Category: News

Hate crimes in Tennessee jumped in 2011 from a 5-year low the year before.
According to Tennessee Bureau of Investigation statistics reported in the Commercial Appeal, there were 261 recorded hate crimes last year.
That is a 51% increase from 2010.
Hate crime statistics tend to fluctuate a lot from year to year. There were 426 in 2008, 243 in 2009 and 173 in 2010.
TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said it is hard to know whether the fluctuations are the result of more crimes being committed or more people reporting the crimes. It could also reflect changes in the way law enforcement officials categorize the crimes.
Hate crimes recorded in 2011 include 71 cases of vandalism, 60 cases of intimidation and 52 cases of simple assault.

Tullahoma Industries, one of the main government contracted manufacturers of US Army Combat Uniforms, announced April 24, 2012 that it will launch a premium denim jean brand through e-commerce, fall 2012. The jeans will be called “Grady Mac Denim.” Grady Mac Knight is the native Tennessean, father-in-law and grandfather of the jean’s designers and owners of Tullahoma Industries Richard and Jamie Davenport. Grady Mac Denim will be sold exclusively through e-commerce initially with the potential to move into specialty boutiques later on. The jeans will be priced from $120-$160. The premium jeans will reflect the American spirit and pride in its custom stitching and design and will be made to reflect the active American lifestyle.

The Coffee County Ambulance Service has seen an increase in the number of calls this year. Coffee County Ambulance Service Director John Cathey said that so far this year we have answered 5,734 calls as compared to 6,011 for all of last year. He added that the fiscal year still has several months to go. He said that the ambulance service is now handling more transports calls to and from nursing homes as well as other such calls as well as the emergency calls in Coffee County. Cathey stated that accounts for some of the increase. He also noted that the ambulance service is collecting more funds this year than last, which is good for the overall operation. Last year the ambulance service ended the fiscal year with some $700,000 in the red, but that number has been reduced this year. So far this budget year the service is short $129,000. The director stated that they are collecting more money so far this year. He noted that the ambulance authority is on a better footing financially.

After having its funding from Coffee County cut from $12,000 per year in 2010 and 2011 to $0 in 2012, the Tullahoma Airport Authority is now requesting $60,000 from the county for 2013, a substantial increase over previous years, citing that the majority of its users are businesses in the Manchester and Interstate Industrial Parks, as well as for Bonnaroo. Karla Smith, the Authority’s treasurer, and Airport Manager Jon Glass say that the heaviest users of the airport are M-Tek, Createc and Nissan, some of which are located in Coffee County outside of Tullahoma, yet the majority of the airport’s funding comes from the city of Tullahoma. Glass said that Tullahoma appropriates $125,000 a year, while last year the county gave them nothing. Members of the county commission this week said that they would not have as much problem with giving the airport money if there was a member from the county, to which Smith said she had no problem with that as there use to be a county commissioner on the board.
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A man wanted for the murder of a retired Tennessee State Trooper who was living in Whitfield County Georgia was arrested Thursday at his residence in Winchester. Daniel York was arrested on first degree murder charges for the murdering William “Bill” Malone and then setting his house on fire 4 years ago.
York was arrested by Winchester Police and the TBI at his residence on North High Street in Winchester. Malone was the former police chief of Monteagle.
According to Winchester Police Chief Dennis Young, York is being held in the Franklin County Jail without bond and has reportedly told authorities there that he planned to fight extradition back to Georgia.

Hotels in Manchester and beyond have until May 21st to install a handicap lift to their pools and hot tubs. The lifts cost up to $10,000 each and hotels are the ones left holding the bill. The initiative was put into place by the U.S. Justice Department under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Evidently, the proposal to require all hotels to have a lift in their pools and hot tubs was passed in 2010 and then scheduled into action on May 21, 2012. Reports indicate that many hotels will simply close their pools and fill them in instead of complying with the new federal guidelines. Ken Wagner General Manager of the Ambassador Inn in Manchester says his business is in the process of scheduling the installation of the lift. Other hotels in the area are also planning for installations.

County non-seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for March 2012, released yesterday, show the rate decreased in 89 counties, increased in five counties, and remained the same in one county.

Tennessee’s unemployment rate for March fell to 7.9 percent, down from the February revised rate of 8.0 percent. The national unemployment rate for March 2012 was 8.2 percent, 0.1 percentage point lower than the February rate.

Williamson County is the lowest rate in the state at 5.2 percent and Scott County the highest at 17.1 percent.

Coffee County’s unemployment rate fell from 8% in Feb to 7.6. Cannon County dropped 0.4 to 7.4. Bedford County saw their rate come down from 9.6% to 9.1. Grundy County had a good month falling 1.1% to 9.5. Franklin County came down going from 8.8 to 8.4. Moore is now 7.3% from a March rate of 8%. Warren County dropped from 9.8% to 9.1.

The Jail Review Committee has voted to move forward with a not-to-exceed estimate of $22 million to construct the new Coffee County Jail, including the $2 million already temporarily issued for architectural design and land purchase costs, which would be folded into the permanent bond financing. County Attorney Robert Huskey says that the deeds for the land on Hillsboro Highway should be ready for transfer by this weekend. The construction figure was based on “soft” bids gathered by the county’s construction manager, who said several verbal estimates from contractors for materials and construction-related costs, plus a $500,000 contingency figure and the cost is approximately $20.8 million.

 

Tullahoma police are investigating a burglary that occurred at Skateworld located on Ledford Mill Road. In this latest burglary at the business, the thieves entered the building by prying a back door open. The thieves went to a machine and broke the door off the machine stealing quarters from the machine. The thieves then went to the office and crawled through a window and took a bag containing some $500 of quarters. Tullahoma Police Investigator Ty Brazier is investigating this theft.

The Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition, Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Tullahoma Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration will be collecting used medication Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This will give the public another opportunity to prevent pill abuse and theft by ridding potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs. The medications will be collected at the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department in Manchester and Northgate Mall in Tullahoma. The service is free and anonymous, no questions asked.