Category: News

Throughout this past fall, Central  High School FBLA members, officers, and advisors, along with special volunteers, spent many hours organizing the “Team Up to Tackle Breast Cancer” event.  FBLA members sold t-shirts and Otis Spunkmeyer breast cancer cookies, and hosted a “pink out” game where participants at the game sported pink.  Funds raised from these activities have totaled $6000.  The donation is being presented to the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition with all funds set to benefit breast cancer patients in Coffee County.  FBLA would like to thank everyone who participated in the various activities and donated so that one day a cure may be found!

For the second year in a row, the Coffee County government operated with no audit findings in its annual report released by the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury. 

This means that auditors did not discover any weaknesses or deficiencies in the entire government operations for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2019.

This is the second year in a row for the County to have no findings, which is rare across the state.

It also marked the fourth straight year for no audit findings with the Coffee County School System.

Gov. Bill Lee recently announced Tennessee’s public schools will receive $650 million to improve student literacy, support school mental health services, and boost teacher pay and professional development.

The state says a significant portion of the funding will be used to purchase high-quality reading materials for elementary-school students and to provide teachers with evidence-based training for literacy instruction. Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn said the state continues to lag behind in teaching kids to read.

“We know that only a third of our kiddos are on grade level, reading on grade level in fourth grade. And 27% are on grade level in eighth grade,” Schwinn said. “And so, we feel an incredible sense of urgency to ensure that every single child has what they need to become proficient readers.”

According to the latest federal data, Tennessee ranks among the 10 states in the nation with the lowest per-student spending, at around $8,500 per student. The national average is more than $11,000 per student.

Schwinn added the new investments come at time when the state is focused on economic growth and developing a future workforce.

“Tennessee, 11 years ago, was ranked in the bottom five states related to performance and proficiency, student achievement in the country – the bottom five,” she said. “And now, what we’re seeing is that Tennessee is in the middle of the pack. We rank somewhere between 25th and 35th, depending on the grade level and content area.”

The governor also proposed pay raises for Tennessee’s teachers, promising to boost their starting minimum annual salary from $36,000 to $40,000 over the next two years.

Story by Nadia Ramlagan, Public News Service – TN

Early voting for the March 3^rd primary begins Wednesday, February 12, and ends on Tuesday, February 25.

Coffee County voters voting in the Republican primary will be selecting a new General Sessions Judge to replace Tim Brock, who passed away late last year.

The primary will also include the presidential primary  for both Republican and Democratic parties.

Early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8:30 a.m. until noon on Saturdays in Manchester at the Coffee County Election Commission at 1329 McArthur St. Suite 6; or in Tullahoma at the C.D. Stamps Community Center at 810 South Jackson St. from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

Those who choose to vote on election day will need to do so at their assigned voting precinct.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol will be conducting a Sobriety Checkpoint in Coffee County at the area of US Highway 41 at Asbury Road at 11 p.m. on Friday, March 13. The scheduled checkpoint is contingent upon manpower and weather conditions.

Murfreesboro Police Detectives are Investigating a robbery and shooting that took place at 1:34PM Monday (2/10/2020) afternoon at MGM Market, Beer and Tobacco Store at 2415 Halls Hill Pike.

The owner of the business was the clerk on duty at the time, and was shot several times in the chest, stomach and arms. Then the shooter stole the injured man’s 2010 black Nissan Rogue and fled (TN license tag 4M7-2B1).

Rutherford County Emergency Medical Services rushed the man to the ER at TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center in Smyrna. The victim was later taken to the Trauma Center at Vanderbilt where he underwent surgery.

Reports indicate that this is not the first robbery at this location. In fact, a couple of weeks ago a man walked-in and demanded money from the cash register.

If you see the 2010 black Nissan Rogue with TN license tag 4M7-2B1, do not attempt to stop the car–phone 615-893-1311 immediately.

Call CrimeStoppers

If you saw or heard anything dealing with this robbery and shooting, you could get a cash reward of up to $1,000 if your tip leads to an arrest and conviction. Phone CrimeStoppers at 615-893-STOP (7867).

-WGNS Radio Report

Severe weather is possible for most of Middle Tennessee Wednesday, including Coffee County. 

National Weather Service storm prediction  has placed Coffee County (and most of the mid state, along with northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia) under a slight risk of severe weather Wednesday. 

While timing is not clear, the NWS office in Nashville says between 6 p.m. and midnight appears to be the main time for a round of heavy rain, local flooding and damaging winds. 

The primary threat appears to be damaging straight-line winds and flooding. Tornadoes cannot be ruled out. 

Coffee County District Attorney General Craig Northcott released a statement Monday afternoon with more clarification to Saturday’s incident at the Manchester Walmart that ended in a woman going to the hospital and later passing away.

Thunder Radio News reported to you yesterday that police were dispatched to Walmart Saturday morning regarding a woman behaving erratically. When officers arrived and asked the suspect to walk outside the store, Northcott says the woman escalated the situation and officers were forced to detain her. While attempting to detain the woman, she collapsed. She was taken to Unity Medical Center and later to St. Thomas Hospital where she died.

Northcott confirmed that he has requested that the TBI investigate the situation to provide an independent review. He also confirmed that a significant amount of methamphetamine was found with the woman. Northcott added that, at this point, “it appears that the woman died from a medical issue unrelated to the officer’s conduct. There is no reason to believe that the officer acted inappropriately or in any way contributed to the death of the woman.”

Northcott has requested an autopsy to determine cause of death. He said without any new information, the district attorney’s office will take no action in this case.

Northcott’s office has chosen not to release the name of the deceased.