Josh Peterson

Ben Lomand Connect announced Monday that it is opening its doors to a new location in Manchester, Tennessee.
Residing at 1335 McArthur Street, inside the Coffee County Administrative Plaza, the office began operation on Monday, March 1, with hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 8 am-5 pm.

Roger Bynum, Ben Lomand Board of Director for the Coffee County area, states, “As Ben Lomand has grown in Coffee County, we began to make plans for the office in the fall of 2020. We are so pleased this has come to fruition, and we look forward to serving our new customers on the northern side of Normandy Lake and Pocahontas.”

Joe Roper, Board Member representing Coffee, Bedford, Franklin, and Rutherford counties, adds, “This is also going to be a more convenient location to serve our long-standing customers in Hillsboro, Beech Grove, Pelham, and the city of Manchester. We think this is going to be a wonderful benefit to our customers and the community.”

The office will allow customers to sign up for Ben Lomand Connect services, make bill payments (check and card only) and see demonstrations of services such as BLTV and Ben Lomand Security. The office is also a sales office that provides quotes and packages for many Coffee County businesses of all sizes offering highspeed Internet, phone systems, and managed IT services.

Greg Smartt, new GM/CEO for Ben Lomand Connect, expresses his enthusiasm for the new location stating, “As the new GM/CEO of Ben Lomand Connect, I am thrilled to open the new location on my first official day in my new role. This project was a team effort that included our customer services and sales managers, and we want it to be a one-stop-shop for our service. We think the location is great because customers already come to the building for county services, so it will be more convenient than traveling to our other offices”.

Ben Lomand Connect was incorporated on October 2, 1952, to provide local telephone service to rural middle Tennessee. Ben Lomand began its diversification in 1993 by forming BLC, a wholly-owned long-distance subsidiary. It was the first competitive local exchange carrier in the state of Tennessee. Combined, the two have over 25,400 access lines covering 3,200 square miles of territory. Ben Lomand Connect also offers many other services, including broadband, video, security, hosted IP solutions, and managed IT services.

(Pictured:  Customer Service Manager, Shannon Hamilton helping Ben Lomand’s first customer of the Manchester office — Jim Surber.)

Tennessee House Republican leadership last week presented legislation making Tennessee the 19th state in the nation to enact a constitutional right to carry law. House Bill 786 upholds freedoms granted to law-abiding citizens in the U.S. Constitution while also stiffening penalties for criminals who steal or illegally possess firearms.

This legislation includes several provisions that will make Tennessee communities safer by providing more severe punishments for firearm-related crime. House Bill 786 includes sentencing enhancements for theft of a firearm in a car, increases the minimum sentence for theft of a firearm from 30 to 180 days and increases unlawful possession of a firearm by violent felons and felony drug offenders. It also increases sentences for possession by a felon and unlawfully providing a handgun to a minor or allowing a minor to possess a firearm.

Currently, concealed carry permit holders have the right to carry a handgun, except in restricted areas. Law-abiding citizens without a carry permit may only carry a firearm in certain locations such as their home, car, or place of business. House Bill 786 would extend the constitutional right to carry a handgun without a permit to all law-abiding citizens 21 and older or 18 and older for active members of the military. Restricted areas include schools, colleges and universities, playgrounds, athletic events, government property signs posted prohibiting carry, places where judicial proceedings take place, parks, campgrounds and greenways. House Bill 786 moves to Criminal Justice Subcommittee for consideration on March 3.

The Tullahoma Police Department needs your assistance in identifying a person of interest regarding an incident on February 28 at approximately 12:15pm at a local business.

If you have any information to the identity of this person (photo below), please contact Detective Johnny Gore at 931-455-0530 ext.131, on TPD facebook page, or at jgore@tullahomatn.gov.

The Tennessee gas price average continues to climb, jumping nearly 10 cents since last week. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $2.50 which is 27 cents more than one month ago and nearly 29 cents more than one year ago.

The average price per gallon in Coffee County is $2.46, which is 4 cents below the state average and 26 cents below the national average, which is $2.72.

“Last month’s pump price surge was primarily due to the winter storm that hit the gulf coast region,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “However, we also experienced tightening global fuel supply and market optimism that the COVID-19 vaccine could help boost gasoline demand in 2021. Continued volatility at the pump is expected in the coming months as refineries enter maintenance season to prepare for the switch to summer blend gasoline.”

Quick Facts

· 69% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $2.50
· The lowest 10% of pump prices are $2.33 for regular unleaded
· The highest 10% of pump prices are $2.76 for regular unleaded
· Tennessee remains the 9th least expensive market in the nation

Last month, Tennessee gas prices averaged $2.32 a gallon. That’s 17 cents more expensive than the monthly average for January and the most expensive February at the pump since 2018 when the monthly average was $2.36. The state average has increased a total of 46 cents since January 1st.

National Gas Prices

Gas prices continue to increase, with the national average up nine cents on the week to $2.72. That is a 30 cent increase from the beginning of February, 28 cents more than a year ago and the most expensive daily national average since August 2019.

The latest price jumps are a direct result of February’s winter storm that took 26 U.S. refineries offline and pushed refinery utilization from an average of about 83% down to an atypical low of 68%, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). In its latest data, EIA also reported demand at 7.2 million b/d. Both utilization and demand rates have not been reported this low since last May.

AAA forecasts the national gas price average to hit at least $2.80 in March. For motorists, that means they can expect continued increases of at least 5–10 cents in local markets until refinery operations are stable.

Officials with the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival have officially requested that the city of Manchester annex its property to officially become a part of the city of Manchester.

Currently, Great Stage Park (the location of the annual festival), is located in the county and not inside the city limits of Manchester.

Manchester Mayor Marilyn Howard told Thunder Radio News that negotiations are ongoing.

“As a board of Mayor and Aldermen we will do what is best for our city,” said Howard. “This process and negotiation is in the very early stages and has many moving parts and entities. We will work through this and report to the pubic what this would mean as we work through this process.”

There are public meetings that will be scheduled for April. Thunder Radio news will report more information as those hearings grow near.

Coffee County School System administered COVID-19 vaccines to all willing staff members at
Coffee County Central High School on February 25 and 26.

The district anticipates administering the second dose on March 25 and 26.

“The district appreciates the efforts of Tonya Garner (Coordinator of School
Health), the school nurses throughout the district, Deana Crosslin, and the
CNA students who have been instrumental in making this happen,” the system said in a statement. 

Return to normal learning

Coffee County Schools continues to adjust to the changing conditions
surrounding COVID-19. One of these adjustments is a return to in-person
instruction five days each week. The district is tentatively planning on
this shift in schedules following spring break. This means that all
students who are not virtual will report to school for five days each week
starting April 5 through April 9.

On December 4, 2020, the Tennessee Department of Health (TDOH) changed its
guidance for schools. TDOH recommends that parents and school staff
monitor students for symptoms of COVID, but taking temperatures of all
students entering the building is no longer recommended. Coffee County
Schools has continued this practice for three extra months after the TDOH
changed the guidance. Starting Monday, March 1, Coffee County Schools will
no longer take the temperature of all students who enter our schools.
Parents should continue to monitor their children for symptoms. As always,
school staff will be on hand to greet students upon arrival at the school
and any student who appears unwell will be monitored by the school nurse.
Coffee County Schools will continue to follow recommendations from the TDOH
and CDC in order to protect our students and staff from COVID-19

Two elderly adults with medical conditions who went missing from the Clarksville area last Tuesday were spotted driving on Interstate-24 near Manchester Thursday evening, according to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. 

Daisy Roberts and Paul Elam have been returned to the Clarksville area.