Category: News

The first ever Downtown Christmas Stroll in Manchester will be held on Friday, December 15 beginning at 5pm. Retail shops and restaurants will be open with lots of specials, and they’ve got some surprises up their sleeve as well! Santa will be on hand, carriage rides and Thunder Radio will also be there playing Christmas music.
Current participants include:
High Cotton
Sprout Children’s Shop
West Main Brick Oven
The Mercantile
Pretty Discoveries
Coffee Cafe
Black Iris Arts
The Place to Be
Harvest Local Foods
Naturally Tranquil Spa
Family Music Center
Mid TN Vapor Shop
and Smoot’s
Sponsored by First National Bank

Three Georgia men were arrested on Dec. 13 on multiple charges following a traffic stop by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Jason Boles.
The trooper stopped a vehicle at exit 114 on Interstate 24 for a traffic violation. As the trooper approached the vehicle operated by Demontay Alexander Reid, 24, of Atlanta, Georgia. Reid and passenger Tevin M. Cameron, 26, of Atlanta, Georgia got out of the vehicle and started to video the officer as he approached their vehicle. Trooper Boles instructed the men to get back into the car.
Passenger Markus Nigua McGahee, 31, of Atlanta took off running and ran into a room at a nearby motel. While he was running he allegedly threw down a bag containing 15 grams of marijuana. McGahee was arrested at the motel.
Manchester Police Officers and deputies from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department arrived and assisted the trooper.
A search of the vehicle that the three men were riding in revealed a stolen credit card and burglary tools that were allegedly used to break into a car in Nashville. Officers also found some $4,000 worth of items that had been purchased with the stolen credit card.
Reid was charged with resisting arrest, theft of property, identity theft/use of another’s information, possession of burglary tools and driving on revoked/suspended license. His bond was set at $61,500.
Cameron was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, possession of burglary tools, theft of property and identity theft/use of another’s information. His bond was set at $62,500.
McGahee was charged with disorderly conduct, resisting arrest, tampering with or fabricating evidence/destruction of evidence, theft of property, identity theft/use of another’s information, manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of a controlled substance, aggravated burglary and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $94,000.
All three men are to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Jan. 23.

Now through December 31, the Tennessee Highway Safety Office is partnering with state and local law enforcement agencies to increase enforcement of drunk-driving laws.
The campaign will include increased public messaging and more sobriety checkpoints state-wide.
December is National Drugged and Drunk Driving Prevention Month. According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, an average of 300 people have died each year in drunk driving crashes the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
At this time in 2016, there had been 208 deaths related to impaired-driving. So far this year, there have been 167 in Tennessee.

A new study says four Tennessee metro areas are among the top 10 metro areas for job growth in the southeast so far this year.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that a study of employment trends by 24/7 Wall Street found Nashville, Morristown, Chattanooga and Johnson City ranked fifth, sixth, ninth and 10th among Southern cities for employment growth.
The study found Tennessee’s jobless rate fell to 3 percent this fall, which is the lowest level on record.
From January to October, Nashville added 43,392 jobs, Morristown added 2,043 jobs, Chattanooga added 9,377 jobs and Johnson City added 3,147 jobs. The study ranked the cities based on rate of growth. Nationally, Nashville, Morristown, Chattanooga and Johnson City ranked 11th, 14th, 21st and 22nd, respectively.

Investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department have been searching for 27 year-old Corey Franklin Keele.
Keele was wanted for being in possession of a weapon where prohibited, failure to appear and promotion of methamphetamine.
On Wednesday morning, Keele was located and arrested. Coffee County Investigator James Sherrill along with Deputies Brandon Reed, Kevin Smith, Ben Sneed, Larry McKelvey and K-9 Yoshi worked with Manchester Police Investigators Jonathan Anthony and Trey Adcock to locate and bring the Manchester man into custody.
Corey Franklin Keele was booked in at the Coffee County Jail.

An investigation by Special Agents with the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the arrest of two Tracy City residents, charged with the sale and delivery of oxycodone and fentanyl.
Over several months in 2016, Agents with the Drug Investigation Division conducted undercover operations in Marion County, pursuing leads on fentanyl and oxycodone distribution. During the course of the investigation, Agents purchased fentanyl from the subjects that had been pressed into a pill form, and disguised as oxycodone. Agents developed information that identified Carol Smith and Steven Adkins as the individuals who were involved in the sale and delivery of oxycodone and fentanyl.
On December 4th, the Marion County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Carol Dianne Smith, age 46 and Steven James Adkins, age 27, both with two counts of Sale/ Delivery of a Schedule II Controlled Substance. On December 7th, Smith was arrested and booked into the Marion County Jail on a $17,500 bond. Adkins was arrested Tuesday in Grundy County. His bond was set at $10,000.

While Tennesseans are using their hard-earned cash to buy presents for loved ones this holiday season, scammers are working equally hard to take their cut, as people make online purchases and venture out into the stores with credit cards in hand.
Mark Fetterhoff, a senior program specialist with the AARP Foundation, says one way people can protect themselves, especially during this busy season, is to limit their online activities at coffee shops, airports and other places that offer free, wireless Internet.
“We highly recommend that people do not do anything involving personal information, banking information, or shopping when they’re using public Wi-Fi, because those networks are not necessarily secure,” he states.
Fetterhoff explains it’s easy for hackers to access passwords, Social Security numbers and bank account information if public networks aren’t properly secured, and he says home networks are typically safer.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, credit card and bank fraud accounts for 44 percent of identity fraud cases.
Experts advise folks to be suspicious of phone calls or pop-up messages on their computers from someone claiming to be a tech support representative.
Fetterhoff says people have paid hundreds of dollars to fix what the scammer tells them is a software glitch, and he warns allowing remote access to your computer can put sensitive information at risk.
“Oftentimes, they say they’re affiliated with Microsoft, or Apple or Dell, or another large computer company – and they’re just frankly not,” he points out. “None of those companies do outbound calling or will put a pop-up on your screen telling you to call them.”
Other scams to watch for include notifications about winning a sweepstakes or lottery, phone calls from people posing as IRS agents, and requests to wire money to help a family member in a crisis.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s office wants to hear from people who think they’ve been victimized.
Fetterhoff also recommends requesting free annual credit reports to make sure accounts have not been opened in your name without your consent.