January 22, 2016 at the St. Thomas Rutherford Hospital in Murfreesboro,
Tennessee. Vickie was preceded in death by her parents, Harry Stone Sitz
and Gladys Elizabeth Lowry; step-father, Waymon Sidney Lowry; and her
loving companion, Kenneth Eugene Myers. Vickie’s journey has just begun.
Don’t think of her as gone away. Vickie enjoyed family dinners at
Holidays, camping, gardening, playing with her grandchildren and her dog
“Janie”. Her journey’s just begun, life holds so many facets, this earth
is only one. Don’t think of her as gone away. Just think of her as
resting in a place of warmth and comfort where there are no days and
years. Think how she must be wishing that we could know today how nothing
but our sadness can really pass away. Think of her as living in the
hearts of those she touched, for nothing loved is ever lost and she was
loved so much. She is survived by her daughters, Jillian Nichole Myers of
Murfreesboro, Tenn. and Tiffany Brooke Gurien (Eddie) of Tullahoma, Tenn.
; two granddaughters, Lillee Grace Williams and McKenzie Brooke Lowe;
sisters, Debbie Chance (Randy) of Deland, Florida, Pamela Jean McKenzie
(George) of Manchester, Tenn., Stephanie Simmons (Tim) of Mt. Juliet,
Tenn. and Michelle Culbert (Mark) of Lebanon, Tenn.; brother, Tony Sitz
of Hillsboro, Tenn.; and many nieces and nephews; and a host of other
relatives and friends.Visitation, Tuesday, January 26, 2016 from 4 p.m. –
6 p.m. at Central Funeral Home, 2812 Hillsboro Highway, Manchester, TN
37355, Telephone:931-723-7774. The Memorial service,Tuesday, January 26,
2016 at 6 p.m. following the visitation at Central Funeral Home with Bro.
Benny Benjamin officiating.
Arrangements with CENTRAL FUNERAL HOME.
1/29/16 — Joseph M. Thorne
Joseph M. Thorne, age 58 of Manchester, Tennessee, passed away on January
16, 2016 at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville,
Tennessee.
Survived by sons, Joseph Garrett Thorne and Chandler Marx Thorne both of
Manchester, Tennessee.
MEMORIAL SERVICE
Friday, January 29, 2016 at 7:00 P.M. at Central Funeral Home, 2812
Hillsboro Highway, Manchester, TN 37355 931-723-7774
Arrangements with CENTRAL FUNERAL HOME
1/29/16 — Rusty Lee Vaughn
Funeral services for Rusty Lee Vaughn, age 59, of Manchester, will be
held Friday, January 29, 2016 at 2 PM at Manchester Funeral Home Chapel
with Bishop Joel Davenport officiating. Visitation with the Vaughn family
will be Thursday, January 28 from 5 – 8 PM at the funeral home. Mr.
Vaughn passed away Saturday, January 23, 2016 at Centennial Medical
Center in Nashville, TN.
Rusty was a Tennessee boy born in a taxi cab in Detroit Michigan on
December 22, 1956 to the late Paul Lee and Dorothy “Dot” Bennett Vaughn.
He was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in
Tullahoma, TN. As a kid, Rusty survived the bigger things of Texas, the
quicksand in Okinawa and the adventures of living in Japan. As Rusty
grew, he developed a love for hunting, the outdoors, football, horses,
metal detecting with his dad, buying/selling/and trading. There was
nothing Rusty loved more than family and his many friends. He loved to
show off pictures of his grandkids “Papa Rusty’s Gang…The Magnificent
Seven!” He was a dreamer and storyteller who leaves behind a legacy of
faith, family and friends. Rusty was retired from American Can Company
in Shelbyville. He is survived by:
Two Daughters, Misty Crosslin and her husband Matthew of Beechgrove
Kristy Cassel and her husband Nathan of
Manchester
One Son, Dusty Vaughn and his wife Meagan of Manchester
One Sister, Lisa Overman of Manchester
One Brother, Shane Vaughn of Manchester
Grandchildren, Jathan and MariJo Cassel, Hunter and AnnaLee Crosslin,
Paisley, Whitten and Charlee Vaughn
In lieu of flowers, donations made to the Rusty Lee Vaughn memorial fund
at Ascend Federal Credit Union are greatly appreciated.
MANCHESTER FUNERAL HOME IS HONORED TO SERVE THE VAUGHN FAMILY
1/25/16 — Hughlon Edward Hefner
Hughlon Edward Hefner, age 46 of Shelbyville, Tennessee passed away,
Thursday, January 21, 2016 at Centennial Medical Center in Nashville.
Graveside Services are scheduled for Monday, January 25 at 2 PM at Lois
Cemetery in Moore County. Visitation with the family will be Monday, from
11:30 AM till 1:30 PM.
Mr. Hefner loved his dogs and his birds and enjoyed working in his garden.
He was preceded in death by one brother, Samuel Perry.
He is survived by his mother, Faye Taylor of Manchester; one brother, Billy
Pursley of Manchester; two sisters, Kim Vincent and her husband, Jerry of
Lakeville, Minnesota and Lisa Locursio of Manchester and many nieces
nephews and cousins.
DAVES-CULBERSTON FUNERAL HOME IS IN CHARGE OF ARRANGEMENTS
Snowzilla Hits Coffee County
Beautiful snow began falling late Friday morning in Coffee County. It was the first snowfall of 2016. Coffee County Emergency Management Agency Director Allen Lendley told WMSR News that most of Coffee County received 4-4.5 inches of snow. Some listeners in the northern part of the county reported up to 5.5 inches.
Local law enforcement reports that there were over 170 weather related accidents on Coffee County roadways.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol says there were numerous crashes on the several miles of interstate in Coffee County. State numbers show that at least 2 people died in weather related wrecks. One in Knox County and the other in Carter County.
Ruling on DNA in Murder Trial to be Issued this Week
And if so, whether possible degradation of that evidence is cause for dismissal.
King has been charged with first-degree murder in the 2012 death of Colucci, of Manchester, her fiancé.
Defense attorney Christina S. Stanford said in last week’s motion hearing that DNA evidence collected from the scene of Colucci’s murder, along with additional samples later collected from beneath King’s fingernails, is key to supporting King’s statement that on the day of the murder she was attacked by her estranged husband Troy King and a second, unidentified assailant in the home she shared with Colucci.
According to Stanford’s motion to dismiss, the evidence, collected in November 2012, was not tested by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) until September 2014. At that time, the bureau reported that the samples, then nearly two years old, were either insufficient or too degraded to render specific details about the DNA profile or profiles discovered.
District Attorney General Craig Northcott begged to differ. Even if the DNA evidence had been sufficient to identify King’s assailants, he said, such identification would have done more to implicate either Troy King (who has already confessed to the assault on his wife) or an unknown third party than it would have done to prove King’s innocence.
“The state’s position is that Troy King attacked her. We agree. It’s not an issue. So we don’t need DNA to establish who it is.”
Even if there was a third party to be identified, Northcott said, “It doesn’t get her off the hook. Our theory is that she was working with Troy King and that’s why the whole thing was staged. Even if there was a third party involved in that, it doesn’t change our theory.” (Tullahoma News)
Missing Woman Found
On Friday the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office received information that a woman from Sewanee, Tn. area was missing. According to Sheriff’s Office personnel, 74 year-old Cindy J. Tate was last seen at her residence, 80 Chevy Ln. Sewanee, Tennessee.
It was reported that Mrs. Tate suffers from mental illness and may have been disoriented.
Later in the day authorities reported good news that they had located Cindy J. Tate and she was transported to a hospital for medical evaluation.
State wants Feedback on K-12 Social Studies Standards
The Tennessee State Board of Education launched a review website, https://apps.tn.gov/tcas/, to collect public feedback on Tennessee’s grade K-12 social studies standards. This is the first of two public review periods for the social studies standards.
The social studies standards set grade-specific instructional standards that exemplify what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of a given grade or course. The current social studies standards were approved in 2013 and first implemented in the 2014-15 school year.
This highly transparent and comprehensive review process is an opportunity for every Tennessean to log in online, review each specific social studies standard by grade level, and provide comments and make suggestions for changes.
The public review website will remain active until April 30, 2016.
Unemployment Up Slightly in Tennessee
Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips announced the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for December was 5.6 percent, one-tenth percentage point increase from the November revised rate of 5.5 percent. The U.S. preliminary rate for December was 5.0 percent, unchanged from the prior month. Economic Summary Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 6.6 percent to 5.6 percent while the national rate declined from 5.6 percent to 5.0 percent.
Total nonfarm employment increased 19,400 jobs from November to December. The largest increases occurred in administrative/support/waste services, trade/transportation/utilities, & education/health services. Over the year, nonfarm employment increased 64,900 jobs. The largest increases occurred in trade/transportation/utilities, professional/business services, & leisure/hospitality.
Ekholm scores twice, Predators top Oilers
Pete Weber’s Postgame Report
Defenseman Mattias Ekholm made contributions at both ends of the ice to help the Nashville Predators win their second consecutive game.
Ekholm scored two goals for the first time in his NHL career and goaltender Pekka Rinne made 23 saves for the Predators in a 4-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place on Saturday.
The Predators (22-18-8) have won the first two games of a four-game road trip that continues Tuesday at the Vancouver Canucks.
“Goals are always nice to score,” Ekholm said. “It’s not my No. 1 priority maybe; the two points that’s what counts. On the road trip, to start 2-0 is huge for us in the position we’re in. But it’s always nice to contribute both offensively and defensively. It wasn’t pretty, both my goals weren’t really how we drew it up, but we’ll take it.”
Mike Fisher and Filip Forsberg also scored for the Predators.
“It was a really good road win for us,” Nashville coach Peter Laviolette said. “We got a big goal to answer their goal in the first period and Mattias had a heck of a game. I thought our guys played hard. They played hard, they played smart and we were able to chip in some timely goals. It wasn’t going to be an easy game; they are playing hard but I thought we were a bit more consistent tonight than we have been recently.”
Leon Draisaitl scored and goaltender Cam Talbot made 21 saves for the Oilers (19-26-5), who have lost three straight.
Draisaitl scored 11:54 into the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead. Draisaitl took the puck wide against Predators defenseman Shea Weber down the left wing, cut to the front of the net and lifted a backhand over Rinne’s shoulder for his 12th goal of the season.
Ekholm tied the game at 13:36 on a scramble in front of the Oilers’ net. He was able to squeeze a shot through traffic past Talbot after collecting the puck in the slot.
“I thought when we got behind, we responded with that first goal and I thought we played smart and got some good offensive zone time,” Fisher said. “Offensively, it was a solid game for us and our PK was timely and we got some big kills. We knew it was going to be tight and it was nice to get that extra one in the third period. But I didn’t think we sat back too much after that, we still got some chances and played a good, solid third.”
Ekholm gave the Predators a 2-1 lead at 1:47 of the second period with a strange power-play goal. His shot hit Oilers defenseman Andrej Sekera in the head, then fell into Talbot’s equipment. Not knowing where the puck was, Talbot dropped to his knees and the puck rolled out of his left pad and bounced into the net.
Sekera came close to tying the game late in the second period when he controlled the puck in the slot on a scramble in front of the Predators’ net. He got his shot over a sprawling Rinne but hit the crossbar.
“It was a tough game for us, but I thought we battled hard,” Oilers left wing Taylor Hall said. “They’re a good team that comes hard and they have a healthy lineup and quite frankly we don’t. Not only do we not have a healthy lineup, but our schedule has been terrible. So all things considered, I think it was a pretty good effort.”
Fisher extended the Predators’ lead to 3-1 at 52 seconds of the third period, converting a centering pass out of the corner from Weber. Forsberg scored into an empty net with 36 seconds remaining.
The Predators visit Vancouver on Tuesday to take on the Canucks. That game will get underway at 9 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you the broadcast on the Fifth Third Bank/Nashville Predators Radio Network