Thomas Greenwood

WMSR News was first to report Thursday (March 29) that Thomas “TJ” Greenwood of Tullahoma was found guilty of 1st degree murder. Greenwood faced accusations after the death of 2-year-old child, Hayden Gage West, on March 9, 2010. Greenwood was babysitting the child at the time. Greenwood told police that he suffered a seizure, and when he fell in the bedroom, the child’s head struck a bed rail in the bedroom.
Tullahoma Dr. Clifford Seyler testified that Hayden had numerous bruises and injuries on various parts of his body. “There were bruises on places not normal for him,” the doctor testified. “There was bruising on his back the shape of a shoe.”
Sentencing for Greenwood will take place Friday (March 30).

A man was arrested in Arkansas after he threatened a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Officer. Thirty-three-year-old James Mitchell Hicks was arrested in Fort Smith, Arkansas on Wednesday. Officials said Hicks threatened to kill a Coffee County TWRA officer. The threat allegedly follows a boating accident on Tims Ford Lake a couple of years ago. Area law enforcement officers have been searching for him in recent weeks due to the threats, which officers are said to have taken seriously.

Outside Batesville plant in Manchester... By Barry West

Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Karla Davis have awarded $25,000 to Batesville Manufacturing, Inc. in Manchester for job training.

“If Tennessee is going to become the number one location in the Southeast for high-quality jobs, then we must offer a well-trained workforce to employers,” said Governor Haslam. “This kind of training grant not only helps educate workers, but also provides incentive to employers looking to relocate or expand in Tennessee.”

In their application for the grant, Batesville Manufacturing, Inc. stated this grant will directly contribute to improving company processes by aligning skills required to produce 18- and 20-gauge burial caskets with the current and future processes and capital investments. The training will provide their associates with the tools needed to efficiently manufacture and assemble burial caskets and help to ensure cost improvement.

“I would like to thank Governor Haslam and Commissioner Davis for their involvement in awarding this grant to the workers of Coffee County,” said Senator Eric Stewart.

“By investing in the skills of Tennessee’s workforce, we’re also investing in our future economic success,” said Representative Judd Matheny.

Workforce Solutions played a key role in awarding the grant to Batesville Manufacturing, Inc.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development administers the Incumbent Worker Training program. The program has been structured to be flexible to meet the business’s training objectives. The business may use public, private, or its own in-house training provider based on the nature of the training.

A proposal that would prohibit students from dressing indecently in school is headed for floor votes in both chambers of the Legislature. The measure unanimously passed the Senate Education Committee 7-0 on Wednesday and is now being scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor. A full vote in the House is scheduled for Monday evening. The bill seeks to prohibit students from exposing “underwear or body parts in an indecent manner that disrupts the learning environment.” A stricter version of the proposal failed to pass the Legislature three years ago. That measure particularly targeted individuals that sag their pants below the waistline and imposed a fine of up to $250 and 160 hours of community service. Under the current proposal, school districts would decide a less severe punishment.

A proposal that would require all doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges in a licensed hospital, either in the county where the procedure is performed or in an adjacent county, has passed the House.

The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Matthew Hill of Jonesborough was approved 72-24 on Thursday. Eight Democrats voted for the mostly Republican-backed proposal.

Hill has said the bill is about women’s health and safety and he reiterated that Thursday.

Critics, however, contend that abortion providers are being singled out because the law doesn’t require doctors at other ambulatory clinics to have hospital admitting privileges.

The companion to the legislation is awaiting a vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee.