Category: News

As fire departments battle grass fires and Normandy Lake is at low levels, most of Coffee County received rain yesterday (July 4, 2012). This is the first measurable rainfall since June 11 according to the Tullahoma Utilities Board. Despite the rain, Normandy Lake remains some 7 feet below normal, reminding us all of the drought of 2007. The forecast the rest of the week calls for highs in the upper 90’s and a slight chance of rain each day.

Arnold Fire Department responded to a grass fire at 3:45 p.m Tuesday afternoon. It was located between the mission area and the AEDC airfield and seems to have originated under some power lines, but no cause has been determined. The fire spread and crossed a perimeter road and fence burning some adjacent land between AEDC and I-24. Hillsboro and Tullahoma fire departments both sent crews. The blaze was under control on base around 6 p.m. Fire crews had terminated their response around 9 p.m. The fire was within AEDC’s 4,000 acre industrial area, but never threatened buildings, being contained to the buffer area between the mission area and the airfield.

Around 4:00 Tuesday afternoon a “Micro Burst” hit a building at the home of Phil Fletcher, 5379 Woodbury Hwy. The building is a converted garage used as a family room. People had just gone into the house when they heard a loud noise and ran out to see the roof scattered across the yard. Part of the roof was blown about 200 yards across Woodbury Hwy. Debris damaged vehicles and a neighbor’s roof. No one was hurt. Mr. Fletcher was quoted as saying that there was not a cloud in the sky when the freakish winds came.

A woman who once served as the color guard instructor at Warren County High School was responsible for using more than $3,400 in band booster club funds for her personal benefit, according to a recent report from the Comptroller of the Treasury’s Division of Municipal Audit.
The auditor’s report noted that between August 25, 2009 and July 31, 2010 the former color guard instructor either disbursed or withdrew $3,465 from a band booster bank account for her personal benefit. These transactions included 15 ATM withdrawals totaling $2,340, a cash withdrawal from a bank branch in the amount of $500, and 13 debit card transactions totaling $625. The former instructor, Jennifer Fisher, was indicted last month by the Warren County Grand Jury on one count of theft over $1,000.
The Comptroller’s report mentioned other funds belonging to the band boosters which were missing but could not be traced to any specific individual. The investigative report notes that total collections deposited into the booster club’s bank account by the former treasurer from two fundraisers held during the summer of 2009 were $1,898 less than documented collections shown in business records prepared by the former treasurer. Additionally, the band boosters’ concession sales during the fall of 2009 were $5,798 less than expected based upon a profit analysis.
As a result of the significant lack of appropriate safeguards and oversight by booster club officers indicated in the report, there were more than $12,000 in disbursements which had no supporting documentation in the band booster financial records in addition to the missing collections from concession stand operations and other funds that were apparently collected but not deposited into the booster club’s bank account.
The report further details how, as a condition for participating in the school band and color guard, members and/or their parents were required to pay monthly fees (or dues) to the band booster club – a practice that is contrary to state laws requiring all money received from any source for a school-sponsored activity to be accounted for by the school and deposited into the school’s bank account.

There is now a $1,000 reward being offered for information that leads authorities to a missing teen from Shelbyville. 13-Year-old Joanna Cheyanne Starr Belcher was last seen on June 22 when she ran away from home. Reports indicate the teenager could be in Murfreesboro, but that is only speculation. The reward is being offered by the Shelbyville / Bedford County CrimeStoppers organization.
The 13-year old is described as a white female with sandy blonde hair, hazel eyes, weighing 120-pounds and standing at 4’11”.
Police have said that she may have changed her hair color after running away.
If you have information that could help the authorities, call Shelbyville CrimeStoppers at 931-685-4300. You can also call 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

The Independence Day celebration will be held Wednesday in Manchester. Music will begin in Rotary Park at the Rotary Amphitheatre at 6 p.m. with Chancy Willis, Charlie Allen and Tony Stampley performing live. The fireworks show will begin at 9pm. The event is free, but food and drink vendors will be set up throughout the park if you get thirsty or hungry.

A 24-year-old Monteagle man was killed when his vehicle collided with a tree Saturday night.
According to a report by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Tommy Lyles, a 2002 Nissan Frontier pickup truck that had been reported stolen in Monteagle was traveling along Highway 156.  The driver, David L. Smith of Sam Sargent Road in Monteagle, lost control of the vehicle. The trooper’s report states that the truck went off the right side of the roadway and Smith overcorrected. He then went across the road and the truck struck a tree, ejecting him. The pickup then caught fire. Franklin County Deputy Sheriff Cpl Chuck Stines assisted at the scene.

Fire investigators in Shelbyville said Monday they are looking into the possibility that a 70-year-old disabled woman’s wheelchair may have had an electrical problem late Saturday night, triggering a fire that killed her.
The fire occurred just after 11 p.m. at Freida Fuston’s home on Depot Street.
Two police officers tried to gain access to the home, but flames were too strong, officials said.
Fuston was overcome by the smoke and flames and died.
The state fire marshal is investigating the fire death, which is routine. Fire investigators do not suspect foul play.
A fund has been set up for Fuston’s family at the Heritage Credit Union on Main Street in Shelbyville.

Tennessee law enforcement officials are intensifying their crackdown on drunken driving with the state’s first-ever “no refusal” campaign.
The “no refusal” measure passed during the recent Legislature and was signed by the governor in May. It allows judges to compel blood tests from people arrested on drunken driving charges.
The “no refusal” enforcement period runs today through Sunday. It will take place in selected counties that have experienced increased cases of impaired driving this year, specifically Anderson, Bradley, Davidson, Maury and Warren counties.
The campaign coincides with the state’s Fourth of July enforcement period, which runs Wednesday through Sunday.