Highland Rim Habitat for Humanity is currently looking for applicants for its Aging in Place senior citizen grant.

According to Terrie Quick, president of the Highland Rim Habitat for Humanity, the grant is in place for older citizens with needs for home improvements like handicap ramps, shower renovations, window replacements and other home renovations to aid seniors in staying in their home longer without having to move to a nursing home or an assisted living facility.

A few requirements for the program are as follows:
*Applicants should be 60 years old or older
*Applicants should own their home
*Taxes and payments must be current
*Must provide proof of income

On Friday, March 13, the Habitat for Humanity office in Tullahoma – which is located at 201 W. Lincoln St. – will be open with applications on hand for the program. Anyone wishing to apply should show up then. If you can’t be there, you can text or call 931-247-5590 and have an application mailed to your residence.

There will be an informational meeting on the Fit & Strong program put on by the Manchester Recreation Center on Friday, March 13, at 1 p.m. at the Coffee County Senior Center – located at 603 Woodbury Highway.

Fit and Strong is an exercise & behavior change program for older adults with lower extremity osteoarthritis. Fit and Strong includes 60-minutes of exercise and 30-minutes of group health discussion. This program is designed to help you manage arthritis, exercise safely, decrease joint pain & stiffness, improve daily function, reduce anxiety and depression, develop and maintain an active lifestyle. This is a free program, held at the senior center and led by instructors of the Manchester Parks & Recreation Department.

Go ahead and mark your calendars for Saturday, May 16th. Thunder Radio will host the Coffee County Home and Garden Show from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. at the Coffee County Fairgrounds. You can expect over 30 vendors related to your home, financing, home improvement, cleaning, renovating, furniture supply, landscaping, inflatables for the kids and so much more, as well as over $500 worth of door prizes to be given away. The event is free to the public. There are a few vendor slots that remain – interested parties should contact Thunder Radio at 931-728-1320. Click here to like Thunder Radio on Facebook and get event updates. 

With Census information set to be in your mailbox in the next few days (between March 12-20), Census officials want to remind everyone of the many uses of Census information.

Accurate Census information and statistics are paramount for industries and communities, because businesses rely on this information for economic development, business decisions and strategic planning.

“We want to make sure we have the most complete count possible for Manchester and Coffee County,” explained Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman. “Manchester is growing. Census information is important when decision are made about where certain businesses are going to locate or where they aren’t going to locate. We want Manchester and Coffee County to be well represented and businesses to have all the information they need to consider us.”

Census data will offer a snapshot of Coffee County for businesses and industries with a brand new data set that includes population trends and projections moving forward, which is important considering the last Census data is now 10 years old. Census information can also impact current business and industry expansion – bringing more good paying jobs to the Coffee County community.

“It is very important that as many people self-respond as possible,” emphasized Gary Cordell, mayor of Coffee County. “We know that funding is dependent on that, and that is the message we are trying to get out to as many people as possible.”

Much has been publicized about Census count impacting federal funding that is sent to local communities – and it certainly does – but there are many other factors that your information directly impacts.

Commissions also use Census data to redraw congressional districts, which has a direct impact on Coffee County’s legislative representation in the state, and Tennessee’s representation in the United States Congress.
Some states could actually gain seats, while others lose congressional seats.

Privacy and security concerns at ease

Sometimes people express concern about security of information when it comes to filling out the Census. Census information is confidential. According to Tia Zanghi, partnership specialist with the Census, Census data is stripped down to statistical form when it’s submitted to the President.

The U.S. Census is completely confidential and bound by Title 13. Title 13 protects private information from being published and under the U.S. Code, Census workers take a lifetime oath of confidentiality as well.

By law, census responses cannot be used by any of the following agencies: The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Those who violate Title 13 can face a federal prison sentence of up to five years, a fine of $250,000, or both.
“Your information is completely confidential,” reassured Zanghi. “It is protected by law. For 72 years your info is completely locked up. Whenever we submit this information to the president it will be in statistical form only”

Remember – you can fill out your Census multiple ways

Census invitations will arrive in the mail between March 12-20. These invitations will be addressed to the “resident of” your address, and will include information on how to respond online or over the phone. If you do not respond online or over the phone, you will receive a paper packet in the mail to respond through the United States Postal Service. Those who do not respond in one of those three ways will be visited by an enumerator (or a door knocker) to try and obtain the information.

The more that people respond online, the fewer man hours are spent tracking down responses from residents. To avoid scammers, these enumerators carry an ID badge with a phone number for you to call and certify their identity and purpose of their visit to your home.

Tennessee’s statewide seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January 2020 is 3.3%, according to new data released by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

January is the third consecutive month Tennessee has recorded an unemployment rate of 3.3%. This also represents a 0.1% drop when comparing the latest data to the January 2019 rate.

Tennessee employers added 6,500 new jobs across the state between December and January. During that time, Tennessee saw the most significant increase in the education and health services sector with 2,900 new jobs. The administrative and support and waste management and remediation services sector grew by 2,800 jobs. The retail trade sector added 2,400 new jobs over the month.

When comparing January 2019 to January 2020, employment grew by 46,100 positions statewide.

Nationally, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate did increase between December and January by 0.1% to the current rate of 3.6%.

Tennesseans searching for new employment can find a variety of online resources by logging onto the state’s workforce development website, www.Jobs4TN.gov. They can also visit one of the more than 80 American Job Center locations conveniently located in cities across the state.

A complete analysis of the January 2020 Tennessee labor situation is not currently available due to the March 3 tornado in Nashville. Once the Department’s offices reopen, the analysis will be posted online

The Tennessee gas price average has decreased by five cents this week amid concerns about the coronavirus and crude oil prices hitting a 4-year low. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $2.16 which is three cents less than one month ago and 13 cents less than one year ago. Tennessee is the 10th least expensive market in the nation.

Locally in Manchester, gas prices could be found as low as $1.96 per gallon of regular unleaded on Monday afternoon.

“For the third week, U.S. gasoline stocks decreased while demand increased. Generally, growing demand amid declining stocks causes increases at the pump, but crude oil prices have dipped to four-year lows, signaling spring could be cheaper at the pump,” said Megan Cooper, spokesperson, AAA – The Auto Club Group.

National Gas Prices

The national gas price average is cheaper on the week (-5 cents), month (-5 cents) and year (-9 cents) – giving the vast majority of motorists savings at the pump. At $2.38, the national gas price average has not been this cheap since last February.

National Oil Market Dynamics

At the close of Friday’s formal trading session on the NYMEX, WTI decreased by $4.62 to settle at $41.28. Crude prices plunged at the end of last week after OPEC and other major crude producers, including Russia, failed to set a new production reduction agreement amid mounting global crude demand concerns caused by COVID-19. The rapid decline in crude prices has increased market concerns that an oil price war may breakout this week between major crude producers, contributing to further economic troubles worldwide as crude prices continue to drop dramatically. Moreover, the market continues to worry that the impact of COVID-19 will lead to a reduction in global economic growth and global travel, with crude demand expected to decrease. Until it appears that the international public health threat from the virus decreases, crude prices are likely to continue facing significant downward pressure.

Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center is celebrating 15 years of helping children in our area and there will be a party – you are all invited.
The 15-year celebration Party with a Purpose will be held Thursday, April 2 at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center. Tickets are $50 per person, there will be silent auction and social hour beginning at 6 p.m. and dinner and live auction at 7 p.m. Following the auction there will be a DJ, games and more fun. All money raised goes to support the advocacy center and its mission of helping children in Coffee County. The advocacy center is a 501c3 organization.
For more information or to purchase tickets you can call 931-723-8888 to reserve your tickets, or click here for more info.

The full Coffee County commission is set to meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 10 at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza, which is located at 1329 McArthur St. and everyone is welcome to attend the public meeting.

On the agenda are a few hot-button resolutions, including one resolution rejecting relocation of refugees in Coffee County, and another resolution declaring Coffee County a second amendment sanctuary county in Tennessee.

 BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

COFFEE COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE PLAZA

MARCH 10, 2020 @ 6:00 p.m.

A G E N D A  (#2)

 Sheriff Proclaims Commission Open for Business

Invocation

Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag

Roll Call

Approve agenda.

Public Comments

Review and approval of the minutes of previous meeting.

Resolution of Memorial, Sympathy and Commendation

Elections, Appointments and Confirmations

Notaries

Other

Unfinished Business

Planning Commission Appointments

New Business

Resolution 2020-05 – Resolution rejecting relocation of refugees in Coffee County.

Resolution 2020-07 – Resolution of the Governing Body of Coffee County, Tennessee declaring Coffee County, Tennessee, a Second Amendment Sanctuary County.

Resolution 2020-08 – A Resolution encouraging the support of legislation which directs TennCare to reimburse ground ambulance providers at a rate not less than the current Medicare fee schedule and adding funding to the 2020-2021 State Budget.

Other

*Report of standing committee and action thereon by the commission.

*Report of special committees and action thereon by the commission.

Statements & Announcements

Adjournment

(Above left, Manchester Police Department chief Mark Yother and assistant chief Adam Floied spent time assisting Cookeville Police Department over the weekend. Right photo, storm damage in Putnam County. Photos provided.)

Manchester Police Department has now sent officers to assist the Cookeville Police Department during day and night shifts, as that area recovers from a deadly EF-4 tornado that hit the area Tuesday morning, March 3, leaving 18 dead in Putnam County, and many more injured and displaced from their homes.

Manchester Police Chief Mark Yother and Assistant Chief Adam Floied were among those who traveled to Cookeville over the weekend, along with other officers, working 12 hour shifts.

Meanwhile, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department continued to send crews to the area over the weekend and will do so this week in order to help secure damaged areas from loiters and assist with traffic control.

Duck River Electric sent crews to Wilson County last week to assist in the reconstruction of the electric service area there, which is reported to be the hardest hit service area in Middle Tennessee, with an estimated 300 poles broken.
If you want to donate items to tornado relief, there are multiple ways to do that right here in Manchester.

Unity Medical Center and Manchester Rotary Club have teamed up to coordinate multiple drop off locations and have extended the time to make drop offs.

Items sought are peanut butter crackers, granola bars, snack packs, pop tarts, juice boxes, water bottles, individual packs of food, Clorox wipes, Hand Sanitizer wipes, tarps, blankets, flash lights and hygiene items. You can drop off any of these items at Unity Medical Center, the Coffee County Board of Education, First National Bank of Manchester, or the Manchester Recreation Center. The last day to drop off items is Friday, March 13.

Also, you can take the following items to the Manchester Fire Department: grocery gift cards, kid friendly foods, batteries, diapers of all sizes, disposable wipes, baby formula, baby food and hygiene products. These items should be dropped off by the end of the day Tuesday, March 10.

All three area school systems – Coffee County Schools, Manchester City Schools and Tullahoma City Schools – released a joint statement Friday afternoon concerning the coronavirus and steps being taken to prevent any potential spread. The statement is as follows:

According to Centers for Disease Control, there is currently no vaccine to prevent Coronavirus disease. The best way to prevent illness is to avoid being exposed to this virus. It is important that we operate on a system of facts in cases such as this and not let fear or social media drive the discussion and decision-making process.

We are making concerted efforts with our custodial staffs each day to wipe down all furniture, door knobs and other areas with which students and teachers come in contact. It is also important for teachers and families to discuss basic hygiene practices with their students to prevent spread of germs in our schools. Here are some general helpful tips from the CDC we can utilize to help ensure personal health:

*Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
*If you are sick with flu symptoms, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities.
*Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
*Cough into the sleeve of your shirt or use tissues that are properly disposed of after use.
*Follow CDC’s recommendations for using a facemask.
*CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, such as coronavirus.
*Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of coronavirus to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation.