To better inform the voters before the Aug. 7 Coffee County General and Manchester Municipal Elections, the Manchester Times and Thunder Radio have teamed up for a candidate forum from 4:30-8 p.m. Thursday, July 24 at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center – 147 Hospitality Blvd. In total, 23 candidates from seven county-wide races and one city race have been invited to participate in the event.
The event, sponsored by the Manchester Times will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio 107.9FM and AM1320. The event is free to attend and is free for candidates who are invited to participate.

For the most part the Coffee County political races have been pretty calm until now. It’s not one of county seats up for grabs, it’s a county commission race.
In Tullahoma’s District 15, things have become heated between incumbent Mark Kelly a Republican and Christian and Democratic primary winner, Zak Mohyuddin a Muslim.
In a letter to WMSR News Mohyuddin says that Kelly made a set of serious allegations against his patriotism and loyalty. Mohyuddin says he never used the words or anything similar alleged in a letter Kelly sent to voters. Mohyuddin added he never made the comments in public or in private. In the letter dated July 16, Kelly claims Mohyuddin “expressed his beliefs publicly,” that “the American flag should be removed from public buildings because it is a symbol tyranny and oppression; that public prayer should be banned because it insults non-Christians; and that the Bible should be removed from public places.”
Mohyuddin claims that he has never made such statements to anyone, and that Kelly is simply making the whole thing up.
“To me, flags and bibles are objects of respect, regardless of what country or religion they belong to, and I’ve always treated them with respect,” Mohyuddin said. “This man is saying things about me that don’t reflect my values in any way.”
Kelly told WMSR News that nothing he has done is against the 1st amendment. He said that he and his opponent have different principles that they disagree on. He added that this is not about religion just a difference in beliefs.
Kelly says that during this campaign he has been attacked as well. He said people have accused him of wanting to close the libraries and that is not true.
Mohyuddin says that he has not had any private conversations with Kelly for roughly 25 years.
Kelly, on the other hand says that he and Mohyuddin have had several private conversations over the years, on the AEDC walking trail, among other places.
Remember early voting is going on now through August 2 and Election Day is August 7. So far over 1,500 people have voted early in Coffee County.

Johnny Wells age 42 of Brownsville, TN was driving his tractor-trailer on I-24 Monday afternoon when he lost control. Preliminary information indicates that the 18-wheeler was traveling eastbound on Interstate 24 at mile-marker 130 in Grundy County. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol report, Wells lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a curve and veered into the median. The tractor-trailer continued through the median, going through a guardrail where it then continued across the westbound lanes of traffic, through another guardrail and went down an embankment.
Wells suffered injuries and was taken to an area hospital.

To better inform the voters before the Aug. 7 Coffee County General and Manchester Municipal Elections, the Manchester Times and Thunder Radio have teamed up for a candidate forum from 4:30-8 p.m. Thursday, July 24 at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center – 147 Hospitality Blvd.
In total, 23 candidates from seven county-wide races and one city race have been invited to participate in the event. Candidates for District Attorney General, Manchester Alderman and Coffee County Mayor have been invited to participate in a question-and-answer session with Peterson and Thunder Radio’s Lucky Knott, who will serve as event moderators.
Candidates for District Attorney – incumbent Mickey Layne (D) and challenger Craig Northcott (R) – will take the stage from 5-5:30 p.m. for a forum session with Peterson.
Eight candidates for alderman – incumbent Cheryl Swan, Nelson Watson, Claude Morse, Tim Kilgore, Lana Sain, Chris Robison, Gary Trail and Sam Miller – have been invited to the event and will participate in a forum session between 6-7 p.m.
Tim Brown and Gary Cordell, candidates for Coffee County Mayor, are scheduled to close the evening with a forum from 8-8:30 p.m.
Candidates for Coffee County Trustee, General Sessions Judge, Register of Deeds, Road Superintendent and County Clerk will be speaking on stage between forum events and will be given tables to set up throughout the building to speak with potential voters.
The event, sponsored by the Manchester Times will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio 107.9FM and AM1320. The event is free to attend and is free for candidates who are invited to participate. Anyone with questions is encouraged to contact Peterson at 931-728-7577 ext. 105 or Knott at 728-1320.

Coffee County schools would like to inform the Manchester students in the school system about their bus service changes for this new year. All Manchester High School students will be picked up at their usual bus stops located throughout Manchester City Limits. These buses will not have markings on the outside of them making them designated for the high school. The Raider Academy (9th grade) buses will also stop at these same stops within Manchester. These buses will have a large 9 on the right front corner of the bus. The Coffee County school system will be asking students to check and make sure they are on the correct bus by asking your bus driver if needed. Coffee County schools are excited about the start of this new school year and hope that they can meet the needs of your student. Please feel free to call 931-723-5157 if you have any questions about your student’s routes or bus stops.