Category: News

A candlelight vigil was held on Sunday night for two children reported missing by authorities after a deadly fire in Bedford County.
According to the TBI, 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and her brother 7-year-old Gage Daniel were first thought to have died in a house fire with their grandparents, Molly and Leon McClaran Sr. two weeks ago.
Investigators never found their remains and issued an Amber Alert.
The McClaran’s and their grandchildren attended Rover Baptist Church where the vigil was held.
With very little information and few answers, family members and the community are leaning on one another for support and holding out hope for Chloie and Gage.
The investigation is ongoing.
Anyone with information on Chloie’s and Gage’s whereabouts is urged to call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

The Alzheimer’s Association has announced the inaugural 2012 Alzheimer’s Challenge cycling event. The event will be held on Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. inside Old Stone Fort State Park located at 732 Stone Fort Drive, Manchester, TN. All cyclists have a $25 registration fee and a $150 fundraising minimum. In return, cyclists receive a long sleeved event tee, goody bag, an opportunity to win an Alzheimer’s Challenge jersey-shorts combo, and other giveaways. The theme of this year’s cycling event is “Keep your brain in gear”. Join the Alzheimer’s Association for a scenic ride with themed rest stops, a post ride massage, lunch, and a celebration. Any individual or company interested in registering themselves or a team for the Challenge can do so at http://www.alzchallenge.org/ , reach us by phone at 1-800-272-3900, or visit your local Alzheimer’s Association office at 201 W. Lincoln St. Tullahoma.
There are three routes available to riders in the Alzheimer’s Challenge. The shortest ride is a 15 mile ride with a check-in time of 8:00 a.m. and a 9:00 a.m. start time. The two longest rides, the 30 and 62 mile, will have a check-in time of 7:00 a.m. and an 8:00 a.m. start time.
The Alzheimer’s Challenge is geared to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research. This is our inaugural cycling event, and they are calling on participants of all ages and abilities to participate. Together, we can end Alzheimer’s disease, the nation’s sixth-leading cause of death.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol has earned national recognition as a top finisher in a prestigious law enforcement agency competition. The International Association of Chiefs of Police has named the THP the second place winner of the 2012 National Law Enforcement Challenge. Department of Safety and Homeland Security Deputy Commissioner Larry Godwin and THP Colonel Tracy Trott accepted the award on behalf of the highway patrol last week at the IACP Annual Conference in San Diego. The National Law Enforcement Challenge is a competition between law enforcement agencies of similar sizes and types.

A vacant house at 1614 Marbury Road in Tullahoma burned Sunday night. When Tullahoma firefighters arrived, the house was fully engulfed with flames. The firefighters attempted to extinguish the flames and keep them from spreading to other houses in the area. The cause of the fire is under investigation. No injuries were reported.

Notices are going out in the mail to an estimated 37,000 Tennessee borrowers who may be eligible for payment under a $25 billion national mortgage foreclosure settlement. Eligible borrowers will be receiving claim forms in the mail this month and Attorney General Bob Cooper of Tennessee urged residents to complete the forms and return them by the Jan. 18, 2013 deadline.
Those eligible include people who lost their homes to foreclosure between Jan. 1, 2008 and Dec. 31, 2011 to 5 of the nation’s largest mortgage services, which is Ally/GMC, Bank of America, Citi, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo. The packages will be mailed through Oct. 12.

Health officials say the number of people sickened by a deadly meningitis outbreak has now reached 105 cases.
The number of deaths rose by one to eight, with another fatality in Tennessee.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated the count on Monday. The list of 9 states with reported cases stayed the same. Tennessee, Michigan, Virginia, Indiana, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio previously reported cases.
Officials have tied the fungal meningitis outbreak to steroid shots for back pain. The steroid was made by a specialty pharmacy in Massachusetts.
The company has recalled the steroid which was sent to clinics in 23 states. The government last week urged doctors not to use any of the company’s products.

Police need your help—WANTED: Violent Sex Offender. Jason Blake Holt, last seen on October 06, 2012, at Hullett’s Shell Station in Manchester, TN, on the Woodbury Highway. Holt is 6’04” tall, hazel eyes, strawberry blond hair. Holt came to Manchester from Murfreesboro traveling with a female and 2 young children. He removed his GPS monitoring device and is believed to be in our area. Warrants are on file. Holt is convicted of three counts of attempted rape of a child and is considered violent. Anyone having information on Holt’s whereabouts please contact the Manchester Police Department 728-2099 or the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department 728-3591.

The bond for Donnie Jones was lowered from $500,000 to $100,000 Friday morning by Coffee County General session Judge Tim Brock. The lowering came after testimony was presented by Franklin County sheriff’s investigator Todd Hindman about finding a rifle in Jones possession during a recent search of Jones residence. Jones is a possible suspect in the murder 24-year-old nursing student Meagan Shapton of Tullahoma. Her body was found in the early morning hours of July 2 on the side of Awalt Road in Franklin County. Her vehicle was found later that day sitting in the middle of Three Forks Bridge Road in Bedford County. Jones is a convicted felon and not allowed by law to possess a weapon. Assistant District Attorney Emily Roberts called Jones a career criminal, a flight risk and a danger to the community. She said that he has convictions of burglary, attempted kidnapping, forgery and escape. Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller told of Jones escaping from the Franklin County Jail and faking his own death.

“Old Timers Day” returned to Manchester over the weekend. This was the first time the event has been held since 2008, when it was stopped due to a lack of funding. A group of people met in August of 2011 interested in bringing back “Old Timers Day”. After several fundraising events the group was ready for the return of “Old Timers Day” which turned into two days of fun October 5 and 6, 2012. Roger Steele, who is one of the members of the group, said they had over 60 entries in this year’s parade. A gospel concert from “By Faith” started things off Friday. Despite cooler weather, huge crowds attended the parade and events all day on Saturday. Steele said after a nap, it’ll be time to start working on next year’s “Old Timers Day”.

Enrollment at Tennessee Board of Regents colleges has dropped an average of 4.4 percent this fall.
WMOT-FM in Murfreesboro reported the figure is averaged over the six universities and 13 colleges including Motlow under the Regents supervision.
The state’s other public university system, the University of Tennessee, has not yet released enrollment figures.
At Middle Tennessee State University, the drop was 4.5 percent among fulltime students. University spokesman Andrew Oppmann said several factors contributed to the decline, but he noted steadily rising tuition costs are a factor.
TBR Chancellor John Morgan said it isn’t yet clear whether the declines will trigger additional cuts in state funding.
Of concern is a decline in the number of returning students and a recent change in which the legislature tied state funding to graduation rates.