Category: News

McMinnville and Warren County’s Driver Testing Center on Vervilla Road is set to reopen on Monday, October 17th. The McMinnville City Board and the Warren County Commission have each voted to pay the money needed to pay the rent on the building through the end of the current fiscal year. That comes to a total of $4,000 a month, with the City and County each contributing $2,000. Officials say they are confident the state will take steps to keep the center open in the future. The state closed the center this past May. The reopening ceremony will be held at 10am the morning of October 17th.

Members of the Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee expressed frustration during a recent meeting over continued operating losses of the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center (MCCCCS).
According to a report in the Tullahoma News, Coffee County Commissioner Bobby Bryan said, “As far as I am concerned, if it gets too far out of hand, shut it down.” “I would hate to do that, but I have seen it operating in the hole every year. Also, I feel the least they can do is report to us on a monthly basis.”
So far this fiscal year, Coffee County has paid about $82,000 for the conference center, which is $32,000 more than the county has budgeted for the entire fiscal year.
Coffee County and the City of Manchester equally share the losses of the conference center.

In a letter from the Public Building Authority it says that it reports activities in a public meeting attended by both the City and the County. Numbers generated directly from the current bookkeeping system are presented at every meeting and discussed. Since the discovery that some audit and other internal processes were not being managed correctly by the previous G.M., the Board took extensive measures to correct those deficiencies. During the cleanup process problems such as internal controls, developing a board approved handbook, correcting non-compliance of labor laws, electrical codes, fire codes, and music licensing were corrected, as well as money and cash handling controls. Service contracts were eliminated including outside sound, linen rentals, equipment rentals, and contracts with excessive rates and streamlined pricing has now been implemented.
It has been noted the two commissioners commenting in the meeting have never been introduced to the new General Manager, Rebecca French or requested financial records. The statements they have made seem unfounded whether they are talking about the new manager or the P.B.A. Continual improvements are being made toward the goals and sustainability of the Conference Center as well as advertising in the corporate market which is bringing customers in to fill up Monday thru Friday 9-5 business, our community does an excellent job of filling up the Weekends. The new phone and internet services are more competitive with the Chattanooga, Huntsville, Murfreesboro, and Nashville markets with 1 gig internet. In fact, new service gained a four month $17,000 contract. The Conference Centers services have attributed to approx. 196 hotel rooms for the month of September and approx. 771 hotel rooms for the month of August. This generates revenue in our community but the Conference Center doesn’t get any recognition from these rooms being rented. The money brought into our community from room rentals, sales tax, and hotel/motel tax does not show on the bottom line.
There have been 5 negative articles written about the Conference Center without any new developments. The newspaper coverage has scared customers for the coming year, with brides calling to see if they will need to find a new venue. These negative articles and comments affect the bottom line. The Conference Center leadership recently attended the Governor’s Conference and came home with a message to the community, “working together” and “putting the right people at the table.” The Conference Center employees are spreading this message and heading in the right direction. The Manchester Coffee County Conference Center is a valuable service for our community.
The letter was signed by Patricia Pinegar, Chairman of the P.B.A.

On Saturday members of the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office responded to yet another shooting into the church on Horse Mountain Rd. While investigating it, they were able to come up with a vehicle description. A few minutes later, a patrolman with the Shelbyville Police Department spotted the vehicle in question in the area and as a result they have identified and arrested the person responsible for shooting into the churches, vandalizing the power company, and cable lines as a Wendell Buchanan 36, of Shelbyville. He is in custody at the Bedford County Jail with a 500,000.00 bond. The Bedford County Sheriff’s Office wants to give a big “Thank you” to the Shelbyville Police Department, as this was a joint effort between the agencies, and their assistance was invaluable.

If your car catches fire on a certain stretch of road on I-24, it’s possible no one will be there to put it out.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation says I-24 westbound on the Chattanooga side of Monteagle Mountain belongs to Battle Creek Volunteer Fire Department.
The eastbound lanes are in Monteagle Fire’s jurisdiction.
Marion County Mayor David Jackson says Battle Creek is working on a limited budget and the department can’t afford to respond to truck fires on the interstate.
Monteagle Fire Chief Mike Holmes says that part of the interstate is prone to truck fires.
“This mountain is bad on brakes. Brakes get too hot, catch on fire, and trailer load catches on fire,” he said.
Holmes says there’s at least one truck fire a month just in that area.
Last month, a bus full of Marines caught on fire.
When dispatch called for Battle Creek to come help, Chief Eddie Haggard can be heard on the 911 call responding:
I’ve been denying all the other fires on the freeway. I have to deny this one too.
No one was trapped on the bus carrying 40 Marines, so Monteagle Fire Department drove outside their jurisdiction to respond.
Tennessee Highway Patrol closed the interstate so the fire trucks could drive east down the westbound lanes to get to the fire.
Chief Holmes says typically, Battle Creek Fire can get to fires on that side of the interstate quicker.
Mayor Jackson says it doesn’t make much of a difference because by the time Battle Creek gets the truck filled with water up the mountain, they’re too late.
Mayor Jackson says he met with TDOT and Tennessee Emergency Management Agency several months ago and hasn’t heard back.
We asked TDOT if they’ll be able to help Battle Creek Fire Department.
Here is their response:
“While TDOT does not have any authority by law to reimburse local governments for costs associated with emergency services related to traffic crashes on state highways, our Finance Office is currently developing a more detailed explanation of our departmental processes for cost recovery due to crashes. This will include information on our billing processes and the data that we provide to owners/insurance carriers when we recover costs incurred by the Department due to crashes. Once this information is updated and compiled, we will share it with local governments, including Marion County, to assist them in understanding how they too can recover the associated costs incurred as a result of these events.
Meanwhile, TDOT says they will continue to work closely with their partners at the Tennessee Department of Safety, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency, and local governments to come up with other possible solutions to this problem. (WTVC-TV)

Work continues on the new exit ramp on the eastbound side of Exit 111. Civil Constructers, who has been working on the new ramp since January, will be closing the right lane of traffic on Monday and Tuesday. Milling work and paving on Monday and on Tuesday there will be rolling roadblocks while workers are installing new signage for the exit. Civil Constructers is asking the public to avoid the area if at all possible.
At the completion of the work, all eastbound traffic wanting to go to Tullahoma will take the new ramp and not have to cross over Hwy 55 in order to turn toward Tullahoma. Work should be completed very soon.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help. Authorities are searching for Katrina Lanette Wolfe age 35. Her last known address was Betsy Willis Rd. in Hillsboro.
Wolfe is 5’6” 160lbs with brown hair and brown eyes.
The female is wanted on warrants out of Coffee and Warren counties.
If you have seen Katrina Lanette Wolfe or know her whereabouts please call the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department at 931-570-4409 or 570-4410. As always the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department thanks the public for its help and support.

A Tullahoma man was transported to the hospital after being struck while lying in the roadway Sept. 25.
According to a report by Tullahoma Police Officer Phil Bratten, a 17 year-old, of Reed Spencer Lane, Tullahoma was struck while lying on East Moore Street by a 2006 Chevrolet operated by Charles Kilcrease, 34, of East Moore Street.
Kilcrease told the officer that he was traveling on East Moore Street when he saw what he believed to be trash in the roadway. He stated that he tried to avoid the debris but was unable to avoid hitting it. He stated that he stopped to see what the debris was and saw a white male, stand up in the roadway and walk away.
The teenager reportedly told the officer that he was hot and laid down in the roadway because the asphalt felt cool.
He was transported to Tennova—Harton Hospital for treatment.
No charges were filed in the accident.

Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen announced this week that nearly 7,500 more postsecondary credits were awarded to Tennessee public school students in 2016 when compared to 2014. Additionally, more students than ever before in Tennessee are taking Advanced Placement (AP) exams, with 27,699 students taking one or more exam in 2016–up 8.8 percent from last year.
The new data shows that not only are more Tennessee students taking AP tests, but also 3,700 more exams were scored a three or higher, making those students eligible to receive college credit for their high school work. AP classes offer students the ability to take college-level course work and earn college credit based on their performance on the national AP exam.
“Through Tennessee Promise, our students have an unprecedented opportunity to continue their education beyond high school, and we must ensure they are ready to be successful from day one,” McQueen said. “To ensure their success in college and their future careers, all students in Tennessee need to have access to rigorous and relevant early postsecondary opportunities, and AP course expansion is a key component to this work.”
The trends in Tennessee were mirrored in the national data that is out this week. Across the country, participation was up by 5.3 percent with a similar percentage increase in the number of exams that were scored as a three or higher.

A new study finds that it should be top of mind for big business in the state. Specifically, researchers found that manufacturers will see significant savings over time as the president’s Clean Power Plan is implemented.
Dr. Marilyn Brown, a Tennessee Valley Authority Board member, and the study’s author said, “Industry is the one sector of the economy that uses the most fossil fuels directly on site so the pollution consequences of large-scale growth of industry is more concerning than large-scale growth of say household consumption.”
Brown, who works for Georgia Tech, found that if states were to adopt a low-cost Clean Power Pathway to compliance, U.S. industries could realize a cumulative savings of $442 billion over the next 15 years. That could be used for plant modernization, product improvements, and even to help grow local jobs. Some manufacturers are challenging the Clean Power Plan in court, arguing that the law exceeds the EPA’s authority.
Earlier this month, the Alliance for Industrial Efficiency ranked Tennessee 13th in the country when it comes to potential carbon reductions with the Clean Power Plan. Specifically, the state would see a savings of almost $21 billion over a 15-year period.
Jennifer Kefer, the executive director of the organization said working to reduce the nation’s carbon footprint can’t ignore one of the biggest contributors to emissions.
“The industrial sector is the nation’s largest energy user,” she said. “It represents about one-third of U.S. energy demand, and so it’s virtually impossible to take on climate change without tackling emissions from the industrial sector.”
Brown said in addition to the potential savings for manufacturers, adopting policies in the Clean Power Plan can facilitate the creation of new jobs across sectors.
“Money spent on plant modernization or product improvement, expanding the customer base for these products leading to business growth, local jobs, all kinds of benefits,” Brown explained.
If no action is taken on the part of industries to incorporate clean energy in their manufacturing, Brown said their energy bills would rise by 44 percent over the next 15 years.