Category: News

Just before midnight on Wednesday (Jan. 3) Tullahoma Police Officer Jason Maloney was sent to Cobb Road in regards to a suspicious vehicle. The officer met with Mark Cardwell who works at CFC Recycling who said that he had installed a video monitoring service in a lot adjacent to the business because of recent burglaries at the business. Cardwell told the officer that the camera system notifies if it detects movement on the cameras. Security video showed two white males walking along the railroad tracks. Notification
Other officers and Coffee County deputies joined Officer Maloney in searching the area for the men. While searching they found a lock on a gate that had been cut at CFC and found a car radio.
A Coffee County Sheriff’s K-9 officer searched the area for the individuals but did not find anyone.
The Coffee County Communication Center notified officers that an individual on Silver Street reported her vehicle missing. The vehicle matched the one found at CFC. The owner of the vehicle said that she had been home with her husband and another individual all night. She was transported to Cobb Road to retrieve her 2005 Chevrolet Impala.

The Coffee County government website has been updated and was launched on Thursday. Mayor Gary Cordell says he proud of the site and it is a much user-friendlier site. He added, “Coffee County is a wonderful place to live and visit. The county includes an excellent interstate, highway, rural road system, natural beauty and a productive economy.”
Government Websites by CivicPlus® created the new coffeecountytn.org. Each county office has its own link.

Coffee County firefighters battle two fires and the cold temperatures on Tuesday.
The first fire was early Tuesday morning at a residence on Limbo Dr. in Hillsboro.
The home of Rita Weddington was destroyed by the fire. No one was reported as injured in the devastating blaze.
All volunteer fire departments were called back out around 4:30pm on Tuesday afternoon for a structure fire at 401 C Anderson Road in the New Union area. The home received minimal damage according to a witness. No injuries reported.

The Coffee County Election Commission will meet on Thursday, January 4, 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 call for the Manchester and Tullahoma Municipal elections. City elections, county general and the state primary will be held on August 2, 2018.
County primary elections will be held on May 1, 2018.

In 2017, gas prices in Tennessee averaged $2.18, which was the highest annual average in three years. The upward trend has continued into 2018 as gas prices had the most expensive start to the year in four years. Tennessee gas prices averaged $2.26 on January 1st, averaging 13 cents more than the year before.
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said that after a quick jump at the pump last week, prices are almost stable right now across the southeast, and should begin to take a downward turn soon. Gas prices normally decline during January and February as gasoline demand hits its lowest levels of the year.
The national average price of regular unleaded is $2.48, 13 cents higher than a year ago.
The low price in Manchester is $2.13 per gallon and in Tullahoma the low price is $2.19.

The University in the South in Sewanee is suing a Broadway production company for royalties of a play which the university says it is legally owed.
The university is the official keeper of the estate of famed American playwright Tennessee Williams, and the lawsuit says that means it’s owed six percent of the royalties of Rudinplay’s recent production of “The Glass Menagerie” over a 30-month period.
The university filed the suit last week in federal court in Chattanooga.
The suit reads in part, “”This is an action for breach of contract stemming from Rudinplay’s willful and ongoing refusal to fulfill its clear contractual obligations to the University, including to pay the University royalties in an amount not less than $305,383.78, in connection with Rudinplay’s live stage production of Tennessee Williams’ play “The Glass Menagerie” on Broadway in New York City. In addition to being an institution of higher learning, the university is the proprietor of worldwide intellectual property rights in the works of the late American playwright Tennessee Williams. (WTVC-TV)

The Motlow State Community College Emergency Medical Service (EMS) program is looking for a few good women and men who want to become paramedics and emergency medical technicians. The College is currently accepting applications for the 2018-19 paramedic class; deadline for application to the program is March 1, 2018.
“We are excited to begin the process for the next class,” said Drew Hooker, EMS director at Motlow. “We have successfully graduated the past three classes with the highest pass rates in the state. Our instructors are dedicated to producing the best quality paramedics possible to serve the citizens in our community.
“It is amazing how far the Motlow EMS program has come,” Hooker added, “obtaining state and national recognition as we continue to grow each day. I am proud of my staff and the successes we have shared. It is great to see all the hard work that each staff member has put in to improve the program and enrich student’s lives.”
The future is very bright for employment of EMS personnel. By the year 2026, employment of EMS personnel is expected to grow by 15 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. These opportunities include, among others, ambulance paramedic, firefighter paramedic, flight paramedic and emergency medical technician.
“Motlow’s paramedic classes have enjoyed a 100 percent and an 88 percent licensure pass rate in the past two years, respectively,” said Justus Smith, paramedic coordinator at Motlow. “Our program is unique, dynamic, and student focused. We are looking to accept highly motivated, energetic students who want to become the future of EMS.”
For more information about Motlow’s EMS Education program, contact Drew Hooker at 931-438-0028 or dhooker@mscc.edu or go to mscc.edu/nursing/ems.

The Coffee County election process will crank up in full force on May 1.
Primaries will be in May, the county general election and state primary in August and state general in November.
County elections in 2018 will be held for: mayor, all 21 commissioners, trustee, sheriff, county clerk, circuit court clerk, register of deeds, road superintendent, road commissioners and constables.
City elections in Manchester and Tullahoma will also be held in August.
Citizens picking up papers to qualify to run in county-wide elections are: Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell will seek re-election and former mayor Democrat David Pennington will run once again. Tullahoma businessman and Manchester resident Mark Allen is running as a republican and Independent candidate Tim Brown is also planning a run for the mayor’s seat.
Sheriff Steve Graves, a Democrat, will seek re-election. Republicans Chad Partin, Larry Swan and Harry Conway say they are running for sheriff along with independent candidate Lee Marcom. Democrat Danny Ferrell has also picked up papers.
Only incumbent John Marchesoni has decided so far to run for Trustee. Register of Deeds Donna Toney, Republican, will seek re-election and Republican Chris Elam and Democrat Teresa Wright are also seeking to gain the Register of Deeds job.
Longtime Circuit Court Clerk Heather Duncan, Democrat, is seeking re-election and Democrat County Clerk Theresa McFadden, is running once again and Tammie Karen Fuller has picked up papers to run as a republican for County Clerk.
Incumbent Benton Bartlett is running again for Road Superintendent. Ronnie Dale Watts has also picked up qualifying papers to run as a democrat.
Candidates may pick up petitions for the May 1 primary now with a qualifying deadline of Feb. 15. The withdrawal deadline Feb. 22.
Deadline for voter registration for the May 1 primary is April 2.
Manchester and Tullahoma municipal elections will be held on Aug. 2.