Coffee County Sheriff’s Department deputies are asking the public to help identify the owner of a truck that was allegedly involved in the theft of a dirt bike.
According to authorities, the bike was taken at around noon on Friday, Sept. 25 in the Blanton Chapel area. The truck is a quad-cab Dodge, dark in color. See photos below. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Brandon Reed at 931-570-4191.
The Reemploy Tennessee initiative began Sunday, Sept. 27, 2020. The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development reminds unemployment claimants that is the day the work search requirement resumes to remain eligible to receive benefits.
If a claimant chooses to continue receiving unemployment benefits, they must contact at least three employers between Sunday, Sept. 27, and Saturday, Oct. 3, and then report those work searches during the certification week that begins Sunday, Oct. 4. This will be part of the weekly certification moving forward.
If a claimant has a definitive return-to-work date due to a temporary layoff, or a COVID-19 related exemption, they do not need to complete this requirement. The system will not prompt exempt claimants to complete the work search portion of the certification process.
Most claimants are required to search for work. Self-employed individuals can fulfill this requirement by performing work activities.
If a claimant fails to complete work searches or activities, the system will automatically deny their benefits for that week.
Out of Work: Not Job Attached: Claimants who are out of work and do not have a job to return to, or a return-to-work date, are required to complete weekly work searches.
Self-employed: Work search activities for self-employed individuals can include calling on clients, advertising business services, posting business-related social media content, enhancing the business’s website, submitting bids or proposals, applying for contract or gig work, or attending training. Self-employed claimants need to continue taking proactive steps to reopen their businesses. If they do not plan to reopen their business, they must complete traditional work searches.
Out of Work: Job Attached: Claimants who are temporarily laid off or furloughed, and have a return-to-work date, are not required to complete weekly job searches.
Union Workers: Claimants, who are union workers, and attained employment through their union hiring hall, are not required to complete weekly job searches.
COVID-19: Claimants who are out of work due to one of the COVID-19 reasons listed in the CARES Act may be exempt from performing job searches. They must self-certify they are unable to look for work due to one of the approved COVID-19 designations but are otherwise able and available.
Reemploy Tennessee can assist claimants with fulfilling the work search requirement and put them on the path to new employment or job training.
Jobs4TN.gov combines the Department’s Unemployment Division and its Workforce Services Division into a powerful workforce development tool for Tennesseans searching for a new job. This integration allows claimants access to more than 210,000 current job openings across the state, career services and job training opportunities – all online.
For one-on-one assistance, career specialists at Tennessee’s more than 80 American Job Centers can work with job seekers to provide customized job searches, job fairs, Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) appointments, and help them determine if job training assistance is available.
Career specialists can also work with a claimant to find free or reduced costs for transportation, childcare, uniforms, or other requirements needed to make a successful return to Tennessee’s workforce.
All these services are provided by the state of Tennessee at no cost to the job seeker.
The Coffee County Lannom Public Library received Tennessee Library Technology Grant and Cares Act Grant on Friday during a presentation with the Tennessee Secretary of State’s office.
The library receied $4,100 in funding for library technology, and $2,310 from CARES act funding for PPE.
Tennessee State Representative Rush Bricken and Senator Janice Bowling helped to secure the funding.
UPDATE, SUNDAY, SEPT. 27, 11 A.M. – Authorities released the name of the deceased inmate – identified as Gunnar Roepke, age 27, of Tullahoma.
ORIGINAL POST, SATURDAY, SEPT. 26, 8 P.M.:
An inmate in the Coffee County Jail passed away late Saturday, Thunder Radio has learned.
The name of the deceased is not being released at this time, pending notification of family.
According to authorities, the inmate was booked into the Coffee County Jail on Friday for a “domestic-related situation.”
“He was not going to make bond so he was still in the jail with us on Saturday,” Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin said.
“We had two of our nurses at the jail when this happened,” explained Partin. “They did everything they could, they even gave him NARCAN thinking maybe it was an accidental overdose. We rushed him to [Unity Medical Center] and they performed CPR and worked on him for a long time but unfortunately they couldn’t get him back.”
Partin said he has contacted Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott, who plans to contact the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as an outside agency to investigate.
The body will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.
Realtor Charlie Gonzales (Weichert Realtors, Joe Orr & Associates) is giving away a Yeti Camino Carryall bag worth $150!!! Sign up to enter. It doesn’t cost a thing to enter – just a minute of your time to fill out the entry form. Good luck!
Newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development highlighted an improving economy with lower unemployment in nearly every county across the state in August.
Unemployment rates decreased in 94 of Tennessee’s 95 counties during the month. Benton was the only county with a slight increase of 0.1 of a percentage point in its month-to-month comparison.
Unemployment numbers reveal significant improvement in Coffee County. For August, the unemployment rate in Coffee County was 7.1 percent. This shows a 1.8 percent improvement from the July numbers in 2020. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the rate of 7.1 percent is significantly higher than one year ago, when the rate was 3.4%.
Moore County had the state’s lowest unemployment rate in August. At 5.1%, unemployment in the county dropped by 1.3 percentage points when compared to the previous month’s revised rate of 6.4%.
Pickett and Williamson counties had the next lowest rates in the state. Pickett County’s rate went down 1.1 percentage points to 5.2%. Williamson County’s revised July rate of 6.5% dropped to 5.3% in August.
Shelby County experienced the state’s highest unemployment in August. The county’s new rate of 13.4% is down 1.4 percentage points from its revised July rate.
At 11.4%, Haywood County had the second-highest unemployment rate for the month. That represents a 1.6 percentage point decrease from the previous month. Davidson County recorded the third-highest unemployment rate in August. Its new rate is 10.4%, down 1.9 percentage points from the county’s July statistic.
Each of the state’s largest cities experienced lower unemployment in August. Memphis dropped 1.4 percentage points from its revised July rate of 17.4%. Nashville’s rate is now 10.4%, down 1.9 percentage points. Knoxville’s August rate of 8.1% is 1.5 percentage points lower than its July rate.
A complete analysis of Tennessee’s August 2020 county unemployment data is available here
The statewide seasonally adjusted jobless rate in August dropped to 8.5%, down 1.2 percentage points from July’s revised rate of 9.7%.
Nationally, seasonally adjusted unemployment also decreased in August. At 8.4%, the United States unemployment rate fell 1.8 percentage points from the revised July rate of 10.2%
Enter to win this awesome bag – $150 value! Prize provided by Charlie Gonzales, realtor with Weichert Realtors, Joe Orr & Associates
Customers of Tullahoma Utilities Authority have been the target of a scam.
According to TUA, information is being sent to people via a message about a postal shipment, informing the intended victim of an urgent alert about a USPS shipment and offering a clickable link.
Once that link is clicked, the intended victim is taken to a screen about Tullahoma Utility Authority giving away an iPhone 11. This is a scam and could potentially put your personal information at risk. Authorities warn to not click these links and do not provide information.
Friday is Fair Day at the Coffee County Fair. Rides are $20 hand stamp beginning at 10 a.m. and going through 5 p.m. Midway closes from 5-6 p.m. before resuming. Admission is free during the day on Friday.
Friday Night Entertainment is Rubiks Groove – the ultimate 80s and 90s tribute band in the grandstands.
On Saturday, the fair wraps up with 2 for $22 handstamps for rides. Tickets are also available. Gates open at 10 a.m. Saturday. Gate charge is $5 on Saturday until 3 p.m., when the gate charge goes up to $10 to include admission into the tractor pull. More details here.
Enter to win this awesome bag – $150 value! Prize provided by Charlie Gonzales, realtor with Weichert Realtors, Joe Orr & Associates
By Susan Campbell, Thunder Radio
According to the U.S. Census, nearly 14 percent of the residents of Coffee County do not have a high school diploma. Those without a diploma are less likely to be employed, make lower taxable income, and earn an average of $8,000 per year less than graduates.
Working to change that since 1988 has been the Literacy Council, whose mission is to make basic adult education accessible to residents of Coffee County. The Literacy Council assists adults who are trying to earn their high school equivalency diploma by offering classes and by paying for the cost of taking the HiSET (High School Equivalency Test).
The Literacy Council, founded by Loretta Welsh, is now part of a 13-county region and overseen by the South Central Tennessee Workforce Alliance. Since the program was launched, over 100 inmates in the Coffee County Jail have passed the HiSET. Also, in 2019, Coffee County ranked first in number of program graduates in the 13-county region.
Much of the funding for providing the classes comes from sales from The Book Shelf, a used book store that opened in its current location in Northgate Mall six years ago.
“The Literacy Council used to do big fundraisers, and then when the 2008 recession hit we didn’t feel it was right to be asking businesses for money,” said Dot Watson, member of the Literacy Council and the force behind The Book Shelf.
“We decided that there wasn’t a better way to promote literacy than by selling books, so we started taking books to the county fair to sell,” she said. “It took us two years to convince the owners of the mall to let us move in. They now provide our space for free.”
The Book Shelf is now in its third mall location, having outgrown previous locations. While there is no exact inventory, books in The Book Shelf number in the thousands, with thousands more in storage because there is no more room.
The books are all donated by supporters, and most sell for $3 or less, with the exception of the Civil War collection and a few other collectible and First Edition books, which are specially priced.
In addition to supporting adult education, books have been donated to the Coffee County Jail. The Tennessee Valley Woodworkers designed and built book shelves and, with help from Coffee County Public Defender John Nichol, a library now has a home in the jail, totally inmate-managed.
The Book Shelf has helped the Literacy Council purchase materials, pay classroom utilities, wi-fi, teacher salaries and 12 computers for local adult education classrooms. Books and computers have been donated to the Blue Monarch, a Coffee County residential facility for women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction and their children. The Book Shelf, in collaboration with individuals and civic organizations, has donated books to the Little Free Libraries located across the county, participated in financial literacy classes for elementary-aged children, donated books for summer reading programs at both the Manchester and Lannom libraries, and donated books to senior centers and the Coffee County Imagination Library.
Staffed almost entirely by volunteers, the Book Shelf currently has limited hours due to the coronavirus, but is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. No customers are allowed in the store, but staff and volunteers are still receiving requests by telephone, email and Facebook. A table is located at the entry to help customers who are searching for books. Donations are also being accepted.
To learn more about The Book Shelf or the Literacy Council, visit The Bookshelf, a Used Bookstore on Facebook, or www.needahighschooldiploma.com on the worldwide web. Call them at 931-273-8001 or 931-842-0373.
PICTURED BELOW:
Helping customers with customer donations and requests at The Book Shelf are, from left, Jennifer Russell, store manager Mendy Tant and store founder Dot Watson. – Photo by Susan Campbell
The body of Lane Frame, a 12-year old Manchester boy who went missing after he as swept of a pier in Frankfort, Michigan, has been found.
After extensive searching since Monday, authorities in Benzie County, Michigan confirmed that Lane’s body was discovered Wednesday at noon.
Lane and his family were in Michigan on vacation. Witnesses say that water swept the family off the pier and into Lake Michigan. Also swept into the water were an 11-year old boy and a 50-year old aunt. These two were able to get back to safety.
Tennessee voters who request an absentee by-mail ballot for the Nov. 3 election can track the status of their ballot on the Secretary of State’s website using the Absentee By-Mail Ballot Status Tracker tool.
Through this tool, Tennessee voters can easily and securely track their absentee by-mail ballot’s status starting when the county election commission mails the ballot to the voter and ending when the completed ballot has been received by the county election commission. Visit the Absentee By-Mail Ballot Status Tracker at tnmap.tn.gov/voterlookup (https://t.e2ma.net/click/65l9nmb/yvgckg/2yhipwn).
“We saw a record number of Tennesseans voting absentee by-mail in the August election and we expect to break that record in November,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “Many of these voters are voting absentee by-mail for the first time. Our online tracking tool takes some of the uncertainty out of the process so voters can be confident about their ballot.”
Voters must have a legal reason to vote absentee by-mail. A list of legal reasons to vote by-mail may be found at sos.tn.gov/products/elections/absentee-voting (https://t.e2ma.net/click/65l9nmb/yvgckg/iriipwn).
To receive an absentee by-mail ballot, you must submit a written request to your local election commission by mail, fax or email. Voters can find the contact information for their county election commission on our website, tnsos.org/elections/election_commissions.php (https://t.e2ma.net/click/65l9nmb/yvgckg/yjjipwn).
Absentee by-mail ballot requests must be received by your election commission no later than seven (7) days before the election. The deadline to request a ballot for the Nov. 3 election is Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Completed absentee by-mail ballots must be returned by-mail to your local county election commission. Voters are encouraged to request and return their absentee by-mail ballots early in order to ensure deadlines are met. Ballots must be received before the polls close on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3. A first-class stamp is required to return a ballot through the U.S. Postal Service.
For the latest information on the Nov. 3 election, follow the Secretary of State’s social media channels Twitter: @SecTreHargett (https://t.e2ma.net/click/65l9nmb/yvgckg/eckipwn), Facebook: Tennessee Secretary of State (https://t.e2ma.net/click/65l9nmb/yvgckg/u4kipwn) and Instagram: @tnsecofstate (https://t.e2ma.net/click/65l9nmb/yvgckg/axlipwn).
For more information about voting absentee by-mail or tracking your ballot, go to GoVoteTN.com (https://t.e2ma.net/click/65l9nmb/yvgckg/qpmipwn), contact your local county election commission or call the Division of Elections toll-free at 1-877-850-4959.
