Category: News

The Motlow College Foundation will host the 26th annual Motlow Gala on Saturday, March 31, at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center. Festivities will begin with a champagne social hour at 5:30 p.m. during which guests can peruse donated silent auction items, and dinner will be served at 6:30. The Foundation will also host a Gala Preview Cocktail party on Saturday, March 17.
Proceeds from both events help the Motlow College Foundation provide financial assistance to Motlow students.
This year’s gala features a masquerade theme, according to Lane Yoder, executive director of the Foundation. “The Motlow Gala has not had a theme since 2012, and we thought it was time to bring the idea back,” said Yoder. “The inspiration for the night is black tie, long gowns, cocktail attire, masks, feathers, boas, glitz, glamour and shimmer.”
Dancing will begin at 8:00 p.m. and follows a brief program and fast-paced auction.
Important to note is that Student Ambassadors from Motlow will be participating in both the Motlow Gala as well as the Preview Party, allowing guests to have an opportunity to interact with students.
Tickets to the Gala Preview Party are $75 per person, and tickets to the Motlow Gala are $125 per person. The deadline to purchase both is Wednesday, March 14. Tickets can be purchased online at mscc.edu/gala2018 or by calling the Motlow College Foundation office at 931-393-1543.

Murals in a Tennessee school gym have been modified to remove Confederate flags after school district officials received complaints.
The complaints began in mid-December by Tullahoma resident and political activist David Clark.
According to media reports, a district administrator gave the maintenance department orders to modify the murals at South Cumberland Elementary School in Crossville.
One mural was a Confederate battle flag; South Cumberland’s mascot is a “rebel.” Jane Franklin, assistant to the district’s director, says that flag was painted over and may ultimately be repainted as a Tennessee state flag rather than a Confederate flag.
A second mural depicted a man carrying a Confederate flag standing between an eagle and a tree. A Caucasian-toned figure in a blue outfit was hanging by his jersey from a tree branch.
Franklin says the branch from which the figure is hanging has been painted over.
On social media Friday afternoon, the comments were overwhelmingly in favor of leaving the mural as-is. Several posts on Facebook questioned Clark for not respecting Southern heritage.
The complainant, David Clark, is a democrat running for Coffee County Commission, District 18. He will face Republican Barbara Buckner in the August 2, general election.

On Friday February 23rd at approximately 3:09am Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel initiated a traffic stop in the Jump Off area of Franklin County. The traffic stop led to a foot pursuit of the driver later identified as Todd D. Weaver 3375 Jump Off Road, Sewanee, TN. Once in custody, a search of the suspect’s vehicle and person yielded 128 grams of a substance believed to be marijuana along with digital scales, in addition authorities also recovered approximately 20.3 grams of a substance believed to be methamphetamine and $5,420 in U.S. currency. Weaver was transported to the Franklin County Jail and booked on several criminal charges with federal charges anticipated and has a court date set in Franklin County General Sessions Court for Thursday April 19th at 8:00am. Weaver is currently still in custody and is being held under a $150,000 bond.

On Sunday March 4, 2018 Deputy Cody Lendley was at the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department when Timothy Allbert Sr. walked in stating he wanted to report his son missing. His son’s name is Timothy Clay Allbert Jr. The man was last seen in Summitville around 3 weeks ago. Allbert Jr. is 29 years-old standing 6’2” with brown hair and brown eyes. The man could possibly be medically endangered.

UPDATE: The man was found safe near the Warren and Grundy County line.

After an investigation into a burglary that occurred in February at Gallagher Guitar Company in Wartrace, an arrest has been made and the two custom guitars that were stolen have been recovered.
Due to some good breaks and work by Bedford County Sheriff’s Office Detectives Ramon Castillo and John Sweeney information was developed that led to Balaam Youngman, age 22 of Wartrace, as the sole suspect in the burglary.
Stephen Gallagher – whose grandfather opened Gallagher Guitar Co. in 1965 – said one of the guitars, a 71 Special Customer with walnut back and sides and maple binding, belonged to a man with a terminal illness. The other guitar was a G-70 with rosewood back and sides and spruce top.
This past Friday, Detective Castillo was able to return the guitars to Gallagher Guitars.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has formed a panel to review school safety in Tennessee and recommend improvements.
On Monday, Haslam’s office said the group includes executive branch, General Assembly, safety, education and mental health leaders.
Haslam’s office says the group will convene this week to review school safety policies and work with law enforcement, educators and mental health professionals, among other study areas.
Haslam’s office mentioned school entry and exit, school resource officer training and availability, and in-school student mental health resources.
Haslam expects the group’s first recommendations before the legislative session’s conclusion, which is likely in April.
Haslam supports banning bump stocks and increasing the minimum age to buy semi-automatic weapons to 21. He says he doesn’t think arming more teachers is the answer.

The Coffee County Election Commission will meet on Thursday, March 8, 2018 at 4:00 PM in the Election Commission office, Administrative Plaza, 1329 McArthur Street, Suite 6 in Manchester.
The purpose of the meeting will be to lock and seal ballot boxes, tentatively approve poll workers and to set early voting times for the May 1, 2018 Republican and Democratic primaries. Registration forms for this quarter will also be audited.
FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
Vernita Davis, Administrator
Coffee County Election Commission

One of the storage buildings at Woodall Grain Company located near Decherd caught fire early Saturday morning (just after midnight).
All of the Franklin County fire departments responded to blaze. Hillsboro Volunteer Fire Department was placed on standby in case they were needed at the Woodall fire or another location. About two hours later the Hillsboro Fire Department was called to the scene, because their tanker truck was needed.
Firemen fought the blaze for a long period of time before it could be extinguished. No injuries were reported.

More than a million Tennesseans don’t have access to a retirement savings program through their employer – and AARP’s Public Policy Institute estimates that people are 15 times more likely to save for retirement through a payroll deduction program.
Those two facts are what’s driving a bill in the state Legislature that would create a voluntary retirement savings program available to employers and their employees. Small business owner Tom Piech owns ValuePetSupplies.com and said it wasn’t easy to set up a 401(k) program for his employees.
“As a small business person, I know how difficult it is to set up a retirement savings plan for your employees,” Piech said. “It would be just another tool in our financial toolkit to help us all save for retirement.”
AARP of Tennessee is among those supporting the legislation, which is sponsored by members of both parties. The organization released the results of a survey this week showing 89 percent of registered voters in the state wish they’d saved more for retirement, and 77 percent support a state retirement savings option.
According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, if Tennesseans are able to save $1,000 a year, the state could save $260 million in future years by spending less on social services.
Shelley Courington, advocacy director at AARP Tennessee, said a voluntary savings plan could benefit the entire state.
“It’s going to be a game changer for the state,” Courington said. “If we can start to make that shift for these million folks who don’t have access to retirement savings through their job, just think about what that will be when they have the ability to save and don’t rely exclusively on Social Security.”
Piech said many people may feel like they can’t save for retirement, but a few dollars a week adds up over time.
“It’s the old story of ‘Pay yourself first,’” Piech said. “And at first, when you start saving just a few dollars a week, it doesn’t seem like very much. But all of a sudden, at the end of the month, at the end of the year, at the end of three years, four years, you have a little pile of money there, and that alone is incentive to keep on saving.”
California, Illinois, Oregon, Connecticut, Maryland and Massachusetts have a state-run retirement savings program. Tennessee’s program would be the first in the country to be voluntary – programs in other states are mandated.