Bonnaroo’s sustainability team announced this week the launch of Refill Revolution, a festival-wide pilot sustainability project designed to keep fans hydrated while encouraging them to rethink plastic consumption habits and reduce disposable cup and bottle waste at the event and beyond.
Bonnaroo is teaming up with Steelys Drinkware and the Plastic Pollution Coalition to encourage fans to join the Refill Revolution by switching from conventional single-use plastic and compostable cups and bottles to reusable ones made of food-grade stainless steel. Festival goers will have access to more than 20,000 affordable, high-quality Bonnaroo-themed stainless steel water bottles and beverage cups that can be reused endlessly. Fans will be able to hydrate with their Bonnaroo drinkware at free water wells and free filtered drinking water stations strategically positioned throughout the festival site as well as participating beverage service venues. The Refill Revolution water bottles with clip carriers will be available for $5 at all concession stands and additional vendor locations.
The goal of Refill Revolution is to raise awareness about waste and to reduce bottle and plastic consumption associated with the tens of thousands of beverage servings made during the course of the festival. Cold beverages served during hot summer events create a spike in single-use cup and bottle consumption annually. Glassware is typically too fragile to use at events. Single-use plastic cups and bottles can’t always be recycled. A single steel cup or bottle can be reused thousands of times, saving resources with each reuse over time. Last year alone Bonnaroo diverted more than 366 tons of landfill waste.

A two vehicle accident occurred on Wednesday afternoon around 2:30pm. A dump truck rear ended a Toyota Corolla that had stopped to make a left turn on Hwy 41 (Hillsboro Hwy) near the Coffee County Industrial Park. After the impact the dump truck clipped a utility pole knocking it completely out of the ground. The truck then traveled across a yard and crashed into a brick home at 4145 Hillsboro Hwy.

55 year-old Cathy Burr of Guntersville, Al, the driver of the 2005 Toyota Corolla and 36 year-old Eric Linder of McMinnville, TN, driver of the 2006 Mack dump truck suffered injuries. Burr was airlifted to Vanderbilt Medical Center and Linder was transported to Medical Center of Manchester by Coffee County EMS.
The car involved in the accident was totaled and the dump truck received heavy damage. The home was damaged on the outside and inside the residence.

Duck River Electric responded to the scene to replace the pole and return power to the area. Manchester Police helped out the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department with traffic control. The Tennessee Highway Patrol was in charge of the scene.
Linder was charged with following to close and not wearing a seatbelt.

The Manchester Police Department CID Division and SWAT Team conducted 3 late night search warrants on 2 homes and 1 commercial business in Manchester on Friday night.
Drug Investigator Jonathan Anthony, Investigator Stuart Colwell, Chief Investigator Billy Butler along with the SWAT team searched a Mobile Home at 315 West Short Street. Police allegedly found Marijuana, Meth and other items that were seized from this location. 30 year-old Shawn Gassett and 30 year-old Taranie Medley were both arrested.
The business search warrant was conducted at All Things E-Cig at 315 Hillsboro Blvd. The Manchester Police Department had received complaints that the business was selling liquor as vapor for E-Cigs. Officers seized liquor from the business. This is a growing trend called “Vaping Alcohol”. This action could result in death. Digital scales were found with residue on them, believed to be Marijuana. One of the homes that was searched was in conjunction with the business. It is located at 375 Morton’s Lake Rd. where Marijuana pipes were allegedly found. A citation was issued and charges are pending in this case.
The office of Alcoholic Beverage Control was consulted and is working closely with the Manchester Police Department on this case.

Crime inside school is a sad reality that students, staff and law enforcement deal with on a daily basis, but the problem is getting better, according to a new report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
The state’s data shows crimes at school were down more than 11 percent from 2012 to 2013.
More than a third of the crimes reported on school property are simple assaults.
When it comes to drugs seized inside schools, marijuana accounts for nearly 80 percent of all cases.
And the TBI says the numbers show the highest amount of crimes in schools happens in April.

With the warmer weather that comes along with summer, so do the door-to-door solicitors. While many operate fairly and honestly, there are ways to spot those who are simply looking for a quick buck. One red flag is the company that claims to have “extra” materials left over from another job nearby and can do the work right away at minimal cost. Don’t fall for it, said Dan Hendrickson, a Better Business Bureau communications coordinator, adding that professional contractors estimate the materials they’ll need for a project with great accuracy. “If a company comes to your door and says, ‘Hey, we’ve got a bunch of leftover asphalt,’ chances are it’s a company that’s kind of flying by the seat of their pants, or maybe really doesn’t know what they’re doing,” Hendrickson said. “In many cases like this, we hear from customers who agree to work with them and then come back and say, ‘Well, the work is horrible. They charged me way more than they said they would – and now, I don’t know how to find them.’ “When dealing with a door-to-door solicitor, Hendrickson said, people always should ask for identification, verify the company and that the individual works for it, and inquire about his or her licensing. He also cautioned people to be wary of high-pressure sales tactics, particularly in the wake of a storm that brings out bogus roofers and tree-removal companies, explaining that any paperwork that’s signed could be construed as a contract. “Even if they just say, ‘Well, this will just kind of get us started to check out your roof,’ ” he said. “In some cases, we’ve had complaints where people say, ‘Well, now suddenly they’re (the contractor) saying it’s a contract’ – and in some cases, it actually is a contract. So, at that point, then people have a headache on their hands to try and straighten out.” He also reminded people that it is, after all, their house – so if they don’t like where the sales pitch is going, they always can take a step back and close the door. More information is online at bbb.org.