Category: News

Five juveniles were taken into custody on Wednesday night after they were found in the old Jones Elementary School located on Riley Creek Road.
A report by Deputy Joey Ricco states that the officer arrived at the school building and found a car pulled in the back of the building. While checking the license tag on the vehicle, the officer heard yelling coming from inside the building. Deputy Ricco then called for assistance from other deputies. Deputy Antonio Frost arrived and the juveniles tried coming out the back door of the building and to run. Deputy Sgt. David Grosch arrived with his K-9 unit and they started to track two of the five teens. Grosch and the K-9 located shoes and a jacket apparently belonging to one of the teens. He also found a bag of marijuana in a culvert area. Grosch was able to get the names of the teenagers.
They caught the teenagers and took them to the Coffee County Jail where they were charged with burglary, vandalism, evading arrest and curfew violation. All five admitted to being in the building numerous times. Two other juveniles will be facing charges as well.
The five juveniles that were caught were released to the parents. The juveniles will appear in Coffee County Juvenile Court.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe have announced that 18 communities and local organizations will receive $6.2 million in Site Development Grants.
The Site Development Grant program, part of the larger Rural Economic Opportunity Act passed in 2016, helps communities prepare industrial sites for businesses.
“Providing more opportunities for citizens in rural Tennessee is one of our top priorities and with the assistance of the Site Development Grants, the rural communities receiving these grants will be ready for investment and economic success,” Haslam said. “We are strengthening our future workforce through programs like Tennessee Promise, and I look forward to seeing these 18 communities succeed and grow for the next generation of Tennesseans.”
• Manchester Industrial Park – $137,453 – Extension of approximately 1150 linear feet of waterlines, relocation of electric utility lines, and drainage improvements.
• Tullahoma Airport Business Park – $280,000 – Clearing of approximately 26 acres of wooded area and drainage improvements.

On Monday, detectives with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office were investigating the theft of a 2009 Volvo semi-truck, valued at $20,000 that was stolen from County Line Road in Bedford County. As a result of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office investigations, information led them to a location on Cobb Road in Christiana, TN.
BCSO investigators spotted what was believed to be the stolen truck sitting in the driveway of the Cobb Road address. Through interviews and further investigation, Ryan Robinson was charged with the theft of the semi-truck. He was placed in custody and transferred to the Bedford County Jail and charged with theft over $10,000.

Ziggy’s Tree Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Tullahoma has received a $4,000 grant to continue its work.
The grant was presented by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, a charitable organization dedicated to enriching the quality of life in the 40 Middle Tennessee counties it serves.
Ziggy’s Tree Wildlife Rehabilitation Center will use the grant to provide food and medical care for Tennessee’s orphaned and injured native wildlife with the goal of returning them to their natural habitat.
Ziggy’s Tree provides care for over 900 orphaned and injured wild animals every year with the goal of returning healthy animals to their free and wild lives.
Ziggy’s Tree is an all-volunteer organization and holds rehabilitation permits from both Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and US Fish and Wildlife. They specialize in caring for native species songbirds and small mammals, and also provide information to the public on living in harmony with our wild neighbors. For more information, visit their website at www.ziggystree.org or follow them on Facebook.

A bill to require Tennessee school buses to be fitted with seat belts by July 2023 is advancing in the House.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that the House Transportation Subcommittee advanced the measure on a voice vote on Wednesday.
The vote came after a pediatric surgeon testified about how three-point safety belts could have benefited children injured in a Chattanooga school bus crash that killed six children in November.
Democratic Rep. JoAnne Favors of Chattanooga said she was pleased to see her bill advance, but acknowledged that she will have to address the estimated $400 million it would take for school districts to buy new buses equipped with seat belts.
Investigators have said the driver was speeding and off of his route when the bus crashed.

28-year old Garieon Simmons of Decherd, Tennessee will soon face the Rutherford County courts. Simmons was the driver of a stolen SUV from Coffee County who allegedly led authorities on a high speed pursuit, which began in Manchester. Simmons later crashed the SUV on South Church Street in Murfreesboro.
When Simmons crashed, he ran into the side of a vehicle being driven by Jennifer Campos. Campos was turning out of a parking lot on South Church when she was hit in the driver’s side door. Her seven-month-old daughter survived the collision, but Campos died at the scene.
Simmons, who will be arraigned in court on March 27th, will face charges of first-degree murder, aggravated vehicular homicide and felony evading charges. He is also charged with DUI, theft and aggravated vehicular homicide per DUI enhancement. (Story help from WGNS Radio)

The Coffee County Health Council is working on a Bike Pedestrian Plan for the county to improve opportunities to walk/run and bike safely. Manchester Parks and Recreation wants people to experience physical activity in a positive manner. A survey has been put together so the health council can find out what you think can be improved! Go to www.wmsrradio.com for a link to the survey. You can find it on our front page just to the right of our news stories.
Bonnie Gamble Director of Manchester Parks and Recreation told us this about the survey.

A Tennessee lawmaker says his bill that would legalize medical marijuana is dead for this year’s legislative session.
Republican Rep. Jeremy Faison says there’s currently not enough support in the Senate for the change.
Faison’s bill would have let people use prescribed marijuana to treat a variety of ailments, from cancer to post-traumatic stress disorder.
It also would have allowed 50 grow operations in Tennessee, with the first 15 in distressed areas.
On Tuesday, the Cosby lawmaker helped kill a separate resolution that he says would’ve pigeonholed Tennessee into waiting for additional U.S. Food and Drug Administration action.
Faison said some lawmakers feared their constituents would vote against them for supporting medical marijuana. He contended there will be a greater consequence for opponents because of positive polling for medical marijuana.

A bill that would allow school systems to deduct up to 10 percent of teachers’ unions dues from payroll has passed in a House education subcommittee.
The proposal is opposed by the Tennessee Education Association, the state’s largest teacher union.
Rep. Bill Dunn, a Knoxville Republican who sponsored the proposal, said the measure is designed so that all groups who represent teachers would be treated equally. He told fellow lawmakers that some school systems were refusing to deduct dues for some teacher organizations other than TEA.
Some lawmakers expressed concern that school districts could punish teacher unions for speaking out by threatening to increase a bigger percentage from the dues deducted from payroll.
Dunn said he would amend the bill to cut the percentage of dues taken by using procedures.

Music fans will have more options to dance the night away at the 16^th annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, which is unveiling an all-night stage focusing on dance, electronic and hip-hop artists.
The Other stage will run all night at this year’s festival, scheduled June 8-11 in Manchester.
This year’s lineup includes U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd and hundreds of others.