Category: News

Shelbyville Man Wins $2 Million

Twice was nice for a lucky Shelbyville man, who won big the second time he played Powerball. Matthew Reed, a cabinet maker, won a cool $2 million Saturday, June 16, 2018, playing the popular game.
Matthew, went to the Tennessee Lottery’s Nashville headquarters office with his grandparents on Monday to collect the prize. Because he added the Powerball Power Play option for an extra dollar, Matthew doubled the base prize of $1 million, which he won by matching five of the five white ball numbers drawn.
Matthew says he plans to invest, save, and keep working. He purchased the lucky ticket at Serve & Go, 764 Madison St., in Shelbyville.

After Three Years and Three Postponements–Weir Trial Delayed for 4th Time

 

Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott

The trial of former Coffee County High School baseball coach Brad Weir was delayed for a fourth time on Monday due to a medical emergency in Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott’s family.
The new court date has been pushed back to November, with a status hearing preceding the trial on Wednesday, Sept.12.
The 47-year-old Weir is facing a 16-count indictment after being charged with having sex with a 15-year-old Coffee County student in 2015.
The trial has been delayed for various reasons in the past. One of the reasons is that earlier this year Weir was unable to be in court because he had suffered a gunshot wound to his leg on March 18.
Another reason is that back on April 22 in Hamilton County, Weir allegedly struck a man with the car he was driving. Later that night Weir was being served an arrest warrant for the alleged aggravated assault. He was later charged with resisting arrest and assault of a police officer.
His bond was revoked by Coffee County Judge Vanessa Jackson and he was booked in at the Coffee County Jail, where he remains.

Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance says be Wary of Scammers

With new Medicare cards slated to arrive in Tennessee sometime after June, the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance (TDCI) is warning Medicare beneficiaries to be wary of scammers who might use the cards pending arrival as an opportunity to fleece unsuspecting consumers.
Federal laws enacted last year required the removal of Social Security numbers (SSNs) from old Medicare beneficiary cards. Scammers and identity
thieves frequently used pilfered personal information from the old cards to open credit card accounts or take out loans in someone else’s name.
While the new Medicare cards include a unique, randomly assigned Medicare number in place of SSNs, scammers may use the transition period before
the arrival of the new cards to take advantage of beneficiaries.
“The removal of Social Security numbers from Medicare cards is a great step at cutting down on Medicare fraud and protecting beneficiaries from
identity thieves,” said TDCI Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak. “Until the new Medicare cards arrive, I’m urging Tennesseans to be on guard for
scammers who might attempt to harm unsuspecting consumers and capitalize on consumers’ trusting natures.”
Consumers who believe they have been contacted by scammers should report the incident to the Centers For Medicare & Medicaid Services <https://www.medicare.gov/forms-help-and-resources/report-fraud-and-abuse/fraud-and-abuse.html>
(CMS) upon discovery. To help protect consumers, TDCI’s Division of Consumer Affairs shares the following tips to help consumers get ahead of
Medicare card scammers:
You do not have to pay for your new Medicare card. Medicare is mailing beneficiaries new cards at no charge. If anyone contacts you claiming to
represent Medicare or another government agency and is trying to charge for your new card, it is a scam.
Do not give your Medicare number to an untrusted source. Scammers call pretending to be from CMS or another government agency asking for person
information in exchange for your new card. Cards are being shipped automatically and do not require you to share your Medicare number to
receive one. Only share your Medicare number with doctors or trusted people who work with Medicare.
Never share financial information with someone you don’t know. If someone contacts you asking for your bank or credit card information with the
promise of a rebate or bonus because of your new Medicare card, it is a scam.
Do not believe anyone who threatens to cancel your Medicare if you don’t give them your Medicare number. As mentioned above, your Medicare
services are not affected by the new Medicare cards. If someone calls threatening to cancel your coverage if you don’t provide them
information, report the call to Medicare by calling 1-800-MEDICARE.
Destroy your old card. Once you receive your new Medicare card, the old one is not needed. Destroy your old Medicare card by shredding
it-remember: it has your SSN on it!
Guard your new card. Even though the new Medicare card doesn’t have your SSN on it, you should safeguard your new Medicare card just as you would
any other important records or credit cards.
Beneficiaries can get information about card mailings and sign up for card mailing status emails at
Medicare.gov/NewCard<https://www.medicare.gov/newcard/>. For more tips onavoiding scammers or to file a complaint, visit
tn.gov/consumer<https://www.tn.gov/commerce/consumer-affair

Slight Rise in State Unemployment Rate

Tennessee’s May 2018 statewide unemployment rate of 3.5 percent marked the 11th consecutive month the figure has been 3.5 percent or lower. While the May unemployment rate represents a slight uptick of 0.1 of a percentage point compared to the April rate of 3.4 percent, year-to-year, it is 0.3 of a percentage point lower than it was in May 2017. Nationally, unemployment dropped for the second consecutive month. The United States unemployment rate for May was 3.8 percent, down 0.1 of a percentage point from the previous month. In May 2017, the national unemployment rate was half a percentage point higher at 4.3 percent.
Unemployment numbers for Coffee County will be released later this week.

Fatal Crash in Wartrace

Authorities say a woman is dead after a head-on rollover crash in Bedford County on Sunday.
A juvenile driver veered off the road, overcorrected and struck the second vehicle.
Emergency officials said that 35- year-old Crystal Jones was traveling on CX Troxler Road in Wartrace when her car was struck by the juvenile’s car.
35- year-old Crystal Jones died in the two-vehicle crash that also injured her passenger and the juvenile driver of the other vehicle.

Warren County Commissioner Facing Assault Charge

Michael Martin

A long-time Warren County Commissioner is facing an assault charge in connection with a confrontation that took place at Thursday night’s meeting of the Health and Welfare Committee.
Michael Martin has been summoned to General Sessions Court on June 26th to answer the charge.
Witnesses said Martin got into an argument with Animal Control Director Kim Pettrey and ordered her to leave the building. In the warrant, Pettrey said she was in fear of bodily injury.

Motlow holds Groundbreaking at New Robotics Training Center

Motlow State Community College recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the state-of-the-art Automation and Robotics Training Center (ARTC) that will be located on 4.5 acres adjacent to the Tennessee College of Applied Technology and the Motlow McMinnville campus. The Warren County Commission donated the land to the College. Funding for the ARTC comes from a $5.5 million grant awarded to Motlow as part of the “Drive to 55 Capacity Fund”. The primary purpose of the center is to train skilled workers to support existing and new industries throughout the area as they utilize more industrial robots.

Three Years Later Man Convicted of Aggravated Sexual Battery

A Manchester man is facing up to 24 years in prison after he was found guilty of 2 counts of aggravated sexual battery.
Lynn Frank Bristol, 61, of Manchester, was indicted June 2015 for aggravated sexual battery and the rape of a child.
The victim in this case testified against Bristol.
The man is set to be sentenced on August 15.
Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott prosecuted the case and Attorney Thomas Parkerson from Murfreesboro represented Bristol.

Altercation Sends Hillsboro Man to Jail

Kale Wayne Campbell.. Photo provided by the CCSD.


Last Monday (June 11, 2018) Kale Wayne Campbell age 32 of Hillsboro
is accused of being involved in an altercation with his ex-girlfriend and her children in Hillsboro. Campbell allegedly went into the residence while 2 of the children were inside and began throwing and breaking items.
Later in the day, Campbell is accused of trying to use his vehicle to run his girlfriend and her 3 children along with their child whom they have together as they were in separate vehicles off the roadway in Hillsboro. The arrest warrant states that Campbell allegedly accelerated his vehicle and tried to maneuver his vehicle in a position to cause a head on collision which placed fear in the girlfriend and the 4 children.
Campbell was located on Thursday and he was arrested. Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Deputy Eric Clem charged Campbell with 5 counts of reckless endangerment and 4 counts of aggravated assault. Bond was set at $75,000 and he will appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court June 18, 2018.

Body Found in Tims Ford Lake

Above Tims Ford Lake

According the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department officials, a body was found in Tims Ford Lake on Thursday afternoon around 2:30pm.
Two kayakers were in Tims Ford Lake when they discovered the body of 30-year-old Jessie Farris in the water. Farris had been reported missing.
Farris leaves behind three kids, the oldest eight years old, the youngest nine months.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the case.