Category: News

Karen Sue Partin... No picture available of Charles Gipson

Two people were arrested Saturday after they were allegedly found to be in possession of a methamphetamines lab and other drugs. Tullahoma Police responded to a disturbance at 212 West Moore Street and arrested 40-year-old Karen Sue Partin of Decherd.  54-year-old Charles Gipson of West Moore Street of Tullahoma was charged with manufacture/delivery/sell of controlled substance, possession of controlled substance, possession of Schedule II, possession of Schedule IV, and possession of drug paraphernalia. When the officer arrived he found an operating meth lab and another one outside the residence. The officer alleges that he also found multiple meth ingredients. In addition to the meth labs, Officer Ted Koziol also allegedly found morphine pills, Hydrocodone and Xanax pills in the residence. In addition to the pills, Koziol also found a baggie that contained a white residue in it. Their bond was set at $113,000. They are scheduled to appear in Coffee County General Sessions April 26.

TCAP tests will be administered April 23-30. TCAP, a state mandated assessment for grades 3-8, is a summative test that measures how well students have mastered grade level skills and what they are able to do beyond grade level. For the first time, TCAP scores will count 15% of a student’s second semester grade in reading/language arts and math. If a student is absent and does not make-up the test, a grade of 0 will be averaged for 15% of the second semester grade.

Coffee County Schools TCAP Schedule:
Monday, April 23 – Reading/Language Arts
Tuesday, April 24 – Math
Wednesday, April 25 – Science
Thursday, April 26 – Social Studies
makeup tests can be given through April 30.

The House passed a bill that would make it a felony to make or sell synthetic drugs often called bath salts that imitate controlled substances. The bill passed unanimously during the House floor session on Monday. Sponsor Rep. Jon Lundberg, a Republican from Bristol, said the drugs have hit his district in northeastern Tennessee hard after Virginia banned the drugs and people have been crossing state lines to purchase the drugs in stores in Tennessee. Lundberg said the drugs are not marketed for ingestion and can be purchased in convenience and tobacco stores. The bill would also allow authorities to declare the stores where the drugs are sold as public nuisances. The Senate has not yet passed its version of the bill.

Joshua Luke Mitchell

Law enforcement is searching for a Marion County man. 34-year-old Joshua Luke Mitchell is wanted in connection with charges of child rape and violation of the Tennessee’s sex offender registry. The man is listed on sexual offender’s registries in Alabama, Texas, and North Carolina. Mitchell is wanted in connection with an incident Sunday involving a 4-year-old girl in the Haletown area of Marion County. He had been living in Marion County for about two months.  Mitchell is described as a white man, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-10, weighing between 175 and 190 pounds with blue eyes and blond or strawberry-colored hair. Anyone with any information on Mitchell’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Marion County Sheriff’s Office at 423-942-2525.

Victoria Jackson

Former Saturday Night Live star Victoria Jackson recently paid a visit to Murfreesboro. Jackson filmed a news story about the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro constructing a mosque on Veals Road. Jackson works as a conservative citizen journalist. Jackson did not have any luck on interviewing anyone from the Islamic Center, but says she believes the center is building a new mosque in Murfreesboro because of its college town status and will use the college as a recruiting ground for Muslim converts.

O’Charley’s has kicked off the “Greatest Grad Contest,” honoring deserving graduates with special graduation celebrations at their local O’Charley’s restaurants. The contest will run today through May 18, 2012. O’Charley’s is committed to supporting education at all levels and wants to celebrate those individuals during this important milestone.” The restaurant’s guests and fans can nominate anyone who will graduate this year from any educational program at any level. To nominate a deserving grad, entries must include a brief essay describing why the graduate being nominated deserves a special celebration. Nominations should be submitted through either the O’Charley’s page or the www.ocharleys.com/grads. At the end of the contest period 12 winners will be selected, and O’Charley’s will host special celebrations throughout the month of June at select restaurants honoring the graduates who have been selected. Following the internal judging process one grand prize winner among the 12 will be selected by the public to receive a new Apple® iPad. For more details on how you can nominate a graduate visit www.ocharleys.com/grad or visit our Facebook page at facebook.com/ocharleysfans or stop by your local O’Charley’s in Manchester.

Jonathan Ryan Banks

A 3-year-old child was burned by suspected meth chemicals Saturday in Manchester.  Police found even more appalling items inside the residence where the child lived.  Manchester Police answered a call to a house on Raven Street and found chemicals used to produce meth and multiple roaches and bugs in the house. The child got into chemicals that were used to produce the drug. The 3-year-old and three other children were treated at United Regional Medical Center where they were decontaminated for meth.  The Department of Children Services took custody of the children and turned them over to the other family members. The father, 29-year-old Jonathan Ryan Banks, was charged with simple possession of marijuana after admitting to smoking pot when police found a bag of marijuana.  He was also charged with aggravated child endangerment.  The mother, 22-year-old Ashley Marie Harrell, was charged with child abuse/neglect for allowing the children to live in uninhabitable living conditions.

Ashley Marie Harrell

Outside the Coffee County Jail... By Barry West

A follow-up to a story that we first reported to you Monday.

Coffee County Sheriff’s Deputies transported 25 prisoners to the Tennessee Department of Corrections Monday.  According to Sheriff Steve Graves,  20 men and 5 women were sent to prison.  Federal agent’s picked up 4 inmates who had been indicted on federal charges.  The sheriff stated that he still has about 9 state prisoners in the jail and is not sure when the state will take custody of those inmates.  The state agreed to take the prisoners after the Tennessee Correction Institute notified the corrections department of the overcrowded conditions.  Construction for a planned new jail is not yet underway.  Even with the inmates being moved, 232 inmates remain in the current jail, which was designed to house 196 inmates.

Sales tax collections for the month of March are released for Coffee County and the cities of Manchester and Tullahoma. The net collection for the entire county is $1,541,862. In the county alone the total was $149,663 up from the March 2011 total of $141,481. In Manchester sales tax collection for March of 2012 was $610,689 up from the $545,421 in March of 2011, a difference of over $65,000. Tullahoma also saw an increase $99,400 with a total March 2012 collection of $781,500. All three governments are seeing great increases over the totals in the first quarters of last year.

Crews on the scene of Sunday night fire... By Sara Blackburn

Damage to bathroom... By Sara Blackburn

Hickerson Station Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call on 2962 old Manchester Hwy just outside Tullahoma at 6:40 Sunday night. According to fire Chief Ricky Taylor, the fire at the home owned by Brett Cunningham started in the bathroom when the vent shorted out. Due to the fire and emergency vehicles on the scene, the road was closed for 3 1/2 hours before being reopened.  The home was severely damaged. Firefighters from Summitville, New Union, North Coffee, Tullahoma, and Hillsboro all assisted Hickerson Station Fire Department. Firemen Shawn Nickels was slightly injured.