Author's posts
Tullahoma Woman Charged with Aggravated Sexual Battery and Assault
Taylor Ann Byford.. Jail intake photo provided by the CCSD.
Tullahoma Police Officer Jason Maloney responded to a disturbance call on East Moore Street. According to the arrest warrant, several witnesses told the officer that the Byford had kissed a 12-year-old male and then the victim hit the woman. The warrant goes onto to state that witnesses said Byford then hit the victim in the face. The officer was told the female left the area. The witnesses told the officer the woman’s name, gave a clothing and vehicle description, and the direction of travel.
Another officer stopped the vehicle on an unrelated traffic stop. Officer Maloney recognized the name of the subject. When Maloney arrived at the scene he said the female was dressed as the witnesses had described. The officer talked with the subject and she admitted to being at the location on East Moore Street. Byford reportedly told the officer that no kiss occurred, but the juvenile had hit her, and she left. She also apparently denied hitting the juvenile.
Byford was booked in at the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $27,500 and her court date is August 23, 2018.
Coffee County District Attorney Chosen for Important Committees
Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott
Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott was recently selected by the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference to be a member of that’s group’s legislative committee. This group advises the Tennessee General Assembly of laws and issues, concerning criminal justice and public safety that are being considered by the General Assembly. This is the second year that Northcott has been asked to serve on the committee.
The D.A. tells us more about the group’s duties.
Northcott was chosen to be the chairman of the Capital Punishment committee. They are tasked to review the laws that would impact the death penalty. The D.A. explains.
Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference is set for their yearly meeting in June of 2019.
Put Away Your Cell Phone in School Zones it’s Now Illegal
With schools now open again, motorists in school zones should be aware that talking on a cell phone with the device in hand is now illegal in an active school zone.
That not only includes talking on a phone, but texting or reading texts
The law states that it’s an offense – Class C misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $50 – for a person to knowingly operate a motor vehicle in any marked school zone in this state, when a warning flasher or flashers are in operation, and talking on a hand-held mobile telephone while the vehicle is in motion.
However, the offense is not committed if the telephone is equipped with a hands-free device, for drivers 18 years of age and older.
A driver under age 18 is breaking the law talking either using a hands-free or handheld phone while driving through an active school zone.
DREMC Director Voting Starts Soon–Annual Membership Meeting is August 18
DREMC Director voting for Zone 5 including Marshall and Giles counties will begin Monday, August 13, in the contested election for a seat vacated with the retirement of Kenneth Stacey, who has served on the DREMC board for 15 years.
The DREMC Nominating Committee has named two candidates to fill the vacated seat of Stacey: Will Wilson and Lyn Stacey. Only co-op members residing in these counties may cast ballots.
Three sitting directors were unopposed in this election cycle. They include Brent Willis, Zone 1 (Coffee and Warren counties); Nelson Crouch, Zone 2 (Franklin, Grundy and Marion counties) and Wayne Tucker, Zone 4 (Bedford and Rutherford counties).
Election results will be announced Saturday, August 18 during the 2018 Duck River EMC Annual Membership Meeting at the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. with the business session scheduled for 9:30 a.m.
Claybusters Claim 3 Team Titles at Grand Championdships
Coffee County Claybusters pose at the Amateur Trapshooting Association (ATA) Grand American World Trapshooting Championships at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex (WSRC) in Sparta, Illinois.
The Coffee County Claybusters enjoyed their most successful performance ever in the annual AIM Grand Championship which concluded on Tuesday. Four of the five squads competing placed in the national event held annually in Sparta, IL. The Claybusters came home with an impressive three 1st place team finishes and a runner-up.
The Junior Gold Division(18 to 22 year olds) captured a national title as they bested Dirty Mike & the Boys from Arkansas 970 to 968. The Junior Gold team was led by Jordan Osborne who had rounds of 99 and 07 to score 196 out of 200 clays. Mikayla Dickson and Travis Dickson each shattered 194 clays. Neil Slone and Tanner Carlton powdered 193 targets.
The Sub-Junior Division(ages 12 to 14) Class A team also captured a national title as they out shot the Hardin County Hitmen from Savannah 958 to 947. The leading shooter for the Sub-Juniors was Tucker Carlton who shot a 197, including a perfect round of 100 on Tuesday. Landon Meadows hit 195 while twin brother Logan shot down 191 clays. Jonah Wyatt blasted 188 out of a possible 200 while Lexi Stacey shattered 186.
The Junior Division(ages 15 to 17) also captured a first place trophy as they beat Frederick County 4H out of Maryland by 10 targets. The Claybusters were led by Victoria Majors who dropped 195 targets. Cheyenne Martin hit 187, Dylan Hickerson dumped 11 clays, Xavier Bartley shot down 180 and Emily DeFord powders 166.
The Sub-Junior Division(ages 12 to 14) Class C team captured a runner-up finish as they fell to Southwest out of Missouri by a final tally of 874 to 869. Leading the way was Brason Fletcher who shot a 179. Brayden Davenport dropped 176 clays while Aubrey Payne shot 174. Garrett Taylor finished with a score of 171 and Blaine Schreck had a 169
To get more information about the Claybusters, you can visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/145542225487727/ The Claybusters are coached by Scott Dickson, Barry Carlton, and Heath Jacobs.
Westwood Football Pulls Out Jamboree Win on Final Play
Konor Heaton(#7 in white) takes the toss from Westwood QB Eli Felice(#11) against Eagleville on Friday night at the Cascade Jamboree
Konor Heaton scored a 9 yard TD run on the final play from scrimmage to lift the Westwood Rockets to a 14 to 12 scrimmage win over Eagleville on Friday. The Rockets used their patented ball control offense for a pair of 70 yard drives in the game to capture the win in the Cascade Jamboree in Wartrace. Westwood played nearly error-free football as they did not have a turnover or negative yardage play and were only penalized 1 time for 5 yards.
The Rockets controlled the time of possession as they held the ball for 23 minutes of the 30 minute period. Heaton led the Rockets in scoring as he had 91 yards on 9 carries. He added the game winning touchdown and a successful 2 point conversion. Fullback Connor Smith carried the ball 6 times for 33 yards and a TD. Ian Weldon added 16 yards on 4 carries.
Coach Chad Dyer said that the Rockets will work on containment on defense and filling gaps and shuffling the lineup prior to the season opener. The Rockets will open the regular season on Thursday at home when they welcome Cannon County to Dyer-Bouldin Field. Kick-off is set for 6:30 PM.
CHS Soccer Teams Have Strong Performances on Saturday
Emilee Roberson(in white) of CHS soccer battles for a ball in the midfield against Community on Saturday
The Coffee County CHS soccer team played host to the Lady Raider Soccer Play Day on Saturday at the Raider Academy. The varsity and JV teams were in action alongside 10 other teams. The varsity squad was 2 and 1 in their 3 matches. The JV team got a win and a pair of draws.
The highlight of the day for the JV was a 4 to 0 win over the Tullahoma JV. The Lady Raiders also got a pair of 1 all draws. Coffee County fought to even match decisions against Community and Mt. Juliet.
The varsity team opened the day with a 1 nil win over district foe Franklin County. The Lady Raiders fell to an impressive Mt. Juliet 2 nil in their second match. In their final match of the day, it was a quick start against Community that propelled the Lady Raiders to a 3 to 0 win. Emilee Roberson drilled home a crossing pass in the 3rd minute to give the Lady Raiders a 1 nil lead. Jessica Barrera hammered home an unassisted goal from outside the penalty box in the 19th minute before Coach David Amado began substituting liberally. Nayeli Ramirez converted on a cross from Diana Ramirez in the 29th minute to close out the scoring. Keeper Megan Jones stopped the only shot she faced to record the clean slate.
Coffee County will host Siegel on Tuesday in a preseason scrimmage beginning at 7 PM. The Lady Raiders open the season on the road on Monday, August 13th when they travel to Unionville to take on Community. That match will kick off at 7 PM.
Middle School Volleyball Teams End Preseason with Saturday Playday
Madison Neel of CCMS volleyball goes up for a spike on Saturday
The Westwood Lady Rocket and Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider volleyball teams ended their preseason on Saturday as they each took part on the CHS Middle School Play Day. Originally scheduled for the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym, a plumbing problem at CHS forced the relocation of games. Westwood played their games at Westwood Elementary while Coffee Middle hosted their games at CCMS.
The Lady Raiders of Coffee Middle were originally going to field a varsity and JV team in the scrimmage play day. With the revised schedule, Coffee County was only able to use one team for the event. Coach Malaysha Pack swapped out varsity and JV teams in each match to gain the most possible playing time for her young squad. While capturing some set wins, the Lady Raiders dropped all 3 matches on the day losing to Tullahoma, Fayetteville and Flintville.
Anna Johnson of Westwood volleyball serves during Saturday’s scrimmage playday
The first year Lady Rocket program was able to get in 6 matches with the varsity and JV each going 1 and 1 on the day against other competition. The Lady Rocket varsity team swept the JV in a match between the 2 squads. The Lady Rocket varsity captured a win over South in 3 sets and lost to North in straight sets. The JV fell to South before dumping North.
Westwood will open the season on the road on Monday, August 13th when they travel to Decherd to take on North Franklin. First serve is set for 5 PM. The Lady Raiders will open the regular season on Monday, August 13th when they host Harris in a conference match. That match will get underway at 5 PM. Westwood and Coffee Middle will square off at CCMS on Thursday, August 16th. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you that match as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series. First serve is set for 4:30 PM; the pregame show will begin at 4:15.
CHS Bass Anglers Compete in National Tournament
A pair of boats from the Coffee County Youth Bass Club hit the waters of Kentucky Lake on Thursday. The team of Isaiah Owens and Garrett Davis, along with the team of Colby and Braeden Thurmond, competed in the Mossy Oak Fishing Bassmaster High School Series National Championship on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley. This is the 2nd consecutive year at the Nationals for the Thurmond brothers and the first year for Coffee County to field 2 boats.
The 3 day event featured 337 teams from across the nation fishing out of Paris Landing State Park. The top 12 finishers in the first 2 days of the event competed in the final day for the national title. While neither Raider team advanced to Saturday’s finals, each team finished in the top 200.
Colby and Braeden Thurmond came in 124th place with a total catch of 8 pounds and 10 ounces. After landing a pair of fish of Thursday, which weighed in at 3 and a half pounds, the Thurmonds added a much bigger pair of Friday tipping the scales at 5 pounds and 2 ounces.
Davis and Owens got a decent start on Thursday with a pair of fish totaling 4 pounds even. A tough second day say the duo able to only land 1 fish that weighed in at 1 pound, 11 ounces.
The Nationals ends the season for the Coffee County Youth Bass Club. To get more information about the Coffee County Youth Bass Club, you can visit their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/coffeecountyfishing/ The Coffee County Youth Bass Club is coached by Phil Petty.
Sounds Keep Marching On, Win Seventh Straight
The Nashville Sounds extended their season-best win streak to seven games as they held off the Sacramento River Cats 6-4 Sunday night at First Tennessee Park.
As Sounds starter Daniel Mengden routinely sent Sacramento hitters back to the first base dugout shaking their heads in frustration, the Sounds offense collected hit after hit. Mengden set a new season-high by collecting seven punch outs in his 6 2/3 innings of work. The offense tallied six runs on 17 hits in the game, one shy of the season-high.
Sheldon Neuse matched a career-high by tallying three hits while J.P. Sportman’s three hits matched a season-high. Neuse knocked in runs in the fifth and eighth innings respectively.
Nashville scored a pair of runs in the first inning as Beau Taylor cranked a two-run double to the wall in left center field. The Sounds added another in the second. Steve Lombardozzi tripled over the head of center fielder Peter Bourjos to get the frame started. Two batters later Boog Powell scorched a base hit passed the outstretched arm of first baseman Myles Schroder to drive in Lombardozzi from third.
Neuse extended Nashville’s lead in the fifth with a run-scoring single through the left side of the infield and Sportman cracked a gapper to right field for an RBI-double in the sixth.
The River Cats broke through on Mengden in the seventh inning. Schroder and Ryder Jones each singled to begin the inning and both came around to score on a double by Miguel Gomez who was thrown out attempting to stretch his double to a triple. Mengden retired one more batter before making way for Carlos Ramirez. Ramirez got the final out of the seventh inning and shutout the River Cats in the eighth before allowing a pair of runs in the ninth inning. It was the first save of the season for Ramirez.
Game three of the four-game series between the Sounds and River Cats is scheduled for Monday night at First Tennessee Park. Oakland’s top prospect, left-hander Jesus Luzardo (0-0, –) starts for the Sounds in what will be his Triple-A debut against right-hander Shaun Anderson (1-1, 5.00) for the River Cats. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
Post-Game Notes
- With tonight’s 6-4 win, the Sounds improved to 57-55 on the season.
- The Sounds extended their season-best winning streak to seven games.
- With his two-hit night, Dustin Fowler now has 17 multi-hit games in his 33 total games with the Sounds this season.
- Mengden became the fifth straight Sounds starter to go at least six innings. It was the 46th time this season the Sounds have gotten at least six innings out of their starting pitcher.
The 2018 season is the Sounds’ 41st in franchise history and fourth as the Oakland Athletics’ top affiliate. Single-game tickets are available now by calling (615) 690-4487 or by visiting www.nashvillesounds.com.