Category: News

A Tennessee business is building 3D printers that fix crooked teeth. Chattanooga’s iPrint 3D builds a system of software, a facial scanner and a 3D printer. It lets an orthodontist size up a patient’s mouth, straighten a virtual version of their teeth on the computer, then print out a set of aligners that progressively fix the client’s teeth.
A client with crooked teeth can show up at an orthodontist’s office at 9 a.m., get a high-tech exam and walk out the door 90 minutes later wearing a set of “invisible” plastic braces, known as aligners, churned out by a 3D printer.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says he’ll call a special legislative session to try to fix the state’s drunken driving law and prevent the loss of $60 million in federal highway funds.
The move Friday comes after the U.S. Transportation Department determined state law doesn’t comply with a federal “zero tolerance” drunken driving statute. The governor’s office said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration indicated Tennessee would permanently lose $60 million if it remained out of compliance as of Oct. 1.
Under federal rules the maximum allowable blood alcohol content for drivers under 21 is 0.02 percent. The new Tennessee law raised that limit to 0.08 percent for 18- to 20-year-olds but added tougher penalties for violators. The 0.02 standard remained in place for drivers through age 17.

On Thursday at approximately 11:50am hours Deputies Jeremy David and Shaun Greene were dispatched to Rutledge Hill Road in Coffee County for a reported domestic disturbance.
When the deputies arrived at the scene they found a male and female inside the residence. According to Greene’s report the female said her and her boyfriend, Cullen Blake Hickerson had gotten into a verbal argument over a text message on her phone. The female stated that during the physical altercation, Hickerson allegedly grabbed some knives from the kitchen and threw them at her. She went onto say that Hickerson grabbed a shotgun and pointed it at her while she was holding their infant child. Deputy Greene says he then asked Hickerson what happened with the knives and he advised that he threw them at the female in an attempt to hit her.
Greene and Deputy David placed Hickerson in the back seat of Greene’s patrol car.
A few moments later Hickerson’s Grandfather came in the residence and advised that that Hickerson had just walked into his house. Greene advised that there was no way because he was in the back seat of the patrol car handcuffed. The deputies went to the car and saw that driver’s side window had been kicked out. The frame to the window was hanging off of the door.
A short time later Hickerson was found and placed in Deputy David’s car. The man began to kick the back window of the patrol car and began to hit his head on the back glass. Deputy David went to his patrol car and advised him to quit acting the way he was. A short time later Deputy David returned to his patrol car due to Hickerson kicking his back window. Deputy David opened the back door of his patrol car and Hickerson began to assault Deputy David by allegedly kicking him the shoulder and in the neck area.
Hickerson was charged with Aggravated Domestic Assault, Reckless Endangerment, Vandalism over $500, Escape and Assault on an officer. Bond was set at $51,500 and he is set to appear in court September 6.

On August 8, 2015 Rhonda Kay Davis from the town of Gruetli in Grundy County was arrested on the scene and charged with aggravated robbery and aggravated assault in connection with the robbery of Rite Aid in Manchester. Now Davis is facing similar charges in Grundy County.
On January 21st, 2015 a person came into Mike’s Pharmacy in Tracy City armed with a handgun and demanded drugs from the employees of the pharmacy. The robber was disguised by wearing extra clothes to make them look larger than normal and was wearing a stocking over their face. The robber was specific in the request for drugs and took 500 Xanax and 200 Oxycodone at gunpoint.
The Tracy City Police Chief came to Manchester to interview the suspect and while there, noticed similarities between that person and his suspect in the Tracy City Robbery.
The Chief obtained DNA swabs from the suspect and sent those to the TBI and they were a positive match to Rhonda Davis.
She’ll be in court in Grundy County September 14, 2016.

The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency is apologizing for Thursday’s statewide Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts test. Seems hundreds of folks received alerts on their mobile devices but the message that it was ONLY A TEST was not received. TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said in a statement that the purpose of the test was to assess the readiness and effectiveness of the system in an effort to save lives and protect property. He apologized for upsetting people and said that TEMA will not be conducting any public tests of the Wireless Emergency Alerts system in the foreseeable future.

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Matthew Waylon Oakley, age 21 of Manchester was killed in a motorcycle accident Thursday morning.
The man crashed as he was traveling south bound on State Highway 269 near Normandy in Bedford County.
Trooper Jackie Smith’s report says that Oakley’s Honda motorcycle struck a road sign and slid down the embankment where it struck a tree, with the Manchester man being found about 15 feet away.

FedEx has announced plans to build a $190 million distribution center in Murfreesboro.
The Daily News Journal reports that the Memphis-based shipping company will add the equivalent of 200 full-time positions to work at the 1-million-square-foot facility.
About 40 of the new positions will pay an average of $53,500 per year, while the remaining jobs will pay an average of $24,000 annually.
Brian Hercules, the vice president for economic development at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, says that there are hundreds of additional contract jobs like long-haul drivers that will also gain work through the facility.
Construction is set to begin by the end of the year and scheduled to be complete by early 2018.

The number of children receiving dental care through the state’s TennCare program is on the rise.
The care provided for Medicaid-eligible children has increased by 3 percent since the new company managing the care, DentaQuest, won the contract.
According to federal figures, more than 925,000 children are now covered through TennCare or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
TennCare spokeswoman Sarah Tanksley says the success is largely coming from community outreach efforts.
“They have done some community events, just really working with our members and establishing that relationship,” she explains, “creating dental homes where our members are assigned to a primary dental provider and encouraging them, that they establish that relationship.”
When DentaQuest took over as the dental benefits manager for the state, some dentists warned its approach could reduce access for children.
But in addition to increasing the number of children enrolled, DentaQuest has saved the state $53 million so far.
Oral health is linked to other health issues, including diabetes and heart disease.
Tanksley says research also indicates that children who receive dental care early in life will seek it out later as adults.
“If we work with our members and establish those routines early in life, we feel and we hope that those practices will continue throughout childhood and into adulthood,” she explains. “And that those practices will transition not only from your dental health, but also to your overall health.”
As outlined in its contract with the state, DentaQuest stands to lose or gain $8 million dollars, based on its performance.