Category: News

Carl Dalton Williams an inmate at the Coffee County Jail, was left at the Coffee County Justice Center by Coffee County Sheriff’s Department personnel overnight Thursday, February 7, 2019.
Williams, 33, was transported from the Coffee County Jail to the justice center for a court hearing Thursday for a domestic violence charge but was not transported back to the jail.

K-9 officers saw Williams outside the courthouse early Friday morning as they were about to begin training exercises and transported back to the jail.
Captain Billy Butler with the sheriff’s department said an investigation is being conducted and corrective actions will take place…

WMSR’s Tiffany Clutter asked Butler if transport officers and jail corrections have a check list when it comes to transporting inmates and what a about a bed check at the jail? He said there is a list, but wasn’t sure about the jail and yes there should be a bed check. He emphasized that transport must come back with the same number of inmates they left with…

Butler added that Williams was in good health and was checked out by medical personnel Friday morning. He remained shackled and handcuffed through the whole ordeal Thursday night into Friday.
See more of what Butler and Sgt Laura Nettles had to say about this issue by going to our website wmsrradio.com to view a video.
Thunder Radio will update this story as information becomes available.
Williams declined to be interviewed by WMSR News.

Several school districts in the mid-state are using a tool that screens school-issued emails with the hopes of ensuring safety among students.
Schools in Bedford, Warren, and Williamson Counties, and the Lebanon Special School District are implementing technology from the Illinois-based company Gaggle.
Gaggle uses a special technique to read school-issued emails, even before they are sent, for specific words and language. The system can intercept even before the recipient gets the email.
Depending on what the email says, Gaggle has the ability to alert a “safety team” working around the clock if there is a threat or issue that needs to be addressed.
A member of the team would alert the school district to resolve what the potential problem might be.
Gaggle is credited with helping prevent 542 children from committing suicide in the last school year and stopped 240 people from bringing a weapon to school.
If the child uses a school-issued email to log into social media platforms like Snapchat and Facebook, any notification sent to the email is also reviewed by the system.
Gaggle covers five million children in 1,400 school districts across the country. (Story credit: WTVF NewsChannel 5)

The Coffee County School District is presently completing a grant renewal for the 21st Century Community Learning Center program, Excellence at East. This grant for the after-school program receives federal funding from the Tennessee Department of Education’s Office of Extended Learning. Grants are awarded by 3 to 5-year contracts by a panel of independent readers who score them using a detailed rubric. The present grant will conclude in June of 2019.
East Coffee has been the recipient of this grant for the last 14 years. This after school program operates Monday through Thursday from 3:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. when school is in session. Students receive a healthy snack, physical activity, academic and homework assistance, additional help for students with a deficiency in skills and standards, and a fun elective. The electives range from STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) to arts and crafts, and additional physical education activities.
The program has been very successful over the past 14 years. The Coffee County School district plans to expand the new grant by increasing the schools served to 3 sites. If approved, the number of students served could grow to 500.
The grant is due by March 29, 2019. Awards will be announced sometime in July of 2019. For more information about this program, please contact the Coffee County Schools’ District office or Jimmy St. John at East Coffee Elementary.

 

Congratulation to Manchester Police Officer Ben Sneed. He was recognized at a recent Board of Mayor and Alderman meeting for his award from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office. Officer Sneed was selected as the 2018 Cumberland Region Officer of the Year.
In a statement from the police department they say that everyone is very proud of Officer Sneed for representing the City of Manchester with his diligent work ethic and professionalism.

A Tennessee lawmaker has introduced a bill that would hit robocallers with major fines if caught spoofing local phone numbers.
The bill, introduced by Sen. John Hensley, would increase fines to $25,000 for each call made that used caller identification spoofing. As many Coffee Countians know, spoofing tricks your caller ID into thinking the call is local, for example using our 931-area code when it’s really a robocall from out of state.
The current fine is $10,000 for robocallers caught spoofing numbers. The new bill would also clarify that each call would be subject to a $25,000 fine, meaning fines could easily reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars or higher.
The number of robocalls have recently broken records nationwide, according to information provided by YouMail, a robocall blocking software company.
You can report and reduce the number of unwanted calls by signing up for the National Do Not Call Registry.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has announced 13 communities in the state that will be receiving site development grants.
One of those communities is in in nearby Pelham in Grundy County.
Lee said, “One of Tennessee’s major initiatives is helping rural communities, and with the assistance of these grants, these communities will be better positioned for economic success and investment. I look forward to seeing these communities continue to grow and excel.”
The purpose of the grant is to help rural communities achieve Select Tennessee site certification and get them ready to receive economic development projects that will create new jobs in the community.
Through the Site Development Grants, the state is partnering with these communities to help them remain competitive in the economic development game by creating project-ready sites.
Grundy County was selected to receive a grant totaling $500,000 to use on projects at the Pelham Industrial Park. As we reported earlier this week, Grundy County is currently working on a plan that would place an unnamed, at this time, distribution center in Pelham that would employee 400 workers.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has announced his first legislative push, which aims to increase access to student vocational and technical training.
The new governor declined on Tuesday to say how much his Governor’s Investment in Vocational Education initiative would cost, saying the amounts would be revealed soon.
Lee’s office says the program would include student grants funded by the Tennessee Lottery. High school juniors and seniors would be able to use four, fully-funded dual enrollment credits for trade and technical programs. Currently, they can access two credits.
The governor will also recommend new funding for community grants for regional partnerships with community and technical colleges, industry and K-12 schools to establish new work-based learning programs and apprenticeships. Funding would also create dual-credit opportunities and expanded high schools’ offerings.