Category: News

The Motlow College Foundation recently held a reception to thank Foundation scholarship donors and to honor scholarship recipients for the 2016-2017 academic year. Guests were joined by Motlow administration, faculty and staff in a show of appreciation to both parties.
For information about creating scholarships for Motlow State students, contact Lane Yoder, director of advancement, at lyoder@mscc.edu or 931-393-1692.

The end of the 10th Anniversary season at Grandaddy’s Farm is almost here! You’ve only got one more weekend to enjoy all the fun the farm has to offer! Be not dismayed, there’s still great news! Saturday, November 5th is Pumpkin Demolition Day!
Have you ever wondered what Grandaddy’s Farm does with all those old pumpkins? We smash ‘em! You can join in on the fun by coming out to the farm on November 5th and enjoying a hayride to pick out a pumpkin for free! Once you get your pumpkin, you’ll be able to take it to Demolition Hill and watch it roll, bounce and smash all the way to the bottom! Something must be done with the pumpkins and we invite you to help! Come on out to the farm and join the fun. Don’t forget all the other fun you enjoy on the farm is still happening and the market is still full of great fall decorations and treats!
Don’t forget to keep up with Grandaddy’s all year round by visiting grandaddysfarm.com and sign up for our newsletter!

A Manchester man was booked into the Coffee County Jail on Halloween Day after leading deputies on a foot chase.
According to a report by Coffee County Sheriff’s Deputy Blake Simmons, a white car was observed sitting at a gate on the Woodbury Highway. When the officer approached the vehicle he noticed that the occupant, Steven Davenport, 27, of Shelly Road, Manchester, had his head against the steering wheel.
The report states that Davenport appeared nervous. When the deputy went to his vehicle to check with dispatchers to learn if there were any warrants for the man, Davenport jumped a gate and took off running through a field leading Simmons into a wooded area. Once in the wooded area Deputies Stephen Sharketti and Jeremy David arrived and placed Davenport into custody.
When Deputy Simmons ran a check for warrants he learned that Davenport was wanted in Rutherford and Cannon Counties on charges.
Davenport was booked into the Coffee County Jail on a charge of evading arrest. His bond on that charge is $1,500 and he is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Dec. 12. In the meantime he faces the charges in Cannon and Rutherford Counties.

Recently a Coffee County citizen filed a complaint concerning the Coffee County Animal Control vehicle going over the posted speed limit.
Members of the Compensation and Personnel Committee met and it was recommended by Mayor Gary Cordell that the animal control vehicle be considered non-emergency and not be allowed to go over the speed limit at any time.
The committee agreed and they also want the blue emergency lights currently installed on the truck to be replaced with white or yellow lights.

Almost 96 percent of Tennessee children have health insurance with an additional 23,000 children getting coverage since 2013, according to a report from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families. Linda O’Neal, executive director of the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, says having access to health care has an impact on a child’s entire life. “When Tennessee children are insured, minor illnesses will be treated early before they escalate into more costly and potentially more damaging illnesses and also because if they have access to health insurance they’re less likely to be absent from school,” she points out. Even though more children have insurance than ever before, there remain more than 60,000 children in Tennessee without it. O’Neal says many of them qualify for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Tenncare, but their parents may not be aware of that or know how to enroll. Nationwide about half of uninsured children live in the South, according to the report. With premiums for coverage offered on the federal health exchange expected to double in some cases, and insurers pulling out of the program, the Affordable Care Act has faced much criticism in recent days. O’Neal says it’s important to remember that many of the challenges the program faces would be eliminated if lawmakers would accept federal dollars for their states and bridge the coverage gap. “There’s certainly reason for concern in terms of rising premiums, but there’s also a sense that the lack of expansion of Medicaid in a number of states has contributed to the higher premiums,” she states. Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, says while the election is highlighting areas where the country disagrees on health care, progress has still been made in securing coverage for those in need. “We see success around the country and I think this speaks to how despite all of the fighting and very intense partisanship around the Affordable Care Act, we can feel good as a country that we’ve come together through Medicaid, CHIP and the Affordable Care Act and really reduced the number of uninsured children,” she stresses. A group of largely conservative Tennessee lawmakers have devised the 3-Star Health Plan, which they are expected to introduce in the next legislative session. It offers a way for the state to take advantage of the federal money available for Medicaid expansion.

On Sunday Coffee County deputies and the New Union Volunteer Fire Department responded to a house fire at 133 Red Bud Circle. The man at the home told deputies that the power was turning off and on in the neighborhood for over an hour due to a transformer going out. When the power came back on he heard a load popping noise coming from the laundry room and within a matter of a few minutes he started seeing smoke coming from the wall and then it caught on fire.
The homeowner told deputies he values his loss at least $30,000 for the damage to his laundry room in his residence.

Dr. Candice McQueen, Commissioner of Education for the state of Tennessee will be visiting Manchester’s Westwood Middle School and Coffee County High School on Friday, November 4th.
Dr. McQueen will tour the schools and at the high school, student representatives will show her around, observe classes, and lead a round table discussion with several students focusing on career and college readiness.
Dr. McQueen was sworn in as Tennessee’s commissioner of education on January 17, 2015.