Category: News

Coffee County and Manchester City Schools are partnering together to host a Mobile Food Pantry for families in need on Friday, February 21st at First Baptist Church of Manchester. 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.  

“We, Coffee County and Manchester City Schools, are excited to offer this opportunity for our families. By working together, this allows us to ensure we are serving every family in need,” said Taylor Rayfield, Coordinator of Family Resource for Coffee County Schools.

The Mobile Food Pantry will be held on Friday, February 21st at First Baptist Church of Manchester, 1006 Hillsboro Blvd., Manchester, Tennessee 37355. Doors open at 9 AM and is a first come, first serve opportunity. This program is for families who have a student enrolled in the Coffee County Schools or Manchester City Schools System.

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.

Those of you who frequently travel Oakdale Street in Manchester may have noticed the ride is a bit smoother after last week.

The Manchester Public Works Department paved a 2,500 foot stretch of Oakdale St. last week at a cost of approximately $57,000 that took about 693 tons of asphault.

According to department director George Gannon, the department still has to re-stripe the section of road with divider lines, crosswalks and other important markers and that work will be done when weather permits.

The public works department has also been busy with other projects, such as paving Taylor St. from Oak St. to Oakdale and also Locust St. from Oak St. to Oakdale. Most all of Oak St. was paved, with a small portion left to be finished soon. Gannon said the department will also be paving Summer St. from Hills Chapel to Jackson St. within the next month as weather permits.

 A bill in Congress that would ensure pregnant women aren’t fired from their jobs for requesting reasonable accommodations in the workplace has received bipartisan approval in the House Education and Labor Committee, and soon should move to the House floor for a vote.

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is co-sponsored by 26 representatives from both sides of the aisle. Elizabeth Gedmark is vice president of the workforce advocacy group A Better Balance. She said gaps in current state laws leave Tennessee’s pregnant workers at risk of losing their jobs for making minor requests, such as needing to sit or avoid heavy lifting.

“We for many years have been working on a Tennessee Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, and that bill has garnered bipartisan support,” Gedmark said. “We expect that it will again this year, and we think that 2020 is the year that Tennessee will be next.”

The bill is sponsored by Democratic state Rep. Johnny Shaw of Bolivar. In 2018, Tennessee made national headlines when a New York Times investigation revealed six Memphis women had suffered miscarriages after lifting heavy boxes without being given breaks at their employer’s warehouse.

Gedmark said outdated policies aren’t in line with the fact that women now outnumber men in the labor force, according to the latest federal data.

“Women are now the majority of the workforce, so this is not the 1950s,” she said. “And we can’t rely on laws from the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s for our reality now, where women are working farther into their pregnancies and more and more women are working, and they’re supporting their families.”

She pointed out while a 1978 federal law bars employers from firing someone because they’re pregnant, it doesn’t protect workers from unsafe working conditions. Gedmark added that pregnancy discrimination remains widespread and is an uphill battle in courtrooms.

“Even in court cases where women had gone all the way to court with this issue, two-thirds of them in post-2015 cases lost their pregnancy-discrimination claims,” she said.

She also noted black women filed nearly 30% of pregnancy-discrimination complaints between 2010 and 2015, despite making up only 14% of the female labor force.

Story by Nadia Ramlagan, Public News Service – TN

We have more news on the subjects accused of crimes involving prostitution and / or sexual crimes involving juveniles. Rutherford County Circuit Court documents show that a total of 16 men are scheduled to be in court on February 6, 2020 for a Discovery Hearing. A Discovery Hearing is a legal term used in a pre-trial court procedure, it provides an exchange of information between parties that are involved in a legal proceeding.

Their original arrests took place over a two-day period this past October in Smyrna, TN

The TBI headed the cases that revolved around a two-day undercover sting. Agents placed ads online to nab those looking to engage in sex acts with minors. As a result of the sting, a total of 16 people were taken into custody. Of those arrested, 8 live in Rutherford County.

Now, the cases are on their way to the courts in Rutherford County.

1. John Thomas Sulkowski, 24, of Murfreesboro
2. Harry Garcia, 44, of Murfreesboro
3. Deadrick Darrell Evans, 20, of Murfreesboro
4. Lian Sian Thang, 32, of Smyrna
5. Jose Guadalupe Zarate-Flores, 39, of Smyrna
6. Luis Miguel Garcia-Alvarez, 34, of La Vergne
7. Gameel Mesad, 55, of La Vergne
8. Diego Mancilla Martinez, 46, of La Vergne
9. James H. Farmer, 55, of Franklin
10. Miguel Erazo, 43, of Antioch
11. Juan Manual Tovar, 47, of Antioch
12. Paul Florez-Vazquez, 30, of Nashville
13. Manasranjan Murlidhar Rana, 31, of Nashville
14. Michael Romero, 31, of Prospect
15. Taylor Moore, 23, of Rombauer, Missouri
16. Tony Maddox, 38, of Cowan, Texas

Again, the suspects were arrested as a result of a TBI sting geared towards nabbing those allegedly seeking sex from minors.

News partners WGNS provided this report.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department received a donation of two used vehicles last week.

Protection Strategies, Inc., a contractor at AEDC, donated the used vehicles with a police package – the vehicles were donated due to a change of contract.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department plans to use the vehicles as patrol vehicles, but they can be used as needed for other departments.

The owner of Farmers Family Restaurant has submitted a guilty plea accepting charges of six counts of hindering revenue collections and one count of tax evasion.  Billy Raynor entered the plea and was sentenced to two years of supervised probation in a Maury County Courtroom last week.

Farmer’s Family Restaurant operates locations in Columbia and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Raynor opened a location in Manchester at 95 Skinner Flat Rd. in the spring of 2015, but it shuttered after approximately a year in business.

Raynor, 66, has paid $41,000 in restitution to the Department of Revenue as part of a diversion program. With a  clean record of two years, his record can be expunged, according to the Daily Herald in Columbia.

The case started in March of 2019 when Raynor as indicted on 12 counts of filing false tax returns and theft over $10,000, along with tax evasion.

Nine men are facing sexual related charges allegedly involving a juvenile in Rutherford County.

One of the nine is a 43-year-old man is accused of “Trafficking” for “Sexual Servitude” in Rutherford County. Miguel Erazo, who remains behind bars at the local jail, is also facing charges of solicitation of a minor for sexual activity, patronizing a prostitute, attempted aggravated statutory rape and aggravated statutory rape.

Also arrested was Deadrick Darrell Evans who was charged with two counts of trafficking of sexual servitude, two counts of solicitation of a minor, two counts of aggravated statutory rape, two counts of patronizing a prostitute, attempted aggravated statutory rape and simple possession. The 30-year-old remains behind bars at this time.

James Hubert Farmer was arrested on the same date and charged with trafficking of sexual servitude, three counts of solicitation of a minor and patronizing a prostitute. The 55-year-old man has since bonded out of jail.

Paul Flores-Vazquez was charged with trafficking of sexual servitude, solicitation of a minor, patronizing prostitution, aggravated statutory rape and attempted statutory rape.

Harry Garcia, also arrested on the same date, is charged with trafficking of sexual servitude, solicitation of a minor with patronizing prostitution and solicitation of a minor for sexual activity. Garcia faces additional charges of aggravated statutory rape, attempted aggravated statutory rape and patronizing prostitution. The 44 year old man remains behind bars at this time (as of 1/20/2020).

Suspect Tony Maddox has been charged with trafficking of sexual servitude, solicitation of a minor for sexual activity, patronizing of a prostitute, aggravated statutory rape, and attempted aggravated statutory rape. The 39 year old is behind bars and awaiting his upcoming court date.

Diego Mancilla Martinez is another one of the men who has been arrested and tied to the crimes relating to prostitution and minors. 47 Year old Martinez was charged with trafficking of sexual servitude, solicitation of a minor for sexual activity, patronizing prostitution, attempted aggravated statutory rape and aggravated statutory rape.

56-year old Gameel Atealla Mesad faces charges of trafficking of sexual servitude, solicitation of a minor for sexual activity, attempted solicitation of a minor, attempted statutory rape and patronizing prostitution.

23-year old Taylor Moore was charged with trafficking of sexual servitude, solicitation of a minor for sexual activity, attempted solicitation of a minor, attempted statutory rape and patronizing prostitution.

All nine men were arrested after being named in a sealed indictment filed in Rutherford County on January 8, 2020. The alleged crime reportedly took place in October of 2019. The trio will appear in court for a “Discovery Hearing” on February 6, 2020.

The Arnold Community Council (ACC) is now accepting nominations for the 2020 Fellows Program with submissions due no later than March 30, 2020.

Established in 1989, the AEDC Fellows program recognizes Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) personnel who have made substantial and exceptionally distinguished technical contributions to the nation’s aerospace ground testing capability at AEDC which includes AEDC facilities at Arnold AFB and all AEDC remote operating locations nation-wide.

Since the inception of the Fellows program, just over 100 individuals (Technical Fellows, Craftsmen Fellows, Lifetime Achievement Fellows and Honorary Fellows) have been inducted as AEDC Fellows.

Due to changed government rules and regulations in 2016 on awards to non-government employees ACC assumed responsibility for continuing the AEDC Fellows program. 

AEDC Technical Fellow nominations may be submitted by any present or former AEDC government or operating contractor/subcontractor employee. All current or retired military, civilian and operating contractor and subcontractor personnel assigned or previously assigned to AEDC can be considered candidates for selection as an AEDC Technical Fellow. Candidates qualified for consideration as an AEDC Fellow must personally have made exceptional sustained, notable and valuable contributions in aerospace ground testing at AEDC.

AEDC Craftsmen Fellow nominations may also be submitted in the same  manner as the AEDC Fellow nominations. All current or retired military, civilian and operating contractor/subcontractor personnel assigned, or previously assigned, to AEDC can be considered candidates for selection as an AEDC Craftsmen Fellow. The Craftsmen Fellow category recognizes exceptional craftsmen who possess the ability to identify customer requirements and respond with sustained technical innovations, working effectively and efficiently as part of technical teams and have dedicated their careers to the success of AEDC’s mission. They must have personally made notable and valuable lifetime contributions to AEDC in any area relevant to the AEDC mission.

AEDC Lifetime Achievement Fellow nominations may be submitted by any present or former AEDC government or operating contractor/subcontractor employee.  AEDC Lifetime Achievement Fellows are reserved for exceptional candidates and are not necessarily selected each year. All current or retired military, civilian and operating contractor/ subcontractor personnel assigned or previously assigned to AEDC can be considered candidates for selection as an AEDC Lifetime Achievement Fellow.

Candidates qualified for consideration as an AEDC Lifetime Achievement Fellow must personally have made notable and valuable lifetime contributions to AEDC in any area relevant to the AEDC mission.

Only AEDC Fellows may submit a nomination for an AEDC Honorary Fellow. AEDC Honorary Fellows are reserved for exceptional candidates and are not necessarily selected each year. Candidates qualified for consideration as an AEDC Honorary Fellow must have made sustained, notable, valuable and significant contributions to AEDC. These eminent individuals need not have worked at Arnold AFB or any of AEDC’s remote operating locations.

The following story contains details that may not be suitable for all readers

Brad Anthony Majors, 37, of Shelbyville, on Wednesday was sentenced to 50 years in a federal prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. In addition to 50 years in prison, that will be followed by 15 years of supervised release and he will be required to register with state sex offender registries and comply with special sex offender conditions during his supervised release.

In November of 2018, the mother of Majors’ 8-year-old biological child reported to authorities that he was sexually abusing his own child. Majors admitted to recording sexually explicit videos and images of such conduct. A search of his phone revealed four sexually explicit videos of Majors and the child, including numerous saved images of child pornography depicting known and unknown victims throughout the world that he obtained from online sources.

“It is evident that offenders are finding new and increasingly disturbing ways to victimize and exploit vulnerable child victims.  Cases such as this, however, demonstrate the Department of Justice’s dedication to protecting these vulnerable children and punishing those that seek to cause them harm.  No matter who the offenders are, they will be met with significant consequences.  With the combined effort of the Project Safe Childhood Initiative and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships, we will find these criminals and hold them accountable for their crimes against children,” said U. S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey.

 “The sexual exploitation of children is an especially heinous crime.  Unfortunately, victimization of children is a growing issue in our country and one the FBI will not tolerate.  The dedicated teamwork between our agents and the Shelbyville Police Department ensured there is one less predator on the street victimizing the most innocent and venerable members of our community,” said Joseph E. Carrico, Special Agent in Charge of the Knoxville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Amtrak officials made a pitch to Tennessee state lawmakers last week to bring an Amtrak route from Nashville to Atlanta, with stops being at the Nashville airport, as well as in Murfreesboro, Tullahoma and Chattanooga.

Even if plans are approved, officials caution that it will be four or five years before the route is available. The proposal calls for a six and a half hour trip from Nashville to Atlanta, with routes running twice per day. Amtrak officials told the state that public funding would need to cover approximately $3 million per year.