Category: News

At this time of year, we want to look back on 2018 and there have been many good times and bad in our county. Today we look at some of the good about Coffee County. With Christmas now complete we want to send out a big thank you to many people that helped those less fortunate during Christmas. The Manchester Police Department helped out the Angel Tree program in the city schools with many gifts for children and families.
Former Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves and the Coffee County Rescue Squad teaming up with area churches, the Angel Tree and other organizations to distribute to over 1,000 children and families with toys and food for Christmas.
The Tullahoma Fire Department held their annual Toys for Tots campaign helping nearly 200.
Thank you to the many churches took time to take care of their own congregations with gifts of toys and food.
The Coffee County school system brought a lot of joy to people by providing Christmas gifts to several in the area.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the outstanding donations from area businesses and individuals, each group wants to say thank you for what you did.
From everyone at Thunder Radio, thank you for showing everyone in and out of Coffee County what kind of wonderful place we live in.

At 3:45am Sunday morning a fatal accident occurred in Manchester on Hwy 55 east. The one-car crash took place in front of the 9th Grade Academy.
According to Manchester Police, a 2007 Infiniti driven by Rogelio Chavez was allegedly traveling at a high rate of speed when he apparently lost control of the vehicle. The Infiniti went off the roadway in the median and flipped. The impact caused passenger Esmeralda Romero to be ejected. Romero died at the scene. Chavez, who was severely injured in the crash, was airlifted from the accident site. No update on his condition is known at this time.
As of late Sunday afternoon, a confirmed home address for the two victims was not known.
Manchester Fire & Rescue, Coffee County EMS, Tennessee Highway Patrol and Coffee County Sheriff’s deputies assisted at the scene.

It is not a Merry Christmas for a local theft suspect. Last week the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department began searching for a theft suspect, Jory Isenhart. Late last week the department issued a statement and pictures on Facebook that the man was being sought.
He was captured on Saturday after being wanted for an alleged theft in the Gnat Hill Rd / Espy Rd area of Coffee County.
Isenhart is also facing charges out of Cannon County.

Tennessee has surpassed 1,000 traffic fatalities across the state for 2018.
Through Friday, 1,021 people have died in traffic incidents in Tennessee, an increase of 25 deaths from 2017 or three percent.
The increase in deaths came in the second-half of the year as fatalities were down in four of the first five months of 2018.
Deaths rose in August, November and December compared to 2017.
In 2017 in Coffee County, there were 19 deaths on roadways and with the death on Sunday morning in Manchester, there have been 11 in 2018.

Christmas came early for millions of Americans hitting the road for the holidays. Gas prices, which are already at 2-year lows for this time of year, should drop even lower in the coming days, after the price of oil and wholesale gasoline tumbled on Thursday.
Gas prices in Tennessee are 14 cents less than the average price on Christmas Day 2017. Although the state average is $2.09 per gallon, Tennessee motorists are finding pump prices well below $2 a gallon at many filling stations throughout the state.
The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.36.
AAA is forecasting 2.5 million Tennesseans will take a road trip between now and New Years Day.
In Coffee County, the low price in Manchester is $1.90 per gallon and in Tullahoma, the low price is $1.93.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol announced last week that it will receive traffic safety grants from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to provide increased enforcement, public awareness campaigns and help to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes on state roadways in 2019. According to a press release, the grant funds are distributed through the Tennessee Highway Safety office. THP received one hundred thousand dollars in grant monies for the belts program which will allow them to continue to target seat belt usage across the state. Another program which THP also received one hundred thousand dollars is new just drive program which focuses on distracted driving.
The THP’s “Sober Up TN” grant funds that were provided to the agency amounted to $630,000. Both grant programs will end on September 30, 2019.

Motlow State Community College is offering the Accuplacer Assessment Test at all Motlow campuses multiple times through the 2019 calendar year. The Accuplacer replaced the Compass test. Students planning to enroll at Motlow for the spring semester who need to take the Accuplacer, which is used to assess a student’s readiness for college-level work, should do so as soon as possible.
Students who are 21 years of age or older must take all three portions (reading, sentence skills and math) unless they have valid ACT scores on file or collegiate credit from an accredited college or university.
The Accuplacer test is a computer testing system that helps determine student academic readiness in reading, sentence skills and mathematics for college-level work. Test results determine which courses are best suited to the student’s level of readiness.
Before taking the test, students must have the following on file in Motlow’s admissions office: a completed admission application, official high school and/or college transcripts, and if applicable, official test scores. Special test accommodations are available for students who require other than standard conditions for taking the test.
The initial test is provided free of charge. Students who take the Accuplacer test and feel their test results have placed them incorrectly, may challenge their initial placement score and retake the test, or portions of the test. The college charges a $10 challenge fee for each portion of the test, or $20 to challenge the entire test.
For additional information or to schedule test dates and registration, please visit the Motlow State testing website mscc.edu/testing or call 931-393-1763 or 1-800-654-4877 ext. 1763.

Late Wednesday afternoon a pedestrian was struck by a car on the Hillsboro Blvd. in Manchester.
The accident occurred near Aaron’s Furniture and the animal clinic next door. The area where it took place goes onto Shelton Road and is not well lit and is not a place where a crosswalk would be placed.
64-year-old Jeffery Lyons of Manchester was hit by the car and suffered a lower body injury.  He was transported via helicopter to a Nashville hospital.
67-year-old Leona Hines of Hillsboro, who was driving the car, was not charged. She was not injured in relation to the accident.
Sergeant Dale Robertson with the Manchester Police Department was in charge of the scene.

Two more men from Grundy County involved in a conspiracy to burglarize numerous pharmacies throughout the southeast United States, including Sav-Rite Pharmacy and Stephanie’s Down Home Pharmacy in Corbin, Kentucky, were sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in London, Kentucky.
Randy Stiefel and Jamie Sweeton pleaded guilty to their respective parts in the conspiracy.
At Tuesday’s hearing prosecutors recommended that Stiefel receive a five-year prison sentence.
Sweeton was sentenced to 108 months followed by three years of supervised release.
Stolen pills from the burglaries would then be sold primarily in central Tennessee.
Co-defendants: Robert Nunley from Tracy City TN, Christopher Land from Monteagle TN, Anthony Bosio of Gruetli-Laager TN and Kenneth Britton of Whitwell TN, were all indicted in the case and have pleaded guilty, according to prosecutors.