Category: News

We have an update on a story we brought you last week on WMSR and then had more on Monday. We now know that on Friday (July 29, 2016) investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, along with an FBI Agent and deputies with the Grundy County Sheriff’s office arrested Brian Lee Cleckler after about an hour standoff.
Officers found Cleckler in a cabin just off of Johnny Steifel Road in Marion County. Officers made contact with Cleckler who was in possession of a 9mm handgun and was threatening to kill officers and himself if they did not leave.
Investigators with Coffee County credit Special Agent David Street with the FBI for talking Cleckler into giving up.
Cleckler was taken into custody and he was also found in possession of approximately 3.5 grams of methamphetamine.
Cleckler who has been a resident of Manchester, TN was wanted by East Ridge Police and the Grundy County Sheriff’s office for various charges including failure to appear and assault on an officer.
Cleckler is currently in jail in Hamilton County.
In the original report we were told that Cleckler was wanted out of Georgia, but actually it was East Ridge, TN which is near the Georgia state line. He was also wanted in Grundy County.

Early voting for the August 4 election ended Saturday with 2,710 people taking part in the process. According to the Coffee County Election Commission, the most recorded votes in one day was on the first day when 248 people cast their ballots. With around 70% of those voters declaring as republicans.
Residents of Tullahoma and Manchester are selecting city board members and school board members. There are no contested races in Tullahoma but that is not the case in Manchester as all races have been hotly contested. Primary elections are also being held on the state level. The general election for state races and for President of the United States will take place in November.
Polls will open at 8am on Thursday and close at 7pm. Live election coverage begins at 7pm on Thunder Radio.

The Franklin County school system is seeking information in connection with three school buses that were found vandalized at the Franklin County Annex Building last week.
Brian Norwood, the school system’s director of transportation and infrastructure, said that damage was done to signal and safety lights with electrical wiring being cut. He said the damage was more than $1,000, but a major source of aggravation is that one of the buses will not be repaired and won’t be ready to accommodate special needs children as classes resume.
“There’s some cost involved,” Norwood said, adding that although electrical wiring was cut, at least the breakage was clean, allowing mechanics to make repairs more easily, saving on the overall final bill.
Anyone with information in connection with the case is being asked to call Norwood at 931-967-7591 or the school system’s central office at 931-967-0626.

Researchers are making progress in their studies of the disease that took the life and mind of famed UT women’s basketball coach Pat Summit. Researchers at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Canada say early detection of the disease could come down to smell. This week, they presented a study that showed people in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease are worse at identifying odors than those who are not.
One of the attendees, Doctor Jeffrey Kaye, director of the Layton Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Center at Oregon Health and Science University, said memory and sense of smell are closely linked.
“It may be that there’s an association by just happening to be nearby, or it may be more intrinsic, that there’s something about the olfactory nerve cells that makes them more susceptible,” he said.
In one study, researchers chose about 400 participants with an average age of 80 for a smell identification test. Four years after the study began, 50 people showed signs of dementia and scored lower on the identification test, in some cases before areas of the brain began to show significant signs of atrophy in brain scans.
Kaye warned that a smell test alone can’t be used to determine if a person has Alzheimer’s disease. However, the test is cheap and easier to administer than a brain scan, and could be used alongside other tests for people who are worried about memory loss or a genetic predisposition to the disease. Kaye added there’s much more interest in the disease today than when he started.
“I’ve been in this field for over 25 years, and it is truly remarkable the changes that have happened,” he added. “And it’s important because it is a public health problem that we’re going to be facing, with the growth in numbers of people who are affected by dementia.”
An estimated 110,000 Tennesseans and more than five million people nationally have Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. The national number is expected to increase to 16 million by 2050.

The Tullahoma Fire Department will be holding its “Get Alarmed” program this Saturday, August 6 in the Forrest Park/Dicks Drive area of town.
“We will be set up in the parking lot of Magic Café located beside Tullahoma Lanes Bowling Alley,” said Fire Chief Richard Shasteen. “We will go to people’s houses and install the smoke alarms for the homeowner, FREE.”
The firefighters will be distributing the smoke alarms and information from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
“Lowe’s, the American Red Cross and 1-800-Board Up will be there helping us with distributing fire safety information to people that come by to talk with us,” Shasteen said.
The fire department received the smoke alarms free from the State Fire Marshal’s Office for distribution to residents. The Fire Department will be available to give advice on emergency escape plans, fire safety, and any other questions if needed. There is no charge for this service.
“We provide the free smoke alarms every day,” Shasteen said, “we felt the need to concentrate on different areas of Tullahoma to make an extra push to assure everyone is safe.”
Anyone living in Tullahoma who wants a free smoke alarm can contact fire hall number one at 455-0936 to request alarms for their home.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department was searching for Brian Lee Cleckler last week. An investigator and deputy were able to find Cleckler on Friday afternoon and bring him into custody.
He was wanted on charges of assaulting an officer, METH charges, evading arrest, driving on revoked/suspended license and other charges out of Georgia.
Cleckler is a former or current resident of Manchester.
As always Sheriff Steve Graves thanks the public for your calls about this and other cases.

The Manchester Police Department is investigating a check forgery involving two females. They entered Manchester Tobacco and cashed two forged checks. The total loss is $733.69.
The photos are of the two suspects and the vehicle they were last seen in.
If you have any information please contact Manchester Police Investigator Butch Stewart at 931-728-2099.
All persons pictured are innocent until proven guilty.