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CHS Soccer Team to Host Middle School Tournament This Weekend
The Coffee County CHS soccer team is hosting a middle school tournament this weekend at the Raider Soccer Field behind the Raider Academy. 4 middle school teams have been invited for the 2 day event to be help on Friday and Saturday. Games begin at 6:00 PM on Friday and go from 9 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday. Teams who have accepted this invitation are Algood Middle of Putnam County, Harris Middle of Shelbyville, Madison Academy of Huntsville, AL and Manchester’s own Westwood Middle.
Red Raider Coach Robert Harper wants to make this an annual event and hopes to have the ability to expand the number of entries in the future. Westwood Rockets head coach Jonathan Graf is excited about the opportunity to make up some cancelled games and see some unique competition.
The Schedule is as follows:
Friday, April 3
6:00 PM Algood vs. Harris
7:30 PM Madison Academy vs. Westwood
Saturday, April 4
9:00 AM Harris vs. Westwood
10:30 AM Madison Academy vs. Algood
1:00 PM Westwood vs. Algood
2:30 PM Harris vs. Madison Academy
Harper says that he hopes the tournament will fill a void for middle school soccer in terms of scheduling and in bring top flight programs together at a central location. Coach Harper will be the guest of Lucky Knott on Tuesday’s edition of Straight Talk which airs from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM Monday thru Friday on Thunder Radio.
Chicago Family Thanks Local First Responders

Captain Nilesh Patel, Officer Daniel Ray and Officer Trey Adcock spending some time with the Fonseca family on 3/26/2015.
On Mother’s Day 2014 Manchester Police responded to a motor vehicle accident with injuries on I-24 at mile marker 110.
The Fonseca family involved was traveling from their home in Chicago to a family vacation in Florida.
Son Andy was flown by helicopter to Vanderbilt Hospital due to his severe injuries. Andy sustained numerous fractures in his skull and had significant bleeding on his brain.
Last week the Fonseca family returned to Manchester from Chicago, to show their thanks and appreciation to first responders for their quick response, the care for their family and helping to save Andy’s life.
New Restaurant Coming To Tullahoma
Buffalo Wild Wings has officially confirmed that it will open a location in Tullahoma on North Jackson Street! The new restaurant will open to the left of Office Max this fall. The restaurant’s menu includes over 21 signature sauces and seasonings, as well as made-to-order salads, wraps, flatbreads, and burgers.
A building permit valued at $415,000 was issued to the property owner last month.
Buffalo Wild Wings announced that it would open 85 NEW restaurants this year, and already has 1,083 locations in all 50 states.
Local Man Gets 4 Years For Attempted Aggravated Sexual Battery
In a follow-up to a story we brought last August; Troy David Rogers was arrested August 2014 for having unlawful sexual contact with two girls under the age of 13 at a home day care operated by his wife.
Rogers entered into a plea agreement on attempted aggravated sexual battery charges.
According to Assistant District Attorney Jason Ponder, Rogers pleaded guilty earlier this year to attempted aggravated sexual battery and sentenced to four years in the Tennessee Department of Corrections. “The families of the children asked for a settlement,” the ADA stated recently.
According to indictments issued by the August 2014 term of the Coffee County Grand Jury, Rogers had unlawful sexual contact with the two girls. According to Sgt. Danny Ferrell who investigated the allegations, the incidents occurred at Rogers’ home where his wife operated a home day care.
Ferrell said that the victims were not related to Rogers.
Rogers was represented in the case by Tullahoma attorney Bobby Carter.
Shelbyville Man Arrested For TennCare Fraud
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has announced the arrest of Samuel L. Harris, Jr., 40, of Shelbyville. He is charged with three counts of fraudulently using TennCare to obtain controlled substances by doctor shopping, which is using TennCare as payment for the prescriptions, office visit or both. Bedford County Police assisted in this arrest.
TennCare fraud is a Class E felony, carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison per charge. District Attorney General Robert Carter is prosecuting.
Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”
Pregnancy a Life-Changing Event: TN Women Want Federal Officials Recognition

PHOTO: Currently, pregnancy is not considered a life-changing event by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and therefore the agency does not waive the open enrollment period requirement for women under the Affordable Care Act. Photo credit: morguefile.com/grietgriet
Ashley Coffield, chief executive of Planned Parenthood – Greater Memphis Region, said that needs to change.
“Pregnancy is a life-changing event, and access to health care is incredibly important for women to access prenatal care,” she said. “We would like the Department of Health and Human Services to recognize that in order to allow women to enroll at any point during the year.”
Planned Parenthood and other women’s health advocacy groups are asking citizens to voice their concerns to DHHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, uninsured pregnant women receive fewer prenatal-care services and are more likely to experience hypertension as well as low birth weight and infant mortality in their babies.
Every day, Planned Parenthood Health Centers are seeing the benefits of available health coverage, Coffield said, but that benefit needs to be offered to women as they prepare to become mothers.
“We’re seeing more insured women. We’re seeing more women who are coming to us with health insurance and how empowering that is for them and their families,” she said, “and we don’t believe any pregnant woman should have to worry about enrollment dates and blackout periods to get the care that she needs.”
Currently, women who qualify for Medicaid can apply for coverage at any point during their pregnancy.
More information is online at acog.org.
Local Farmer Gives Money To John Willis Memorial Scholarship Fund
The John Willis Memorial Scholarship Fund has received a $2,500 donation from Coffee County farmer Johnny DeBerry and America’s Farmers Grow Communities, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund. The donation will help the organization award an educational scholarship.
“I am honored to give the $2,500 donation to the John Willis Memorial Scholarship Fund,” said DeBerry. “I respected John Willis as a young man and I think of him quite often. I like to keep his memory alive and this scholarship allows for that.”
The John Willis Memorial Scholarship Fund provides college scholarships to sophomore, junior and senior agriculture majors. This scholarship can also help students pay for registration fees or purchase textbooks. Last year, five $1000 scholarships were awarded.
For five years, America’s Farmers Grow Communities has collaborated with farmers to donate over $16.5 million to over 7,300 community organizations across rural America. This year winning farmers will direct another $3.3 million to nonprofits to help fight rural hunger, purchase lifesaving fire and EMS equipment, support ag youth leadership programs, buy much needed classroom resources, and so much more.
America’s Farmers Grow Communities is part of the America’s Farmers initiative. Since 2010, the America’s Farmers campaign and programs have advocated on behalf of farmers and their efforts to meet society’s needs through agriculture. Today, consumers are more interested than ever in agriculture and how food is grown. Consider joining the conversation and helping to raise awareness about agriculture. Learn more at FoodDialogues.com.
A sister program in the America’s Farmers effort, Grow Rural Education, is currently in its farmer nomination phase. Farmers interested in supporting math and science education in their communities should visit www.GrowRuralEducation.com from now through April 1 to learn how.
Strong Weekend Performance For The Lady Raiders In Southern Classic
Brianna Jones pitched a one-hitter and had a homerun as the Coffee County softballers picked up a 9-0 win in five innings over Lake Zurich, Illinois on Friday in the Southern Classic in Murfreesboro.
The big inning was the 3rd when the Lady raiders plated 8 of their 9 runs.
Jones struck out 11 as she picked up her 7th win of the year.
Coffee County got 2 hits and 2 RBI’s from Kaylee Skipper and Brittany Williams contributed 2 RBI’s.
In game two on Friday Coffee County took on Lauderdale County, Alabama.
Tori Bell, Haley Hinshaw, Kaylee Skipper, Brianna Jones, Rhianna Roberson and Shelby Scrivnor all provided one RBI each in the 9-1 win. The Lady Raiders scored 4 in the first and cruised to the win.
Tori Bell, Haley Hinshaw and Brittany Williams had 2 hits each and Skipper was the winning pitcher.
On Saturday afternoon Coffee County took on defending Class-AAA state champs, Dickson County in the Southern Classic. Pitcher Kaylee Skipper went the distance as the Lady Raiders fell for the first time this season, 7-4.
Coffee County 8-1 on the year was led by Rhianna Roberson who had 2 hits and an RBI. Ashlynn Morton, Brittany Williams and Haley Hinshaw added an RBI each.
Another great effort by Brianna Jones led the Coffee County Central Lady Raiders to a 2-0 win over Lakota West, Ohio on Saturday.
Jones had 16 strikeouts gave up just two hits over seven shutout innings.
Tori Bell had two RBIs with one on a solo homer, her first of the year.
The Lady Raiders finished 4-1 in the Southern Classic and are now 9-1 on the season.
Coffee County will travel to Franklin County for district action on Monday.
CHS Baseball Drops a Pair of Weekend Games
A 2nd inning solo home run from J.P. Duncan staked the CHS Red Raider baseball team to a 1 to nothing lead thru 3 innings of play as Coffee County played host to Warren County on Friday afternoon at Pwers Field. Warren County answered with 2 runs in the 4th inning before scoring 10 runs in the 5th and 6th innings to drop Coffee County 12 to 4. In addition to Duncan’s home run, Noah Anderson was 2 for 3 on the game with an RBI, Dylan Sandoval was 1 for 2 with an RBI and Deandre Wakefield, who pitched well as he finished the game on the mound in relief, added the other RBI.
Another strong start but disastrous finish doomed the Red Raider baseball team on Saturday at Powers Field as they dropped a 17 to 2 decision to Independence. After giving up a run in the top of the 1st to the visiting Eagles, Coffee County starting pitcher Daniel Gassman settled in to hold Independence scoreless through 3 innings which allowed Coffee County to plate the tying run on a Brandon Haston double in the 2nd inning which scored Dylan Sandoval from 1st base. However, 3 Raider errors in the 5th inning broke open a close game as Independence built up a 8 to 1 lead which they would never relinquish. Sandoval scored the 2nd run of the game when Haston reached on an Independence error in the 5th. Coffee County could only muster 4 hits on the game as Sandoval, Wyatt Day and Zach Wise had singles to go with Haston’s double. The JV baseball team will travel to Tullahoma on Monday for a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 PM. Coffee County will play host to Tullahoma on Tuesday night at Powers Field. First pitch is scheduled for 6:00 PM and you can hear the game on Thunder Radio beginning with the pregame show at 5:50.