Category: News

A state agency focused on the economic growth of women in Tennessee will shut its doors this week.
The Tennessee Economic Council on Women is closing after 18 years because it didn’t get enough support in the State Assembly to remain open. The mission of the organization was to perform research, provide advocacy and share its findings with policy makers and citizens.
With the council’s doors closed, said executive director Phyllis Qualls-Brooks, there’s now a gap.
“I do fear that because our focus was so narrow and so intentional and the credibility that was afforded to our agency’s work, and because of our status as a state agency, it’s going to be a challenge to replace what we do,” she said.
The existing research from the Economic Council will reside in the state archives, and some organizations are working to continue the agency’s work. For nearly two decades, the agency’s work was utilized by state and national groups in their policy decisions. Qualls-Brooks said Tennessee women and men already recognize the void left by her agency.
“We’re talking about 3.3 million women in this state who no longer have a voice from that perspective,” she said, “and from the women and men, organizations and individuals who have contacted me or our office since it’s been clear we were closing, they are highly disappointed.”
The council also created the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame, which identifies and honors women across the state for their accomplishments. Qualls-Brooks said work is under way to preserve the Hall of Fame’s efforts.

The Tennessee State Fire Marshal’s Office and Coffee County Fire Departments are warning residents about firework dangers.
A few tips officials have for residents to keep them safe are:
• Never allow children to handle or ignite fireworks.
• Read and follow all warnings and instructions.
• Never place any part of your body directly over a fireworks device when lighting the fuse. Back up to a safe distance immediately after lighting fireworks.
• Wear eye protection.
• Be sure other people are out of range before lighting fireworks.
• Never throw or point fireworks at people or animals.
• Only light fireworks outdoors on a smooth, flat surface away from homes, dry leaves and flammable materials.
• Never try to relight fireworks that have not fully functioned.
• Keep a bucket of water and a garden hose nearby in case of a malfunction or fire.
• Sparklers are not toys and cause hundreds of injuries every year. Sparklers burn hot, can reach temperatures as high as 1,200° F, and stay hot long after they’ve burned out. You wouldn’t hand a matchbook or lighter to a child to wave or play with – so, don’t give a child a sparkler.

Using dental records the State Medical Examiner determined that the man whose body was found Saturday in Tullahoma was 45 year old Stacy Craig Morris of East Grundy Street in Tullahoma. The body was found by a Tullahoma Public Works employee in a wooded, brushy area on Freeman Street near the railroad just off of Highway 55. Investigators had suspected that the body was Morris but waited until the medical examiner made the determination. The results came in Wednesday. Tullahoma Police Investigator Lt. Jason Ferrell stated that they will probably have to wait a few weeks before it is determined what caused Morris’ death. It is not known how long the body had been in the area.

On June 2 Vanderbilt Pitcher Donny Everett died on Normandy Lake in Coffee County. Autopsy results have confirmed drowning is to blame for the death. Davidson County Assistant Medical Examiner David Zimmerman’s autopsy shows the 19-year-old’s death was accidental. A toxicology report shows that at the time of his death, Everett tested negative for drugs and alcohol in his system.
Divers with the Coffee County Rescue Squad recovered Everett’s body just before 7 p.m. on June 2 about 15 feet from the water bank near the Cat Walk along Mt. View Road. Everett was taken to a Harton Hospital before being transported to Nashville for an autopsy.

On Tuesday Manchester Police reports that a man went to Baker Brother’s Drug store and signed to pick up a prescription. According to the arrest warrant the medication was allegedly for a female that is incarcerated at a state prison in Bledsoe County.
The warrant goes onto say that Joshua Lee Phipps age 30 of Coffee St Manchester was found to be in possession of Alprazolam tablets.
Phipps was charged by Manchester Police Investigator Jonathan Anthony with a Schedule IV drug violation and Prescription drug fraud. His bond was set at $50,000 and a court date July 5, 2016.

McMinnville Police have arrested three suspects in a series of vehicles thefts that have occurred in the civic center and Northside areas of the city.
Arrested were Austin Smith and Dalton Porter, both of Woodbury, and Tyler Gage Finley of Crossville.
Police, working in cooperation with authorities in Cannon and Coffee Counties, took them into custody following a brief foot chase on Bybee Branch Road.
The men were charged with multiple counts of theft over $1000, evading arrest in a motor vehicle and failure to stop, halt and frisk. They also face charges in Cannon, Coffee and Rutherford Counties.
Police said the vehicles were stolen because they were easy targets. Both vehicles were unlocked and the keys were inside.
Police are encouraging everyone to secure your vehicle when you leave it, even at home.

All incoming and current Motlow State Community College students have until Aug. 1 to complete eight hours of community service in order to remain eligible for the Tennessee Promise scholarship.
“There are numerous ways that students can complete their community service hours, including job shadowing, cleaning local, state, and recreational parks, or by assisting local non-profit organizations,” said Jonathan Graham, Tennessee Promise coordinator at Motlow.
“Last year, Tennessee Promise students volunteered a total of 318,183 hours which, according to tnAchieves, resulted in a monetary value of $6,592,751.76 given back to the State of Tennessee by Tennessee Promise scholars,” Graham added.
Students who still need to complete their community service hours can visit the Motlow Tennessee Promise webpage at tnpromise.mscc.edu for an up-to-date listing of community service opportunities in their area.
Students can also visit the tnAchieves website, tnachieves.org, which lists a host of community service opportunities for students in their local region. Community service hours can be submitted to the tnAchieves website as well.
Students must complete the tnAchieves program in their county to access Tennessee Promise funding.

We are learning more information about the police pursuit that began in Coffee County and ended in the death of a woman in Murfreesboro.
Jessica Campos, 27, died after being struck by a suspect on the run after allegedly stealing a Cadillac Escalade from the Coffee County Funeral Chapel on Friday.
Family and friends of Campos say they believe the pursuit was unnecessary.
Garieon Simmons allegedly entered a residential area and almost struck two people in their vehicles. He’s later accused of nearly hitting a Manchester Police car head-on.
“He posed a danger as soon as he left the chapel heading down the wrong way,” Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves said.
Sgt. Landon Pence of the Manchester Police Department said in his report that he swerved to the right and the stolen vehicle continued to drive erratic and swerved to come back on the proper side of the road.
Investigator Billy Marcom, a 32-year veteran with the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, led the pursuit.
According to the sheriff’s department pursuit policy; a chase is justified when it poses the risk of loss of life, serious injury, major property damage or other emergency situations.
Reports indicate that Simmons led officers to Interstate 24 but was traveling on the wrong side of the road.
Reports also say that Manchester officers backed off once the chase entered Rutherford County.
Sheriff Graves said his deputies slowed down once losing sight of Simmons.
Graves says his deputies continued to travel while the Rutherford County Sheriff’s Department took over the pursuit because the theft took place in Coffee County.
Authorities say Simmons could have possibly been on the run from Franklin County for an alleged armed robbery on Friday.
The Decherd man is facing several charges including the most serious, which is vehicular homicide. He is being held at the Rutherford County Jail.