Category: News

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for August 2012 show the rate decreased in 90 counties, increased in two, and stayed the same in three.
The state unemployment rate is seasonally adjusted while the county unemployment rates are not. Seasonal adjustment is a statistical technique that eliminates the influences of weather, holidays, the opening and closing of schools, and other recurring seasonal events from economic time series.
Lincoln County has the lowest rate in the state at 5.7% and Scott County the highest at 17.5%.
The August unemployment rate for Coffee County is 7.8% down from 8.1 in July. Bedford County had a big drop going from 10.4 to 9.2%. Cannon County fell 0.7 to 7.6%. Franklin County also went down by 0.7 to an August rate of 8.4. On the mountain in Grundy County they had one the highest drops in unemployment going down 1.7% to 9.8%. Moore County had a good month in August dropping from 8.7% to 7.5. Warren County fell from 10.1 to 9.3%.
Tennessee’s unemployment rate for August increased to 8.5 percent, up from the July revised rate of 8.4 percent. The national unemployment rate for August 2012 was 8.1 percent, 0.2 percentage point lower than the July rate.

A state audit of the Board of Probation and Parole found that employees were making annual arrest checks of at least 82 dead parolees. The parolees had been dead anywhere from six months to more than 19 years.
In at least two cases, officers completed documents stating that the offenders were still alive.
The audit results were released on Monday.
In a statement on the audit, Comptroller Justin Wilson said, “If parole officers are supervising dead people, this is a waste of taxpayer dollars and makes us wonder about the supervision of parolees living in our communities.”
The audit also found that many probation and parole officers were not completing all the supervision requirements. There were many instances of no evidence that officers tried to contact offenders.

A project team at the Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) has successfully completed an initial site acceptance test campaign on Arnold’s new, one-of-a-kind space asset testing facility.
The Space Threat Assessment Testbed (STAT) can simulate a realistic operational environment to space hardware, using multiple source simulators to emulate the conditions existing at various orbits.
The facility will fulfill a long-standing need for a national mission-critical asset with capabilities previously unavailable anywhere in the world, according to Keith Holt, Aerospace Testing Alliance’s STAT program manager.
The STAT facility will simulate the other three conditions found outside the Earth’s atmosphere, a vacuum and extreme heat and cold.
For additional information on STAT or AEDC’s other ground testing assets, contact Arnold’s Public Affairs office at 931-454-4204.

Bacon lovers can relax. They’ll find all they want on supermarket shelves in the coming months, though their pocketbooks may take a hit.
The economics of the current drought are likely to nose up prices for bacon and other pork products next year, by as much as 10 percent. But U.S. agricultural economists are dismissing reports of a global bacon shortage that lent sizzle to headlines and Twitter feeds last week. Steve Meyer, president of Iowa-based Paragon Economics and a consultant to the National Pork Producers Council and National Pork Board, use of the word ‘shortage’ caused visions of (1970s-style) gasoline lines in a lot of people’s heads, and that’s not the case. Meyer said simply put, the talk of scarcity is hogwash.

Old Timers Day, Friday, October 5, 2012: Free concert by the group “By Faith” starting at 6:30pm.
Old Timers Day, Saturday, October 6, 2012:
Parade at 10 a.m., horses will be allowed. Food/Craft vendors, information booths, kids’ area, greased pole, games/activities throughout the day, cloggers, ice cream eating contest, music throughout the day, James Bell performing, Mike Oldham & the Tone Rangers at 6 p.m., all music/concerts are free, everything is back on the Square. Horseshoe tournament at 2 p.m.
Check out the website is www.manchesteroldtimersday.com for more information.

Authorities issued a statewide Amber Alert last week for two children missing since their Bedford County home was destroyed by an intense fire last week. The TBI sent out the alert after investigators spent 5 days trying to determine if there were any remains of the children in the fire debris. TBI said fire experts had come up empty. The children are identified as 9-year old Chloie Leverette and 7-year old Gage Daniel. TBI said the children were living with their grandparents. Two bodies tentatively identified as 72-year-old Leon “Bubba” McClaran and his wife, 70-year-old Molli McClaran, were recovered Monday and have been sent to the Nashville medical examiner’s office for autopsy. She was the children’s maternal grandmother, he their step-grandfather. TBI spokesperson Kristen Helm said the TBI does not have any direct evidence that the children are victims of foul play. She said there are no persons of interest in the case and that investigators are following all leads, but would not elaborate.

The Endangered Child Alert continues; Chloie is described as a white female, approximately 4’8″ and 75 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes. Gage is described as a white male, approximately 4′ and 75 pounds, with brown hair and hazel eyes.
If you have any information concerning the current whereabouts of Chloie and Gage, please contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

As we reported last week, a possible suspect in the murder of Megan Sharpton was arrested Thursday evening on unrelated gun charges. 37-year-old Donnie Jones of Bel Aire Drive, Tullahoma, was arrested after Franklin County deputies and Tullahoma Police investigators found a gun during a search of his residence. Since he is a convicted felon, he was charged with being in possession of a firearm. He was booked into the Coffee County Jail and remains in the jail under a $500,000 bond.

Tennesseans who rely on what used to be called food stamps will have to wait longer than usual for their benefits this month. The change came at the request of grocery stores. In all, more than 1-point-3 million individuals now get those benefits, and all of that money is made available in the first 10 days of the month. Grocery stores say they get hit with too much business in too few days. They asked the state to stretch out its schedule, by staggering the benefit payouts over a period of time that’s twice as long. Starting this month, the stores will get their way, but what’s good news for grocery stores will mean a difficult month for most people who get that assistance. The reworking of the schedule means that more than two-thirds will have to wait anywhere from 4 days to a week and a half longer than they’re used to.

Although Board of Aldermen members say Tullahoma’s economic development direction is on the right track, they would like to see emphasis placed on recruiting retail operations. That came up during a special meeting between the city board and the Tullahoma Area Economic Development Corp. Mayor Lane Curlee said key contacts have been made with retailers that may choose Tullahoma, and he predicted a once-thriving Northgate Mall should soon be full within a year. The mayor said that the city needs to work on having a quick access database about what retail and other property is immediately available, so companies looking at Tullahoma will know first-hand the city is serious about accommodating their retail potential.

The Board of Education is beginning its search for a replacement for Tullahoma City Schools’ outgoing director Dr. Dan Lawson and has slated a special meeting to receive information from the public as to what skills and qualifications that new director should have. The meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Tullahoma High School Thoma Lecture Hall. Dr. Tammy Grissom, Tennessee School Boards Association executive director, will lead groups in discussion designed to determine their views about the issues and challenges facing the school system and the director’s position. Lawson announced earlier this year that he would not be asking an extension to his contract which expires June 30, 2013. The board has agreed to have a replacement in place before then with a May 1, 2013, deadline.