Coffee County Sheriff’s investigators are attempting to determine the cause of fires that destroyed three houses in the Lakewood Park area Sunday night. Emergency communication dispatchers received a call of a house exploding and catching fire on Kennsaw Pike in the Lakewood Park area. When Deputy David Reed arrived, the house located at 30 Kennsaw Pike was fully engulfed with flames. Several neighbors advised that they did not know if Troy Toler who lived at 70 Kennsaw Pike was in the house or not. Reed then went in to check but he wasn’t there. Several rural fire departments were dispatched to battle the blaze and as they were fighting it the firemen stated that it was appeared that there was some type “of flammable liquid in the structure.” The firefighters stated that the more they sprayed water on the fire the more it spread. The fire spread to another nearby house. Fire investigator Capt. Jeff McCullough stated that arson is suspected as being the cause of the fire at 30 Kennsaw Pike.

The Coffee County Commission has approved the issuance of $22 million for the construction of a new 400 bed jail. The current jail is averaging nearly 300 inmates on the weekends and a little less during the week. Sheriff Steve Graves there will not be any ground breaking for at least another month at the site on Hillsboro Boulevard beside Fann’s Salvage.

Tennessee has about the same number of methamphetamine labs as it did two years ago, despite new laws and a new system for tracking the drug’s main ingredient, pseudoephedrine.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports authorities expect the statewide total to reach nearly 1,800 busts for the year.
State law limits consumers to about three boxes of pseudoephedrine per month. But that doesn’t stop meth cooks from recruiting other people to buy it, often using fake IDs.
Police have reported finding buyers with 75 or more fake IDs.
Police are proud of one success story, however. Since the loss of federal funding for lab removal, they have trained local officers to dispose of lab waste, cutting the cost by half or better.

Gov. Bill Haslam says he’s taking advantage of an extended deadline the federal government has given states regarding health insurance exchanges. States had until Friday to inform the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services if they plan to set up their own health insurance markets. But the deadline has been extended to Dec. 14. Haslam has yet to reach a decision, but the governor says he’s hopeful that in the coming weeks he will receive answers from Washington to questions he has about the exchanges, mainly the amount of flexibility Tennessee would have if it set up its own.

The Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) Visitor Center will change hours of operation during the upcoming holiday season.
Beginning Nov. 22-25, the visitor center will close in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.
The visitor center will also close Dec. 22 – Jan. 1 in observance of the Christmas holiday.
AEDC’s Visitor Center provides services to AEDC personnel, military, retirees and other base visitors.
The Visitor Center has two main functions for military identification (ID) services and base entry services.
The military ID service provides common access cards (CACs) to active duty members and members of reserve components within all branches.
They also provide CACs for civil servants, contractors, retirees and eligible family members.
Base entry services involve providing vetting and identification for all employees and visitors for the base mission area, the Arnold Lakeside Center patrons and the Arnold Community Council members.

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and in the midst of planning for the big feast many leave turkey gravy, an important part of the meal, to the last minute. There is a simple solution for the perfect turkey gravy, and Chef Mark Garcia from the McCormick kitchens says the gravy can make everyone’s favorite dish better. McCormick’s rich turkey gravy mix is easy to prepare and comes out perfect every time. Plus, home cooks can feel great serving our turkey gravy since it’s made with natural spices, no artificial flavors or colors, no msg and zero grams of trans fat. How easy is it to prepare your turkey gravy mix? McCormick turkey gravy can be made in minutes. Just combine turkey gravy mix with water or turkey pan juices and simmer for five minutes. To add a twist, add a pinch of rubbed sage or poultry seasoning, depending on your family’s tastes. And, don’t forget to have extra turkey gravy on-hand to make leftovers even more delicious! For this recipe and more holiday inspiration, visit McCormick.com

The Interact Club at Coffee County Central High School is currently collecting donations, toiletries and new packaged shirts, socks, and underwear for Pineland High School in Stafford, New Jersey, which was devastated by Hurricane Sandy.
Two weeks ago the school contacted our club asking for these items. They have over 600 students and teachers that are in dire need. The Interact Club at Coffee County Central High School desperately needs help in collecting these items by November 30th. The club has had trouble effectively notifying the community of this project so they are now asking for your assistance. All donations can be brought to the collection boxes at CCCHS or call (931) 952-2103.