A Manchester man faces several sex related charges allegedly involving juveniles. Marvin Ray Hill, 58, of County Farm Road, Manchester has been charged with two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, three counts of solicitation of statutory rape and two counts of sexual battery. According to warrants obtained by Manchester Police Officer Ernie Colvin, a woman entered the police department and reported that her daughter was at a Manchester area motel with another juvenile drinking alcohol. Warrants allege that when the officer entered the motel room he found two 40-ounce bottles of beer, which the juveniles stated they had been drinking and had as much as five pints of whiskey in the room. The warrants also allege that Hill entered into a sex act in front of a girl and offered her $50 to watch and he touched the girl in an inappropriate way. Warrants also allege that Hill offered a juvenile male, beer and drugs to “find other females under the age of 18 to have sex with him. Hill is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $38,000.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) announced Monday it is aggressively seeking men and women who are interested in careers in law enforcement for a new Trooper Cadet Class slated to begin March 1, 2013. Applications will only be accepted online from today, October 3 through Wednesday, October 10, 2012 ( http://www.tn.gov/dohr/employment/applicant.shtml ). Individuals interested in applying for the position of State Trooper must be at least 21 years old, a U.S. Citizen and have a high school diploma or equivalent. No applicants with felony convictions will be considered. The selected applicants will be required to successfully pass the physical agility test prior to being admitted for an interview. THP anticipates the agility test and interview appointments to begin October 30, 2012. If hired, an individual must obtain a valid Tennessee driver license, and is required to successfully complete a level II background investigation, which includes a credit check and polygraph test. Recruits must also pass a psychological and medical examination, including a drug screening. Trooper recruits will be assigned to vacant positions across the state upon graduation. The starting salary for a Cadet during Trooper School is $2,563 per month. Upon graduation and commissioning as a Tennessee State Trooper, the salary will increase to $2,836 per month and includes other benefits such as a paid pension plan, low cost health insurance, and paid holidays. Uniform, equipment and patrol vehicles are also provided by the THP. With regular pay increases, a Trooper can earn $50,580 per year after 10 years of service under the current pay structure. Recruits are paid while in training. The Trooper Class will last 18 weeks. For additional information on becoming a State Trooper, visit the Trooper School Information page at the Department of Safety and Homeland Security website ( http://www.tn.gov/safety/thp/school.shtml ). For more information about applications and testing, interested individuals are encouraged to contact the Tennessee Department of Human Resources Applicant Services Division at 615-741-4841.

The Tennessee Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating cases of meningitis involving 11 patients treated at one outpatient surgical center/pain management clinic in Nashville and one patient treated at a facility in another state. The form of meningitis in these patients is not transmitted from person to person and the cause for the cluster of cases is not known. Two patients related to this cluster of meningitis have died. All patients at Saint Thomas Outpatient Neurosurgery Center who had steroid injections between July 30, 2012 and September 20, 2012 have been notified. The facility was closed Sept. 20 and will not reopen until TDH, CDC and the center are confident the current concerns have been resolved. No cases involving other medical facilities in Tennessee have been identified. There are many different types of meningitis, a general term for an infection or inflammatory process involving the lining of the brain and central nervous system. The cluster of infections under investigation has no relation to the much more common form of bacterial meningitis recently reported by Tennessee media impacting the educational community. The TDH and the Tennessee Poison Control Center have partnered to answer questions from the public about meningitis. The number is 1-800-222-1222.

Deutsch Industrial, a manufacturing facility on Airport Road in Tullahoma has announced 33 layoffs as a result of being bought out by a larger company earlier this year. The company provides plastic injection molding and assembly for electronic connectors. Officials at Deutsch could not be reached for comment, but a spokesman for TE Connectivity in Pennsylvania said his company purchased Deutsch in April and that 33 people have been affected out of a total 228, leaving 195 still employed locally. According to company officials the 33 employees were notified on the 27th, and all of them will receive severance benefits, healthcare continuation and outplacement support services.

The Elk River Public Utilities District will host Customer Appreciation Day on Friday, Oct. 5 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at its office, located at 217 South Jackson St. Hot dogs, baked beans, barbecue, potato salad, drinks and cookies will be served, and guests can register to win a natural gas grill and gift baskets. Tennessee One Call will also be there with lots of extras. The event is offered free and the public is welcome.

A preliminary hearing will be held Friday for the man who was arrested last Thursday on weapons charges. Donnie Jones, 37, who is the suspect in the murder of Megan Sharpton was arrested after officers from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department and the Tullahoma Police Department found the weapon while searching his Bel-Aire residence. According to investigators, the gun has been sent to federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agency for testing.
Jones appeared before General Sessions Judge Tim Brock and stated that he wanted a “speedy trial” in the case. When asked if he had an attorney he stated that he had attorneys from Nashville but they were not in the courtroom. “Do you want the public defender,” Judge Brock asked. And he stated that he did.
The date for his preliminary hearing was set for Friday. His bond remains at $500,000 and he remains in the Coffee County Jail.

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for August 2012 show the rate decreased in 90 counties, increased in two, and stayed the same in three.
The state unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.
Lincoln County has the lowest rate in the state at 5.7% and Scott County the highest at 17.5%.
The August unemployment rate for Coffee County is 7.8% down from 8.1 in July. Bedford County had a big drop going from 10.4 to 9.2%. Cannon County fell 0.7 to 7.6%. Franklin County also went down by 0.7 to an August rate of 8.4. On the mountain in Grundy County they had one the highest drops in unemployment going down 1.7% to 9.8%. Moore County had a good month in August dropping from 8.7% to 7.5. Warren County fell from 10.1 to 9.3%.
Tennessee’s unemployment rate for August increased to 8.5 percent, up from the July revised rate of 8.4 percent. The national unemployment rate for August 2012 was 8.1 percent, 0.2 percentage point lower than the July rate.