Category: News

As work continues on the new exit ramp on the eastbound side of Exit 111, Civil Constructers who have been working on the new ramp since January will be closing a lane of traffic on Wednesday. The right lane of Interstate 24 on the eastbound side will be closed most of the day between exits 110-111. Civil Constructers is asking the public to avoid the area on Wednesday.
At the completion of the work all eastbound traffic wanting to go to Tullahoma will take the new ramp. This work is being done so traffic will not have to cross over Hwy 55 in order to turn toward Tullahoma.

Gas prices have fallen for more than a month and the discount at the pump doesn’t show any signs of letting up. Sunday’s pump prices declined for the 32nd consecutive day in Tennessee. During this time, gas prices declined 17 cents in Tennessee. These current streaks of declines are the longest since last fall when prices dropped for 37 straight days beginning in August.
“Gas prices keep moving lower thanks to increased gasoline supply and low oil prices,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Oil prices hit their lowest level since early May, making it cheaper to produce gasoline; and refineries have ramped-up gasoline production to levels that continue to satisfy record-high demand.
Compared to this same date last year, gas prices are down 49 cents in Tennessee. Compared to two years ago, pump prices are down $1.39 in Tennessee. The average price in Tennessee this week is down 4-cents from last week to $2.02 per gallon.
In Coffee County the low price is $1.85 in Tullahoma and $1.88 in Manchester.

Tennessee still may file suit against the federal government for its refugee settlement policies, but it won’t be the state attorney general leading the charge.
Earlier this year the Tennessee General Assembly directed Attorney General Herbert Slatery to file a suit alleging the federal government failed to consult with the state on refugee resettlement.
Late last week, Slatery announced he will not represent the state in such a case, but added he will not prohibit lawmakers from hiring outside counsel.
That’s in spite of the fact that state law gives the General Assembly no authority to file lawsuits on behalf of the state, says Thomas Castelli, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Tennessee.
“This is different,” he states. “This is the state General Assembly saying, ‘We want to bring a lawsuit on behalf of the state. We want to speak for the state,’ which has generally been the purview of the attorney general and the governor.”
The resolution (SJR467) stated the legislature would not spend any money on legal fees, but Castelli points out that any litigation will come at a cost whether it’s directly or indirectly.
Tennessee may have legal support from a Michigan-based law firm. The Thomas More Law Center – with a stated purpose to “preserve America’s Judeo-Christian heritage” – is considered by some to be anti-Muslim.
Castelli says he and others are pressing lawmakers to attend to issues that are intended to be under state control.
“It’s kind of a distraction,” he states. “There are a lot of issues in the state of Tennessee that the state legislature and state officials have direct control over. Immigration is not one of them. Immigration has always been a federal issue.”
A federal court recently dismissed a similar lawsuit in Texas, holding that there was no legal merit to Texas’ claim.

Investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department are asking for the public’s help concerning a burglary. The crime occurred on Hickerson Rd on July 2, 2016. A large amount of jewelry, cash and a gun were taken from the home. There was no forced entry in the burglary.
Investigators are offering a sizable cash reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons involved in the crime.
Call Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Investigator James Sherrill at 931-570-4404 if you have any information that can help.

A growing problem in Coffee County is people driving on a revoked/suspended license.
Last week Manchester Police Officer Daniel Ray stopped a man operating a vehicle on East Main St for a traffic violation. According to the arrest warrant, Officer Ray had knowledge the man had a revoked license. A check of Bobby Lynn Branch’s driving privilege showed 10 prior offenses. Branch was also allegedly found to be in possession of two glass pipes and a syringe with residue on them. Bobby Lynn Branch age 45 of Ragsdale Rd Manchester was charged with driving on revoked/suspended license, 11th offense and unlawful drug paraphernalia uses and activities. His bond was set at $18,000 and his court date will be September 27, 2016.

Last week we told you about a warning from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation concerning fake Percocet pills.
Johnny Williams, 30 of Murfreesboro was arrested on Friday and charged with one count of sale of schedule II controlled substance and booked into the Rutherford County Jail on a $100,000 bond. More charges are possible.
The TBI says that counterfeit Percocet pills laced with Fentanyl have resulted in the deaths of three individuals and have accounted for as many as 15 other drug overdoses in Rutherford County
The TBI along with detectives from the Murfreesboro Police Department began tracking the counterfeit pills and allege Williams was responsible for selling the narcotics.
The investigation remains ongoing and more people could be charged.

Tullahoma Parks and Recreation has partnered with the Arnold Engineering Development Complex’s (AEDC) STEM Center to host the Discover Dome. This is a planetarium equipped with STEM (Science – Technology – Engineering – Mathematics) surround sound/videos geared toward certain grade levels. While seated in the dome at C.D. Stamps Community Center, everyone will be taken to a “Galaxy Far, Far, Away.” There will be three forty-five minute showings on July 15, 2016. The schedule starts with a 10:30 am viewing followed by an 11:15 am showing geared toward elementary school aged children. The last show at 12:00 pm is for children in middle school and high school. Seating is limited to 30 per show and parents are more than welcome to attend. The event is free but due to the limited seating you must sign-up in advance. Please call 461-1080 to sign-up or for more information.

Motlow State Community College will administer the complete Residual ACT Assessment Test on July 20, July 29, and Aug. 5, from 8:30 a.m. – noon; and on Aug. 4, from 12:30 – 4 p.m. The test will be administered in room 1043 of the Crouch Center on the Moore County campus.
Applicants under 21 years of age planning to attend Motlow should register for the ACT test. All applicants taking the ACT must have an admission application on file prior to taking the test.
Applicants are required to complete an application as soon as possible to be eligible for the test, and must complete the ACT application and enclose a check/money order for $37 to be eligible. The application fee and a picture identification are required the day of the test.
Any student who plans on attending another college must take the National ACT test, or take the test on the campus of the prospective college, as scores for the Residual ACT Assessment Test cannot be transferred to another college or university.
For more information regarding test dates or for test registration, visit the Motlow Testing website at www.mscc.edu/testing, or call 931-393-1763 or 1-800-654-4877, ext. 1763.

Recently, there have been reports of people placing non-mail items that did not bear U.S. postage in local mailboxes, including business locations. One item that appeared in certain mailboxes was very critical of a candidate running for Alderman in Manchester.
WMSR News spoke with the Manchester Postmaster Lonnie M. Williams and he said that mail is not placed in mailboxes by delivery personnel without postage.
The U.S. Postal Service recognizes customers may place non-mail items into mailboxes as a convenient way of “dropping something off,” but those items may cause a smaller mailbox to become full. When a mailbox is full, Postal Service regulations say the letter carrier cannot place mail in the box.
Additionally, the Postal Service has received complaints of flyers without paid postage being placed in mailboxes. Though many may be unaware, it is important to know that this type of activity is illegal by federal law. It may seem to be an easy way to advertise, but only U.S. Mail delivered by authorized personnel may be placed in mailboxes.
If you see someone placing items in a mailbox that is not associated with the home or business call your local post office and then police. If possible is important to get a description of the person or car they are in and a tag number.
The item placed in mailboxes in Manchester has been turned over to local authorities.

Special Agents with the Drug Investigation Division of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are warning the public about a recent dramatic increase in the prevalence of counterfeit prescription drugs in Tennessee.
In recent days, Agents in the Middle Tennessee area have seen a spike in adulterated Percocet pills being sold on the street and are warning users that these counterfeit pills have deadly consequences. Active and ongoing investigations continue into the source of these pills.
These counterfeit drugs have a very similar look and appearance to legitimate Percocet pills, but contain potentially lethal ingredients that cause law enforcement officials immediate concern. Numerous overdoses across Middle Tennessee are being attributed to this batch of dangerous drugs, and Agents are warning users that more overdoses and deaths are likely as these pills make their way to users.
“We want to make the public abundantly clear that these pills being made in clandestine labs present a very real and life-threatening danger to anyone who takes them,” says TBI Deputy Director Jason Locke. “We can’t stress enough that the pills people buy on the streets can and do contain deadly elements.”
In the last year, dozens of case submissions from counties across Tennessee have shared a common, concerning trend: Pills shaped, colored, and stamped to look like a particular type of prescription medication have proven to be something different in laboratory analysis.
For example, in May 2015, a Tennessee law enforcement agency recovered what appeared to be several 30mg pills of oxycodone during a traffic stop. Each was the same size and featured the signature A/215 stamp characteristic of oxycodone. However, laboratory analysis performed by TBI Forensic Scientists indicated the pills were counterfeit and did not contain oxycodone. Instead, they contained fentanyl, a pain killer 50 times as potent as heroin that can be deadly in high doses.
There has been a massive upswing in drug overdose cases reported in Murfreesboro in the past 72 hours to 14 days.
According to police reports, it appears as if the overdoses are related to the supply of what is being sold on the street as Percocet. However, the drug may actually be a synthetic form of heroin mixed with Fentanyl.