Category: News

On Friday, (June 2nd 2017) Manchester Police arrested Derek Michael Phillips age 20 of Evins St Manchester for a drug sanction. According to the arrest warrant, Phillips was placed into custody and while being handcuffed the man allegedly attempted to pull away from the officer. Officer Jamie Newman states in the warrant that Phillips then asked to go to the hospital due to him having a Hydrocodone pill stuck in his nose and was transported by ambulance to Unity Medical Center. When he was released to Manchester Police, Phillips was placed in handcuffs and when they went to place him in the patrol car, Phillips allegedly pulled away from the officer and attempted to flee from them while still in handcuffs. Officers captured Phillips on Winstead Lane in Manchester and transported him to the Coffee County Jail.
Phillips was charged with evading arrest, resisting arrest, schedule II drug violation and he also had his previous bond surrendered. His bond was set at $23,500 and he will appear in court on June 20, 2017.

The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival in Manchester is at a crossroads as organizers deal with last year’s plummeting ticket sales while engaging in talks to extend their agreement with Coffee County.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the festival’s current deal to pay Coffee County $30,000 plus $3 per ticket sold is set to expire after this year’s festival. Ticket sales at the festival fell by 28,000 in 2016, reaching an all-time low of 45,553.
Ashley Capps, whose company AC Entertainment co-founded the festival, contends the festival landscape has become more competitive, but says ticket sales are up this year. Bonnaroo will begin this Thursday and run through Sunday.
Bonnaroo is now run by Live Nation.

After a weekend outdoors, you may want to check yourself, your kids and your pets for ticks. The Center for Disease Control is predicting an increase in ticks and the diseases they carry this summer because of a warmer winter.
Experts say in most cases if you can remove the tick within 36 hours of a bite, you’re protected from any illness. Dr. Donald Bucklin, medical director for U.S. Healthworks, said removing the insect is simple.
“The first thing to do if you find a tick is remove it,” Bucklin said. “You don’t have to light it on fire. Just grab it with a pair of tweezers or a pair of pliers, needle-nose pliers, and just pull up. You have to give them a little tug to pull them off, because they’re happy, they want to stay there.”
If you suspect the tick has been on the skin for more than 36 hours, you’re advised to call your doctor who may prescribe preventive medicine in case it was carrying a disease. Lyme disease or Rocky Mountain spotted fever are common illnesses transmitted by ticks, but doctors are seeing a new, more serious illness: Powassan. Powassan is rare, but can be fatal in 15 percent of cases.
Bucklin said prevention is the best measure.
“Ticks are completely avoidable. If you aren’t brushing up against tall grass and stuff, you’re not going to get a tick,” he said. “So it’s very avoidable and it’s worth buying a bottle of DEET and using it on your pants and stuff before you go out hiking.”
To protect your pets, consider a tick collar or a flea and tick preventive medication. Dogs are more susceptible to tick bites than are other animals.
In 2016, there were 581 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in Tennessee. There have been 420 confirmed cases of Lyme disease in the state since 2000, but experts believe that number is larger because of unreported cases.

The 2017 Free Fishing Day is Saturday, June 10 when anyone may fish free without a license in Tennessee’s public waters.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency provides the annual free day in hopes of increasing interest in fishing.
The day allows everyone the opportunity to try the sport, especially children.
Children ages 15 and younger may fish without a license beginning on Free Fishing Day through the following Friday (June 16).
The TWRA is among several organizations planning special fishing events, primarily for youngsters. The TWRA annually stocks several thousand pounds of fish for various events.
For a list of the events, visit the TWRA website.
Free Fishing Day and Week apply to Tennessee’s public waters, TWRA owned and operated lakes, and state park facilities.
Some privately owned pay lakes and ponds continue to charge during this special day and week. Anglers will need to consult with those operators if there are any questions about a particular facility.

Murat Arik, the Director of Business and Economic Research Center at MTSU along with students at the university recently conducted an economic impact study about the Manchester/Coffee County Conference Center (MCCCC). The director said he received no money for the research, but students did get financial help for their assistance. Arik presented the study to the Public Building Authority, who is charge of the conference center, media members, city, county and state leaders on Friday.
The study showed that there were 507 events held at the MCCC in 2016 with over 43,000 attendees at these events.
The MTSU study indicated there was a $4.7 (M) impact in economic business activities generated from attendees in Coffee County in 2016 and they project over $5.7 (M) in impact in 2017.
The MCCCC had $566,657 in revenues and expenditures of $804,729 in 2016. This is a loss of $238,072, not including the debt service. The debt service is the responsibility of the Coffee County government and the City of Manchester.
Arik suggested food cost and event pricing adjustments along with reaching out to nearby county businesses and manufactures to hold meetings and special events at the center. He said there is a lot of potential outside of Coffee County that could help generate funding for the MCCCC.
Rebecca French is the current manager over the center. Alyce Heifner the former manager is currently facing three to six years in jail for allegedly stealing more than $30,000 from the conference center for personal use while working there, according to District Attorney Craig Northcott.
Heifner is charged with theft over $10,000 and two counts of official misconduct.

Tullahoma Police and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department are asking for the public’s help. A white male, seen in this picture allegedly broke into a home in the Kings Ridge area of Tullahoma and stole electronics and cash on Wednesday May 31, 2017.
The man was with 3 other people, who stayed inside a silver Oldsmobile Intrigue. The others were two white males and an African-American female.
You can contact Jason Dendy at the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department at 931-570-4427 or Tullahoma Police at 455-0530 if you have any information that can help find this person. You can remain anonymous.

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Department last week identified a person of interest accused of stealing items from gravesites.
37-year old, Misty Melton-Jackson was wanted in connection with the thefts at Clouse Hill Cemetery.
Melton-Jackson was taken into custody on Thursday after turning herself in through her probation officer.
She is currently charged with vandalism, theft of property, evading arrest and desecration of venerated objects.

A Grundy County man was arrested late last week for stealing a school bus from a local business.
The incident happened on May 11 at the Mighty Equipment building.
The Sheriff’s Office says 43-year-old Michael Jason White, of Coalmont, took equipment and a small school bus owned by the school system.
White was arrested on Thursday.
Investigators were able to get the bus back.

Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe along with Tennessee Tool and Fixture officials announced today the company will locate its first U.S. operations in Manchester. The automotive mold and casting manufacturer will invest $6.5 million in the new facility and create 60 new jobs in Coffee County.
“I want to thank Tennessee Tool and Fixture for locating its first U.S. operations in Coffee County,” Rolfe said. “Tennessee ranks No. 1 for growth in automotive employment, and it means a great deal that Tennessee Tool and Fixture will be adding 60 new jobs to this sector. I look forward to seeing our future partnership and the company’s growth in Tennessee.”
Tennessee Tool and Fixture makes molds and castings for automotive companies, primarily automotive seats. Tennessee Tool and Fixture is a member of a group of tooling companies based out of Toronto, Canada with over 40 years of experience providing high quality molds and castings for the automotive industry.
“Tennessee Tool and Fixture is proud to make Manchester, Tennessee in Coffee County our new home,” Tennessee Tool and Fixture President and Owner Sue Beamish said. “Both the State of Tennessee and Coffee County have been extremely supportive throughout our search for a long-term location.
“The city of Manchester is proud to be the location for the first U.S. facility for Tennessee Tool and Fixture,” Manchester Mayor Lonnie J. Norman said. “The Board of Aldermen and I welcome the company to its new home and are excited for the high number of skilled positions this operation brings to our community.”
The company will renovate the former the YMCA and Delta Rehab building located on Interstate Drive.

On Tuesday, (May 30, 2017) Stormy Dee Phillips age 32 of Central Ave Tullahoma was the driver of a vehicle that was stopped by Tullahoma Police Officer Justin Smith on East Moore St. According to the arrest warrants, Phillips was stopped because officers had received a call about persons in the vehicle attempting to sell drugs in and around Dossett Apartments.
Alexis Lorraine Lang age 22 of Allie Boyton Rd Manchester along with Kendale Isaiah Welborn age 20 of East Warren St Tullahoma and two juveniles were also in the vehicle. The warrant goes on to say that Phillips gave Smith permission to search the car. Allegedly officers found inside a white powdery substance, set of scales, several clear plastic baggies, a pipe and seven counterfeit $100 bills.
All three adults were charged with manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of a controlled substance, unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities, schedule II drug violation, criminal simulation and adult contributing to delinquency of a minor. Phillips was also charged with two counts of failure to appear. Bonds were set for Lang and Welborn at $11,500 each and Phillips was booked in at the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $26,500. All three are scheduled for court on June 22, 2017.