Category: News

Bradley Newton Weir, the former head baseball coach at Coffee County High School will return to the county for his trial on sex charges. Weir’s trial date is set for Oct. 4, 2017, according to records from the Coffee County Circuit Court Clerk’s office. Weir was arrested over 2 years ago on Feb. 3, 2015 and has been free on $100,000 bond since.
The 46 year-old Weir is accused of having sex with a student.
He was indicted by the Coffee County grand jury on one count of statutory rape by an authority figure, one count of aggravated rape, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, seven counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and six counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.
After being arrested Weir made bond.
Weir worked for the Coffee County Raider Academy as a teacher and was head baseball coach at the high school. He was hired as baseball coach in late May of 2014.
He longer lives in the area.

The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a 16-year-old who has not been seen since Thursday night.
Devin Bond was reported missing Friday morning after his 9-year-old brother discovered that he had put towels and pillows under his blanket to make it appear that he was still asleep.
Many of the teen’s friends are out of town on spring break, and the others do not have any idea of where he might be.

Middle Tennessee officials will observe National Crime Victims’ Rights Week with a series of events.
The theme this year is Strength, Resilience and Justice.
Trees will be planted in ceremonies across the state to honor victims of crime. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is honored to be a partner in this effort.
A tree ceremony will take place in Tullahoma on Wednesday at the Tennessee Corrections Academy beginning at 3 p.m. In case of rain the ceremony will be held under a covered shelter.

The Tennessee Poison Control Center gets hundreds of calls each week about accidental or intentional poisonings.
While poisonings include ingestion of household products, prescription medicine overdoses are an increasing problem.
On average, drug overdoses kill around 1,500 people in the state annually.
Josephine Darwin, director of community outreach for the Tennessee Poison Center, says adding to the problem is the growing use of opioids among the state’s citizens.
“That is a big problem in Tennessee,” she states. “In fact, now in Tennessee more residents have prescriptions to opioids than smoke tobacco.”
Darwin says the bright colors and shiny pills of opioids and other harmful drugs also make them more attractive to children.
You’re encouraged to call 1-800-222-1222 if you suspect a poisoning.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), every day opioid misuse sends about 1,000 Americans to emergency rooms and is behind the drug overdose deaths of nearly 44 people each day.
While 911 is a critical resource in a medical emergency, Darwin explains that with poisonings it’s best to call the poison center for help first.
“Never wait for symptoms,” she stresses. “A lot of things that could be toxic, it might take a day or so for those to start working, so you need to call the poison center first.”
While medicine caps help prevent medicine getting into the wrong hands, they’re no replacement for supervision or keeping the drugs in a secure place.
“One thing that people need to realize is that those are not child proof, they’re just child resistant,” she stresses. “Children can easily undo those caps if they really want to, and with social media it also shows people different ways to be poisoned, if they choose to do so.”
It is recommended to always keep medications of any sort in their original packaging, and the same goes for household cleaners, pesticides and other toxic chemicals.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is attempting to locate Tabitha Kolankiewicz. She was last seen leaving her residence (50 Maple Ave., Tullahoma, TN.) at approximately 6:30am on Thursday March 30. Kolankiewicz was traveling to Advanced Financial in Nashville. She was driving a 2012 beige in color Chevy Malibu bearing the tag number V91-60F. Kolankiewicz was wearing brown boots with zippers and black leggings and has brown shoulder length hair.
If anyone has any information about Kolankiewicz whereabouts you are asked to contact Investigator Todd Hindman of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 931-962-0123.

The Tullahoma Police Department needs your assistance identifying two subjects that were allegedly involved in a theft from a local business. The man and woman are accused of theft from Walmart on North Jackson St. on March 29.
Anyone with information about this crime or the identity of these subjects please contact the Tullahoma Police Department at 931.455.0530 and speak with Investigator Johnny Gore or by emailing him at jgore@tullahomatn.gov.

Detectives with Bedford County Sheriff’s Office are requesting the public’s assistance in an on-going investigation. On Monday, March 20, 2017, a female was sexually assaulted in the area of Highway 82 South, near the bridge, along the Duck River. The attack occurred around 2:00 p.m. A silver or gray SUV was observed parked near the scene, as well as an aluminum flat bottom boat.
Suspect A is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 5’6” to 5’7” tall, with very short, black hair. Suspect A has a mole on his cheek. Suspect A is estimated to be between the ages of 35 to 45. Suspect B is described as a Hispanic male, approximately 5’6” to 5’7” tall, with short, black hair. Suspect B is estimated to be between the ages of 20 to 30.

Bedford County requested assistance from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s forensic imaging specialist in creating a composite sketch of the two suspects.
If you were in the area of Highway 82 South March 20 around 2pm and have any information that may assist, please contact Detective Host at 931.684.3232. You can remain anonymous.

The City of Tullahoma is pleased to announce that the Tennessee Aeronautics Commission (TAC) named the Tullahoma Regional Airport/William Northern Field as the 2017 Airport of the Year at the annual Airport Conference held in Murfreesboro at the Embassy Suites March 20 – 22. This is the first time that the Tullahoma Regional Airport has won this prestigious award out of the seventy-nine airports in state.
“The Tullahoma Regional Airport has participated in some very special events in addition to continuing to develop capacities for economic development – all while supporting their standard flying activities,” said TAC Division Director, Bill Orellana.
“We are proud of the work being done by the team at the Tullahoma Regional Airport, and we want to thank the TAC for this fantastic recognition,” said Tullahoma Airport Authority Chairman, Dr. Don Daniels.
The Tullahoma Regional Airport has been aggressively continuing pavements maintenance projects while pursuing multiple economic development opportunities. Since 2013, the Tullahoma Airport has built two aprons on the NW side to include a maintenance hangar, hosted two privately funded maintenance hangars and an access road. Additional development includes concrete ramp repairs, remarked the primary runway, and rehabbed some very old taxiways, giving access to the new Tullahoma Business Airpark. These projects amount to nearly $4 million in construction and have attracted a DOD contractor, Sarasota Avionics and XP Services avionics installer.
“The small, dedicated airport staff does a great job ensuring a welcoming and professional environment to both pilots and patrons. And the Airport Authority members have a demonstrated history of providing strong leadership and vision,” said Mayor Lane Curlee. “I congratulate all associated with our airport on jobs well done. I am proud of everyone’s efforts.”
Other factors that made Tullahoma the Airport of the year include, “The Tullahoma Airport has over 140 based aircraft and experiencing approximately 40,000 flight operations per year. The airport has realized record fuel sales for three years in a row. The Tullahoma Airport is home to the University of Tennessee Space Institute Flight Research Center, Vanderbilt Life Flight, and Skydive Tennessee and are the annual staging base for the Bonnaroo Music Festival.
An additional asset that resulted in this award is the fact that the Tullahoma Airport is home to the world class Beechcraft Heritage Museum, who entertains many visitors, especially during the very well-attended yearly Beech Party fly-ins. Beech aircraft come from all over the country, and the ramp fills with historic, restored planes.
The Airport and the museum also attracted the attention of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA). They selected Tullahoma as the Southeast Regional Fly-in location for 2015. Regional fly-ins have replaced the old annual AOPA convention, and have taken AOPA closer to their membership by moving around the country to multiple locations each year. Tullahoma saw 375 airplanes make their way through rough weather to attend safety seminars, talk with vendors and suppliers, and network with others interested in aviation.

A Nashville woman was also arrested for taking drugs into a penal institution by troopers.
According to warrant obtained by Trooper Jonathan Williams, Masharie Shavon Pirtle, 38, of Nashville was arrested on March 29 on the charges.
According to the warrant, the trooper stopped Pirtle on Interstate 24 for a traffic violation. When he checked to learn about the status of her driver license he learned that she was driving on revoked license for the third time. She was also found to be driving a rental car that had not been turned in.
While correction officers were searching her while processing her into the jail they found hidden inside of her of marijuana.
Pirtle was charged with contraband in a penal institution, driving on revoked/suspended license, theft of property and possession of schedule VI. Her bond was set at $22,000 and she is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court on May 2.