Category: News

Last week in Bell Buckle, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam, Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak and Tennessee fire service members and supporters broke ground on a new $5.7 million conference center at the Tennessee Fire Service and Codes Enforcement Academy.
The Academy helps train and educate over 15,000 fire and codes students each year and is a nationally recognized leader in fire service and codes enforcement education.
When complete, the 19,000 square foot conference center will provide additional meeting space to hold large classes, conferences and graduations. The new conference center will allow Tennessee to keep pace with the growing need for fire training and continue to help make the Academy a leader in fire training education.

If you travel to Nashville or plan to do so over the next 2.5 years, you’ll be dealing with more traffic issues on Interstate 24.
Work is already is underway on a $30.5 million project on Interstate 24 at Hickory Hollow Parkway in south Nashville.
The goal of the project is to help relieve the traffic congestion at Exit 59 and improve access to the area, along with safety improvements at the I-24 East exit ramp at Exit 62.
According to Tennessee Department of Transportation, when the interchange at Exit 60 was built in the 1970s, the exit was a partial access facility for the Hickory Hollow Mall area. This project will allow drivers to access the south side of I-24 from Exit 60.
Lane closures will mostly take place at night between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m., but some lane closures could take place during the day on certain weekends in the spring 2019.
The contractor for the project is Jones Bros. Contractors. The project is expected to be completed by May 31, 2021.

The 7th annual ONE DAY OF HOPE cc will take place Saturday Oct. 13, 2018 at the Coffee County Fairgrounds from 9am-2pm. The event began in 2012 with about 6 churches and around 30 volunteers. Around 2,000 folks showed up that day for primarily clothes, some food and medical care. More people are expected to be helped by many, many volunteers.
ONE DAY OF HOPE cc is a day to reach out to our community in the name of Jesus to provide clothes, food, coats, shoes, various FREE services (medical/dental, haircuts, family portraits, groceries, etc).

A man wanted by the FBI with Coffee County ties has allegedly been living in a homeless camp near downtown Shelbyville.
The FBI says James Lee Russell of Orange Park, Florida was wanted for allegedly threatening a mass shooting elsewhere. He was captured near Normandy after a high-speed chase Friday afternoon.
Russell was taken into custody without a problem after crashing the truck he was driving. He was attempting to turn from Normandy Road onto Dement Road. He struck a guy wire and lost control of his truck while attempting the turn.
Shelbyville Police say Russell has relatives in Coffee County.

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett is warning voters to be aware of misleading information regarding voter registration as the deadline to register for the November election approaches on Tuesday, October 9.
The Office of the Secretary of State has received reports of groups contacting registered voters and telling them that they are not registered to vote. Others have reported receiving pre-populated voter registration forms for individuals who are deceased and have been removed from the voting rolls.
The National Association of Secretaries of State has warned states about a scam where an organization is making calls and offering to register voters by phone. While these calls have not been reported in Tennessee, voters should be aware that they cannot register by talking to a person on the phone.
For accurate information regarding voter registration in Tennessee, voters are encouraged to visit GoVoteTN.com to register to vote or check their registration status. Voters can also contact the Division of Elections at 1-877-850-4959 or their county election commission with any questions about voter registration. Registering to vote is easy in Tennessee. Tennessee citizens may register by-mail or online. Online voter registration allows any U.S. citizen with a driver’s license or photo ID issued by the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security to register online.

A recent report suggests that Tennessee ranks second to last in voter turnout and nearly as low in voter registration. In efforts to raise awareness and increase turnout at the polls this November, Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett crisscrossed Tennessee in September, National Voter Registration Month, asking many citizens to not only register, but to vote.
He made a stop Motlow College’s Smyrna location and Middle Tennessee State University in an effort to encourage students to get registered.
Voter registration deadline is October 9 for the November 6, 2018 General Election. For more information or to register to vote go online to https://ovr.govote.tn.gov/. You can also drop by the Coffee County election administration office at 1329 McArthur St in Manchester, suite 6.

Volkswagen officials say they plan to add a third shift to the automaker’s Tennessee plant, a move that could add more than 1,000 workers.
According to the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Volkswagen Chattanooga plant chief executive Antonio Pinto said Friday that the new workers will help produce the five-seat Atlas SUV next year. Hiring is expected to start this year and continue in 2019.
The 3,500-employee plant currently makes the seven-seat Atlas SUV and the midsize Passat sedan.
Volkswagen Chattanooga spokeswoman Amanda Plecas said a decision hasn’t been made on the number of new jobs.
Earlier this year, Volkswagen announced it would spend $340 million to assemble the five-seat SUV.

The new Tennessee State Museum at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park opened its doors to the public on Thursday with a ribbon cutting ceremony, comments by dignitaries and Museum officials, performances by area musicians and the participation of local schoolchildren.
The Museum is comprised of six permanent exhibitions ranging from First Peoples beginning in 13,000 BCE to Present Day, six temporary galleries highlighting the work of Red Grooms, Tennessee’s Musical Heritage and WWI, among others, a Children’s Gallery, a Digital Learning Center, and more.

Manchester’s newest fire truck Engine 1 will officially be put into service Monday, October 8th at 10:00 am following a traditional ceremony dating back to the late 1800’s. A tradition in the fire service, the ‘wet-down”, is a ceremonial process in which firefighters officially place into service a new fire engine by anointing it with water sprayed from the retiring unit. This will be followed by the firefighters and community “pushing in” Engine 1 into the fire hall.
Members of the community are welcomed to attend the ceremony that will take place at Fire Hall 1 on the Hillsboro Hwy., beginning at 10:00 am on Monday.