Josh Peterson

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches and more drivers hit the roads, Manchester Police Department is partnering with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) to remind motorists to “Click It or Ticket.” From November 16 – 29, participating agencies across the state will increase seat belt enforcement as part of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) nationwide mobilization.

“During the ‘Click It or Ticket’ campaign, we’ll be working with our fellow law enforcement officers across local and state lines to ensure the seat belt safety message gets out to all drivers and passengers,” said Chief Mark Yother. “By far, buckling up is the simplest thing you can do to limit injury or save your life during a crash. We see the results of not wearing a seat belt all the time. We see the loss of life and devastating injuries that could’ve been prevented with the simple click of a seat belt. That’s why buckling up is more than just a good idea—it’s the law.”

According to NHTSA, in 2018, there were 9,778 unbuckled passenger vehicle occupants killed in crashes in the United States. In that same year, 56 percent of passenger vehicle occupants killed at night (6 p.m.–5:59 a.m.) were not wearing their seat belts. That’s why one focus of the “Click It or Ticket” campaign is nighttime enforcement. Participating law enforcement agencies will be taking a no-excuses approach to seat belt law enforcement, writing citations day and night. In Manchester, TN, the maximum penalty for a seat belt violation is $30 for first offense, $60 for second or more.

For more information about seat belt safety or the THSO, visit www.tntrafficsafety.org

A total of 906,360 new unemployment claims have been filed in Tennessee since March 15th, which was ten days after the start of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The positive news is that the numbers of new unemployment claims being filed in Tennessee continues to go down.

The week ending on October 10, 2020 saw new jobless claims at 10,145. The following three weeks saw numbers drop to 9,800 one week and then 7,700 the next week – followed by 6,900 new unemployment claims filed on October 31, 2020.

Currently, 64,188 unemployment checks are being sent to jobless individuals in Tennessee who filed during the COVID Pandemic. Coffee County currently has 447 people receiving continued claims for unemployment.

A record-breaking 3,045,401 Tennesseans, or over 68 percent of active and inactive registered voters, cast ballots in-person during early voting and on Election Day or absentee by-mail in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Voter turnout and participation handily beat the previous record set during the 2008 presidential election when 2,618,238 cast their ballots.

“For months, our office has worked with election commissions and health officials across the state to ensure that in-person voting was clean, safe and secure,” said Secretary Hargett. “Traditionally, Tennesseans prefer to vote in-person. We’ve said it for months, and yet again, voters showed their confidence in the safety precautions in place and their preference to cast a ballot in-person by showing up in record numbers at the polls.”

Counties must submit certified election results to the Division of Elections by Monday, Nov. 23.

Unofficial election results are available on our website at elections.tn.gov (https://t.e2ma.net/click/qh85vmb/yvgckg/ynethyn).

“We would not have seen the record numbers of voters have such a smooth voting experience during a pandemic without the months and countless hours of planning by Tennessee’s 95 election commissions, administrators, and staff,” said Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins. “Thanks to the roughly 17,000 poll officials who stepped up to serve their communities and carry out all the planning to provide Tennesseans with a safe and secure in-person voting experience.”

Tennessee also broke the early and absentee by-mail turnout record during the two-week early voting period in this election. A comprehensive report of in-person and absentee by-mail turnout during early voting by county with comparisons to 2016 and 2012 is available on GoVoteTN.com (https://t.e2ma.net/click/qh85vmb/yvgckg/egfthyn).

Regardless of what is happening with the presidential vote count at the National level, Coffee Countians turned out overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump.

According to unofficial results, Trump carried 73.63 percent of the Coffee County vote, or 17,863 votes. Joe Biden got 23.51 percent, or 5,704. Independent libertarian candidate Jo Jorgensen got 242 votes and Kanye West 219.

Trump performed better in Coffee County than across the state, but he still carried Tennessee easily. Trump picked up 60.73 percent of the vote in Tennessee, or about 1,849,467 votes. Biden picked up 37.41% of the votes, or about 1,139,289.

The annual Trees of Christmas 2020 will be presented by the Manchester Parks and Recreation Department. The Dig N Dream Garden Club has passed the torch to the parks and recreation department after 44 years heading up the event.

The theme for this year’s event is “Childhood Dreams of Christmas”. The Trees of Christmas will be held as scheduled, November 30-December 6th at the Ada Wright Center in Fred Deadman Park. This will be the 45th year for the event.

The Grand Opening of the 2020 Trees of Christmas, Monday, November the 30th at Noon. The Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce will be there for a ribbon cutting; as well as Manchester City Mayor Marilyn Howard, Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell, Manchester City Vice Mayor Mark Messick, Sheriff Chad Partin and others.