Category: News

The House has given final approval to a bill that would allow Tennessee drivers to choose license plates with the phrase “In God We Trust” on them.
The chamber voted 85-0 to approve the bill sponsored by Republican Rep. Bill Sanderson of Kenton on Thursday. The Senate earlier this week approved the measure on a 29-1 vote.
The original version of the bill would have required “In God We Trust” to appear on all plates, but the state attorney general’s office said that move would likely have been unconstitutional.
Senate Minority Leader Lee Harris of Memphis was the only member to vote against the bill. He questioned why the optional language on the plates would not require the same extra fees as other specialty plates available in the state.

Two people were injured in a multi-vehicle crash in Morrison during the Monday afternoon rush hour.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Christopher Walpole of Nashville was traveling toward McMinnville on Highway 55 in a 2004 Ford Taurus when he ran the red light in front of Hullett’s Service Center in Morrison and struck four other vehicles before coming to rest in a ditch. Authorities say the Taurus was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time of the crash.
Walpole was airlifted from the scene to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga. Also airlifted was Kimberly Sherrell of Manchester, whose vehicle was one of those struck by Walpole’s vehicle.
Authorities say Walpole was driving on a revoked license and could face other charges as a result of Monday’s crash.

A new study estimates the Tennessee Valley Authority’s managed river system created an $11.9 billion economic impact in the Tennessee Valley last year.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture’s study examines the total effect from the recreational and visitor uses of TVA’s 49 reservoirs, including Normandy Lake. TVA is the nation’s largest public utility and provides electricity to about 9 million people in Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia.
The study finds investments yielded more than $1 million per shoreline mile and supported an estimated 130,000 jobs. Surveys of three reservoirs representing urban, rural and tributary reservoir classifications estimate the lakes draw 65 million visitors annually.
The study’s author says the report is the first to examine total impact.

The Tennessee Legislature has passed a bill that would allow minors who send sexually explicit photos of themselves to others to face far less serious consequences than they do now.
Under current law, juveniles who email or text explicit photos can be charged with sexual exploitation of a minor, even if the pictures are consensual. Williamson County District Attorney Kim Helper said that’s the equivalent of child pornography and some prosecutors don’t want to bring such serious charges in most cases.
Under the measure, minors could be charged with an unruly offense in juvenile court.
The House passed the measure last week. It passed in the Senate Wednesday by a vote of 26-2.

A portion of Oak Drive in Manchester, near the intersection of McArthur Street (TN Highway 55), extending to Belmont Drive, will be temporarily closed due to utility construction near the new Speedway Market until May 11.
The work was scheduled to run April 24-May 6, 2017, but an extension is needed to complete the work.
A detour bypassing this section of Oak Drive will continue to be available.

Three people were arrested on drugs and weapons charges on April 30.
According to warrants, Summer Marisa Havner, 20, of Sewanee, Jeffery William Matts, 30, of Estill Springs and Tabitha Jane Delaney of Morrison were arrested and charged with manufacture/delivery/sale of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia and unlawful possession of a weapon.
The car that the three were riding in was stopped after they allegedly pulled in and out of the Coffee County Jail parking lot numerous times. The BMW they were riding in was stopped and the license tag on the car was for a Lincoln Continental. The driver, Havner, was cited into general session’s court for that and driving on suspended license.
Deputies say they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from within the vehicle. The three were asked to step out of the vehicle and deputies searched the car and found a backpack in the back seat of the car that contained 3.42 grams of marijuana as well as small bags and digital scales. Also in the car next to the bag was a loaded 9mm Taurus handgun. The magazine had 12 bullets inside it.
The three were booked into the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $31,000.

State Representative Judd Matheny (R–Tullahoma) officially received the 2017 President’s Award from the Tennessee Association for Home Care — an organization dedicated to improving, standardizing, and lobbying for changes to help Tennesseans remain in their homes for both short and long term healthcare and support.
This year, Representative Matheny took the lead in presenting House Bill 51 in the legislature, a first-of-its-kind piece of legislation designed to place guardrails on managed homecare and to address problems home healthcare companies encounter in getting paid for their services.
Home-based health companies provide an alternative to the current nursing home model by offering care that enables seniors to receive care in their own residences and communities instead of having to move to alternative facilities.
Despite enormous growth among the oldest age groups most likely to use nursing home services, data collected in 2013 shows nursing home use by seniors enrolled in Medicaid programs has decreased by over 30% since 1995. The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) credits the use of private and less expensive home-based health services for this trend.
“Utilization of home-based care is an ever growing industry,” said Representative Matheny. “Not only are these services used by our seniors, but also help those with disabilities from all age groups. This is why it is vitally important we continue this work to reform the rules and regulations surrounding home healthcare in our state, especially to ensure our home health companies are being promptly paid by Medicaid for their valuable services.”
Judd Matheny serves as a member of the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee, as well as the House Insurance & Banking Committee and Subcommittee.

Tennessee gas prices declined for the 10th consecutive day on Sunday. The state average dropped 2 cents last week, and motorists should see another round of falling prices this week.
AAA spokesman Mark Jenkins said gas prices were knocked off their seasonal upward trend, when new data revealed record-high refinery activity, setting off market concerns of a gasoline glut. When refineries finished spring maintenance season, they accelerated production to levels that have outpaced demand. Jenkins said retail prices should fall a few more cents this week.
The Tennessee average retail price is $2.15. The national average price is $2.38.
The low price this week in Coffee County is $2.04 per gallon. That price can be found in both Manchester and Tullahoma.

The Tennessee House has cleared a bill that would let people use silencers on their guns.
The House’s 74-18 vote Monday sends the bill to Republican Gov. Bill Haslam. The Senate approved the bill in a 28-1 vote last month.
Republican sponsors have said the bill nicknamed the “Tennessee Hearing Protection Act,” is meant to protect sportsmen’s hearing. They have said the bill has no nefarious intentions.
The bill would remove silencers from the list of weapons banned for having “no common lawful purpose.”
Rep. Tilman Goins of Morristown and Sen. Steve Southerland of Morristown sponsored the legislation.