Category: News

Sheriff’s deputies are investigating a fire that damaged a vacant house located on General Lee Drive in Lakewood Park in the northern section of Coffee County Sunday night. According to sheriff’s Fire Investigator Jeff McCullough, the fire appeared to have started in the living room and was basically confined to the room. The rest of the house suffered smoke damage. The investigator stated that the fire was of a suspicious nature.

Beginning on September 1, anyone claiming unemployment benefits will have to show that they are actively looking for work, including keeping a work search log.
According to a news release from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, claimants will be required to conduct three work searches each week. Labor and Workforce Development officials will conduct random audits of 1,000 claimants’ work search documentation each week to verify work search activity. If work search claims are found to be fraudulent, the department will stop a claimant’s benefits immediately and can suspend payments for eight weeks. Notices will be mailed next week about the new requirements.

Longtime Manchester fireman Rod Ballard, who was serving as assistant fire chief, was laid to rest yesterday afternoon in the Manchester City Cemetery. Ballard, who passed away on Friday, became a full-time member of the Manchester Fire Department in 1981. Ballard, 67, was battling stag-four lung cancer. Firemen came from many different cities to honor the dedicated firefighter. Citizens of Manchester lined Hillsboro Boulevard to pay tribute to Ballard as the funeral procession passed by.

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee State Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman announced Monday that Coffee County Central High School and New Union Elementary School have been categorized as reward schools. These schools are being recognized by the State of Tennessee as the top 10% academically in the state.

The data inputs for the calculation of the success rate include:
– 3-8 Math
– 3-8 Reading/Language Arts
– 3-8 Science
– Algebra I
– English I
– English II
– Biology I
– Graduation Rate

New Union Elementary ranked in the top 5% statewide for its performance on the TCAP test.

A Coffee County jail inmate who escaped last week was arrested after crashing a stolen car during a police chase.
DeKalb County investigators arrested Mark Cope Saturday afternoon.
Cope had walked away from a work detail in Manchester on Thursday but was spotted Saturday in Warren County.
He led investigators on a high-speed chase across the county line towards Smithville, where he ran off the road and hit an embankment. He tried to run away but was caught by authorities.

A Tennessee man who pleaded guilty to horse soring has been banned for life from the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration.
The Tennessee Walking Show Horse Celebration issued the ban Saturday after discovering that 38-year-old Barney Davis of Lewisburg was in attendance at a gathering in Shelbyville. Earlier this year Davis received a one year prison term and was fined $4,000. At his sentencing he described mechanical devices and chemical irritants used to sore horses to force them to show an exaggerated gait in the show ring.
The ban comes as the Tennessee Walking Show Horse Organization called on the multiple groups to join industry leaders at a “Horse Protection Summit” in Shelbyville before the end of the year.
“Soring” is an illegal practice where items like bolts are driven into horse’s hoofs, foreign objects are attached to the legs of the animals, or chemicals are used to produce pain and sensitivity to alter the gait of a horse. The altered gait is valued at horse competitions.

Fourth Congressional District Democratic hopeful Eric Stewart from Winchester was slapped with federal tax liens totaling $24,678.81 in 2002 and 2011 for not paying his federal personal and business taxes on time, records show.
According to the Chattanooga Times Free-Press Stewart resolved a 2002 IRS lien of $9,541.09 on his 2000 and 2001 personal taxes on March 21, 2003, according to an IRS release filed with the Franklin County Register of Deeds.
But the 2011 IRS lien remains on the books, records show. It involves $15,227.72 owed by Stewart and the insurance agency he owned on a matter involving payroll taxes for various quarters in tax years 2001-2003 and 2006.
Stewart, a state senator from Winchester elected in 2008, said in an interview Friday that he reached a settlement with the IRS and is making payments to satisfy his obligations.

Motorists apparently are not going to let rising gas prices keep them from traveling during the Labor Day weekend.
AAA says 2.9 percent more people will travel at least 50 miles from home this holiday compared to last year.
The Labor Day weekend runs from Thursday, August 30th to Monday, September 3rd.
AAA estimates 33 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend, up from 32.1 million over the same time last year.
That could be the highest travel volume since 2008, when Labor Day travel dropped because of the recession.

The Bonnaroo Works Fund (BWF), the charitable arm of Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, acknowledged the good work of nine notable organizations across the state with donations totaling $82,000. In addition to the grants made this week, Bonnaroo officials have tallied this year’s fundraising totals and report that local organizations earned more than $200,000 in commissions while assisting with festival concession booths. According to Ashley Capps, owner of AC Entertainment and festival partner, Bonnaroo organizers created the Bonnaroo Works Fund to help make impactful contributions to the community they call home. Among the recipients this year are Junior Achievement of Middle Tennessee; the Coffee County/Manchester Public Library which received $2,500; and the Land Trust for Tennessee, which will use the funds to protect and preserve the unique character of natural and historic landscapes in Manchester and Coffee County. The Manchester Arts Center will use its grant from the Bonnaroo Works Fund to initiate a project in honor of a long-time community leader. The Center will work to place art in public places throughout the community.

Tennessee’s Department of Health and Department of Agriculture are urging Tennesseans, including horse owners and veterinarians, to be on the alert for the re-emergence of viruses transmitted by mosquitoes. As many states are experiencing one of the largest outbreaks of West Nile virus in recent years, Tennessee is beginning to see cases in humans and horses. In Tennessee, most human WNV cases occur in August and September, and so far this summer, there have been six human cases reported in the state. Most human WNV infections cause no noticeable symptoms. However, about 20 percent of infections result in symptoms that may include fever, headache and body aches. Occasionally more severe symptoms occur, and in less than one percent of human cases, WNV may cause a life-threatening infection of the brain. Certain populations are at higher risk including the elderly, persons who abuse alcohol and those with chronic health conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, renal disease and cardiovascular disease. Tullahoma city officials say they are checking city property that has swampy and low lying areas. If there is a potential for a problem they spray it with a specially designed insecticide.