Category: News

The Manchester/Tullahoma area ranks 4th in the state and 51st in the nation in micropolitan areas when it comes to economic strength. Micropolitan means that the area must have an urbanized area of at least 10,000 population but less than 50,000 population. The statistics were announced by POLICOM an independent economics research firm that ranks metropolitan and micropolitan locations annually. Sevierville ranked number 1 in Micro areas in the state.
The Nashville/Franklin/Murfreesboro area is ranked number 1 in the nation for metro locations. Metropolitan areas have 50,000 or more residents.

Tennessee gas prices continue their march upward this week. Tennessee drivers were paying an average price of $2.49 per gallon as of Tuesday afternoon for regular unleaded according to GasBuddy.com.
The national gas price average has increased 44 cents since New Year’s Day, landing Monday’s average at $2.69. While that is seven cents more expensive than last week and 27 cents more than last month, it is only four cents more expensive than last year.
In Coffee County prices rose by as much as 21-cents per gallon on Tuesday. Manchester’s low price as of Tuesday afternoon was $2.55 per gallon and in Tullahoma the low price was $2.56.

A house fire killed a man Saturday in Winchester, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office officials confirmed.
Firefighters responded to the call at the home on Tims Ford Lake around 5 p.m. Saturday.
Officials said when they arrived on the scene, they found Larry Abel unresponsive. Neighbors had rescued him from the fire, but he was unable to communicate.
Abel was transported to Southern Tennessee Regional Health System, where he was pronounced dead.
The fire is being investigated. (WSMV)

At least 128,000 children in Tennessee have been cut from the state’s low-income health insurance programs over the past two years.
The Tennessean reports that one in every eight children in TennCare were unenrolled between December 2016 and this January. State officials say the purge is due to the programs dropping children who no longer qualify or whose families didn’t respond to mandatory renewal forms.
TennCare officials say “many” were unenrolled over a lack of paperwork but couldn’t say exactly how many. Advocates say the purge was caused by TennCare procedural errors, but program officials deny that.
The newspaper says initial TennCare data showed an additional 52,000 children were unenrolled in February. The Tennessean says the data was taken offline after officials were questioned and insisted the data was wrong.

On Saturday afternoon at approximately 2:30pm, the Hickerson Station Volunteer Fire Dept was called to the Short Springs Natural Area for a large fire in the woods. The Tullahoma Fire Dept, made the request and was that was already on location.
Upon arrival, it was determined that the fire was in a very remote area that would require access to be made by hiking a long distance on foot through terrain with very steep hills. The State Forestry Dept. was able to make access to some areas of the fire with a dozer, but there were still many areas that firefighters could not get to and required work to be done in very dangerous situations on the side of some steep hills. It took great teamwork to contain the fire and caused what would be considered very minimal damage considering the conditions that firefighters had to work with.
Working the scene were fire departments from Hickerson Station, Hillsboro, Summitville, Tullahoma, Steven Rogers, and the other Forestry Personnel along with the Coffee County Rescue Squad.

Not another robocall! We’ve all felt that way. Wondering what to do about robocalls?
We all get them, including IRS imposters, Medicare scams and others.
The robovoice might also claim to be a utility, a government agency, or even a foreign consulate. Don’t believe them.
Kati Daffan, an attorney at the Federal Trade Commission has some advice;

If you answer the phone and hear a recorded message instead of a live person, it’s a robocall. If the recording is a sales message and you haven’t given your written permission to get calls from the company on the other end, the call is illegal period.
So, when you get an illegal robocall, here’s what to do. Hang up the phone. Don’t press one to speak to a live operator. And don’t press any other number to get off the list. If you respond by pressing any number, it will probably just lead to more robocalls.
You might consider contacting your phone provider and asking them to block the number and whether they charge for that service. Remember that telemarketers change caller ID information easily and often. So, it might not be worth paying a fee to block a number that will change.
Finally, contact the FTC to report your experience. You can do that online at ftc.gov or by calling 1-877-FTC-HELP. To learn more about illegal robocalls and what the FTC is doing to stop them, visit ftc.gov/robocalls. That’s ftc.gov/robocalls.

On Monday, April 8, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office (THSO) will join various state and local partners to launch Operation Incognito (OI) statewide. The OI campaign was developed last year to evolve Tennessee’s statewide distracted driving enforcement and education initiative, known as “the bus tour.” OI will also promote National Work Zone Awareness Week, which occurs April 8 – 12.
“The primary focus of Operation Incognito is to reduce distracted driving, serious injury crashes, and fatalities,” said THSO Director Vic Donoho. “A secondary focus will promote awareness for high-risk construction zones across Tennessee. As distracted driving crashes continue to increase, the THSO and partners are committed to enhancing the motoring public’s safety through education and enforcement.”
The launch of Operation Incognito will educate the public on the dangers of distracted driving and emphasize Tennessee’s “move over law.” Five press events have been scheduled statewide on April 8 to discuss the campaign.

The first ever “Anglers for Advocacy” fishing tournament will be held on Saturday April 13 at Barton Springs boat ramp on Normandy Lake. This tournament is being held to benefit the Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center. The tournament is open to all fishermen for an entry fee of $50. Fishing will start at daylight. Teams can be 1, 2 or 3 anglers, but if you use a 3rd member you must have at least an angler in high school, junior or under the age of 18. There will be a 5 fish limit (any combination), smallmouth bass must be at least 18 inches and largemouth must be a minimum of 15 inches.
For more information contact Phil Petty at 931-636-3149 or pettyphillip@yahoo.com, Jake Davis at 615-613-2382 or sctnbassnation@gmail.com.
Mail entries and checks or money orders no later than April 8 to Coffee County Bass Club C/O Phillip Petty 644 Henry Beaty Lane Manchester, TN 37355. Payment should be made out to Coffee County Bass Club. 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th place will be awarded cash prizes and a cash prize for the largest fish.