Josh Peterson

Thunder Radio is saddened to report to you that Howard Clutter, longtime host of Swap & Shop and other various programs on our airwaves, passed away on Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020. He was 80 years old.

“Howard was the well-recognized voice, the smiling face behind the microphone and the unbelievably friendly personality behind Thunder Radio’s Swap and Shop – probably our most popular and well-known program on Thunder Radio,” said Thunder Radio co-owner Josh Peterson. “Holly and I are sending our prayers to Rob, Tiffany, Helen and the Clutter family during this most difficult time. We ask that our community do the same.”

Howard always brought a smile behind the microphone that all of Coffee County could hear through their car radios, computers and telephones – starting most every show with: “Well Hello everybody, it’s time for Swap and Shop. You know, that program where you buy, sell and trade stuff with other people.”

He continued to host the show up until the time of his passing. 

“The phones usually ring off the hook for Swap and Shop, but occasionally when we would get a lull Howard would almost get excited to play some of his ‘Golden Oldies’ music that he would crank up during a slow time,” said Thunder Radio co-owner Holly Peterson. “The program was around before Howard and will continue, but it will just never be the same without him in the building.”

Howard was integral in much of the behind-the-scenes engineering of the radio station for the past 15 years during the tenure that the station was owned by his son and daughter-in-law – Rob and Tiffany Clutter. He gladly stayed on to continue hosting Swap and Shop every day of the week after Josh and Holly Peterson purchased the station in September of 2019.

Visitation with the family will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5, with funeral to follow at 1 p.m. from Central Funeral Home in Manchester. Read the complete obituary here. .

The Tennessee Department of Health has updated the Tennessee COVID-19 Vaccination Plan and its phased approach to administering COVID-19 vaccines to Tennesseans.

As of Wednesday, Dec. 30 – there have been 79,232 vaccinations administered in Tennessee. In Coffee County, 0.70% of the total population (total population estimated over 55,000) has been vaccinated. 

“COVID-19 vaccines remain limited at this time, and Tennessee’s allocation plan prioritizes those most at risk of illness and death from COVID-19,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP. “The plan also prioritizes critical infrastructure workers who have direct public exposure or work in environments posing a higher risk of exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.“

Updates to the Tennessee COVID-19 Vaccination Plan are focused on reducing risks:
• Risk to our health care infrastructure – keeping frontline health care workers at the bedside, while reducing demand on hospital capacity
• Risk to individual health outcomes – protecting the most vulnerable Tennesseans first
• Risk to our society and economy – preserving the workforce in our highest risk areas

SEE THE COMPLETE VACCINATION PLAN BY CLICKING HERE. 

Tennessee has updated the state’s plan based on new recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and discussions with Tennessee’s Unified Command Group and a stakeholder group of more than 30 partner agencies and organizations. These phases are as follows and are subject to additional changes pending further recommendations from the ACIP and other federal and state partners.

Tennessee’s updated plan includes three allocation phases, based on risk and informed by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine’s Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccine. Tennessee is now in Phase 1a, which is subdivided into two phases: Phase 1a1 for in-patient health care providers, first responders with direct exposure to the public and staff members and residents of long-term care facilities, and Phase 1a2 for those primarily working in outpatient health care settings. Equity remains a crosscutting consideration of Tennessee’s plan, with attention given to ensure unlicensed health care workers, low wage earners and those with limited access to health care resources will have access to vaccination.

Individuals qualifying for vaccination under Phases 1a1 and 1a2 may be offered vaccine by their employer, through their local health department or through a partnering hospital. Staff members and residents of long-term care facilities will be provided vaccinations through the federal partnership with Walgreens and CVS, in partnership with a local pharmacy or via TDH vaccination strike teams. Phase 1a1 and 1a2 individuals should check with their employer or contact their local health department for more information.

Tennessee is also beginning age-based vaccination in ten-year age brackets, starting with those aged 75 and above. Later Phase 1 groups consist of Phase 1b, which includes teachers and staff members of child care centers and kindergarten through 12th grade schools and other first responders not covered under Phase 1a1; and Phase 1c, which includes people aged 16 or older who have high-risk health conditions.

Subsequent phases prioritize critical infrastructure industries. Employees in industries not specified in the phases will become eligible as their age group is reached or according to their individual risk.

It is important to note Tennessee counties may progress through phases at different times, depending on supply of the COVID-19 vaccines and demand for them.

City of Manchester government offices will be closed on Friday to recognize the New Year Holiday. Meanwhile, Coffee County government offices will also be closed on Friday in recognition of the New Year Holiday.

Offices will be open again on Monday, Jan. 4. Reminder – most county offices are closed to foot traffic but are open by appointment or walk-up window. Call ahead to plan your trip.

Two people have died after they were struck while working on a stalled vehicle in Franklin County.

The Herald-Chronicle reports that two men were working on a broken down truck on Beans Creek Rd. Monday, Dec. 28, when a vehicle hit the truck.

According to Sgt. Chris Guess, identities of the two victims were not yet available.

By Tennessee Public News Service

The pandemic has shrunk U.S. forest exports, and economists say supply disruptions in Southeast Asia, where American logs and lumber are turned into furniture, is to blame – along with a drop in consumer demand.

Professor of agriculture and resource economics at the University of Tennessee Knoxville Andrew Muhammad said U.S. furniture sales dipped by 66% in April, around the time stay-at-home orders went into effect. He said over the summer, U.S. forest producers lost more than $670-million.

“Tennessee is actually particularly hurt by this, more so than the national average and more so than the regional,” Muhammad said. “Part of that is, many Tennessee producers are highly reliant on hardwood exports to Asian markets.”

He added these losses have been exacerbated by a longstanding trade war that has curbed the sale of U.S. forest products to foreign markets, particularly China. Forest products, including logs and lumber, are the third leading U.S. agricultural export, after soybeans and corn.

In 2018, orders from China accounted for nearly $3 billion of American timber.

Muhammed noted while the softwood sector, mostly used in construction and in paper and pulp products, seems to be buffered from the effects of COVID-19, sawmills across the state have been hard-hit by both COVID-19 and the loss in international trade.

“And so, for example, there’s the trucking industry, there’s the income from the laborers both at the sawmill as well as in the logging industry, and their income is also spent, and so you do get this multiplier effect,” he said.

In 2017, the forestry sector provided nearly 100,000 jobs in Tennessee and an economic impact of more than $24 billion annually – nearly 3% of the state’s economy.

Ben Lomand Connect’s month-long food drive ended on December 14th with 1,954 items going to local food banks in the Ben Lomand service territory. Beginning November 14th, the company began collecting food items from its local offices in Warren, White, Cumberland, and Grundy counties, at the Citizens Tri-County Bank in Van Buren county and the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center. Along with the food items, Ben Lomand Connect matched with a monetary donation of fifty cents per item for nearly one-thousand dollars given locally. Ben Lomand employees also contributed by bringing food to add to customer donations.

Marketing/Public Relations Manager Bryan Kell said of the endeavor, “2020 has been a trying year for so many individuals and families throughout our service area. This food drive allowed employees, departments, offices, and our communities to come together and give to those in need. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that our overall items raised were 1,954, being that 1954 was our first year to serve the area as Ben Lomand Rural Telephone Cooperative, Inc. To quote one of the pantry workers in Coffee County, ‘That is a God thing.’”

Lisa Cope, General Manager/CEO of Ben Lomand Connect, added, “What an incredible blessing to us at Ben Lomand and to the recipients of the food.” Ben Lomand Connect would like to thank Citizens Tri-County Bank and Manchester Coffee County Conference Center for allowing collections at their locations. Their efforts are appreciated, and their employees generously gave as well. 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 25,500 access lines covering 3,200 square miles of territory. Ben Lomand Connect also offers many other services, including video, security, hosted IP solutions, and managed IT services.

City of Manchester government offices will be closed on Friday to recognize the New Year Holiday. Meanwhile, Coffee County government offices will also be closed on Friday in recognition of the New Year Holiday.

Offices will be open again on Monday, Jan. 4. Reminder – most county offices are closed to foot traffic but are open by appointment or walk-up window. Call ahead to plan your trip.