Category: News

At last count, more than 9,000 rape kits sat on shelves in storage across Tennessee, but that number could be even higher.
The state Comptroller’s Office is recommending that lawmakers ask for an update on the status of processing the kits – at the same time that a national campaign is releasing a series of public service announcements to underscore the importance of crime labs catching up on the problem.
Ilse Knecht, policy and advocacy director for the Joyful Heart Foundation, says Tennessee has some work to do.
“They’ve been testing them, but we don’t really know what it looks like right now, and I think there needs to be another, some kind of audit or inventory to see, you know, have people been sending their old kits?” she stresses. “Are they sending their new kits? Are they complying with the law?”
Last year Tennessee legislators introduced a bill to shorten the deadlines for submission of newly collected rape kits, but the bill did not pass.
Currently, according to the Joyful Heart Foundation, Memphis’ crime lab has a 32-week turnaround time for testing rape kits, Knoxville’s is 10 weeks and Nashville has a 16-week wait.
The PSA released by Joyful Heart is titled “Shelved” and features a rape survivor being transported to a tall shelf in a warehouse, filled with hundreds of other survivors waiting on their kits to be tested.
“The man that raped me was white, about 5’8″, probably about 170 pounds, crooked nose, sandy blond hair,” the survivor relates. “All of those details, plus the DNA, is enough evidence for you to catch him, right? Right?”
Knecht says while resolution of rape cases is a need for survivors of assault – processing them is also resulting in the solving of hundreds of other crimes, and the prevention of untold more.
“They commit all kinds of crimes,” she points out. “When you look at the rap sheets, it’s domestic violence, it’s homicide, it’s robbery, burglary, assault.
“These guys are one-man wrecking crews on society. The public should be very concerned that these aren’t being tested because it’s such a great tool to take really dangerous people off the street.”
Actress Mariska Hargitay created the Joyful Heart Foundation after playing a detective on the TV series “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.”
She says the content of the scripts and letters she received from fans of the show prompted her to take action.

There will be a statewide SNAP benefit outage this weekend for all EBT cardholders.
It will start at 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 and end Sunday, Feb. 25 at 8 a.m.
During that nine-hour period, anyone with an EBT card will not be able to use it.
No benefits will be lost during the system upgrade.
State leaders suggest EBT cardholders to purchase food and other daily needs before 11 p.m. Saturday.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) has announced $6,041,629 in grants to support community recycling efforts in a statewide effort to reduce landfill waste.
“TDEC is committed to increasing the diversion and beneficial use of materials that would otherwise end up in landfills or contaminating our waters,” said TDEC Commissioner Bob Martineau. “These grants will help local communities meet the ever-growing challenge of finding ways to reuse materials that would otherwise be discarded to benefit our economy and protect our environment.”
Awarded projects fall into one of five categories: Recycling Hub and Spoke, Recycling Equipment, Recycling Rebate, Used Oil and Convenience Centers.
The City of Tullahoma two grants; $13,826 for 18-gallon recycling carts; roll-off containers; kennels for cardboard collection and $14,050 for Education and outreach materials; used oil collection tanks; canopy; pad; oil filter crusher; oil pump.

Cody Ray Clark, 22, of Riddle Lane Estill Springs was pronounced dead on arrival at Tennova—Harton Hospital Sunday night following a single vehicle crash on East Moore Street in Tullahoma.
According to a Tullahoma Police report by Cpl. Tommy Elliott, a 1996 Toyota Camry operated by Clark was traveling on East Moore Street when he apparently ran a stop sign at the intersection of North Anderson Street and left the roadway to the right and struck a culvert.
According to the police report there were tire marks leading off the roadway to the right of North Anderson Street. The car struck a culvert of the drive leading into Amberwood Apartments.
When the officer arrived, he was unable to speak with Clark to learn what happened.
Clark was transported by Coffee County Ambulance Service to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Sgt. Robert Weaver investigated the crash.

An inmate known for escaping police custody has done it again.
According to the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office, Andrew Phillip Marshall was reported missing around 5 a.m. Monday morning.
This is the 5th time Marshall has escaped.
Marshall escaped the jail by climbing into a vent in the ceiling of his cell which put him in the jail’s roof. He cut a hole through a vent in the roof and shimmied down the side of the building.
It looks like Marshall used some sort of tool to cut through the outside vent, but Sheriff Austin Swing does not believe anyone inside or outside the jail helped Marshall escape.
Earlier this year, Marshall fled after a door failed to properly close.
Anyone who knows where he is should contact Bedford County deputies immediately at (931) 684-3232.

Motorists are seeing steady declines at the gas pump. Tennessee gas prices have declined the last 14 consecutive days for a total of nine cents. During the past week, the state average dropped six cents. Tuesday’s state average of $2.32 is three cents less than a month ago, and 25 cents more than this time last year.
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said gasoline prices declined as forecast, based on significant gains in both oil and gasoline production in the United States. Jenkins said although we may see additional discounts at the pump this week, this downward trend has a limit. AAA expects gas prices will shoot up 20 to 30 cents between March and May, as refineries conduct seasonal maintenance and switch to summer blend gasoline.
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is $2.58.
In Coffee County as of Tuesday afternoon, the low price per gallon in Manchester was $2.21 and $2.27 in Tullahoma.

Combating Tennessee’s opioid crisis: More than a dozen legislative proposals have been introduced.
Gov. Bill Haslam’s plan to address the opioid epidemic focuses on addiction prevention and rehabilitation for addicts – a combo attack many hope will put a significant dent in the number of residents affected.
About $25 million of the $30 million in the governor’s budget, if passed, will go toward treatment.
In addition to the governor’s two signature bills, lawmakers have introduced at least 15 other pieces of legislation dealing with opioids.
These include such measures as a proposal to decrease TennCare costs for opioid alternatives and one that would require prescribers to inform women of the risks of taking opioids during a pregnancy.
Another proposal calls for an opioid abuse hotline.
Still, state officials and lawmakers are careful to avoid characterizing the proposals as a plan to take people’s prescriptions away. The Tennessee Medical Association has expressed concern that parts of the governor’s plan could interfere with a doctors’ relationship with their patients.

As Tennessee eyes a wave of executions, attorneys for 33 death row inmates are challenging the three-drug combination in lethal injections.
Tuesday’s lawsuit in Davidson County Chancery Court claims these drugs haven’t been used yet in Tennessee but present a substantial risk of serious and severe pain and suffering and were used in botched executions in other states.
The lawsuit could delay one man’s Aug. 9 execution and sidetrack eight proposed executions requested before June by Attorney General Herbert Slatery, who has said it’s uncertain whether officials can get lethal injection chemicals after that.
In a previous filing, Slatery argued the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal appeals courts have rejected constitutional challenges to using midazolam as the first drug in a three-drug combination.
Tennessee last executed someone in 2009.

The Coffee County Jail has been recommended by the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) for certification for the third year in a row and the jail annex for the first year.
Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves says the jail on County Jail Lane and the annex on Hillsboro Blvd. in Manchester both met the required standards for the certification.
TCI is required to establish minimum standards for adult local jails, lock-ups, workhouses and detention facilities in the state. The agency’s Board of Control establishes the standards to inspect and certify local correctional facilities. Inspections and re-inspections are conducted within the mandated timeframe to ensure compliance of all standards for the purpose of certification.
The Tennessee Corrections Institute is responsible for educating local correctional staff while providing and monitoring basic certification and annual in-service training for personnel within local adult correctional detention facilities.
Sheriff Graves said, “I’m very proud of my outstanding staff that has been working hard to have both locations certified. This is a very difficult task, but with the dedication of the staff, the goals have been met.” Graves went on to say that the new goal is to keep the jail and annex certified for the foreseeable future.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says applications are now being accepted for adults who want to enroll tuition-free this fall at a community college or technical college.
In a news release Thursday, the governor’s office says Tennessee Reconnect applications can be completed online. Enrollees need to apply to a community college or other eligible institution, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid form and enroll in a degree or certificate program at least part-time.
To be eligible, a student can’t have an associate or bachelor’s degree, must be a Tennessee resident for at least one year and must be determined an independent student on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Tennessee Reconnect builds off of Tennessee Promise, which provides high school graduates two years of tuition-free community or technical college.