Tullahoma Police Department officials are asking for the public’s assistance to identify a male and a female subject, both are persons of interest regarding an incident back in August. The suspects were allegedly observed taking several items from a local business. If you have information about these subjects, contact detective Johnny Gore at 931-455-0530 ext. 131 or email jgore@tullahomatn.gov.
Kelsey Ketron, daughter of Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron, entered a plea agreement Monday that keeps her from serving jail time.
Ketron, 29, pleaded no contest to 15 total counts that related to facilitation of fraudulent insurance acts, theft of property, forgery and impersonating a licensed professional.
She has been placed on eight years of state-supervised probation and was fined $10,000 and will need to complete 300 hours of community service.
Ketron owns 49 percent of the Universal Insurance agency, while Bill Ketron owns the remaining percent.
Tuesday, February 25 is your final day to vote early for the upcoming March 3 primary.
Early voting began on February 12 and ends on Tuesday, Feb. 25. If you do not vote early, you will be able to vote on election day, which is March 3.
Those wishing to vote early can do so in Manchester at the Coffee County Election Commission office, located at 1329 McArthur St. Suite 6 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Voters in Tullahoma can vote from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. at the CD Stamps Building.
If you wait until election day, you will need to vote at your assigned precinct. Hours for voting on March 3 are 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
In this election, locally, candidates for general sessions judge are placed on the Republican primary (there were no Democratic candidates). Voters will need to choose whether they will be voting in the Republican or Democratic primary, a ballot that will also include presidential candidates.
For additional information, please contact the Coffee County Election Office at 931-723-5103.
Manchester Police Department has released its annual report for 2019. The 25-page report touches on a myriad of statistics, financial information and staffing levels. Here are a few of the highlights.
Calls for service were virtually identical in 2019 compared to 2018, up only a half a percentage point with 16,977 total calls. However, arrests were actually down 10% as officers made 1,250 arrests compared to 1,390 in 2018.
Total citations issued saw a steep increase – up 25 percent when compared to 2018. In 2019, Manchester Police issued 4,141 total citations, that number is up from 3,314 in 2018, or 25%. Speeding citations were up 27.5%, seatbelt citations increased by nearly 29%, insurance citations were up nearly 34% and other miscellaneous citations increased by 20%.
Manchester police also worked 436 traffic crashes, that is an increase of 8.46% from the previous year.
When it comes to specific crimes, most crimes remained at or near previous year levels. However, cases of forgery nearly tripled, from 15 to 43, and fraud cases increased by over 42%, from 80 to 114. Robbery cases dropped from 7 to 1. Drug violations increased by almost 14%.
The investigations division cleared 59.6% of its cases in 2019, that was down slightly from the 65% of cases that were cleared in 2018.
Manchester’s Board of Education has entered into a contract with Lashlee-Rich, Inc to oversee a $4.1 million expansion project at College Street Elementary School.
The project is being operated as an at-risk contract, meaning that any project overruns will be covered by the contractor. If the total project is less than the amount of $4.1 million, the district and the city benefit from the savings.
The project means the addition of four classrooms to the school and a new kitchen. The existing kitchen and the cafeteria will be remodeled to flow together and expand seating.
“The school has just outgrown that cafeteria area and with the growth we are experiencing, four classrooms are very much needed,” said Dr. Joey Vaughn, director of schools.
Vaughn said he hopes to break ground this spring.
The Coffee County CHS basketball teams traveled to Fayetteville on Saturday for the final day of the District 8AAA postseason tournament. The Red Raiders fell in the consolation game to Lincoln County 64 to 55. The Lady Raiders used a strong 2nd half to claim the District 8AAA Championship with a 52 to 40 win over Tullahoma.
In the boys’ game, Coffee County fell behind early trailing by as much as 17 points in the 1st half. In the second half, the Red Raiders caught fire and rallied to tie the game at 45 with 6 minutes left in regulation. But turnovers hampered Coffee County down the stretch as Lincoln County outscored the Raiders 19 to 10 in the final stretch to grab the win. The loss dropped the Red Raiders season record to 19 and 9
The Red Raiders were led in scoring by Jaylon Wooten who had 12 points as he selected the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game. C.J. Anthony and Kyle Farless each netted 11 points while Hayden Hullett chipped in 6. After the game, Wooten was named the District 8AAA regular season MVP. Anthony was tabbed to the all-district team. Head coach Micah Williams was named the District 8AAA Coach of the Year.
In the girls’ title game, Coffee County jumped out to lead in the 1st half only to see Tullahoma tie the game at 17 just before the half. As the horn sounded to end the first half, Bella Vinson was fouled while shooting a 3 point basket and hit all 3 free throws to give the Lady Raiders a lead they would not surrender. Coffee County dominated the 2nd half to get their 3rd win in a row over Tullahoma. The Lady Raider seniors finish their careers winning 13 of 14 games against the Tullahoma Class of ’20.
Bella Vinson was the leading scorer for Coffee County as she finished with 26 points, including going 17 of 17 from the free throw line, to earn the Stone Fort Mortgage player of the game honors. Ellie Chumbley added 12 points and Jenna Garretson finished with 8. The win improves Coffee County’s record to 27 and 3 on the season. After the game, Vinson was named the District 8AAA regular season and tournament MVP. Ellie Graham was selected to the regular season all-district team and Garretson was named to the all-tournament team. Head coach Joe Pat Cope was named the District 8AAA Coach of the Year.
The Lady Raiders return to action on Friday when they host a Region 4AAA quarterfinal matchup at the Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gym. Coffee County will take on either Blackman or Stewarts Creek. Tip-off is set for 7 PM. The Red Raiders will open up the Region 4AAA Tournament on Saturday night as they will travel to either Blackman or Siegel for the quarterfinals. That game will also tip off at 7 PM. Thunder Radio will be on hand to bring you the broadcast of both of the Coffee County basketball games as the official station of Coffee County CHS athletics.
Download the broadcast at: www.thunder1320.com/downloads
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the theft of a white box trailer from the Beech Grove area on Tuesday morning, Feb. 18. The truck with the trailer appears to be a silver colored Nissan Frontier with a luggage rack. The vehicle could be from Cannon or Rutherford County, according to sheriff’s officials. Anyone with information should contact Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. James Sherrill at 931-570-4404. See a photo of the box trailer below.
At 9:45 a.m. Thursday, Tullahoma High School was placed on a soft lockdown, according to a release by the school. The lockdown was called to facilitate a sweep of the building by the Tullahoma High School administration and Tullahoma Police. The search was determined to be necessary after anonymous information concerning a potential threat to the school was received. After a search, nothing unusual was found. THS was back on regular schedule after that search.
We have an update to a story Thunder Radio news first brought to you earlier this week.
The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is searching for a stolen 2001 Audi Roadster. Investigators have released a photo of a pickup truck that appears to be blue in color (see photo below), stating that the driver of that truck is a person of interest in the theft of that Audi Roadster. Anyone having information about this theft should contact Coffee County Sheriff’s Department investigator Brandon Reed at 931-570-4191. A reward is being offered to anyone with information leading to an arrest in this case.
A Statewide AMBER Alert has been issued on behalf of the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office for Evelyn Mae Boswell. Evelyn is a 15-month old, white female, 2 ft tall, 28 lbs., with blonde hair and blue eyes. Evelyn was last seen wearing a pink tracksuit, pink shoes, and a pink bow. Evelyn was entered as a missing child on Tuesday February 18, 2020 but was reportedly last seen on December 26, 2019. If you have any information regarding the whereabouts of Evelyn, please contact the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office at 423-279-7330 or the TBI at 1-800-TBIFIND.
