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Multiple area fall sports teams in action Monday
Monday is a full slate of game for area teams.
The Coffee County Central High School Golf teams will be hosting Tullahoma and Franklin County at WillowBrook Golf Course. Tee time is set for 1 p.m.
The Coffee County Middle School Lady Raider volleyball team looks to improve to 3-0 on the year as it travels to Harris Middle in Shelbyville for a 5 p.m. start.
Westwood Middle School’s Lady Rocket soccer team is opening its season at North Franklin at 6:30 p.m.
And the Central High School Lady Raider volleyball team opens its season at 6 p.m. against Warren County at Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. Thunder Radio will be on hand for that match as part of the First National Bank Hometown Sports Series.
Braves get 3RBIs from Markakis, drop Marlins 4-0 Sunday
In a game you heard on Thunder Radio, Nick Markakis gave the Braves a jolt before they left Atlanta and he helped create an encouraging conclusion to a rough road trip with the latest of his timely hits. Not bad for a guy who just three weeks ago changed his mind and decided to play this season.
Markakis delivered a clutch RBI single in the sixth inning and contributed a two-out, two-run double during a three-run seventh that gave the Braves a 4-0 win over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park.
With victories in the final two games of the three-game series, the Braves managed to win four of nine on this trying road trip and pull into a first-place tie with the Marlins atop the National League East.
Though the Braves had a lot of fun sweeping a doubleheader in Philadelphia last Sunday, they encountered plenty of potholes during their trip. They have played the past five games without Ronald Acuña Jr., who like his good friend Ozzie Albies is on the injured list with a left wrist injury. There is a chance both could return this week.
Most of the recent struggles, which reached a boiling point when the losing streak reached four games on Friday, have centered on a rotation that was reduced to three members when Sean Newcomb was demoted on Tuesday. This resulted in the need to go with a few bullpen games, the best of which was constructed with the four scoreless innings Robbie Erlin produced on Sunday.
Erlin, who was designated for assignment by the Pirates earlier this season, set the tone for the Braves, who allowed just one run over the final 19 innings of this series. The Marlins countered with a strong start from Elieser Hernandez, who delivered five scoreless innings and then watched the bullpen falter.
Active COVID-19 cases up slightly in Coffee County over the weekend
Active COVID-19 cases in Coffee County increased slightly over the weekend, up to 308 as of Sunday afternoon according to Tennessee Department of Health.
There has also been a fourth COVID-19 virus related death in Coffee County, bringing the total to four, according to TDH.
Since testing began in March, there have been 608 positive cases in Coffee County. Of these, 296 are classified as recovered and four people have passed away. There have been 10,610 negative tests performed in Coffee County.
Meanwhile, active cases across the state went up by approximately 1,878 over the weekend, but did finish down for the week.
Currently, there are approximately 36,105 active cases in the state. There have been 1,304 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths since March and 5,813 hospitalizations. As of August 15th, there are 964 people hospitalized across the state of Tennessee with COVID-19.
When it comes to hospital capacity, Tennessee appears to be in good shape. Only 21% of floor beds are occupied across the state’s hospitals and only 15% of the state’s ICU beds are currently occupied. As of Sunday, 68% of the state’s ventilators were in use.
New inclusive playground is now open at Fred Deadman Park in Manchester
After several weeks of waiting to pass inspection, the new inclusive playground at Fred Deadman Park officially opened to the public on Friday. The Parks and Recreation Department celebrated the opening of the new playground – officially titled the “Dusty Elam Memorial Playground” – with a ribbon cutting on Friday, Aug, 14.
The funding for the project did not come from local tax dollars, but instead from a Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant, as well as matching funds from Park Partners, which is a local non-profit that raises money for various parks and recreation projects and improvements.
The inclusive playground is designed for all children to be able to play together – allowing for children with special needs to play on the equipment just the same as other children.
Manchester VFW gives out awards
The Manchester, Tennessee Veterans of Foreign Wars All-American Post 10904
presented twenty awards, both to members and supporters in our community,
for their dedication to local veterans and their families.
Notable recipients include Lisa Mullins, Shelia Pack and Kyra Hill of the
Altamont Post Office, who accepted a special Military Support Appreciation
award on the post office’s behalf for their overwhelming support for area
veterans and their families.
Resa Smith, student at Coffee County Central High School, received 1st Place
in the VFW Auxiliary Patriotic Art Awards for her two paintings of veterans.
She was accompanied by her teacher, Mary Vacek, who shared that her father
had been in the military and wished he could have been a member of a group
like Manchester VFW. She said she thinks he would have loved it.
Virginia Hooker received the VFW Post Auxiliary Achievement Award for her
tireless volunteer work with the Auxiliary. Fred Kasper received the VFW
Post Award of Commendation for his vast volunteer work with the Post and
local community.
For details, more information and to stay current on the latest VFW news,
visit our website by clicking here.
In the photo below, pictured from left to right are Manchester VFW Post 10904 Commander Kim King; Altamont Post Office staff Kyra Hill, Shelia Pack and Lisa Mullins; and VFW Tennessee State Past Commander Mike Rhew.
Friday high school intra-squad scrimmage moved to practice field
The Central High School Red Raider football intra-squad scrimmage has been moved from Carden-Jarrell Field to the team’s practice field located at Coffee County Central High School.
CHS head coach Doug Greene told Thunder Radio that the game field is too wet for a scrimmage.
The Raiders are set to begin scrimmaging and practicing game situations at 5 p.m. Friday.
The Raiders open their regular season next Friday, Aug. 21, by hosting Franklin County in a non-region game. You can hear the Red Raiders every week on Thunder Radio – 1 07.9 FM, 106.7 FM, 1320 AM and www.thunder1320.com. Thunder Radio is your home for all Red Raider and Lady Raider athletics.
CHS Raider football team set to intra-squad Friday at Carden-Jarrell Field
Coffee County Central High School’s Red Raider football team will have an intra-squad workout at Carden-Jarrell Field Friday, Aug. 14.
According to head coach Doug Greene, the scrimmage will begin at 5:30 p.m. The varsity, junior varsity and freshman Red Raiders will all be on hand for various sessions as CHS prepares for the season opener Friday, Aug. 21, when the Raiders host Franklin County. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
When the season does start, Thunder Radio is your home for Red Raider football. Every game will be aired on Thunder Radio – beginning each night with the Friday Night Thunder pregame show, starting at 6 p.m
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Thunder Radio begins 63rd year of Red Raider football coverage on Aug. 21; Steere added as host of Friday Night Thunder pre and post-game shows
Thunder Radio’s 63rd year of covering Red Raider football begins in one week – Aug. 21 when Coffee County hosts Franklin County in a non-region tilt. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Carden-Jarrell Field.
Following the season opener, Thunder Radio will be on hand for every Red Raider game – home and away – to bring all the action back to your radio, computer and streaming devices (smart phones and Amazon Alexa).
The Friday Night Thunder pregame show (delivered by Riddle Trucking), will begin the festivities at 6 p.m.. This is the 12th year for Friday Night Thunder, and a new host will in the studio – Court Steere.
A Manchester native and former Red Raider himself, Steere brings a great understanding of not only football, but the Red Raider community. Steere played football for the Red Raiders and was a 2001 graduate of CHS.
“We are thankful and blessed to bring Steere onto our football coverage team for 2020,” said Josh Peterson, vice president of Thunder Radio. “He understands community sports. He knows what it was like to play sports and to play right here at Coffee County. He is raising kids in this community and he has a great understanding of football. He is going to bring a great new perspective to the Friday Night Thunder experience for our fans, players and coaches.”
Following Friday Night Thunder, the game broadcast will be handled by Peterson and Dustin Murray – both are former athletes at Coffee County Central, graduates of the school, Manchester natives and veteran broadcasters. Jonathan Oliver returns for his second season as the sideline reporter. Peterson moves from the Friday Night Thunder studio to the play-by-play booth to replace Dennis Weaver, the longtime voice of Coffee County athletics, who tragically passed away on July 24th.
“Weave was extremely excited to start this season and, in typical fashion, was already bombarding me with preparation and ideas,” explained Peterson. “We are going to miss having him on the call, and miss the excitement that he got from celebrating our athletes, teams and coaches. There is no ‘replacing’ Dennis Weaver. We are going to carry on his enthusiasm and his passion and we are going to focus all of our energy here at Thunder Radio on highlighting, promoting and celebrating our athletes and teams at Coffee County Central. We are proud to do it for them, and for him.”
Following each game, the Friday Night Thunder Postgame show – hosted by Steere – will allow for call-ins and a region-wide scoreboard rundown, as well as play highlights from the game.
Every pregame show, game and postgame show can be heard live on Thunder Radio- 107.9 FM, 106.7 FM, 1320 AM, streaming at www.thunder1320.com, streaming on the Manchester Go smartphone app and streaming on Amazon Alexa.
Tickets for the season opener against Franklin County should be purchased at the school prior to arrival – no tickets will be sold at the gate. You can purchase tickets Wednesday, Thursday and Friday between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. and CHS- 100 Red Raider Dr.
Red Raider, Lady Raider golfers with solid day Thursday at Willowbrook
The Coffee County Central High School Red Raider golf team split its first home match of the season on Thursday – falling to Shelbyville, but outpacing Grundy County at WillowBrook Golf Course.
Logan Hale led the way for CHS, carding a 78. Hale’s 6-over par performance was good enough for second overall among all teams. Hale was followed by Red Raidersa Zack Tidwell with a 90, Blake Berry with a 92 and Beau Murray came in with a 98 to round out the 358 score for the Red Raiders.
Bennett Boyce of Shelbyville led the day with a 3-over par 75. The Eagles cruised to the victory with an overall score of 328. Grundy County finished at 426.
Meanwhile, the Lady Raider golfers took first place over Shelbyville and Grundy County.
Shelbyville only fielded one golfer on the day – Hannah Campell, who scored the best out of all boys and girls with an even-par 72.
For the Lady Raiders it was Cadie Prater with a 93, Araya Hughes carded a 95 and Maggy Crouch at an even 100.
Unemployment claims continue steep decline across Tennessee; still abnormally high
News claims for unemployment benefits and continued claims for unemployment benefits both dropped in Tennessee last week.
For the week ending Aug, 8, there were 10,036 new claims filed for unemployment benefits. This is down 1,600 from the previous week and 9,400 from two weeks ago. However, this is still abnormally high and makes 781,310 new claims since COVID-19 pandemic began in mid March.
Meanwhile, continued claims dropped significantly for the second consecutive week. There were 208,810 continued claims, down 15,283 from the previous week and down 33,587 from two weeks prior – which is when CARES act federal unemployment benefits ended.
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