Category: News

An east Tennessee lawmaker wants to make it more difficult for DUI offenders to buy alcohol by putting a mark on their driver’s license.
State Representative Bud Hulsey will be in Nashville this week to propose the new bill.
When someone is convicted of a DUI, Hulsey wants a red strip across the license for three years that says they can’t buy alcohol.
The bill would also include a misdemeanor charge for anyone who sells alcohol to that person.
The new session for the General Assembly starts January 9th.

Bitcoin may sound like points you’d earn in a video game, but the electronic currency is valued at an estimated $700 billion worldwide, and is beginning to attract the attention of Tennessee consumers looking to invest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Litecoin.
The interest is enough to prompt the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance to issue a message of caution to people who may be tempted to invest.
“It’s unregulated, there is no real backing for cryptocurrency – there’s no bank, there’s no guarantee,” said Kevin Walters, communications director with the department. “So at this point, what we’re doing is just trying to help people understand the risks associated with them.”
Cryptocurrencies are not insured by a central bank or government authority. They cannot be exchanged for other commodities.
Walters warned consumers to beware of promises of high rates of return and unsolicited offers. A recent survey by the North American Securities Administrators Association found that 94 percent of members believe there is a “high risk of fraud” involving the electronic currency.
Walters said the state has had no reports of anyone being scammed so far. But when it does happen, there’s not much recourse.
“If someone were scammed in a cryptocurrency scam, there wouldn’t be anything that we could do about it because your money would disappear, essentially,” he said.
Cryptocurrencies do have some advantages, including no delay in payments between parties. Also, traditional fees associated with credit card merchants and other money transfers are reduced or eliminated.

Motlow State Community College will be closed on Monday, Jan. 15, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, according to college officials.
The closing includes all college facilities, including libraries and computer labs, on the Moore County, Fayetteville, McMinnville, and Smyrna campuses. Regular business hours for all sites will resume on Jan. 16.
Spring semester classes begin on Jan. 16 at all locations. The deadline to fill out a Motlow College application for admission is Jan. 10.
For more information, visit the Motlow website at mscc.edu or call 931-393-1500 or 800-654-4877.
All area school systems (Manchester City, Tullahoma City and Coffee County) will be closed for students on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018.

A former Tullahoma High assistant band director will face a federal judge for sentencing on March 26.
Martin McFarlane was indicted on Aug. 22 for transportation of child pornography after allegations against him were presented to a federal grand jury in Chattanooga. The indictments came after agents from the FBI and investigators from the Tullahoma Police Department found what was described as child pornography on his computer at his residence. The federal agents received information that McFarlane was in possession of the child pornography. They seized his computer and other electronic devices.
While searching for the pornographic material police found what was described as a small amount of marijuana. He was arrested on state charges in connection with the marijuana. He appeared in Coffee County General Sessions Court and was found guilty. He was given a suspended 11-month 29-day sentence.
On Dec. 14 McFarlane appeared before U.S. Magistrate Christopher Steger and entered a plea of guilty to one of two counts of transportation of child pornography through the internet. The magistrate accepted the guilty plea and set March 26 as the sentencing date on the charge.
As part of McFarlane’s plea agreement, he was ordered to forfeit a Samsung Galaxy S6, Dell 8600 computer, Hewlett Packard Pavilion, Motorola Droid Razr and a ASUS transformer Prime Tablet. The federal prosecutors gave notice to the court that they intend to “dispose of the forfeited items.”
McFarlane is free on bond until his sentencing date.
U.S. Assistant Attorney James Brooks is prosecuting the case while Myrlene Marsa represents McFarlane.

On January 3, 2018, Mark Carlton Bryant, 66, of Estill Springs, Tennessee, was sentenced by the Honorable Judge Curtis L. Collier, Senior U.S. District Court Judge, to serve 51 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography. Additionally, Bryant was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine, $5,000 in restitution, and forfeit electronic equipment used in the commission of his crimes. Upon his release from prison, U.S. Probation will supervise him for five years.
Bryant, a retired Lieutenant Colonel from the U.S. Air Force, previously pleaded guilty to a one-count information charging him with possession of child pornography.
U.S. Attorney J. Douglas Overbey said, “This case is a good example of local and federal agencies working together to protect children, our most vulnerable victims. The U.S. Attorney’s office will continue to prosecute aggressively individuals who choose to possess and distribute child pornography.”
Agencies involved in this investigation included the Winchester Police Department and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney James. T. Brooks represented the United States.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

A public hearing will be held at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Jan. 9, 2018) concerning a proposed zoning change to facilitate the construction of a Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store in Coffee County off I-24 near Exit 117.
The Coffee County Commission will vote on the zoning change during its regular meeting set for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
The public hearing and meeting will be held at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza, 1329 McArthur St., Manchester.

Expedia Canada Travel Blog recently surveyed one thousand Canadians and asked them which city they’d recommend their fellow travelers visit in the new year.
Using these answers as a baseline, Expedia Canada Travel Blog announced the 18 cities you need to visit in 2018, as chosen by Canadians.
#1 was Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in Canada, Hawaii was 5th and 7th was Tokyo Japan. Surprising even the survey takers Manchester, TN was 9th. Why? One word: Bonnaroo. Jamaica was 10th and a place many of us have visited, Gulf Shores, Al was 14th. In 18th was Toronto in Canada. For a complete list go to https://www.expedia.ca/travelblog/canadians-choose-top-18-cities-visit-2018/

The latest community initiative proposed by Tullahoma Mayor Lane Curlee and endorsed by the aldermen is the Tullahoma Sports Council. Mayor Curlee has asked long-time resident, small business owner and local sports booster Jim Bratcher to chair this effort. Bratcher has called a meeting of all interested persons for Tuesday, January 9 at 5:30 at D.W. Wilson Community Center.
Jim Bratcher has been a participant, patron and promoter of Tullahoma sports for many years. Alderman Jerry Mathis will serve as the alderman liaison to the council.
Bratcher will propose a slate of nine Tullahoma citizens to serve as inaugural Tullahoma Sports Council members. It is anticipated the Board of Mayor and Aldermen will formally nominate and select the council members at their January 22nd board meeting. Those selected will serve staggered 2, 3, or 4 year terms.
All interested persons wishing to propose ideas or learn more about serving on the council are invited and encouraged to attend the January 9 meeting.
Contact the Tullahoma Sports Council at Tullahomasportscouncil@gmail.com.

It has been confirmed through reliable sources to WMSR News that current Coffee County Industrial Board Executive Director Ted Hackney will be vacating his position. Earlier this week Hackney sent a letter to the search committee of the Coffee County Industrial Board, stating that he would be vacating his position as of January 8th.
WMSR News reached out to Hackney for a comment and he said he did not want to say anything at this time.
The Industrial Board of Coffee County had officially launched a search for a new executive director in May of last year.
The board voted 6-2 to give Hackney a new one-year contract in June.
The Industrial Board will now begin the task of hiring Hackney’s replacement.

Tennessee Highway Patrolman Donnie Clark attempted stop a vehicle on Jan. 3 for a traffic violation at mile marker 111 on Interstate 24. After initially stopping, the driver left at a high rate of speed with Troopers Clark and Jason Boles in pursuit along Highway 55 toward McMinnville.
According to warrants, in an attempt to get away from the officers the driver Antonio LaMont Buckner, 47, of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, drove at a high rate of speed in a school zone just as school was dismissing for the day.
The warrants allege that Buckner “drove erratically” in an effort to evade the officers.
Buckner drove along Ferguson Road to Rock Road onto Hillsboro-Viola Road and came to a stop when the vehicle left Keaslin Road near Little Mountain Road and ended up in a field.
Buckner allegedly said that he ran from officers because he had some marijuana on him and that he threw it out a window during the pursuit.
Several deputies from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department assisted in the pursuit and arrest of Buckner.
The Kentucky man was charged with evading arrest, reckless endangerment, resisting stop/halt,frisk, tampering with or fabricating evidence/destruction of evidence and simple possession of a controlled substance.
Buckner’s bond was set at $50,000 and he is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Feb.27. He remains in the Coffee County Jail.