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Missing Man Found Deceased
Anthony Lee Mathis
As Manchester Police continued to search for Mathis on Monday, they located a deceased male body near Century and Spring St. The body was found in a deep ravine close to the railroad tracks. The body was determined to be that of Anthony Lee Mathis.
Investigator Brandon Tomberlin said police believe that no foul play was involved in the death.
Walgreens to Close Certain Rite Aid Stores when Purchase is Done
Walgreens recently announced plans to close almost 600 stores as part of a deal with Rite Aid. Most of the stores will be Rite Aid locations. According to the Associated Press the company did not disclose which locations will be closed.
According to the report, the vast majority being closed are within one mile of another drugstore that they will own after the deal that is expected to be completed in the spring.
Walgreens has one store in Manchester and another in Tullahoma. The Manchester location is within a few hundred yards from a Rite Aid location.
Equal Opportunities for Children: TN Takes Steps to Eliminate Racial Disparities
The gap between opportunities in education, health and the economy is smaller when compared with most other states, according to a new Annie E. Casey report, but there is more work to be done. (Eli Duke/flickr)
White children still have better outcomes in education and family income than children of color, and Linda O’Neal with the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth says specific solutions exist to continue closing that gap.
“We know in Tennessee we can improve outcomes over the long term, if we provide evidence-based programs like home visiting, such as quality early childhood and pre-kindergarten programs that help children get off to a great start,” she says.
Using the report’s index, with a scale of one to 1,000, the state scored 346 for African-Americans in the state and slightly higher for Hispanics. It scored 625 for whites. Tennessee’s data has smaller gaps among demographic groups, compared with most states.
Nationally, the report data shows improvement in the majority of indicators compared with a similar report released in 2014.
Laura Speer, the associate director of policy reform and advocacy at the Casey Foundation, says kids are the future parents, future workers and future leaders of our country.
“As they get older, these kids are going to drive local and state economies,” she notes. “They’re going to contribute to their communities and they’re really going be the driving force in ensuring that we’re all better off in the long run.”
Another bright note highlighted in the report is the state has a higher percentage of children graduating from high school compared with national averages. O’Neal says it’s all part of a larger investment in the state.
“We know all children are the economic engine for the future, and what we do for them today really will determine the kind of workers they will be tomorrow and will be so important for economic development,” she explains.
The report recommends keeping families together and in their communities, helping children in immigrant families access early-childhood education and increasing opportunities for parents.
More Mentors Needed
Officials say tnAchieves, the organization that administers the Tennessee Promise program, is in need of some 4,000 more mentors. Coffee County has a goal of 84 mentors for 2018.
Each Tennessee Promise applicant is paired with a mentor who helps the student in navigating the student process.
Tennessee Promise enables high school graduates to attend a Tennessee Community College or College of Applied Technology tuition-free.
The deadline to apply to be a mentor is December 1st. You can find an application online at tnachieves.org .
Charitable Event is set for Saturday
The 34th annual Sportsmen and Businessmen will conduct their fundraising event on November 4, 2017 at the Manchester/Coffee County Conference Center. The fun starts at 5pm and will include dinner, live music by the Sound Dawgs, dancing, a reverse raffle and their one-of-a-kind live and silent auctions.
The reverse raffle will have a grand prize of $5,000. Tickets are still on sale for the raffle for $25 each of 5 for $100.
The money goes to help people in need and donations are tax deductible. For more information call 931-728-5048.
Red Raiders End Season with 63 to 6 Win at White County
Alontae Taylor
Ending the season on a high note, the Coffee County Red Raider football team crushed White County on Friday night in Sparta. Coffee County rolled up 455 yards of total offense in the 63 to 6 win. The win gives the Red Raiders a final record of 3 and 7.
Coffee County wasted no time in jumping on White County as Hayden Skipper intercepted a White County pass on the second play from scrimmage and returned it to the 1 yard line. Alontae Taylor scored on the next play on a quarterback keeper to make the score 6 to 0 with 53 seconds elapsed in the game. After White County tied the game, Coffee County scored the next 57 points for the dominating win. Taylor, a senior playing his final high school game, ended the night with 6 rushing touchdowns and returned the opening kick of the 2nd half back for a score for a 7 touchdown performance on the game. Cameron West and Matthew Pittman also had touchdowns for the Red Raiders.
Taylor finished the night with 302 yards rushing on 13 carries to go with his 6 rushing scores as he was named the Crazy Daisies player of the game. Taylor had touchdown runs of 1, 53, 55, 35, 67 and 16 yards. West finished the night with 51 yards on 6 carries. Andrew Mahaffey had 43 yards on 5 carries and Deaaron Rozier finished with 34 yards on 2 carries. Rozier also had the only pass reception for 10 yards.
Download a copy of the broadcast of this game, and all the 2017 games, at: http://www.thunder1320.com/downloads/
CHS Cross Country Season Comes to a Close
Bradley Kishpaugh of CHS Cross Country
The Coffee County CHS cross country season came to a close on Thursday at the Region 4AAA meet in Columbia. Facing one of the most difficult courses of the season, neither harrier team earned an individual qualifier for the TSSAA state meet. While posting team scores ahead of district rivals Lincoln County, Columbia and Shelbyville, neither Coffee County team will qualify for the state meet.
For the Lady Raiders, Emily St. John was the top fininsher as she finished in 26th place out of 89 runners. St. John ran the 3.2 mile course in 24:28. Sarah Pearson was close behind in 29th place with a time of 24:42. Trava Brown finished with a time of 27:16 and Byanka Woods ran a time of 28:09. Kara Mueller had a time of 30:20 and Zoe Mills finished at 30:22. Jasie Willis broke the tape at 31:31
For the Red Raiders, Bradley Kishpaugh was the top finisher as he finished in 33rd place out of a field of 107 runners. Kishpaugh ran the 5K course in a time of 19:57. Andres Cavalie finished with a time of 21:28. The trio of Reuben Chaput, Johnny Dulin and Jalen Cummings came in at 22:15. Renato Ayala came in at 23:36 and Jacob Melton broke the tape at 24:26.
The Raider and Lady Raider harriers of Coffee County Middle School and Coffee County CHS were guests on Saturday’s Coffee Coaches Show talking about their seasons. The Coffee Coaches Show is broadcast LIVE each Saturday from the showroom of Al White Ford/Lincoln. The Coffee Coaches Show is heard exclusively on Thunder Radio. You can download the podcast at:
http://www.podcastgarden.com/episode/coffee-coaches-show_116699
Update on White Nationalists Rallies
Shelbyville Rally scene photo provided by the Bedford Co. Sheriff’s Department.
The streets were full of police officers from across the state including some from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and Manchester Police Department. K-9 units and armored trucks also filled the streets between the two rallies. Officers were also seen on horses and helicopters; drones along with snipers were above the crowd. Reportedly only one arrest was made in Shelbyville.
Another white nationalist event was planned for Murfreesboro, but that event was cancelled. Listen to the report below for more information from Bryan Barrett of WGNS Radio News.
Grundy County Schools Served Subpoena–Coffee Co. Judge to Hear Attempted Rape Case
The Director of Grundy County Schools Jessie Kinsey was served a subpoena last week by Grundy Co. Sheriff Clint Shrum.
The subpoena requested records from the Grundy County Schools central office regarding hazing, abuse or sexual abuse over the past five years in the school system.
The school system has 30 days to respond to the subpoena.
Five football players at Grundy County High School are accused of trying to rape a freshman player earlier this month.
Coffee County juvenile judge, Tim Brock, has been selected to preside over the case.
The court date of November 15 is still a possibility. Attorneys will have a conference call with the Judge Brock to discuss the case further.
Unemployment numbers continue to Drop
State officials say that in September, for the first time ever, the unemployment rate was below 5 percent in every county in the state. This is the second consecutive month that rates have declined in all 95 counties.
Coffee County dropped to an historic low, going down from 3.5 in August to 2.8 percent in September.
Williamson County had the state’s lowest unemployment at 2.1 percent, while Rhea County had the highest at 4.9 percent.