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Golf Clubs Stolen at Willowbrook Golf Course – Reward Offered
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department reports that sometime during the month of March someone had approximately $4,000 in golf clubs stolen out of a vehicle at Willowbrook Golf Course. Any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible, will receive a reward of $500 dollars.
The subject is believed to be well educated on golfing or may have even worked at a golf course before. The responsible person might possibly live in one of the surrounding counties. The subject is a white male with a slender build. 
If you have any information, please contact Investigator Brandon Reed with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department at 931-570-4191. Any information will be kept confidential.
Weekend Prep Results and Monday Prep Schedule
Friday Prep Results
CHS Baseball lost to Spring Hill – 12 to 5 – See the Results HERE
CHS Baseball defeated Hilliard Bradley, OH – 6 to 4 – See the Results HERE
Saturday Prep Results
CHS Baseball fell to Knights Academy, TN – 12 to 1 – See the Results HERE
CHS Baseball was edged by Smyrna – 12 to 11 – See the Results HERE
Sunday Prep Results
CHS Softball stops Warren County – 6 to 1 – See the Results HERE
Monday Prep Schedule
4:00 PM – CCMS Golf HOSTS Fayetteville at Willowbrook
4:00 PM – WMS Golf HOSTS Tullahoma at Willowbrook
4:00 PM – CHS Tennis HOSTS Giles Co
5:00 PM – CCMS Baseball HOSTS South Franklin
5:00 PM – CCMS Softball HOSTS South Franklin
5:00 PM – WMS Baseball HOSTS Huntland – Gilley Crane Hometown Sports Series broadcast
5:30 PM – CHS Softball at Lawrence Co
Unemployment Drops in All Area Counties
The unemployment rate for each of Tennessee’s counties improved in February according to new information released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD).
Eighty of Tennessee’s 95 counties have an unemployment rate less than 5 percent, a marked improvement from January’s jobless numbers.
Williamson County leads the state with the lowest unemployment in February. The county’s 2.2 percent rate is 0.2 of a percentage point lower than the previous month. With a rate of 5.9 percent, Lake County has the state’s highest rate of unemployment for February.
Coffee County tied its lowest ever unemployment rate at 2.9 percent. The January rate was 3.3 percent. There are currently 770 people unemployed in the county.
Bedford County dropped from 3.7 to 3.3 percent. Grundy County fell from 4.2 to 3.9. Franklin County’s unemployment rate for February tied Coffee County at 2.9 percent, falling from 3.2. Moore County dropped from 3 percent to 2.4. Cannon went from 3 percent to 2,7 and Warren County’s unemployment rate dropped from 4.1 to 3.8.
Man Sentenced for Warren County Murder
A man accused in the shooting death of another man in 2017 has been sentenced in Warren County Circuit Court. 29 year-old Michael Cody Mills was sentenced to 23 years in prison for the murder of 43 year-old Bobby Ashburn. Mills had pleaded guilty to second-degree murder earlier this year.
Authorities said Mills was under the influence of meth at the time of the murder. Ashburn had reportedly arrived at a home on Cherry Springs Road to bring food to his daughter when Mills shot him four times with a handgun. Mills then fled the scene but was captured a short time later by sheriff’s deputies in a nursery field.
Corrections Officer Fired after Allegation of Sexual Misconduct
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating an allegation of sexual misconduct against a Grundy County corrections officer.
Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum confirms the name of the officer is Mark Nunley.
“At the request of 12th District Attorney General Michael Taylor, TBI Agents are investigating an allegation of official misconduct against an employee of the Grundy County Sheriff’s Department,” a TBI spokesperson said.
DA Taylor said his office received an allegation that a male corrections officer was having sexual relations with female inmates.
Taylor added that he called the TBI to investigate because Grundy County does not have an internal affairs department.
Sheriff Shrum says his office is working thoroughly with the TBI and District Attorney’s Office to investigate the allegations made against Nunley.
Shrum says Nunley was fired from his job with the sheriff’s office on Wednesday “for reasons indirectly related to this incident.”
Sheriff Shrum said, “This administration will not tolerate this type of conduct. The security of our female inmates is a priority and we have taken steps to ensure that. While this accusation is very disturbing, it does not define every employee of the Sheriff’s Office. Shrum added that his office will continue to work with both the TBI and District Attorney’s Office to find answers.
Bowling and Bricken Spoke in McMinnville on Friday
District 16 State Senator Janice Bowling
During the event, Sen. Bowling explained why she is pushing a bill to legalize medical cannabis. Bowling said after researching the issue, she believes it is very much needed for people who suffer from various conditions. She said medical cannabis has proven to be effective in relieving pain and healing. Her bill is still being considered in the Senate.
District 47 State Rep. Rush Bricken
On another topic, both lawmakers said they believe the proposed school savings account bill, being pushed by the governor, deserves a chance. The bill would provide funding for students in failing schools to enable them to enroll in a private school.
Coffee County Softball Stops Warren County in Sunday Matchup
Hayley Richardson of CHS softball
Hosting non-district rival Warren County on Sunday afternoon at Terry Floyd Field, the Coffee County Lady Raider softball team kicked off a busy week of softball. After giving up a 1st inning home run, Coffee County rallied to get their 8th win of the year. The Lady Raiders won by a final score of 6 to 1.
After falling behind 1 to 0 in the top of the 1st inning, Coffee County rallied for a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and never trailed again. After surrendering 4 hits in the first 2 innings, Keri Munn was dominant in the circle as she allowed 2 hits and did not allow a runner past 1st base over the last 5 innings. Munn finished with 11 strikeouts and no walks on the day in the circle. At the plate, Munn had an RBI double. Haley Richardson led the Lady Raider hitting attack which posted 8 hits. Richardson had 3 singles and an RBI to earn the Crazy Daisies player of the game award. Katie Rutledge had a doube and a single and drove in 1 run.
Coffee County travels to Lawrenceburg on Monday to take on Lawrence County in a battle at the top of the district standings. Both teams enter the game with district records of 3 and 0. First pitch is set for 5:30 PM.
Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/
Arvidsson Ties Record as Preds Fall to Blue Jackets in Fabbro’s Debut
Viktor Arvidsson of the Nashville Predators
Viktor Arvidsson tied a club record, but the Nashville Predators ultimately fell to the Columbus Blue Jackets by a 5-2 final on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result ends Nashville’s two-game win streak and keeps them tied for first in the Central Division with 94 points.
The Predators kept pace with one of the League’s hottest teams to open the contest, but Columbus began to pull away as time went on, a fact that left a disappointing feeling in the Nashville locker room when it was all over.
“In the first I don’t like the way the score went,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “We’re chasing the game, and it seems like we get in those situations, we haven’t responded very well. We did fight back to cut it to one in the second period, but I think just the start, I don’t think it was that we weren’t ready to play or we were out-played necessarily in the first period, but the scoreboard goes in a different direction.”
The first period saw four goals in total, and three of those belonged to the visitors, including the first from Cam Atkinson that came just 50 seconds into the contest.
Arvidsson evened the score midway through the period when he struck on a shorthanded breakaway for his 33rd of the season in just his 55th game, a tally that tied the Predators franchise record for goals in a single season.
“It’s awesome, especially if you look at how many games he has done it in,” Preds winger Filip Forsberg said of Arvidsson. “We have a couple more games to give him that on his own, and we will do everything we can for that.”
The Blue Jackets got two more goals before the first was finished, and after Filip Forsberg brought the Preds back to within one when he tallied his 27th at 12:14 of the second stanza, Columbus got their fourth and fifth of the night with another coming from Atkinson, as well as one by Boone Jenner.
Predators goaltender Juuse Saros stopped Atkinson on a penalty shot late in the third period to keep him from recording a hat trick, but Nashville couldn’t get any closer as the Blue Jackets won their fourth straight.
Predators defenseman Dante Fabbro made his NHL debut on Saturday night and finished with three shots on goal, three blocked shots and one hit in 16:12 of ice time.
Other than an unfortunate play at the blue line that led to Columbus’s fourth goal, the rookie was solid in his first taste of NHL action, and credited his defensive partner Dan Hamhuis for helping him adjust to the pace of play.
“It was a lot of fun,” Fabbro said of his debut. “Going into the game, I was a little bit nervous, but the guys really helped me out out there. I got an unfortunate play in the second, but I was able wash that away and try to get back at my game.”
“He was really good,” Laviolette said of Fabbro. “It’s unfortunate [on Columbus’s fourth goal] he got caught there, and it looked like he toe picked or his edge kind of wobbled on him and a guy got behind him. Short of that, I thought his game was strong. He delivered some pucks to the net, did a good job defensively, and moved things quickly. He’s a good skater, and he seemed to see everything fine, so I thought his game was good for coming into that situation.”
Coming off of an impressive victory on Friday night in Pittsburgh, the Predators were unable to duplicate their effort the next night, and as the final week of the regular season arrives, Nashville will have three more opportunities to shore up their game before the postseason arrives.
“Last night we had that desperation, and today it wasn’t good enough,” Forsberg said. “Columbus is a good team, and they played well tonight, but our game has to be better on Tuesday.”
Notes:
Arvidsson is the third player in Preds franchise history to score at least 10 shorthanded goals, joining Greg Johnson (11) and David Legwand (10).
Prior to Saturday’s game, the Predators reassigned goaltender Troy Grosenick to Milwaukee of the AHL and activated defenseman Dan Hamhuis from Injured Reserve. Hamhuis dressed for the Preds in Saturday’s game after missing the last 12 with a lower-body injury.
Yannick Weber, Matt Irwin and Rem Pitlick were among the scratches for Nashville against Columbus.
The final week of the regular season has now arrived, and the Predators will play their last road game of the campaign on Tuesday evening in Buffalo against the Sabres (at 6 p.m. CT). Nashville will then host the Canucks and Blackhawks to close out the season before the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin on April 10.
Coffee County CHS Baseball Drops Pair of Games Saturday
Hayden Skipper of CHS baseball
The Coffee County CHS baseball team traveled to Smyrna on Saturday for the final day of the Warrior Spring Classic. In the day’s first game, the Red Raiders never got untracked against Knight’s Academy in a 12 to 1 loss. In the 2nd game, Coffee County had a huge comeback before falling to Smyrna in the bottom of the 7th by a score of 12 to 11.
Taking on the independent Knight’s program out of Nashville, Coffee County fell behind 12 to 0 before getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the 4th inning. The Raiders were held to 5 hits on the day. Hayden Skipper had a double while Dylan Koon had an RBI single.
In the day’s second game, Coffee County got 2 runs in the 1st inning before Smyrna plated 8 runs in the 2nd inning. The Raiders clawed their way back into the game with a 7 run rally in the 6th inning to take an 11 to 10 lead. Smyrna tied the game in the bottom of the 6th and scored an unearned run in the 7th to get the win. Skipper had a pair of triples and a single with 3 runs scored and an RBI. Harley Hinshaw had a double and a single and 2 RBI and Kyle Farless had a double and 3 RBI.
The Red Raiders return to district play on Tuesday as they begin a 2 game series with their old rival Tullahoma. Coffee County will play at home on Tuesday and at Tullahoma on Wednesday. Both games will begin at 6 PM and Thunder Radio will have the broadcast of each. Lucky Knott will bring you all the action beginning with the pregame show at 5:50.
Coffee County Baseball Splits Friday Games at Murfreesboro Tournament
Lane Spry of CHS baseball
The Coffee County Central High School baseball team traveled to Stewarts Creek for a doubleheader as part of the Riverdale Warrior Spring Classic on Friday. The Red Raiders split the 2 games on the day as they opened the doubleheader with a 12 to 5 loss to Spring Hill. They closed out the day with a 6 to 4 win over Bradley High School out of Hilliard, Ohio.
In the opener, Coffee County entered the 6th inning leading 5 to 3 but saw Spring Hill plate 7 runs to build a lead they would not surrender. The Red Raiders finished the game with 5 hits including 3 doubles. Hayden Skipper, Harley Hinshaw and Braden Brown all had doubles. Brown finished with 2 RBI and a walk.
In the day’s second game, Coffee County surrendered 4 runs in the bottom of the first inning before rebounding with 3 runs in the 2nd inning. The Raiders tied the game in the 6th inning and got a pair of runs in the 7th to take the win. Lane Spry had the game winning RBI in the 7th as he singled home Kael McCall who had a 2 out double. Bryson Hullett finished with a single, a double a walk and an RBI. Griffin Meeker went the distance on the mound to get the win as he gave up 2 earned runs and struck out 3.
Coffee County will travel to Smyrna on Saturday for a doubleheader at Smyrna High School on the last day of the Riverdale Warrior Spring Classic. The Red Raiders will take on Knights’ Academy beginning at 12:30 PM followed by a 3:00 PM game against Smyrna.