Category: News

On Monday at approximately 03:15 PM, the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office was made aware of smoke coming from a cell window. Upon quick action by the correctional staff, a small portion of a Lexan window that had been melted and was burning was extinguished quickly. As a precaution, the Shelbyville Fire Department responded and made sure that the window wasn’t burning anymore and everything was safe. During the investigation it became apparent that the window was intentionally burned by a mixture of chemicals and heat. As a result of the investigation, detectives charged Fredrick Buford with Aggravated Arson for attempting to burn through the window which caused damage and a lot of smoke.

Motorists are seeing the gas prices hit their highest average since October, yet motorists saw very little movement at the pump this week. The national average increased 1 cent from last week and has remained above $2 a gallon for 53 consecutive days. Locally gas prices are down this week. In Tullahoma the price has dropped to $1.93 and down to $1.99 in Manchester. Tennessee’s average price is $2.05, 2 cents more than a week ago and 12 cents more than a month ago, but 39 cents less than a year ago.
Josh Carrasco, a spokesman for AAA – The Auto Club Group said, “Even though prices are up nearly 50 cents from this year’s low, drivers are on pace to see the lowest summer gas prices in over a decade.”

More than 110 Soldiers with the 269th Military Police Company from Murfreesboro got a chance to exercise their skills from May 13-16 in the first phase of Tennessee Maneuvers 2016. The Tennessee Military Department’s largest statewide disaster preparedness exercise in history, the maneuvers is designed to exercise the Guard’s ability to respond to catastrophic natural disasters and aid the citizens of Tennessee.
For the maneuvers, the 269th joined more than 500 Tennessee Army National Guardsmen and eight other state and local agencies in a series of exercises in Tullahoma testing their ability to respond to severe weather scenarios. The military policemen conducted 24-hour operations to secure two emergency staging areas, establish and exercise a quick reaction force, and provide force protection and access control for emergency personnel.

Bonnaroo will soon be here and there will be some changes this year. There will be better restroom facilities. Bonnaroo officials are currently having the restrooms up graded, something that many festival attendees have asked for in the past. Crews are building 2 new facilities that will house about 150 toilets each and 3 new shower buildings.
The 15th annual music & arts festival will be held June 9 – 12 in Manchester, TN.
Pearl Jam tops the list of performers, marking the band’s second time to headline the festival. Dead & Company fills the second headlining spot. This collaboration includes John Mayer playing with members of the Grateful Dead. Electronic rock group LCD Soundsystem will also headline this summer as part of its reunion tour and Chris Stapleton is this year’s main country music performer.

A Manchester man was arrested on multiple charges following a dispute at Holly Tree Apartments. According to a report by Manchester Police Officer Jamie Newman, 40 year old Timothy Dewayne Sanders was charged with domestic assault, criminal trespassing, aggravated burglary, vandalism, evading arrest, resisting arrest, public intoxication and possession schedule II. The arrest came after Sanders allegedly attempted to enter an apartment that he wasn’t wanted at and allegedly threatened to kill the female occupant. When the officer arrived and arrested Sanders he allegedly found him to be in possession of Hydrocodone pills. Sanders was booked into the Coffee County Jail under a $27,500 bond.

A Manchester woman who was pulled over in Murfreesboro for failing to maintain her lane of travel was arrested. 26 Year old Megan Nicole Gordon was stopped on North Rutherford Blvd. at Lascassas Pike.
An arrest report filed by a Murfreesboro officer stated, “Ms. Gordon admitted to taking prescription medications and stated she was texting while driving.” A license check then showed that her driving privileges had been revoked and she was charged three prior times with “Driving on a Revoked License.” The most recent stop equaled a charge of “Driving on a Revoked License” for the fourth time.
Gordon gave the officer permission to search her car where 10 Oxycodone pills were found along with 22 Subutex (buprenorphine). Evidently, the woman told police the Subutex was hers, but the Oxycodone was not.
The female later gave police permission to search her phone where they found multiple text messages indicating drug sales. The Murfreesboro officer wrote, “Ms. Gordon was selling the Oxycodone 7.5mg for $7 and “Subs” or buprenorphine for $35 a piece.”
The phone and the pills were placed into evidence and Gordon was placed behind bars. Gordon was charged with the sale of a Schedule II drug and the sale of a Schedule III drug. She was also charged for the fourth time for Driving on a Revoked License.
Gordon is currently free on bond and due in court this July. (WGNS)

The Coffee County Commission is asking the Tennessee Department of Transportation to fast-track a project that would widen a two-mile section of U.S. Highway 41 in Manchester near the AEDC Access Road. The commission has approved a letter of recommendation to TDOT requesting the widening of the highway south of the I-24 Exit 114, from the point where the five-lane roadway section ends near Asbury Road out to the AEDC Access Road. This 2-mile roadway is currently a two-lane highway. The idea for the letter came after a meeting with TDOT officials and county officials. According to Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell, officials talked about the need to consider and fast-track this widening project. The county mayor said it was suggested that a letter of recommendation to TDOT from the county commission would speed up the process.

Gov. Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd have announced that 15 communities will receive $5.7 million in site development grants to prepare economic development sites for marketing. One of those grants was awarded to the Coffee County Joint Industrial Park. The grant is in the amount of $163,350, which will go for the clearing of 16.5 acres of the 48.62-acre Select TN site. The grants assist communities in finalizing infrastructure and engineering improvements for project-ready certified sites. The Site Development Grant program is part of the larger Rural Economic Development Fund, announced by Haslam and Boyd last October.

Kaitlyn Thornton, 2011 graduate of Coffee County Central High School, 2015 graduate of the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and current graduate student at UTK and employee of the UT Athletic Department recently provided the Coffee County Schools Teen Expo program with a much needed and appreciated donation. This donation of UT athletic wear will be included in the second annual Coffee County Teen Expo. “What a blessing it is to have Coffee County natives return to the community with an interest in giving back,” says Taylor Rayfield, coordinator of Teen Expo.  This event, scheduled for July 30th, is intended to provide Coffee County Schools’ students in need with clothing, school supplies, and hygiene items. Open to all Coffee County Schools’ students in upcoming grades 7-12, applications for this year’s event may be obtained from school counselors at your child’s respective school. If you would like to donate or be a part of this program, please contact Taylor Rayfield (723-3309) or LeAnne Evans (723-5150) for more information.

On Thursday night Coffee County Deputy Lee Marcom attempted to stop a man driving a silver 4-door car on Lyndell Bell Road in Manchester for reckless driving. The deputy states the man refused to stop and took off at a high rate of speed passing several vehicles on curvy roads while it was raining, placing those drivers at risk of serious injury or death.
In Deputy Marcom’s report he says the driver lost control of his vehicle on Riley Creek and Ovoca Lake Road in Tullahoma and flipped the car several times.
The deputy says in his report that he noticed the driver started to try and get out of the car then appeared to hang in the seat belt. At this time there were flames coming from the front of the car but was extinguished by some bystanders who had witnessed the accident. The deputy says when he approached the vehicle the driver was alert and had lit a cigarette and asked to call his parents. Deputy Marcom then got his crowbar and busted the sunroof and pulled the driver out of the car.
The deputy states the man was identified as Jeffery Bartholomew Finchum age 40 of Larkway Dr Tullahoma. He was taken to Tennova Harton Hospital to be treated for his injuries before being released and transported to the Coffee County Jail.
Finchum was charged with Evading Arrest, Reckless Endangerment and driving on revoked/suspended license. His bond was set at $26,500 and court date of June 26, 2016.
Also Finchum had warrants for failure to appear in Sumner County TN and a warrant out of California for stealing a car.