Category: News

A Coffee County High School student has been charged with filing a false report after an incident at the school Wednesday. The high school was evacuated after a threatening note was found at the school. School officials then allowed those who drove to school to leave ,while those who rode buses were transported to a designated area. Sheriff Steve Grave complimented the handling of the situation by the school officials. He did not disclose what the note stated. The student has been suspended from school over the incident.

A preliminary hearing for a Tullahoma man accused of the New Year’s Day kidnapping of a Tullahoma woman in Manchester has been set for Feb. 5. Billy Joe Nelson is charged with kidnapping, rape, carjacking, aggravated assault and robbery of a female who was getting in her car at an abandoned gas station in Manchester.
Nelson was booked into the Coffee County Jail under a $1 million bond.

The Coffee County Industrial board met this week and various items were discussed including possible manufactures that could locate here.
Two new projects are looking at Coffee County as possible sites. One needs 25 acres with 15 acre expansion and would employ 300 people.
Japanese Stamping Company has visited Coffee County. If this company comes to Coffee County it would employ 40 people.
German Company has also visited. They have narrowed their choice down to 3 sites and Coffee County is in the final three. The company could employ up to 400 people.
We’ll have more when information becomes available.

Thursday marked a bittersweet day for one mid-state family, a day they’ve waited for since the 1950s. The remains of missing Korean War soldier, Glenn Schoenmann, were finally return home Thursday afternoon. Private First Class Schoenmann was 20-years-old when he went missing in action 62 years ago, six months after joining the army. He was involved in the infamous Battle of Chosin Reservoir in North Korea on November 28, 1950. He reportedly died as a Prisoner of War on December 29, 1950.
His family said his remains were recovered in 2004, but his remains were not identified until November 2012.
Last fall, a Vietnam villager found the remains of Spc. Marvin Phillips after he had been missing for 45 years. Phillips grew up 10 miles from Schoenmann in Grundy County.

Bonnaroo is excited to announce that, thanks to the environmental consciousness and generosity of their fans, they are taking a step forward in reducing their carbon footprint – the country’s first-ever permanent Solar Array at a music festival. This year the music festival in Manchester will be powered by the sun.
Organizers said it’s the first time a music festival has used solar panels.
The panels, which are already up and running, will supply a large percent of the total electricity needed at Bonnaroo in June.
The solar project was fully funded by “opt-in” contributions that fans select while buying their ‘Roo tickets.

It is time to use portable heaters to break winter chills but Manchester firefighters warn to use caution.
According to statistics, an estimated 900 portable heater fires in homes are reported to fire departments each year and cause an estimated 70 deaths, 150 injuries and $53 million in property loss.
“Staying warm is very important, but safety is very important when it comes to using portable heaters,” said Manchester Fire Chief Charlie Taylor. “Most of the fires involving portable heaters can be prevented.”
One way to prevent a possible fire is checking the location of where the heater is stationed.
“Individuals using portable heaters need to make sure that anything that can burn such as bedding, clothing and curtains are at least three feet away from the heater,” Taylor said. “This not only applies to portable heaters, it also applies to wall heaters. Many times individuals think their old wall heaters are disconnected and put furniture or other items right in front of them. When the temperatures get real cold, then those heaters kick on and the next thing you know there is a fire.”
Other safety tips for using portable heaters include turning the units off when leaving the room or going to bed, and using only heaters from a recognized testing laboratory that have an automatic shut off.
“An automatic shut off is important in the event that the heater is tipped over,” Taylor said. “If that does happen, the unit will turn off.”
Another important safety tip when using portable heaters is to make sure the unit is plugged into an outlet and never into an extension cord or power strip.

“Even though many portable heaters are small in size, they still pull a lot of electricity,” Taylor added. “They should always be plugged into an outlet to avoid the chance of over-heating an extension cord.”

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation AMBER Alert issued on behalf of the Houston County Sheriff’s Office was canceled Wednesday afternoon after the subject and child were located traveling in his vehicle in Marion County. A driver of a tractor trailer spotted the vehicle traveling east on 1-24 through Marion County and contacted authorities. It was originally reported that this occurred in Coffee County but it was actually in Marion County. A Tennessee Highway Patrol trooper pulled the vehicle over and discovered the child; 2-year-old Cael Whitehead was safe. The subject, Austin Whitehead, who had outstanding warrants on him was arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail.

Right after 9am Wednesday morning a two-car accident occurred in Manchester. Emily Haggard was the driver of a Ford Mustang and was waiting to turn left off Hwy 41 into Hardees. A Nissan Altima driven by Elizabeth Stanbaugh had made her way into the turn lane and that’s when there was a head-on collision. Stanbaugh checked out at the scene and Haggard was uninjured. Manchester Police and Fire and Rescue worked the scene.

Tullahoma City School’s Director Dr Dan Lawson will remain in Tullahoma. After a two-hour meeting Tuesday night the school board voted to offer an extension to the contract to Lawson. Voting for the extension were Linda Thoma, Kim Uselton, Chairman Pat Welsh and Vickie Shelton. Voting no were Teresa Lawson, Sharon Vance and John Manis. Lawson was being considered as a superintendent in Oak Ridge and at Jackson-Madison County Schools in Jackson, TN. before the new deal was offered by Tullahoma.