Josh Peterson

One person is in custody and two people were found to be deceased after a speeding car crashed on Interstate 24 in Coffee County Wednesday afternoon.

According to Coffee County 14th Judicial District Attorney General Craig Northcott, Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers observed a vehicle traveling in excess of 90 miles per hour passing the truck weigh station between exits 114 and 117.

Northcott said troopers pulled out to initiate a traffic stop, activating emergency lights and sirens.

“Before they could even catch up, the vehicle wrecked around the 120 mile marker (eastbound),” explained Northcott.

According to Northcott, the vehicle burst into flames and the driver exited in an attempt to flee but was quickly apprehended by troopers.

Firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames at which point they discovered two “badly burnt bodies. “

Northcott told Thunder Radio News that one body was found in the passenger seat and one was found in the backseat of the vehicle.

Both bodies have been sent to the state medical examiner’s office.

“The autopsy will be able to determine if they were deceased before impact, killed on impact or by fire,” explained Northcott. “At this point we just don’t know and we will continue to investigate.”

The driver, identified as Dane Angelo Fearron, 19, of New York, was taken to Unity Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries. He has since been released and booked into the Coffee County Jail. He is facing charges that include two counts of vehicular homicide. Northcott said charges could be amended or added based on the investigation.

Birthdays- March 9

Kald Penick

Apollo Moon- 1- Pizza Winner!

Christine McCullough

Johansen, Josi, Saros Lead Preds to Comeback Win Over Stars

NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Ryan Johansen tied it, and Roman Josi won it.

Nashville’s captain tallied with less than two minutes to play in regulation as the Predators came back to beat the Dallas Stars by a 2-1 final on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena. The result gives the Preds three wins in four tries over Dallas to conclude the season series – and more importantly, Nashville is now one point ahead of the Stars in the Central Division standings.

The Predators needed most of the night to find the back of the net, but they got two before the contest was out, and in what was arguably Nashville’s most important game of the season to date, they simply found a way.

The first two periods on Tuesday night passed by without either club able to find the back of the net, but just 32 seconds into the final frame, John Klingberg’s point shot deflected off of Eeli Tolvanen and past Juuse Saros to give Dallas the night’s first lead.

That was all the visitors could muster, however, and later in the period – just seconds after Saros stoned Michael Raffl on a breakaway – the Preds countered as Johansen scooped up a loose puck in the slot and deked to the backhand to beat Jake Oettinger and even the score at 1-1 at 13:08.

Then, with just 82 seconds remaining in regulation, Josi’s point shot went past Oettinger and into the twine to send the Bridgestone Arena crowd into a frenzy as the Preds took the only lead they’d need.

Saros and his teammates fended off one last push from the Stars, and the Predators earned points 67 and 68 of the season to jump over Dallas and into the Western Conference’s first Wild Card spot.

Tuesday Storyline:

A Tuesday night in March doesn’t get much bigger, and in a game that felt much greater than just another outing on the schedule, the Nashville Predators showed what they’re capable of when it matters most.

In a tilt against Dallas that already had a postseason feel – and could end up carrying massive playoff implications by the end of the campaign – the Preds prevailed by simply doing what they do best – sticking with the game plan and pouncing when the opportunity arrived.

“It was a huge win for us,” Josi said. “Obviously, we were playing a team that’s one point ahead of us in our division. It was a tough game and kind of the way you can expect every game against Dallas – low-scoring, good defense, good goaltending and not a lot of room out there. But it was great, and we found a way. They obviously got the goal early, but we never gave up and found a way to win.”

Titans agree to multi-year extension with Harold Landry

TITANS ONLINE

The Titans have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract extension with outside linebacker Harold Landry.

A second-round draft pick of the Titans in the 2018 NFL Draft, Landry was named a Pro Bowler in 2021 after finishing the season with 12 sacks, which ranked 10th in the NFL and led the team.

Landry also led the team with 14 tackles for loss and ranked second on the team with a career-best 49 quarterback pressures while finishing third on the team with 74 tackles. In 2021, Landry joined Micah Parsons, Aaron Donald and Cameron Heyward as the only NFL players in 2021 to post at least 75 tackles and 10 sacks.

Landry, who was scheduled to become a free agent next week, said at the Pro Bowl he’d love to be back with the Titans in 2022.

“It’s no secret that I love playing for the Titans, and my family loves living in Tennessee,” Landry said. “So hopefully we can get a deal done.”

On Tuesday evening, the two sides came to an agreement.

Titans General Manager Jon Robinson said previously the team wanted to keep Landry.

“We are going to do everything we can to try and keep Harold,” Robinson said. “Harold has worked extremely hard, he uses his length. He has a fastball, but I thought this year he had a few more tricks up his sleeve. Harold played a couple of different roles, mostly on the end of the line of scrimmage, but he played some off the ball stuff, too.”

Between weeks three and 10 of the 2021 season, Landry put together a stretch of eight consecutive games registering at least .5 sack in each contest. In the Divisional Playoff Game versus the Bengals, Landry registered 1.5 sacks and six tackles.

The 2021 campaign was the third consecutive season in which Landry started every contest, extending his streaks to 64 consecutive games played and 52 consecutive starts. He has not missed a game since sitting out the first game of his rookie season. At the conclusion of 2021, his starting streak was the sixth-longest active streak in the NFL among all defensive players.

Since entering the NFL in 2018, Landry has accumulated a team-high 31 sacks, which is the second-highest total by a Titans/Oilers player in his first four NFL seasons since 1982, when individual sacks became an official NFL statistic 1982 (37 by Jevon Kearse). From 2018 to 2021, Landry joined Pittsburgh’s Cameron Heyward as the NFL’s only players to be credited with at least 250 tackles, 30 sacks and two interceptions.

HEAR THE TITANS IN COFFEE COUNTY EXCLUSIVELY ON THUNDER RADIO – LISTED BY REALTOR CHARLIE GONZALES. 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM.

Local VFW to host fundraiser dinner on Friday for relief efforts in Ukraine

Veterans of Foreign Wars All-American Post 10904 will be hosting a
fundraiser dinner to benefit relief efforts in Ukraine. It will be held
Friday, March 11th at 6 PM at the Coffee County Veterans Building, located
at 130 Shelton Road in Manchester.

This dinner is open to the public and all are welcome to attend. The cost of
the dinner will be $6.50 per person, with 100% of fundraiser proceeds
directly benefitting relief efforts through Samaritan’s Purse, which is on
the ground in Ukraine right now.

Dinner will be followed by a discussion of current events, facilitated by
area veterans with a wide range of military experience in combat areas. They
want to help our community understand the global situation from their unique
perspectives.

A short prayer service will follow in support of the citizens of Ukraine.

For more information, contact Commander Kimberly King at 251-554-8836, or by
email: flygal46@yahoo.com

Pete Rose returning to Manchester March 16 (time change)

Major League Baseball’s all-time hits leader Pete Rose is making a return visit to Manchester.

Thunder Radio News announced the visit last week — there has been a change in the schedule since then.

Pete Rose will be at Al White Ford Lincoln (2002 Hillsboro Blvd) from 4-6 p.m. Wednesday, March 16. Organizers moved the time to comply with the CHS Boys Basketball team playing in the state tournament at 1:15 p.m. the same day.

Everyone is welcome to stop by and visit with Rose – there is no charge. There will be hotdogs, chips and drinks available. Thunder Radio will be on site, as well.

There will be no autographs signed during this time.

Rose came to Manchester back in the fall for a fundraiser dinner for the CHS baseball team.

TN lawmakers file bill to strengthen state’s anti-stalking laws

Tennessee Republicans have introduced legislation intended to strengthen Tennessee’s anti-stalking laws and further protect residents from being unknowingly tracked.

According to House Bill 2802, a person would be guilty of stalking if they used an electronic tracking or Global Positioning System (GPS) device to secretly monitor the location of an individual and/or their property without their consent. State law currently requires at least two separate “noncontinuous acts” to occur before someone could be charged with the offense.

“With recent advancements in technology, devices like GPS trackers have become significantly smaller in size and are much more affordable than ever before,” State Rep. Rusty Grills, R-Newbern, said. “While these devices can have beneficial uses like helping someone find their missing keys, they can also unfortunately be exploited by criminals in terrifying ways.”

Police departments across the country have warned residents in recent months about tracking devices being secretly used by would-be criminals to follow vehicles they intended to steal or worse.

“The goal of this bill is to provide another way to help protect people, their property and their privacy,” Grills added.

There were nearly 1,600 reported cases of stalking in Tennessee during 2020, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s most recent annual report.

House Bill 2802 would not prevent law enforcement from using an electronic tracking device during an ongoing criminal investigation. More information about the legislation can be found here.

STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Community encouraged to line highway for Raider escort March 16

The community is invited and encouraged to send off the CHS Red Raider basketball team on its way to the state tournament next Wednesday (March 16, 2022).

The Raiders will be leaving Coffee County High School from the bus loading zone and get a police escort down McMinnville Highway (State Hwy. 55), past Raider Academy to Interstate-24 Westbound.

The team will leave the school at 11 a.m.

“Businesses and the public are encouraged to line the side of Highway 55 from the high school to Raider Academy in support of these young men,” said the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department.

Coffee County (24-9 overall) will open the tournament at 1:15 p.m. Wednesday, March 16 against the Indians of Dobyns-Bennett High School (30-6) out of Kingsport. The game will be played at MTSU’s Murphy Center.

Tickets will be available at the gate but can also be purchased in advance through gofan.co. Reserved seating is available for $25 and general admission is available for $12 per seat. Click here to purchase tickets for Wednesday, March 16.

The tournament is single elimination. If the Raiders beat Dobyns-Bennett, they will play the winner of Bartlett and Beech at 1:15 p.m. Friday. The winner of that game will play for a state championship at 4 p.m. Saturday, March 19th.

If you can’t make the trip, you can listen to the games on your home for all Red Raider athletics – Thunder Radio – 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, streaming on the Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com.

The CHS Red Raiders and coach Andrew Taylor will join Thunder Radio at 6 p.m. Wednesday (March 9) LIVE from Praters BBQ for the weekly Coffee County basketball coaches show. Everyone is welcome to join on the back porch or listen live on Thunder Radio.

CHS senior Connor Shemwell helps cut down the net after the Raiders beat Stewarts Creek Monday, March 7, 2022 to advance to the TSSAA State Basketball Tournament. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Birthdays- March 8

Sage Keele

Eli Eagles- 20- Pizza Winner!

STATE BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT: Raiders open play March 16, tickets on sale now

Coffee County Central’s magical basketball season continues in the TSSAA State Basketball Tournament next week.