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1/5/19 — Barbara Abston Walker
Barbara Abston Walker, of Manchester, TN, passed away January 1, 2019, after battling complications of breast cancer.
Barbara was the second daughter of Luther and Lorena Abston, born in Oliver Springs, TN. She is survived by her sons, Richard, Mitchell, and Gregory; her sisters, Carolyn Kelly and Tommie Jackson; and six grandchildren. She is preceded in death by her husband, Robert G. “Bob” Walker.
The family will receive family and friends at Coffee County Funeral Chapel on Friday, January 4, 2019, from 4:00 – 8:00 PM and Saturday, January 5, 2019, at 11:00 AM, with services at 12:00 PM and burial to follow.
The family would like to thank Avalon Hospice for the loving care and comfort they rendered to Barbara in her final days. In memory of Barbara, donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or a charity of your choice.
Coffee County Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Walker family.
1/3/19 — Birthdays
Birthdays:
Kim Trail, 57 — Pizza Winner!
Charlie Brown III, 18
Anniversaries:
Amber Reed & Doug Reed, 5
Coffee County Basketball Drills Warren County in Road Sweep
Abby Morgan of CHS basketball
After getting a pair of wins in early December over Warren County, Coffee County traveled to McMinnville on Thursday night to take on non-district rival Warren County looking for the season sweep. The Lady Raiders had their hands full but escaped with a 42 to 35 win. The Red Raiders led from start to finish as they pounded the Pioneers 74 to 40.
It was a nip and tuck battle through 3 quarters of the girls’ game. Coffee County led by 2 points entering the final 8 minutes. The Lady Raiders opened the 4th quarter on a 10 to 3 run which seemed to take the fight out of the Lady Pioneers. Abby Morgan led the Lady Raiders in scoring with 17 points, including 6 in the final period to be named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. Bella Vinson also finished in double figures with 11 while Jacey Vaughn netted 6.
Darius Rozier of Coffee County CHS basketball
The Red Raiders got off to a 15 to 0 run in the boys’ game and coasted to the non-district win. Leading by 13 at the half, Coffee County opened the 2nd half on a 16 to 7 run to but the game out of reach. Twelve different Red Raiders scored in the game led by Darius Rozier who finished with 20. Kyle Farless added 12 points and Andrew Mahaffey netted 9. Rozier and Farless were named the Crazy Daisies co-players of the game.
Coffee County returns to district action on Friday when they travel to Fayetteville to take on Lincoln County. Tip-off for the girls’ game is set for 6 PM and Thunder Radio will bring you live coverage beginning with the Char-El Apartments and Home Rental pregame show at 5:50.
Download the broadcast at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/
Coffee County Wrestling Splits Home Tri-Match on Thursday
Brett Francis of Coffee County CHS wrestling
The Coffee County CHS wrestling team welcomed Columbia and Whitwell to their home “Dojo” at the Raider Academy for a tri-match on Thursday. The Raider grapplers got 2019 off to a 1 and 1 start as they split the 2 matches. Coffee County crushed Columbia 72 to 0 while falling to Whitwell 57 to 19.
Against district foe Columbia, Coffee County got pinfall wins from Hunter Waring(132 pound class), Devin Judge(152), Reynaldo Reyes(182), Christopher Speagle(220) and Brett Francis(120). Getting forfeit wins were Gavin Prater(138), Dakota Chalker(160), Jacob Phillips(170), Cardin Stump(285), Gabriel Westbrook(106) and Hunter Massey(113)
Against Whitwell, Coffee County got decision wins at 113 by Hunter Massey(7 to 3) and at 120 pounds by Brett Francis(11 to 2). The Red Raiders also claimed forfeit wins by Jacob Phillips(170) and Christopher Speagle(220).
Coffee County returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Smyrna to take part on the Redhawk Rampage Individual Tournament at Stewarts Creek. Weigh-ins begin at 9 AM with the first match scheduled to get underway around 10.
Coffee Middle Basketball Splits with Warren County on Thursday
Olivia Vinson of CCMS basketball
The Coffee County Middle School basketball team began the stretch run on Thursday night welcoming Warren County to the CCMS gym. With 4 conference games left before the CTC postseason tournament begins on the 21st, both Raider teams are needing wins to improve their playoff positioning. The Lady Raiders powered their way to a 43 to 16 win. The Red Raiders stumbled in the 2nd half as they fell 44 to 33.
In the girls’ game, the Lady Raiders held the Lady Pioneers to single digits in all 4 quarters and they rolled to the convincing victory. Coffee Middle’s Chloe Gannon poured in 21 points to lead all scorers. Olivia Vinson and Alivia Reel each netted 7 points and Aleaya Barnes added 4 points.
Hayden Garr of CCMS basketball
In the boys’ game, Coffee County and Warren County started out slow in the 1st quarter and moved into the halftime break tied at 20. In the 2nd half, Warren County held the Raiders to single digits in both the 3rd and 4th quarters to drop Coffee Middle. The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Hayden Garr who had 13 points. Jacob Holder finished with 11 points and Ethan Hargrove added 5.
The Raiders and Lady Raiders will have their final non-conference game on Monday as they play host to Cannon County. The girls’ game will tip off at 6 PM.
Rinne, Josi Named 2019 NHL All-Stars
Two of the most popular Preds are heading to the West Coast for the 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend.
Predators Captain Roman Josi and goaltender Pekka Rinne have been named 2019 NHL All-Stars by the League, giving the Predators two participants in the mid-season event set for Jan. 25-26 in San Jose, California.
Both Rinne and Josi have played integral roles in guiding the Predators to the 50-point mark through 41 games this season, and now they’ll get yet another chance to make Nashville proud on a national stage.
For the defending Vezina Trophy winner as the League’s top goaltender, it’s the fourth All-Star selection overall, all of which have come in the past five seasons. Rinne’s first came in 2015, but he did not participate due to injury. Since then, he’s only missed out on the 2017 version, consistently slotting among the top netminders in the game as he gets older.
Now 36, Rinne is having another Vezina-like season thus far, tied for first in goals-against average (2.25), tied for seventh in wins (15) and eighth in save percentage (.920) among goalies who have played at least 20 games at the start of the new year.
Josi will be making his second NHL All-Star appearance, the first of which came in 2016 when Nashville hosted the festivities. Josi has tallied 18 points – two goals and 16 assists – in his last 23 games, and he sits second on the Preds and first among team defensemen in points with 29 (7g-22a).
Entering action on New Year’s Day, Josi was tied for sixth in goals (7), tied for ninth in points (29) and tied for 11th in assists (22) among all League blueliners.
The 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend will once again consist of a three-game tournament, played in a 3-on-3 format, featuring four teams – one for each NHL division.
The head coach of the NHL team with the highest points percentage (points earned divided by total possible points) in each of the four divisions at the halfway point of the regular season will guide the respective All-Star rosters.
The 2019 NHL All-Star Skills will take place on Friday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. CT on NBCSN, and the 2019 NHL All-Star Game commences on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 7 p.m. CT on NBC.
More information on 2019 NHL All-Star Weekend will be available in the days and weeks to come, and be sure to stay tuned to NashvillePredators.com for full coverage from San Jose.
New Proposal to Help Conference Center– State Law Says No
What’s next when it comes to the financially struggling Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center? Stan Teal, a member of the Public Building Authority (PBA), has requested the Coffee County government start charging a hotel-motel tax within the city limits of Manchester and use the money collected to fund the conference center. The city already implements a hotel-motel tax.
The center was built in 2002 for $3.5 million dollars with around $1.5 million still owed. Over the last four years alone the center has lost $1.5 million.
State law prohibits the county from levying a hotel-motel tax in cities.
Teal recently told county leaders that before 1988 counties and cities could both enforce a hotel-motel tax.
Teal suggested that a hotel-motel tax could be adopted by the county through a private act approved by the state legislature.
As we reported, the Coffee County Commission approved a resolution asking the state legislature to approve a private act that would establish a hotel-motel tax in rural Coffee County only. This does not include hotels or motels inside the city limits of Manchester or Tullahoma.
Death at Bedford County Jail being Investigated
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has been called in to investigate the death of a Bedford County inmate that occurred on New Year’s Eve.
Other inmates reported to jail personnel that the man identified as Juan Carlos Mendoza had stopped breathing. He was pronounced dead at 10:20 p.m.
Sheriff Austin Swing says that the TBI was called to investigate the death, which is standard procedure.
No foul play is suspected in the 32 year-old Shelbyville man’s death. An autopsy is being conducted.
New Funding to Help Gather Data on Homicide, Suicide and other Violent Deaths
The Tennessee Department of Health Office of the State Chief Medical Examiner has received $1.4 million in funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to gather critical data on homicide, suicide and other violent deaths. Tennessee is one of ten states to receive new funding to use the National Violent Death Reporting System, which will provide NVDRS with state-level data on violent deaths from all 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico.
The National Violent Death Reporting System helps state and local officials understand where, when, why and how violent deaths occur by linking data from the medical examiner, law enforcement, toxicology and vital statistics records. It is the only data system for homicide and suicide that links law enforcement data with data from non-law enforcement sources.
Violence is a significant public health problem in Tennessee. In 2017, more than 1,800 Tennesseans died as the result of homicide or suicide.
New Tennessee Law Creates Program to Identify Causes of Suicides and Work to Prevent Suicide
As 2019 begins, a new Tennessee law will create a statewide program to identify causes of suicides and work to prevent suicide deaths.
But legislative action has already begun to continue to raise awareness of the growing problem for the upcoming session. Representative Rick Staples has filed a resolution recognizing teen suicide as a “crisis” across the state.
The rate of people taking their own lives has increased every year for the past three, up to 1,163 in 2017.
Staples said the new 2019 law will help quantify the causes behind people taking their own lives.
He says raising awareness and reducing the stigma that surrounds mental health can make a huge difference for people of all ages.
The suicide prevention lifeline number is 1-800-273-TALK. You can also text the letters “TN” to 741741.