The Tullahoma Police Department continued the investigation of the suspicious package discovered at the Wal-Mart, N. Jackson St, on Saturday, Aug 9. As a result of the investigation, Detectives were able to determine the person responsible for the package. The investigation revealed an employee of the construction company had removed some mechanical displays during renovation. The employee disassembled the mechanical display and kept the lower portion which consisted of a box, battery pack, motor, shaft and wire with an on/off switch. The lower mechanical assembly was placed on the curb while the employee continued working. At the end of the work day the employee forgot the item and left for the weekend. Upon returning to work Monday morning the employee learned of the event and the description of the suspicious package. The investigation confirmed that the mechanical displays were indeed present in the store and were removed as part of the renovation process.
The investigation is closed as no criminal intent is established.
The presence of suspicious packages should always be treated with caution, and employers should encourage employees to be familiar with their work environment and remain attentive to the presence of packages and items that are out of place. The police should be contacted anytime a suspicious item is discovered. The Police Department would like to commend all involved in this incident and the manner in which it was handled. Safety is always the priority.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will be conducting sobriety checkpoints in Coffee County on Aug. 16.
Recognizing the danger presented to the public by unqualified drivers, troopers will concentrate their efforts on vehicles being operated by drivers who would violate the driver license laws of the state.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol has found that driver license roadside safety checkpoints are an effective means of enforcing driver license laws of Tennessee while ensuring the protection of all motorists.
The scheduled checkpoints are contingent upon manpower and weather conditions.

Coffee County will be opening a jail soon and now another area county will begin the process of building a new facility.
The Grundy County Commission is finally ready to accept bids for a new jail. Contractors have until September 4 to file sealed bids for the projected 96-bed detention center. The new facility will be located behind the courthouse in the town of Altamont.
Estimates show the bare-bones type of facility being built for a cost between $6 million and $6.5 million.
The current jail, built in the 1970s, remains uncertified since 1990s. At that time, state officials determined the capacity at 32 inmates. Throughout the last two decades, the jail has consistently housed upward of 50 inmates at a time.
The exiting Grundy County Jail was closed July 16 by the State Fire Marshal’s Office after extensive violations were found with the electrical system. Those problems have since been corrected.
The inmates had to be moved to other jails across middle and west Tennessee for housing. They have since been returned to the jail.

The winner of the Coffee County District 14 commissioner’s race is no one, the vote remains tied. According to Vernita Davis Administrator of Elections in Coffee County, the person who cast a provisional ballot last Thursday did not vote in for either candidate. She added that the Coffee County commissioners will now decide in September who will be the person that will represent District 14.
Proper identification had to be shown so the vote could be counted and that was done on Monday. The race remains deadlocked between Missy DeFord and Lamar Wilkie with 254 each, the same as it was after last Thursday’s election.

A Tullahoma woman was arrested last weekend for allegedly injuring her 3-year-old stepdaughter.
Katrina Leigh Ratzlaff, 23, of Anthony Lane was arrested Aug. 8 on charges of child abuse or neglect by sheriff’s investigator James Sherrill after she allegedly admitted to kicking the child and fracturing the girl’s femur. According to warrants, she admitted to kicking the girl.
Ratzlaff allegedly kicked the child after getting angry at the little girl.
The woman is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a $100,000 bond.
Meanwhile, her husband Michael Lee Ratzlaff, 26, is charged with failing to report a brutality, neglect or abuse of a child in the case.
He allegedly knew of the incident but made false statements to hospital personnel about the incident involving his daughter.
Both are due to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Aug. 26.