The Industrial Board of Coffee County has officially launched a search for a new executive director.
Current Director Ted Hackney has served in that capacity for many years and will stay on until a committee decides on their next move, if any.
A committee has been formed that will look into the possibility of replacing Hackney by the end of the year. The decision to keep Hackney or replace him will be the choice of the full Industrial Board of Coffee County.
According to one representative, the search reflects the board’s interest in moving in a new direction.

Education Commissioner Candice McQueen has announced that 18,340 students in 917 classrooms across the state will benefit from the Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) program in the 2017-18 school year. Nearly 95 percent of districts in Tennessee will receive VPK funding designed to serve 4-year-olds who are at-risk. A list of preliminary funding amounts by district and the number of classrooms that funding supports is located on the department’s website.
The application process was strengthened this year to ensure the program provides children with a high-quality opportunity to develop school readiness skills and a strong foundation for learning. Pursuant to the requirements outlined in the Pre-K Quality Act of 2016, this year VPK funding was awarded on a competitive basis in order to provide consistently high-quality VPK programs that prioritize serving students from low-income families.
Coffee County schools will receive $647,398, Manchester City schools, $277,456 and Tullahoma schools $369,942.
Moving to a competitive application process is the first of many targeted updates the department is undertaking to ensure VPK funding is utilized to support high-quality pre-K programs across the state. As the department continues to make pre-K program quality improvements, they will continue to partner with districts across the state to measure program quality and to provide strategic professional development and support.

Gov. Bill Haslam has signed a law that will make it easier for people convicted of mostly low-level offenses to get their criminal records wiped clean.
The law reduces the costs of expunging criminal record convictions from $450 to $270, making it more affordable.
The bipartisan measure was championed by two Shelby County lawmakers in an effort to help non-violent offenders who have turned their lives around. The new law takes effect immediately.

Rescue personnel recovered the body of an apparent drowning victim from Rock Island State Park Saturday. Warren County Sheriff Jackie Matheny said the victim was a 26 year old man from Nashville.
Reports indicate the victim had been swimming with friends at the sand bar area of the park when he went under and did not surface.
Personnel from the Warren County Rescue Squad and the Warren County Sheriff’s Department were called to the scene. The body was recovered Saturday afternoon.

A poll by Vanderbilt University says about two of three registered voters in the state think Tennessee students whose parents brought or kept them in the country illegally should be eligible for an in-state tuition rate at public colleges and universities.
The poll released Tuesday says 55 percent of Republicans think those students should qualify for in-state tuition. A bill that would’ve made the change died in the Republican-led legislature this year.
The poll also says one in three respondents support fixing the Affordable Care Act versus repealing it, or repealing and replacing it. That’s a 5-percentage point increase since November.
The poll used a sample of 1,004 Tennessee registered voters reached by phone from May 4 through 15. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.3 percent.