Category: News

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is hosting its 14th Annual Fishing for Christmas Tournament October 13, 2012 at Normandy Lake. The tournament will be held from 7:00am to 2:00pm at the Barton Springs Boat Ramp, this is where the weigh in will held as well. The tournament will give prizes away for Bass, Bream, and Crappie in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd places and children’s category for the biggest fish. Tickets may be purchased at the Coffee County Jail located at 300 Hillsboro Boulevard, Manchester, TN, or at the boat ramp the morning of the Tournament. This tournament helps the sheriff’s department support several local children and families.

Area police are continuing to search for a man described as being a violent sex offender. 22-year-old Jason Blake Holt of Woodbury was last seen Saturday at Hullet’s Shell station on Woodbury Highway in Manchester when he removed his GPS monitoring device. Holt is 6’04, tall, hazel eyes, and strawberry blond hair. According to police, he has been convicted of three counts of attempted rape of a child. Holt is believed to be traveling with a female and two young children. Anyone knowing of Holt’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Manchester Police at 728-2099 or the sheriff’s department at 728-3591.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol Criminal Investigations Division along with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, charged 6 individuals on Monday for an elaborate scheme of allegedly stealing tractor-trailer loads of cargo worth $1.8 million over the last 2 years. Investigators say that Jay Sanders, Monteagle, Tenn., and Gary Alto, Whitwell were employed by SCS Trucking in Whitwell. They were responsible for hauling loads of scrap metal from a company in Ashland City to South Pittsburg. The two drivers allegedly devised a scheme in which they would pay off security guards at one plant and workers at another, and then divert the loads to Dodson Scrap Metal Yard in Whitwell. The owners of Dodson Scrap Metal Yard, Randall and Melissa Brown, allegedly would not document receiving the metal and would haul it on their own tractor-trailer to a scrap metal dealer in Alabama for cash. The scheme has allegedly been ongoing since at least 2010. Investigators charged Jay Sanders, Gary Alto, Randall Brown, Melissa Brown, James King, and Craig Meeks each with theft of property over $250,000.

The Manchester Fire & Rescue would like to invite you to participate in its 3rd annual Chili Cook-Off scheduled from 12 to 4 p.m. this Saturday, October 13, 2012 on the downtown square in Manchester, Tennessee. The event is open to any and all individuals or teams that have a desire to make chili and have fun! It is also a good way to promote your cooking skills or business! Last year’s event was a great success as 29 teams competed for one of three trophies and $500 cash prizes awarded. The 2011 cook-off netted over $3,700 for Manchester Fire & Rescue’s Firefighter Association. This year’s proceeds will go to the Children’s Advocacy Center, a non-profit organization that provides a child-focused facility in a safe, neutral location. Since this is a charity event, a donation of $25 per team is required to enter the competition. The rest of the money raised comes from individuals purchasing a spoon for $5. With this spoon, they are allowed to sample all of the competitors’ chili and then vote for the “People’s Choice Award”, one of three awards that will be given out during the event. The other two awards are “Best Overall Chili” which will be judged by a panel of special guests; and the “Best Presentation”, which involves the theme surrounding the individuals’ or teams’ booth and chili presentation, also judged by the panel of judges. So, to win the “People’s Choice Award”, you will need to have a lot of supports willing to try a lot of chili. There will again be customized trophies, donated and designed by Logos, Awards and More, for the winners of each category. Marcrom’s Pharmacy, United Regional Medical Center, First Call of Nashville and a private donation in the memory of the late Assistant Chief Rod Ballard are helping sponsor chili cook-off this year. The event will once again consist of three (3) $500 cash awards, one for each category. So each team needs to have as many supporters come out and purchase a “spoon” so they can vote for the “People’s Choice Award”, and help the Children’s Advocacy Center all at one time!

A Winchester man died in a two vehicle crash Monday around noon in Huntland. According to Tennessee Highway Patrolman Donnie Clark, Adolfo Noguez Martinez, 52, of Winchester was driving a 2004 Chevrolet when he pulled from a stop sign into the path of a pickup truck operated by Burl Hiles, 56, of Flower Lane Drive, Estill Springs. Martinez was killed in the crash and a passenger in his vehicle Ferndo Diaz of Winchester was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center for treatment of injuries. Hiles was not injured. According to the trooper the crash was unavoidable.

The state fire marshal investigators were busy yesterday sifting through the rubble of the Ivy Bluff Methodist Church in Cannon County. The building burned in the early morning hours Monday morning. Fire marshals hope to determine what caused the 64-year-old church building to burn. Pastor Danny Freeman told WMSR News that a passerby saw the fire and called authorities. Freeman said the near 80 members lost a building but not the church.

Construction crews from Georgia tore down the Tullahoma Baskin-Robbins on North Jackson St this week to make way for a new Chick-fil-A restaurant that is expected to be opened by Feb. 7, 2013. Chick-fil-A recently purchased property from Northgate Limited Liability Company for $501,193. The plans call for the restaurant to have a 4,686-square-foot facility to be located on .63 acres at the current Baskin-Robbins site.

The Coffee County Lady Raider softball and Red Raider baseball families are needing your help. Former Lady Raider Tiffany McCormick and current Raider baseball player Dylan McCormick lost their Dad on Monday. The two young people have only a grandmother as their only immediate family. They are in need of financial help with funeral expenses. If you can help, please drop by a donation to First National Bank in Manchester and ask for the money to go to the Billy McCormick funeral account.

An early Monday morning fire has left a community minus a church. The Ivy Bluff community in Cannon County just across the Coffee County line lost its Methodist Church as it burned to the ground around 2am Monday. Pastor Danny Freeman told WMSR News that a passerby saw the fire and called authorities. Freeman said the near 80 members lost a building but not the church. He added that portions of the building were built in 1948. Pastor Freeman said the craftsmanship inside the building was its showcase. Cannon County fire investigators are looking into the cause of the blaze.

A horseback riding accident occurred Sunday afternoon at the end of Blanton Chapel Road near Normandy Lake. Megan Meeker of Manchester was kicked by a horse and was brought out of the area by four-wheeler. It was thought she suffered a broken leg. She was transported to an area hospital where it was determined that there was no break. Megan was treated for bruising and released.
As the first victim was being treated, a second call came in for the same area. Another female was reported to have fallen from a horse and had broken bones. This occurred just off Lyndell Bell Road at the lake where horse ridding is permitted on TVA property. The woman, reportedly from the Sixteenth Model Road area, was in an extremely rough area and the Rescue Squad was paged out. The squad along with Coffee County EMS went to the victim, stabilized her and brought her back to the awaiting Ambulance. She was then transferred to Airevac and air lifted to Vanderbilt for treatment of a compound fracture of the leg.