Category: News

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department will start taking sign-ups for the annual Christmas boxes on Monday November 28, 2016. If you want to sign your children up for this program, you will need to come in person to the sheriff’s department at 76 County Jail Lane in Manchester. You will need to bring the child’s birth certificate or court documents showing you have full custody of your child or children. You will also need to bring proof of residency that you live in Coffee County, such as an electric or water bill with your name on it. You cannot be on any other agency’s list. If you have any questions you may contact Shannon at the sheriff’s department at 931-570-4409.

Three people have were killed after a fiery crash on Interstate 40 in Cumberland County on Friday afternoon including a man from Tullahoma.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a semi with no trailer was traveling east on Interstate 40 and traveled through the median into westbound traffic, crashing into a tractor-trailer and a passenger vehicle.
The trucks caught fire. The drivers of both trucks and the passenger vehicle were killed. A passenger in the passenger vehicle was taken by helicopter to a Knoxville hospital.
THP released the names of the crash victims late Friday. Officials say 44-year-old Erik New, of Tullahoma, was driving a tractor-trailer with no trailer eastbound on I-40 when, for unknown reasons, he crossed the median into the westbound lanes of traffic.
The tractor-trailer hit a 2016 Nissan Sentra driven by 50-year-old Nancy Tooley, of Tompkinsville, Ky. The Sentra went airborne and started rolling before coming to a stop on the shoulder.
The tractor-trailer then hit another tractor-trailer that was hauling automobiles head on. Both tractor-trailers stopped in the middle of the westbound lanes and burst into flames, THP said.
A fourth vehicle swerved into the median to avoid the crash and hit several pieces of debris, THP said.
New, Tooley and the driver of the second tractor-trailer, Noel Feliciano, 60, of Winchester, Va., were pronounced dead at the scene. A passenger from Tooley’s car, 66-year-old Jack Tooley, was flown to UT Medical Center in Knoxville.
The driver of the fourth vehicle and their passenger were uninjured.
It took around 6 hours to completely reopen the interstate.

Tennessee is under a state of emergency due to a drought and the threat of wildfires.
It’s a Level 3 state of emergency, meaning the situation is deteriorating rapidly.
Approximately 302 of Tennessee’s 480 water systems are experiencing some level of drought impact. At least three counties have requested water because wells have run completely dry.
Fifty-three wildfires are currently burning in East Tennessee, impacting almost 10,000 acres.
The state of emergency will allow resources for state and federal partners to be more readily available if needed to protect lives and property.
State Agriculture Commissioner Jai Templeton has issued a burn ban for Clairborne, Cumberland, Hamilton, Jefferson, Loudon, Marion, Monroe, Robertson and Sevier counties. State officials say the burn ban will remain in place until further notice.
Coffee County has had several brush and grass fires, but local fire departments have done a great job extinguishing the fires.
The level 3 describes an event or period when a serious emergency has occurred or the situation is deteriorating rapidly, and public warnings are being issued. The Tennessee Emergency Management Plan (TEMP) and the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) are activated at this level in accordance with and this action by law declares a state of emergency. Only key or specifically needed emergency service coordinators are called to duty.

The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office arrested a man last week after a chase ended with the suspect crashing into a deputy’s vehicle.
Daniel Morrison, 33, was arrested after deputies responded to a possible assault call on Rock Avenue in Palmer, according to the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office.
As they arrived, Morrison had left the area, and began searching for him.
Grundy County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Paul Sweeton found Morrison in a wooded area near Slatton Road.
That’s when Morrison attempted to flee and ended up striking Sweeton’s vehicle and then fleeing on foot. Morrison was caught after a short foot pursuit.
He has been charged with DUI, driving on revoked, evading, several drug charges and a number of others.
Grundy County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Paul Sweeton was uninjured in the crash.

Motlow State Community College will be closed in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday from Thursday, Nov. 24, through Sunday, Nov. 27, according to college officials.
The closing applies to computer labs, libraries and other facilities at all Motlow State campuses, including the Moore County, Fayetteville, McMinnville and Smyrna campuses.
There will be no classes on Wednesday, Nov. 23, although Motlow facilities will remain open. Classes scheduled for Thursday, Nov. 24 through Sunday, Nov. 27 will not be meeting.
All classes will resume their normal schedules, and all campuses their normal hours, on Monday, Nov. 28.

The Air Force has approved an Organizational Change Request to realign selected Air Force Test Center operations and facilities from several separate locations under one commander at Arnold Engineering Development Complex, Tennessee.
This change consolidates the current capabilities of the AEDC at Arnold AFB, Tennessee; the Hypersonic Combined Test Force, which is currently part of the 412th Test Wing at Edwards AFB, California; and all the current capabilities of the 96th Test Group, headquartered at Holloman AFB, New Mexico; and the McKinley Climatic Laboratory at Eglin AFB, Florida. The 96th TG and the MCL are currently part of the 96th Test Wing at Eglin AFB, Florida.
Additional capabilities to be consolidated are located at the Federal Research Center at White Oak, Maryland and operating locations at Kirtland AFB, New Mexico; Moffett Federal Airfield, California; Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio; and the Army’s White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico.
As part of this action the 96th Test Group and 796th Test Support Squadron at Holloman will be inactivated and will then be activated as the 704th Test Group and 704th Test Support Squadron, respectively.
The duty locations, manpower authorizations and resources of the 704th TG and 704th TSS will be exactly the same as the inactivated 96th TG and 796th TSS. Only the parent unit will change – from the 96th TW to AEDC. This realignment will only impact the administrative reporting chain of the affected organizations and will not require the transfer of personnel or any change in missions at those locations.
The center is also waiting for Air Force approval to designate AEDC as a wing-equivalent-organization. That designation would allow the center to select the next AEDC commander from the Command Screening Board. The center anticipates a decision on that request could come later this year.

A judge previously denied Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold’s request to be released from jail on November 4, 2016. Now, a group is trying to stop his pay.
A Davidson County chancellor hearing the ouster case against the Rutherford County Sheriff said Tuesday the indicted sheriff should be concentrating on clearing his name while in jail.
While acknowledging a citizens group must show “good cause” in trying to suspend him from office, Chancellor Bill Young said, “The court, quite honestly, is struggling with how a sheriff could do his job while he’s incarcerated and how a sheriff maintains the public trust of the citizens of this county as an elected law enforcement official while operating under the cloud of a federal indictment.”
Young said he expects to rule later this week or early next week on the citizens group’s request for Arnold to be suspended without pay until his ouster is decided. His salary is more than $127,000.
Arnold, Chief Administrative Deputy Joe Russell and Arnold’s uncle, John Vanderveer of Marietta, Ga., face a Feb. 7, 2017 trial on federal corruption charges stemming from an unauthorized scheme to profit from the sale of e-cigarettes to Rutherford County jail inmates. U.S. prosecutors said they made tens of thousands of dollars during an eight-month period and misled county and state officials about their involvement in the operation.

A 3-year old child is headed home to Ohio after being abducted Tuesday afternoon.
A Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesperson says that they received a BOLO (be on the lookout) from Genoa Township Police, in Ohio around 6:40 p.m.
The vehicle was a 2015 dark blue Camaro driven by Jason Parsons, 41, Westerville, OH. The suspect was traveling from Georgia on I-24 north.
A THP unit checked a truck stop in Monteagle and found the vehicle unoccupied. About 10-minutes later the suspect was located and taken into custody in Monteagle. The child was located unharmed.

The Tullahoma Area Chamber of Commerce, has announced that they will begin the process of searching for a new executive director. Diane Bryant will be retiring at the end of the year. She’s been director since 2005.
A search committee, headed by Tullahoma Chamber President Bill Yoder, has been created to accept and review applications, they hope to fill the position by the first of the year.