Category: News

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security has announced the rollout for a new licensing policy in hopes of making identifying people under the age of 21 easier.
Tennessee will issue vertical licenses for all persons under the age of 21 starting Monday, July 2. After turning 21, any licensee may obtain a horizontal printed license or ID.
A release from the Department of Safety and Homeland Security says the new initiative will make it easier to identify people under the age of 21.
State Senator Becky Massey and Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville sponsored the original legislation. Senator Massey says the legislation is intended to address underage drinking, which is responsible for more than 4,300 deaths among underage youth each year.
Thirty-three other states have similar laws. Currently in Tennessee, vertical driver’s licenses are available for identification cards and handgun carry permits.

Two bomb threats were called in to the Coffee County Justice Center on Wednesday, June 27. The first was received at Circuit Court Clerk’s office just after 8 a.m. The second call came in just before 10 a.m. and was received through the Coffee County Communication Center.
Circuit Court judges requested that court be postponed for the day.
Personnel with the sheriff’s department, Manchester Police and Coffee County Emergency Management did not find any device in the building.
Tennessee Highway Patrol bomb dogs were called to the scene after the second threat and again no device was found.
District Attorney Craig Northcott had this to say after the second threat (Click below)

Sheriff’s department investigators Brandon Reed and Kerry Farrar took the lead on the case. The two investigators were able to trace the call and that led to the arrest of Cody Cooper age 26 of Lakewood Park. According to Reed, Cooper admitted there was no bomb to his knowledge at the Justice Center.
Sheriff Steve Graves said he was very pleased with the quick action his department and others took. He also thanked Manchester Police, Coffee County EMA and Tennessee Highway Patrol for their assistance.
At this point Cooper has been charged with filing a false report on the first threat. His bond was set at $50,000 and he will appear Coffee County General Sessions Court on Thursday June 28, 2018.
This is an ongoing investigation.

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development on Wednesday announced recipients of the Retail Academy Grant. The grant is designed to provide funding to communities to participate in two retail training programs.
The Retail Academy 101 program is an introduction to retail recruitment for local leaders, and the Retail Academy 201 program offers advanced retail site selection training to communities who have completed the 101 program.
Tullahoma received a $5,000 Retail Academy 201 grant that will cater to specific property marketing.

Tennessee is holding its place nationwide in terms of children’s well-being, maintaining the same ranking as last year – 35th in the nation – in the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2018 KIDS COUNT Data Book.
The annual report gives Tennessee leaders a chance to pinpoint areas for improvement. Tennessee KIDS COUNT Director Rose Naccarato says a growing economy is improving the lives of children.
“Much of that gain has come from growth in the economy and the economic well-being indicators; some of it has come from education,” Naccarato explains. “Certainly, one of the biggest areas last year that we’ve held onto the growth in, is youths who are in school or employed.”
She adds, as in many states, the opioid crisis is creating a demand on state healthcare resources. Between 2010 and 2015, incidences of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome, a side effect of babies born addicted to drugs, increased from 11 per 1,000 live births to 24.
This year, Gov. Bill Haslam rolled out TN Together, a multifaceted approach across state agencies to end the opioid epidemic by focusing on prevention, treatment and law enforcement.
The new Data Book shows upward trends in many aspects of child well-being, particularly in economic indicators. However, there are mixed results or stalled progress in the other domains, according to Laura Speer, associate director for policy reform and advocacy at the Casey Foundation.
“We want to do right by all kids and make sure that they have strong families, strong communities and the opportunities that will help them to thrive,” Speer says. “And many of the trends that we’re seeing are really good. But there’s still a lot of work to do.”
Speer adds that an accurate count in the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census is vital to meeting the needs of the state’s children.
Naccarato sees one-way Tennessee can advance quickly in the rankings in the coming years.
“Our Pre-K program only serves about 25 percent of the children that are the right age for that. We are pretty low for that measure, down in the 40s,” Naccarato says. “Offering more Pre-K seats could definitely give us an improvement there.”
In education, Tennessee’s fourth- and eighth-graders saw improvement in reading and math, respectively, outpacing the national average. When many states were cutting school funding, Tennessee continued its steady increases through the Basic Education Program, although the state still ranks in the bottom 10 in per-child spending.

Come out for the Manchester Veterans of Foreign Wars monthly breakfast on Saturday June 30th. All the proceeds from the breakfast will be donated to the Coffee County Wreaths Across America Committee.
Wreaths Across America will be placing wreaths on military graves again in Coffee County on Dec. 15th this year. All funds raised locally go directly to fund wreaths to go on military graves in Coffee County. Wreaths Across America is a 501c3 non-profit that placed wreaths on military graves at Arlington National Cemetery and more than 4,000 other cemeteries nation-wide last year.
The VFW is located at 130 Shelton Rd in Manchester.
Donations can also be made locally at Clower Automotive at 1406 McArthur St. in Manchester. $15 sponsors one wreath, $45 sponsors three wreaths and $150 sponsors ten wreaths. Checks should be made out to “Wreaths Across America”

The Coffee County commission met on Tuesday night with the 2018-19 budget with a possible property tax increase of 8.24 cents on the agenda.
A proposal was brought up by Commissioner Rush Bricken to take money out of the fund balance (rainy day fund) and a budget reduction in all departments. If a department has a budget of $500,000 or less a 1% cut is to be made. A budget between $500,000-$1 million a 2% cut is needed and in budgets over $1 million a reduction of 4% is to be made. Also, Commissioner Tim Morris asked for a hiring freeze be enforced through the end of the year in all departments, with the exception of emergency responders. Approval of Bricken and Morris’s combined proposal would mean no property tax increase.
Commissioners voted to approve the budget with no tax increase by a vote of 18-0. Commissioners Todd Crockett, David Orrick and Kimberly Martin did not attend Tuesday night’s meeting.
Property owners will pay the new certified tax rate set by the state.
For Manchester residential property owners, the new certified rate is $2.68 per $100 of assessed value. County residential property owners will pay a rate of $2.93. In Tullahoma the new certified rate is $2.58 per $100 of assessed value.
Properties in the industrial park will be charged the new certified rate of $3.19.
The Manchester and Tullahoma tax rates do not include the addition of their city property tax rates, which are set by city leaders.

On Saturday June 23, 2018 there were two incidents of theft that occurred at Wal Mart located on the Decherd Boulevard in Winchester. In both cases, the suspects pushed out a shopping cart of merchandise. The female suspect was operating a black four door sedan possibly a Cadillac.
The male suspect was operating a silver small four door car possibly an older model Toyota Corolla.
If you or anyone knows the identity of the two suspects you are urged to contact Detective Brian Wilder or Detective Ryan Fuller with Winchester Police Department at 931-967-3840. More pictures below.

A Van Buren County Jail escapee who was on the TBI’S Most Wanted list has been captured. 37 year old Joel Ernest Blanton escaped from the Van Buren County Jail at around 1:00am Monday morning. Blanton was awaiting sentencing on charges of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery when he made his escape.
Blanton was captured Monday in Warren County by Warren County officers, along with officers from Van Buren County, the District Attorney’s office, the TBI and federal marshals.
Authorities received information that Blanton was hiding at a residence on Salem Road. He surrendered to authorities, but not before officers fired tear gas into the house.
Blanton was taken to the Warren County Jail after being apprehended.

Advocates for domestic violence victims are praising a new Tennessee law that seeks to stop an often-used tactic that abusers use after their victims have fled to safety: filing frivolous lawsuits designed to bankrupt or inflict more harm on the people they have already abused.
Those who work with battered women say forcing victims to spend money on lawyers and show up to fight multiple frivolous legal challenges is common. In fact, there’s even a term some use for it: Stalking by way of the courts.
The law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam in May would allow a judge to bar someone from filing abusive lawsuits intended to financially or otherwise harm someone for at least four years.
The law takes effect on July 1.