Category: News

In the wake of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee extending his executive Stay-at-Home order, Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman released a statement Thursday to communicate with Manchester residents about operations at city hall.

Norman said the city will continue to operate on a four-day work week through May 1 and all offices will conduct business by phone from 7 a.m. until 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

You can see the full statement below:
“Gov. Bill Lee has extended his “Stay-at-Home” order until April 30, with plans to reopen the economy in May. The next two weeks are critical to our public health, and we are relying on every individual to use common sense and make responsible decisions. As individuals and as a community, we can make smart choices that will protect our families, keep our most vulnerable safe, and give our health care partners time to combat this virus. Each of us has the responsibility to follow Governor Lee’s “Stay-at-Home” order, which is outlined in Executive Order 22.

“We’re going to be faced with a lot of challenges, even coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our economy has been profoundly impacted, and we are going to have to as a community come together. There are a lot of people in our community that have lost their jobs, their businesses, and their savings. Know that I will continue to do everything in my power to help our community persevere and recover.

“The City of Manchester offices will continue four-day work weeks through May 1st. All offices will conduct business by phone and online Monday thru Thursday from 7am till 5:30pm. We encourage residents to utilize our online services www.cityofmanchestertn.com, drive-up window, and night deposit boxes. The City of Manchester will continue to notify residents of any significant changes to City services through the media as necessary. If you know an elderly resident that needs assistance, please contact us at 723-8288 or 728-4652. As always, the safety and security of our residents and employees remains our top priority.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced Thursday that the Paycheck Protection Program would not be accepting any more applications for the $349 billion program, because it is already out of money.

The Payroll Protection Program is one of the federal government’s key pieces to the recently-passed stimulus to help small businesses and employees stay afloat.

SBA reports that it approved more than 1.6 million Paycheck Protection Program loan applications totaling more than $339 billion from 4,900 ending institutions.

One of the biggest draws of the program is that businesses who borrow and don’t lay off workers in the next eight weeks can have their loans forgiven.

Join us at Thunder Radio and Rosalyn Partin of the Manchester H&R Block and congratulate our student of the week – Kennedy Torres

Kennedy is a sixth grade student at Coffee County Middle School and Mrs. Cooper is his homeroom teacher. Kennedy’s parents are Martha Hernandez and Erick Beltran. He enjoys playing soccer and hanging out with friends. When he grows up, Kennedy would like to pursue a career in soccer.

Rosalyn Partin, owner of the Manchester H&R Block, has been inspired to recognize great kids in our community all year long. H&R Block gives each Student of the Week a set of Nashville Predators hockey tickets, a commemorative plaque, as well as a special letter of recognition. Job well done, Kennedy.

(Pictured below, from left, CCMS principal Kim Aaron, Kennedy Torres and Rosalyn Partin, Manchester H&R Block)

Manchester City Schools has released its plan for the final weeks of what would have been the end of the 2019-20 academic school year, along with plans for closing out the school year. The statement is as follows:

Manchester City Schools continues to work with  students and families as the 2019-2020 school year comes to a close. This is a school year like no other, but we hope to provide as much support and guidance during this difficult time as possible. Below are activities that will be occurring each week from now until May 22, 2020, the last day of the school year.

• Week of April 20 – the past few weeks have been emotional for everyone in our community. For this week, we are encouraging teachers, students, and families to take time to have fun and enjoy learning opportunities that may not involve written work. Normally, we are taking field trips, having field days, or other activities that are memorable for our students. Teachers may provide opportunities for a virtual field trip, a scavenger hunt, class Google Hangout, or other activities that students would enjoy. “Social distancing” is still in effect. This week is meant to take care of the social and emotional needs of everyone. Have fun and make memories.
Next year’s 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students should return pre-registration materials this week to Westwood Middle School. If you have not received information, please contact your school’s principal.

• Week of April 27 – learning opportunities currently taking place will resume. Online learning will continue as well as learning packets. We will finish the school year strong.

• Week of May 4 – learning opportunities will continue. The learning for the year will be nearing an end.
It is possible that Chromebook collection for WMS will take place this week. We will wait as long as possible.

• Week of May 11 – we will begin the process of closing school for the year. Guidance from the governor on the stay at home order will help determine activities of the week. If possible, we will make arrangements for students to return items that belong to school (books, etc.), collect their personal items, pick up report cards, and hopefully receive the assignment of next year’s teacher. Yearbooks and other items will be picked up if the publishers have them completed.
Elementary students who checked out Chromebooks will return those.

• Week of May 18 – preparing for the 2020 -2021 school year. Students and families will be contacted by the teacher that the student will have when school resumes. Kindergarten student families will have an opportunity to pre-register and receive information. Kindergarten pre-registration will be dependent on travel restrictions.

*All activities will take place with social distancing rules in place.

We will continue to provide student meals on Mondays at Westwood Elementary from 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

As more guidance is released from Governor Lee, decisions regarding summer feeding and the Extended School Program will be communicated.

We appreciate everyone working with our district to help our students through these difficult times.

Coffee County’s confirmed cases of COVID-19 jumped to 17 as of 2 p.m. Thursday, this according to the Tennessee Department of Health. That number is up from 13 on Wednesday. Of the 17 cases in Coffee County, four are classified as recovered. There have been 334 negative tests conduced in Coffee County.

Statewide there are 6,262 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 141 deaths reported. Across the state there have been 691 hospitalizations and 2,786 classified as recovered.

Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman released an update to Manchester citizens Thursday regarding city operations through Governor Bill Lee’s extended “stay-at-home” executive order. The full release is as follows:

“Gov. Bill Lee has extended his “Stay-at-Home” order until April 30, with plans to reopen the economy in May. The next two weeks are critical to our public health, and we are relying on every individual to use common sense and make responsible decisions. As individuals and as a community, we can make smart choices that will protect our families, keep our most vulnerable safe, and give our health care partners time to combat this virus. Each of us has the responsibility to follow Governor Lee’s “Stay-at-Home” order, which is outlined in Executive Order 22.

“We’re going to be faced with a lot of challenges, even coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our economy has been profoundly impacted, and we are going to have to as a community come together. There are a lot of people in our community that have lost their jobs, their businesses, and their savings. Know that I will continue to do everything in my power to help our community persevere and recover.

“The City of Manchester offices will continue four-day work weeks through May 1st. All offices will conduct business by phone and online Monday thru Thursday from 7am till 5:30pm. We encourage residents to utilize our online services www.cityofmanchestertn.com, drive-up window, and night deposit boxes. The City of Manchester will continue to notify residents of any significant changes to City services through the media as necessary. If you know an elderly resident that needs assistance, please contact us at 723-8288 or 728-4652. As always, the safety and security of our residents and employees remains our top priority.”

Co Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Wednesday that he is recommending that schools remain closed through the end of the school year.

“Our department of education will work with local leaders. We want to make sure to be flexible with districts across the state. They have critical year-end activities to complete and prepare for next year,” said Lee. “This pandemic has created many challenges for families, teachers and students. Classroom time has been lost. Students have lost a significant amount of learning time. We will continue to provide resources to keep our students engaged over the next several weeks. “

Tennessee education commissioner Dr. Penny Schwinn announced Wednesday the formation of a COVID-19 child well-being task force to create support for students during this lengthy layoff.

“I appreciate the governor’s recommendation schools remain closed through the end of the school year to protect the health and safety of all Tennesseans. The coronavirus pandemic is constantly evolving, and we are only starting to see how this pandemic is affecting our children,” said Dr. Penny Schwinn. 

“Children being out of school for such a long time has significant implications for a child’s wellbeing, and this poses a different kind of challenge for all of us, as communities and as a state. There is critical work ahead, and t I am honored to convene the COVID-19 Child Wellbeing Task Force in the coming weeks to focus state and local leaders on the wellbeing of Tennessee’s children.” 

Commissioner Schwinn will be convening a COVID-19 Child Wellbeing Task Force to support local leaders and communities in caring for our students, particularly those who are vulnerable or most at risk. Details about the Task Force will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Manchester City School and Coffee County Schools quickly sent  announcements Wednesday confirming that the systems will follow Lee’s recommendation and  be closed for the remainder of this school year.  Coffee County Schools announced that its graduation is postponed. 

While closing was staggered across the state, schools in Coffee County have been closed since the middle of March due to this pandemic. Thunder Radio will keep you up to date.

Tennessee now has 6,079 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, including one more in Coffee County, with 13 cases now in Coffee County.

Statewide, there have been 135 confirmed deaths, 663 hospitalizations and 2,196 people classified as recovered. There have been 80,896 tests performed for the virus. In Coffee County, there have been 334 people who have tested negative for the COVID-19 virus.
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Coffee County Schools and Manchester City Schools are partnering together to host a Drive-Thru Mobile Food Pantry on Friday, April 17th at Coffee County Middle School. A Mobile Food Pantry is a large scale food distribution in which food items are delivered via Second Harvest Food Bank to a designated location for immediate distribution to those in need.

“During this unprecedented time, we understand hardships and challenges could potentially be bestowed on our families. We want to provide support and aid during times of uncertainty. As a community, we will get through this together,” said Taylor Rayfield, Coordinator of Family Resource Center for Coffee County Schools.

This will open at 10 a.m. and will be held at Coffee County Middle School, 3063 Woodbury Highway in Manchester.
The pantry will operate on a drive-thru model to reduce contact. Food boxes will be assembled and disbursed to the trunks of vehicles. Guests will not exit their vehicle for any reason.

For questions, contact Taylor Rayfield, Coordinator of Family Resource for Coffee County Schools at (931) 222-1066, or BJ Sylvia, Coordinator of Family Resource for Manchester City Schools at (931) 728-3412