Josh Peterson

Author's posts

Mattie Lee Turner Eaton

Mrs. Mattie Lee Turner Eaton, age 89, of Manchester, TN, passed away on Monday, February 7, 2022, at her home.

Mrs. Eaton was born on June 9, 1932, in Moore Co., TN. She was preceded in
death by parents, Hollis E. Turner and Mary Pickard Turner; husband of 68
years, Earl Eaton; sister, Ellen Turner Haskins.

Mrs. Eaton is survived by daughters, Deborah (Terry) Amacher and Melissa
(Jim) Cartwright; grandchildren, John (Joann) Cummins, James (Jamie)
Cartwright, Anna Marie (Jacob) Parnham; great grandchildren, Robert
Cummins, Sarah Beth and Emma Grace Cartwright; sister, Anna Turner Smith;
sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Annette (Dale) Smith.

She enjoyed her family and grandchildren very much. She was fun and
care-free, enjoyed people, and life in general. She was a certified
handwriting analyst. She was a member of Manchester First United Methodist
Church and was a Methodist since childhood. She and Earl were members of
the Johnson Hall Sunday School Class at Manchester First United Methodist
Church.

Visitation with the family will be held on Wednesday, February 9, 2022,
from 5:00pm until 8:00pm at Central Funeral Home in Manchester, TN.
Visitation will also be held on Thursday, February 10, 2022, from 10:00am
until 11:00am. Funeral services will be conducted on Thursday, February 10,
2022, at 11:00am in the chapel of Central Funeral Home with Rev. Dana  Brooks
officiating. Entombment will follow at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens in
Tullahoma, TN.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Manchester First
United Methodist Church Youth or Music funds.

Central Funeral Home is serving the family, 931-723-7774,
centralfuneralhome.com

Suspect in custody after leading Coffee County authorities on two pursuits

A suspect is in custody after allegedly stealing two vehicles and leading Coffee County authorities on – not one – but two high-speed pursuits.

According to Coffee County Sheriff’s Department investigator Brandon Gullett, a vehicle was stolen at about 1:30 a.m. Monday morning, Feb. 7 from Love’s Truck Stop near Interstate-24 exit 117. That vehicle was located by authorities near Anderson St. in Tullahoma. A pursuit was initiated, at which point the suspect turned onto Joint Park Blvd. Authorities say the suspect ditched the vehicle and bailed on foot.

“Manchester Police Department canine units tracked him until about 10 p.m. Monday night to no avail,” Gullett told Thunder Radio News. “Today (Tuesday), about 10 a.m., I received a tip that the suspect was seen walking near Joint Park Blvd.”

At this point, the suspect allegedly stole another vehicle that was later located by authorities near the intersection of Highway 41 and 53. A second pursuit followed, that went down Old Tullahoma Highway. It finally ended near the Fraternal Order of Police building when the suspect attempted to avoid spike strips and crashed into a field. He was taken into custody at that point.

The suspect has been identified by authorities as Richard Lightburn, age 42. He is facing two charges of theft of a motor vehicle, two for felony evading arrest, one for evading arrest on foot, felon in possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon during a dangerous felony, two counts of driving on revoked and reckless driving.

DA Craig Northcott officially announces bid for re-election

Coffee County 14th Judicial District Attorney General Craig Northcott has officially announced plans to seek re-election in the upcoming 2022 cycle.

Below is a statement submitted by Northcott:

It has been my distinct honor and privilege to serve the 14th Judicial District (Coffee County) as District Attorney since September 1, 2014. I am officially announcing that I have qualified to seek re-election for this position in 2022.

Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott

When I first sought this position, I promised to perform my duties based upon the Christian values that I hold and upon which this wonderful Country is founded. I also told you that I would work to ensure the safety of all in this community without sacrificing our God-given, constitutionally protected freedoms. You elected me upon those promises. Over the course of the last 7 years, I have worked hard every day to fulfill those promises.

I have one firm rule that applies to every situation my office encounters: Do the right thing. As a result of this, my office has achieved justice for many victims in cases ranging from theft to rape to 1st degree murder. We have been compassionate but firm in our stance of pursuing a case to the end. When justice requires a maximum sentence, we work tirelessly to achieve that. However, in most cases, mercy is warranted, and we will extend offers in those cases that grant mercy without removing accountability.

I have protected rights of both victims and defendants by greatly improving the efficiency of moving cases from arrest to indictment.  Further, I and all those who work for me are available to victims. I instituted procedures to enhance the communication between my office and victims regarding their cases. Additionally, I take seriously my role to stand between the citizens of this State and an overreaching government. I have refused and will continue to refuse to enforce any criminal statute that is unconstitutional in general or as applied to a specific situation.

I have worked in Nashville to fight harmful legislation intended to reduce the accountability of criminals for their conduct. I have fought Governors, State Senators and State Representatives as they seek to reduce the penalty for crimes but in particular for murderers. Similarly, I have worked to promote legislation to protect the rights of crime victims. A strong, uncompromising voice is needed in Nashville to speak for law and order as well as victims as continued efforts are being made by our supposedly conservative Governor and legislators to erode the few rights of victims under their dangerous and ill-conceived “criminal justice reform”.

Although much has been accomplished, there is much left to do. Thus, I am humbly asking that you allow me the opportunity to continue to serve you as District Attorney for another term. I am asking for your support and vote based upon my record over the last 7 years and a promise to continue to build on the progress that has been made. I look forward to discussing that progress in more detail in the coming months.

Deadline to file petitions for May primary is Feb. 17

Candidates who wish to file for the upcoming May 3 primary have just over one week to do so.

Candidates for the upcoming May 3, 2022 State and Coffee County Primary Elections began picking up petition papers on Dec. 20 at the Coffee County Election Commission.

The deadline to have petitions returned is Thursday, Feb. 17 at noon with a withdrawal deadline of Feb. 24.

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. Early voting will be April 13 through April 28. You can also register to vote from your computer – just click here.

There are multiple races up for grabs this election cycle. Just to name a few: Coffee County Sheriff, Coffee County Mayor, Manchester Mayor, Circuit Court Clerk, County Clerk, Register of Deeds, Coffee County Trustee, Road Superintendent, General Sessions Judge, District Attorney General, along with various county commissioners, city aldermen and school board seats.

Debra Kay Damron

Graveside services for Debra Kay Damron, age 70 of Manchester, will be
conducted on Thursday, February 10 at 2 PM at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens.
Debra passed away on Sunday, February 6 at her home.

Debra was born on January 31, 1952, in Manchester, to the late David
Clifton and Mary Elizabeth Vaughn Shelton. She worked for Carrier, Inc. in
Morrison, and she was of the Baptist faith. Debra enjoyed riding
motorcycles and being outdoors.

In addition to her parents, Debra is preceded in death by her husband,
Jeffery Ronald Damron, and sister, Dewanna Charlene Shelton. She is
survived by her daughter, Sonia Todd (Tony); grandchildren, Cody Gann
(Jessica), Jeremiah Johnson, and Shaylyun Todd; great grandchildren,
Dillion Gann, and James Gann IV; sisters, Treva Swift (Lewis), and Lisa
Shelton (Keith); several extended family members and a host of friends.

Manchester Funeral Home is honored to serve the Damron family.

www.manchesterfuneralhome.com

Raider boys pull away late to sweep Shelbyville

Dayne Crosslin led Coffee County with 16 points Monday night, Feb. 7, 2022. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Red Raider junior Dayne Crosslin poured in 16 points and Connor Shemwell added 12 from the post as Coffee County Central pulled away from Shelbyville for a 56-42 win Monday night at Rick Insell Gymnasium.

The Raiders took a 25-25 halftime score and steadily pulled away in the final two quarters. The Raiders led 41-33 after three quarters then took off on a 5-0 run to start the fourth quarter and lead 46-33. Shelbyville never got the deficit back within 10.

Devin Heath led the Eagles with 19 behind a red hot night behind the arc.

Phineas Rollman pitched in 9 points for the Raiders and defensively frustrated Shelbyville’s Jayshon Jones, who only scored 7 points before fouling out.

Cooper Reed added 8 points off the bench for the Raiders. Aidan Abellana 6 and Brady Nugent 2.

Coffee County ends its district season 7-2 with the win. The Raiders won’t play again until the final regular season game of the year – Friday, Feb. 11 at Tullahoma. The district tournament begins next week.

Lady Raiders hold on late, edge Shelbyville Monday night

Chloe Gannon scored a game-high 17 points Monday night, Feb. 7, 2022 in a win for the Lady Raiders. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Absolutely nothing about Monday night’s game in Shelbyville went how it was supposed to.

The Eaglettes took Coffee County to the wire, tying the game with a minute to play. But the Coffee County Lady Raiders made just enough plays when they needed them and escaped Rick Insell Gymnasium with a 47-46 District 6-4A win.

“We definitely have some things to work on because that was not not our best effort,” said Coffee County head coach Joe Pat Cope. “Teams are forcing us to do some different things and we didn’t handle the pressure well tonight.”

But Coffee County won – which counts the same – and the final couple of possessions proved to be the difference.

Shelbyville got the ball inside to Lily Brown for a bucket off the glass with 1:15 on the clock to tie the game at 44-44. It was the first time Shelbyville had tied the game despite pulling to within 2 and to within 1 at different points of the game.

Lady Raider senior Elli Chumley split a pair at the free throw line with 38 seconds to put CHS back up 45-44. Shelbyville’s Lanaya Young took off to the basket for a chance to take the lead with 10 seconds to play, but Lady Raider post Chloe Gannon put up a defensive wall and forced the miss.

Coffee County freshman Olivia Vinson ended up with the ball in her hands and nailed 2 key free throws with 7.9 seconds on the clock to put the Lady Raiders back up 47-44. Shelbyville inexplicably went for a layup as time expired to make the final score 47-46.

“We put our defense in a position that we thought would kind of lure them to go to the basket, and it worked,” explained Cope.

Gannon finished with 17 tough points to lead the way for Coffee County.

Early in the game, it looked like the Lady Raiders were well on their way to their third blowout win over the Eaglettes. Olivia Vinson poured in 8 points in the first quarter and Coffee County led 16-4 after a period. But Shelbyville stormed back, taking off on a 10-0 run to start the second quarter and ended up down 23-14 at the break. Shelbyville cut the deficit to 1 point in the third quarter but never tied the game or took the lead.

Coffee County completely lost control offensively at points, turning the ball over 18 times.

Jalie Ruehling scored 9 points for the Lady Raiders, Elli Chumley added 7, Alivia Reel 3 and Channah Gannon 2.

The win marks the third straight tight game for CHS. The Lady Raiders beat Warren County by 3 Friday night, Rockvale by 3 Saturday and Shelbyville by 1.

It is the 21st straight win for the Lady Raiders. They return to action Tuesday night at Franklin County for the final district game of the season. Tip is at 6 p.m. (girls game only). You can hear it live on Thunder Radio: 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go app and thunder1320.com.

Freshman Olivia Vinson hit 2 free throws with 7.9 seconds to play to put Coffee County up by 3 over Shelbyville. — Thunder Radio photo by Holly Peterson

Birthdays- February 7

Birthdays:

Julie Miller- Pizza Winner!

Anniversaries:

Mike & Shelly Hansen

Birthdays- February 6

Erica Clower

Kaden Freeze- Pizza Winner!

HG Wells- 79

Birthdays- February 5

Arcana Bernard

Lola George

Gus Sloan- Pizza Winner!