Josh Peterson

During the hours of late Sunday night or early Monday morning, someone broke into the Good Samaritan of Tullahoma, Ministry offices and thrift store.

According to the Good Samaritan organization, the thieves were able to take money, merchandise, personal hygiene and cleaning products and managed to leave the office area in disarray.

To inquire about how you can assist the Tullahoma Good Samaritan, contact director@goodsamaritanoftullahoma.org
director@goodsamaritanoftullahoma.org

(photo from Tullahoma Good Samaritan Facebook)

Tennessee needs at least $58.6 billion of public infrastructure improvements during the five-year period of July 2019 through June 2024, according to a new report released by the Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR). Public infrastructure improvements for Coffee County total $154.0 million, an increase of $6.6 million (4.5%) since last year’s report.

The current report, which is based on information provided by state and local officials, shows an increase of $3.8 billion in the entire state’s infrastructure needs (6.9%) from the January 2020 report.
Statewide, the top three areas of need are
• Transportation at $32.0 billion,
• Post-secondary education at $5.6 billion, and
• School Renovations at $5.1 billion.

Officials report that Coffee County’s top three areas of need are
• Transportation at $115.3 million,
• New public schools & additions at $11.5 million, and
• School renovations at $11.0 million.

The county’s total estimated cost for new or improved infrastructure is $2,725 per capita, compared with $8,578 statewide per capita. Coffee County’s estimated transportation needs per capita amount to $2,039, lower than the $4,689 per capita reported statewide.

Coffee County reported new public schools & additions infrastructure needs of $203 per capita, lower than the statewide average of $495 per capita. As for school renovations infrastructure needs, Coffee County reported $195 per capita, which is lower than the statewide average of $753 per capita. Less than a third of the money needed to meet Tennessee’s public infrastructure needs has been identified. Statewide, officials are confident that $15.5 billion (35.0%) will be available for the $44.3 billion in needs for which funding information is collected in this year’s report.

About $15.6 million (12.0%) of the $129.7 million total funding needed to meet Coffee County’s infrastructure needs has been identified. Funding information for needed improvements at existing schools and for needs reported in state agencies’ capital budget requests is not collected in the inventory.

Among Tennessee’s 95 counties, Coffee County ranked
• 25th in total population (56,520),
• 24th in population change between 2000 and 2019 (8,353),
• 31st in population growth rate since 2000 (17.3%),
• 27th in population density at 132 people per square mile,
• 57th in total estimated infrastructure needs ($154.0 million),
• 90th in total estimated infrastructure needs per capita ($2,725), and
• 56th in total public-school needs per student ($2,495).

This report is the only source of statewide information on the condition of public-school buildings and the cost to put them all in good or better condition. According to local school officials, 88.9% of local public schools statewide are now in good or excellent condition.

However, they estimate the cost to put the remaining 11.1% in good or better condition and keep the others in good or excellent condition is $4.9 billion, which is a $35 million increase from the cost reported in the previous inventory.
Officials in Coffee County rated 5.0% of their school buildings as less than good overall. Local officials estimate the cost to upgrade or maintain existing schools to good or better condition is $21.0 million for the Coffee County school system, none for the Manchester school system, and $1.5 million for the Tullahoma school system.

The cost to bring all Tennessee public school buildings up to at least good condition is $5,361 per student statewide, compared with $1,220 per student in Coffee County.

This year’s report, like last year’s, includes a statewide overview chapter that provides information by type of infrastructure, the condition and needs of our public-school facilities, the availability of funding to meet reported needs, and a comparison of county-area needs.

The full report can be found on TACIR’s web site at https://www.tn.gov/tacir/infrastructure/infrastructure-reports-/building-tennessee-s-tomorrow-2019- 2024.html TACIR Mission

Samuel Pace, age 26, is in the Coffee County Jail and facing two counts of attempted first degree murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and possessing a firearm during the commission of a crime.

According to Tullahoma police, Pace allegedly shot a man and a woman at the Quik Mart gas station at South Jackson and East Carroll streets.

Both victims are expected to survive.

Pace was later apprehended in Manchester. According to authorities, the motive remains unclear.

Anyone with information about this crime is encouraged to contact TPD investigator Jason Maloney at 931-455-0530.

By Nadia Ramligan, TN Public News Service

As the state continues its battle against invasive Asian carp, environmentalists say plans to erect new barriers to stop the carp from entering the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers are a step in the right direction.

Michael Butler, CEO of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, said Asian carp continue to be a massive problem for Tennessee’s fishing and outdoor recreation industries, and noted the state recently received $25 million in federal funding to help erect barriers to stop carp from migrating.

“So they outcompete our native bait fish and they occupy a large volume of water when they get to be in large schools,” Butler described. “That in turn impacts the fishery, which in turn impacts tourism.”

He pointed out the state’s fishing economy generates more than $1 billion annually.

Asian carp are now found in all three of Tennessee’s major waterways, from the Mississippi River to the Tennessee River north of Chattanooga.

Butler noted the money will help fund several barriers that often use combinations of sound, light, bubbles and other technologies to block the migration of carp from downstream reservoirs.

He added barrier technologies are currently being tested at the Barkley Dam, which separates the Cumberland River Basin from the Ohio River.

“25 million may or may not be enough,” Butler cautioned. “So, we’re going to continue to evaluate the funding needs for the program here in the Tennessee and Cumberland river systems.”

Asian carp can grow up to 100 pounds and can threaten boaters’ safety.

“There are four species of Asian carp,” Butler explained. “And one of them jumps into the air pretty regularly and can weigh up to 30 pounds or more. And so, that’s not something you want to have running into you if you’re driving in a power boat or a jet ski.”

Asian carp have no natural predators and they consume the bottom-chain food sources of native fish, which can have devastating effects on habitats.