Category: News

A Manchester resident had a number of charges lodged against her.
Janice Rena Castillo, 35, of Murfreesboro Highway Manchester was charged with assault, aggravated assault, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and criminal impersonation by Manchester Police Officer Daryn Gadeken and correction officers at the jail.
According to warrants, she was arrested after she was found to have the odor of an intoxicant and slurred speech. The warrant alleges that when the officer attempted to arrest her she attempted to resist and had to be restrained. She was also accused of providing a false name to the officer who learned her real identity.
When the officer got her to the jail, she allegedly spit on a corrections officer as well as hitting the officer.
When one of the officers attempted to place a “spit mask” on her she allegedly bit the officer on the finger and cursed them.
She was booked into the Coffee County Jail under a $25,000 bond and is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court June. 6.

Tennessee’s unemployment rate for the month of April was 4.3 percent, a decrease of two-tenths of a percentage point from the March rate of 4.5 percent. That’s according to Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips.
The U.S. rate for April was 5.0 percent, remaining unchanged from the previous month.
Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 5.9 percent to 4.3 percent, while the national rate declined from 5.4 to 5.0 percent.

Gov. Bill Haslam is questioning the need for a special legislative session that some fellow Republican lawmakers want to have called over a directive issued by President Barack Obama’s administration that public schools must allow students to use facilities consistent with their gender identity.
Haslam told reporters on Wednesday that it’s unclear what the strategy or purpose of a special session would be. GOP lawmakers have engaged in a letter-writing campaign since the Obama directive was issued, demanding that the state join lawsuits challenging their implementation.
A Tennessee bill seeking to require students to use restrooms and locker rooms corresponding to the gender listed on their birth certificates was withdrawn in the waning days of the legislative session last month.

The first ever Panbalou pancake breakfast & bluegrass will take place this Saturday on the square Downtown Manchester. All proceeds benefit phase 1 of landscaping on Manchester’s historic square.
Tickets $10/person. The event starts with the pancake breakfast at 8am. 8:30-9:30am: The students of Becky Buller’s music studio will perform. 9:30-11:30am: Judge Talford Band will perform.
For more information about the 1^st ever Panbalou, call Ellen 931-247-6674 or Allison at 931-247-3449.

An accident occurred on Wednesday morning at approximately 7:44 am in the Gnat Hill community in Coffee County. The 16 year-old female driver was traveling east on Hwy 2A in a 2003 Toyota Camry. The driver was attempting to negotiate a turn when the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.
The driver was transported to Unity Medical Center in Manchester by Coffee County EMS with non-life threatening injuries.
No charges pending.

Tennessee has entered into a contract with Pearson Education to have it score the TNReady assessments this year after the previous vendor was fired this spring.
News outlets report that the Tennessee Department of Education gave Pearson the $18.5 million job, avoiding a competitive bidding process because of a law that allows for the state to enter into non-competitive bidding in cases of emergencies arising from unforeseen causes.
The state is still looking for a testing vendor who will administer the state’s standardized tests next year after the state announced in April that it had terminated its five-year contract with Measurement Inc., following repeated failures earlier this year.
This was the first year of TNReady assessments replacing the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program tests, which Pearson had administered from 2003-14.

Beekeepers across the country report losing nearly 44 percent of their colonies over the last year, according to an annual report just out. It was put together by the USDA’s Bee Informed Partnership in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America and the USDA. The report says climate change, loss of habitat and pesticide use are killing off bees by the millions. Beekeeper Dave Shenefield, says varroa mites are also part of the problem in Tennessee and elsewhere. “How they kill the honeybees is they feed on the unhatched babies, that’s where they reproduce,” he explains. “Bees are like humans – they carry viruses, and when you get a high number of varroa mites in there, then you have a virus outbreak. The viruses go rampant.” Shenefield says queen bees that are more resistant to mites will help, but he stresses more should be done to control the pesticide use that’s contributing to the die-off. Tiffany Finck-Haynes, a food futures campaigner for the environmental advocacy group Friends of the Earth, says some states and cities have banned consumer use of popular pesticides containing neonicotinoids, but she maintains it’s going to take federal action to make a real difference. “We’re seeing a lot of action at the local and state levels to restrict the use of pesticides,” she points out. “Hopefully, that will put some much needed pressure on EPA, USDA and our members of Congress to take significant action.” In the meantime, Shenefield says everyone can help by planting flowers and trees that bees feed on, and by curtailing use of pesticides. “We find some bad yellow jackets or when we’ve got grubs or something in our yard, you know, we’re out there to kill that bug,” he states. “Well, there’s other good bugs out there. So, we need to research this, and figure out when would be the safest time to kill what we want to kill, and not kill the good bugs.”

The Coffee County Jail has been recommended by the Tennessee Corrections Institute (TCI) for certification. Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves says this is the first time for certification in 12 years. Graves says the new jail on County Jail Lane in Manchester, that was opened one year ago, met the required standards for the certification.
TCI is required to establish minimum standards for adult local jails, lock-ups, workhouses and detention facilities in the state. The agency’s Board of Control establishes the standards to inspect and certify local correctional facilities. Inspections and re-inspections are conducted within the mandated timeframe to ensure compliance of all standards for the purpose of certification.
The Tennessee Corrections Institute is responsible for educating local correctional staff while providing and monitoring basic certification and annual in-service training for personnel within local adult correctional detention facilities.
Sheriff Graves said, “I’m very proud of my outstanding staff that has been working hard to have the jail become certified. This is a very difficult task, but with the dedication of the staff the goals have been met.” Graves went on to say that the new goal is to keep the jail certified for the foreseeable future.

A man wanted for burglary of the St. Jude Dream Home construction site in Chattanooga has been arrested.
The Grundy County Sheriff’s Office has captured suspect Carmen Murray.
Murray was wanted by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office for the April 11 burglary.
Murray is charged with:
• Failure to appear
• Theft of property
• Aggravated burglary (occupied habitation)
• Vandalism/malicious mischief
Murray was also wanted for vandalizing the car of a concerned citizen who gave chase after witnessing the burglary.