admin – Page 1502 – Thunder Radio

11/10/15

Birthdays:
Whitney Statum, 11 — Pizza Winner!

Jerry Stephens, 41

Local Escapee Caught

Johnny Leon Meeks intake photo provided by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department

Johnny Leon Meeks was due in Coffee County General Sessions Court on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Meeks was in a holding cell around 10am when he kicked a door open and escaped.
Local law enforcement began searching for the escapee whose last known address was Deans Shop Rd in Estill Springs.
Coffee County authorities captured Meeks around 2pm Tuesday afternoon. Investigator James Sherrill said he would like to thank Franklin County officials for their assistance.
Meeks was being held on several charges including evading arrest, hit and run of a person, failure to report an accident and others. He is now facing additional charges.

Fire Damages Coffee County Home

Late night fire in the New Union community… Photos by Barry West

Around 10:45pm Monday night Coffee County Deputy Nick Graham was dispatched to 3978 Woodbury Hwy for a house fire. When Deputy Graham arrived he discovered the home was fully engulfed in flames. New Union Fire Department began fighting the blaze and other department firemen were summoned for man power.
Graham spoke with the homeowner who said the home was valued at $35,000. The man stated that his grandson was renting the home. The police report says that fire department personnel stated the fire started at the rear right side of the home in the kitchen. They advised the fire appeared to be suspicious in nature because a window had been broken when they arrived and the fire appeared to have started on the floor where the window was broken.
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is investigating.

Firemen try to control the blaze.

Two Men Facing Drug Charges

Jerry Gene Van Winkle Jr intake photo provided by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department

On Monday, Jerry Gene Van Winkle age 28 of Lebanon was the operator of a vehicle that was stopped westbound near the 110-mile marker of Interstate 24 in Coffee County. Van Winkle and passenger Wrangler Ward West age 24 of Chattanooga were allegedly found to be in possession of approximately 11 grams of an off-white crystal-like substance in two baggies that tested positive for methamphetamine. Also found was a glass container with approximately one-half gram of methamphetamine. Neither individual claimed ownership of the drugs. The two men were also found to be in possession of digital scales, baggies and glass pipes.

Wrangler West Ward intake photo

Van Winkle allegedly admitted that he and West went to Chattanooga to buy methamphetamine and deliver it throughout the state.
Coffee County Deputy Brandon Reed arrested Van Winkle and charged him with 2 counts of manufacturing/delivery/selling/possession of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit and unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities. He was booked in at the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $151,000. West was charged with manufacturing/delivery/selling/possession of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit and unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities. His bond was set at $101,000. Both men are due in court on 12-7-15.

Man Arrested After Leaving the Scene of an Accident

James Hubert Nash intake photo

Late Saturday afternoon in Manchester a 3-vehicle crash occurred on Hwy 41 near O’Charley’s Restaurant. When officers arrived they were told by a witness that a man that was involved in the accident had run from the scene. Manchester officers and Coffee County deputies gave chase and were able to overtake James Hubert Nash age 39 of Tullahoma.
The arrest warrant indicates the man kept falling down and was unable to perform field sobriety tests. The warrant also says that police found a bottle of whiskey with only a small amount remaining.
The report says that Nash allegedly could not stand on his feet, smelled of alcohol, began cursing and not making sense. The man was taken to Unity Medical Center for a blood draw, but they could only get one vial because he was apparently resisting.
A check of Nash’s records revealed that he was a habitual offender due to numerous DUI’s and driving on a revoked license.
Manchester Officer John Holland charged Nash with driving on revoked, leaving the scene of an accident, evading arrest, driving under the influence and habitual motor vehicle offender. His bond was set at $48,000 and has a court date of 1-26-16.

Scam Alert from People’s Bank

Many customers of People’s Bank & Trust Company in Manchester received a text message on Monday that said “Debit/Card is suspended”! Please Login”. Peoples Bank has advised us that this is a scam and they did not send it. Please be aware that a “phishing” scam is being texted to many people in our area. Phishing is a means to trick a user into visiting a fraudulent website, usually through a bogus link in an email or text message. The current scam targets users by sending texts that appear to be from “Middle Tennessee Ascend Credit Union.” Peoples Bank & Trust Co., will never send you a text, email or letter asking for your account numbers, user names, passwords, or Social Security number. Also, they will never send an email containing links to download software or applications. If you get a message like this, DO NOT RESPOND. If you have any questions, please contact Peoples Bank & Trust Co., at 931-728-3381.

Coffee Middle Sweeps Pair from East Tullahoma

Julia Duncan of CCMS Basketball

Holding the Lady Panthers scoreless in the first half, the Coffee County Middle School improved their record to 3 and 0 on the year with a 58 to 5 win over East Tullahoma on Monday night. The Lady Raiders raced out to a 37 to 0 halftime lead allowing Coach George Pearson to freely substitute as 10 different Lady Raiders scored on the night. Julia Duncan led Coffee County in scoring with 21 points, including 15 in the first quarter. Keelie Hillis finished with 10 points.

Brandon Jernigan of CCMS basketball

The Red Raiders used a strong 4^th quarter to complete the sweep as they beat the Panthers 45 to 31. Leading by 6 points at the end of the 3^rd quarter, Coffee County outscored East 13 to 5 in the 4^th quarter to claim their 2^nd win on the season. Brandon Jernigan led all scorers as he had 24 points for Coffee County. Kyle Farless added 9 points for the Red Raiders who are now 2 and 1 on the year.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders travel to Sparta on Thursday night to take on White County. The girls game tips off at 6.

Westwood Splits Basketball Games with Community on Monday

Karen Medina of Westwood basketball

Full court defensive pressure and hot outside shooting helped the Lady Rockets dethrone the Viqueens of Community on Monday night in a 54 to 25 win for Westwood. Leading 23 to 16, Westwood used their transition offense off of Community turnovers to outscore the visiting VIqueens 31 to 9 in a fast paced 2^nd half. “I can’t say enough about how well they are playing as a team” said Lady Rocket Coach Angela Houck after the game. Karen Medina led Westwood with 20 points. Ashley Starks finished with 16 and Morgan Jones netted 15. The win improves the Lady Rockets to 8 and 2 on the season.

Jake Hollandsworth of Westwood basketball

The Rockets had little luck in stopping the excellent ball movement of Community in the boys game falling by a final score of 34 to 24. Westwood, who trailed from the opening minute, cut the deficit to 1 point late in the first quarter but never could track down the streaking Vikings. The Rockets were led in scoring by Jake Hollandsworth who had 9 points. Shaun Anderson added 6 points for the Rockets.

The Rockets and Lady Rockets travel to Chapel Hill on Thursday night to take on Forrest. The girls game tips off at 6.

Golf Banquet Honors Remarkable 2015 CHS Golf Season

2015 Raider Golf Captains Hayden Proffitt and Teagan Perry(Photo Provided)

2015 CHS Golf Award winners(left to right) Reid Lawrence – Most Improved, Sophie Vinson – Coaches Award & Austin Farris – Newcomer of the Year. Samuel Prater (not pictured)also won the coaches award(Photo provided)

The Coffee County Central High School golf team celebrated another strong season with their end of season banquet on Monday night. The Lady Raider golf team came home with a 4^th place team finish while Red Raider John Parigger competed as an individual. Parigger was the 3rd Red Raider golfer to compete in the state tournament in the last 3 years. The Lady Raider team was the 3rd consecutive girls’ team from Coffee County to make the state tournament and this year was the 4th year in a row that Coffee County has been represented at the girls’ state tournament. The Lady Raider team was also the District 8AAA and Region 4AAA Champions while the boys were runner up in District 8AAA. The Lady Raider golfers finished the year with a record of 64 and 8 while the boys finished with a record of 54 and 26.
Award winners were as follows:
Captain’s Award – Hayden Proffitt and Teagan Perry
Newcomer of the Year – Austin Farris
Most Improved – Reid Lawrence
Coaches Award – Sophie Vinson & Samuel Prater
Most Valuable Players – John Parigger & Savannah Quick

2015 Golf MVP’s John Parigger & Savannah Quick (Photo provided)

School Board Lawsuit Might Continue After All

A Tennessee appeals court ruling could revive the Coffee County Board of Education’s lawsuit against the city of Tullahoma over liquor-by-the-drink taxes owed to county schools going back to the 1980s.
The Chattanooga Times Free-Press reports the ruling was released this week.
Coffee County was among several Tennessee county school systems seeking the liquor-by-the-drink tax money owed by municipalities where liquor is sold. Court records show the county’s suit filed on May 30, 2014, sought $387,488 from Tullahoma and $134,340 from Manchester.
Chancellor Vanessa Jackson dismissed the suit in September 2014. But the appeals court disagreed with the dismissal, saying Coffee could engage in arbitration even though statutes creating the board did not expressly give it power to arbitrate.
Attorney Eric Burch says county schools will pursue the lawsuit.

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