Josh Peterson

The annual CMA fest held in Nashville has been cancelled for 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials made the announcement Tuesday. The event was set to take place June 4-7. The event will not be made up at a later date this year – meaning it will return in June of 2021. Ticket holders can seek a refund at the point in which they purchased tickets.

An individual who applies for unemployment benefits in Tennessee must do weekly certifications in order to receive benefits. These certifications are necessary to ensure a claimant is eligible to receive benefits for that week, which lessens the chance of having an overpayment. Claimants can complete the certification process on their smartphone.

Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has a smartphone app that allows claimants to easily complete their weekly certifications without having to use a computer or internet service.

The mobile app is available in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Using the mobile app directs traffic away from the Jobs4TN website, creating more capacity for Tennesseans to file online for unemployment benefits.

A claimant uses the same login credentials needed to access Jobs4TN.gov to use the mobile app. Once logged in, the user will find a series of questions to answer that will determine their weekly eligibility to receive unemployment benefits.

The entire weekly certification process using the mobile app should take between five and 10 minutes to complete.

Walmart announced that it will begin taking the temperature of employees when they report to work, and tell them to stay home or seek medical care if a fever of a least 100 degrees is present.

This will be implemented in all stores and distribution centers, including Manchester Walmart, but this will begin at distribution and fulfillment centers in COVID-19 hotspots.

Employees with a high temperature will not be allowed to return to work until they are fever free for at least three days.

Wednesday, April 1, is National Census Day and there really is no better way to celebrate than to complete your Census!

Since the 2020 Census began accepting responses on March 12, Coffee County has been one of the best areas for self-response in Tennessee. Coffee County has either been second, tied for second or in third place since responses opened. Currently, Coffee County has a 44.1% response rate, good enough for third in the entire state of Tennessee.

“We have said this over and over, but it is certainly worth repeating,” explained Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell. “This Census is extremely important. The information collected and the data collected impacts federal funding for programs here, it impacts school funding, transportation funding, and it even impacts whether or not businesses want to relocate or expand here. Please, take the time to complete your Census.”

Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman echoes that sentiment.

“It only takes a few minutes of your time,” said Norman. “And your information is safe. Completing the Census is a way that you can help promote Manchester to business, industry and retail out there and make sure that we receive all the federal funding that we need here in Manchester.”

Some studies show that for each person who is not accounted for, Coffee County will miss out on about $11,000 in federal funding over the next 10 years.

Completing the Census is free, easy and fast. You can complete your Census online by clicking here (If you do not have your Census ID number, which arrived in the mail, you can simply bypass that step and do your Census online by using your home address.)

You can also complete the Census by telephone at 1-800-354-7271 or by filling out the mail packet sent to your home address. Remember, every household should complete the 2020 Census in one of those three ways.

Privacy and security concerns at ease

Sometimes people express concern about security of information when it comes to filling out the Census. Census information is confidential. According to Tia Zanghi, partnership specialist with the Census, Census data is stripped down to statistical form when it’s submitted to the President.

The U.S. Census is completely confidential and bound by Title 13. Title 13 protects private information from being published and under the U.S. Code, Census workers take a lifetime oath of confidentiality as well.

By law, census responses cannot be used by any of the following agencies: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Those who violate Title 13 can face a federal prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of $250,000, or both.
“Your information is completely confidential,” reassured Zanghi. “It is protected by law. For 72 years your info is completely locked up. Whenever we submit this information to the president it will be in statistical form only”

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee on Monday announced a statewide “safer-at-home” order, closing all “non-essential” businesses.

Clarifying, Lee said the order is not a “shelter-in-place” order. He does urge Tennesseans to stay home if possible.

The order mandates organizations and business not performing essential services to close public access, use delivery, takeout, online or phone operations.

Essential services include health care or public health operations, human services operations, essential infrastructure operations, essential government functions, food and medicine stores, food and beverage production and agriculture, charitable and social services, religious and ceremonial functions, media, convenience stores or transportation businesses, financial institutions, insurance entities, hardware supply stores, critical trades, mail services, educational institutions, laundry services, off-premise restaurants, supplies for essential business and operations, transportation, home-based care and services, residential facilities and shelters, professional services, manufacturing, distribution and supply for critical products and industries, hotels and funeral services.

The types of business likely to be most effected by closure will be spas, barber shops, nail salons and other similar businesses.

This order takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday and ends on April 14.

As of 2 p.m. Monday, there are 1,834 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Tennessee, including one in Coffee County. This includes `13 deaths and 148 hospitalizations.

Unity Medical Center in Manchester is reporting that it has administered 53 COVID-19 tests, with 31 negatives, one positive and 21 results pending.

The Tennessee gas price average continues to decline and has dropped nearly 13 cents since this time last week. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $1.77 which is 45 cents less than one month ago and nearly 71 cents less than one year ago.

“Tennessee motorists are seeing dramatic declines in pump prices. The state average is down 45 cents since March 1,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “More discounts are expected in the coming week as gasoline demand continues to decline.”

In Manchester, gas could be found at $1.80 per gallon as of Monday afternoon. In Tullahoma, gas was as low as $1.66 per gallon Monday. In McMinnville, prices have dipped all the way to $1.19 per gallon of regular unleaded.

Quick Facts
• 94% of TN filling stations have sub-$2 gas prices
• TN gas prices have declined for 33 consecutive days for a total discount of nearly 47 cents per gallon
• Eight metro areas have seen double-digit decreases at the pump in the last week
• All metro areas have average prices below $2 per gallon
National Gas Prices
At $2.01, the national gas price average is 11-cents cheaper on the week, 43-cents less expensive on the month and 68-cents less than a year ago.

Only three counties in the state of Tennessee have reached a 40-percent self-response rate for the 2020 United States Census.

Coffee County is one of those three.

As of Monday, March 30, Coffee County is tied for the second best Census self-response rate in the entire state of Tennessee, with at 41.1% response rate, tying with Loudon County. Moore County has the best response rates at 41.4%.

“This is a very important Census for Coffee County,” said Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell. “It is of utmost important that everyone is accounted for. This data and these results will have a direct impact in our community for the next 10 years.”

Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman also recognizes the importance of the 2020 Census on the Manchester community.

“We need all of our citizens to take time and fill in their Census – whether they do that online, over the phone or through the mail,” explained Norman. “We want to have the best self-response rate in the State, that should be our goal here. There are a lot of federal dollars attached to Census data. I’m glad to see our citizens our off to a very good start.”

Self-response is the rate at which county’s respond without having an enumerator (or a door knocker) come to visit. Those aren’t schedule to start until May – meaning if you have already completed your Census, you will not be visited by an enumerator. Coffee County’s self response rate for the last Census – 2010 – was 70%. Obviously the goal is to blow past that number.
Coffee County’s self response rate of 41.1% is ahead of the Tennessee response rate of 33.5 and the national rate of 33.1 percent.

Everyone is encouraged to respond to the Census online if they have internet access. The website to respond can be found by clicking here – responding takes mere minutes and you only need your street address to get started. Without internet access, respondents should pay close attention to their mailboxes and respond to the paper questionnaire or call the phone number provided. To respond by phone, you can call 1-800-354-7271.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about $675 billion in federal money will be distributed based on the census data compiled, meaning ensuring a complete count in Coffee County is a top priority for local officials. One separate study shows that for every person that goes uncounted in the Census, Coffee County will miss out on about $11,000 in federal money allocation over the next 10 years.