Josh Peterson

Tullahoma has narrowed its search for a police chief down to four candidates. After fielding 73 applicants from 23 states, city officials have narrowed the field down to four candidates. Acting chief Phil Henderson is one fo the finalists, along with Phillip Sullivan of Abingdon, Virginia, Michael Eric Anderson of Franklin, Tennessee and Jason Williams of Shelbyville, Tennessee.

Henderson is a 32-year veteran of the Tullahoma Police Department with a career that has included time as patrol sergeant and lieutenant over support services division. Sullivan is the chief of police in Abingdon, Virginia, Anderson is a lieutenant with the Franklin Police Department and Williams is the chief deputy with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department. 

The Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen will make the final hiring decision. Tullahoma is looking for a police chief after former chief Paul Blackwell pleaded no contest to tampering with evidence in April. 

Pictured is damage to Johnson Lane soccer fields in Tullahoma. (photo provided)

You may remember we first reported to you last month that the Johnson Lane soccer fields in Tullahoma had been vandalized. Well now the City of Tullahoma has presented a check for $4,000 to help with repair and maintenance with that cleanup project.

It was early morning on July 21 when someone took a vehicle onto the fields and heavily damaged them. A gofundme account has raised nearly $3,500. The fields are expected to be ready to play on again by August 23rd. 

Sign ups for the annual Dusty Elam Memorial Youth Basketball League at the Manchester Recreation Center begin Sept. 16.

The first practice will be October 21st and games will be on Saturday’s, starting November 9th. The league is for students in grades kindergarten through third grade and cost is $55 to sign up – there is financial assistance available. Contact Jeff Houck for more information at 931-728-0273. The rec complex is located at 557 N. Woodland Street.

Manchester Police Department SRO Andy Neesmith has graduated as a certified DARE instructor, undergoing an 80-hour training course.

DARE is a police-officer led series of classroom lessons that teaches children from kindergarten through seniors in high school how to resist peer pressure and live productive, drug and violence-free lives.

Please join us at Thunder Radio in congratulating SRO Andy Neesmith.

Pictured are, from left, Chris Patterson, Andy Neesmith, MPD Chief Mark Yother.

If you are looking or a job – Thursday between 11 am. And 3 p.m. is the Job Fair for the upcoming 2020 census. The fair is at the Manchester Public Library at 1005 Hillsboro Blvd. There are office positions in Shelbyville and some work from home jobs starting at $14 per hour and up. You can inquire more at 2020census.gov/jobs or, visit the fair.

Goodman Manuacturing in Fayetteville has filed a notice with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development that it will be permanently laying off 703 workers at that facility by the end of September. 

The company actually announced back in September of 2015 that it would be closing the Fayetteville plant by 2017 while the company’s parent group, Daikin, consolidated operations to its location in Waller, Texas.

Currently, the Fayetteville plant employs 1,800 people and the collective bargaining agreement expires November 1st of 2020.

A Rutherford County 17-year old who had been reported missing since April has been found safely in Coffee County. 

Lamar Hinton, Jr., was located Tuesday in Coffee County and returned home, according to Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department officials. 

Hinton appeared well taken care of, according to Rutherford County detective Andrea Knox. 

Tips led Rutherford County and Coffee County Sheriff’s deputies to a home in Beech Grove where Hinton was found. 

Detective Knox thanked Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin for his department’s work in finding Hinton, saying of Coffee County Sheriff’s Department: “They were very diligent in their search efforts supplying manpower and resources. We are very appreciative.”

In 2018, tourism spending in Tennessee outpaced the nation with $22 billion in travel spending and 119 million visitors to the state. That is a 5.1 percent increase in visitors  and a record high in spending. Tennessee ranked third behind Pennsylvania and Colorado for international spending growth over 2017. 

Locally, in Coffee County, spending here increased nearly 5.5 percent, with an estimated 100.23 million dollars spent in Coffee County, that’s up over 95 million from 2017. That increase meant 2.61 million in local tax receipts, up from 2.51 million in 2017. 

The full tourism report can be found by clicking here.