Category: News

Several thousand people crammed into downtown Tullahoma Saturday afternoon and night for the annual Kiwanis Clubs 41-A Music Festival. Fans of various local musical groups attended the event and a HUGE crowd turned out for the performance of Tullahoma native Dustin Lynch, who currently has the top 10 hit, “Cowboys and Angels”. In addition to the musical performances, there were also arts and crafts for those who crammed into the historical downtown area to view and enjoy. There were also various food vendors. There were a lot of people who joined the throngs in attendance who said that it was fun to be downtown.

A search was conducted of a residence on Bel Aire Drive in Tullahoma Thursday morning in connection with the Megan Sharpton murder.
Some 10 or 15 officers from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department along with investigators from the Tullahoma Police Department searched the residence but would not say what they were looking for or if anything was found.
The partial burning body of the 24-year-old nursing student 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.
Since the body was found, investigators from the sheriff’s department along with the TBI have spent numerous hours following up leads in the case as well as collecting numerous pieces of evidence.
The TBI Crime Lab has processed several pieces of evidence that have been collected in the case. Franklin County District Attorney Mike Taylor recently stated that while the lab has conducted numerous tests on evidence there is more to be tested. The prosecutor explained that he has informed investigators that he wants the results of other test before any arrest is made in the case.
However late in the day yesterday (Sept. 27, 2012) Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller said that Donnie Jones has been arrested in connection with the case. Jones was not charged with the murder of Megan Sharpton.  However, he was charged with being a felon in possession of firearms.
Thursday’s search was the second such search of a residence in the Tullahoma area in connection with the murder. A residence on Highway 55 at the intersection of Hawkersmith Road was searched recently by law enforcement in connection with the murder investigation.

A Tullahoma man has been arrested on charges for the burglary of a residence on Sycamore Circle in Manchester. James Patrick Mears is accused of breaking into a residence and taking several hundred dollars worth of tools. Manchester police and Coffee County Sheriff’s Deputies were able to develop leads that lead to Mears. After questioning he allegedly confessed to the crime and officers were able to recover all of the stolen items. He is charged with burglary and theft of property of $1,000. He is to appear in General Sessions court Nov. 13. Mears is being held under a bond of $15,000.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation remains at the scene of this week’s fatal Bedford County house fire as the mystery of the whereabouts of two children continues.
After combing through debris from the house fire that occurred in Unionville, TN, on Sunday night, crews said they have been unable to find the bodies of Chloie Leverette, 9, and 7-year-old Gage Daniel.
An endangered child alert was issued Wednesday for the children and remains active.
Members of the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center were at the location Thursday afternoon.
Crews said they are sifting through ashes by hand at the burned home of the children’s step-grandparents, Leon McClaran, 72, and 70-year-old Molly McClaran, who died in the fire.
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.

A former corrections officer at the Coffee County Jail has been ordered to serve eight years in prison. 53-year-old Susan Winters this week entered a plea of guilty to charges of bribery of a public official, possession of Schedule II, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. Winters was arrested last January for allegedly taking cocaine and marijuana into the jail. She was paid by friends and family of inmates to take the drugs into the jail. Sgt. Danny Ferrell of the sheriff’s department received information of the illegal actions and arranged for an individual to meet Winters at a fast food restaurant in Manchester. The meeting was recorded and after she allegedly accepted money and the drugs to be delivered she was arrested. Judge Vanessa Jackson ordered Winters to the 8 year sentence. Sheriff Steve Graves said that he will not accept this type of behavior in the department.

Charles Perry was baling hay on Goose Pond Road Thursday afternoon when he said he looked around at the baler, it was on fire. Perry and neighbors attempted to extinguish the fire, but it spread to the grass in the nearby field. The New Union Fire Department was called to the scene and went to work on the field fire. The Forestry division was also notified. The bailer was a total loss along with several round bales of hay.

An endangered child alert has been issued for the two children who had been presumed dead in a Bedford County fire over the weekend.
The children, 9-year-old Chloie Leverette and 7-year-old Gage Daniel, were declared missing by Sheriff Randall Boyce early Wednesday morning after two days of searching the charred home. According to State Bomb and Arson investigators, the children were not victims of the fire and their whereabouts were unknown.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol flew over the area Wednesday with a helicopter using infrared cameras to search for the bodies.
Investigators used cadaver dogs to search the home Tuesday.
The bodies of the children’s grandparents, 72-year-old Leon McClaran and 70-year-old Mollie McClaran, were found in the rubble on Monday.
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.
Investigators said the home burned Sunday night at super high temperatures, up to 1,800 degrees Fahrenheit. Sheriff Boyce sent detectives to interview family members, to see if anyone thinks the children might have been taken from the scene, but he is convinced that is not the case. Anyone with information about the whereabouts of Chloie and Gage, please contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.

As the Coffee County commission’s jail committee continues to work to get a new county jail, Sheriff Steve Graves continues to work on what to do about overcrowding. Yesterday morning the jail which was designed to house 196 inmates had 307 occupants. The sheriff stated that this was not the first time the jail has housed this many, as there were over 300 inmates over the weekend.

In a new scam targeting seniors and the disabled, identity thieves are fraudulently rerouting Social Security benefits to their own bank accounts and prepaid debit cards. It’s pretty straightforward: Identity thieves get their hands on the personal information they need, like a full name and bank account number. Then they contact the Social Security Administration and request that payments be rerouted to their own accounts. Several social security recipients nationwide have reported be the victim of this scam. Don’t give out your social security or bank number over the phone.

Children born in some third-world countries have a better chance of reaching their first birthday than some children born in America. This disturbing fact is one reason health and medical professionals gathered in Nashville September 20, 2012 for “Tennesseans Teaming up for Change: Statewide Infant Mortality Summit.”
One initiative to protect a baby’s health after delivery is the TDH Safe Sleep campaign. It encourages parents to understand the “A-B-Cs of Safe Sleep” to prevent deaths while babies are sleeping. A is for Alone; always let the baby sleep alone, never in a bed with an adult or sibling where the baby could be smothered. B is for on the baby’s back; an infant should never be allowed to sleep on his or her side or stomach. C is for crib; always put your child in a crib that is empty, since blankets, toys and crib bumpers could smother a baby.
“In one Tennessee county alone, 36 babies died in 2009 from preventable sleep-related deaths. In 2009, 655 babies born in Tennessee died before their first birthdays
131 babies died in Tennessee in 2010 from sleep-related deaths.