Category: News

The United States Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) declared Franklin and Lincoln Counties eligible to receive pasture assistance payments due to drought.
According to Rhonda Scharer of the Franklin County FSA office, “Franklin County farmers are eligible to receive a disaster payment based on their acres of pasture and the number of animals they have grazing. Producers can utilize the payment at their discretion to assist them in dealing with drought conditions. Currently the drought assistance program covers pastures only and does not include hay.”
For information call the Franklin County FSA office during regular business hours at 967-2521, extension 2.

Getting a college education for working adults just got easier at Motlow State Community College, thanks to the Adult College Express (ACE) program now being offered online.
Through the ACE online program, college courses can be completed in an accelerated five-week format, with students only needing to hit a weekly deadline.
Credibility is at the forefront of reasons why students are attracted to the Motlow ACE program, in that all online classes are taught by full-time Motlow faculty with experience in web course design and online instruction. Motlow does not contract out ACE online courses.
For more information about classes offered and questions concerning the ACE program, contact Dayron Deaton-Owens at ddeaton@mscc.edu or call 931-668-7010 ext. 2126.

An inmate of the Tennessee Department of Correction, who walked from a work detail, has been captured, several hours after being placed on the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s ‘Top 10 Most Wanted’ list.
34 year-old Quinton Stewart was wanted by the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for an escape from a work detail originating from Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Davidson County on Thursday.
The Coffee Co. Sheriff’s Department joined TBI and Tennessee Department of Correction agents, US Marshalls and other officials in the search for Stewart overnight Thursday into Friday.
The TBI announced that TDOC Agents discovered Stewart walking along a wooded roadway in the Coffee County community of Beechgrove late Friday afternoon. Stewart was taken into custody without resistance and transported to Morgan County Correctional Complex where charges are pending.
Also allegedly involved was a female accomplice. She has been identified as Samantha Dee Ann Taylor. Officials said she was charged with facilitation of escape and taken to the Metro Nashville Criminal Justice Center.

This past Thursday Coffee County deputies responded to Fire Lake boat ramp in reference to a possible hit and run. Upon arrival Deputy Eric Clem found a man crashed into a parked car in the parking lot sitting in the driver’s seat of his vehicle.
Upon approaching the vehicle Clem noticed the subject attempting to find something in the passenger floor board. According to the arrest warrant, the deputy asked the man to show him his hands and then he noted the man was attempting to gain control of a .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The officer began attempting to extract the man from the vehicle while the subject resisted and grabbed the gun. Clem was able to wrestle the subject loose from the gun and cuff him.
The man identified as Jason Cody Russ age 25 of Brookhollow Rd Manchester was allegedly sweating profusely and also allegedly admitted to taking several hydrocodone tablets and other prescription drugs.
Due to his behavior and resisting he was not able to perform filed sobriety tests, he consented and was taken to Unity Medical Center for blood test. Upon searching Russ deputies apparently found one Suboxone strip on his person.
Russ was charged with unlawful carrying a weapon or possession of a weapon-illegal possession, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, schedule II drug violation and driving under the influence. His bond was set at $65,000.

An accident on Interstate 24 on Thursday around 2pm tied traffic up for around 12 hours. This was a one vehicle crash at the Exit 105 on ramp eastbound. The 18-wheeler was driven by 63-year-old Jack Vanankum, from Ontario, Canada.
The accident was not completely cleared until early Friday morning.
According to a spokesman with the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Vanankum was injured in the accident and taken to a hospital for treatment. The extent of his injuries are unknown.

All Motlow State Community College campuses will be closed part of the day Aug. 18 to permit faculty and staff to attend fall convocation. All campuses will open at 2:30 that afternoon.
Faculty and staff from all Motlow campuses will meet on Motlow’s Moore County campus for the annual assembly, during which preparations are made for the fall semester. The convocation agenda includes the introduction of new employees, a “State of the College” address by Dr. Anthony Kinkel, Motlow president, faculty and staff training, recognition of faculty and staff accomplishments, presentation of service awards, and faculty discipline meetings.
Faculty and staff from all campuses will have the opportunity to come together and share ideas for the coming year.
The final day that applications will be accepted for the fall 2016 semester is Aug. 15. Regular classes on all campuses begin Aug. 22.

The Pokemon GO mobile game craze sweeping the nation has now raised public safety concerns and produced warnings from law enforcement and utilities.
Players have been involved in minor mishaps such as tripping, running into walls or trees, and falling off bikes and skateboards due to inattention while focusing on the reality game. Auto wrecks and other serious accidents have been recorded, including dangerous trespassing at high-voltage facilities like power plants and substations.
Posted facilities on the Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) system are off-limits to the public. Gamers should never attempt to enter a substation or approach high-voltage equipment.
“It’s not worth a crippling injury or death,” says Steven Hopkins, DREMC’s safety coordinator, adding that trespassing on posted and fenced utility property could also result in power outages affecting thousands of co-op members.
“Don’t climb utility poles or trees near high-voltage lines, and stay away from transformers and other equipment used to conduct electric current. Pay attention and be safe while playing the game,” adds Hopkins.
The National Safety Council released a statement alerting the public that a number of injuries have resulted from people playing Pokemon GO without regard to basic safety measures. The Council urges people to consider safety over their scores.

A long day for candidates turned into an even longer night when computer issues delayed the returns on Thursday. Early voting numbers were released before 7:30pm and the next set of returns by 8:30pm. A little while later, Coffee County Election Commission personnel announced that there was an issue with the Ada Wright Center box in Manchester. After a long period of time, totals were released, but WMSR News discovered the totals did not add up correctly after being perfect until that point. Election personnel confirmed they needed to re-check the totals. At 1am totals were still not available when WMSR News decided to call it a night.
At 8:00, Friday morning, WMSR received the updated vote total. While the vote totals are different, none of the updated figures impacted the results previously reported. The winners in the Manchester Alderman’s race will be Ryan French, Chris Elam, and Bob Bellamy. For Mayor Lonnie Norman defeated Steven Jones and James Threet. For Manchester School Board Mike Lewis and Susan Parsley were re-elected.
In other local elections where there were no questions, Shannon Duncan will return to her seat on the Coffee County School Board, and Judd Matheny with numbers from Coffee and Warren counties was re-elected as 47th District State Representative.
Click the link below to see all updated voting results. Remember these numbers should be considered unofficial until the election results are certified on Monday.

Launch LIVE Results Page