Category: News

The state of Tennessee will submit its application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to receive grant funding to pay an additional weekly unemployment benefit to claimants who meet the eligibility requirements of the Lost Wages Supplemental Payment Assistance program (LWA).

If approved, the grant will fund a $300 weekly payment. This new LWA payment is in addition to the Tennessee Unemployment Compensation, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, or Extended Benefits payments currently available to unemployed Tennessee workers.

The grant requires claimants to receive at least $100 in state or federal unemployment benefits each week to be eligible for the new LWA payment.

The $300 option allows Tennessee to maintain its Coronavirus Relief Fund initiatives while still more than doubling the state’s maximum benefit amount.

The state’s maximum unemployment benefit is $275. When combined with the new program, the maximum possible benefit in Tennessee will be $575 per week, before federal withholding taxes.
The LWA payments will be retroactive to August 1, 2020. Eligible claimants currently receiving benefits do not need to take any action because the state will automatically add LWA to their weekly benefit payment.

Unlike the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program (FPUC) that ended in July, LWA is a grant with a finite amount of funding. When the federal program exhausts its grant funding, it will no longer have the resources to provide LWA payments and the program will end at that time. If the federal program does not exhaust the LWA grant funding, payments will end in Tennessee on Saturday, December 26, 2020.

In anticipation of FEMA approval, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development has already begun working with its vendor to build a new program within the unemployment computer system to implement and pay LWA benefits. In conjunction with guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor concerning program administration, the state will work diligently to complete this process as quickly as possible.

Active COVID-19 virus numbers in Coffee County edged up on Tuesday, but just slightly. There are now 305 active cases in Coffee County, up from 302 the prior day.

Since testing began in March, there have been 630 total cases in Coffee County. Of these, 321 have recovered and four people have passed away. Coffee County’s total population is about 57,000.

Meanwhile, active cases across the state fell by about 1,089. This comes a day after active cases across the state fell by 1,142 the previous day.

Since testing began in March, there have been 1,386 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths. There have been 5,981 total hospitalizations.

On Tuesday, Kim King, Commander of VFW Post 10904, presented a National Citation of Recognition from the Veterans of Foreign Wars national headquarters to Westwood Middle School.

The Principal, Ms. Julie Miller accepted the citation on behalf of the school. The VFW recognized Westwood Middle School for promoting citizenship education both in the school and outside in the community. The VFW Citizenship Education Teacher (middle school) Award for the state of Tennessee is a member of Westwood Middle School (Jim Dobson), but without the support of the teachers, staff and students of Westwood Middle School that award would not have been possible and that is why the VFW is recognizing Westwood Middle School for all of their hard work.

Pictured are Kim King, right, and Julie Miller. 

Tullahoma Police Department chief Jason Williams announced Tuesday the promotion of one of his officers.

Brooke Arthur was promoted from the rank of Corporal to the rank of Sergeant at TPD. Arthur will be overseeing a newly created patrol shift as a result of the Tullahoma Police Department’s transition to 12-hour work shifts.
According to TPD, Arthur brings five years of experience to the position.

By Nadia Ramligan, Tennessee Public News Service

Advocates are asking Gov. Bill Lee to supply Tennessee’s long-term care facilities with rapid coronavirus testing, with the goal of being able to reunite residents with their families faster.

Since early spring, long-term care facilities across the state have closed their doors to visitors because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rachel Blackhurst, public policy and advocacy director with the Alzheimer’s Association’s Tennessee Chapter, said because social isolation among people with dementia can speed decline and worsen cognitive abilities, having access to rapid-turnaround testing is critical for residents, staff and visitors.

She added that individuals with dementia may not be able to use Zoom or other video technologies or be responsive over the phone.

“And while Tennessee has actually done a really, really good job with mobilizing testing and requiring weekly testing for facilities, we’ve seen a decline in how quickly those results come back, and it hasn’t helped with opening facilities up for visitation,” Blackhurst said.

Nearly half of the state’s nursing home residents are living with Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia, and among older adults in assisted living and other residential facilities, 42% have some form of dementia. Tennessee has 700 long-term care facilities.

A New York Times database found at the start of August, around 40% of all U.S. COVID-19 deaths occurred among long-term care residents or staff, and that number is on the rise.

Erin Drummond’s father lives in a long-term care facility, and she said she hasn’t been able to see him in months.

“My dad’s on hospice care right now, and we don’t know how long he’ll be around. So it’s hard to just not be able to go in and be with him in these last moments of life,” Drummond said.

She said she hopes her fellow Tennessee residents will take precautions to curb the spread of the coronavirus so that facilities can safely reopen.

“If the cases continue to rise, these restrictions still stay in place,” she said. “It’s really hard to go months without seeing somebody that is at the end of their life. So that would be what I would like, for everybody just in general to really think about other people and high-risk people and how that affects them.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, social isolation is associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia as well as an increased risk for premature death, heart disease, stroke and other conditions.

After 20 years at the helm and oversight of many major projects, Manchester Parks and Recreation Director Bonnie Gamble has notified the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen that she plans to retire.

Gamble worked for the Parks and Recreation Department as director for nine years before taking a job with the state of Tennessee. She returned to the city in 2010 to take over as Parks Director again. She informed the board of her intention to retire full time on June 30, 2021.

“I still plan to be active in the community and work part time for the city,” Gamble told Thunder Radio news. “But I have new challenges and a new grandchild coming that I want to be there for and I want the freedom to travel and see the world some.”

Gamble has oversaw multiple major projects that have shaped the city’s parks and recreation departments. She was instrumental in the start of the Little Duck River Greenway, which now stretches multiple miles, and she also oversaw construction of the Manchester Recreation Complex. In addition to many other major projects, Gamble also helped lead the purchasing and development of the new soccer complex off of State Route 55.

Gamble said she gave the city board over 10 months notice to allow them time to find a suitable replacement.
“I wanted to finish out this fiscal year (which ends June 30, 2021) and this gives the board time to decide how they want leadership to look moving forward,” explained Gamble.

The Recreation Department also organizes the annual Manchester Christmas Parade. Gamble currently serves as president of the Manchester Rotary Club.

(File photo: Bonnie Gamble, right, and Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman, left, accept a check of $5,000 from Phillip McAfee to go toward tennis court renovations. Gamble announced that she intends to retire June 30, 20201. )

Tennessee gas prices, on average, increased only slightly over last week, rising nearly a penny. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $1.90 which is four cents less than one month ago and nearly 44 cents less than one year ago. Average price in Coffee County is $1.91 as of Monday afternoon.

“Gas prices across the state are likely to fluctuate during back to school season, but we expect them to remain low,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “We’ve likely seen prices at the pump peak for 2020, barring any major hurricane(s).”

Quick Facts

· 91% of Tennessee gas stations have prices below $2.00
· The lowest 10% of pump prices are $1.71 for regular unleaded
· The highest 10% of pump prices are $2.21 for regular unleaded
· Tennessee is now the 8th least expensive market in the nation

There are now 302 active cases of COVID-19 virus in Coffee County, down six from the prior day. Since testing began in March, there have been 617 total confirmed cases in Coffee County. Of these, 311 are classified as recovered, and four people have passed away. Numbers now remain lower than early last week, when the high of active cases hit 321.
Meanwhile, across the state of Tennessee active cases dipped by about 1,142.

There are currently about 36,240 active cases in the state. There have been 1,345 confirmed deaths related to COVID-19 since March, and 5,881 people have been hospitalized since March.
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Active COVID-19 cases in Coffee County increased slightly over the weekend, up to 308 as of Sunday afternoon according to Tennessee Department of Health.

There has also been a fourth COVID-19 virus related death in Coffee County, bringing the total to four, according to TDH.

Since testing began in March, there have been 608 positive cases in Coffee County. Of these, 296 are classified as recovered and four people have passed away. There have been 10,610 negative tests performed in Coffee County.
Meanwhile, active cases across the state went up by approximately 1,878 over the weekend, but did finish down for the week.

Currently, there are approximately 36,105 active cases in the state. There have been 1,304 confirmed COVID-19 related deaths since March and 5,813 hospitalizations. As of August 15th, there are 964 people hospitalized across the state of Tennessee with COVID-19.

When it comes to hospital capacity, Tennessee appears to be in good shape. Only 21% of floor beds are occupied across the state’s hospitals and only 15% of the state’s ICU beds are currently occupied. As of Sunday, 68% of the state’s ventilators were in use.

After several weeks of waiting to pass inspection, the new inclusive playground at Fred Deadman Park officially opened to the public on Friday. The Parks and Recreation Department celebrated the opening of the new playground – officially titled the “Dusty Elam Memorial Playground” – with a ribbon cutting on Friday, Aug, 14.

The funding for the project did not come from local tax dollars, but instead from a Local Parks and Recreation Fund grant, as well as matching funds from Park Partners, which is a local non-profit that raises money for various parks and recreation projects and improvements.

The inclusive playground is designed for all children to be able to play together – allowing for children with special needs to play on the equipment just the same as other children.