Category: News

Recent national reports have shown a spike in background checks for gun sales throughout the country following the Colorado movie theater shooting, though sales in the Volunteer State remain average. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation explained they have not noticed a significant spike in background checks throughout the state. According to TBI spokesperson Kristin Helm, that so far this year the agency has run fewer than last year.

A 31-year-old Altamont woman died Monday morning after the van she was driving went off the road and collided with a tree on Asbury Road in Manchester. According to Tennessee Highway Patrol Sgt. Larry Fraley, Rebecca Verwulst of Highway 108 in Altamont told him and emergency personnel that she had worked the midnight shift and had just gotten off. She stated that she fell asleep and ran off the roadway. Her van collided with a tree.
While emergency personnel were preparing her to be flown out by a helicopter, she passed-away.

Tullahoma Police are investigating the robbery of a Silver Street resident. Jimmy Corrigan of Silver Street reported to Officer Rocky Ruehling that a friend, Anthony Harmon, and an unknown man approached him and asked for a loan of $5. When Corrigan and the other two entered his residence, the unknown man pointed a gun at his head and demanded all of his money. Corrigan gave the thief his wallet. The thief also forced him on the ground. When Harmon attempted to stop the robbery, the man pointed the pistol at him and demanded that Harmon drive him from the area, which he did. Neither Corrigan nor Harmon knew the man’s name except that his first name is Marco. The officer did not report how much money was taken. Tullahoma Detective Jason Kennedy is investigating the incident.

With the Coffee County Grand Jury meeting Tuesday to review 87 cases, Sheriff Steve Graves is concerned about where he will put anyone who might be named in sealed indictments.
As of yesterday there were over 290 inmates in the county lockup that was designed to house 196 inmates. “I don’t know what we are going to do,” the sheriff stated Monday.
The grand jury is reviewing 53 cases that were forwarded to it from the Coffee County General Sessions Court and 34 originals.
The originals are cases that have not gone through the court system and those are the ones that the sheriff is concerned about as anyone named in a sealed indictment has to be booked into the jail.
Meanwhile, the county commission is still waiting on word about the future plans of a new facility.

The Celebration’s board of directors has suspended Marty Irby, president of the Tennessee Walking Horse Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association, from all activities related to The Celebration for at least one year.
The suspension is in response to a dispute over website domain names that were bought in the name of TWHBEA — the organization that controls the breed’s registry. On Sept. 20, 2011, Irby purchased the web site in TWHBEA’s name: tennesseewalkinghorseworldchampionship.com.
On April 18, 2012, the Celebration sent a letter to Irby requesting that he transfer the domain names to them. The Celebration is a private organization, which means it can suspend anyone they wish to suspend for any reason they see fit.

Potential students planning on attending Motlow College this fall must submit an application for admission or readmission by Friday, August 17; online applications are accepted until midnight. The application for admission must be complete and all requirements met before a student is eligible to enroll in classes.
Online applications may be accessed from the “Apply Now” button on the College website. Motlow personnel are also available at all locations to help students with the application process. Students visiting the Moore County campus are encouraged to visit the Student Success Center in the Crouch Center Building. Assistance is also offered at the main offices of all other Motlow locations.
An application for admission is required for all of Motlow’s programs of study and for both daytime and evening classes. Some programs, like nursing, have additional requirements that must be met before admission is granted into the program. Program requirements are posted on the website.
Students interested in earning high school and college credits for courses in the Dual Enrollment program and those enrolling in the Adult College Express program are also required to apply by August 17.
Directions to the main campus in Moore County and the centers in Fayetteville, Smyrna and McMinnville can be found on the website or by calling general information at 931-393-1500 or 800-654-4877.

At Middle Tennessee State University they are gathering recordings and sheet music to create an interactive website on songs about Tennessee.
The Tennessean reports that the website “My Homeland: A Research Guide to Songs About Tennessee” will include eight state songs, raps and songbooks dedicated to the state.
Why so many? Dale Cockrell, director of the Center for Popular Music at MTSU, says the word Tennessee “has a rhythm and a melody in it.”
The website will include recordings and scans of sheet music and album artwork. The information will be organized by the recurring themes they found in songs about the state.
The site will also include a section for teachers looking for music to use in class.

State troopers will be targeting traffic violators in school zones as classes resume across Tennessee.
The speed limit varies but posted in school zones and the fine for speeding in such a zone is up to $500. It also is against the law to pass a school bus when it is stopped and loading or unloading passengers; fines for that are no less than $250 and up to $1,000.
In 2011, state troopers issued almost 3,900 citations in school zones, up from 3,200 a year earlier.
THP Col. Tracy Trott said motorists who are distracted, impatient or careless can expect a stiff penalty for driving unsafely in school zones.
Six-hundred thousand children ride school buses in Tennessee.

Regional gas prices have jumped an average of 10 cents in the past few days. In Coffee County Manchester’s lowest price is $3.32 per gallon, and the highest price is $3.64. In Tullahoma the low is $3.29 per gallon, and the high is $3.40.
The national average price of regular unleaded gasoline is $3.61, a 12-cent increase from a week ago. Florida’s average of $3.53, $3.48 in Georgia, and Tennessee’s average of $3.39 both increased 11 cents from last week.

Estill Springs resident Jay Sisk, 16, died Friday morning in an accident that occurred around 7 a.m. on Highway 41-A in Estill Springs. According to Estill Springs Chief Allen Rhodes, Sisk Pontiac Sunfire was traveling north and crossed into the southbound lane struck a Ford F-150 operated by Matthew West, 25, of Tullahoma. The Sunfire then struck the driver’s door and went under the bed of F-350 operated by Warren Landers, 56, of Shelbyville. The Estill Springs and Decherd Fire Departments then cut Sisk body out of the vehicle. Sisk was pronounced dead at the scene.