Category: News

Manchester Parks and Recreation is nearing completion of a new playground behind the old Riverview School, which is located off of Emerson St.

The new playground, which is designed for children 13 and older, is described by Parks Director Bonnie Gamble as “more of an obstacle course/ American Ninja type of area.”

Equipment is installed and Gamble said she hopes that crews will begin surfacing by next week. She said that the playground should be ready to open within the next few weeks.

The cost of the project is $200,902, which is fully funded by a Diabetes Initiative Grant from the Tennessee Department of Health and will not use any local tax dollars. The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved the contract with Recreational Concepts LLC for purchase and installation of the equipment in the spring. 

Gamble said the project is the first step of developing the area near Riverview as a neighborhood park. The city received $450,000 in grant money that must be spent over three years.

Gamble cited the need for a play area for older youth, who get bored with playground equipment for smaller children, which leads to that equipment not being used properly. (Photo below: Playground equipment is going up behind the old Riverview Alternative School on Emerson St. in Manchester).

Active cases of COVID-19 in Coffee County jumped up to near 100 on Thursday, with 98 active cases.

Since testing began in March, Coffee County has seen 233 total cases with 135 recoveries, leaving 98 active cases. There have been zero reported deaths in Coffee County, according to TDH.

Meanwhile, there are approximately 33,565 active cases across the state of Tennessee. There have been 891 confirmed deaths and 4,016 hospitalizations, with 109 new hospitalizations in the past day.

Coffee County Schools continue to establish guidelines and procedures as the opening of schools draws closer amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transportation guidelines are now available for students who will ride school buses.

Among the guidelines are:

1 – families are asked to check each child’s temperature everyday. Temperatures at or above 100.4 are considered elevated and students should stay home.
2 – buses will be disinfected at least 2x per day after the morning and evening run.
3 – Windows will remain lowered in transit to allow additional air flow
4 – Temperatures will be taken when students enter the bus.
5 – hand sanitizer will be available and encouraged
6 – The use of masks is strongly encouraged (not requried)
7 – Family units will be asked to sit together to maximize spacing between others.

Other information in regards to Coffee County Schools’ response to COVID-19 can be found by clicking here.

Manchester City Schools announced plans for a staggered orientation on Aug. 3, with parents and students coming at different times based on last names, and a later time for parents choosing virtual learning. 

In order to accommodate the needs of our families and to limit the number of adults entering the buildings, Manchester City Schools will operate on a modified schedule August 3, 2020. Registration will be held on a staggered schedule, with traditional students (attending in person) registering in the morning and virtual students (attending online) registering in the afternoon.

Traditional Registration – College Street and Westwood Elementary are asking families and students to come at staggered times by last name.

student last name beginning with
8:00 – 9:00 a.m. A-G
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. H-P
10:00 – 11:00 a.m. Q-Z

MCS Virtual Learning
1:00 p.m. – virtual learning informational meeting (parent must attend)

Traditional Registration – Westwood Middle School is asking students to come at staggered times by grade level.
student grade level
6th grade 8:00 – 8:45 a.m.
7th grade 9:00 – 9:45 a.m.
8th grade 10:00 -10:45 a.m.

MCS Virtual Learning
1:00 p.m. – virtual learning informational meeting (parent must attend)

More information will be available through individual school websites or you may call the school with questions.

Families who are choosing to enroll in MCS Virtual Learning will be required to attend the registration meeting on August 3, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. at the school their child will attend. In order to register for virtual learning, the parent of the child attending virtually MUST attend the registration meeting and complete the application process.

MCS Virtual Learning will take place during the school day Monday – Friday and students must be present online each day. MCS will provide Chromebooks for students but families will be responsible for internet access.

Parents may attend the informational meeting before making a final decision on the traditional or virtual instructional option.

Social distancing will be observed during the registration meeting

Coffee County Central High School released its plans and guidelines to begin the 2020-2021 school year on time, August 3 with orientation.

First and foremost, students should register online before orientation on Aug. 3. You can register online here: 

If you do not have internet access, call 931-723-5159. Those choosing virtual learning must do so by July 24.

Here are some of the guidelines that will be followed at CHS this year.
1 – students temperatures will be checked daily. Students with temperatures 100.4 or higher will be taken to an isolated room and evaluated further.
2 – desks, technology equipment and other shared items will be disinfected daily
3 – restrooms will be cleaned multiple times each day
4 – students will spread out in the cafeteria and gym when arriving to avoid congestion
5 – students will take new routes during class changes to avoid congestion
6 – students can eat lunch outside in order to lessen people in cafeteria
7 – students will have lessons on proper hygiene
8 – masks are recommended, but not required
9 – water bottles are recommended.

Members of the Manchester, Tennessee Veterans of Foreign Wars All-American
Post 10904 Auxiliary demonstrated the Post’s support for local law enforcement
professionals Friday, July 17. VFW Auxiliary members pooled their money
together to buy and deliver five dozen donuts to the Manchester Police
Department.

The VFW Auxiliary gave the Department a sign and included a memo to Chief of
Police Mark Yother. The memo read: “Your Mission Statement, in part. ‘is to
make our city a place where all people can live, work, and visit safely
without fear.’ Our proclamation is simple: MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!”

Pictured are, L-R: Auxiliary members Betty Hamry, Mary Marshall and Amy Carter

.

Coffee County now has 93 active cases of COVID-19 virus, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. This is up 14 from the prior day.

Since testing began in March, there have been 220 total cases of the virus in Coffee County. Of these, 127 have recovered, leaving 93 total active cases. There have been no deaths reported from Coffee County, according to TDH.

Across the state, there are approximately 32,430 active cases. There have been 81,122 confirmed cases since testing began, with 47,852 recoveries. There have been 840 confirmed deaths and 3,798 hospitalizations.
To date, 1,237,411 people in Tennessee have been tested.

Thunder Radio News has learned that testing for COVID-19 virus in Coffee County will soon be centralized at the now-abandoned Southern Family Markets building located at 2050 Hillsboro Blvd in Manchester.

Currently, testing is available at the Department of Health locations in Manchester and Tullahoma. Once set up, all testing will move to the Southern Family Markets building. Officials were on site Tuesday to prepare the location. 

“All of the testing for the county will be done at the one location here,” said Allen Lendley with Coffee County EMA. “Basically they will be testing all day (during business hours). We were running into a traffic problem at the health departments in Manchester and Tullahoma due to an influx of testing here lately.”

Officials are cleaning a portion of the interior of the building (on Tuesday) and will set up a tent inside the building to conduct testing.

“There is a lot more parking here (at this building) than the health department locations,” said Lendley.

Lendley is unsure when the location would be open for testing. But he said plans are to begin by the end of this week (July 25) or the start of next week (July 27) at the latest. 

The health department received permission to use the building from the property owner through the building’s property management company, Premier Lawn Care. 

After months of planning, the first few days of early voting for the Aug. 6. State and Federal Primary, Coffee County General, and Cities of Manchester and Tullahoma election is off to a safe and secure start in Coffee County.

“Our staff has been working diligently to prepare for this election. We have ensured our polling locations have room for social distancing and have taken other measures to protect voters and poll officials.” said Andy Farrar the Coffee County Administrator of Elections. “It is great to see all of our plans in action and I encourage voters to take advantage of early voting to skip Election Day lines.”

Early voting started Friday, July 17, and runs Monday to Saturday until Saturday, Aug. 1. Election Day is Thursday, Aug. 6.

As of Monday, July 20, 267 early votes have been cast in Manchester, 675 in Tullahoma and 415 from rural Coffee County residents.

Early voting allows Coffee County voters to avoid Election Day crowds and the flexibility of Saturday hours and multiple polling locations.

Voters are encouraged to do their part during early voting and on Election Day. This includes wearing a face covering and maintaining a six-foot distance from poll officials and other voters. Voters should expect to see signs with further safety instructions at their polling locations. All poll officials will be wearing face coverings and will be trained to take appropriate protective measures.

“I commend all of the election commissions across the state who have been preparing for months for this election,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “It’s encouraging to see voters safely taking advantage of Tennessee’s generous early voting period.”

The easiest way for voters to find early voting and Election Day voting locations, view and mark sample ballots and much more is by downloading the GoVoteTN app or by visiting GoVoteTN.com. Download the GoVoteTN app for free in the App Store or Google Play.

Tennesseans voting early or on Election Day should remember to bring valid photo identification to the polls. A driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security, by Tennessee state government or by the federal government are acceptable even if they are expired. College student IDs are not acceptable.
For more information about early voting in Coffee County visit www.coffeecountyelectioncommission.com.

During these challenging times, many Tennesseans can use some extra money. The Tennessee Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property Division returned over 59,000 claims, totaling $62.5 million, to the rightful owners during fiscal year 2020.

The Unclaimed Property Division is a consumer protection program of the Tennessee Department of Treasury that works to reunite the millions of missing dollars turned over every year with its rightful owners. As of June 30, 2020, there is $1.08 billion waiting to be claimed.

From July 1, 2019, through June 30, 2020, about $62.5 million was returned by the Unclaimed Property Division to the owners or their heirs, local governments, and reciprocal states. While the ongoing pandemic has created one of our nation’s most financially difficult times, the Division has put money back into Tennesseans’ bank accounts, with nearly $20 million returned to 18,800 claimants during the months of March through June 2020.

“During these challenging times, as our employees have worked remotely, they have diligently continued our responsibility of getting money back into the hands of Tennesseans who have been living with the difficulties of this crisis,” State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. said. “It has been rewarding to see millions of dollars put back into Tennesseans’ bank accounts during such a critical time.”

Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations unable to locate the owners. This includes intangible assets such as utility or business refunds, unclaimed wages, credit balances for overpayments, gift certificates, securities, bank accounts, etc.

(See if you have unclaimed property under your name by clicking here!)

The Treasury Department utilizes various methods to locate owners of unclaimed property, including mailing letters to the address provided when the property was turned over from the business (holder), and sending letters to employers of potential claimants whose Social Security Number has been matched with records from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. On average, the Unclaimed Property Division sends hundreds of thousands of letters each year to potential claimants. If you have received a letter, you can verify the information by visiting ClaimItTN.gov (https://t.e2ma.net/click/xhtggf/5n7lps/t22yb2).

Some third-party companies may send letters alerting individuals to unclaimed property. Beware of any service asking you to pay them to help you get your money back. If you are ever contacted about unclaimed property in Tennessee and would like to check the validity, go to ClaimItTN.gov (https://t.e2ma.net/click/xhtggf/5n7lps/9u3yb2). To be sure your letter is legitimate, be aware:

There is never a fee to claim unclaimed property in Tennessee.

There is never a time limit on when you can claim your property.

Anyone can see if they are owed any missing money by searching their name at ClaimItTN.gov (https://t.e2ma.net/click/xhtggf/5n7lps/pn4yb2), and may file a claim online if they find unclaimed property belonging to them. The online database contains all unclaimed property in Tennessee dating to the beginning of the program. Treasury recommends searching for common misspellings of your name and addresses as well, as that may be why the business was unable to return the money to you initially. Our website also includes a link to help you search for missing money in other states.