Author's posts
08/30/14
Birthdays:
Jennifer Trail – 49 – Pizza Winner!
Jamie Newman
9/4/14 —- CATHY S. FARRIS
CATHY S. FARRIS, age 58, of Estill Springs, departed this life on Tuesday, September 02, 2014, at her residence following an extended illness.
Ms. Farris was born in Winchester, Tenn. on December 26, 1955, to the late Willie B. and Ruby Farris.
She was a member of the Riva Lake Baptist Church in Winchester. One of her favorite hobbies before her illness was crocheting.
She is survived by her Brother, Dale (Sina) Farris of Estill Springs, Tenn., Sister, Nancy (Garold) Lewis of McDonald, Tenn., special nephew “Dale, Sarah and Will Farris”, and several nieces and nephews.
Visitation with the family will be held from 4:00-8:00 P.M. on Wednesday, September 3, in the Chapel of Grant Funeral Services.
Services are scheduled for 11:00 A.M. on Thursday, September 4, at Grant Funeral Services with Bro. Larry Sanders, officiating.
Interment will follow in the Harris Chapel Cemetery.
Grant Funeral Services in charge of arrangements.
9/2/14 —– Barbara Ann Armstrong
Mrs. Barbara Ann Armstrong, age 72 of Manchester passed away Tuesday, September 2, 2014 at her residence.
No services are scheduled.
A native of Richmond, VA, she was the daughter of the late Arthur Edward and Mary Bowles Christian.
She attended Friendship Baptist Church. She had worked for many years as a customer service representative at K-Mart in Tullahoma. She enjoyed camping, gardening, crocheting and reading.
In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two husbands, John C. Clews and Eugene Armstrong; two sons, Jimmy C. Clews and Richard A. Clews; one brother, Wayne E. Christian and one sister, Sandy Holley.
She is survived by one daughter, Brenda Herbs and her husband, Everett of Manchester; one daughter-in-law, Lorna Clews of Normandy; one sister, Beverly J. Spears and her husband, Jim of Greeneville, TN and two grandchildren, Suzanne R. Herbs and J J Herbs.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Tuesday Prep Roundup
Westwood goalie Naylei Ramirez
Sometimes a tie feels less than fulfilling in middle school soccer, but Westwood got a goal in the last minute to get a much desired draw against Fayetteville on Tuesday night at Dyer-Bouldin Field. The Lady Rockets managed one shot on goal in the first half, but 2 saves from keeper Naylei Ramirez kept the match tied at 0 at the break. Fayetteville pressed the attack in the early part of the second half getting a goal in the 35th minute on a nice drive at the front of the net from Emma King. 4 more saves by Ramirez kept the match close, but the Tigers defense kept Westwood’s scoring leader Jessica Barrera bottled up most of the 2nd half until Reyna Flores got a ball on her foot on a beautiful feed in the last minute. From there, Barrera buried the equalizer to provide the welcome draw. Ramirez finished the night with 6 saves in 7 attempts to earn the Gateway Tire and Service Center player of the game honors. Download the radio broadcast Westwood travels to Huntland on Tuesday to take on the Hornets. That match will kick off at 5:00 PM.
CHS sophomore Hollie Smithson
The CHS soccer team also notched a draw in their non-district match against Warren County on Tuesday evening before the weather ended the match early. Hollie Smithson found the back of the net for the Lady Raiders off of an assist from Izzy Huddleston. The Lady Raiders will return to the pitch on Thursday night as they host district and county rival Tullahoma at Carden-Jarrell Field. The match will kick off at 7:00 PM
The CCMS volleyball team kept their hot streak alive as they swept Harris Middle on Tuesday night in straight sets to improve to 8 & 3 on the year. The Lady Raiders banged out 20 aces in the 2 set match winning 25 to 12 and 25 to 6. Amanda Mukai had 7 aces to lead the attack while Skylar Bell added 6 aces. Shannah Frame had 4 aces while Haley Richardson added 2 aces and Abigail Layne added an ace. The JV Lady Raiders also had 20 service aces as they swept Harris 8 & 17. Abigail Parker had 8 aces and Keelie Hillis added 4. Willow Justiss, Breanna Gawrys and Anabelle Layne each had 2 aces while Elizabeth Proffitt and Maddie Harryman each notched an ace. The Lady Raiders host Fayetteville on Thursday night for a 5:30 PM match.
CHS senior outside hitter Cursten Vaughn
The CHS volleyball team took the hard lessons from the tough weekend competition to heart as they swept Tullahoma in a big District 8AAA match on Tuesday night in Tullahoma. The Lady Raiders won by set scores of 17, 21 & 22. The Lady Raiders dominated the match statistically as they had 31 aces and 3 blocks to control the net play coupled with 32 digs and 16 aces to win the battle of the back line. Cursten Vaughn was spectacular with 7 kills, 4 aces and a dig. Valiana Barger had 7 kills also for Coffee County while Karlee Reed and Sara Brown each added 4. Cameron Davis led the Lady Raiders in aces with 9 while Brittany Williams dished out 16 saves. Seven different Lady Raiders were credited with digs as Coffee County continues to impress with their scrappy play. Tyger Fenton had 10 digs for Coffee County while Brown added 8 and Davis picked up 6. The Lady Raiders travel to Eagleville on Wednesday for a 1:30 PM non-district match with Eagleville.
The CHS Cross Country team was back in action on Tuesday as they traveled to Bell Buckle to participate in a meet at The Webb School. Progress and improvement were the key points for the thinclads as Coffee County finished 4th out of 8 teams with a score of 106 behind Cannon Co(64) Oakland(70) and Riverdale(94). The Raiders finished with 3 runners in the Top 10 as Andy Rossom finished 3rd at 20:14; Maxwell Nicoll finished 5th at 20:17 and Scott Randolph finished 10th at 20:58. All runners ran faster times than the opening meet last week. For the girls, Makenzie Morgan finished 17th in girls race with a time of 27:05. The Cross Country team will be back on the trail on Tuesday for a match at Warren County.
The dream of a perfect season came up a failed extra point attempt short on Tuesday night as the CCMS Red Raiders fell to Harris 8 to 6. After a first half lightning delay, the Raiders trailed 8 to 0 at the half. 7th grade QB Andrew Mahaffey broke free for a 35 TD scamper with 3:55 left in 3rd quarter to cut the deficit to 8 to 6. Needing a 2 point conversion to tie the game, the Raiders extra point effort was stopped short. The Tigers of Harris Middle used their tenacious defense to keep the high powered Raider offense at bay in the 4th quarter and drop Coffee County’s record to 3 and 1 on the year. The Raiders will take to the road again next Tuesday as they travel to Winchester to take on South Franklin. Kickoff is set for 6:30 PM.
Raiders Compete In McMinnville Tournament
Jacque Crossland and Jacob Prater won the long drive competitions on Tuesday in McMinnville.
Coffee County plays host to Lawrence County and Tullahoma on Thursday.
Corrected Story–McMinnville Man Dies In Coffee County Crash
A one vehicle accident took the life of a McMinnville man on Monday night in Coffee County.
Doris Rackley, age 80 was driving a 1995 Toyota pickup north at 1800 Pocahontas Road at 7:39pm when it ran off the right shoulder and struck a utility pole.
Doris Rackley was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Tennessee Highway Patrolman Sgt Larry Fraley was in charge of the accident. Rackley’s death was the 2nd roadway death in Coffee County that occurred over the Labor Day holiday weekend.
TennCare Fraud In Manchester—Prescription Drugs Biggest Substance Abuse Problem In Tennessee
Frances Faye Wise intake photo
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), with help from officers of the Coffee County Sheriff and Manchester Police arrested Frances Faye Wise, 67 of Manchester. The charges stem from an investigation conducted by the Manchester Police Department.
Wise is charged with TennCare Fraud in connection with obtaining a prescription for the painkiller Hydrocodone, which was paid for by TennCare, and later selling a portion of the prescription for financial gain.
“The Manchester Police Department laid the groundwork for this case and asked for assistance, and that’s the kind of cooperation we’re building statewide,” Acting Inspector General Lawrence S. Saylor, Jr., said. “Local officers are usually the first point of contact with those who are committing TennCare fraud, and they want to get it off the streets as badly as we do.”
District Attorney General Craig Northcutt will prosecute. If convicted, Wise could serve up to two years for the TennCare fraud which is a Class E felony.
The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to over $3.5 million paid in restitution and recoupment to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of over $173 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 2,173 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.
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.”
Prescription drug abuse has become the biggest substance abuse problem faced by the State of Tennessee.
More people die from abusing prescription medication than they do on our state’s highways. But only one out of eight people get the help they need.
According to the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, over the past decade, substance abuse admissions for prescription drugs, like hydrocodone, oxycodone, morphine and methadone have increased 500 percent.
Officials say as of July 2012, the number of admissions for prescription drug abuse exceeded admissions for alcohol abuse for the first time in history.
Gas Prices On Downward Trend
Gas prices remained stable through the Labor Day holiday weekend as 29.7 million people gassed up the vehicle for a road trip. Prices were the cheapest for the holiday since 2010. Compared to last year’s Labor Day, the average price was 15 cents cheaper nationwide, 19 cents cheaper in Florida, 20 cents cheaper in Georgia and 18 cents cheaper in Tennessee.
“There’s no doubt that low gas prices helped convince many Americans, who were on the fence about traveling, to take a trip during the holiday weekend,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Prices may get even cheaper in the coming months. Demand typically declines in the fall and domestic production is high, which should help push gasoline prices, in many markets, below $3 a gallon before the end of the year. Potential spoilers would be refinery outages or a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico.”
The month of August saw falling oil prices and the cheapest gas for the month of August in four years. The price for a barrel of WTI on the NYMEX was $97.88 on August 1, but finished the month at $93.86. Since August 1, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell 9 cents. The average price dropped 6 cents in Florida, 8 cents in Georgia and 7 cents in Tennessee. The current average price is $3.21 in Tennessee. The low price in Manchester is $3.15 per gallon and in Tullahoma it’s $3.09.
Dollar General Still Pursuing Family Dollar
Dollar General upped its bid for the rival Family Dollar chain and addressed an earlier roadblock, saying that it will more than double the number of stores it would shed to tamp down the antitrust concerns of its takeover target.
The newest bid is worth $9.1 billion, or $80 per share, up from $78.50 per share in the previous offer.
Family Dollar, based in Matthews, North Carolina, rejected the earlier bid in favor of a lesser offer of $8.5 billion from Dollar Tree Inc., saying that regulators were less likely to stand in the way.
On Tuesday Dollar General, the country’s largest dollar-store chain, said it would divest as many as 1,500 stores, well above the 700 that it had originally agreed to, in order to sidestep any anti-monopoly actions that regulators might pursue.
The Goodlettsville, Tennessee company has also said it will pay a $500 million reverse break-up fee to Family Dollar Stores Inc. if the deal hits antitrust roadblocks.
Dollar General operates 8 stores in Coffee County with Family Dollar and Dollar Tree having 2 stores each.
Westwood Elementary School Is Honored
Westwood Elementary School In Manchester
The energy and excitement was evident at Tuesday’s special announcement ceremony at Westwood Elementary School where students, teachers, and community members alike were told that Westwood Elementary School had been chosen out of 1889 elementary schools to be among the top 3 elementary school finalists in TN for 2014 Score Prize. SCORE stands for State Collaborative on Reforming Education. The SCORE Prize “recognizes the schools and school districts in Tennessee that are leaders in student learning.” Westwood was chosen to be among the top 3 finalist based on their past 3 years of growth and performance. The winner will be announced in October in Nashville at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center during the 4th Annual Score Prize Event. More details and a Thunder TV News Video of the ceremony will be available in the next few days.