Category: News

On Friday, February 22, 2019, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) welcomed the next generation of Probation and Parole Officers (PPO’s) into our workforce during a graduation ceremony at the Tennessee Correction Academy in Tullahoma. The ceremony celebrated the hard work of 28 Probation and Parole Officers who will be serving the citizens of Tennessee by working in the field across the state.
During their weeks of training the class learned skills that will assist them in being effective Probation and Parole Officers. Classes on leadership, effective listening and interviewing techniques, teamwork and defense skills were taught during the six-week academy.

 

Most of the talk around Coffee County all week has been about all the rain we’ve been having. Sometimes rainy days can be busy for law enforcement working accidents, but on Friday morning that changed in a big way for Manchester police officers.
Manchester Police Department Investigators Trey Adcock and Brandon Tomberlin, Chief Investigator Jackie Matheny along with patrolmen Jamie Newman, Jason Fowler & Antonio Frost assisted in the delivery of a beautiful baby girl. The delivery began in the Hardee’s Restaurant parking lot.
The two happy parents and their healthy baby are said to be doing great! Congratulations!

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department has received information that a scam is going around the area. The Caller ID advises that the number is a local number showing up as Coffee County Government. During the conversation, the scammers begin asking for personal information and credit card information. Officials with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department say this not a legitimate call, this is a scam. If you receive a call regarding this scam, do not give out any personal information. You can report the activity to local law enforcement.

Gov. Bill Lee says his upcoming budget proposal will include $40 million to improve school safety.
Lee’s team announced on Thursday that $10 million was already budgeted for school safety from former Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan for the upcoming fiscal year. Lee will add $30 million to that amount, with $20 million slotted for one-time funding and $10 million in recurring funds.
The funding will be used as a safety grant fund. Lee’s team says the administration will sponsor additional legislation that will prioritize the distribution of those grants to pay for school resource officers.
Schools that already have resource officers can apply to use the funds for other safety priorities.
According to Lee’s team, an estimated 500 Tennessee schools don’t have school resource officers.

The Special Investigations Section of the Tennessee Department of Revenue conducted the investigation that led to Serapio Granados pleading guilty to eight counts of tax fraud.
Granados, 49, pleaded guilty to charges related to sales tax evasion on Tuesday. Judge Forest Durard, Jr. accepted Granados’ guilty plea and placed him on 16 years of probation. Granados was ordered to pay restitution of $74, 539.91. Granados is the owner of Stonebridge Restaurant in Fayetteville.
The Department pursued this criminal case in cooperation with District Attorney Robert Carter’s office. Citizens who suspect violations of Tennessee’s revenue laws should call the toll-free tax fraud hot line at (800) FRAUDTX (372-8389).

More than 37,000 Tennesseans are likely to find out they have cancer this year, and the American Cancer Society and its advocates gathered Wednesday at the State Capitol to ask legislators to zero in on smoking as the largest cause of the disease.
Last year, smoking-related health issues cost the state almost $3 billion. However, nearly $4 million was zeroed out of last year’s budget for tobacco-cessation and smoking-prevention programs for youths.
This includes the Baby and Me program, designed to help pregnant women quit smoking, says Emily Ogden, government-relations director for the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network.
“In Tennessee, a third of all cancers are caused by smoking, which is why it’s a huge issue for us,” Ogden insists. “It’s one of the number one things you can do to help prevent yourself from getting cancer, or a loved one from getting cancer.”
The group also asked lawmakers to support Tobacco 21 legislation, with strong enforcement provisions that increase the minimum age for sale for tobacco products, including electronic smoking devices, to 21.
In 2017, Tennessee high school students reported smoking at a rate higher than the national average.
Two bills, SB 1200 and HB 1454, propose to raise the legal age for tobacco use to 21, with “stiff fines and revocation of licenses.” Ogden says that minimum age is important since so many started smoking before age 16.
“And what we know is that 95 percent of people who smoke today started smoking before the age of 21,” she explains. “So if we can keep people from smoking until they get to age 21, the odds of them taking up this habit are not as likely.”
Legislative analysts have projected the measure would cost state and local governments about $10 million a year in lost sales-tax revenue if adopted.
It’s estimated that Tennessee received more than $400 million in Tobacco Master Settlement payments last year, but ranks lowest in recommended prevention funding, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.