Category: News

Two Morrison residents were injured Monday afternoon in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Highway 287 and Beacon Light Road near Morrison.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 78 year old Arry Youngblood was driving a 1997 Toyota Tacoma Eastbound on Beacon Lights Road when he went through a stop sign and collided with a 1997 Nissan Pathfinder, driven by 75 year old Jacob Sippola, which was northbound on Highway 287.
Sippola was trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated by rescue workers. Both men were airlifted to hospitals for treatment of their injuries.

Last week Mark Poppen, of Bluebird Lane, in Monteagle led police on a multi-county pursuit after allegedly stealing a Tracy City police car.
The incident began when a female called 911 after she said she had laid down to go to sleep and heard a noise, walked into her living room and found a man standing there. She confronted him, and he ran through the house and ended in her bedroom area. He allegedly told the woman that everything was okay, and he was on the phone with the police. He also told the woman someone had been shot.
At this time, Tracy City Police Officer Paul Sweeton arrived on the scene and entered the home, with expectations of a home invasion and/or shooting victim. While making his way through the home the officer heard a noise and that’s when Poppen apparently went out a window. Officer Sweeton went outside and that’s when he realized the man had stolen his patrol car.
A be on the lookout call was given to surrounding counties and states.
Soon after the car was seen in Monteagle, the suspect driving the stolen car crashed three Marion County Sheriff’s cars. The pursuit continued with help from Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Kimball Police, along with the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Poppen finally stopped in Whiteside community in Marion County, and was taken into custody.
Tracy City Police charged Poppen with aggravated burglary, possession of a prohibited weapon, and theft over $20,000. He also faces multiple charges in Marion County.

Spring is here and that means many people are getting more active outdoors. It’s also the time when mosquitoes become active in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health urges Tennesseans to take preventive steps to avoid mosquito-borne diseases like Zika virus, West Nile virus and Rocky Mountain spotted fever.
Avoid mosquito bites:
• Use insect repellents such as DEET, Picaridin, oil of lemon eucalyptus or IR3535 on your skin, following all label recommendations for use. Pay particular attention to recommendations for use on children, and never apply any of these products around the mouth or eyes at any age. Consult your health care provider if you have questions.
• Reduce mosquito populations around your home. Mosquitoes can breed in any place that holds water, including clogged drains or gutters, watering cans and empty bottles.
• Use products containing permethrin, a highly effective insecticide, for clothing, shoes, bed nets and camping gear. Permethrin-treated clothing repels and kills ticks, mosquitoes and other pests and retains this effect after repeated laundering. Some products are available pretreated with permethrin. As a caution, however, it is not to be used directly on skin.
• Wear ‘long, loose and light’ clothing to help prevent bites through fabric. It’s best to wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. Tuck your pants into your socks and your shirt into your pants. Light-colored clothes are less attractive to many insects and may allow you to spot them more easily.
For most people a mosquito bite will only cause an itchy spot on the skin or possibly mild, flu-like symptoms, but some of us can have a serious illness with major consequences like severe pain, long-term or permanent nerve or brain damage and even death. You just can’t tell, and there are not vaccines or cures for some of these illnesses, so we all have to be careful and aware.

On Sunday night (May 6th, 2018) Tullahoma Police officers responded to 904 East Moore Street in Tullahoma for a disturbance call. Officers arrived and made contact with several victims who stated that Terry Lynn Ashley age 45 of Flowertown Rd, Tullahoma had been asked to leave the residence due to him being impaired and causing a disturbance. One victim stated that Ashley then attempted to assault his teenage brother by chasing him and then threating to hit him. Allegedly the teenager attempted to step between the man and his grandfather and Ashley allegedly struck the teen. Officer Brooke Earhart stated on the arrest warrant that the teens father then got involved in the altercation with a tool. Ashley is then accused of pulling a knife and allegedly threatening to kill the victim who had grabbed the tool.
Officers placed Ashley under arrest and transported him to the Coffee County jail.
Officer Earhart states that she had to stop numerous times during the trip to the jail due to Ashley allegedly attempting to kick out the back window of her patrol car and after being restrained he began to hit the window trying to get at the officer. He is also accused of stating that when he got a hold of the officer he was going to make her pay.
Ashley was charged with public intoxication, assault, aggravated assault and two counts of domestic assault. His bond, after a previous bond was revoked, now stands at $30,600. He is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court on Wednesday.

On Sunday, (May 6th, 2018) Manchester Police Officer Andy Neesmith responded after an accident took place on Oakdale Street in Manchester. Jerimiah Wayne Blevins age 20 of Long Island Road, South Pittsburg allegedly drove around the victim by going onto the sidewalk and then slamming on his brakes causing the victim to strike the rear of his vehicle. The victim told police victim that Blevins got out of his vehicle allegedly claiming that he had a firearm and threating the victim’s life. Blevins is accused of leaving the scene and was later arrested.
Blevins was charged with leaving the scene of an accident, failure to report an accident, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault. His
bond at $15,500 and he will report to court on June 12, 2018.

With the midterm primaries about to go into full swing, the Department of Homeland Security is playing catch-up in helping to ensure that state election systems are secure against cybertampering by the Russians or others bent on mischief.
The department says it has completed on-site risk assessments of election systems in just nine of 17 states that have formally requested them so far. It has pledged to do so by November for every state that asks.
The security reviews are designed to identify any weaknesses that could be exploited by hackers.
Homeland Security officials attribute the backlog to increased demand for such reviews since the 2016 presidential election. They say they are devoting more money and shifting resources to reduce wait times.
The security reviews typically take two weeks each.

Tennessee gas prices averaged $2.59 on Sunday. The state average is the same as last week, and 22 cents less than the national average. However, Tennessee motorists are paying 47 cents more per gallon than this time last year.
About half the price of what you pay at the pump is determined by the price of oil. Last week, crude oil rose more than a dollar, which usually equates to a 2.5 cent increase at the pump.
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said preliminary projections had gasoline averaging around $2.75 this summer. The national average was $2.81 on Sunday.
The low price in Coffee County as of Monday afternoon was in Manchester at $2.49 per gallon and in Tullahoma the low price was $2.57.