Category: News

The Manchester Board of Mayor and Alderman unanimously voted to appoint Roxanne Patton to fill the vacant alderman seat on the board.

The vote to appoint Patton was unanimous and came without discussion.

Patton in no newcomer to politics. She previously served as an alderman from 2008-2014 – under mayors Betty Superstein and Lonnie Norman.

Patton is filling the alderman seat vacated by Marilyn Howard, who was appointed Mayor last month after the passing of Mayor Lonnie Norman. Patton will serve for the remainder of Howard’s term, which is through August of 2022. Patton was immedietely sworn in to take her seat. 

Meanwhile, the board voted to appoint Mark Messick as the new vice mayor for the city. Messick is in the middle of a four-year term as alderman, which expires in 2022. Vice Mayor is a position appointed by the board each year, usually in September.

Manchester’s board of Mayor and Alderman  passed a resolution Tuesday night to take responsibly for the operating losses for the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center.

The board voted 5-0 in favor of the resolution, which allows the mayor to take the proposal to the county government. Aldermen Chris Elam, Mark Messick, Bill Nickels, Bob Bellamy and Roxanne Patton all voted in favor. Alderman Ryan French abstained from voting.

The center has long been contentious on the local political scene for its yearly operating losses that have been split between the county and city governments. Advocates often argue the financial impact of the center goes much further than operating losses when accounting for hotel/motel tax and other local expenditures related to the building.

According to the Manchester budget, the city paid out $195,668.99 to cover operating losses to the center for the fiscal year 2019-2020 (these numbers have yet to be audited). That means the county also paid an identical amount, bringing operating losses to approximately $391,337.98 for the year. By voting to assume responsibility, the city will now be on the hook for all of that loss every year – or for more or less, depending on how the center performs financially. 

Alderman Bob Bellamy said the city can cover that extra amount without increasing taxes or dipping into reserves because the debt service payments on the building end this year.

“We make our last payment on the debt of the building this upcoming June,” explained Bellamy. “We can take that money that was going to debt service every year and use it to cover the other part of those operating losses at the current level.”

According to Manchester Chief Financial Officer Bridget Anderson, the debt payment the city is due to pay this year is approximately $204,000. This will be the final payment for the building.

The County government will still need to approve the new deal, a move that is expected.

Manchester Mayor Marilyn Howard announced on Tuesday that the Grand Marshal of the 2020 Manchester Christmas Parade will be Bonnie Gamble.

Gamble, who is the director of the Parks and Recreation Department, announced earlier this year her plans to retire from her position next June.

“This person is famous in my eyes. She’s a woman who is of integrity, a woman who has vision and is a woman of faith who walks it,” explained Howard at the Manchester Chamber of Commerce Luncheon Tuesday when she announced Gamble to be the Grand Marshal.

The Manchester Christmas Parade, themed “Childhood Dreams of Christmas,” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28. Registration forms for floats are available at the Manchester Parks and Recreation Department at 557 N. Woodland St.

Pictured below is the parade route. 

Local businessman Jay Kalvala and current city resident Gene Holmes paired up to work on a project to show support for law enforcement officers at Manchester Police Department.

They began this project in September, and last month were able to recognize four more officers. The officers were: Major Bill Sipe, Captain Devin Deford, Sergeant Keith Hendrix and officer Jon Holland.

Mr. Kalvala and Mr. Holmes stated they intended to continue this project until every officer is recognized. 

Pictured below are officers recognized last month. 

Each year, the Veterans of Foreign Wars hosts two essay competitions.

The Voice of Democracy contest is comprised of a typed essay, audio recording and must be 3 to 5 minutes in length.
It is open to students in grades 9-12, and this year’s theme was, “Is This the Country the Founders Envisioned?”

The Patriots Pen essay competition comprised of a 300-400 typewritten essay. It is open to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students and this year’s theme was, “What is Patriotism to Me?”

This year’s winners are as follows:

Winners in the Patriots Pen Competition:
1st place: James Farless, Temple Baptist School; 7th grade
2nd place: Chandler Grace Meacham; Westwood Middle School; 8th grade
3rd place: Keena Elizabeth Seivers; Westwood Middle School; 8th grade
4th place: Sydney Reagan Wells; Westwood Middle School; 8th grade
5th place: Mariah Stewart; Temple Baptist School; 8th grade.

Winners in the Voice of Democracy Competition:
1st place: David Tran, Webb School; 10th grade
2nd place: Lexie Stewart, Temple Baptist School; 12th grade
3rd place: Lauren Perry, Coffee County High School; 11th grade
4th place: Grace Butler, Temple Baptist; 12th grade

Essay entries were submitted from 4 schools with 51 essays entered in the Patriots Pen essay contest and 24 essays entered in the Voice of Democracy contest for a total of 75 entries.

The top 3 essays, will now move up to the VFW District level, where they will be judged against the winning entries from 10 other VFW Posts, by December 15th.

An Awards Ceremony will be held at VFW Post 10904 on January 11th for all winners and their families.

Before heading to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 3., the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office wants voters to have the information they need to cast their ballot in a safe, clean and secure fashion.

On Election Day, polls open at various times. A list of when polls open in all 95 counties is available on sos.tn.gov. In Tennessee, all polls close at 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST. In Coffee County, polls open at 8 a.m. in the morning and close when all other polls close, which is at 7 p.m. CST.

Tennesseans can access voter specific information like polling times, locations, sample ballots, election results and more with the GoVoteTN app or with the Website App at GoVoteTN.com. Download the GoVoteTN app for free in the App Store or Google Play.

Casting your ballot in the midmorning or midafternoon may shorten your time at the polls. Early morning, noon and 5 p.m. are peak times as people typically vote before work, after work or on their lunch breaks.

Frail, physically disabled or visibly pregnant voters should tell their election officials if they cannot wait in line to vote. The law allows these voters to move through the process faster.

To cast a ballot, voters need to bring valid photo identification. A Tennessee driver license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, Tennessee state government or the federal government is acceptable even if it is expired. College student IDs are not acceptable. More information about what types of ID are acceptable can be found on sos.tn.gov or by calling toll free 1-877-850-4959.

State law requires polling locations and the area within a 100-foot boundary of the entrance to remain campaign-free zones. The display or distribution of campaign materials and the solicitation of votes for or against any person, party or question on the ballot within this area are prohibited. Voters wearing campaign-related clothing or paraphernalia will not be allowed within the 100-foot boundary.

While at your polling location, Tennesseans are encouraged to wear a face covering and maintain a six-foot distance from poll officials and other voters. Voters should expect to see signs with further safety instructions. All poll officials will wear face coverings and are trained in social distancing measures.

A video and written plan outlining the precautions being taking for in-person voting during COVID-19 is available on the Secretary of State’s website sos.tn.gov/elections.

On Election Day, voters are encouraged to report possible voter fraud or misinformation to the Division of Elections toll-free at 1-877-850-4959.

Manchester Police Department received a report of a SCAM attempt at a local business.

According to MPD, this potential scammer attempted to pay for services but their card was denied. At this point, the individual appeared to be on the phone with his credit card company. He told the employee at the business that his credit card company would assist them in bypassing his credit card limit and attempted to persuade the employee to change the settings on the machine.

It was later determined that this would have compromised the machine and given access to recent purchases if the employee would have listened to the scammer. Manchester Police Department is asking all businesses to be aware of this activity.

Registration forms to enter the 2020 Manchester Christmas Parade are now available through the Manchester Parks and Recreation Department (557 N. Woodland St.)

The parade – themed “Childhood Dreams of Christmas” – will be held at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28 and will continue along the route it has taken in previous years. The parade will begin at the intersection of State Highway 55 and US Highway 41, traveling North on 41 and then turning onto the downtown square at West Main St.

The Manchester Parks and Recreation Department has partnered with the local Good Samaritan and Storehouse Food Pantry to have a city wide food drive.

“We are encouraging parade participants to start their own food drives in order to donate the items the night of the Christmas parade.”

For more information on the food drive, contact Tiffany Clutter at 931-728-0273.

If you plan to enter the parade, application forms are due by Nov. 20. There is no fee.

Parade lineup will be at 5 p.m. on parade day. There will be first, second and third place cash prizes for large float and regular float entries.

The Tennessee gas price average continues to decline and has dropped four cents over last week. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $1.87 which is seven cents less than one month ago and 43 cents less than one year ago.

Tennessee’s state gas price average has declined the past 20 consecutive days for a total discount of seven cents.
In Coffee County, the average price is $1.85, which is two cents below the Tennessee state average and 27 cents below the national average of $2.12.

“Tennessee drivers are seeing the cheapest prices at the pump since June,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “As we approach Election Day, drivers are paying, on average, 18 cents less than what they paid on Election Day 2016.”

Tennessee drivers found the lowest gas prices for the month of October in 16 years. The monthly average was $1.93 per gallon, which is 41 cents less than October 2019 and 72 cents less than what drivers paid in October 2018.

Quick Facts

· 91% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $2.00
· The lowest 10% of pump prices are $1.63 for regular unleaded
· The highest 10% of pump prices are $2.21 for regular unleaded
· Tennessee remains the 9th least expensive market in the nation

The Manchester Board of Mayor and Alderman is scheduled to meet in a zoom meeting Tuesday, Nov. 3 at 6:30 p.m.

There are many items expected to be discussed, but among the two more controversial items will be the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center and the appointment of someone to fill the vacant alderman seat currently on the board.

The city is expected to take on the issue of whether or not it wants to assume all responsibility of the operating losses of the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center. This burden is currently split with the county with a soon-to-expire agreement. 

Also,  as Thunder Radio News reported to you Monday, 12 applicants have filed for the open alderman seat. These include: David Bradley, Eric Burch, Joe Pat Cope, Tammie Fuller, Terrence Hillsman, Joey Hobbs, Holly Jones, Eli Kidder, Elva Yvonne McCoin, Morgan Moser, Roxanne Patton and Daniel Stillings.

Whoever is appointed will hold the seat through August of 2022.