Category: News

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department will be holding a meeting concerning church security on March 24, 2018 at Noon. The meeting is open to anyone who wants to attend and will take place in the Community Room at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza.
Discussion will include church security and how to make your congregation safe and secure in a house of worship. The meeting will allow people ask questions and help the sheriff’s department gather information to help area churches. The sheriff’s department looks forward to assisting churches and welcome any input citizens might have to help keep everyone safer.
There will also be an opportunity to schedule a time to visit your church to look at individual needs.
If you have any questions about the meeting contact Investigator Kelly Smith at 931-570-4425 or ksmith@coffeecountytn.org.

Amanda Kasey Anderson a Grundy County school board member has been arrested for the third time in nine months.
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Department confirms that Amanda Kasey Anderson was arrested Friday for failure to appear.
In November of 2017, Anderson was arrested after she sent a text message that caused a lock-down for the entire Grundy County school system.
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office completed a search of all the schools at that time of the text messages and determined there was no credible threat to the schools.
In June of 2017 she was arrested for public intoxication, indecent exposure, false reports/statements and resisting arrest.
Anderson’s next court date is set for April 3.

Three people were killed in a two-vehicle crash Sunday morning along Highway 96 in Cannon County.
The fatal crash was reported around 4:15 a.m. at Cooper Hollow Road.
According to Tennessee Highway Patrol, a car driven by Joshua Harris, 35, of Murfreesboro was traveling east on Highway 96 when his car crossed over the center line and collided with another car driven by Taylor Burrow, 25, of Murfreesboro.
The two drivers were killed along with Dakota Franks, 26, of Savannah, a passenger in Burrow’s car.
The THP crash report said alcohol could have played a role. (WKRN-TV)

Black vulture attacks on livestock are a serious and costly issue for many Tennessee producers who experience losses of livestock to black vultures. Unfortunately, producers are limited in legal methods of removing problem black vultures since they are protected under the federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Previously, the only legal option to protect livestock from depredation was to apply annually for an individual black vulture depredation permit at the cost of $100.
The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation (TFBF) Board of Directors has obtained a statewide depredation permit for black vultures from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). TFBF has worked with both state and federal elected and agency personnel to be able to issue sub-permits to livestock producers who are experiencing problems with black vultures.
This permit provides Farm Bureau members who are livestock producers an opportunity to apply for a livestock protection depredation sub-permit allowing legal “takes” of black vultures that are attacking livestock. The statewide permit will be administered by TFBF. There is no cost to TFBF members who apply for a TFBF livestock protection depredation sub-permit.
Sub-permits will be issued to livestock operations only. Applications will be scored based on the information provided regarding past depredation history, proximity of black vulture roosts, number of livestock on the farm and the general livestock density of the area based on the most recent Tennessee Agricultural Statistic Service.
Applicants must agree to follow all rules and regulations required by USFWS in the TFBF statewide permit, including:
•Adoption of non-lethal measures to deter black vulture depredation,
•Use of shotguns and “non-toxic” shot in the lethal “taking” of depredating black vultures,
•Report “takes” to TFBF quarterly,
•Use of black vulture carcasses as effigies in areas where depredation is occurring.
Producers approved for sub-permits will receive a signed approval and sub-permit with an allotted number of black vulture “takes,” a copy of the TFBF statewide depredation permit, guidelines for removal methods and a black vulture dispatch log.
Producers experiencing extreme depredation and large black vulture roosts are encouraged to apply for an individual black vulture depredation permit with USFWS. Individual permits allow producers to be approved for a larger number of “takes” by USFWS.
Sub-permit applications are available at tnfarmbureau.org/blackvultures (Black Vulture sub-permit 2018) or at any county Farm Bureau office in Tennessee. Applications should be returned to Tennessee Farm Bureau, Attn: Debbie Briggs, P.O. Box 313, Columbia, Tennessee 38402.

James Gregory is known as the Funniest Man in America and he’s coming to the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center this Friday (March 16, 2018) at 7:30pm.
He is not your typical comedian. His material is G-rated, and if he veers into the political realm at all, it is in a non-offensive way. He doesn’t bombard the audience with one-liners but is more of a storyteller.
He has never been a TV or movie star, but he does make radio
appearances like the Rick and Bubba show heard on WMSR.
Don’t miss this opportunity to see the Funniest Man in America, James Gregory. For tickets call 931-723-8283 or funniestman.com.

A Manchester man and woman were arrested March 6 at a residence in Manchester on drug charges.
Lara Michelle Hobbs, 30 and Jason Michael Alderman, 36, both of Manchester were found at a residence on Woodlawn Drive in Manchester. Officers had received a call to the residence about a theft.
Deputy Eric Clem and Sheriff’s Investigator James Sherrill were given permission by the owner of the residence to search and they found methamphetamines, Heroin, marijuana, Hydrocodone pills, Xanax, Percocet pills and two glass pipes. According to warrants, the officers also found a straw with drug residue and several bags with residue.
Hobbs and Alderman were charged with manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. Their bonds were set at $41,000 and they will appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court April 10.

Friday evening Pauline Goodrich a 73-year-old Estill Spring woman was apparently walking across Highway 41-A on foot near the Montana Drive-In when she was struck by a vehicle and died from her injuries.
According to an Estill Springs Police report, Goodrich had attempted to drive her 1985 Chevrolet Monte Carlo at about 6:15 p.m. into what she apparently thought was the entrance to the drive-in, but it was the exit instead. She then backed out onto Highway 41-A so she could re-position her car and access the theater’s entrance.
While Goodrich’s vehicle was on the road, a minivan driven by a female from Winchester was heading south on Highway 41-A and attempted to swerve to miss the Goodrich car, but they collided.
Goodrich got out of her vehicle and was walking across the road to check on the minivan’s occupants when she was hit by an oncoming Nissan Pathfinder driven female from Manchester.
The road was closed for about 3 hours and no other injuries were reported.

Manchester Police has received information regarding a local scam. The police department has been advised that citizens are receiving emails from an unknown person that appears to be associated with their church and are requesting their members to send money via a wire transfer. This is a scam.
If you have any questions or concerns you can contact the Manchester Police Department at 931-728-2099.

In a joint operation with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department the Criminal Investigations Division of the Shelbyville Police Department arrested Christopher S. Smith, age 51, for the offense of Criminal Attempt to Commit Aggravated Statutory Rape and Solicitation of a Minor.
Smith was arrested after posting an ad on Craigslist looking to engage in unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor he believed to be 14 years of age. After messaging with who he believed was the minor for three days, Smith solicited the minor to meet for the purpose to engage in sex. Smith drove to a location and met with an undercover officer of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Department where he was arrested without incident.
Smith was booked in at the Bedford County Jail under a $15,000 bond.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Labor and Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips have announced that unemployment across Tennessee remained low at the start of 2018. Data released revealed the preliminary statewide unemployment rate for January 2018 was 3.3 percent, which matched the revised rate for December 2017.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in January was 1.2 percent lower than the rate for the same month one year ago and has remained 3.3 percent since September 2017. Tennessee’s statewide unemployment rate has been below 4 percent since May 2017.
“More than 3.1 million Tennesseans are currently working, but the statistics show there are another 100,000 citizens who are looking for work,” according to Phillips. “The state and its employment partners are working each and every day to help anyone who wants to work, find a job.”
Tennessee has a network of 22 comprehensive and 53 affiliated American Job Centers across the state, including one in Tullahoma.