Author's posts

October 24th World Polio Day in Coffee County

Pictured L to R – Taylor Rayfield – President Elect, Manchester Rotary Club, Jackie Lendley – President Tullahoma Sunrise Rotary Club, John Nauseef – Past President Tullahoma Noon Rotary Club, Gary Cordell – Coffee County Mayor, Alan Harris – Tullahoma Sunrise Rotary Club, Carlen Colten – President Manchester Rotary Club.. Photo provided.

In 1985, Rotary launched its PolioPlus program, the first initiative to tackle global polio eradication through the mass vaccination of children. Rotary has contributed more than $1.8 billion and countless volunteer hours to vaccinate more than 2.5 billion children in 122 countries. In addition, Rotary’s advocacy efforts have played a role in decisions by donor governments to contribute more than $7.2 billion to the effort.
Just 22 polio cases were confirmed worldwide in 2017, which is a reduction of more than 99.9 percent since the 1980s, when the world saw about 1,000 cases per day.
Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell has declared October 24th World Polio Day in Coffee County.
More than one million Rotary members have donated their time and personal resources to end polio. Every year, hundreds of Rotary members work side-by-side with health workers to vaccinate children in polio-affected countries. Rotary members work with UNICEF and other partners to prepare and distribute mass communication tools to reach people in areas isolated by conflict, geography, or poverty. Rotary members also recruit fellow volunteers, assist with transporting the vaccine, and provide other logistical support.
Local Rotarians here in Coffee County have been active in support of this cause.

Theft Call Leads to Drug Arrest

Items found during search.. Photo provided

On Friday, Moore County deputies were called to Woodards’ Market for a Theft of Property. Upon arrival, suspect Hollie Kilgore was questioned, and was eventually found to be in possession of the stolen item.
After being detained, Deputy Brandon Thomas noticed Kilgore behaving strangely in the patrol unit. Further investigation by Thomas and Deputy Taylor of the Sheriff’s Department revealed Kilgore trying to hide Methamphetamine “ICE” in the seats on the patrol unit. Kilgore was found to have the Narcotic hidden on her person, along with paraphernalia used to ingest the drug.
Sheriff Tyler Hatfield, Corrections Officer Diane Tipps, and Lt. Larry Hatfield responded to the scene and assisted in the search and arrest of Kilgore.
Further investigation also revealed that Kilgore was in possession of a large sum of money at the time of her arrest.

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation Answers Call for Help

DREMC’s crews head toward the hurricane-raged southeast to assist in rebuilding electric infrastructure in Georgia.

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) answered the call for help after Hurricane Michael bashed the Florida Panhandle early Wednesday afternoon.
Twelve DREMC linemen and two supervisor/managers volunteered to head to Southern Georgia and sister-electric cooperative Colquitt Electric Membership Corporation to assist with Hurricane Michael recovery efforts.
The close to Category 5 strength hurricane brought what is described as catastrophic damage leaving over 900,000 without power in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. Winds from the Category 4 hurricane reached 155 mph at landfall in hardest-hit Mexico Beach. Significant rainfall fell in the northern Gulf Coast continues Thursday as the storm pounded the northeast, dumping heavy rains on North and South Carolina that are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Florence last month.
“Strong storms like this can leave thousands of people without power for days and sometimes weeks,” says DREMC President and CEO Michael Watson. “We are proud of our linemen for volunteering to assist. They will be working long days in difficult and dangerous conditions, but they were quick to respond to the call for help. We ask that everyone keep them and their families in your thoughts and prayers while they are away.”
DREMC crews arrived in Moultrie, Georgia, where Colquitt EMC is headquartered. It is unclear how long DREMC crews will be in Georgia.

Mentors Needed

With only a few weeks remaining, tnAchieves, the partnering organization that administers Governor Haslam’s Tennessee Promise in 84 counties, needs 4,500 more mentors to meet its goal of providing every Tennessee Promise applicant from the class of 2019 with a local support system.
tnAchieves asks mentors to give one hour per month to high school seniors as they transition from high school to college. The organization provides a one-hour training, a handbook and weekly communication to ensure the mentor is fully equipped to serve his/her students. The deadline to apply is November 30, 2018. The application can be found at www.tnachieves.org. For information on tnAchieves, contact Graham Thomas at 615.604.1306 or graham@tnachieves.org.

Firehouse Expo 2018 National Conference is this week in Tennessee

Murfreesboro will be the scene of Firehouse Expo 2018 National Conference taking place October 16-18, 2018. Firefighters from across the nation will be attending seminars in Murfreesboro and Nashville.
Several Middle Tennessee fire agencies are hosting hands-on training exercises this week as part of the Firehouse Expo 2018 National Conference. The exercises include live burns on Tuesday and Wednesday, October 16 and 17, at the Doug Young Public Safety Training Facility located at 701 Bridge Avenue.
Instructors from all over the United States will lead these courses. (WGNS Radio)

Division 2 MYFL Raiders Qualify for Championship Game

Adam Whitman of the Division 2 MYFL Raiders outruns Marshall County for a touchdown on Saturday

The Division 1 and Division 2 teams from the Manchester Youth Football League were in action on Saturday in the Southern Middle Tennessee Youth Football Association playoffs at Carden-Jarrell Field.  In the season’s semifinals, the Division 2 Raiders punched their ticket for next Saturday’s championship.  The 8 and 9 year old team defeated Marshall County Elite 21 to 0.  The Division 1 Raiders fell in the day’s opening game against Fayetteville 12 to 0.

The Southern Middle Tennessee Youth Football Association will host their championship on Saturday in Fayetteville.  The games will take place at Fayetteville High School beginning at noon.  Manchester’s  Division 2 championship game will kick off at 2 PM.

Cross Country Teams Race in Midstate Championship

The Coffee County CHS cross country team traveled to Dickson on Saturday for the Mid State Cross Country Association Championship.  Running against a field representing 47 different high schools, the Raider and Lady Raider runners ran in their largest event of the year.  The Red Raiders came out with a 19th place finish in AAA while the Lady Raiders had only 3 runners compete as they were not eligible for the team standings.

Jacob Rutledge was the top finisher for Coffee County as he ran the 5K course in 18:07 as he finished in 56th place.  Jacob Melton finished the race in 19:36, Ayala Renato clocked a 19:46 and Bodey Todd came home at 20:07.  Also racing for the Raiders were Christian Alvarez who finished with a time 23:23, Ethan Welch with a time 20:25 and Landon Kenney who had a time of 20:45.

For the JV Red Raiders, Garrett Masters posted a time of 20:24, Ethan Beaty had a time of 22:19 and Wesley Swiger broke the tape at 25:49.

For the Lady Raiders, Zoe Mills was the top finisher for Coffee County as she completed the course in 26:31.  Ariana Hanson finished the race with a time of 27:13 and Haley Sherrill posted a time of 29:36.

The Raider thinclads return to the trail next Saturday when they compete in the Region 4 championship race.  That race is scheduled for Thursday, October 25th beginning at 9:30 AM.  The race will be held at Cedars of Lebanon Sate Park in Lebanon.

Coffee County Elementary Basketball Season Gets Underway

Madison McCluskey of Deerfield takes a shot on Saturday

The Coffee County Youth Basketball League tipped off its 46th season on Saturday at Coffee County Middle School. The 6 elementary schools involved played a total 6 games as 3 girls’ games and 3 boys’ games were on the schedule.

Saturday’s results:
In girls’ action,
College Street topped Hillsboro – 20 to 7
Westwood edged New Union – 28 to 25
North Coffee bested Deerfield – 30 to 6
In boys’ games,
Westwood stopped New Union – 29 to 27
Deerfield held off North Coffee – 23 to 14
East Coffee toppled Hickerson – 26 to 2

The schedule for Saturday, October 20th is as follows at Coffee County CHS:
East Coffee vs Deerfield – 9:00(girls), 10:00(boys)
College St vs Westwood – 11:00(girls), 12:00(boys)
New Union vs North Coffee – 1:00(girls), 2:00(boys)
Hillsboro vs Hickerson – 3:00(boys only)

Titans Turn in Ugly Performance in 21-0 Loss to Ravens

It was an ugly Sunday at Nissan Stadium.

The weather stunk, and on this day, so did the Titans.

On a cloudy and rainy day in Nashville, the end result was a 21-0 loss to the Ravens.

“We have to be better on all levels,” Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. “It starts with me, and I have to do a better job, and I will. … (The Ravens) are a good team – they came out ready to go, and they clearly outplayed us and outcoached us today.

“… That’s the headline: The Tennessee Titans didn’t do nearly enough in all levels to win the football game, or even make it competitive.”

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota was sacked 11 times in the contest. In the game, the Titans managed just seven first downs, and 106 yards of total offense. The team was 1-of-10 on third down.

The Titans had just 55 yards rushing, and the offense never made it inside the Baltimore 47.

“We got whupped, and that’s all it comes down to,” receiver Corey Davis said.

Mariota completed 10-of-15 passes for 117 yards in the game, but the team lost 66 yards on the 11 sacks.

“When you don’t score point and don’t move the ball, it makes it tough on your team,” Mariota said. “And we have to be better on offense.”

On defense, the Titans had no answers for the Ravens, who led from the start. Baltimore racked up 23 first downs and 361 yards in the game, and went 12-of-17 (71 percent) on third down.

The Titans have now lost back-to-back games since a rousing comeback win over the Eagles in Week 4.

“We lost, we got our ass kicked, and we have to get back right for next Sunday and that is bottom line,” Titans safety Kevin Byard said. “You win games, you get respect, and you get national attention. We are getting our asses kicked, so we don’t need no national attention. We don’t need anything – we just need to win ball games.”

It marked the first shutout for the Titans since the 2010 season. It was also the first shutout for the Titans at Nissan Stadium.

The Titans dropped to 3-3 with the loss, and are now tied with the Jaguars and Texans atop the AFC South. The team travels to London next Sunday to face the Chargers.

The Ravens took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a four-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Joe Flacco to receiver Michael Crabtree, which capped off a 17-play, 94 yard drive that took 9:09 off the clock.

The Ravens then extended the lead to 14-0 on a 13-yard touchdown run by Alex Collins. In the third quarter, a two-yard touchdown run by Collins made it 21-0.

“We have to get back, and we have to stick together,” Vrabel said. “Because when you don’t, that’s when bad things happen. … You don’t have any time for hangovers.”

The Titans are scheduled to travel to London on Thursday for Sunday’s game vs. the Chargers.

“You can’t ride too low after bad losses,” cornerback Logan Ryan said. “The Chargers don’t care – we just have to play better. … We have to clean it up. I remember after the Eagles game we were wary about not riding too high.

“We have to respond, and clean it up. I think we are a good team, and we need to start playing good.”

Strong Start, Stronger Finish Leads Preds to Win Against Islanders

Filip Forsberg

Filip Forsberg scored twice and the Nashville Predators claimed a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night at Bridgestone Arena. It’s the second consecutive win for the Preds – and fourth in five tries on the campaign – to give them a clean sweep of the season series with the Isles.

A three-goal output from the Preds in the first period saw the Islanders add two of their own in the second, but Nashville’s effort in the third – including their first two power-play goals of the season – is what left a lasting impression when the night was done.

“We played a really good first period, and I think we caught them a little bit,” Predators Head Coach Peter Laviolette said. “Sometimes when that happens the opposition wakes up and you could go a little bit flat. We started to do the wrong things with the puck in the second period… The response after the second period was very good. We played a much tighter game, a better brand of hockey that can find us success.”

It took more than 15 minutes into the first, but then the goals came fast and furious as Calle Jarnkrok, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson all tallied before the period was over to give the Predators a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes. In particular, Forsberg roofed a shot to finish off a 2-on-1 with Ryan Johansen, and then Johansen one-handed a feed to Arvidsson for his third of the season and an exclamation point to finish the frame.

But, the second period belonged to the Islanders, with Brock Nelson and Andrew Ladd bringing their team back to within one.

“We have a lot of skill on our team, and I feel like that showed in the first,” Arvidsson said. “We just have to manage our skill, too. In the second, we have to play a simple game sometimes, and that hurt us a little bit. We managed to cool off and then get a win.”

Nashville clamped down in the final stanza, however, and Kyle Turris converted on the man advantage before Forsberg added his second of the night, this time into an empty net, to seal the fourth victory of the season.

“We just wanted to get back to the things we were doing in the first period – manage the puck a little better and play good defense,” Johansen said. “That’s what we were able to do, and when we needed Juuse [Saros], he was there to make some big saves. It was a good team effort in the third.”

Saros earned his second win of the season – both against the Islanders – by making 20 saves on the evening.

With two wins in a row after a slow start to the homestand, the Preds have another chance at two points on Monday against Minnesota – and Saturday’s effort leads one to believe they may find success once again.

“There’s no guarantee with anything,” Laviolette said. “We’re best served just to focus on ourselves and our start and how we play.”

Firewagon First:

It seemed as if it was coming, the Predators creating chance after chance through the first 15 minutes of the game. In the next five, they exploded.

First, it was Calle Jarnkrok who slid home a rebound, then Filip Forsberg went top shelf, and finally, Viktor Arvidsson blasted one home from the circle – all within a span of 4:25 – to give the Predators a decisive advantage, and one that was necessary by night’s end.

“It was a good start,” Laviolette said. “You could tell that our guys were skating well, that they were on point, that they played a simple north game and they were delivering pucks to the net – then anything is possible from there.”

It won’t happen often, but three pucks to the twine in rapid succession is something this team is more than capable of with the firepower up front, and when it goes off, it’s hard to stop.

“We always talk about good starts,” Johansen said. “Once you get a goal, you want to get the next one too. We did a good job of continuing to go out there shift after shift and set the pace.”

Those last two goals in the first came courtesy of feeds from Ryan Johansen, finding his wingers with pinpoint accuracy. When that’s the case, the snipers have the ability to finish more often than not.

“I saw Ryan try to beat his guy, and I tried to find that open space,” Arvidsson said. “He managed to get it to me again, and I tried to rip it as hard as I could.”

“He’s been awesome,” Forsberg said of Johansen. “He is a very big, strong guy and we are very fortunate to have him on our team and on the line. I just try to get open and wait for him, really.”

Sounds simple, doesn’t it?

Notes:

With an assist on Viktor Arvidsson’s goal, Dan Hamhuis has his first point as a member of the Preds since April 1, 2010.

The Preds have earned at least a point in six of their last seven meetings with New York (4-1-1).

Nashville’s homestand concludes on Monday night when the Minnesota Wild pay a visit, and then the Preds will head to Alberta for a back-to-back set in Calgary and Edmonton next weekend.

Pete Weber’s Postgame Report