Author's posts

Juvenile Charged with 3 Counts of Burglary, 3 Counts of Theft and 4 Counts of Vandalism

A male juvenile from Manchester has been charged in three separate cases. The juvenile was arrested for burglarizing, theft and vandalism at three Manchester businesses; Jughead’z Juice and Quick Stop Tobacco both located on McArthur St and Manchester Tobacco and Beverage on the Hillsboro Blvd.
Investigators Trey Adcock and Brandon Tomberlin with Manchester Police worked together to make the arrest. The juvenile is facing three counts of burglary, three counts of theft and four counts of vandalism.
Due to the age of the accused, his name cannot be released.

Wanted Man Arrested

Randall “Randy” Patrick Curtis

Manchester Police have been searching for a wanted man by the name of Randall “Randy” Patrick Curtis. Curtis has numerous warrants for burglary and theft of property.
Investigator Trey Adcock told WMSR News that earlier this week Curtis was arrested by Franklin Police in Simpson County, Kentucky. They charged Curtis with three counts of theft at Walmart in Franklin, KY, along with possession of methamphetamine, trafficking methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
Curtis will first have to deal with his charges in Kentucky before he is returned to Manchester, TN, to face multiple charges here.

Heavy Travel Expected Memorial Day Weekend

Nearly 43 million Americans will start their summers on a high note with a Memorial Day weekend getaway. This long holiday weekend, marking the unofficial start of summer vacation season will see the second-highest travel volume on record since AAA began tracking holiday travel volumes dating back to 2000.
In Tennessee, more than 863,000 travelers are expected. 752,000 Tennesseans are expected to travel by automobile, which would be a 3 percent increase over last year. 80,000 are expected to travel by air, which is a 7 percent increase.
While road trippers are paying more at the gas pump this year, some of that additional expense can be made up with lower prices on car rentals and hotels this Memorial Day.

Tennessee College of Applied Technology to start Cosmetology Classes at Coffee Co. High School

The Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) – McMinnville is accepting enrollment applications for the Cosmetology program! Classes will be held at Coffee County Central High School at 100 Red Raider Dr. Manchester, TN 37355. Classes will begin June 3, 2019, and will meet M-Th 4-10pm.
Tuition and fees are $1,153 per trimester plus books and supplies.
The length of the program is 1500 hours to set for the State Board of Cosmetology Licensure Exam and includes a Shampoo Assistant Certificate at 432 hours.
Financial aid is available for those who qualify. You may complete a FAFSA online at www.fafsa.ed.gov (TCAT McMinnville school code 005307). If you have questions or need assistance, please call (931) 473-5587 to speak with Kelsey Vanatta ext. 234 or Tennille Davenport ext. 235. Enrollment applications are available at www.tcatmcminnville.edu. For additional information contact Tennille Davenport.
Apply now! Limited space is available.

CCMS Golf Falls to Tullahoma in Postseason Tournament

Zack Tidwell of CCMS Golf

The Coffee County Middle School golf team saw their season come to a close on Tuesday as they fell to Tullahoma in the postseason tournament.  The Raider linksters matched up in the head to head matchup playing by the Junior PGA Flag scoring system for the 9 hole match.  Tullahoma came out on top by a final score of 10.5 to 1.5..  The Raiders got 1 flag from the team of Zach Tidwell and Avery Hill.  The half flag came from the team of Maggie Crouch and Cadie Prater.  The Raiders finish the season with a record of 4-3-1

Coffee County Baseball and Softball Players Named to All-District Squads

With the high school baseball and softball seasons coming to a close, the Coffee County Central High School teams featured several deserving candidates for the recently named All-District teams.  For the Red Raiders, Skylar Bratcher and Hayden Skipper were named to the District 8AAA All-District baseball team.  Skipper, a junior, led the Raiders in most hitting categories for the year.  Skipper led the team in batting average(.376), home runs(4), doubles(10), triples(4), hits(35) and walks(25).  On the mound, Skipper finished with a record of 3 and 4 while leading the team in innings pitched with 38 and strikeouts with 66.  Bratcher, a sophomore,  led the Raiders in RBI with 21 while finishing with the most singles(23).  Bratcher was tied for 2nd on the team in batting average(.325), on-base percentage(.422) and runs scored(13).

For the Lady Raiders, Keri Munn, Sarah West, Katie Rutledge and Haley Richardson were named to the District 8AAA All-District softball team.  Rutledge, a senior, led the Lady Raiders in average as she finished the season with a batting average of .468.  Rutledge was also the team leader in triples(6), runs(40), hits(51), singles(34) and stolen bases(21).  West, a junior, was the team leader in RBI with 34, doubles with 9 and walks with 17.  West was also tied for the team lead in home runs with 5.  Richardson, a senior, was 2nd on the team in hits with 45 and batting average at .433.  Richardson was among the leaders in most other offensive categories as she had 8 doubles, 3 home runs, 30 RBI with a slugging percentage of .615.  Munn, a sophomore, was the team’s ace pitcher finishing with a record of 19 and 5 with a 1.22 ERA.  Munn struck out 164 batters in 149 innings pitched in the circle.  Offensively, Munn batted .392 on the year with 22 RBI.

Five Finalists Named for Coffee County Director Schools

After a work session on Monday night, Coffee County Board of Education Chairman Brett Henley announced on Tuesday the five finalists for the director of schools’ position. You might remember that Dr LaDonna McFall resigned from the job and Joe Pedigo is currently serving as the interim director until the new director is hired.
Henley gave WMSR News the names of the finalists in no certain order:
Dr. Charles Lawson Principal at Tullahoma East Middle
Current Coffee County Middle School Principal Kim Arron
Dr. Keith Cornelius Attendance Supervisor for Coffee County schools
Scott Hargrove Principal at Tullahoma East Lincoln Elementary
Rutherford County Central Magnet School Principal John Ash
Aaron received a vote from each board member to become a finalist. Lawson and Cornelius received 6 each. Ash and Hargrove received 4 each.
Henley stated that interviews with the five candidates will begin in the next couple of weeks and he said the board should be completed with the first round of interviews in a month.
The Coffee County Board of Education narrowed down their list of applicants for director of schools from 16 to five during their work session on Monday, May 13.

2018 ‘Crime in Tennessee’ Report

This week the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released its 2018 ‘Crime in Tennessee’ report, which details the volume and nature of crimes across the state.
The report utilizes data submitted to the Tennessee Incident Based Reporting System (TIBRS).
Among the findings in this year’s report:
• Overall, the number of reported instances of the most serious crimes decreased 3.6% from 2017.
• Reported cases of murder decreased 8.0% from 2017 to 2018.
• The number of reported rapes decreased 4.7% in the same time period.
• Juvenile arrestees made up 8.1% of those arrested for the most serious offenses. Simple Assault made up the most arrests among juveniles, at 25.7%, followed by Drug/Narcotic Violations, at 17.6% in 2018.
• Reported instances of offenses flagged as domestic violence decreased 6.0% from 2017 to 2018.
• The number of reported methamphetamine-related offenses continued to increase, from 13,483 in 2017 to 15,899 in 2018.
2018 total arrest made by Manchester Police was 998 with 45 being juveniles. Most of the arrests came in the form of drug charges with just over 300.
Tullahoma Police reported 1,024 arrests with 88 being juveniles. Most of the arrest (over 200) came in under the category of theft.
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department reported 888 arrests with 29 being juveniles. The largest majority being drug related with over 130 arrests made.

Gas Prices Down Slightly

Tennessee’s state average gas price is $2.56 per gallon for regular unleaded, which is four cents less than the average a week ago and 4 cents less than one month ago.
The national gas price average is $2.86, which is three cents less than last week’s average.
AAA spokesperson Stephanie Milani said that for the first time in three months, gas prices are declining slowly but steadily across the country. She said the move to cheaper gas may indicate that demand and supply are potentially leveling out. However, there are many factors that could quickly push prices up in the coming weeks such as the impact of Chinese tariffs, weather, gasoline stock levels and Memorial Day travel volume.
The low price per gallon for gas in Coffee County as of Tuesday afternoon was $2.41 in Tullahoma and in Manchester the low price was $2.45 per gallon.

Tennessee Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Opioid Maker

Herbert H. Slatery III

Tennessee Attorney General Herbert H. Slatery III has filed a lawsuit against Endo Pharmaceuticals and Endo Health Solutions, Inc. for making “unlawful and false claims about the safety and benefits of its opioid products.”
The lawsuit, filed in Knoxville, alleges Endo violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act and contributed to a public health crisis in the state.
The allegations in the State’s 180-page complaint detail how Endo deceptively marketed its opioid products as being less addictive and more effective than others on the market. It did this despite evidence to the contrary.
The Complaint alleges that Endo also knew the dangers of its opioid products, including increased risks of respiratory depression and death in elderly patients, and failed to clearly disclose those risks while it specifically targeted patients in that age group.
The Attorney General requested the complaint be filed under a temporary seal because Endo claims the information produced during the State’s investigation is confidential. The order sealed by the judge allows the seal to expire in 10 days unless Endo acts to extend it. The Attorney General believes the complaint should be made available to the public in its entirety.