Category: News

One person has been killed in a crash on Interstate 24 in Coffee County.
The wreck involving two vehicles happened in the eastbound lanes near mile marker 99 around 1:15 a.m. Saturday morning.
Karlea A. Hedgepath, 24, of Smyrna, was killed in the Saturday morning crash.
Hedgepath was the passenger in a pickup truck heading eastbound on I-24.
The driver of the pickup, 23-year-old Zachary T. Kilburn, sustained injuries and was flown to Erlanger Hospital in Chattanooga.
The vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed when it attempted to change lanes from the left to the right.
The pickup clipped a tractor trailer, then returned to the left lane and then lost control, crashing on the right hand shoulder.
Hedgepath was pronounced dead at Unity Medical Clinic in Manchester.
Tennessee Highway Patrol reports that neither occupant of the pickup was wearing a safety belt.
The driver of the tractor trailer was not injured in the accident.
THP has not released an update on Kilburn’s condition.
Criminal charges are pending in the case.

On Friday morning around at 3:30am Coffee County Deputy Eric Clem responded to a fire at 2223 Woodbury Highway at A Plus Wrecker Service. Upon his arrival he observed a motor-home completely engulfed in flames and a wrecker beside it starting to catch fire at the time. New Union Fire Department had to cut a lock on the gate to make entrance into the lot to extinguish the fire.
The owner told the deputy that the motor-home was a complete loss and his wrecker, a 3000 GT sitting beside the motor home also sustained fire damage.
No one was injured in the blaze.

The Manchester Police Department would like everyone to congratulate of their own, Officer Jamie Norris. Norris was recently presented with the Tennessee Highway Safety Office, Cumberland Region, “Officer of the Year” in a ceremony at Fall Creek Falls State Park.
Officer Norris was hired at Manchester Police Department on April 13, 2015. Officer Norris has surpassed expectations in many ways to make our roadways safer. He has volunteered and worked numerous saturation events during traffic enforcement campaigns. From January 1, 2016 to October 1, 2016 he has issued 528 traffic citations. He has made 99 arrests with most of them being traffic related including 7 DUI arrests, 14 drug arrests and 42 arrests for driving on revoked / suspended driver license. Officer Norris completed Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) school in February 2016 and is now a certified DRE. He also completed THSO Advance Crash Investigation in August 2016.
Officer Norris states that his job is to keep our roadways safe and to keep all citizens of Manchester as safe as possible when traveling. Officer Norris has an outstanding work ethic and leads by example with his job performance.

When preparing to host holiday gatherings, you may not immediately think to add ‘properly store medication’ to your to-do list. However, with prescription drug abuse and overdose increasing, it’s important to take appropriate measures to secure your medicines before visitors arrive.
“Many people don’t realize how common prescription drug misuse and abuse issues are,” said Kristina Clark, co-developer of the national Count It! Lock It! Drop It!™ prescription drug abuse prevention program. “There are many reasons someone might get into your medicines, and a number of negative consequences when they do.”
By keeping your medications properly locked and out of sight, you can avoid issues that could arise when a guest isn’t feeling well and checks the family medicine cabinet.
“Friends or family may seek relief for a headache or some other condition, and simply take a prescription medication they find, thinking it will help,” said Cheryl McClatchey, behavioral health director at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee. “It may not be done with bad intentions, but it can have dangerous outcomes.”
Even if someone asks you to share your pills, it’s best to refrain, says Dr. Natalie Tate, director of pharmacy at BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee.
Count It! Lock It! Drop It!™ offers these tips to keep prescription drugs safe year-round:
• Store your medications in a secure and dry place. Invest in a home lock box.
• Count your pills regularly to check for missing medication.
• Never share your medications.
• Don’t discuss your medications with others.
• Dispose of unused medications securely – go to countitlockitdropit.org to find a secure drop box near you.

The annual Manchester Christmas Parade was held on Saturday night. The parade named ‘Under the Christmas Tree’ was sponsored by:
Manchester Tourism & Development Commission
Lovelady Auto Parts
Great Lakes Cheese
People’s Bank and Trust
Toliver’s Gun and Pawn Shop
Sherrill’s Pest Control
Ambassador Inn
Lion’s Club
Jiffy Burger
and Bush Insurance

Winners:
Large Float Category: Coffee County Sheriff’s Department. Small Float Category: Marcrom’s Pharmacy & Wellness Center Most Unique/ Theme Float: Interstate Liquors and Most Unique Vehicle: Downtown Manchester Businesses.
Thanks to all who participated and attended the fantastic event. Another photo below.

There was a two car accident on Monday at the intersection of Roberts Drive and Hillsboro Blvd in Manchester. In an arrest warrant, Manchester Officer Daryn Gadeken states that one of the people involved was Nicholas Bob Lain age 28 of Lokey St Manchester. A check of the Lain’s driver’s license showed them to be revoked/suspended 7th offense for driving under the influence. Lain is also listed as a habitual motor offender.
Lain was booked into the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $15,500. His court date has been set for December 20, 2016.

The drought has led to wildfires and some water restrictions across the area, but the dry conditions are also affecting rest areas in Grundy County.
They are closed on the Nashville side of Interstate 24, which could be inconvenient for drivers. TDOT maintains the rest areas, which use water from the City of Monteagle. The facilities use more than 3,000 gallons of water a day.
City officials are concerned about their water supply, so they asked TDOT to close them for now. A similar situation happened nine years ago.
TDOT officials said they plan to reopen the rest areas from December 21 to January 2. After that, they’ll have to look at the conditions and figure out if the drought is still a factor. (WRCB-TV)

It’s called the “invisible disease,” but the 30,000 people who have Crohn’s or colitis in Tennessee will tell you it is anything but. These are inflammatory bowel diseases that cause pain, weight loss, exhaustion and other symptoms that are not curable.
Michelle Chianese, the executive director of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America in Tennessee, explains that since stress often aggravates the illness, many people are diagnosed between ages 15 and 35, when they’re in school or starting families and careers.
“It happens a lot during a very productive and busy time in someone’s life, and sometimes it can be missed as food poisoning, or just some kind of virus,” she explained. “And then, it’s not until months and sometimes even years later when it’s officially diagnosed.”
This week is Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week. The causes of Crohn’s disease or colitis are not well understood, but diet and stress are known to aggravate symptoms. Those symptoms include persistent diarrhea, rectal bleeding, abdominal cramps, fever, weight loss and night sweats.
Jordan Sorrells has lived with Crohn’s disease for 20 years and said it’s always a challenge to educate people about it, simply because some of its effects are unpleasant and hard to discuss.
“It’s definitely one of those diseases that people don’t want to talk about,” he said. “It’s not polite dinner conversation. Things that I’ve had to deal with over the years, the main things that I deal with, are fatigue, weight loss, and they just depend on my stress level and everything that’s going on.”
And since it isn’t obvious that someone has an inflammatory bowel disease or IBD, Chianese said awareness and support from friends and loved ones is key.
“It’s important for people to talk about these diseases and let everyone know how severe these diseases can be, and how they can impact patients’ lives,” she said. “And just have it be part of the conversation.”
According to the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America, as many as 70,000 new cases of IBD are diagnosed in the U.S. each year, with as many as 80,000 children living with the condition.