Author's posts
Lady Raiders fight of Lawrenceburg comeback, win 51-50
Lawrence County rallied on the Lady Raiders in the second half and tied the game at 44-44 in the fourth quarter. But they would never get the lead.
The Central High School Lady Raiders clung to a 51-50 lead and held off a flurry of Lady Wildcats shots in the final 10 seconds to get the win Tuesday night at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium.
“That’s a good basketball team and they made some shots,” said Coffee County head coach Joe Pat Cope.
The Lady Raiders led 35-22 at halftime and snagged a 15 point lead in the third quarter. But the Lady Cats made a slow and steady run at the lead from that point, cutting the Coffee County lead to 6 points late in the third quarter before a Jalie Ruehling 3-pointer pushed CHS back in front by 9 at 44-35.
Lawrence County responded with a 9-0 run to tie the game, capped by a 3 pointer by Jacie Scott to tie the game at 44. But it was the sophomore Ruehling answering the run with a 3-pointer to put CHS back up 47-44.
Ruehling missed the front end of a one-and-one with 12 seconds to play and Coffee County leading by one. Lawrence County got off a few shots down the stretch, all well contested by the Lady Raiders.
Bella Vinson led the way for Coffee County with 18 points – 12 in the first half to held the Lady Raiders build their solid halftime lead. She was named Stone Fort Mortgage Player of the Game. Junior Elli Chumley scored 8 in the first half – including a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line.
Ruehling finished with 12 – eight coming in the second half. Sophomore post Chloe Gannon with 10.
The win improves Coffee County to 15-1 on the season and 4-0 in District 8-AAA.
Chloe Willis led Lawrence County with 12, Madison Tidwell 11 and Katie Criswell with 10.
Raiders can’t hold halftime lead in loss to Lawrence County
Connor Shemwell was as dominant as ever for the Red Raiders Tuesday night in Manchester. But Coffee County couldn’t find enough answers for Alex Carr and Lawrence County in the second half, losing 63-59.
Coffee County led 31-26 at the halftime break. Alex Carr scored 23 for the Wildcats, including 13 in the second half, and Hunter Hagan came of the bench to pitch in 8. The Wildcats led 41-39 after three and the Raiders were unable to get in front during the fourth quarter.
Shemwell played arguably his best game of the season for the Raiders – piling up 19 points (12 coming in the second half) to be named Stone Fort Mortgage Player of the Game.
CJ Anthony scored 12 for Coffee County and Hayden Hullett 9 – coming on a trio of 3-pointers.
The Raiders struggled at the free throw line, going 9-of-16. Lawrence County was 20-of-25 at the stripe.
The loss drops the Raiders to 5-6 on the season and 1-2 in district play. The Raiders will host Franklin County at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14 in a boys only contest. You can hear that game live on Thunder Radio.
CMS to open hoops conference tournament Wednesday
The Coffee County Middle School Red Raider and Lady Raider basketball teams will open their conference tournaments Wednesday night.
The CMS Lady Raiders finished with a perfect conference record and will be the top seed entering the tournament. The Lady Raiders will open the tournament against 8th seeded Harris at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13.
A win would move CMS to play the winner of South Middle and East at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. A win in that game would advance CMS to the championship game – which will be held at noon Saturday, Jan. 16 at Harris.
White County is the no. 2 seed in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Red Raider boys finished in a three-way tie for second place, but tiebreakers knocked the Raiders down to fourth seed. CMS will open the tournament at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13 against Warren County.
A win puts the Raiders in the semi-finals at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
Coffee County ranks 51st in state for child well being, report shows
Tennessee’s Commission on Children and Youth has released its county profiles of child well-being in Tennessee for the year 2020.
At 51st, Coffee County in the bottom half of Tennessee counties in child well-being. Some of the county’s strongest rankings include a high median household income and a relatively low rate of school suspensions.
Coffee County has 25.1 percent of children living in poverty – which ranks 56th out of Tennessee’s 95 counties. Tennessee has an average of one in five children living in poverty. The lowest percentage is in Williamson County (3.6 percent) and the highest percentage is in Lake County (41.2 percent).
The county’s biggest challenges are its above-average rate of babies born at a low birth weight and its relatively low high school graduation rate. Additional strengths include below-average rates of children lacking health insurance and of school suspensions Additional opportunities for improvement include an above-average percentage of children living in poverty and a low rate of 3rd to 8th grade children rated proficient in math on TNReady tests. Policy/Practice/Program Options to Improve Outcomes. Many of these policies have multiple models for delivery, including public-private partnership and non-profit leadership.
* Low birth weight is a persistent and difficult problem, but improvements can occur when care is made available for chronic physical and mental health and substance abuse conditions for women of childbearing age.
*Making high school students aware of the community college and technical school benefits available to them through Tennessee Promise can encourage on-time high school graduation.
* With a high rate of child poverty, improving outreach to those who may qualify to receive SNAP and WIC benefits to be sure they are aware of these services can help ensure basic needs are met.
Additionally, nutrition programs that provide food for school-age children to take home can contribute to food security. Expanding services through Family Resource Centers can also help reach these vulnerable populations.
* Expanding pre-K access and increasing STEM opportunities in elementary and middle schools can help improve 3rd to 8th grade math proficiency
See the full report on Coffee County by clicking here.
Coffee County Commissioner Todd Crockett to vacate seat
In an email to Coffee County commissioners, other elected officials and county employees, commissioner Todd Crockett has announced that he is vacating his elected seat.
Crockett serves in District 3. He is stepping down effective Feb. 1 after accepting a new job offer. His email reads as follows:
“Fellow commissioners, elected members and county employees this is to inform you I will be stepping down effective Feb 1, 2021. I am taking a position with the Air Force at Warner Robbins AFB in Georgia. It has been an honor serving the people of this county and serving with all of you. I have developed many friendships and I hope to continue through correspondence. I wish all of you the best of luck in your endeavors. God bless. “
REPORT: Tennessee State Parks have $1.84B impact
Tennessee State Parks had an economic impact of $1.84 billion in Tennessee in 2020 and welcomed 34.7 million visits, according to a report done for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
The report notes that local area spending by visitors has a substantial impact on local economies. The parks reached historic highs in camping, recording four of the top 10 months ever, and set a pace for future success with $184 million in investments in capital projects throughout the year. Those projects alone are expected to result in over $400 million in economic impact to the state.
The figures show that Tennessee State Parks are not only a great way for Tennesseans to get outdoors but are a significant driver of a healthy Tennessee economy as well.
One of Tennessee’s great state parks is located right here in Manchester, drawing visitors from all over the state and the country – Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park.
“Our state parks are a great source of pride for Tennesseans, and they have proven more important than ever during this challenging year,” Gov. Bill Lee said. “These important Tennessee treasures provide substantial economic activity in communities across our state, and we are grateful for the way they continue to prosper.”
“This study details extraordinary accomplishments by our state parks,” TDEC Commissioner David Salyers said. “It is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our parks staff, and Tennesseans should be proud of the way the parks responded to public demand. The last year has been trying for Tennesseans, but we are confident the reliance on our state parks throughout this period bodes well for the coming year and beyond.”
In total, the report found $1.7 billion in economic impact from operations and visitor spending; $126.7 million from capital projects; and $11.4 million from facilities and land management maintenance projects.
The report found:
• 14,514 total jobs supported by parks activity
• $110.3 million in state taxes reflected in parks activity, which is more than double what the state general fund contributes to state parks
• $22.1 million in local county taxes generated from parks activity
The report was conducted by Impact DataSource, an economic consulting firm based in Austin, Texas, the same firm used by the state’s Department of Economic and Community Development. It also relied on visitor spending data collected by the University of Tennessee Human Dimensions Research Lab. The report assesses the impact of the state’s operating expenditures, maintenance and capital expenditures, and parks visitors’ spending.
SCHOOL PATROL: JANUARY 12, 2021
Your Bread & Milk Experts can be found at Spring Street Market in Manchester. 801 South Spring Street!
Coffee County Schools – TWO HOUR DELAY
Bedford County Schools – CLOSED
Cannon County Schools – CLOSED
Franklin County Schools – Two hour delay
Grundy County Schools – Two hour delay
HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING: Raiders pick up pair of region wins
The Central High School Red Raider wrestling teams finished with a pair of region wins at home last week. CHS edged past Smyrna by 1 point, and easily outpaced Lawrence County. See results below:
Coffee County (COFF) 30.0 Smyrna (SMYR) 29.0
152: Gavin Prater (COFF) over Eric Tucker (SMYR) (Fall 0:55) 160: Say Aye (SMYR) over Nazario Flores (COFF) (Fall 2:35) 170: Jose Cordova (SMYR) over Chris Hollis (COFF) (Fall 1:24) 182: Double Forfeit 195: Zachary Galy (COFF) over (SMYR) (For.) 220: Double Forfeit 285: Blayne Myers (COFF) over Joshua Cordova (SMYR) (Fall 0:47) 106: Double Forfeit 113: Double Forfeit 120: Thomas Clark (COFF) over Adrian Najar (SMYR) (Fall 1:03) 126: Joel Denton (SMYR) over (COFF) (For.) 132: Matthew Rogers (SMYR) over (COFF) (For.) 138: Day Day Htoo (SMYR) over Caleb Boothe (COFF) (TF 20-5 3:49) 145: Jacob Barlow (COFF) over Luis Sanchez-Garcia (SMYR) (Fall 1:11)
Coffee County (COFF) 42.0 Lawrence Co. (LACO) 15.0
138: Caleb Boothe (COFF) over (LACO) (For.) 145: Jacob Barlow (COFF) over Jacob Golden (LACO) (Fall 0:45) 152: Gavin Prater (COFF) over (LACO) (For.) 160: Nazario Flores (COFF) over (LACO) (For.) 170: Chris Hollis (COFF) over (LACO) (For.) 182: Kenny Tharpe (LACO) over (COFF) (For.) 195: Sam Bradley (LACO) over Zachary Galy (COFF) (Dec 7-3) 220: William Grogan (LACO) over (COFF) (For.) 285: Blayne Myers (COFF) over (LACO) (For.) 106: Double Forfeit 113: Double Forfeit 120: Thomas Clark (COFF) over (LACO) (For.) 126: Double Forfeit 132: Double Forfeit
Westwood hoops season ends with losses at Webb Tournament
Westwood Middle School’s boys and girls basketball seasons came to a close over the weekend at the Webb Tournament.
For the Lady Rockets, their season closed with a 41-15 loss to Oakland Middle School and a 40-38 loss to Franklin Road Christian School.
Lady Rocket sixth grader Jules Ferrell paced Westwood with 17 in the loss to FRC. Kadience Medley and Riley Clark each added six, Reese Finch 3 and Keena Seivers, Audri Patton and Emily Holmes all pitched in 2 points.
Meanwhile, the Rocket boys fell to Providence Christian on Friday and Oakland Middle School on Saturday.
Against Oakland, Westwood struggled to get any offensive Rhythm, finishing with just 14 points. Caiden Warren finished with 5 points and Brayden Trail also had 5.
Against Providence Christian, Jayden Carter and Caiden Warren each scored 5 points. The Rockets finish the season with a 9-12 record.
Coffee Middle hoops to open CTC tournament Wednesday night
Coffee Middle School’s Lady Raider and Red Raider basketball teams will play in the CTC Conference Tournament beginning Wednesday, Jan. 13 at Harris Middle School.
The CMS Lady Raiders finished with a perfect conference record and will be the top seed entering the tournament. The Lady Raiders will open the tournament against 8th seeded Harris at 7:45 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13.
A win would move CMS to play the winner of South Middle and East at 4 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 14. A win in that game would advance CMS to the championship game – which will be held at noon Saturday, Jan. 16 at Harris.
White County is the no. 2 seed in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the Red Raider boys finished in a three-way tie for second place, but tiebreakers knocked the Raiders down to fourth seed. CMS will open the tournament at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 13 against Warren County.
A win puts the Raiders in the semi-finals at 7:45 p.m. Thursday.
The boys championship game is set for 1:15 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16. See brackets below:
