Category: News

A Lebanon man who is accused of murdering a former Tullahoma woman and dumping her body has been bound over to the Williamson County Grand Jury.
Thomas Blake Bruner, 20, of Lebanon was arrested Aug. 26 for the murder of Britney Cole, 21 formerly of Tullahoma.
Her body was found the week before about 70 feet into a wooded area in the Bethesda and College Grove area of Williamson County. According to the Williamson County Sheriff, she had been shot with what appeared to be a handgun.
Bruner’s case will be heard by the next term of the Williamson County Grand Jury and he remains jailed on a bond of $1 million.

The Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition has partnered with Coffee County Raider Academy to pilot a program called Transition Academy. The Transition Academy is a 3 part series for 9th grade female students and their parents. The goal of this program is to build life skills to empower our young women and encourage parent involvement during the transitional years of high school and young adulthood. During each week the young women are invited to attend a 2-hour program. The second hour (4 p.m. – 5 p.m.) parents/ caregivers are invited to attend interactive sessions with their young women. Weekly program schedule is as follows:

Monday September 19th
3:10 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Healthy snacks and fall hair/makeup trends
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Office Daniel Ray, Manchester Police Department, will instruct on self-defense and Christina Merino, Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition will discuss navigating the teen years with students and their parent/caregivers.

Monday October 17th
3:10 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Smoothy bar/heathy snacks and Duck River Dance instruction
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Haven of Hope will discuss what healthy relationships (with friends, family, teachers, etc..) and Priscilla Van Tries, Coffee County School System, will discuss healthy body image with students and their parent/caregivers.

Monday November 14th
3:10 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Heathy snacks and crafts
4:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Christina Merino, CCADC, will discuss staying above the influence and a presenter to be announced will discuss staying above teenage stress in healthy ways with students and their parent/ caregivers.

The Coalition and Raider Academy encourages female students and parents/caregivers to attend this event.
Students may still attend if parents/caregivers are unable to attend. Door prizes will be available at each Transition Academy session! For more information contact the Coalition at 931-570-4484 or Connie Heatherly, school counselor, at Raider Academy at 931-723-3309.
The Coalition is looking for interested Coffee County businesses who would like to donate gift cards, supplies, or services to the participants of the Transition Academy. Please contact the Coalition office at 931-570-4484 to make your tax deductible donation.

Al White Motors and WMSR (Thunder Radio) are teaming up to honor those who serve that thin blue line, our local law enforcement. Each month someone in law enforcement will be honored as a Hometown Hero. Our first “Hometown Hero” is Daryl Welch of Coffee County Emergency Management/Homeland Security. Congratulations to Daryl.
We are looking for the public’s help for more hometown heroes. Go to our Facebook page or the Al White Ford Lincoln Mercury Facebook page to nominate a law enforcement official. Tell us why you think someone that serves Coffee County in law enforcement deserves to be chosen as a “Hometown Hero”. The man or woman that is selected each month will be recognized on WMSRradio.com and receive a nice surprise from Al White Motors.
Thank you to all that serve and protect us, our Hometown Heroes.

The United States has filed a False Claims Act lawsuit against Vanguard Healthcare LLC, and six of its nursing homes and related entities, as well as Vanguard’s Director of Operations, announced David Rivera, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer, head of the Department of Justice Civil Division.
The six Vanguard facilities include Boulevard Terrace, LLC operating as Boulevard Terrace Rehabilitation and Nursing Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee; Vanguard of Crestview operating as Crestview Health and Rehabilitation in Nashville, Tennessee; Glen Oaks, LLC operating as Glen Oaks Health and Rehabilitation in Shelbyville, Tennessee; Imperial Gardens Health and Rehabilitation, LLC, which previously operated Imperial Gardens Health and Rehabilitation, LLC in Madison, Tennessee and has ceased operations; Manchester Health Care Center, in Manchester, Tennessee, which is operated by Vanguard of Manchester, LLC located on Interstate Dr; and Vanguard of Memphis, LLC, operating as Poplar Point Health and Rehabilitation in Memphis, Tennessee. The lawsuit also names Vanguard’s former Director of Operations, Mark Miller.
Rivera said, “We are committed to combating elderly abuse, neglect and financial exploitation. We will continue to hold accountable those who profit from the care of elderly Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, including nursing home operators, while providing non-existent or grossly substandard care.”
“Our seniors rely on the Medicare and Medicaid programs to help care for them with dignity and respect,” said Benjamin C. Mizer, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General.
The lawsuit alleges that the defendants were responsible for the submission of false claims to Medicare and TennCare for skilled nursing home services that were either non-existent or grossly substandard. The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants submitted required nursing facility Pre-Admission forms with forged physician and nurse signatures. Vanguard Healthcare, LLC is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee and has 14 long-term care nursing home providers operating around the United States.
This only one side of the legal issue.

Special Agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation have obtained indictments for a Franklin County man accused of aggravated arson and aggravated assault.
At the request of 12th District Attorney General J. Michael Taylor and the Winchester Police Department, TBI Special Agents joined investigators with Winchester Police and the Department of Commerce and Insurance Fire Investigations, in investigating a suspicious fire on June 27th at a Winchester residence. The five occupants of the home on South Jefferson Street were able to escape without injury. During the course of the investigation, the fire was determined to be arson, and Agents developed information that led them to Robert Lewis as the individual responsible for the fire.
On Tuesday, the Franklin County Grand Jury returned indictments charging Lewis, 36, with one count of Aggravated Arson and five counts of Aggravated Assault. He was arrested Wednesday without incident by TBI Agents and investigators with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Lewis was booked into the Franklin County Jail on a $10,000 bond.

Legal Aid Society of Middle Tennessee and the Cumberlands, Tennessee’s largest non-profit law firm, announced Thursday that it has relocated its Tullahoma office from 123 NW Atlantic St. to 281 Industrial Blvd. The new 4,400-square-foot office location is located just minutes from downtown Tullahoma.
“While our old office served us well for the last 35 years, we are pleased to have found an office that will be an even better environment for our clients and staff,” according to the managing attorney of Legal Aid Society’s Tullahoma office.
Six Legal Aid Society employees currently work at the new space, providing free legal assistance to low-income individuals in Bedford, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore and Warren counties.
All phone numbers to Legal Aid Society’s Tullahoma location have remained unchanged.

Patriot Day observance in Manchester is scheduled for Sunday, September 11th, at 2pm, on the courthouse lawn. Normally the ceremony is held at 11am, however due to it being on Sunday those in charge of the event wanted everyone to be able to attend church if they choose.
This is the 15th year for the event held in Manchester.
Patriot Day is an annual observance on September 11 to remember those who were injured or died during the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. The event held each Sept. 11 in Manchester is to honor first responders in our area. The local veterans groups put on the event so that we can pay tribute to those who serve us.
If it rains, the event will be held American Legion Hall at 130 Shelton Road in Manchester.

Students at Westwood Middle School in Manchester are going through a program to help their community. The student body is divided into what is called “Houses”. The “Houses” are evenly divided between 6th, 7th and 8th graders. The houses are all named after different rockets: Falcon, Saturn, Atlas, and Delta. Not only do the houses compete for points (attendance, conduct, spirit demonstrated at pep rallies, and specific contests), they also adopt charities and find ways to help those agencies. Teacher Karen Lewis said, “We do not award house points for charity work; we work for others simply because it’s the right thing to do.”
Recently Rob Clutter who is on the board of the Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center spoke to students from the “Delta House”. After hearing from Clutter the students went to work gathering snacks and drinks for the center. This week the students gave their donation to the center to be used by children who use the facility.

Wednesday morning at around 4:30am Manchester Fire-Rescue received a call from the Coffee County Communications Center reporting smoke coming from Captain D’s on the Hillsboro Hwy. Fire units responded and upon arrival crews reported smoke coming from the roof area of Captain D’s.
Firefighters made entry into the facility and discovered a fire above the false ceiling and they extinguished it rapidly.
Crews remained on scene conducting overhaul and salvage operations till about 8:30am ensuring there was no further fire extension in the facility.
Fire Chief George Chambers said crews did an outstanding job of locating the fire and extinguishing it quickly. The chief also added that not only did Manchester Firefighters do an outstanding job, but so did the Manchester Police Department with their assistance along with Duck River Electric and the City Water Department who cut utilities while crews were conducting operations.
Chambers wanted to say a special thank you Hardee’s and Bojangles as they provided responding crews with some excellent early morning nourishment.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Many Tennessee roads today are clogged with people returning to work from the Labor Day weekend.
Less prevalent on the roads are public buses and the appearance of light rails running parallel to major thoroughfares.
Cities such as Nashville are hoping to change that.
The Metro Transit Authority (MTA) in Nashville has released its regional transit plan that includes a $6 billion price tag over the next 25 years.
Michelle Estes, an organizer with the riders’ union Music City Riders United, says she hopes attention is paid to existing service.
“My issue is, ‘Why not take care of the buses first,’” she states. “If you can get them back in the way they used to be where you don’t have to go all the way back downtown and then come back out on another bus, then maybe we can incorporate other plans that they want to bring in.”
Among the largest projects proposed – a commuter rail connecting Nashville and Clarksville and light rail on four busy corridors in the capital city.
The MTA plan also includes plans to improve access for people with limited access to personal vehicles, expand the range of transportation options for Middle Tennessee and simplify the existing system.
It’s estimated that more than 2 million people would benefit from the improvements.
Estes says thousands like her count on public transportation to travel to doctors’ visits, grocery stores and work, and it’s important the state keep up with demand.
“It helps us get around the big city and it helps us get to the other connections to other cities, and it makes it easier,” she states. “We won’t have so much traffic on the interstates.”
According to the MTA, the population of Middle Tennessee is expected to exceed 3 million by 2040, which is slightly larger than the Denver metro area is now, and a roughly 30 percent jump from where the numbers stand now.