Category: News

The director of the state health department’s vector borne diseases program gave area officials an update on mosquito borne disease. He advised local city and county officials at a recent event in Tullahoma to take precautions against mosquito borne diseases such as Zika and other viruses. He noted that residents should clear their homes and businesses of anything holding standing water like tires, buckets, planters, toys, etc., this will decrease the probability of mosquito infestations. Daylight hours are the most dangerous due to the mosquitoes harboring Zika and other vector-borne diseases biting most often before dark. Although, nighttime bites from these mosquitoes are not unheard of. Wearing longer pants and sleeves can also help prevent aggressive bites from mosquitoes.

The state legislature has changed the date for TENNESSEE’S SALE TAX FREE WEEKEND, but the value remains the same. Freedom from sales tax on certain items begins at midnight Friday, July 29th, rolls in and continues until midnight Sunday, July 31st.
The great news is that the benefits remain the same. No sales tax on clothing, school and art supplies costing $100 or less per item; and no tax on computers that cost $1,500 or less.
And if you’re trying to figure out when this major sales weekend began, it was back in 2007–when our economy had many challenges. It accomplished its goal of increasing business. In fact, Tennessee’s Sales Tax Free Holiday has become so popular, legislators have decided to leave it alone.
For more information, check the state’s website: www.tntaxholiday.com.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD issued a release stating the organization is in danger of losing a key piece of funding if it fails to maintain 500 license plates in circulation by June 30. The organization says their license plates will lose over $15,000 in annual funding if they fall short of the 500 plate minimum by the end of the month. Currently, MADD is 70 plates short of what needs to be purchased. The plates cost $35 for drivers with $30.75 going towards the organization’s efforts in fighting impaired driving. MADD license plates went into production in Tennessee in 1997 and the organization is urging drivers to purchase a plate from the county clerk’s office so they can reach the 500 minimum needed or else the plate will be retired.

According to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, 19 year-old Donny Everett a freshman baseball pitcher for Vanderbilt University was at Normandy Lake with two teammates and two other people fishing on Thursday afternoon.
Witnesses told authorities Everett was swimming when he started asking for help. They said they thought Everett was “just joking around” because he was smiling and did not seem to be struggling.
A friend went in and pulled Everett several feet along. The friend said he is not a good swimmer and was struggling to stay afloat when he let Everett go and swam back to shore.
When the friend looked back, he saw that Everett went under the water and did not come back up.
Divers with the Coffee County Rescue Squad recovered Everett’s body just before 7 p.m. about 15 feet from the water bank near the Cat Walk along Mt. View Road.
Everett was taken to a hospital in Tullahoma before being transported to Nashville for an autopsy.
The Commodores tried to pull themselves together as they hosted the Regional NCAA baseball tournament. It turned out to be a difficult task, as Vandy lost both games they played on Saturday to end their bid to return to College World Series where they won the National Championship in 2014 and finished 2nd last season.

On May 29 someone entered a storage building at Stone Fort Storage on Hendrixson Drive in Manchester and stole a Honda 150 dirt bike along with several accessory items, a gas leaf blower and a century safe with contents. On the following day, the male subject reentered the same space and stole a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Items were valued at several thousand dollars.
On June 2 Manchester Police say Todd Shannon Marshall age 46 of Hickerson Rd Manchester admitted and signed a statement that he took the items.
He was arrested Manchester Officer Brandon Tomberlin and charged with theft of property. Marshall was booked in at the Coffee County Jail under a $50,000 bond and he’ll appear in court on July 26, 2016.

The Coffee County Rural Solid Waste Committee has approved installment of cameras at all 10 Coffee County Convenience Centers and at the Coffee County Recycling Center. The purpose of these cameras being installed is the protection of employees, equipment and Coffee County taxpayers’ money. According to Lee Duckett who is chairman of the rural solid waste committee, they want to install the cameras to help secure the convenience centers. Commissioner Tim Morris said that he felt that not only will the cameras protect the county’s investment but they will protect Coffee County against liability issues.
A bidding process will now take place for the cameras.

The Coffee County Purchasing Committee approved the transfer of two lots of the Joint Industrial Park from Coffee County to the Coffee County Industrial Board for the purpose of building a spec building. According to Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell, the total is about 24 acres. The Industrial Board is planning to build a 100,000-foot spec building there. The Purchasing Committee also discussed future transfer of the entire Joint Industrial Park to the Industrial Board. Cordell suggested that it might be a good idea to deed the entire property to the Coffee County Industrial Board in the future.

Borrowing a cup of sugar from the house next door doesn’t happen as much these days. Thirty-percent of Tennesseans have never met their neighbors, according to research from the urban policy think tank, City Observatory. But folks are finding new ways to connect. Through a website, Help Your Neighbor.com, people in 500 cities across the state are asking for help and receiving it. People post needs and others log on to volunteer their time or money. Scot Campbell, president, launched the site seven months ago. “The concept is to build relationships with people that we have down the street or across town,” he said. “The site allows for some individual who needs help to post a need and then a volunteer sees that need on the website can help that person directly.” Participating in the site is free, and people post needs for anything from lawn care to transportation needs. Nonprofits also can post fundraiser information. People create profiles and receive “hearts” when they help someone, as well as reviews so people can be sure they’re connecting with reputable individuals. Help Your Neighbor now is in 30,000 cities in all 50 states. Campbell said it’s a way to circumvent the lack of neighborhood connections as people are less likely to naturally interact with their neighbors. “It seems like the more enmeshed we become in our digital technologies, the more detached we become from the community where we live,” he added. “We need to get back to getting back on the porch, building relationships, because once you’re able to step outside of your comfort zone of the fear you’re having, it can be a beautiful thing.” Listings on the site are broken down into cities and neighborhoods, or individuals can form groups. Students can also use the site for required community service hours.

On June 2, 2016 just before 5 p.m. Deputy Charles Taylor, received a call of a subject that had gone under water in Normandy Lake at Fire Lake Bridge on Mt. View Road. Upon Taylor’s arrival at 5:05 p.m. another deputy, Brandon Reed obtained information that Donald Edward Everett age 19 of Clarksville had gone under the water and not re-surfaced. Deputy Reed did enter the water in an attempt to locate Everett but was unable to do so. Everett, a baseball player at Vanderbilt University had come to Normandy Lake to fish with 2 teammates and 2 other people. According to all four individuals Everett was on the west side of the bridge with one of his friends when he entered the water and attempted to swim across to the east. They stated that Everett got about halfway across the waterway when he began asking for help. All four individuals stated that they thought Everett was “just joking around” because he was smiling and did not seem to be in distress. One person did enter the water and pulled Everett several feet but stated that he is not a good swimmer and was struggling to stay afloat. He stated that Everett did not seem to be struggling. The friend stated that he let go of Everett and swam back to shore still thinking Everett was “joking”. He stated that when he looked back, Everett had gone under and did not re-surface.

The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department did launch a boat to assist with the rescue with the Coffee County Rescue Squad. Divers from the Coffee County Rescue Squad entered the water at 6:38 p.m. and surfaced and dove again at 6:47 p.m. At 6:49 p.m. divers found the body of Everett in approximately 25 feet of water approximately 15 feet off the shore line. Everett was transported by Coffee County EMS to Harton Regional Medical Center Tullahoma and then transported to Nashville by State Medical Examiners for autopsy.

After debating over the past several weeks over new insurance plan proposals for city workers it looks like Manchester city leaders have decided what plan to accept.
Alderman Tim Kilgore asked city employees in attendance at the finance committee meeting on Wednesday night what insurance plan they wanted and they overwhelming stated the “state” plan. This apparently would mean savings for both employees and the city.
Employees were recently informed that their insurance had increased by 45 percent due to excessive claims, average age, and policies of the Affordable Health Care Act – as well as some members of the city’s policy not taking advantage of the Well Care plan offered at no cost.
The committee all voted for a plan that was proposed by Aldermen Ryan French and Lana Matthews Sain.
The plan would have a combined savings of over $500,000 versus the current budget proposal, would result in a drop in family deductibles from $10,000 to $2,600, as well as single deductibles falling from $5,000 to $1,200.
French and Sain also say that the plan would result in significant lower monthly premiums for both employees and the portion paid by city, along with lower Co-¬Pays with better prescription benefits.
According to French, the budget being presented for 2016-2017 includes employees receiving long overdue wage increases, road projects budget has been restored along with new investments into technology and other infrastructure projects that are critical to the city’s long term success.
The full city board will have to vote on the measure before becoming official. (Thanks to the Manchester Times for their help with portions of this story)