Author's posts

Help Needed for Fire Victim

Inside Cherrie Fletcher’s home after the fire.. Photo provided.

On January 13th Coffee County resident Cherrie Fletcher lost her home, two pets, and all of her belongings due to a house fire. This was her home for 28 years and was paid for. Her pets were like her children. She is disabled from a stroke in 2013 leaving her on a small fixed income. Due to the age of her doublewide mobile home no one would insure it, leaving her with a total loss.
Fletcher’s beloved Rottweiler, who made it out of the fire, Hopi Grace, started barking in her face which woke her up to the smoke.
Fletcher said, “Without Hopi, I don’t think I would have made it, I could have had a heart attack and died in there.”
Fletcher was able to get in her wheelchair and attached Hopi’s collar to a leash.
“She just jerked me out and knocked the door open with her nose, and out on the porch we went.”
All donations are greatly appreciated that would help her get back on her feet and in a home. There is a benefit account set up for her at FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF MANCHESTER under her daughter’s name, Sherry Rosales. There is also a Go Fund Me account set up in Cherrie Fletcher’s name. Her clothing sizes are 8 in pants, 8-10 mediums in shirts, and shoe size is a 7.

1/29/18–Carol F. Lovely

Carol F. Lovely of Manchester, passed this life on Sunday, January 27, 2019
at her residence at the age of 75 years. No services are scheduled.

A native of Noble County, IN, she was the daughter of the late
Richard and Frances Pross. She enjoyed watching old sitcoms on TV, cooking
and doing crossword puzzles.

In addition to her parents she was preceded in death by son
Edward Earl Lovely. She is survived by grandchildren, Malachi Lovely and
Samantha Lovely, both of Manchester; brother, Bruce and sister, Deanna.

Online condolences may be made at www.davesculbertsonfuneralhome.com

Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Coffee County CHS Basketball Teams Each Capture 8th Consecutive Win on Monday

Jenna Garretson of Coffee County CHS basketball

Perfect in January!  That is what the Coffee County Central High School basketball teams accomplished on Monday night at the Patch against Lincoln County.  In a pair of games originally scheduled for Tuesday, both Coffee County teams captured their 8th straight win as each strengthened their hold on 1st place in the district standings.  The Lady Raiders got a buzz-beating shot from Bella Vinson to pull off a stunning 50 to 49 win.  The Red Raiders dominated in the 2nd half as they rolled to a 55 to 35 win over the Falcons.

In a 1 point game with 1.9 seconds to go, Lincoln County missed a free throw and the Lady Raiders immediately called timeout.  Jenna Garretson threw the inbounds pass from the Lincoln County baseline to the top of the key on the Coffee County end.  Bella Vinson grabbed the pass and hit a turnaround jumper just ahead of the final horn to improve the Lady Raiders record to 23 and 3 on the year and 9 and 0 in district play.

Vinson finished the game with 24 points, including the dramatic game winner, to earn the Crazy Daisies player of the game award.  Abby Morgan finished with 10 points while Jenna Garretson added 7 points.   The win means that the Lady Raiders can finish no worse than 2nd place in the district and guarantees them a region tournament berth.

Harley Hinshaw of Coffee County CHS basketball

The Red Raiders jumped out to a 10 to 0 lead in the 1st quarter and never trailed Lincoln County.  After taking an 8 point lead into the halftime break, Coffee County held the Falcons to 15 points in the 2nd half to get the season sweep over Lincoln County.

Coffee County was led in scoring by Darius Rozier who had 23 points.  Harley Hinshaw added 7 points while Shawn Anderson chipped in 6.   For his strong game, Rozier was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game.  The win moves the Raiders record to 16 and 4 overall and 8 and 1 in district play.  The sweep over Lincoln County gives the Raiders a 2 game lead in the district standing with 3 games left to play and also guarantees the Raiders a region tournament berth.

The Raiders and Lady Raiders will be back at home on Friday in their final home game of the year.  Coffee County will welcome Tullahoma to the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym for Senior Night.  The Lady Raiders game will tip-off at 6 PM, Thunder Radio’s live coverage begins with the Powers Storage pregame show at 5:50.   Senior Night activities will take place between games.

Coffee County Middle School Lady Raiders Advance in Sectional Tournament

Alivia Reel of CCMS basketball

The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider basketball team opened play in the TMSAA Section 2 tournament on Monday night at Stewarts Creek.  Hoping to advance to the inaugural TMSAA State Tournament in February, the Lady Raiders squared off against Oakland Middle School.  A huge 4th quarter rally lifted Coffee Middle to a 32 to 26 win and a berth in the Sectional semifinals.

Trailing 22 to 16 entering the 4th quarter, the Lady Raiders got busy.  Coffee Middle went 10 of 13 at the free throw line and held Oakland to 4 points in the final frame to stun the Lady Chargers.  Alivia Reel led Coffee County in scoring with 13 points, including 8 points in the final quarter.  Chloe Gannon finished with 8 points as she was 2 for 2 at the free throw line in the final period.  Maggie Crouch and Olivia Vinson each poured in 4 points.

The win advances the Lady Raiders to Wednesday night’s semifinals where they will take on White County.  Tip-off is set for 4:30 PM at Stewarts Creek Middle School.

Middle School Swimmers Close Season with Strong Region Performances

On Saturday, the Westwood Middle and Coffee County Middle swim teams competed in the MTHSSA Middle School Region Meet in Nashville.

For Coffee County, the girls’ 200 freestyle relay team captured an 11th place finish with a time of 2:08.48.  The girls’ 200 medley relay team finished in 13th place in a time of 2:23.24, bettering their seeding time by 0.78 seconds.   The 200 freestyle relay team came in 25th place with a time of 2:25.17.  In individual races,

  • Emily Williams captured 6th place in the 200 freestyle with a time of 2:11.32 which was more than 2 seconds better than her season best time she recorded in the preliminaries.  Emily also touched the wall in 1:21.66 in the finals of the 100 breaststroke to claim 13th
  • Clancy Sand finished 12th in the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 28.41 and 26th in the 100 butterfly with a time of 1:23.35.
  • Elli Masters swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 33.25 and swam the 100 backstroke in a time of 1:25.98.
  • Patrice Driggers swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 36.51.
  • Michael Floyd swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 33.19.
  • Riley Bellamy swam the 50 freestyle in a season best time of 33.87 and the 100 freestyle in a season best time of 1:15.08.
  • Emily Snider swam the 100 freestyle in a season best time of 1:16.46.
  • Taylor Wall swam the 500 freestyle in a season best time of 7:03.35 to finish in 23rd place and finished the 100 breaststroke in a time of 1:37.32

For Westwood, the girls’ 200 medley relay team finished in a time of 2:42.50.   In individual races,

  • Nick Bogle grabbed a 3rd place finish in the 100 butterfly as he posted a race time of 56.27. Bogle also finished 5th in the 200 IM as he bettered his preliminary time by 5 seconds to cover the distance in 2:08.88.
  • Abby Gilday cut more than 5 seconds off her 200 freestyle time as she finished in 2:30.20 and she swam the 50 freestyle in 32.63
  • Elsie Lazalier trimmed her season best time in the 200 freestyle as she swam the distance in 2:35.20. Lazalier also posted a season best time in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 1:34.94 which was over a 4 second improvement from her previous best.
  • Cale Hays swam the 50 freestyle in 37.81

The regional meet ends the prep season for the middle school swimmers.

1/28/19 — Birthdays

Birthdays:
Paige Payne, 16 — Pizza Winner!

Roger Guess, 66

John Roger Roberts

Amanda Todd, 36

Vicki McCart, 57

Cathy Klingahouts

Colt Norton

Anniversaries:
Michael & Wanda Wells, 49

Coffee County Always Prepared for Bad Weather

When bad weather is predicted in Coffee County, you will see grocery stores selling lots of bread and milk, schools possibly closing, other delays and cancellations, but most of all people are worried about road conditions.
On Monday afternoon Coffee County Highway Superintendent Benton Bartlett had his crew ready to face whatever problems might occur on our roadways. Bartlett explains:

Manchester and Tullahoma street departments are responsible for city streets and the Tennessee Department of Transportation handles most state highways and interstates.

1/27/19 — Birthdays

Birthdays:
Beau Murray, 13 — Pizza Winner!

Patricia Finney

1/26/19 — Birthdays

Birthdays:
Blair Sellars, 34 — Pizza Winner!

Flint Frame, 60

Brad Davis

Eight People in Grundy County Arrested Friday on Drug Charges

Eight people were arrested on various charges Friday night in Grundy County.
The individuals were taken into custody when the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office served a search warrant in the 300 block of Reeves Road in Gruetli-Laager.
The eight people arrested were:
• Felicia Borne, 42 – Possession of Drug Paraphernalia
• Elizabeth Bowden, 33 – Possession of Schedule II and Drug Paraphernalia
• Tara Doss, 28 – Possession of Sch. II and Drug Paraphernalia
• Cody Forsyth, 28 – Outstanding Warrant
• Dearick Garner, 32 – Possession Schedule II, Drug Paraphernalia, Tampering with Evidence
• Rodney Griffith, 47 – Drug Paraphernalia
• Adam Layne, 42 – Possession Schedule II, Drug Paraphernalia, Felon in possession of a weapon
• Michelle Stevens, 47 – Possession Schedule II, Drug Paraphernalia
All eight individuals are scheduled to be in court on February 14.