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40 Million Americans will travel 50 miles or More Memorial Day Weekend
Almost 40 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home this Memorial Day weekend, according to AAA’s annual forecast for the holiday.
That’s one million more travelers than last year and the highest Memorial Day travel volume since 2005.
AAA expects 34.6 million Americans to drive to their destinations this year. That’s an increase of 2.4 percent over last year, despite the fact that motorists will be paying the highest Memorial Day gas prices since 2015.
AAA expects 2.9 million Americans to fly to their destinations over this holiday weekend; an increase of 5.5 percent over last year.
National Safe Boating Week
The 2017 National Safe Boating Week is this week. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is participating to promote the wear of life jackets as the summer boating season begins.
This past Friday was Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day with the goal of demonstrating how easy it is to wear a life jacket. Participants wore a life jacket to work, demonstrating how easy to wear one, even while at work.
It was just one of the events to help usher in National Safe Boating Week which is annually held the week prior to Memorial Day Weekend. Boating partners across the United States and Canada are teaming to promote safe boating practices, including the wear of life jackets for National Safe Boating Week and throughout the 2017 boating season.
The goal of National Safe Boating Week is to educate the public about the importance of safe boating practices and wearing life jackets while on the water.
Urban Forestry Tree Planting Project Proposals now being taken in Tennessee
Photo from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry
“Trees are vitally important to our state,” Commissioner Jai Templeton said. “Providing cost-share funding through TAEP supports tree planting projects. These activities benefit our commercial nursery industry and provide clean air and water, storm water control and aesthetic values to our communities.”
Local governments, private non-profit organizations and educational institutions are eligible to apply. TAEP offers a 50/50 matching cost-share program for tree planting on public property, rights-of-way, and private non-profit land and covers half the cost of trees and shipping, contracted planting, mulch, tree-watering bags, tree labels and acknowledgement signs.
TAEP funds can also be used for tree planting on private property but only within riparian areas. A riparian area is characterized as a 35-foot zone extending outward from the edge of a river, stream or creek bank. Although riparian tree plantings are allowed on private property, grants are not available to individual land owners.
Proposals must be received in TDA’s Division of Forestry office in Nashville by 4:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, June 23, 2017.
5/27/17 — James David Davidson
Mr. James David Davidson, age 64 of Altamont, passed away unexpectedly on
Thursday, May 18, 2017. A memorial service for Mr. Davidson will be held
on Saturday, May 27, 2017, at 8:00 p.m. at Coffee County Funeral Chapel.
The family will receive friends at the funeral home on Saturday prior to
the service from 6:00 P.M. until 8:00 P.M. A second memorial service will
be held in Pennsylvania the following week.
James David Davidson was born on March 19, 1953, in Shenandoah, PA, to
the late James and Mabel Davidson. After many occupations throughout the
years, he was most recently a fork lift operator at Yorozu until his
retirement. James loved horses, classic cars, carpentry work,
photography, and flowers. Anyone who knew James knew he was a selfless,
caring person and a devoted father who would do and sacrifice anything
for his two children. James was loved by many and will be greatly missed.
In addition to his parents, he is preceded in death by his brother, John
Douglas. Survived by his children, Tiffany Nicole Davidson and Jimmy
David Davidson; sister, Beverly Davidson Fetterman (Scott); estranged
sister Linda Seladones; sister-in-law, Sandra Douglas; nieces, Kelly
Fetterman, Stephanie Seladones, Beth Ann Everett, Susan McKenna, and Lori
Douglas-Haeck; nephews, Scott Fetterman and Scott Douglas; many cousins
and friends.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Coffee County
Funeral Chapel in Mr. Davidson’s honor to assist his children with final
expenses.
Coffee County Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Davidson family.
Harry L. Smith
Harry L Smith of Fayetteville, passed this life on Saturday, May 20, 2017
at his residence at the age of 74 years. No services are scheduled.
A native of Muncie, Indiana, he was born on July 4, 1942. He was a U S
Army veteran and was a truck driver. He was a member of the Cumberland
Presbyterian Church of Fayetteville. He enjoyed reading and playing games
on the computer. He loved his pets and spending time with his youngest
grandson, Owen.
Mr. Smith is survived by his wife, Dottie Smith of Fayetteville; son, Harry
L Smith Jr.; stepsons, Brad and Rusty Hawkins of Fayetteville and Bobby
Hawkins of Huntsville; stepdaughters, Paige Wilson and her husband, John of
Harvest, AL, Teresa Cobb of Fayetteville, Heather LaCassee and her husband,
Stephen of Florence, AL and Jennifer Rowland and her husband, Brian of
Fayetteville; eight grandchildren and five great grandchildren.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Braves’ Adams Hits Walk-off to End Marathon
This might not have been as wacky as the 19-inning game these same two teams played in 2011. But a long rain delay combined with an exchange of ninth-inning rallies certainly made things interesting as the Braves completed a 6-5 win over the Pirates during the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
Nick Markakis gave the Braves life when he delivered a game-tying, two-out double off Tony Watson, and Matt Adams further endeared himself to his new teammates when he laced an opposite-field, walk-off single against the Pirates’ closer at 1:52 a.m. ET.
Watson had been granted a lead when Jordy Mercer’s two-out, two-run single off Jim Johnson in the top of the ninth ended the Braves bullpen’s scoreless streak at 23 innings.
“We were like, ‘If we are going to wait here this whole time, we might as well win the game,'” Braves second baseman Brandon Phillips said. “I think this is the longest I have been at the field. That is crazy, but baseball is life, and I’m happy we got the [win].”
With the Pirates leading 3-2 entering the seventh, the two teams sat through a three-hour, 12-minute rain delay before play resumed at 12:51 a.m. ET. Phillips and Matt Kemp recorded seventh-inning RBI singles to give the Braves a one-run lead that was preserved until the eventful ninth inning unfolded.
“The fight was there. They got their closer in and we’re down, and we fight back,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “Mercer gets a big hit after David Freese’s walk, and you put yourself in the position you want to be in: Watson with an opportunity to close. We’ll continue to play. We’ll continue to fight.”
Mercer’s sixth-ining solo shot — his first career opposite-field home run to clear an outfield wall — off R.A. Dickey sneaked just over the right-field wall to give the Pirates a two-run advantage that was reduced to one run when Adams opened the bottom half of the inning with his second home run since joining the Braves on Sunday.
Adams’ home run accounted for the last blemish on Tyler Glasnow’s line; he recorded a career-high three hits and managed to limit the Braves to just two runs despite allowing a season-high nine hits.
“We’ve had some wild finishes here,” Hurdle said. “The game ended up all over the place. At the end of the day, we were one run behind them.”
After Adams doubled and scored on Kurt Suzuki’s single in the fourth, Dickey’s two-out single brought Ender Inciarte to the plate with two on and a chance to record a hit in his eighth straight at-bat. But Glasnow escaped further damage when left fielder Adam Frazier hauled in Inciarte’s fly ball near the warning track.
Stingy bullpen: Alen Hanson’s two-out single off Sam Freeman in the seventh inning snapped the Braves bullpen’s streak of not allowing a hit over 16 consecutive innings, an Atlanta record. But Freeman and Arodys Vizcaino kept the scoreless streak alive until Johnson surrendered two singles and issued a walk before allowing the go-ahead single to Mercer, who kept the at-bat alive by fouling off a pair of two-strike pitches
“Normally J.J. doesn’t do that and things happen,” Phillips said. “It [stinks] that it happened, but we picked him up today. He was still in the dugout, and he was cheering us on. That is what we all do, and that’s what veterans do. I know everybody was happy to go home.”
Julio Teheran will take the mound when Atlanta and Pittsburgh resume their four-game series Wednesday night at 6:35 PM CT. Teheran has produced a 13.00 ERA over his past four home starts.
5/20/17—Lee Ann Dean
Private Funeral services for Lee Ann Dean, age 58, of Cookeville were held Saturday, May 20th, 2017 at 11:00 am in the chapel of Presley Funeral Home with Joe Roberts officiating.
Lee Ann chose to be cremated.
Lee Ann Dean passed away Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at Cookeville Regional Medical Center in Cookeville, Tennessee following extended illness.
She was born Friday, March 27, 1959 in Manchester, Tennessee to Allen Pollard Crick and the late Pauline Stephenson Crick.
Lee Ann will always be remembered as a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, daughter, sister, and aunt. Among other jobs prior to her disability, she worked with her sister, Paula Crick Harris and her family at Harris Drug Center.
She is survived by two daughters, Nicole Pryor and Christen Dean, both of Cookeville; four grandchildren, Savannah, Shane, Whitney, and Wyatt; father, Allen Crick, of Manchester, Tennessee; sister, Paula Crick Harris, and her husband, Bill, of Cookeville; brother, Michael Crick, and his wife Wendy, of Mt. Juliet, Tennessee; several nieces and extended family.
5/23/17–Ralph Coleman
Obituary of Ralph Coleman
Ralph Coleman passed away peacefully on Saturday, May 20, 2017, after a lengthy illness. Ralph was born on July 13, 1954 in Frankfurt, Germany to his parents, Norris Keith Coleman and Gisela Eber Coleman. He is survived by his wife of twenty-one years, Faye Davenport Coleman, Nashville, TN; son, Marc Kudling, Lubeck, Germany; granddaughter, Greta Kudling, Lubeck, Germany; sister, Karen Coleman, Locarno, Switzerland; step-sister, Darlene Sweet, Hendersonville, TN.
Ralph came to reside in Tennessee in 1989. He was the owner/operator of Help 4PC, a computer technology company. He also worked as computer support staff for Steves & Sons Company, in Lebanon, TN. Ralph was also an avid model train enthusiast.
Family and Friends are invited to share memories from 6-8 PM Monday and one hour prior to the service on Tuesday at the Coffee County Funeral Chapel, 786 McMinnville Highway, Manchester, TN. Ralph’s Life Celebration Service will be held at 2 PM Tuesday at the funeral home, with Jeff Sweet officiating. Interment, Old Blanton’s Cemetery.
Pallbearers: Michael Davenport, Reggie Davenport, Richard Ferrell, Kenneth McMahan, Robert McMahan and Conner Sweet
5/21/17–Orion Lee Allen Sr.
ORION LEE ALLEN
(February 11, 1941 – May 17, 2017)
Orion Lee Allen Sr. age 76, passed away May 17, 2017 at the Vanderbilt
University Medical Center in Nashville.
GRAVESIDE SERVICE: Sunday, May 21, 2017, 10:00 A.M. at Concord Cemetery
CENTRAL FUNERAL HOME IS IN CHARGE OF THE ARRANGEMENTS
“Click It or Ticket” Increased Enforcement Going on Now
As summer kicks off and families hit the road for vacation, Manchester Police Department is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to remind motorists to “Click It or Ticket.” From today (May 22) to June 4, participating agencies across the state will increase seat belt enforcement as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) nationwide mobilization.
According to Tennessee’s Integrated Traffic Analysis Network (TITAN), 349 people killed in Tennessee traffic crashes last year were not wearing a seat belt. This represents approximately 34 percent of the state’s total traffic fatalities in 2016.
Although the state’s average seat belt usage rate increased from 86.2 percent in 2015 to 88.95 percent in 2016, Tennessee is still nationally classified as a “low use” state. In 2017, the THSO strives to change this by achieving 90 percent or higher.
“Our goal is to prevent fatalities and keep the roadways safe,” said Vic Donoho, Director of the THSO. “We ask every Tennessean to buckle up, every trip, every time.”
According to the NHTSA, nearly half of the 22,441 passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in 2015 were unrestrained. At night from 6 p.m. to 5:59 a.m., that number soared to 57 percent of those killed. Therefore, the primary focus of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign is nighttime enforcement. Participating agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement. In Tennessee, the maximum penalty for a seat belt violation is $50.00.
For more information about seat belt safety or the THSO, visit www.tntrafficsafety.org.