We have another update on the tragic fire that occurred Monday morning around 8:30am on Blue Creek Road in Tullahoma inside Franklin County. One year old Landon Burks who was in the house fire in Franklin County died Thursday at Monroe Carell Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. 4-year-old Sophie Burks died from her injuries after being taken to Southern Tennessee Regional Healthcare in Winchester the day of the fire.
Their 6 month old sister Leah Tigue has been released from Vanderbilt.
There is an ongoing investigation into the fire by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office in conjunction with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and state bomb and arson investigators.

President-elect Donald Trump’s position on renewables and clean energy is worrying environmentalists, but a new national poll from Conservative Energy Voters indicates his voters strongly favor them. The post-election survey found nearly 90 percent of all voters support more government action to speed up the shift to clean energy.
The public sentiment comes as no surprise to Warren Nevad, the director of the Tennessee Renewable Energy and Economic Development Council, a statewide network of city and county leaders.
“We look at renewable energy in a business-minded manner,” he said. “We tell our cities and our members that ‘hey, energy is the second highest part of your budget, next to labor. Now if you use renewable energy, that is a way to save on your energy costs, thus reducing the tax burden to your citizens.'”
Coal and oil companies have argued that policies supporting renewables will raise the cost of energy and hurt the economy. But the survey found conservatives favor those policies specifically because renewables are growing and rapidly adding jobs. Pollster Public Opinion Strategies talked to 1,000 U.S. voters.
Trump’s selection of a climate skeptic to head the EPA suggests the incoming administration may try to undo President Obama’s attempts to cut the carbon emissions that cause climate change.
Mark Pischea, the executive director of the Conservative Energy Network, which commissioned the survey, said conservative groups are working to help transform the nation’s energy supply, but they’ve been more focused on state and local policies. He said they will work in Washington.
“Urge Congress and urge the Trump administration to take a proactive platform on clean energy,” he said. “But most of the important work to move the ball is really happening at the state level.”
Dwain Land is mayor of Dunlap and also a member of TREEDC. He said as a supporter of clean energy, he has been a supporter of Donald Trump from the beginning.
“I was for Trump, but I am for renewable energy also and conserving energy, because we just feel like that’s the right thing to do,” he explained.
This weekend TREEDC is holding its annual conference in Cookeville to discuss ways to educate members about the benefits of renewable energy and how to expand programs in their municipalities and counties.

On Tuesday (December 13, 2016) Christopher J. Gibbs was charged with aggravated child abuse or neglect (Haley’s Law) and domestic assault. The man allegedly became angry with his 4-year-old daughter, apparently struck the girl numerous times and allegedly left marks on her back and knees.
The mother of the child tried to stop her husband, and she was allegedly hit in the head with a belt buckle.
Gibbs, age 44, of Manchester was arrested by Coffee County Deputy Shaun Greene and booked in at the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $15,000, and he’ll appear in court on Thursday.

A crash on Interstate 24 Wednesday morning around 3 a.m. involved two semi-trucks that caused a fire. Both drivers were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
One of the trucks overturned hauling toxic chemicals, closing Interstate 24 in both directions and evacuations were ordered by Rutherford County officials.
Tim Hooker with the Rutherford County Emergency Management Agency explained the contents in the truck were chlorine-based pool chemicals.
The office of Rutherford County Emergency Management initially asked all residents and motorists to stay clear of the area citing HAZMAT concerns but later asked all residents of Buchanan Estates to evacuate the area.
Residents were asked to move to the Patterson Park Community Center on Mercury Boulevard in Murfreesboro.
150 homes in the area were evacuated for several hours until residents were allowed to return to their homes just after 12:30 p.m. after crews had fully extinguished the fire.
The HAZMAT plume extended about a mile southward from the crash site and winds spread the plume southward.
The interstate re-opened Wednesday night many, many hours after the accident.

A suspect has been arrested in the Dec. 2 murder of a Bedford County man in his home.
Jeremy Lee Fleming, 27, of Murfreesboro was taken into custody Wednesday after crashing his vehicle into the back of a residence in Bushnell, Florida, investigators there said. Fleming is accused of killing Robert Timothy Perkins, 51, and setting his home on fire with his body inside.
Fleming was initially charged with driving on a suspended license and arrested on $500 bond, according to the Sumter County, Florida Sheriff’s Office.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents notified Florida detectives of the case, flew there and arrested Fleming on a homicide charge Friday.
Two others with connections to Fleming also face charges after their arrests at a Wildwood, Florida motel.
His brother, Myron David Fleming, 29, of Murfreesboro, was arrested on an outstanding Tennessee warrant for violation of probation regarding theft over $10,000
Autumn Nicole Slade, 26, of Christiana, was arrested on an outstanding Tennessee warrant for violation of probation regarding aggravated burglary, theft over $500.
The three are being held without bond at the Sumter County Detention Center pending extradition to Tennessee.

Coffee County Sheriff’s Department DARE Officer Morris Vanattia has announced essay winners for Fall 2016 from Coffee County Elementary schools.

NEW UNION ELEMENTARY
MRS. FRAME’S CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: MADILYNN BARNES
JOSE BARRERA, GRACIE CAMPBELL

MRS. HELMS’ CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: BRADY DAUGHERTY
AVERY SMITH, RAELIN TUCKER

MR. KEITH’S CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: LINDSEY GRIMES
ELLA HELMS, SAMANTHA KIRBY

NORTH COFFEE ELEMENTARY
MR. CROSSLAND’S CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: JAYDEN FELLERS
McKENZIE LEDBETTER, JAYSON OVERMAN

MRS. VINSON’S CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: ABBY HARLOW
PRESTON HOUCK, MIKAYLA PATTERSON

MR. VINSON’S CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: ALLYSON BLALOCK
MADISON LEDBETTER, MASON McDONALD

EAST COFFEE ELEMENTARY
MR. EATON’S CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: LILY KILCOYNE
VADA LOWERY, MASON PHILLIPS

MRS. LEEDY’S CLASS:
DARE REPORT WINNERS: KATLYN BOYD
LINLEY FREEZE, JOSE POXTAN