Category: News

Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves would like to commend all of his staff for receiving word on Thursday that the jail, for the 2nd year in a row has been recommended for re-certification. “The jail’s hard working staff goes the extra steps to keep the jail in top running condition,” Graves said.
The Tennessee Corrections Institute was very complementary of the jail and the staff. Graves added that this is a very difficult task, but his staff should be congratulated for their outstanding efforts.

Verizon confirmed on Wednesday the personal data of 6 million customers has leaked online.
The security issue, uncovered by research from cybersecurity firm UpGuard, was caused by a misconfigured security setting on a cloud server due to “human error.”
The error made customer phone numbers, names, and some PIN codes publicly available online. PIN codes are used to confirm the identity of people who call for customer service.
No loss or theft of customer information occurred, according to Verizon.

On Tuesday (July 11th 2017) Manchester Police officers were called to Rye Street in Manchester for a disturbance call with someone trying to gain entry into the residence. Officer Jamie Newman arrived and made contact with William Homer Pinegar, Jr of Fredonia Road, Manchester who was not supposed to be at the residence due to an active order of protection against him for his wife and two of their children. According to the arrest warrant, Pinegar, Jr age 44 has violated the order of protection twice before. The arrest warrant also states that the man admitted to seeing the children outside of the residence and that is why he had stopped at the home. Officer Newman searched the man’s vehicle after receiving consent from Pinagar and allegedly located two cigarette packs that contained rolling papers, a marijuana roach, and .29 grams of a white crystal like substance believed to be methamphetamine inside of the packages and also located a glass pipe with residue and another packet of rolling papers in the vehicle.
Pinegar, Jr was charged with 3 counts of violation of order of protection, schedule II drug violation, schedule VI drug violation and unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities. His bond was set at $15,500 and he is to appear in Coffee County court August 15, 2017.

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) has scheduled a network maintenance and upgrade for Thursday, July 13, beginning at 5:15 pm. During this time, members will be unable to make payments of any type. You will also be unable to report outages using their website or mobile app. If you need to report an outage, please call your local DREMC office. Dispatchers are on duty after regular office hours to assist you.
DREMC apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause their members, and they appreciate your patience and understanding.

People accused of drunk driving in Tennessee no longer face additional charges if they refuse a blood alcohol test.
Tennessee lawmakers say they were forced to pass a new drunk driving law after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that implied-consent laws were unconstitutional, saying that states cannot criminalize a DUI suspect’s refusal to submit to a forensic test.
The new law took effect July 1 and has the group Mothers Against Drunk Driving charging that the rights of drunk drivers are being considered above those of victims.
Phaedra Marriott-Olsen, an underage drinking specialist with MADD in Tennessee, is a survivor of an incident with a drunk driver.
“It comes down to this – that drunk driver made two choices,” she states. “The first choice he made was to drink, and the second choice he made was to drive – so, when it comes to drunk driving, the ability to be able to just find a shortcut out of it or an easy way to get out if it, is not what we need to be doing.”
Drivers in all 50 states can still have their licenses revoked for refusing to take a blood-alcohol test, but can’t face additional fines or jail time.
Marriott-Olsen is now wheelchair-bound and says that as a result of the incident that injured her, she faces ongoing medical problems.
“I live it every single day of my life,” she states. “Every time I look at my scars, every time I look at my wheelchair, every time I push myself up a hill, I’m reminded how a drunk driver changed my life in just one instant.”
Tennessee faced the potential loss of federal revenue if the state didn’t change its law. Currently, drivers must either give consent for a blood test, or a warrant must be obtained.

The Dusty Elam Foundation graciously donated $5,000 to Coffee County Schools Family Resource Center’s Coffee County Student Expo Program. “We are grateful for community partners like the Dusty Elam Foundation who continue to lookout for those without. We appreciate their continuous commitment to the students and families of Coffee County Schools,” said Taylor Rayfield, Coffee County Schools Family Resource Coordinator.
Coffee County Student Expo will be held on Saturday, August 5th for all Coffee County Schools students (Pre-K – 12th) grade in need. Rayfield states they anticipate to serve 500 students providing them with a backpack, school supplies, new pair of shoes, hygiene products, haircut, as well as job fair for parents and community resources in conjunction with the Manchester Area Chamber of Commerce. Students must be pre-registered.
For more information regarding this program or how you can help students and families in need, contact Coffee County Schools Family Resource Coordinator Taylor Rayfield at (931) 222-1066 or rayfieldt@k12coffee.net.

Col. Scott A. Cain will become the new commander of the Arnold Engineering Development Complex during a Change of Command ceremony at 9 a.m., July 14 at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee.
The outgoing commander, Col. Rodney F. Todaro, will relinquish command to Cain at the AEDC Large Rocket Motor Test Facility, J-6. Maj. Gen. David A. Harris, commander of the Air Force Test Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California, will preside over the ceremony.
The event is not open to the public.

On Monday (July 10, 2017), the Tennessee Higher Education Commission announced that 13 colleges and universities in Tennessee will receive additional funding and program support to serve veterans and service members and help them earn post-secondary degrees as part of Gov. Bill Haslam’s Drive to 55.
THEC will award $760,781 in total Veteran Reconnect funds to support programs and services for student veterans at campuses across the state. The 2017 grant program is specifically focused on improving the assessment of prior learning for student veterans returning to college, helping them more easily convert previous military experience into college credit, and improving the transition between military service and post-secondary education. THEC will provide technical assistance and professional development to Veteran Reconnect campuses around prior learning assessment for veterans.
Middle Tennessee State University is receiving $72,118 and the Tennessee College of Applied Technology in Shelbyville will get $7,500.

The president of the Gatlinburg Convention and Visitors Bureau has eliminated two top administrative positions in the organization that works to attract tourism to the Tennessee city.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the job eliminations come as the city tries to recover from a drop in tourism revenues after last year’s wildfire. Visitors Bureau President and CEO Mark Adams says positions held by Vicki Simms and Jon Elder were eliminated July 5.
Before Adams took the helm of the organization in September 2016, Simms had commanded the Visitors Bureau as executive director since 2013.
The job eliminations come as Gatlinburg continues to recover from a one-third decrease in tourism revenues after the Nov. 28, 2016, wildfire.
Adams says the Visitors Bureau tries to be good stewards of its money.