Category: News

Coffee County entrepreneur Scott Van Velsor is a person you might remember being one of the people to begin the mural program in Manchester. Van Velsor has now written a blog online at www.camelsandchocolate.com about his displeasure with the City of Manchester and Alderman Ryan French. The online post has created a lot of talk around town.
Van Velsor states in part on the blog that the City of Manchester, Tennessee hired his company Odinn Media for marketing services, then he claims the city never paid for the work that was done. The city rebukes that claim.
WMSR News provides this information to not take sides but to give our listeners and readers material to make your own decision on the issue.

Click on each link to read the provided documents:

Van Velsor blog

Van Velsor documents

City Expectations

Paid Invoices

City Statement

We have an update on the drownings in Grundy and Franklin counties over the weekend. Authorities in Grundy County say a teenager drowned over the weekend in a Tracy City reservoir. The victim was identified as 17 year-old Skyler Copeland.
The teen was reportedly fishing in a boat with his father and 16 year-old brother Saturday evening when the boat overturned. The father and the 16 year-old were able to get to shore. The victim was not, in spite of his father’s efforts to get him out.
First responders, with help from the Franklin County Dive Team, were able to locate the victim’s body in about 20 feet of water after about three hours of searching.

Franklin County Rescue Squad divers recovered the body of a 17-year-old male identified as Robert Alan Keithley who drowned in Tims Ford Lake on Friday. Keithley was from Thompson’s Station in Williamson County.
The boy’s Dad discovered the teenager missing around 11 a.m. and his body was recovered around 8 p.m. in Tims Ford Lake.

Manchester Police Chief Mark Yother started a fundraiser on Wednesday for Special Olympics. It’s called “Patch Run.”
Chief Yother ran 4.5 miles on Wednesday to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and was given a department patch by Sgt. Daniel Ray.
The goal is to run from the Manchester Police Department to several surrounding departments and obtain their department patch. This is an effort to raise awareness and money for Special Olympics.
If you would like to donate, contact Chief Yother or Assistant Chief Adam Floied at the Manchester Police Department, 931-728-2099. They would be happy to pick up any donation and present them to the local Special Olympics.
Chief Yother will be running 12 miles this Friday to Tullahoma Police Department.

Beginning July 1, 2019, you will not be able to drive around Tennessee with your cellphone in your hand.
Drivers could face a fine up to $200 for using their cellphone while driving.
Drivers 18 and older will be prohibited from holding or physically supporting a phone while driving. Hands-free devices will be allowed, including “earpieces, headphone devices or a device worn on a wrist to conduct a voice-based communication,” the legislation says. Dashboard mounts will also be allowed.
The state Senate approved the ban 23-7 in April.
A driver’s first violation will result in a $50 fine. If the violation is the driver’s third offense or it results in a wreck, the fine jumps to $100. If the violation occurs in a work zone when workers are present or in a school zone when warning flashers are on, the fine is $200.
The bill excludes law enforcement, first responders and utility workers and others using a phone to make an emergency call.
There have been nearly 208,000 vehicle crashes involving distracted driving in Tennessee since 2008. 1,261 of those were in Coffee County.

The Great Tennessee Air Show, Presented by Nissan, has a world-class lineup of performers appearing Saturday, June 8 and Sunday, June 9 at the Smyrna Airport in Rutherford Count
The U.S. Navy’s top demonstration team, The Blue Angels, returns to headline this year’s air show in their six iconic blue and gold F-18 Hornets for their only appearance in the Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama region.
Representing the jet power of the U.S. Air Force, the show will also feature The F-16 Viper Demonstration Team followed by a Heritage Flight as a salute to past, present and future U.S. military service members.
More information, a list of all performers and tickets can be found at https://greattennesseeairshow.com. No tickets will be sold onsite, only online.

Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott has made a comment that some people have questioning his opinion one again.
Northcott said in a video last year at Christian conference that if there is domestic violence in a marriage involving a gay couple, he would not prosecute it as domestic violence because he does not recognize the marriage.
The video was posted by the political blog TNHoller.com on Monday.
In Tennessee, domestic violence crimes carry heavier, more serious penalties than other assaults.
Northcott added in the video from last year, “social engineers on the Supreme Court decided we now have homosexual marriage, and I disagree with them.”
Northcott was also questioned last month for a Facebook comment he made about Muslims, saying that Islam is “evil, violent and against God’s truth.”
When Northcott was contacted by WMSR News for a comment the district attorney decided to not a statement at this time.

As Bonnaroo approaches this year many are already hearing rumors of drugs to watch out for. One of the many drugs that has been talked about in recent days is marijuana laced with Fentanyl.
Bonnaroo takes place in Manchester, TN and starts on Thursday, June 13th and runs through Sunday, June 16th.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the drug is a synthetic opioid that is similar to morphine but is 50 to 100 times more potent. Fentanyl is a drug that is most often used to treat patients with severe pain, especially after surgery.
Authorities are concerned that the drug will be sold during Bonnaroo via marijuana laced with Fentanyl. Another fear is that many may illegally buy weed at the concert event not knowing that it is laced in the much stronger drug. If that occurs, there will likely be a spike in overdoses.
The impact of the drug can be treated with Narcan if first responders know first what the medical emergency is when they arrive. Fentanyl can be deadly.