Potential candidates for county offices have until Thursday, Feb. 15th at noon to turn in qualifying papers at the Coffee County Election Commission office, 1329 McArthur Street, Suite 6 in Manchester, TN.
Numerous offices are up for grabs in August, starting with the primary on May 1. This includes all 21 County Commission seats, as well as County Mayor, Sheriff, Register of Deeds, Road Superintendent, County Clerk, Trustee, Circuit Court Clerk and others.
Deadline for voter registration for the May 1 primary is April 2. Early voting will take place April 11-April 26, 2018.
Manchester and Tullahoma municipal elections and the county general along with state primaries will be held on Aug. 2.

Motlow State Community college is proud to announce its Emergency Medical Service (EMS) program recently received national accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).
“The Motlow EMS Education program plays an important role in providing exceptionally trained EMS personnel, many who return to the Motlow 11-county service area, who on a daily basis are helping to save lives and minimize trauma,” said Hilda Tunstill, interim Motlow president. “Obtaining the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs accreditation is further evidence of our commitment to better serve the region and our students.”
Receiving the accreditation means the Motlow EMS program meets the rigorous standards of quality set forth by the EMS professionals on the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs board, who determine what a program needs for its graduates to function successfully within their profession. Potential employers of EMS personnel seek graduates from CAAHEP accredited institutions.
“We are very proud of our staff and faculty for their hard work and dedication in obtaining this important milestone for the program. The strong leadership provided by Motlow EMS Director Drew Hooker continues to raise the bar for our EMS educational standards,” said Pat Hendrix, dean of Allied Health.
For more information about Motlow’s EMS Education program contact Drew Hooker at 931-438-0028 or dhooker@mscc.edu, or go to mscc.edu/nursing/ems.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has received complaints of the number 931-447-0287 calling and pretending to be with the Decherd Police Department. Eventually the individual will try to get you to pay a fine for missing jury duty etc… When the number is called back even the voice mail is set up as Decherd Police. THIS IS A SCAM!!!
Please do not give anyone calling your banking information unless you 100% trust them and always remember when in doubt call your local law enforcement agency and let them investigate it for you.

Throughout this past fall, Coffee County High School “Future Business Leaders of America” (FBLA) members, officers, and advisors, along with special volunteers, spent many hours organizing the “Team Up to Tackle Breast Cancer” event.
FBLA members sold t-shirts and Otis Spunkmeyer breast cancer cookies and hosted a “pink out” game where the football team wore pink jerseys and all other participants at the game sported pink. Funds raised from these activities have totaled $7,000.
The donation was presented to the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition with all funds set to benefit breast cancer patients in Coffee County. FBLA would like to thank everyone who participated in the various activities and donated so that one day a cure may be found!

Almost two dozen stores were padlocked Monday morning during a joint operation across Rutherford County, targeting stores allegedly selling illegal marijuana products that look like candy.
Officers from the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, Murfreesboro, Smyrna and La Vergne police departments, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation closed the 23 stores after a court order was given by from Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor.
These candies were mainly made to look like Gummie Bears with CBD, a synthetic marijuana.
Sheriff Mike Fitzhugh said his department received a tip from a parent about the candy being brought home by their child.

A Tennessee organization is working on a statewide event to oversee 25,000 volunteers planting 250,000 trees later this month.
The Tennessee Environmental Council says its Tennessee Tree Project was created to plant 1 million native trees across the state. The intention is to help repopulate trees in Tennessee. So far, the organization has planted more than 360,000 trees since 2007.
The event is set for Feb. 24.
Working with the council are the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Tennessee Department of Agriculture and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.