In June of last year (2018) the Coffee County Commission approved a resolution asking the state legislature to approve a private act that would establish a hotel/motel tax in Coffee County.
The county had originally asked for the state legislature to approve a hotel/motel tax rate of up to 5 percent, but that request has been reduced to be no more than 3 percent. The new rate, if approved by the state, would include hotels and bed and breakfast locations in Manchester and Tullahoma.
County Commissioner Mike Ray told WMSR News how the money generated by tax could possibly benefit county government and property owners:

Currently the hotel/motel tax rate in Manchester is 6 percent and in Tullahoma the rate is 5 percent.

State estimates show the unemployment rate went up in all 95 counties in Tennessee during the month of January.
Coffee County’s unemployment rate for January was 3.3 percent up from December’s rate of 2.9 percent. This means 850 workers are reported as unemployed in Coffee County.
Warren County jumped up 0.6 percent, going from 3.5 to 4.1 percent.
Over in Bedford County their rate went up from 3.2 percent to 3.7.
Down in Franklin County the unemployment rate for January rose 0.4 percent to 3.2.
Moore County always has one of the best rates in the state also went up from 2.5 percent in December to 3 percent in January.
Grundy County’s unemployment rate went from 3.7 to 4.2 and Cannon County went from 2.7 to 3.0 percent.
Williamson County had the state’s lowest unemployment at 2.4 percent, while Lake County had the highest at 9.3 percent.

Motlow State Community College and Murray State University have signed an articulation agreement that will provide students seeking a bachelor’s degree with a seamless transfer process into Murray State’s College of Business.
The agreement will allow students to transfer their existing Motlow State credits toward a bachelor’s degree at Murray State, ensuring no disruptions in their collegiate careers.
“We want to align with and provide access to institutions where Motlow students can take advantage of the options and advantages offered within our state and region,” said Dr. Michael Torrence, Motlow President.
The College of Business at Murray State prepares students for careers in the dynamic environments of business, information technology and data analytics, public and private organizations, and mass communications.

It’s National Nutrition Month, and two pieces of proposed anti-bullying legislation have lawmakers engaged in a public war of words.
Senate Bill 606 and House Bill 827, known as the Tennessee Hunger-Free Students Act, would prohibit schools from taking certain actions against students who can’t pay for school lunch, and would make sure a meal is provided to the child regardless. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Ray Clemmons, said it would stop school employees from throwing away a served meal if the student could not pay, and also would prohibit schools from punishing or shaming students about the debt.
Last week, the K-12 Senate subcommittee voted 4-2 to kill the bill. Clemmons said he’s disappointed that a nonpartisan piece of legislation failed, but he isn’t giving up.
“Children should not be deprived of educational or extracurricular activities because of something that is not their fault,” Clemmons said. “At its essence, this bill is an anti-bullying bill that seeks to protect our children from stigmatization or being denied participation in school-related activities in the event they’ve incurred a meal debt.”
Rep. Kirk Haston, R-Lobelville, a coach and teacher, was the only Republican to vote in favor of the bill. Those who voted against the bill cited concern about its fiscal impact on schools. Clemmons said a child should never be treated differently because of a meal debt.
Critics of the bill said some school districts already are relying on donations to fund the effort. Others are increasing pressure on parents by refusing to let them attend graduation ceremonies or reporting them to Child Protective Services for unpaid debt.
Clemmons said Tennessee needs to continue crafting policies that will allow districts to collect unpaid amounts without shaming students.
“There’s no concern this simply prohibits schools from treating children differently. They’re still allowed to attempt to work with parents to collect the meal debt. They’re simply just prohibited from punishing the child,” he said. “Of course, it’s no fault of the child if they’ve incurred a meal debt.”
Almost 50 percent of students in the state already receive free or reduced-price lunch. But those who can’t pay could be forced to do additional chores, wear a wristband during school mealtimes, miss lunch altogether or even miss graduation.

High schoolers from Coffee County attended and competed at the recent 2019 Tennessee Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) State Leadership Conference. 102 students from Coffee County High School and Raider Academy attended.
Some of those honored included Weston Hargrove as he was listed in Who’s Who in FBLA and received Bronze Level for the President’s Volunteer Service award, Cade Davis-State T-shirt design 1st place winner, Andreas Cavalie- State Pin design winner, Morgan Henley received the Dr Bill Radcliff scholarship, Elizabeth Proffitt was selected as President of Region 4.
Coffee County finished 3rd for Coke tab collection, received Gold Seal Chapter Award of Merit, largest chapter membership and Platinum Chapter.
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A McMinnville man who was wanted on a charge of attempted rape now faces more charges after leading officers on a chase Thursday afternoon. Authorities say 51 year-old James Bell was being pursued by officers after he was seen coming out of his house. The chase eventually led to the Mt. Leo area, where the vehicle was stopped by spike strips that had been deployed by the Highway Patrol. During the pursuit, Bell allegedly drove toward a Warren County deputy, who fired on the vehicle. Bell was not hit, and the chase continued until the spike strips disabled Bell’s vehicle.
Bell was booked at the Warren County Jail.