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Martha Ida Fletcher Swanger
Funeral services for Martha Ida Fletcher Swanger, age 95 of Manchester, will be graveside at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens at 1 PM on Monday, December 28, 2020. Family visitation will be at 10:00 AM, and all others from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM on Monday, December 28, 2020, at Manchester Funeral Home Chapel. Martha passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on Tuesday morning at McArthur Manor from an extended illness.
Martha was born in Summitville, TN to Vernon and Ruth Fletcher, August 16, 1925. She graduated from Coffee County High School and enjoyed many class reunions. Martha had various jobs in her lifetime, but her family, church, and community were her most favorite. She was a dedicated and founding member of Forest Mill Church of Christ. Martha put God first and foremost in her life and that was evident through her personality and prayer life. Whether it was a handwritten card or a hug, she always encouraged every soul as: Forest Mill 4H Club, Summitville Homemakers Club, and VIPs. She kept busy with many hobbies, including gardening (especially iris), playing cards, baking, journaling, and sending cards in the most beautiful handwriting.
In addition to her parents, Martha was preceded in death by her loving husband, Clyde E. Swanger; brothers, John (Buster) Fletcher, Basil Fletcher; son-in-law, Lee Whitham; granddaughter, Christy Whitham. She is survived by her daughters, Suzanne (Steve) Gannon of Smyrna, Cindy Whitham of Manchester; one sister, Nelda Twitchell (Richard) of Chattanooga; grandchildren, Tyler (Melissa) Gannon of Smyrna, Andrew (Katie) Gannon of Murfreesboro, and Lindsey (Nick) Hibdon of Manchester; and especially proud of her great grandchildren; Aaron and Rylee Gannon, Jackson and Griffin Hibdon, and Mac Gannon. She will be missed by numerous nieces and nephews, church family and friends. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Forest Mill Church of Christ Upward Basketball of the youth program (3388 McMinnville Highway, Manchester, TN 37355.
Katie Mae Judge
Katie Mae Judge of Manchester passed this life on Wednesday, December 23, 2020 at Saint Thomas Midtown Hospital at the age of 65. A Graveside Service will be held on Wednesday, December 30 at 11:00AM at Gum Creek Cemetery.
A native of Coffee County, she was the daughter of the late Claude and Goldie Payne Johnson. She loved God and her family. Mrs. Judge was kind and had a heart for people, always put others before herself.
In addition the her parents, she was preceded in death by brothers and sisters; daughter, Betty Jane Judge; son-in-law, Jimmy Pinegar.
She is survived by her husband, Kenneth Judge; sons, Mark Johnson (Debbie), Kenny Judge (Angel), Keith Judge (Erica); daughter, Goldina Pinegar; brother, Jerold Johnson (Darlene); sister, Janie Crouch; 17 grandchildren; 12 great grandchildren.
In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations to be made out to them to help with the expenses of the funeral.
Please visit our website at www.davesculbertsonfuneralhome.com to leave online condolences. Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Terry Wade Priest
Terry Wade Priest of Estill Springs passed this life on Sunday, December 20, 2020 at Vanderbilt Hospital at the age of 63. Funeral Services are scheduled for Tuesday, December 29, 2020 at 2:00PM at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home with burial to follow at Little Hurricane Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home on Monday, December 28 from 5:00-8:00 PM.
Mr. Priest was born in Tullahoma to the late Raymond Priest and Gerline Weaver Priest. He was a member at Little Hurricane Baptist Church and enjoyed farming, fishing, and hunting. He and his wife, Gayle, liked to travel and had just bought their dream beach bungalow last year, where they had just begun to spend quite a bit of time.
In addition to his mother, he is survived by his loving wife, Gayle Priest of Estill Springs; son, Steven Priest of Nashville; daughter, Jennifer Priest of Estill Springs; brother, Tim Priest (Shanon) of Winchester; sisters, Lisa Lee (Troy) of Estill Springs and Wanda Priest of Estill Springs; son-in-law, Jacob Bower of Tullahoma; brothers-in-law, Mike Ray (Patsy) of Tullahoma and Pat Ray (Rita) of McMinnville; several nieces and nephews.
Please visit our website at www.davesculbertsonfuneralhome.com to leave online condolences. Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
CHAMPIONS: Lady Raiders roll past Stewarts Creek to take Christmas tournament title
PORTLAND, TENN – Coffee County left no doubt Tuesday night in the championship game of the Corey Brewer Christmas tournament.
Coffee County jumped out to a 13-3 lead over District 7-AAA power Stewarts Creek and never looked back, dropping the Red Hawks 43-29 at Portland High School.
“We did a lot of things really well tonight,” said CHS head coach Joe Pat Cope.
Many things right indeed. The Lady Raiders were 17-of-18 at the free-throw line and settled for nothing less that smothering Stewarts Creek on the defensive end, not allowing a field goal until six minutes were off the clock in the first quarter.
Coffee County led 13-5 after one quarter and 19-16 at the half. The Lady Raiders led by as many as 18 in the second half.
Bella Vinson led the way for Coffee County with 18 points. The Senior hit a pair of 3-pointers and was 4-of-4 at the free-throw line.
Sophomore post Chloe Gannon added 10 points off the bench. Sophomore Alivia Reel pitched in 8 points, Jalie Ruehling was 4-for-4 at the free-throw line to add in 4 points and junior Elli Chumley added 3 for CHS.
The win improves the Lady Raiders to 11-1 on the season. They won’t play again until Jan. 5 in a District 8-AAA matchup at Shelbyville.
Toys for Tots collects nearly 2,000 toys for Coffee County families
The Coffee County Toys for Tots made a big impact this year. Thanks to generous donations from local residents, students, schools and multiple drop box locations at dozens of area businesses, there were nearly 2,000 toys collected.
To be exact, there were 1,948 toys collected – an amount that served 150 kids in approximately 55 families in the Coffee County community.
These businesses served as dropbox locations:
•Cutshaw’s Classic Barber Shop
•First Vision Bank
•Al White Ford Lincoln
•The Beauty Lounge
•Premier Lawn Care
•Coffee County Realty
•Common John Brewing Company
•CapStar Bank
•FirstBank
•Lasting Impressions
•Thunder Radio
•Reese’s Genes Boutique
•Soul Revival Boutique
•Closets Plus
•The Cracked Pot
•Sprout Children’s Shop
•Polish me pretty nail salon
•Advantage Realty Partners Manchester TN
•Southern Diva
•Manchester Nutrition
•TitleMax (Lebanon Pike location)
•The Oak Restaurant
•Harvest Local Foods
•Re/max 1st Realty
Pictured, RC Cutshaw (left) and Kalel Cutshaw stand guard of nearly 2,000 toys that were distributed on Dec. 19 as part of the Toys for Tots program in Coffee County.
VFW post quartermaster wins coveted award
The Manchester VFW Post 10904 has announced that post quartermaster Howard Thompson will receive the coveted Volunteer Stars Award for Coffee County.
“Howard works tirelessly for our post, veterans and community.”
Two area students win VFW district contest
David Tran of Webb School and Lexie Stewart of Temple Baptist Christian School have won the VFW district level “Voice of Democracy” essay competition.
Their essays will now move to the state level for judging.
Christmas music all day Thursday and Friday on Thunder
For the enjoyment of our listeners, Thunder Radio will suspending regular programming in favor of playing Christmas music all day on Thursday, Dec. 24 and Friday Dec. 25.
“We hope everyone in our community has a safe and Merry Christmas,” said Thunder Radio owner Josh Peterson. “Turn up Thunder Radio in the background and enjoy our deep library of Christmas songs while you open gifts and spend cherished time with loved ones.”
Christmas music will begin at 6 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 24 and continue straight through midnight Christmas night. You can listen at 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, on the Manchester Go smartphone app and at thunder1320.com.
“Thank you for supporting your locally owned radio station.”
HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL: Lady Raiders win first 2 of Christmas tournament, to play in championship Tuesday
Bella Vinson stepped up when the spotlight shined the brightest Monday night.
Held to just 4 points in the first half, the Central High School senior dropped a pair of 3-pointers on back to back trips down the floor in the fourth quarter and then buried a pair of free throws to close the game as the Lady Raiders beat Summertown 41-36 in the semi-finals of the Corey Brewer Christmas Tournament in Portland, Tenn.
The game was broadcast live on Thunder Radio. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE REPLAY.
“I was struggling a little,” said Vinson. “Nothing was really falling for me but you got to focus on the next one. [Summertown] is a really good team. That was good for us. I’m glad we got this game in.”
Coffee County went on an 8-0 run to start the fourth quarter after being tied 28-28 after three quarters, but Summertown made a run to make the game close again. Jalie Ruehling hit two free throws to put CHS up 39-36 and Vinson sealed the game with 2 more free throws with 4 seconds to play.
Vinson finished with 14 points, Ruehling 6, Alivia Reel 6, Elli Chumley 6, Chloe Gannon 5 and Emma Fulks 4.
The win moves the Lady Raiders to 10-1 overall and sets them up in the championship game against Stewarts Creek at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday. That game will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio: 107.9 FM, 1320 AM, 106.7 FM, Manchester Go app and on thunder1320.com.
Lady Raiders – 50
PJPII – 32
The Lady Raiders started the day with a 50-32 win over PJPII in Portland, Tenn.
Bella Vinson dropped 19 points in the win, followed by Ruehling with 9 – 7 of which came in the second half when she heated up. Elli Chumley got 8 points – 5 coming at the free throw line. Alivia Reel added 7, Emma Fulks 4 and Chloe Gannon 3.
“I was glad to see [Alivia Reel] knock down some shots for us,” said CHS head coach Joe Pat Cope. “She really needed that. She’s a big part of our offense.”
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE REPLAY.
TSSAA implements new attendance restrictions to go along with governor Lee’s executive order
The Governor has issued Executive Order No. 70, effective immediately and remaining in effect through January 19, 2021. Because of the significant increase in the incidence of COVID-19 infections in Tennessee, additional restrictions on who may attend interscholastic athletic practices and contests will be in place.
Unfortunately, large scale attendance by spectators and students must be curtailed. Doing so means that bands, pep bands, cheerleaders, and dance teams may not attend athletic contests while these restrictions remain in place. In accordance with the new Executive Order, the only attendees permitted at practices or games, in addition to the student-athletes on the team, are:
- Players’ parents or guardians and immediate household members;
- First Responders;
- Coaching and team personnel;
- School, game, and facility administrators;
- Athletics officials; and
- Media and athletic scouting personnel attending the event in their professional capacity.
Social distancing between persons from different households is required. While the Executive Order does not mandate the use of masks, the Governor has encouraged masks, and the TSSAA COVID-19 Sports Regulations provision regarding the use of masks remains. Refer to the Tennessee Returns to Play page at TSSAA.org for full information.
These are minimum restrictions. Depending on particular school, facility, or community circumstances, school officials may require additional limitations on attendance.