Category: News

The Coffee County Commission on Tuesday voted 14-6 to appoint Claude Morse as a county commissioner to fill the open seat in District 3, which was vacated when Todd Crockett resigned. Morse will fill that spot until the seat expires, which is August of 2022.

Also on Tuesday, the commission voted 15-6 to shoot down a zoning resolution that would have allowed for a rock quarry.

Commissioners Debellis, Hollandsworth, Morse, Hobbs, Hunt and Stubblefield voted in favor of the resolution.

Also on Tuesday, the commission voted to appoint Jenny Anthony to fill the position of Coffee County Circuit Court Clerk – which was vacated by Heather Duncan at the first of the year. Melissa O’Guinn had been acting clerk but will now be replaced by Anthony.

The City of Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Alderman voted in July 2020 to send
a resolution to the Tennessee General Assembly requesting amendment of the
city charter to alter the City’s municipal election cycle. City officials
want to consolidate the city municipal elections with the county general
elections to save between $25,000 -$30,000 for each city-only election and
to significantly increase voter turnout.

State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) and State Representative Rush
Bricken (R-Tullahoma) officially filed the legislation this month. Once
passed by the General Assembly, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen must approve
the amendment by a two-thirds vote before it becomes law.

The current terms for Mayor and Aldermen are three years, and city elections
are held each year. Under the proposed Charter amendment, terms would be
changed to four years, and city elections would only be held in even years
to join with the county general elections schedule.

Currently, preparations are being made for a city election to be held in
August, and two Alderman seats are anticipated to be on the ballot.
Depending upon the outcome and timing of the General Assembly’s approval of
the charter amendment, the city election may be changed to reflect that
those Alderman seats that would have been up for election in August 2021 or
August 2023 would be extended by one year to be elected during the county
general elections in August 2022 and 2024.

House Bill 1475 and Senate Bill 1629 states, “the three candidates who
receive the highest number of votes in the August 2022 election shall each
be elected for a four-year term, and thereafter, elections will be held for
these seats every four years beginning with the elections held in August
2026. The candidate receiving the fourth highest number of votes in the
August 2022 election shall be elected for a two-year term, until the
Thursday after the first Monday in August 2024, or until their successors
are elected and qualified. Thereafter, elections will be held for this seat
every four years beginning with the elections held in August 2024.”

Tennessee was the ninth most moved-into-state in the last year with a net gain of
(+10%), according to a recent HireAHelper migration report which analyzed
75,000 real moves across the country.

Specifically, the report calculated this utilizing a ratio called net growth, which
takes the number of new residents moving to a state and divides it by the number
of individuals moving out and expresses it as a percentage. This is how
Tennessee compares to the rest of the top states people moved to:

Top States People Moved To (Net Growth)
1. Idaho (+103%)

2. Vermont (+62%)

3. Maine (+48%)

4. Delaware (+27%)

5. South Carolina (+25%)

6. New Hampshire (+13%)

7. North Carolina (+11%)
8. New Mexico (+11%)
9. Tennessee (+10%)

10. Iowa (+10%)

Report organizers say they can’t say for certain how many of these moves into Tennessee were
COVID-related, they did collect survey responses of all folks who moved across the
country, and 25% of moves in the last year were related to Covid.

The Tennessee Department of Health has updated Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan as the state continues to prioritize Tennesseans most at risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Tennesseans in Phase 1c of the state’s plan are now eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccination.

Protecting Adults and Children with High-Risk Health Conditions
Phase 1c of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan includes Tennesseans age 16 and older with high-risk health conditions including pregnancy, and parents and caregivers of medically fragile children and those with complex congenital heart disease. Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan has been updated to include the following groups among the Phase 1c populations:

* Permanent household members age 16 and older living with pregnant women
* People age 16 years and older with diagnosed diabetes
* People age 16 years and older with Down Syndrome
* People age 16 years and older with progressive neuromuscular diseases such as ALS, multiple sclerosis or muscular dystrophy

The Winchester Police Department is investigating an incident in its jurisdiction and is asking for the public’s help identifying an individual.

Police are asking for help identifying the person below. If you have information, contact detective Ryan Fuller at 931-967-3840 or Crimestoppers at 931-962-4636.

Tennessee House Bill 1047 requires any person convicted of violent or sexual offenses that historically target women and children to serve their full sentencing term as assigned by a jury or judge.

While House Bill 1047 does not remove judicial discretion, it ensures that parole or probation are not options for those found guilty of crimes that fall into these categories of offenses. This legislation strengthens protections for victims and their families by ensuring offenders serve their full sentence.

House Bill 1047 advances to Criminal Justice Committee for consideration on March 10. For information, here.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is advising the public to be on the lookout after a recent spike in car break-ins.

According to CCSD, there have been several vehicle burglaries in various areas of Coffee County over the last several days. Investigators are following numerous leads and request that the public be vigilant and proactive. Please remove all valuables from your vehicles when not in use, especially at night and secure your vehicle.

If you have any information regarding this recent rash of burglaries, please contact Investigator Brandon Reed 931-570-4191 or Stephen Sharketti 931-570-4423

Coffee County Sheriff’s Department authorities have captured both inmates who walked off of work detail on Friday. 

According to CCSD, William Brady Patrick was captured late Sunday. Investigator Brandon Reed developed information that led to Patrick’s capture.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel Andrew Henry was captured on Monday after investigators received information from the public regarding his whereabouts.

The department said it would like to thank the public for their help locating these individuals.