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Patricia Fay Cline
Mrs. Patricia Fay Cline, age 79, of Manchester, TN,
passed from this life on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, in Tullahoma, TN. Mrs.
Cline was born in Manchester, TN, to her late parents Harold Plant and
Louise Sissom Plant. She worked as the Coffee County Mayor’s assistant and
as the county payroll clerk. Mrs. Cline loved riding ATV’s, gardening,
horseback riding, and anything outdoors. She also loved animals and loved
to travel. Mrs. Cline was a very accomplished cook and baker. She was a
loving wife, mother and nana to her family and will be deeply missed. Mrs.
Cline is survived by her husband of 59 years, Gary Cline; son, Steve Cline;
daughter, Stephanie (Brian) Langham; grandchildren, Austin Cline, Brittany
(Heath) Howland, Ashley Langham, and Colton Langham; great grandchildren,
Sawyer Howland and Olivia Howland. Visitation with the family will be held
on Saturday, March 26, 2022, from 12noon until 2:00pm at Central Funeral
Home in Manchester, TN. Funeral services will be conducted immediately
following visitation at 2:00pm in the chapel of Central Funeral Home.
Burial will follow at Rose Hill Memorial Gardens in Tullahoma, TN. Central
Funeral Home is honored to serve the family, 931-723-7774,
centralfuneralhome.com
Barbara Jean Fanning
Funeral services for Barbara Jean Fanning, age 88 of Tullahoma, will be conducted on Friday, March 24, 2022, at 1 PM in the Tullahoma Funeral Home chapel. Burial will immediately follow in Mt. Olivet cemetery. Visitation with the family will be held from 12 Noon until time of service on Friday. Barbara passed away on March 20 at Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital in Shelbyville.
Barbara was born on September 4, 1933, in Tullahoma, to the late Joseph and Pearl Foster Stamper. She was a machine operator for General Motors until her retirement. Barbara enjoyed sewing, gardening, baking, and riding her Tennessee Walking horse, but her greatest joy came from working for her Lord, especially singing in the gospel group “The Singing Notes” from Indiana.
In addition to her parents, Barbara is preceded in death by her husband, John T. Fanning, son, James Smith, Jr., daughters, Patricia and Teresa Smith, and sister, Jewell Primm. She is survived by her daughter, Victoria Lynn Smith, and son Juan Smith (Julie); several grandchildren and great grandchildren; daughter-in-law, Marilyn Smith; close special friends, Bob and Maureen Wagoner and their daughter, Trish; several extended family members and a host of friends.
Tullahoma Funeral Home is honored to serve the Fanning family.
Billy E. Trussell
Billy E. Trussell of Winchester passed this life on Wednesday, March 23,
2022 at Elk River Nursing and Rehab in Winchester at the age of 64. Funeral
Services are scheduled for Sunday, March 27, 2022 at 2 PM at
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home with burial to follow at Winchester Memorial
Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 12 Noon until 2 PM.
Mr. Trussell, a native of Franklin County, was the son of the late Glen
Edward and Evyline Sims Trussell. He enjoyed being with his family,
fishing, having cookouts and watching old western shows on TV.
Mr. Trussell is survived by brothers, Charles Trussell of Estill Springs
and Glen Franklin Trussell of Monteagle; sisters, Louise Poff of Winchester
and Margie Taylor of Tullahoma and nephews, Marty and Charlie Trussell and
Roy Poff.
Online condolences may be made at www.davesculbertsonfuneralhome.com.
Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Tennesseans pay more than national average for prescriptions
By Nadia Ramligan, TN Public News Service
A recent report found Tennessee households pay more than $6,000 a year on prescriptions, far more than the national average of around $4,000 dollars.
Yesterday, U.S. Senate lawmakers held a hearing on prescription-drug pricing, as inflation continues to drive up prices.
Steffany Stern, vice president for advocacy at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, testified astronomical drug prices for conditions such as MS force most individuals to rely on charity to cover the costs of their medications.
“It’s very common for people with MS like my mom to have to rely on some kind of financial assistance to afford their costs,” Stern explained. “Our studies show around 70% of people rely on financial assistance just so they can pay their out-of-pocket.”
According to a report from the financial resource company ValuePenguin, since 2010, consumer spending on prescription and nonprescription drugs has increased every year. Last December the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform released a report which showed the list prices of several prescription drugs, including insulin, continue to climb.
Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis Advisors and CEO of 46 Brooklyn Research, said middle entities called Pharmacy Benefit Managers, who work to negotiate drug prices between insurance companies and pharmacies, are partly responsible for driving up the costs of drugs for consumers.
“Relatively speaking, considering their outsized role in impacting the price of medications, they’ve really kind of been overlooked and left to the side in a lot of the federal legislative efforts on drug pricing,” Ciaccia contended.
Last month the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) deadlocked a vote on whether to examine the business practices of Pharmacy Benefit Managers, but some lawmakers are urging the agency to take action. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, recently wrote to the FTC, calling for a study on competition within the Pharmacy Benefit Manager industry.
Tennessee unemployment inches down in February
Newly released data from the Department of Labor and Workforce Development showed Tennessee recorded another month of lower unemployment in February. It marked the second consecutive month of decreased jobless numbers across the state.
The February 2022 seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.4% was a 0.1 of a percentage point drop from January’s rate of 3.5%. The new figure came in 1.6 percentage points lower than the 2021 rate of 5%.
Tennessee employers created thousands of new jobs during the month. Between January and February, workers filled 19,000 nonfarm positions. The largest increases were in the construction sector, followed by the administrative, support, and waste services sector, and then the accommodation and food services sector.
Between 2021 and 2022, nonfarm employment across Tennessee grew by 129,500 jobs. The largest increase came in the leisure and hospitality sector. The trade, transportation, and utilities sector had the second-largest increase, followed by the professional and business services sector.
Unemployment across the United States also dropped slightly in February. The nationwide seasonally adjusted rate inched down by 0.2 of a percentage point to 3.8%. One year ago, the national jobless rate was 6.2%.
A complete analysis of Tennessee’s February 2022 unemployment data, including industry-specific statistics, is available here (https://www.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=166478db53c066a7d114ea462&id=09111e62a2&e=29851e7b63) .
Jobs4TN.gov (https://www.us13.list-manage.com/track/click?u=166478db53c066a7d114ea462&id=77b54c7e26&e=29851e7b63) has tens of thousands of job postings from employers in and around Tennessee, including many work-from-home job opportunities.
Tennesseans have access to both online and in-person job seeker services where career specialists can help them devise a back-to-work plan. They can access those services at their local American Job Center or the state’s workforce development websites. All the information needed to get started is available at www.TNWorkReady.com.
H&R BLOCK STUDENT OF THE WEEK – Paisley Duke
Join us at Thunder Radio and Rosalyn Partin of the Manchester H&R Block and congratulate our student of the week – Paisley Duke.
Paisley is a 5th grader at Hickerson Elementary School. She was nominated by her teachers and administrators. Paisley is the daughter of Lindsey Duke.
Her favorite subject is Math. In her free time she enjoys her pets and riding horses. She also likes to play on her iPad.
All students of the week are selected for their work ethic and excellent attitudes in and out of the classroom.
Rosalyn Partin, owner of the Manchester H&R Block, has been inspired to recognize great kids in our community all year long. H&R Block gives each Student of the Week a commemorative plaque, a special letter of recognition and two tickets to Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park.
Job well done, Paisley.
Manchester Easter egg hunts coming in April
Manchester’s Parks and Recreation Center will have its annual Easter egg hunts in the coming weeks.
The underwater egg hunt will be at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 2 in the rec center pool. This is for ages 2-12 and there is no cost. Don’t forget to bring your water proof Easter egg basket. There is limited space for this event – preregister at the front desk, 557 N. Woodland St. in Manchester.
Outdoor Easter egg hunts will be April 16.
The egg hunt for ages 7 and under will be at 1 p.m. in Fred Deadman Park. There will be a night egg hunt for ages 8 and older at The Babe Ruth Field that begins at 8 p.m. These events are free.
Call the rec center at 931-728-0273 for more information.
SOCCER: Westwood pummels Webb 9-0
Westwood’s Rocket soccer team beat visiting Webb School like a drum on Wednesday – using goals from 5 different players to cruise to a 9-0 win.
Junior Petatan finished with a hat trick, finding the back of the net on three separate occasions. He also picked up a pair of assists. Also scoring for the Rockets were Joel Barrera with 2 goals, Joan Deanda, Aiden Walker and William Rogers with 1 goal apiece.
Picking up assists for Westwood were Deanda (2), Barrera (2), Walker (1), Matthew White (1), Rogers (1) and Micah Anderson (1).
The Rockets dominated so much that Webb wasn’t even able to get off a single shot on goal.
The Rockets will be back in action Friday, March 25 when they host Fayetteville City at 5:30 p.m.
HS BASEBALL: Robertson strikes out 14 as Raiders even up district record
A 5-run bottom of the first inning and a 14-strikeout performance on the mound from Aiden Robertson led the Coffee County Central Red Raiders to an 8-2 District 6-4A win over Franklin County Wednesday afternoon in Manchester – a game you heard live on Thunder Radio.
The Raiders set the tone early – taking a 5-0 lead in the bottom half of the first. Freshman leadoff hitter got the ball rolling with a double to leftfield. Junior Jacob Holder came to the plate and blasted a double to the left-centerfield gap to plate a pair of runs. Holder finished the night with two hits and a pair of RBIs – he drove in two more in the bottom of the fifth.
Caleb Moran also had an RBI for the Raiders on a single.
That was plenty of offense for Robertson. The junior right-hander cruised through the Rebel lineup with little resistance. He went the distance, striking out 14 batters while only allowing four hits – 3 on infield singles. He was named Thunder Radio player of the game – insured by Brett Harris with Farmers Insurance.
THIS GAME WAS BROADCAST LIVE ON THUNDER RADIO. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO REPLAY.
Peyton Miller was hit with the loss for the Rebels. He allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on four hits and did not record an out before being replaced by Josh Stoltzfus, who struck out 9 Raiders and allowed 2 runs on no hits over the next 3 2/3.
The Raiders are now 2-4 overall and 1-1 in district play. They return to action Thursday at Middle Tennessee Christian School.
Cole Pippenger 
Jacob Holder 
Cole Pippenger 
Aiden Robertson
Thunder Radio photos by Holly Peterson
CMS Raiders roll South to remain unbeaten in CTC play
Austin Gipson allowed two unearned runs and struck out 4 in five solid innings of work as the Coffee Middle Raiders run-ruled South 12-2 Wednesday night.
Coffee County only managed 4 hits but drew 11 walks at the plate. Jace Cashion and Landan Abellana each had a pair of RBIs for the Raiders in the win.
CMS led 5-0 but busted things open with a 7-run fifth inning.