Josh Peterson

On Tuesday, Kim King, Commander of VFW Post 10904, presented a National Citation of Recognition from the Veterans of Foreign Wars national headquarters to Westwood Middle School.

The Principal, Ms. Julie Miller accepted the citation on behalf of the school. The VFW recognized Westwood Middle School for promoting citizenship education both in the school and outside in the community. The VFW Citizenship Education Teacher (middle school) Award for the state of Tennessee is a member of Westwood Middle School (Jim Dobson), but without the support of the teachers, staff and students of Westwood Middle School that award would not have been possible and that is why the VFW is recognizing Westwood Middle School for all of their hard work.

Pictured are Kim King, right, and Julie Miller. 

Tullahoma Police Department chief Jason Williams announced Tuesday the promotion of one of his officers.

Brooke Arthur was promoted from the rank of Corporal to the rank of Sergeant at TPD. Arthur will be overseeing a newly created patrol shift as a result of the Tullahoma Police Department’s transition to 12-hour work shifts.
According to TPD, Arthur brings five years of experience to the position.

By Nadia Ramligan, Tennessee Public News Service

Advocates are asking Gov. Bill Lee to supply Tennessee’s long-term care facilities with rapid coronavirus testing, with the goal of being able to reunite residents with their families faster.

Since early spring, long-term care facilities across the state have closed their doors to visitors because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rachel Blackhurst, public policy and advocacy director with the Alzheimer’s Association’s Tennessee Chapter, said because social isolation among people with dementia can speed decline and worsen cognitive abilities, having access to rapid-turnaround testing is critical for residents, staff and visitors.

She added that individuals with dementia may not be able to use Zoom or other video technologies or be responsive over the phone.

“And while Tennessee has actually done a really, really good job with mobilizing testing and requiring weekly testing for facilities, we’ve seen a decline in how quickly those results come back, and it hasn’t helped with opening facilities up for visitation,” Blackhurst said.

Nearly half of the state’s nursing home residents are living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, and among older adults in assisted living and other residential facilities, 42% have some form of dementia. Tennessee has 700 long-term care facilities.

A New York Times database found at the start of August, around 40% of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths occurred among long-term care residents or staff, and that number is on the rise.

Erin Drummond’s father lives in a long-term care facility, and she said she hasn’t been able to see him in months.

“My dad’s on hospice care right now, and we don’t know how long he’ll be around. So it’s hard to just not be able to go in and be with him in these last moments of life,” Drummond said.

She said she hopes her fellow Tennessee residents will take precautions to curb the spread of the coronavirus so that facilities can safely reopen.

“If the cases continue to rise, these restrictions still stay in place,” she said. “It’s really hard to go months without seeing somebody that is at the end of their life. So that would be what I would like, for everybody just in general to really think about other people and high-risk people and how that affects them.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social isolation is associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia as well as an increased risk for premature death, heart disease, stroke and other conditions.

After 20 years at the helm and oversight of many major projects, Manchester Parks and Recreation Director Bonnie Gamble has notified the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen that she plans to retire.

Gamble worked for the Parks and Recreation Department as director for nine years before taking a job with the state of Tennessee. She returned to the city in 2010 to take over as Parks Director again. She informed the board of her intention to retire full time on June 30, 2021.

“I still plan to be active in the community and work part time for the city,” Gamble told Thunder Radio news. “But I have new challenges and a new grandchild coming that I want to be there for and I want the freedom to travel and see the world some.”

Gamble has oversaw multiple major projects that have shaped the city’s parks and recreation departments. She was instrumental in the start of the Little Duck River Greenway, which now stretches multiple miles, and she also oversaw construction of the Manchester Recreation Complex. In addition to many other major projects, Gamble also helped lead the purchasing and development of the new soccer complex off of State Route 55.

Gamble said she gave the city board over 10 months notice to allow them time to find a suitable replacement.
“I wanted to finish out this fiscal year (which ends June 30, 2021) and this gives the board time to decide how they want leadership to look moving forward,” explained Gamble.

The Recreation Department also organizes the annual Manchester Christmas Parade. Gamble currently serves as president of the Manchester Rotary Club.

(File photo: Bonnie Gamble, right, and Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman, left, accept a check of $5,000 from Phillip McAfee to go toward tennis court renovations. Gamble announced that she intends to retire June 30, 20201. )

Tennessee gas prices, on average, increased only slightly over last week, rising nearly a penny. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $1.90 which is four cents less than one month ago and nearly 44 cents less than one year ago. Average price in Coffee County is $1.91 as of Monday afternoon.

“Gas prices across the state are likely to fluctuate during back to school season, but we expect them to remain low,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “We’ve likely seen prices at the pump peak for 2020, barring any major hurricane(s).”

Quick Facts

· 91% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $2.00
· The lowest 10% of pump prices are $1.71 for regular unleaded
· The highest 10% of pump prices are $2.21 for regular unleaded
· Tennessee is now the 8th least expensive market in the nation

There are now 302 active cases of COVID-19 virus in Coffee County, down six from the prior day. Since testing began in March, there have been 617 total confirmed cases in Coffee County. Of these, 311 are classified as recovered, and four people have passed away. Numbers now remain lower than early last week, when the high of active cases hit 321.
Meanwhile, across the state of Tennessee active cases dipped by about 1,142.

There are currently about 36,240 active cases in the state. There have been 1,345 confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 since March, and 5,881 people have been hospitalized since March.
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