Yesterday (Nov. 4) was Election Day and counting early voting and Tuesday’s vote 11,705 people voted in Coffee County, that’s just over 36% of registered voters. Local voters cast ballots to approve all constitutional amendments. Coffee Countians also voted down the proposed wheel tax 80-20%. In separate city votes, citizens in Manchester and Tullahoma approved the referendums to sell wine in grocery stores.
Statewide Governor Bill Haslam and Senator Lamar Alexander return to office. Dianne Black won her congress race. All constitutional amendments were approved by voters, with the abortion amendment being the closest yes vote.
Click here for Coffee County’s vote totals

Bruce Rayfield… Photo from Facebook

A one vehicle accident on Monday night took the life of a Manchester man. According to a report by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 49 year-old Bruce Rayfield of Manchester was driving westbound on Belmont Road around 6:30pm. Rayfield’s vehicle a 2002 Chevrolet SUV went off the left side of the road and rolled once. Rayfield a former Coffee County High School teacher was ejected from the vehicle and died early Tuesday morning at Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga due to injuries sustained in the crash. The report states Rayfield’s seatbelt was not in use.
Rayfield’s daughter Oliva Rayfield, 11, was transported to United Regional Medical Center by Coffee County Ambulance Service for treatment of her injuries. She was wearing her seatbelt.

The national average for regular unleaded gasoline fell below $3.00 per gallon for the first time since December 22, 2010 on Saturday.
More than sixty percent of U.S. gas stations are currently selling gas lower than $3.00 a gallon, while twenty-three states currently have averages under the $3.00 mark today. Motorists in the Southeast United States are currently enjoying some of the cheapest gas prices in the country. The average price of gas in Tennessee is the 2nd lowest in the nation.
“Gas prices are still falling,” said Josh Carrasco, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “There is still room for the price at the pump to drop in the short term. We could see prices slide another 5-15 cents by the end of the year.”
Gas prices fell 33 cents per gallon in the month of October, the steepest decline since 2008. Much of the decline can be attributed to falling crude oil prices, which accounts for two-thirds of the cost of gasoline.
The current national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline is $2.98, down 6 cents from last week. The price at the pump fell 6 cents in Tennessee this week, where motorists are paying $2.72 on the average per gallon. The low price in Manchester is $2.62 and in Tullahoma the low price for gas is $2.63.