Category: News

Robert Lee Conner

A 19-year-old Manchester man has been charged with sex crimes involving a 12-year-old girl. Robert Lee Conner of Hillsboro Boulevard, Manchester, has been charged with solicitation of rape of a child and sexual exploitation of a minor with a bond of $200,000. Conner was arrested after a Manchester woman reported to Manchester Police Investigator Stuart Colwell that the man had been sending sexually oriented text messages to her 12-year-old daughter. The report alleges that the two met at a game room in Manchester. After the girl provided her cell phone number to Conner, he allegedly started to send the sexual text comments to the girl. He also allegedly sent pictures of himself naked to the girl and asked her for nude pictures. He allegedly told the girl that he wanted to have sex with her. After Colwell started his investigation into the allegations, he learned that Conner was possibly in the Dayton, Ohio area, so he notified authorities there and notified them that he was wanted in Franklin County for violation of probation there. Ohio authorities located the man and held him for Tennessee authorities. After he was booked into the Franklin County Jail, Colwell and Investigator Jackie Matheny traveled there and read Conner the warrants on the sex charges. Conner has a $200,000 bond on the charges.

Duplex at Holmes Property... Photos by Barry West

The Coffee County School board announced this week they have purchased land near the property where the new middle school will be built. The land known as the “Holmes property” was bought for $77,000. The board says this is being done so they can add New Union Elementary School to the new sewer line and to straighten the entrance to the new middle school. The board voted 7-0 to declare the duplex located on the property as surplus and will soon put a bid out to have it sold and removed from the property.

Site of Holmes land and duplex

Nissan Leaf... From Nissan website

Nissan announced Wednesday the opening of its new battery plant in Smyrna, potentially creating up to 1,000 new jobs in the coming years. The facility, located adjacent to Nissan’s existing vehicle assembly plant, is currently making battery components for the ramp-up of production of the all-electric Nissan LEAF early next year. The Smyrna assembly plant was recently retooled to accommodate production of the Nissan LEAF. Company officials say that 90 jobs will be added to the Decherd Nissan engine plant. As demand for the LEAF increases, the battery plant is capable of expanding to produce up to 200,000 batteries a year and that could add up to 1,000 jobs, Nissan said. Since December 2010, Nissan has delivered more than 18,000 LEAFs to U.S. customers alone. Adding production of the Nissan LEAF and the battery plant has resulted in the creation of more than 300 U.S. manufacturing jobs to date in Smyrna.

Tullahoma Airport

Those who lease airplane hangars at the Tullahoma Regional Airport will be seeing a change in the policy on lease payments. All leases will now be due on the first of each month, with a ten-day grace period. If the payment is received after the tenth it will be considered late and there will be a late fee added. The reason for the change is that the airport has changed to a new accounting system that is handled by city hall. Airport Manager Jon Glass stated that there has “always been a 10 percent late fee,” but that it has not been carried month to month until the late payment is paid. The problem came to light after personnel at city hall determined that one hangar lessee owed $160 due to the late fees accruing. Alderman Mike Norris, who is the city board’s liaison to the airport authority and who has extensive experience in the financial world, noted that the delinquent fees “are considered delinquent until they are paid.”

Plane crash scene at the Murfreesboro Airport... Photo by WGNS Radio

A pilot of a single engine plane crashed at the Murfreesboro Airport on Thursday and was seriously injured. The plane ran off the runway and ran into a ditch. The pilot, 49-year old Randall Ray, became trapped in the cabin of the plane and had to be extricated. The pilot was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center VIA LifeFlight Helicopter. The crash occurred around 8, Thursday morning. The plane was a Cessna 172 registered to Skylark Flight Training LLC out of Broad Brook, Connecticut. An official explained that aircraft are often registered to companies or multiple individuals, but rented to pilots by organizations. In this case, the 1981 Cessna 172P was listed as a part of Murfreesboro Aviation. The airport was temporarily shut-down Thursday morning, so that the crash investigation could be completed.

The Tullahoma Fire Department is continuing to collect funds for their annual Toys for Tots drive for the needy children of Tullahoma. Fire Chief Richard Shasteen stated that firefighters have enough toys for the 7-year-olds and some others, but we need money to buy some gifts for 13-year-olds and 2-year-olds. The fire chief noted that several individuals “came forward” with donations that helped boost much-needed funds for the annual drive, but they have not reached the $20,000 goal but they have received money to help buy gifts for the needy children. The chief noted that firefighters were busy yesterday purchasing toys at area businesses for the drive. Anyone wanting to make a financial donation to the department may take it by Tullahoma Fire Hall #1 located on South Jackson Street. The firefighters will distribute the toys on Friday Dec. 21 at 9 a.m. at the old Dillard’s building located in Northgate Mall. The chief reminds parents that they will have to have the registration card for each child that was issued to them during signups.

Robert Lee Conner

Manchester Police Investigator Stuart Colwell has charged 19-year-old Robert Lee Conner of Manchester with solicitation of child rape and sexual exploitation of a minor who is age 12. He is currently being held in Franklin County jail on a violation of probation charge stemming from 2 convictions of statutory rape. He is being served warrants from Manchester while in the Winchester jail. Conner’s bond was set at $200,000.

Rescuers look over the wreckage of the car in which Morris Parker and Mary Motlow were killed. Our thanks to David Melson of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette

Three people lost their lives in a head-on crash south of Shelbyville late Tuesday afternoon. According to State Trooper Dallas Rife, both drivers died at the scene on Highway 82 South approximately two miles south of Shelbyville. They were identified as Morris Parker of La Vergne, who would have turned 72 Thursday, and Eric Holestak, 46, of Murfreesboro. According to the Shelbyville Times Gazette a passenger in the Parker car, 62-year-old Mary Motlow of Lynchburg, died at a Nashville hospital later Tuesday night. She had been airlifted to Nashville for treatment of multiple injuries, Rife said. Holestak crossed the centerline and struck the Parker car head-on. The trooper stated that it appeared that the driver may have fallen asleep and that alcohol was involved. According to the trooper, Motlow died of multiple “blunt force” injuries. He noted that the cars came to an almost instant stop upon impact. No skid marks were visible. All involved were wearing seat belts. Both drivers had to be cut from their vehicles.

Visits to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park are up by nearly 8% over last year for the year to date. A park spokeswoman said November visits to the 500,000-acre park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border totaled 657,935 people. That was up 8.6% from November 2011. After revising October’s figures, which were slightly ahead of the same month last year, year-to-date visits to the Smokies through November totaled 9,204,736 people. That’s up 7.8% from January through November 2011. October is a big month for visits because of the fall foliage. The revised figure for that month is 1,133,604.

A new Vanderbilt University poll shows a strong preference among Tennesseans for a state-run health insurance exchange over one run by the federal government. The poll of 829 registered voters released Wednesday showed 53% favor the state-run exchange, while 33% prefer the federal approach. The results contrast with Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s decision earlier this week not to pursue a state-run exchange. Vanderbilt officials said the governor was not aware of the poll results before Wednesday’s release. Haslam’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Meanwhile, a pending decision over whether to expand Medicaid was much more evenly divided among poll respondents: 47% said they support an expansion, while 46 oppose it. Haslam has said he will decide the Medicaid issue sometime in the spring.