Josh Peterson

Author's posts

Lloyd Edward “Eddie” Stone

Lloyd Edward “Eddie” Stone , of Tullahoma passed this life on Saturday, February 26th, 2022 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 59. Eddie was born in Tullahoma, TN on February 23rd of 1963. He spent his lifetime making friends. A “Parts Man” by trade. Eddie spent early years as a mechanic. In 1989, he entered into the auto parts business with his father, the late “Jimmy” Stone. Eddie and his dad owned and ran J.B. Cook Auto Parts in Tullahoma, for several years until their distributor was bought out by O’Reilly Auto Parts. Eddie went on to manage the Tullahoma O’Reilly’s store. From there, he became a Territory Sales Manager calling on shops in Fayetteville, Winchester, and Shelbyville, TN. Eddie loved everyone, especially his family. Country music was another of his passions. He spent countless hours in his basement singing karaoke for family and friends. Eddie enjoyed mowing the grass and took great pride in having a “pretty place” to call home. He never met a stranger, loved cutting-up and brought genuine kindness to every conversation. Eddie had a tender spot for all animals, especially dogs. Eddie was a loving son, husband, father, and friend. In addition to his father, Jimmy Stone, he was preceded in death by one brother, Steven Ingleburger. Eddie is survived by his devoted wife of 22 years, Sheila Stone; his mother, Barbara Stone; sister, Becky Shell (James); two daughters, Shawna Lawrence (Martin) and Misty Layne; one grand-daughter, Karah Lawrence; best-friend, Marty Scott; and his cherished pets “Fancy-Pants” and “Lacey-J”. Visitation will be held on Tuesday, March 1 st , 2022 at Kilgore Funeral Home from 5:00-8:00pm. The funeral service will be held on Wednesday, March 2 nd , 2022 at 2:00pm in the Kilgore Funeral Home Chapel with Bro. Gary Johnson officiating. For those who wish, in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Coffee County Animal Shelter, 156 Freedom Drive, Manchester, TN 37355.

Kilgore Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Edwin Leroy Hesseltine

Edwin Leroy Hesseltine of Tullahoma passed this life on Monday, February
28, 2022 at the age of 83. Services are scheduled on Saturday, March 5,
2022 at 2 PM at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home with burial to follow at
Maplewood Cemetery.  The family will receive friends from 12 Noon until the
service time.

A native of Washington, Iowa, he was the son on the late William Hesseltine
and the late Esther Lucille Osborn Rice. Mr. Hesseltine and his wife of
almost 65 years, Joan, served as Missionaries in Japan and Okinawa and he
was the Minister of the Bible Missionary Church of Tullahoma.  He was a
private pilot and enjoyed flying as well as woodworking and reading. His
favorite times were being with his family.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by brothers, Russell
and Ronnie Hesseltine; sisters, Sarah Nightingale and Nancy Kellett and
son-in-law, John Freeman.

Mr. Hesseltine is survived by his loving wife, Joan of Tullahoma; son, Tim
Hesseltine of Tullahoma; daughters, Pamela Freeman and Teresa Dweck (Tom),
both of Tullahoma; sisters, Thelma Glendenning (Herb) of Arizona, Linda
Hesseltine of Omaha, Nebraska, Nora Daub of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Melody;
grandchildren, Michelle Cataldo (Sam), Misty Williams (Carl), Jennifer
Dykes (MicaJon), Heather Dweck ( fiancé, Garrett Szarensky); great
grandchildren, JuliAnna (Peter), Levi, BrenLeigh, Keegan, Lillie Jean and
Blazej and great great grandchildren, Louis and Mary Clare.

In lieu of flowers, the family has requested memorial donations to be made
in his honor to Bible Missionary Church, 1505 Ovoca Road, Tullahoma, TN.
37388.

Online condolences may be made at www.davesculbertsonfuneralhome.com.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

First two series of MLB season cancelled with no CBA in place

Tuesday’s deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement passed without a deal between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, as the players voted to reject the league’s final proposal before 5 p.m. ET.

With no deal in place, MLB announced that each team’s first two series of the regular season will not be played, meaning that the regular season will begin no earlier than April 7, while Spring Training games will begin no earlier than March 12.

Thunder Radio is your official radio home of the Atlanta Braves as a long-time member of the Braves Radio Network. The Braves went on to win the World Series in a six-game series with the Houston Astros last season.

Whenever the season does start, catch Atlanta Braves baseball on Thunder Radio at 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM and 1320 AM.

SPRING SCOREBOARD: Results from Tuesday, March 1

Middle school spring sports are in full swing after a few games got underway Tuesday night, March 1.

BASEBALL

Westwood Rockets 6, Grundy County 4

Westwood got two RBIs from Keller Hatfield and one apiece from Ayden Van Winkle, Kaysen Lowery and Elijah Vernon in a 6-4 win over Grundy County Tuesday afternoon in Manchester to start the season 1-0.

Matt Moore and Kaysen Lowery combined to go 5 innings on the mound in the win. Moore allowed 3 earned runs on a pair of hits while striking out 5. Lowery struck out 4 batters and allowed 1 run on two hits and three walks over two innings.

CMS Raiders 13, Warren County 2

SOFTBALL

Coffee County 5, Warren County 6

A Warren County walk-off single in the bottom of the 7th cost the Lady Raiders a loss in the season opener Tuesday night in McMinnville. Bella Hennessee reached based twice and scored a pair of runs for CMS in the loss.

The Lady Raiders host Warren County Wednesday.

One month remains to register to vote in May primary

The deadline to register to vote in the upcoming May 3 Coffee County Primary is fast approaching.

Anyone wishing to vote in the May 3 primary must be registered by Monday, April 4. You can register by visiting the Coffee County Election Commission on McArthur St. You can also register to vote from your computer – just click here. Early voting will be April 13 through April 28.

TN legislators introduce ‘Noah’s Law’ that could help missing children be found faster

Republican legislation that could allow for an Amber Alert to be issued sooner in certain cases advanced out of the Tennessee House Children & Family Affairs Subcommittee last week.

House Bill 2354, also known as Noah’s Law, would allow a custodial parent to seek a court order declaring their child to be in imminent danger if the child’s noncustodial parent fails to return them in accordance with a current visitation order or parenting plan. The legislation, which could allow for an Amber Alert to be issued sooner, would apply to cases involving pending custody, parentage, child support or dependency and neglect proceedings in court.

“Noah’s Law (will) assist law enforcement in making sure we use every tool in the tool box, including the criteria under the Amber Alert, to make sure we find every child that is missing,” House Majority Whip Johnny Garrett, R-Goodlettsville, told members of the subcommittee Wednesday.

The bill is named after Sumner County resident Noah Clare, 3, who went missing after his noncustodial father failed to return the child to his mother following a scheduled visitation last year. The child was later found safe in California after a more than week-long multi-state manhunt in November. His family has pushed for changes to the Amber Alert process after it took more than a week for an alert to be issued in his case.

The legislation now heads to the House Children & Family Affairs Committee for consideration. More information about House Bill 2354 can be found here.

Unity Medical Center hosting naming contest for new clinic

Unity Medical Center in Manchester has announced that its Rural Health Clinic and Manchester Family Medicine will be joining together in a brand new clinic space located at 482 Interstate Drive – which is directly across from the Unity Hospital campus.

The facility has not yet been assigned a name and Unity administrators have announced that they would like for the Coffee County Community to help decide.

To enter your name idea for the clinic, click here. The contest is open through March 14th.

A prize will be offered to the winning entry.

TITLE BOUND: Crosslin drops 25 points to lead Raiders to region championship game

Raider Junior Dayne Crosslin is rushed by the CHS student section after a 25-point performance Tuesday night, March 1, 2022. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

There are 16 high school basketball teams remaining in the state of Tennessee.

Coffee County’s Red Raider boys are among them.

Dayne Crosslin played arguably the best game of his career Tuesday night (March 1, 2022), dropping a game-high 25 points to lead the Red Raiders to a 64-47 win over Franklin County in the Region 3-4A semi-finals. (a game you heard live on Thunder Radio).

With the win, Coffee County moves to the Region 3-4A championship, which will be against Walker Valley at 7 p.m. Thursday in Manchester. Franklin County is eliminated from postseason play with the loss.

Coffee County only led by 4 at the end of the third quarter. It was a 2-point lead at the close of the third before Jahlin Osbourne ripped a rebound and put it back for points as time expired.

But the Raiders absolutely dominated in the fourth. CHS took off on a 15-0 run to start the fourth quarter and led 55-36 with 2:03 to play as CHS completely stymied the Rebels ability to score. The Raiders outrebounded the Rebels 14-5 in the second half.

Most of the Raider offense was generated by Crosslin. The junior guard lit up the Rebels for 17 points in the first half alone, starting off 5-for-5 behind the arc. He finished with 25 points and added 4 rebounds and a steal.

Jackson Shemwell came off the bench for big minutes for the Raiders. He dropped 10 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.

Brady Nugent added 9 points for the Raiders. The senior guard also had 4 assists, 5 defensive rebounds and a pair of steals. Connor Shemwell added 7 points and 6 rebounds. Phineas Rollman had 7 points for the Raiders and Aidan Abellana 4.

The Raiders were solid at the free-throw line late, squashing any chance of a Rebel rally. CHS was 13-of-16 at the stripe. The Raiders led by as many as 20 in the fourth quarter before the Rebels finally stopped the hot run.

The Raiders will host Walker Valley in the Region 3-4A Championship at 7 p.m. Thursday at Joe Frank Patch Gymnasium. Tickets are available at the gate and the game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio.

If Coffee County beats Walker Valley, the Raiders will host the loser of Cane Ridge and Stewarts Creek on Monday night (March 7). If the Raiders lose to Walker Valley, they will travel to the winner of Cane Ridge and Stewarts Creek on Monday.

THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE BROADCAST REPLAY.

Thunder Radio photos by Holly Peterson

Lady Raider point guard Jalie Ruehling suffers broken leg in Tuesday vehicle crash

Coffee County Central High School junior Jalie Ruehling was involved in an automobile accident Tuesday afternoon that has left her with a broken leg.

According to Grundy County Sheriff’s Department officials, Ruehling (who lives in Grundy County) was driving on Highway 50 at approximately 2:30 p.m. Tuesday (March 1, 2022) going up the mountain when it appears another vehicle veered into her lane and struck her head on.

“This investigation is preliminary at this time,” Grundy County Sheriff Clint Shrum told Thunder Radio news. “It looks like the other vehicle crossed the center line and struck Jalie’s car.

“At this time we are investigating whether or not there was impairment involved. We did get blood toxicology of the other driver sent to the crime lab,” added Shrum. “If there are any charges forthcoming it would come from those toxicology results.”

Ruehling was flown to Erlanger Hospital. Her injuries are not life-threatening but she suffered a compound fracture, breaking her tibia and fibula in her right leg. At the time of this story she was also having her left ankle examined for injuries.

According to Shrum, two occupants in the other vehicle were taken to Southern TN Regional Health Systems. Their names have not yet been released.

Ruehling averaged 6.7 points per game for the CHS Lady Raider basketball team this past season, which came to an end in the region semi-finals Monday night, Feb. 28. Ruehling missed the first handful of games before slowly working back into the starting lineup after tearing the ACL in her right knee in late June during a summer game.

Jalie Ruehling handling the ball for the CHS Lady Raider basketball team this season. — Thunder Radio file photo by Holly Peterson

Sherman Lee Mays

Funeral services for Sherman Lee Mays, age 78 of Manchester will be conducted on Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 2 PM in the Coffee County Funeral Chapel. Burial will follow in Forest Mill Cemetery. Visitation with the family will begin at 11 AM on Thursday until time of service. Sherman passed away on Monday, February 28 at Unity Medical Center. 

Sherman was born on October 14, 1943, to the late George Washington and Michael Fleeta Moore Mays, in San Miguel, CA. He served his country during the Vietnam War in the United States Army for thirteen years. Upon his honorable discharge form his service, his rank was captain. He was a member of the Manchester Cumberland Presbyterian Church and a retired logistics manager for Bridgestone. Sherman was a gunsmith with his own shop, The Stock Shop, and a competitive pistol skeet and trap shooter for many years. He was a founding member and skeet and trap coach for the Coffee County Clay Busters, and a manager of the Highland Rim skeet and trap club. Sherman was also an author, having two-gun books published.

In addition to his parents, Sherman is preceded in death by one son, Steven Eugene Mays; granddaughter, Skylar Ann Mays; brother, Eugene Doice Mays. He is survived by his loving wife of 37 years, Faye Mays; daughter, Stacey Lynn Drake (Chris); sons, Jonathan Daniel Sipe (Jennifer), Paul David Sipe (Jessica). William Joseph Sipe (Tina), Thomas Lee Sipe (Regina); grandchildren, Elijah, Seth, Peyton, Parker, Sarah, Shelby, Lauren, Savannah, Nicole, Brody, April, Steven, Amber, and Bradlee; several great grandchildren, extended family members, and a host of friends.

Coffee County Funeral Chapel is honored to serve the Mays family.