There have been numerous sightings of the Ice Queen & Snow Princess of Arendale in Coffee County over the past month. From Christmas Parties to Parades & more, the Ice Queen & Snow Princess have delighted many local children in Tennessee. The fun continues tomorrow when the Ice Queen & Snow Princess return to Manchester for an event that will not only excite the children in attendance, but will also help local children in need by raising money for the Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center. Saturday’s event will be held at the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center and is known as The Arendale Winter Ball Breakfast with the Ice Queen & Snow Princess. We hope you have your tickets and we at Thunder Radio will see you there.

A Shelbyville woman died Monday as the result of a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 41A South early Saturday night.
Linda Ruth Talley, 66, died at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, where she and her husband Richard Talley were taken after the crash.
Officials said the Talley vehicle was struck head-on near the Shipman’s Creek Road intersection, in the area where a widening project is in progress.
Several emergency crews responded to the deadly crash.
No other information was available.
(Courtesy of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette)

More than $125 million in winning prize money has gone unclaimed since the Tennessee Lottery began more than a decade ago on Jan. 20, 2004.
That figure includes $14.3 million left on the table by winners during the fiscal year of 2013-14 ending June 30.
The figure does not include the unclaimed prize of $2 million from a winning Powerball ticket purchased Nov. 26 at a Nashville store, or two $1 million prizes unclaimed so from the Memphis area this fall.
So what happens to the unclaimed prize money?
By law, it goes to fund afterschool programs under the guidance of the Tennessee Department of Education.
Since 2004, the lottery has raised more than $3.1 billion for scholarships at Tennessee colleges.

Progress is being reported in Tennessee as the number of foster children in the state who are aging out of the system without finding a forever home is trending down. Michael Leach, director of independent living with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, says fewer than 1,000 turned 18 and aged out last year, down from around 1,200 over the past five years. “The department has, with the focus and emphasis on permanency and adoption and exits to connected caring people…we have seen a decrease in young people aging out,” he says. Leach says, overall, there are about 8,000 children and young people of all ages in the Tennessee foster care system at any given time. Leach notes that in Tennessee, foster youth who are enrolled in higher education can opt back into the system until they’re 21 to continue receiving services and key support in areas such as housing, employment skills and education. “Whatever was going on in their living situation may have affected their schooling or life skill development,” he says. “Or the traumas associated with abuse and neglect, they’re dealing with those needs and so it’s hard to focus on other things to move you forward.”

The Tennessee Highway Patrol believes its new efforts to keep roads safe are going well as the number of people who’ve died on Tennessee roads is down from last year. Troopers say signs displaying the number of fatalities on Tennessee roadways this year have grabbed a lot of attention.
The number of fatalities on Tennessee interstates has gone down compared to last year. As of Monday, the fatality count stood at 952, down 34 from this time last year.
THP officials say most fatal crashes occur because of speeding, careless driving, impaired and distracted driving and not wearing a seat belt. Officials say you increase your chances of surviving an accident by simply putting on your seat belt.

The Tennessee Department of Health is urging all Tennesseans to increase their efforts to prevent flu and flu-related health threats by getting the flu shot and talking with their healthcare providers about flu-like symptoms. Since 2007 there have been 29 pediatric flu-related deaths recorded in Tennessee, including three in December of this year.
That is the highest number of pediatric flu deaths in the month of December since current reporting began in 2007. Prior to 2007 pediatric influenza deaths were not specifically required to be reported.
Those with flu-like symptoms should ask about the use of anti-viral medications such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) or zanamivir (Relenza®). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, clinical benefits are greatest when antiviral treatment is administered early, ideally within 48 hours of symptoms starting. These antivirals may decrease the severity of flu but are not always advisable for every patient. The CDC also advises treatment with antivirals is recommended as soon as possible without waiting for confirmatory testing for those patients with confirmed or suspected influenza who have severe, complicated or progressive illness.
In some cases, he or she may provide antivirals before flu confirmation tests are complete, as a precautionary measure.”
Currently in Tennessee influenza-like illness activity is above CDC epidemic thresholds. The TDH has detected confirmed cases of influenza in 44 of 95 counties.
Even in years, like this one, when other strains not present in vaccine are circulating, flu vaccine is still the best protection available. Other key protective measures include hand washing, avoidance of touching your face, covering a cough or sneeze and staying home if you are sick to avoid exposing others.
For additional information about the 2014-2015 flu season, visit the CDC website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/index.htm

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Career Coach will be at the Grundy County Courthouse in Altamont on Tuesday, Jan. 6th from 10am-2pm. They will be setting up outside the courthouse recruiting candidates for multiple companies in Grundy County for various positions.
Career Coach staff will be on-site helping people to create resumes and register with Jobs4TN.gov where there are thousands of jobs available statewide.