Josh Peterson

Local officials continue to urge Coffee County citizens to complete their 2020 Census.

As of Thursday, Coffee County has a 69.8 percent self-response rate. This is tied for seventh out of Tennessee’s 95 counties and is just 0.2 percent shy of the self-response rate of the entire 2010 census.

“This is an important Census for us here in Manchester and Coffee County,” said Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman. “It is vital for our infrastructure, our schools and our ability to get grants that everyone respond to the Census.”

One study has revealed that for every person who is not counted, Coffee County will miss out on about $11,000 in federal funding over the next 10 years.

To respond to the Census, you can call 1-844-330-2020. You can also complete it online by clicking here.

Because of concerns with inclement weather, the Coffee County Health Department COVID-19 testing site at 2050 Hillsboro Blvd. (the former Southern Family Market building) will operate on adjusted hours for Friday, Aug. 28.
The site will only be open from 9 a.m. until noon on Friday and will not operate evening hours.

The unemployment situation in three-quarters of Tennessee’s 95 counties continued to improve in July following business closures earlier in the year due to the COVID-19 health emergency.

Seventy-two counties had lower unemployment in July compared to the previous month. Rates in four counties mirrored their rates from June. Nineteen counties did experience a slight uptick in unemployment during the month.

Coffee County unemployment situation improved by 1.3% and is now 11.3%, which is better than the 12.6 percent unemployment in June of this year. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the rate remains markedly higher than last year when it was 4.8% for the same month.

Pickett County recorded the state’s lowest unemployment rate for the month. At 6.3%, the county’s rate dropped 0.7 of a percentage point compared to June’s rate.

Williamson and Moore counties had the second-lowest unemployment rates in July. Williamson County’s rate decreased 0.3 of a percentage point to 6.4%. In July 2019, its rate was 2.9%. Moore County’s June rate of 7.5% dropped to 6.4% in July. One year ago, it was 3.5%.
With a rate of 12.7%, Haywood County had the second-highest rate of unemployment in the state. The new rate increased 0.9 of a percentage point when compared to the previous month. One year ago, the rate was 5.3%. Hancock County’s unemployment jumped 1.8 percentage points to 12.5% in July. In July 2019 the county had a rate of 7.3%.

When surveying unemployment in Tennessee’s three largest cities, Knoxville had the lowest rate in July, which held steady at 9.4%. Nashville’s unemployment saw a slight uptick of 0.1 of a percentage point to 12.1%. Memphis experienced the biggest increase in July. Its unemployment rate grew by 1.6 percentage points to 16.9%. In July 2019, Knoxville had a rate of 3.8%%, Nashville was at 2.9%, and the Memphis rate one year ago was 5.1%
The statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Tennessee decreased for the third consecutive month in July from 9.6% to 9.5%.

Nationally, unemployment also decreased in July. The preliminary, seasonally adjusted national unemployment rate is 10.2%, a 0.9 of a percentage point drop from the previous month’s rate.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has a comprehensive report detailing the unemployment situation in each of the state’s 95 counties. You can access that report by clicking here 

By Susan Campbell, Thunder Radio

While the May Prairie State Natural Area may not look very impressive from the highway, it is actually one of the most ecologically important natural areas in the state, according to wildflower expert and author Dennis Horn.

Located on 500 acres off Asbury Road in Manchester, growing and thriving in May Prairie are grasses and wildflowers normally only seen in the coastal areas of the southern United States and in the plains of the Midwest.

“It’s just a different world,” Horn said. “The environment is different. The geology is different. Believe it or not, it is one of the top places in the state for rare plants. Only three counties in Tennessee have more than 50 rare plants: Roane County, Sevier County and Coffee County. And all of that is because of May Prairie.”

The land was purchased by the state from the late David King of Manchester, real estate developer and banker, and designated as a Tennessee State Natural Area in 1973 – one of the first in the state to receive that recognition. According to Horn, the area derives its name from King’s late wife, May. The area is also recognized by the Department of the Interior as a National Natural Landmark.

Visitors to the area should not expect it to be similar to Short Springs, Coffee County’s other state natural area located near Tullahoma. Instead of rocky hillsides, steep cliffs and impressive waterfalls, the area is teeming with cedar glades, wildflowers and grasses rarely seen in the southeast – some of which migrated from Alabama, according to Horn. A carnivorous plant has even been spotted there – Utricularia cornuta, or horned bladderwort, which normally grows as a subaquatic plant in marshes, swamps and shallow waters. Carnivorous plants receive most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals and insects – think Venus flytrap.

According to the state’s Department of Environment and Conservation, the most impressive feature at May Prairie is the open grassland that protrudes into the surrounding oak forest. The open grassland is primarily comprised of a little bluestem community and a tall grass prairie community with an occasional sedge meadow found in wet areas. Tall grasses include big bluestem, Indian grass, switchgrass and plume grass. In the spring, the area provides a splendid floral display of orange, blue, and white color as Indian paintbrush, false indigo, and bluets grow and thrive. In late summer, many species of sunflower are common, including the rare southern dock and two species of blazing star.
May Prairie is open to the public during daylight hours but has no developed trails. Parking is available on Asbury Road. Dogs on leashes are allowed.

Active cases of COVID-19 virus in Coffee County continued to fall, dropping to 278 on Wednesday according to data provided by Tennessee Department of Health.

This is a drop of 10 from the previous day and a drop of 43 since Sunday.

The active case number of 278 drops the percentage of active cases in Coffee County down to below 0.50 percent of the estimated population, which is the threshold for schools to return to in-school, traditional schedule learning.

However, active cases will need to remain below the 0.50 percent for two consecutive weeks before schools will consider returning to traditional learning.

Active cases across the state went up by 186 Wednesday after several days of dropping.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is working with Grundy County Sheriff’s Department officials to find Joshua David Day.

Day, age 32, is a 5’9”, 125 pound white male with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen in Tracy City wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and a white hat.

If you have seen Day or have information regarding his whereabouts, contact TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

Hurricane Laura is expected to make landfall Wednesday night along the border of Texas and Louisiana as a major hurricane.

Remnants of Laura are expected to begin impacting Middle Tennessee on Friday with showers and storms in the afternoon. According to National Weather Service, heavy rainfall will be the main impact with widespread totals up to three inches. Some areas north of Nashville could see four inches.

Also, according to NWS there is a window from Friday mid-morning through midnight that could produce quick, spin-up tornadoes. Wind gusts could reach 40 miles per hour by Saturday morning. If weather does become severe, stay tuned to Thunder Radio and www.thunder1320.com and Thunder Radio facebook for local alerts and information.
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