Category: News

No injuries were reported after a fire heavily damaged a home in Decherd on the Tullahoma Highway early Wednesday morning. Decherd Public Safety Director Ross Peterson said the fire was reported at 1:43 am.
Fire departments from Decherd, Winchester, Estill Springs and Tullahoma responded to assist in extinguishing the blaze around 3:00 am.
Director Peterson says the fire is under investigation.

The Woodbury Police Department is seeking information about the identity of two persons of interest in a break-in and attempted robbery of the Woodbury Drug Center on Main Street. Around 1:45 early Monday morning the pharmacy was broken into.
According to Woodbury Police Chief Lowell Womack, the suspects were in the store for only 35 seconds and didn’t steal anything, however they caused damage to the front door.
Anyone with information about the identities of the suspects, please call the Woodbury Police Department at 615-563-5940. (WGNS)

The Tennessee Department of Health reported that seven people have died from the flu in the state.
During the last week of January, the South-Central region, which includes Coffee County, had 224 confirmed flu cases and around the state there were 10,591 reported cases.
According to state data, Tennessee has reported 6 influenza-related deaths in children under 18 years and one influenza-related death of a pregnant woman.
The health department is still urging people to get the flu vaccination this season. Health department clinics across the state are providing vaccines at no charge.
In order to prevent the spread of the flu, the health department says to wash your hands thoroughly or use alcohol-based hand sanitizer, cover your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing, avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth, and stay home if you’re sick.
What is the Flu?
Influenza is a viral infection of the nose, throat, bronchial tubes and lungs. There are two main types of virus: influenza A and influenza B. Each type includes many different strains, which tend to change each year. Seasonal influenza sometimes causes severe illness or complications, but the great majority of people recover fully without any medical treatment.

The Coffee County Election Commission will meet on Thursday, February 15, 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 approve candidate petitions for the May 1, 2018 Republican and Democratic County primaries. A tentative copy of the 2018 – 2019 budget will be distributed to Commissioners.
A representative for Election Systems and Software will be here that day, also, to demonstrate the newest version of their voting machine.

The frigid temperatures experienced in parts of Tennessee this season – and likely future visits by Jack Frost – have at least one benefit: Low temps help kill the hemlock woolly adelgid, a non-native species responsible for killing thousands of mature hemlock trees.
Forestry experts are in a race against time to preserve the plant species. Nathan Hoover, forest health specialist with the state Division of Forestry, said his department and other conservation groups are working to preserve what they can.
“It’s something we’re going to deal with for perpetuity. It’s going to be forever. We’re losing trees rapidly,” Hoover said. “We have to treat them to save them to keep them on the land, preserve the genetics, preserve the actual hemlock forest, and then focus on that long-term control objective. It’s just about creating that equilibrium.”
As the hemlocks die, they are commonly referred to as “gray ghosts” in the forests because of their appearance.
The invasive insect arrived in the U.S. from Japan in the 1950s, and once it reached the northern Appalachian Forest, it spread rapidly to the Southeast. Hemlocks provide valuable ecosystem services in Appalachian forests, including cover for wildlife and cooling shade along waterways.
Josh Kelly, public lands biologist with Mountain True, said if you haven’t heard of the problem, there is a dismal reason for that.
“I think the reason it’s not in our radar anymore is because most of them have already died,” Kelly said. “Once it was in the Appalachian range where there are a lot of hemlocks, it spread really rapidly north and south, and first arrived in our area in 2001 and was pretty much everywhere by 2007.”
Hoover said while it’s an uphill battle, there are things Tennessee citizens can do to preserve what is left.
“Private land owners can inventory their property, find the hemlock trees on their property and then put together a treatment plan for those trees in order to protect them,” Hoover said. “You can inform other people about it. You can contact the Tennessee Division of Forestry for that information.”
Kelly and Hoover say the origin of the deadly insect – a non-native bug – is a reminder of the importance for the public and private sector to exercise caution when importing plants and trees from other countries. According to the Center for Invasive Species Protection, since European settlement began in North America, nearly 500 non-native tree-feeding insects and disease-causing pathogens have been introduced into the United States. About 80 of these have caused notable damage to our trees.

The Motlow State Community College art department will present a unique exhibition of work by artist Carolyn Ford, Feb. 14 – Mar. 22 at the Eoff Hall Gallery on the Moore County campus.
Eoff Hall Gallery hours are 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. There will be an opening reception and artist talk on Feb. 14, from 10 a.m. – noon. The public is invited and encouraged to attend the reception and meet the artist.
Ford received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in ceramics, drawing, and painting from Middle Tennessee State University. She received her Master of Fine Arts in ceramics and drawing from Washington State University, and she has studied abroad and exhibited in Italy.
For additional information about the reception or exhibition, please contact Bobbie Underwood at 931-393-1700 or bunderwood@mscc.edu. For Carolyn Ford’s website go to carolynfordart.com.

Two men were arrested Feb. 5 for possession of a stolen vehicle and unlawful weapons charges by a Coffee County deputy.
According to a report by Deputy Cpl. Blake Simmons, a vehicle was seen sitting partially in the roadway. The driver, Andrew Kyle Hilliard, 27, of Memphis told the officer that he and his friend Jordan Christopher Martin, 38, of Normandy had run out of gas.
Deputy Simmons checked to see if there were any warrants on either one and was advised that Hilliard was a wanted person and that he should use caution in dealing with the man.
The officer asked Hillard if there were any weapons on his person and he gave permission to search him. Deputy Simmons allegedly found a 20 gauge shotgun shell in his pocket. The deputy observed a handgun case inside the vehicle. Permission was granted to search the car. The deputy located under the driver’s seat a .45 caliber handgun, five loose rounds and two .22 caliber rounds. There was a sawed-off shotgun in the backseat of the car. The shotgun was reported stolen out of Missouri.

When the deputy had dispatchers at the communication center to check the car registration number, he learned that the car was stolen from Memphis. Both men claimed that they did not know that the car was stolen and they neither one claimed ownership of the weapons. Hilliard and Martin told the officer that they were convicted felons.
Both men were charged with unlawful carrying or possessing a weapon and two counts of theft of property. Hilliard was placed in the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $32,500 while Martin’s bond was set at $15,000. Both men are to appear in the Coffee County General Sessions Court on March 12.