Category: News

Brandon Horn was in court this week in Coffee County, now he has had his preliminary hearing date set for April 12. Horn appeared in Coffee County General Sessions Court Monday March 19.
You may remember that Horn, 26, of Jackson Circle Tullahoma was charged February 15 with four counts of possession of weapons of mass destruction and four counts of illegal possession of a weapon.
Tullahoma Police allege that they found four pipe bombs inside of his residence.
Horn had been in Franklin County to testify in a friend’s case, so deputies found him and transported him to Tullahoma after the devices were found. But when the Franklin County deputies searched his vehicle they allegedly found weapons in the vehicle. Since he is a convicted felon, he was charged with being in possession of the firearms in Franklin County before being arrested for the charges by Tullahoma Police.
Horn is still being housed at the Coffee County Jail under an $800,000 bond.
Coffee County District Attorney’s office is prosecuting the case and Horn is represented by Coffee County Public Defender Margo Kilgore.

The Manchester Times and Thunder Radio, will be hosting a political forum from 5:30-8:45 p.m. Tuesday, April 3 at The Church at 117, located at 117 East Fort St, Manchester.
Candidates for all county-wide races have been invited. Many candidates will be given four minutes of open microphone time to state their platform, qualifications and answer questions.
However, there will be two separate hour-long debates for county mayor candidates and sheriff candidates. Candidates for county mayor will be on stage from 6:05-7:05 p.m. for a debate-style format. Then, from 7:45-8:45 p.m., candidates for county sheriff will be on stage for a debate-style format. The event will be moderated by Times publisher Josh Peterson along with Lucky Knott and Rob Clutter of Thunder Radio. The event will be broadcast live by Thunder Radio, AM-1320, FM-107.9.
The event is free to the candidates and is free to the public. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Anyone who wishes to submit a question for consideration for the mayoral or sheriff’s debates can do so by emailing to jpeterson@manchestertimes.com.
5:30-5:34 – Benton Bartlett, candidate for Road Superintendent (incumbent)
5:35-5:39 – Ronnie Dale Watts, candidate for Road Superintendent
5:40-5:44 – John Marchesoni, candidate for Trustee (incumbent)
5:45-5:49 – Robin Dunn, candidate for Trustee
5:50-5:54 – Heather Duncan, candidate for Circuit Court Clerk (incumbent)
5:55-5:59 – Natalie Brooke Dotson, candidate for Circuit Court Clerk
6:05-7:05 – Debate # 1 – County Mayor Candidates: Gary Cordell (incumbent), Mark Allen, Tim Brown, David Pennington, John Constantine
7:15-7:19 – Donna Toney, candidate for Register of Deeds (incumbent)
7:20-7:24 – Chris Elam, candidate for Register of Deeds
7:25-7:29 – Teresa Wright, candidate for Register of Deeds
7:30-7:34 – Teresa McFadden, candidate for County Clerk (incumbent)
7:35-7:39 – Jenna Amacher, candidate for County Clerk
7:45-8:45 – Debate #2 – Sheriff Candidates: Steve Graves (incumbent), Chad Partin, Larry Swan, Harry Conway

The Shelbyville Police Department has made an arrest in the recent rash of church burglaries. The break came Tuesday after police responded to a burglary at Victory Celebration Revival Church. Responding officers noticed footprints and tracks from what appeared to be a small dolly or cart leading from the rear of the church. The tracks were followed to a residence on Woodbury Street. Responding investigators also captured images of the suspects from the church’s video surveillance system.
At the residence on Woodbury Street Investigators made contact with Colby and Tammie Donaldson who denied the investigators entrance into the home. After a search warrant was obtained and executed at the residence police discovered thousands of dollars’ worth of property unlawfully taken from Victory Celebration Revival Church. While within the residence investigators also observed items taken from additional church burglaries and a burglary of a residence in Shelbyville. A subsequent search warrant was obtained, and the stolen property was collected.
As a result of the investigation the Donaldson’s have been charged with burglary and theft of property for their involvement in the offenses at Victory Celebration Revival Church, First Church of the Nazarene, Sevier Street Baptist Church, and Scott United Methodist Church. The couple has also been charged with aggravated burglary and theft of property for their involvement in a residential burglary. Both are in the Bedford County jail on a $170,000 bond. The investigation continues as to their possible involvement in other offenses.

A vote on medical marijuana in Tennessee set for Wednesday was postponed.
The sudden decision to roll the bill came in the midst of testimony from state health officials.
The sponsor of the bill is Tennessee State Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), maintains the bill will pass.
The bill allows for the use of medical cannabis oil in pill or ointment form for various conditions, such as cancer, Parkinson’s or PTSD.

The State Highway Resurfacing Project on Hwy 41 that began Sunday is continuing in Manchester. The traffic lights through the city have been placed into manual mode, which means the wait time will be a little longer.
The Rogers Group who is doing the work on the roadway is conducting the milling process before the paving work begins. The hours of work will be 7pm to 6am, Sunday through Thursday.
Please drive carefully and allow yourself extra time during this project.
Also, in road work news, Tennessee Department of Transportation crews are busy this time of year patching potholes on state highways and bridges. Winter weather extremes always lead to an increase in potholes in Tennessee.
State officials are asking drivers to work with the Department of Transportation by moving over and slowing down when you see TDOT crews working on the highways and bridges. State law requires motorists to move over or slow down for emergency, maintenance and construction vehicles or face a fine of up to $500.
To report a pothole, visit the TDOT website.

McMinnville Police are investigating a shooting that left an 18-year-old man dead. Joshua Dell Smith of McMinnville was reportedly shot by his roommate over the weekend. Witnesses told police that 19-year-old Dakota Basham was cleaning a pistol when it discharged and struck Smith. It happened late Friday night at Bybee Woods.
Police say several witnesses have said the shooting was accidental. Basham has not been charged at this time as the investigation continues.

Covering more than 650,000 acres, the Cherokee National Forest is one of Tennessee’s many crown jewels for outdoor recreation and scenic vistas. But conservation groups are concerned about the treatment of part of that land.
The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), on behalf of the Sierra Club Tennessee Chapter and Tennessee Heartwood, filed a lawsuit in federal court late last week, alleging the U.S. Forest Service is illegally endangering Tumbling Creek near the Ocoee River.
Sam Evans, SELC national forests and parks program leader, said people should be concerned about a decision to sell 500 acres near Tumbling Creek to commercial logging companies.
“About a dozen miles away, the Forest Service is still trying to clean up its last mess from a five-year-old logging project there,” Evans explained. “Heavy logging on steep slopes caused massive erosion. The Forest Service has spent already a tremendous amount of money but can’t get the forests to grow back.”
Evans and others predict the erosion and water pollution that would result would damage the forest and water quality. The groups have been expressing their concerns to the feds for four years, and claim they have gone unheard.
Supporters of logging say it is necessary to clear the forest of trees for regrowth, and would not have an impact on the health of the forest.
Evans added the groups are surprised at the lack of response from the Forest Service, in the midst of many examples of partnerships between environmental groups and the federal government.
“We don’t take likely filing a lawsuit against an agency that we count on as a partner, in some cases,” he said, “but here, they just haven’t responded to our many, many attempts to get them to do the right thing voluntarily.”
The plaintiffs allege the Forest Service is illegally endangering the soil, forests and waters of the Cherokee National Forest and want the agency to explain how it will prevent damage similar to other projects, if this one is allowed to proceed.

Gov. Bill Haslam has proposed $30.2 million to improve school safety.
In a news release Tuesday, Haslam’s office says the money includes $25 million in nonrecurring and $5.2 million in recurring school safety grants.
Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Larry Martin told a legislative panel that the money would be spread among mental health, law enforcement safety and education.
The school safety money would come through Haslam’s amendment for the 2018-2019 proposed budget.
The $83.8 million amendment also includes $3 million in nonrecurring money to help school districts buy school buses with seatbelts.

The trial of former Coffee County Central High School Red Raider baseball coach Bradley Newton Weir was set to begin on Monday (March 19, 2018) at the Coffee County Courthouse in downtown Manchester.
The 47-year-old Weir is accused of having sex with a 15-year-old student in 2015.
The trial never started on Monday because Weir’s attorney reported to District Attorney General Craig Northcott that Weir was unable to be in court because Weir had suffered a gunshot wound to his leg on Sunday night at his home in East Ridge, TN.

According to WTVC-TV in Chattanooga, Weir told East Ridge investigators he was in his backyard around 9pm CT with his dog when he noticed a dark-colored 4-door sedan drive past his house, circle the block, drive by his house again and stop at the entrance to his driveway.
According to police in East Ridge, Weir believes he saw two people in the car. Weir said something to the effect of, “Can I help you?” and was promptly shot in the leg.
The only description Weir gave police was the people in the car were wearing dark colored long sleeve clothing, possibly hoodies.
He was transported by ambulance to Erlanger. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening.
Weir worked for the Coffee County Raider Academy as a teacher and was head baseball coach at the high school in 2015. This was his first year with the school system after being hired as baseball coach in late May of 2014. He was arrested by Manchester Police on February 3, 2015 for statutory rape by an authority figure.
He was indicted by the Coffee County grand jury on one count of statutory rape by an authority figure, one count of aggravated rape, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, seven counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
Northcott told WMSR News that at this time the trial is set to begin in late May.

Weir also faced trouble in May of 2015 when he was arrested on charges that were the result of an alleged incident that occurred last year at the Bluegill Grill on Tims Ford Lake. Weir’s domestic violence charge was dismissed after a conference with the victims.
Weir has been free since his arrest on a bond of $100,000.