Category: News

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said a bear has been spotted multiple times in the Manchester area. According to TWRA, the bear is believed to be a young cub and has been seen in the area of New Bushy Branch Road.
A person who was traveling on Interstate 24 that spotted the bear between Exits 111-114. There have also been reports of the bear in the Hillsboro area and near the Coffee/Warren County line.
According to eyewitness reports the bear does not seem to be fully grown.
A warning to area residents that it is illegal to kill, possess and/or harass any wildlife species and there is not a season on hunting bear in Coffee County. The TWRA has responded to several sightings over the past few days, but it was gone each time upon their arrival. Wildlife officials warn anyone who sees the bear to leave it alone and call 800-624-7406.

Since May 9 the bridge over Crumpton’s Creek on Cat Creek Road in Coffee County has been closed. The Tennessee Department of Transportation informed Coffee County Road Superintendent Benton Bartlett that the bridge had to be closed for repairs. Closure barricades were placed at each end of the bridge, but as of 4pm Thursday afternoon the bridge was reopened again.
According to the Coffee County Highway Department, repairs have been completed and the bridge will be fully operational again.

A Bedford County woman is charged a second time for doctor shopping, or going to multiple providers to obtain prescriptions for controlled substances.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG), with assistance from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Sonya Marie Leverette, 31, of Shelbyville. She is charged in Coffee County with four counts of doctor shopping involving the painkillers Hydrocodone and a form of Codeine, using TennCare to pay for the clinical visits, the prescriptions or both.
Leverette was first arrested in April, after an indictment in Bedford County, where she faced three counts of fraudulently using TennCare to obtain a controlled substance by doctor shopping. Both cases were worked together, with the indictments served a few months apart.
TennCare fraud is a Class E felony carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison per charge. District Attorney General Craig Northcott is prosecuting.
The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to more than $3 million being repaid to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of more than $163.6 million for TennCare, according to latest figures. To date, 2,657 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.
Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or visit the website and follow prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”

As the subject of gun laws takes center stage in the wake of the Orlando massacre, Tennessee college campus police are beginning to process registrations for employees who wish to carry guns while at work.
The law allowing for full-time employees to carry guns on campus takes effect July 1. While training is not mandatory, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville is offering a training class for people willing to attend, where they’ll hear a message from campus Police Chief Troy Lane.
“We don’t consider these to be extra personnel for us in an active-shooter situation,” Lane said. “What we would advocate for is that you grab those folks around you and look yourselves in an office and defend yourselves and that’s it, and let the police do what we’re trained to do.”
Applying the new law to existing school policies has been challenging for some of the state’s schools, particularly those without their own campus police to track who has guns on campus. Earlier this year, some college officials voiced concern over the law, saying it will put more guns on campus and lead to more accidental shootings, or hamper law enforcement’s ability to act in an active-shooter situation.
Around midday on Monday, Lane said, his department had accepted about 10 registrations, with some people saying they don’t necessarily plan on carrying a gun but would like the option.
“I’ve long held the belief that we probably have more guns on campus than we realize,” he said. “At least I’ll have a reasonable idea of who the folks are that are carrying here on campus.”
According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, eight states now allow people with permits to carry firearms on public college campuses. Tennessee now joins Arkansas as a state that allows only employees to carry guns at work.

Legislation to add those who unlawfully photograph a person for sexual gratification to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s (TBI) Sex Offender Registry was recently highlighted by Governor Bill Haslam at a ceremony on Capitol Hill marking the signing of the new law.
The measure, sponsored by State Representative Mike Sparks (R-Smyrna) and State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), allows a judge to require the defendant in a misdemeanor unlawful photography case to register as a sexual offender for up to ten years. This is in addition to the punishment already provided for the offense and requires that the judge take into account the facts and circumstances surrounding the offense when deciding upon the punishment. (WGNS Radio)

Carol Michelle ‘Keri’ Roper will spend 30 years behind bars after she pled guilty this week to 2nd degree murder. The 23 year-old woman was accused in the 2014 death of her newborn child. She will serve her time at 100 percent, meaning she will not be eligible for parole.
A trial date for her husband Blaine Roper is set for Aug. 8, according to court officials.
On Oct. 31, 2014, the Moore County Grand Jury indicted the Ropers, each with one count of conspiracy to commit first degree murder, one count of premeditated first degree murder and two counts of felony murder.
Investigators discovered the newborn’s remains in a fire pit and ditch located on and near the property where the Ropers lived in Moore County.

On Monday afternoon at approximately 12:45pm Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel were able to locate and take into custody three individuals wanted for kidnapping and aggravated assault in Arkansas. The Sheriff’s Office received notification from authorities in Arkansas Friday evening and made contact with the fugitives Monday afternoon.

Ricky Shetters, Jr. (4062 Rock Creek Rd. Estill Springs, TN) and Tammy Lynn Buss (349 Green St. Wichita, KA.) were taken into custody in the parking lot of Burger King in Winchester. A loaded .45 caliber pistol was located under the front passenger seat as the two suspects were apprehended.

Approximately 10 minutes later, Chris Castleman (170 Turkey Creek Boat Dock Rd. Estill Springs, TN.) was located in McDonalds, on the boulevard in Winchester and taken into custody where a 9mm Glock pistol was retrieved from his person. All three suspects were transported to the Franklin County Jail where local charges are pending as well as extradition to Arkansas.

Tennessee’s ranking on overall child well-being slipped from 36 to 38, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 2016 KIDS COUNT® Data Book. The change was largely driven by worsening economic indicators. The KIDS COUNT Data Book ranks child well-being in states across four domains. Tennessee’s overall ranking at 38 was compiled from its rankings of 42 on Economic Well-Being, 36 on Education, 28 on Health and 39 on Family and Community. Each domain is made up of four indicators.
Tennessee children continue to struggle financially. The state’s worst ranking, 42, was on the Economic Well-Being domain. More than one in four Tennessee children lives in poverty. Approximately one in three children lives in a household that spends more than 30 percent of its income on housing and/or in a household where no parent has full-time, year-round employment.
The state’s best domain ranking was on Health (28). The good news is fewer children in Tennessee lack health insurance than did in 2008 and the state ranked 17 on this indicator. However, there are still 78,000 children in Tennessee who are not covered, and as other states expand coverage Tennessee is likely to fall behind on this measure.