Category: News

The TBI is trying to locate Carl Winton Rich in connection to an ongoing criminal investigation.

He’s 40 years old, stands 5’9″, weighs 160 pounds, and has brown eyes and hair. He was last seen in the area of Northgate Shopping Center in McMinnville on the night of March 30th.

Rich has connections to Montana and may have traveled out of state.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts should contact the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND or the McMinnville Police Department at (931) 473-3808.

Carl Winton Rich

Exit 111 Festival will be in town Friday through Sunday and many residents have been asking about the expected attendance and traffic plans. 

According to Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin, authorities expect traffic to flow quickly in and out each night of the festival. He said that the state does not want to open the special interstate exit (often unofficially referred to as 112) that was designed many years ago just for the Bonnaroo.

Partin added that the main artery for traffic will be Ragsdale Rd and New Bushy Branch Rd. With three toll booths open into the Great Stage Park property. He said that officials do not expect to use other roads such as Asbury. However, additional access roads can be used as necessary.

Although official numbers are not available, attendance for this festival is expected to be below 25,000, according to Thunder Radio News sources. However, tickets remain on sale and are available on site and those numbers can rise significantly through the week leading up to the event.

Fears that gas prices would spike significantly after last month’s attack in Saudi Arabia appear to be calming now that gas prices are steadying and actually declining at the pump here in Tennessee. The current average for a gallon of gas in Tennessee is $2.34. That is down three cents from a week ago and is down 34 cents from this time last year. In Coffee County, prices are even lower with the average price of $2.31. As of Monday, the lowest price in Manchester for a gallon of regular unleaded was $2.25. 

Secretary of State Tre Hargett is pleased to announce Tennessee’s online voter registration hit more than half a million transactions since it launched in September 2017. That includes new online voter registrations or voters updating their addresses.  

Hargett credits the Your Vote Matters campaign for helping to reach the milestone.

“We have taken an aggressive approach to increase voter registration across the state,” Hargett said. “Getting registered to vote is the first step every Tennessean must take to cast a ballot at the polls. Our online voter registration system makes it fast, easy and secure, no matter where you live in the state.”

During National Voter Registration Month, nearly 44,000 Tennesseans registered to vote.

As part of the Your Vote Matters campaign to increase voter registration, Hargett spoke with faith leaders, business leaders, students and civic groups across the state. More than 5,000 organizations across Tennessee received Your Vote Matters posters with a QR code. The number of requests for these helpful resources continues to grow daily. Secretary Hargett also traveled the state to support the role public libraries play in voters’ access to online registration and to present technology grants. All libraries within the state’s regional library system provide easy access to the online voter registration system. Additionally, these libraries also offer paper voter registration applications to their patrons.

Hargett plans to continue speaking with interested organizations across the state and expanding partnerships in the interfaith and business communities. Additionally, the department will continue to invest in an increased presence of its online voter registration digital ads in the coming months.

Our office continued its long-standing efforts to register college students, and once again, college students across Tennessee played a vital role to increase civic engagement on public and private campuses during National Voter Registration Month. More than 2,000 students registered to vote at the 48 schools participating in our department’s voter registration contest, held in September.

This year, county election officials hosted nearly 250 voter registration drives on high school campuses, registering more than 7,000 students. These election officials have already planned an estimated 250 additional voter registration drives during the remainder of the school year.

“I continue to be proud of our county election administrators,” Hargett said. “County election officials have been raising the bar conducting these high school registration drives since I took office in 2009. Our county election officials are excited to embrace new voters.”

Tennesseans can register to vote online or download the paper form at GoVoteTN.com. Voters can also visit their local election commission to get registered.

If you would like a voter registration poster with a QR code, email Tennessee.Elections@tn.gov.

A Manchester man is dead after being struck by a vehicle at approximately 7 p.m. Monday evening on Interstate Drive.

The deceased has been identified by Manchester Police as Lawrence Reggie Mullican, age 58. He was commonly known around Manchester as “Caveman.”

According to Manchester Police Department Assistant Chief Adam Floied, Mullican left Unity Medical Center and walked in front of an elderly female driver on Interstate Dr. where he was struck and killed.

According to Floied, the driver did not appear to be intoxicated and did voluntarily submit to a blood alcohol test. Floied stated that the driver was “very distraught.”

Governor Bill Lee has proclaimed October 2019 Child Health Month in Tennessee. Child Health Month is a time to celebrate and raise awareness around what Tennessee is doing to promote the health of our most important resource:  Tennessee’s children.

“Our work has always included a focus on protecting, promoting and improving the wellbeing of Tennessee children and encouraging a lifelong pursuit of healthy living,” said Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey, MD, MBA, FAAP. “TDH is active in many areas in supporting children’s health, but each of us has a role to play to help keep Tennessee children safe and thriving.”

Protecting Infant Health TDH data show there were 38 fewer infant deaths in the state in 2018 than in 2017. Infant mortality is defined as the death of a child before his or her first birthday, and is an important marker for population health. Top causes of infant death in Tennessee include prematurity, birth defects and unsafe sleep. TDH has partnered with hospitals and community organizations to reduce the risks of infant deaths through promotion of safe sleep practices, preconception health, prenatal care and reduction of early elective deliveries.

TDH data also show a reduction in cases of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, a condition in which a baby experiences withdrawal from a substance to which he or she was exposed during the mother’s pregnancy. Tennessee became the first state to require reporting of NAS when TDH made NAS a reportable condition in 2013. In 2018, Tennessee saw the first decline in NAS since surveillance began. NAS cases decreased from 1,096 in 2017 to 927 in 2018. Learn more in the TDH NAS Surveillance Annual Report.

Preventing Childhood Trauma TDH is increasing efforts to prevent and reduce the impact of adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs, traumatic events that occur before age 18. ACEs include all types of abuse and neglect, parental mental illness, substance use, divorce, incarceration and domestic violence. Studies show a significant relationship between the number of ACEs a person experiences and a variety of negative outcomes in adulthood including poor physical and mental health, substance abuse and risky behaviors.

Recognizing that ACEs are not fate, TDH is working with partners to develop programs to prevent and mitigate ACEs by promoting safe and supportive environments for families through home visiting, family planning, WIC and training to develop trauma-informed approaches to programs and policies. TDH recently rolled out its new care coordination program Community Health Access and Navigation in Tennessee, or CHANT available to families through all county health departments. Learn more at www.tn.gov/health/healthprogram-areas/fhw/early-childhood-program/chant.html.

Supporting Healthy Habits  A new report ranks Tennessee first in the nation for child care licensing regulations that support healthy weight practices. TDH partners with the Tennessee Department of Human Services on the Gold Sneaker Initiative to promote healthy nutrition and physical activity in early childhood by enhancing health and wellness policies for licensed childcare facilities across Tennessee. Gold Sneaker-recognized childcare facilities agree to provide increased physical activity and age-appropriate nutrition for the children in their care, as well as a tobacco-free campus. Learn more at www.tn.gov/health/goldsneaker.html.

Preventing Smoke Exposure  Exposure to secondhand smoke is a serious threat to a child’s health. Adults who use tobacco products are encouraged to call the Tennessee Tobacco QuitLine, a free service provided by the Tennessee Department of Health for personalized support for Tennesseans working to end their tobacco use. The QuitLine provides counseling and free nicotine replacement therapy to increase the chances of success. Get started by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW (1-800-784-8669) or visiting www.tnquitline.com.

Pregnant women can get specialized help in quitting smoking through the Baby and Me Tobacco Free program offered at all Tennessee county health departments. Participants earn vouchers for free diapers for each month they remain tobacco-free up to one year after their babies are born. Contact your local health department for information or visit www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/fhw/baby-me-tobacco-free.html to find a location.

Join TDH in celebrating Child Health Month! Visit the event calendar at www.tn.gov/health/health-program-areas/mch/child-health-month-2019/chm-eventscalendar.html to submit your event and find activities in your community.   The mission of the Tennessee Department of Health is to protect, promote and improve the health and prosperity of people in Tennessee. Learn more about TDH services and programs at www.tn.gov/health.

The first ever Exit 111 Festival is this week. The rock festival beings Friday and ends Sunday. This is a good time to remind everyone that both Manchester City and Coffee County Schools will both be closed Friday, Oct. 11. 

Both systems adjusted their schedules late, therefore schedules that came home with students to start the school year don’t reflect the change. 

For Manchester City Schools, Wednesday, May 20 will now be a full day of school and Thursday, May 21, will be early dismissal at 12:30 to make up for the unscheduled day off on Oct. 11. 

For the County School system, an in-service day that was scheduled for Nov. 1 will now be a regularly scheduled day of school to make up for the change. Just a reminder, both systems are closed on Friday, Oct. 11. 

The Exit 111 festival is the first major event held at Great Stage Park other than Bonnaroo. Headliners include Lynyrd Skynyrd, Def Leppard and Guns n’ Roses. 

The Manchester Police Department will soon have a pair of canine officers on patrol. 

Patrolman Daryn Gadeken will be the handler for canine Nalty. Meanwhile, patrolman Derek Bowles will be the handler for Storm. 

Both officers will undergo nearly three months of training with their new partners. They introduced the new canines to the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen last week. 

Daryn Gadeken with Nalty, left, and Derek Bowles with Storm, right. (Photo provided)

The Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Aldermen have announced a meet and greet with new Tullahoma Police Chief Jason Williams. The event will be held from 5 until 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 14 and Chief Williams will offer brief remarks to those in attendance at 5:30. Everyone is invited to attend the event at Tullahoma City Hall – at 201 W. Grundy St. in Tullahoma.