Category: News

On Monday night, representatives from Unity Medical Center were happy to attend the Lady Raider’s High School Softball game against Cascade to present the team with a potentially life-saving AED.
An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a lightweight, portable device that delivers an electric shock through the chest to the heart. The shock can potentially stop an irregular heartbeat and allow a normal rhythm to resume following sudden cardiac arrest.
Cardiac arrest – an electrical malfunction in the heart that causes an irregular heartbeat and disrupts the flow of blood to the brain, lungs, and other organs – is the leading cause of death. Each year, more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests occur in the United States.
When a person has a cardiac arrest, survival depends on immediately receiving CPR from someone nearby. According to the American Heart Association, about 90 percent of people who suffer out-of- hospital cardiac arrests die. CPR, especially if performed immediately, can double or triple a cardiac arrest victim’s chance of survival.
AED’s make it possible for more people to respond to a medical emergency where defibrillation is required. Because AED’s are portable, they can be used by nonmedical people. AED’s give the user step-by-step instructions, both on screen and over a speaker, making it easier to use.
“Unity Medical Center is proud to provide the Lady Raider Softball team with their very own AED. In the event that defibrillation is needed, whether it be on the field, or in the stands, we want to give everyone the best chance for survival”, says Ashley Melton, Director of Marketing and Community Relations at UMC.
Unity Medical Center is located at 481 Interstate Drive in Manchester and can be reached by telephone at 931-728-6354.

A woman who was pulled from a burning house Monday in McMinnville has died from her injuries. The victim was identified as 62 year-old Nancy Jean Melton. She was on the second floor of the house and had apparently been overcome by the smoke. Firefighters were able to enter the second floor through a window and found the victim.
EMS workers performed CPR on Melton, who was later airlifted to Vanderbilt Hospital, where she died later that day.
The cause of the fire is still unknown.

Tennessee is the most biologically diverse inland state in the country, but a new report released by the National Wildlife Federation finds that as many as one-third of America’s wildlife species are at increased risk of extinction.
According to “Reversing America’s Wildlife Crisis: Securing the Future of Our Fish and Wildlife,” 150 U.S. species are listed as extinct, and nearly 500 species have not been seen in recent decades and could possibly be extinct. The report comes as Congress is considering a bill that would allocate funds already being collected from oil and gas extraction to protect vulnerable or declining species.
Mike Butler, CEO of the Tennessee Wildlife Federation, said much is at stake in the state.
“There are 1,400 species that we need to be paying attention to, that really need good monitoring, good management, to ensure that they never reach a point where we have to think about putting them on the list for the Endangered Species Act,” Butler said.
Species at risk in the Volunteer State include the northern bobwhite quail, the Chickamauga crayfish, the Virginia big-eared bat and the red squirrel.
The Recovering America’s Wildlife Act is currently in the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee. If passed, it would redirect $1.3 billion of existing revenue annually to state-led wildlife conservation efforts.
Bruce Stein, chief scientist and associate vice president at the National Wildlife Federation, said as development has spread to even the most rural areas, natural wildlife is running out of room to sustain and survive.
“Plants and animals, wildlife need habitat in order to survive,” Stein said. “And as we have converted much of the natural habitat across America to other uses, that sort of put a squeeze on many of the species – particularly those that require very specialized habitats.”
Butler said funding preventive measures would be less costly for the country and the wildlife in the long run.
“When you put things on that list, you get into a lot of expense. You do preventative management,” Butler said. “If you are proactive, it’s a lot less expensive and you end up being able to take care of the habitats that provide this diversity for both non-game and game species.”
Currently, sportsmen fees fund 80 percent of the state’s wildlife agencies. If the bill passes, it would provide additional funding to broaden the capabilities of agencies to restore and protect wildlife and their habitats.
Information on the state’s wildlife action plan is available at TNSWAP.com.

The Manchester Times and Thunder Radio hosted a political forum on Tuesday evening at “The Church at 117.” Candidates for Road Superintendent, Trustee, Circuit Court Clerk, County Mayor, Register of Deeds, County Clerk and Sheriff answered questions during the event. If you missed the forum or would like to re-listen, go to WMSRradio.com and click on the downloads page. Video from the forum will also be available.
Early Voting runs April 11–26 and Election Day is May 1. In Manchester you can early vote at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza 1329 McArthur Street, Suite 6, Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30PM and Saturday 8:30-12:00 PM and in Tullahoma at the C.D. Stamps building at 810 South Jackson St, 9AM-4:30PM and Saturday 9AM-Noon.

 

COFFEE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
1343 McArthur Street
Manchester, Tennessee 37355
Telephone: 931-723-5150 Facsimile: 931-723-8285
TO: All Board Members
FROM: Brett Henley, Chairman
SUBJECT: Regular Board Meeting
DATE: April 9, 2018
TIME: 4:30 p.m.
PLACE: Coffee County Board of Education
Pledge of Allegiance
Recognition: ➤FBLA State Winners/National Qualifiers
➤Perfect Attendance Winners
Presentation: ➤Read To Be Ready
AGENDA
I. Call to Order
II. Call for Intent
III. General Consent Items
(*If no objections, the following items will be considered passed when the agenda is passed.)
1. Minutes: March 12, 2018
2. Overnight Field Trip: CHS Girls Bball Camp – Reelfoot Lake, TN – June 13-15, 2018
3. Use of Facilities: CCRA Track – Stones River Track Club – Multiple dates
IV. Agenda Items
1. School Resource Officer (SRO) Resolution. School Board Chairman Brett Henley explains the resolution.
2. Textbook Adoption Recommendations
3. Budget Update
V. Items for Discussion
VI. Committee Reports
VII. Student Ambassador Report
VIII. Director’s Report

On Monday, April 2, 2018 Coffee County Emergency Management and Manchester Fire & Rescue responded to Top Stop Gas Station in Manchester to a reported diesel spill.
Upon arrival it was discovered a 100-gallon tractor trailer saddle tank had busted and was leaking substantial amounts of diesel.
Both departments worked quickly to stop the leak and contain the runoff.
Coffee County Emergency Management Director Allen Lendley and Manchester Fire Chief George Chambers commended both departments for their teamwork as they brought the leak under control.

On Monday April 2nd while attempting to initiate a traffic stop on Oak Grove Road, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel engaged in a vehicle pursuit. The pursuit proceeded through the Oak Grove area and ended on Wilders Chapel Road.

The suspect, Robert R. Gipson of 93 Boyd Road, Hillsboro TN. was taken into custody and transported to the Franklin County jail where was charged with the following: Felony Evading, Driving on Revoked/Suspended License, Promotion of Methamphetamine Manufacture, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of Methamphetamine, Simple Possession of Schedule VI (marijuana). Gipson is currently being held on a $50,000 bond and has an initial court date of Monday May 21st at 8:00am in Franklin County General Sessions Court.

Hundreds of health professionals, including nurses and EMTs, lose their licenses to practice every year in Tennessee because they can’t pay their student loans.
A new law though would change that.
State Senator Lee Harris from Memphis co-sponsored a bipartisan bill with State Representative Ron Lollar.
It says the state can’t suspend someone’s license if they’re behind on their student loans due to medical reasons.
The bill also says the state doesn’t have to suspend someone’s license if they’re behind on their student loans. As the law stands now, the state must.
The bill is currently in the House.

The #ThumbsDownTN campaign is taking place this month, which is Distracted Driving Awareness Month.
The Tennessee Highway Safety Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol are hoping to decrease traffic fatalities statewide. This week, they are conducting their third Distracted Driving Enforcement Bus Tour. Troopers are located inside large tan buses marked with the THP logo. From inside those buses, troopers will be able to see inside cars to check whether drivers are texting behind the wheel. They then radio other troopers in unmarked cars who make a traffic stop and issue a ticket.
Other law enforcement agencies are also spreading the word about distracted driving on social media.