Josh Peterson

Manchester Fire and Rescue Department responded to a fire Thursday night at the Econo Lodge. No injuries were reported but one hotel room sustained significant damage.

The Econo Lodge is located at 33 Paradise Street (near Cracker Barrell).

When firefighters arrived on the scene, crews witnessed light smoke emitting from a room. Firefighters entered the room and discovered remnants of a fire in the corner of the room. Firefighters pulled out smoldering clothes and a blanket before reentering the room to extinguish hot spots in the corner of the room.

No injuries were reported and the tenant of the room was not in the room when the fire started, according to Manchester Fire Department Chief George Chambers.

MFD crews  thoroughly searched other rooms on both floors and the chase area between rooms and found no fire extension.

The room tenant was able to collect belongings and was relocated to another room.

The fire is under investigation. Assisting on the scene were Coffee County EMS and Manchester Police Department

In an update to a story Thunder Radio news brought to you last week regarding occupational licenses, state senator Janice Bowling has announced that she moved the bill into a subcommittee, a move that effectively “kills the legislation.”

The bill in question would have waived license requirements for many occupations, such as cosmetologists, barbers, tattoo artist, real estate brokers, home inspectors and many others.

Had the bill passed, non-licensed workers could perform the work but would need to have the customer sign a waiver acknowledging that the work was being done by a non-licensed worker.

Senator Bowling issued a statement claiming that she never intended for the bill to pass in its current form. Her full statement is as follows:

“My intention in signing this bill was to only use it as vehicle later in the session to address any specific needs by opening up sections of Tennessee law dealing with occupational licensing. It was never my intention to run the bill in its current form. An amendment would have been necessary to significantly change its scope. There is obviously a lot of misinformation and confusion about this bill from well-intentioned people. For that reason, I have placed the bill in a General Subcommittee where it will not be acted upon, effectively killing the bill.”

Bowling sponsored the bill in the senate.

Fourth and fifth graders at Hickerson Elementary School took part in a community service project that bought in pennies for an entire month to raise money and purchase a vest for Coffee County Sheriff’s Department deputy Brandon Gullett’s canine companion, Emi. Congratulations Hickerson students, Thunder Radio and the entire community thanks you for your great service project.

Manchester Fire and Rescue Department responded to a fire Thursday night at the Econo Lodge. No injuries were reported but one hotel room sustained significant damage.

The Econo Lodge is located at 33 Paradise Street (near Cracker Barrell).

When firefighters arrived on the scene, crews witnessed light smoke emitting from a room. Firefighters entered the room and discovered remnants of a fire in the corner of the room. Firefighters pulled out smoldering clothes and a blanket before reentering the room to extinguish hot spots in the corner of the room.

No injuries were reported and the tenant of the room was not in the room when the fire started, according to Manchester Fire Department Chief George Chambers.

MFD crews  thoroughly searched other rooms on both floors and the chase area between rooms and found no fire extension.

The room tenant was able to collect belongings and was relocated to another room.

The fire is under investigation. Assisting on the scene were Coffee County EMS and Manchester Police Department.(Pictured below, damage from the hotel room. Photo provided)

Knoxville state rep Martin Daniel introduced HB 1945 and Senator Janice Bowling sponsored the legislation in the senate as SB 1914, legislation that, if passed, would allow unlicensed workers in certain fields, as long as customers know and acknowledge the work is being done by an unlicensed worker.

The list of professions included that could be affected by this bill would be accountants, architects, engineers, landscape architects, interior designers, barbers, cosmetologists, funeral directors and embalmers, contractors, home inspectors, plumbers, home improvement contractors, locksmiths, real estate brokers, land surveyors, soil scientists, auctioneers, pesticide application, rental location agents, private investigators, polygraph examiners, individuals engaged with fire and sprinkler systems, servicers of fire extinguishers, alarm contractors, private protective services, geologists, tattoo artists, body piercing artists, real estate appraisers and professional employer organizations.

The senate has referred the bill to the senate commerce and labor committee. Meanwhile, it has been assigned to the business subcommittee in the house.

If passed, the bill would allow someone without licensure to perform work in these fields. However, clients would be required to sign paperwork acknowledging they know about the lack of license and agree to release the person performing work from liability.

Throughout this past fall, Central  High School FBLA members, officers, and advisors, along with special volunteers, spent many hours organizing the “Team Up to Tackle Breast Cancer” event.  FBLA members sold t-shirts and Otis Spunkmeyer breast cancer cookies, and hosted a “pink out” game where participants at the game sported pink.  Funds raised from these activities have totaled $6000.  The donation is being presented to the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition with all funds set to benefit breast cancer patients in Coffee County.  FBLA would like to thank everyone who participated in the various activities and donated so that one day a cure may be found!

For the second year in a row, the Coffee County government operated with no audit findings in its annual report released by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. 

This means that auditors did not discover any weaknesses or deficiencies in the entire government operations for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2019.

This is the second year in a row for the County to have no findings, which is rare across the state.

It also marked the fourth straight year for no audit findings with the Coffee County School System.

Gov. Bill Lee recently announced Tennessee’s public schools will receive $650 million to improve student literacy, support school mental health services, and boost teacher pay and professional development.

The state says a significant portion of the funding will be used to purchase high-quality reading materials for elementary-school students and to provide teachers with evidence-based training for literacy instruction. Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said the state continues to lag behind in teaching kids to read.

“We know that only a third of our kiddos are on grade level, reading on grade level in fourth grade. And 27% are on grade level in eighth grade,” Schwinn said. “And so, we feel an incredible sense of urgency to ensure that every single child has what they need to become proficient readers.”

According to the latest federal data, Tennessee ranks among the 10 states in the nation with the lowest per-student spending, at around $8,500 per student. The national average is more than $11,000 per student.

Schwinn added the new investments come at time when the state is focused on economic growth and developing a future workforce.

“Tennessee, 11 years ago, was ranked in the bottom five states related to performance and proficiency, student achievement in the country – the bottom five,” she said. “And now, what we’re seeing is that Tennessee is in the middle of the pack. We rank somewhere between 25th and 35th, depending on the grade level and content area.”

The governor also proposed pay raises for Tennessee’s teachers, promising to boost their starting minimum annual salary from $36,000 to $40,000 over the next two years.

Story by Nadia Ramlagan, Public News Service – TN