Category: News

For the last several years music lovers had to choose between the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival and CMA Fest but in 2019 the events will be held on different weekends. CMA Fest will be held June 6 to 9 and Bonnaroo will be held the following weekend from June 13 through June 16.
Nashville officials said they anticipate future years to follow the same date pattern.
The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. say they have enjoyed an excellent relationship with Bonnaroo through the years. The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. most recently hosted the new Nashville-themed area “The Ville”, focusing on local music, food, art, and more, at this year’s Bonnaroo.

Tennessee’s rural communities have a new lifeline to higher education. This fall, Tennessee State University will offer an Agricultural Science degree program to students in the mid-state farming community of Fayetteville.
The goal is to bring college courses to people who might otherwise be unable to earn a degree to advance their careers and farming opportunities. Dr. John Ricketts, professor of agricultural science at Tennessee State University, said it could be a game changer for the rural community.
“Forty to 60 percent of jobs in the agricultural industry go unfilled or filled by folks that don’t have any training in it,” Ricketts said. “So, it’s not good for the industry, it’s not good for the economy, and so there’s a high demand for students with this Ag Science degree.”
So far, at least 20 people have expressed interest in the program. They’ll receive some distance learning, as well as in-person instruction from Tennessee State professors.
Prior to enrolling in the degree program, students will first earn a two-year associate degree from Motlow State Community College.
Lisa Smith, assistant dean at Motlow State, said supporting the community will give people in farming careers a chance to excel without having to leave the area, which in turn helps the local economy.
“They can stay close to home, without incurring a lot of possible student loan debt and a lot of expense,” Smith said. “And then with partnering with TSU here, to come to us, these students can remain in the area to complete that four-year degree.”
Some financial aid opportunities are available through Tennessee Tech and Future Farmworkers of America. Ricketts said the knowledge students will receive is much-needed in the state’s farm industry.
“We’ll give these students in Fayetteville the same opportunities that we have here in Nashville, in terms of hands-on learning and being mentored by research scientists,” Ricketts said. “So, we kind of look at it as a total program in terms of, you’ll get some lecture, but there’s also hands-on, experiential learning that takes place.”
Fayetteville is also close to Huntsville, Ala., where there’s a growing biotech industry, and the degree program will offer instruction to support careers in that field as well.

In an effort to provide greater flexibility and clarity to Tennessee educators when planning for school safety emergencies, the Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office (SFMO) has announced new guidance for classroom safety in addition to the adoption of the National Fire Protection Association 2018 Life Safety Code rules for classroom safety measures.
During annual inspections of classrooms, inspectors will no longer issue citations for barricade devices so long as the devices are not attached to a door nor deployed during an inspection. If a device is used for purposes other than security drills or lockdowns, this will be noted as a deficiency. Any alterations to classroom doors must comply with adopted codes.
“Tennessee school administrators and educators now have additional measures to help protect students in the event of an emergency,” said Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance Assistant Commissioner Gary Farley. “Classroom safety remains a priority of Commissioner Julie Mix McPeak and our team, and we encourage our partners to create comprehensive safety plans that fit the needs of individual schools.”
Fire safety measures have helped save lives in Tennessee schools. While Tennessee fire departments responded to an estimated annual average of 51 fires in educational facilities from 2013-17, no fire fatalities have been reported at a Tennessee school. The last school fire fatality in the U.S. occurred in 1958.
Tullahoma City Schools, like every school district in our state, qualifies for added school safety funds for the 2018-19 school year as a result of legislation proposed by Governor Haslam. Director of Tullahoma Schools Dr Dan Lawson told WMSR News that they have sent a team to be trained in a survey of our facilities and to provide recommendations for safety enhancements. During the next few months, Lawson expects them to complete the safety self-study, to submit the same to the
Tennessee Department of Education and to fund needed improvements.”
“The SFMO modification of requirements on door blocks designed to be deployed during events requiring the securing of doors is a welcomed change Tullahoma schools most certainly will modify both plans to enhance school security as well as the actual physical security of students and employees. Lawson added, “Most certainly we welcome the change and have every plan to incorporate the changes in our safety survey.”
DOORS AND ESCAPE ROUTES
Keep exit path widths open at least 48 inches. Exit doors must be easily recognized and shouldn’t be hidden with paint or decorations. Fire-rated doors cannot be propped open, locked, or chained and must have latches. SFMO inspectors will enforce the provisions of the adopted codes based on their observations during an inspection. If a classroom door or means of egress is obstructed at the time of inspection, the inspector will require the obstruction to be removed immediately. Any alterations to classroom doors must comply with adopted codes.
SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY
Extension cords should not be used as permanent wiring, so schools should always consider available power sources when planning the classroom configuration. Be sure any power strip is UL-listed as an overload protector and take care to always use appropriate wattage bulbs in any lamp.
FIRE AND SAFETY DRILLS
Fire drills and safety drills are one of the most important safety measures a school can take and are also recommended for homes. Two fire drills are required within the first 30 full school days and at least one once every 30 school days. Practice makes perfect! This will reduce panic and injuries.
FIRE ALARMS
Fire alarms are an indispensable tool of fire safety and provide early detection of potential fire and notification to evacuate. While a bad actor may use fire alarms to create confusion, disabling fire alarms, discontinuing fire drills or altering our response to fire alarms in buildings is not a safe solution. It’s important to note that the Code allows for the elimination of manual fire alarm boxes with certain provisions.
EXIT SIGNS AND EMERGENCY LIGHTS
Exit and emergency lights must be in good working order at all times. You can assist your school in reporting any non-functioning exit signs or emergency lights, or those in disrepair, to the appropriate school official. Nothing should obstruct visibility of these signs.
SPRINKLERS
Items should never hang from, or obscure, any fire sprinkler heads. Fire sprinklers should not show signs of corrosion or leakage; and if they do, it should be reported to the appropriate school authority.
FLAMMABLE ARTWORK AND TEACHING MATERIAL
Fire codes limit the amount of wall space that can be covered to 20 percent or 50 percent when the building has fire sprinklers. Fabrics or other flammable materials used as drapes also present fire risks. Such materials may be treated with a spray-on flame retardant. Remember, not all flame-retardant applications last forever and must be reapplied periodically.
Questions? Contact the State Fire Marshal’s Office at 615-741-6246 or online at www.tn.gov/fire.

We have an update on the four paramedics that were working at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival that were taken to a hospital Monday morning with possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
All 4 people were airlifted once arriving at Unity Medical Center in Manchester. There were two males ages 40 and 43 and two females both age 26. All are from Tennessee. Three of the victims were airlifted to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga. One was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville. One of the four has been released and the other three are expected to be released later this week.
Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Brandon Reed said they were using a generator to power the RV they were staying in.
One of the paramedics woke up and was able to get help.

The 17th Annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival ended late Sunday night and Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves says his department wrote 181 citations during Bonnaroo 2018. The number was down from the over 200 written in 2017.
Manchester Police Chief Mark Yother says his department wrote around 200 citations, with most of them being written for traffic violations.
Tennessee Highway Patrol numbers are always released at a later date.
Overall there were 45 Bonnaroo related arrests by all law enforcement combined, which was up slightly from 42 in 2017.
Most of the arrests and citations were drug and alcohol related.

Three McMinnville men were arrested and charged in connection with an armed robbery at America’s Best Value Inn late Saturday night. Arrested were 29 year-old Robert Ghrist, 22 year-old Lucas Collins and 25 year-old Mathew Collins.
The victim told police the suspects had entered his room armed with a gun and demanded money. The victim reported that several hundred dollars was taken in the robbery.
The three are charged with aggravated robbery and are being housed at the Warren County Jail under a $100,000 bond each.

The Coffee County Sherriff’s Department has confirmed that four paramedics that working at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival were taken to a hospital Monday morning with possible carbon monoxide poisoning.
Investigator Brandon Reed said they were using a generator to power the RV they were staying in.
One of the paramedics woke up and was able to get help.
Three of the paramedics were airlifted to hospitals and the fourth was taken by to an area hospital by Coffee County EMS.
Their names are not being released at this time and their conditions will not be known until a later time.
With these four people being transported, the unofficial numbers indicate there were 32 Bonnaroo attendees transported from the festival by ground ambulance and 5 by air during the 4-day festival.

Director of Coffee County Schools Dr Ladonna McFall announced on Monday afternoon that Paul Parsley has been named as the Principal of Coffee County Central High School. Dr. McFall said, “Mr. Parsley brings a lot of experience to the position and we are very glad to have him join the ranks as Principal.” Parsley has been a longtime employee in the system, serving in many capacities.
Parsley replaces current Principal Dr. Joey Vaughn who assumes the role of Deputy Director of Schools July 1st.
Parsley thanked Dr McFall, in a statement to WMSR, for having the confidence in him to do the job and said it is an honor to take the job as principal. Parsley added that he is excited and is looking forward to implementing his own ideas.

On Sunday (June 10th, 2018) a man was at Bonnaroo on Bushy Branch Road when Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Investigator Brandon Reed says he saw in plain sight a bag of marijuana in a vehicle lying on top of the middle console. Deputies searched the vehicle and allegedly found approximately 10 oz of mushrooms packed in 60 bags, 7 bottles of acid, approximately 2 oz Ketamine in 56 bags, 21 grams of marijuana in 7 bags, 1,100 hits of acid, approximately 9 marijuana gummies, 1 bag of marijuana wax, ½ gram in 2 bags of Molly, 3 Xanax pills and 24 unknown white pills. Also, allegedly found were 2 sets of digital scales, 2 marijuana pipes and baggies along with $7,698 in cash in various denominations.
Reed charged Dalton James Subbert age 23 Faurmont, MN and Michale John Feehan age 26 of Okabena, MN with 4 counts of manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of controlled substance, schedule I drug violations, schedule VI drug violations and unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities.
Bonds were set at $39,500 each for Subbert and Feehan. They are set to appear in Coffee County General Sessions on August 24, 2018.