The Manchester board of Mayor and Aldermen met in regular session on Tuesday night at city hall.
The board and those in attendance heard a reading of a letter from State of Tennessee Commission on Firefighting commending Chief George DeShields. A letter from the Manchester Lions Club also thanked the DeShields and Police Chief Mark Yother for their help with the recent 56th annual Lions Club horse show at the Coffee County Fairgrounds.
Over 200 people attended the meeting, many to show support for DeShields and Yother. Rumors ran rampant for several days that the DeShields and Yother’s jobs could be on the line.

Carisa Smith the fiancé of Chief DeShields gave a passionate speech in favor of her future husband.
Others talked highly of the fire chief including Charles Chambers with the state fire marshal’s office as he spoke about the progressive style DeShields has with his staff and how impressed his is with the department.
Two local teachers spoke very favorably on Chief DeShields behalf. They said the chief and other firemen train teachers and students about emergency situations and were very happy it’s being done.
14 year-old Shelby Allen spoke about Deshields tutoring her and all the time he spends helping others.
One local single Mom told the board about DeShields being a mentor to her young son.
Loud applauses were heard after each citizen made their speeches to the board.
As the meeting moved along the board approved the 2nd reading of an ordinance adopting a continuing annual operating budget of Manchester, TN for fiscal year 2015. Also they approved the 2nd reading of an ordinance authorizing the City of Manchester to enter into a mutual aid agreement with the Secretary of the Air Force for fire protection. All other items on the agenda were approved 6-0 including the “Safe Sidewalks to School” project on Oakdale St.
Surprisingly the board did not take up any issues with the two chiefs. Alderman Ryan French commended the work of DeShields, Yother and their staffs for the outstanding work they do.
When ask by the public to give their thoughts on the controversy Alderman Tim Pauley said that nothing was on the agenda. Alderman Donny Parsley told those in attendance that his attorney told him not to speak on the issue when ask by an audience member to give his thoughts.
Chief DeShields told WMSR News after the meeting that if there are issues with the job he is doing he wants to correct whatever problems there might be. He said all he needs is feedback.
WMSR will continue to report on any new developments.

It has been a while since we’ve told you about a church burglary but over the weekend there was one in Tullahoma. Tullahoma Police are investigating the burglary of the Church of Jesus Christ on East Moore Street. Police are now looking for a man that went on the run after being found asleep in the church.
Delilah Watkins who is associated with the church reported to police that a container of change was missing and that a filing cabinet had been forced open. She also saw that an old set of checks in the filing cabinet were missing.
She then walked into the congregation area and saw two blankets on the back pew that was not supposed to be there and a person under a pew asleep. She then yelled startled the man and he then ran from the building.
The man was described as being between 20 and 30 years of age with medium length hair, wearing a dark colored bandana, grey shirt and blue jeans.
The man left the building on foot with the container of change.

The new Coffee County Jail will be completed by the end of July or early August. Recently Sheriff Steve Graves was a guest on WMSR’s Straight Talk program and discussed the new jail. He said it is unlikely that the new jail on Hillsboro Highway will be fully operational before January of next year. Graves said that hiring new staff members and training will take place after the final budget has passed. He said that could be as late as September.
The current jail is very overcrowded with 300 inmates in a jail built for 193. The sheriff works with the District Attorney’s office to come up with ways inmates can qualify for early release.
Those would be inmates with non-violent criminal charges and inmates who are not serving a mandatory sentence.
Also, inmates who are able to work on the work detail can receive two days credit for every one day they work on the detail. Graves said that the fate of the workhouse is still up in the air. He said that commissioners has not decided whether or not to keep the work detail program open. The program allows low-risk inmates to provide free labor outside of the jail for the cities of Manchester and Tullahoma plus several non-profits groups in the area.
The next commission meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on June 10th.