Category: News

The Les Paul Foundation, whose mission is to honor and share the life, spirit and legacy of Les Paul through the generations has announced the Les Paul Spirit Award. The prestigious award will be presented annually beginning this June to an individual who exemplifies the spirit of the late, great Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and/or music. In addition to the award, a grant from the Les Paul Foundation and Bonnaroo Works Fund will be made in the honoree’s name to the charity of their choice which aligns with the mission of the Les Paul Foundation. The Les Paul Foundation has partnered with Bonnaroo Works Fund to present this year’s award at the Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival with a commitment to hold future awards presentations at the popular music festival in Manchester, for several years to come.
Legendary founding member of the Grateful Dead and music industry icon, Bob Weir, has been named the first honoree for the Les Paul Spirit Award. As The Grateful Dead co-lead vocalist with Jerry Garcia, Weir wrote a number of iconic songs including “The Other One,” “Sugar Magnolia,” “Playing in the Band,” and “Throwing Stones.” The Grateful Dead were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994.
In addition to the presentation of the first annual Les Paul Spirit Award, The foundation has partnered with Bonnaroo Works Fund on several new activations on-site at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. The Les Paul Foundation will host an official Les Paul Jam Session at the Bonnaroo Works Fund Community Center each day. Guests can play guitar along with Les and experience the new Les Paul Foundation website.
Weir will be honored on Sunday, June 12, 2016 at the festival.
Remaining members of the Grateful Dead including Weir have joined forces with singer/guitarist John Mayer and others to form the band Dead & Company. They’ll close out this year’s Bonnaroo from 8pm-12 midnight on Sunday.

State officials say that a bridge in rural Coffee County will soon re-open. The bridge on Cat Creek Road over Crumpton Creek near Rutledge Falls will reopen in less than a month. The bridge was closed May 9 for repairs following an inspection by TDOT. After the inspection, the condition of the bridge was deemed as “poor” by the state. As a result, the bridge was closed. Before closing the bridge in May, two TDOT inspections of the bridge had been made which stated the overall condition of the bridge was “poor.” The 2016 inspection described the condition of the substructure of the bridge and the approaching roadway alignment to be in “serious condition,” while the superstructure was deemed to be “poor.” Photographs taken under the bridge by TDOT inspectors during the 2016 inspection had shown crumbling concrete and corroding steel beams. The cost to repair the bridge would be around $250,000, according to the highway department director.

A Manchester man was arrested June 1 on charges of willful abuse, neglect or exploitation of adults. Teddy Allan Bryant, 53, of South Spring Street, Manchester was arrested by Manchester Police Officer Ernie Colvin on the charges plus vandalism and resisting arrest.  He is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $17,500 on the charges. According to warrants obtained by the officer, police responded to 1301 South Spring Street where Bryant lives with his mother. The mother told officers that Bryant came home “drunk” demanding money to buy more liquor. When she refused he became irate and destroyed her home. According the warrants, he broke her refrigerator, freezer, kitchen table and dishes. He was still in the residence destroying property when police arrived and asked him to leave the residence. Instead of leaving Bryant allegedly ran into another room. According to the warrants, when police attempted to subdue Bryant, he allegedly pulled and away and resisted them.
The damage to the house was placed in excess of $3,000.

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation is warning members about phone scam calls in the service area.  Callers are falsely linking themselves to DREMC, claiming member’s account is past due and if payment is not made, electricity would be disconnected. The calls originate from 1-866-978-0525.
“These types of scams are becoming more frequent, and it is disturbing for everyone,” says Steve Oden, DREMC Director of Member Services. “Homes and businesses are being targeted with this latest scheme, and we want our members to be aware of how to handle it if it happens to them.”
DREMC would like members to know if they receive a questionable call, they should not give out any personal information. They are advised to hang up and contact their local DREMC office.
Furthermore, DREMC employees do not ask members for payment information unless the member initiates the call. Also, if someone claiming to be a DREMC employee asks for payment at your home or business, please demand official identification. Remember that DREMC and its contractors should be in clearly marked vehicles. If they cannot readily produce identification, contact the authorities. Bill payment methods available to DREMC members include bank draft, online bill pay, pay by phone, pay by mobile app, pay by mail and pay in person.

Since 2002, Manchester and Coffee County have hosted one of the most popular live music events in the country – the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Held on a 700 acre farm, the festival is a four-day, multi-stage event that showcases a diverse assortment of musical styles and performers. Thousands of people from all over the country make the yearly trip to attend the festival, and Manchester becomes their temporary home for several days in June. As in years past, over 80,000 music lovers are expected to attend this year’s festival, which kicks off Thursday night, June 9, and winds down Sunday night, June 12.
With 80,000 festivalgoers converging on the festival site, the area in and around Manchester always sees increased traffic throughout the festival. As Manchester prepares to welcome a multitude of visitors, the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Tennessee Highway Patrol are gearing up for the extra traffic expected in the area. TDOT and the THP are working closely with the Manchester Police Department, the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department and festival promoters to keep traffic moving on I-24 while also getting Bonnaroo attendees to their destination.
“As always, the main goal is to keep through traffic moving smoothly on I-24 during the Bonnaroo festival while getting festivalgoers safely into and out of the festival site,” said TDOT Commissioner John Schroer. “TDOT has once again coordinated with our partners at THP and other agencies well ahead of the festival to ensure that traffic delays are kept to a minimum throughout the festival period.”
The 15th annual Bonnaroo will officially open all its gates on Wednesday evening June 8 to allow more time for vehicles to enter the campgrounds.

Sunday morning (June 5) around 3 a.m. two people were traveling eastbound on I-24 in Coffee County when the vehicle they were in left the interstate crossing the westbound lanes traveling approximately 1/4 mile through a field before crashing into a home on Joe Hickerson Road.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, driver Carmen Reyes age 35 was operating a 2003 Acura and apparently fell asleep and ran into the house.
A female was asleep inside the home and suffered minor injuries.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a theft and aggravated burglary that occurred at 990 Old Mansford Rd. Winchester, Tn. A preliminary investigation revealed that between May 22nd and May 28th person(s) unknown gained access to the residence and removed several items from the home and property. One major item taken was a 2007 Seadoo 200 Speedster. The value of the property stolen is estimated at $29,000. Anyone having any information regarding this matter is asked to contact Investigator Robert Tipps at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office 931-308-9424.