Josh Peterson

The Manchester Parks and Recreation Department is one of only eight groups across the entire country to be awarded a grant from the National Recreation and Parks Association.

This is a “Fit and Strong” grant that will pay for training the Manchester Recreation Department instructors and for materials to offer the program to the public for free. Fit and Strong Is designed for persons with lower extremity pain and stiffness.

There are 24 classes at 90 minutes long – these include 60 minutes of physical activity and 30 minutes of group health education. These classes will start March 9. For more information, contact the Manchester Recreation Department at 931-728-0273.

Other departments that received this grant are located in Deleware, Illinois, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon and Virginia.

This story may contain information too disturbing for some readers.

Authorities are searching for the person or persons responsible for allegedly shooting a dog in the face.

Members of the group “Dogs on Borrowed Time” were contacted Friday about a dog that was hurt near Clouse Hill Rd. in Grundy County. According to the veterinarian that cared for the dog, he had been shot in the face by a shotgun. Both eyes were non-functional and pellets were in his brain.

The dog was euthanized by the veterinarian. A reward of $2,700 has been offered for information leading to the arrest of those responsible. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Grundy County investigators at  (931) 692-3860.

Monday, February 3 is the final day to register to vote if you plan to participate in the upcoming March 3 primary election.

Coffee County voters voting in the Republican primary will be selecting a new General Sessions Judge to replace the late Tim Brock, who passed away late in 2019.

The primary will also include the presidential candidates for the 2020 election.

If you want to register, you can do so by clicking here. 

You can also visit your local election commission – in Coffee County that is at 1329 McArthur St. Suite 6.

Early voting for the March 3 primary begins on Feb. 12.

Manchester Fire and Rescue Department responded to a vehicle fire on State Highway 55 shortly after noon on Thursday.

Crews arrived on the scene to find a fully involved truck on fire on the side of the road.

Before crews could arrive, the driver and passenger of the truck were able to exit and unhook a travel trailer from the truck. Tullahoma Fire Department arrived on scene for assistance but the scene was under control by the Manchester Fire Department. Crews were able to extinguish the fire, but the vehicle was a total loss. Manchester Police, Tullahoma Police and Tennessee Highway Patrol were all on scene to perform traffic control in the area.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has announced a proposed rule change that would allow schools to serve fewer fruits and grains, and a smaller variety of vegetables.

The change would roll back school nutrition standards put into place in 2012.

Signe Anderson, director of nutrition advocacy at the Tennessee Justice Center, says the proposed changes especially will impact the state’s low-income children, who get more than half of their daily calories from school meals.

“In Tennessee, there are over 515,000 children from low-income families who participate in free and reduced-price meals, and we fear those kids, children from low-income families, will be hardest hit with this rule,” she states.

The Trump administration points to plate waste, or how much food ends up in school cafeterias’ garbage cans as a reason for rolling back the 2012 nutrition standards.

The public comment period on the rule is open until March 23.

Anderson points to research showing that children don’t always toss out their lunch when served healthier foods.

“But, based on USDA’s own study, they didn’t find that there was a significant increase in plate waste,” she points out. “It either stayed the same or, in some instances, actually decreased.”

Anderson says more and more children are struggling with diabetes and other health conditions linked to diet.

“One in three children in Tennessee are overweight, one in five is obese, and rolling back nutrition standards does not help to address this issue,” she states.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes are on the rise among children and adolescents, and of the estimated 23 million people with diagnosed diabetes in 2015, nearly 200,000 were younger than 20