Category: News

On Wednesday night Henry B Young III of Helen St Tullahoma was the operator of a vehicle that was stopped for a traffic violation on Highway 55 in Coffee County. Tennessee Highway Patrolman Lazaro Serna ran a check of Young’s driving privileges and it revealed his status to be revoked, 13th offense.
Henry B Young III, age 37 was charged with driving on revoked/suspended for the 13th time. He was arrested by Serna and his bond was set at $19,500 and has a court date of April, 12, 2016.

Squirreling away savings isn’t easy for many Tennessee families.
From 2010 to 2013, according to a policy brief released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the net worth of white families increased by 2 percent, while Latino and black families saw their assets fall by 15 percent and 34 percent respectively. The brief recommends that families who receive public assistance be allowed to save money.
Beadsie Woo, senior associate at the foundation’s Center for Community and Economic Opportunity, said federal policy should allow low-income families to have up to $12,000 in savings, or the equivalent of three months’ wages.
“Today in some states, a family receiving public benefits could get cut off for having savings of just $1,000,” she said. “Families should be able to invest in themselves and their children, and $1,000 doesn’t go very far.”
In Tennessee, families receiving temporary assistance are limited to $2,000 in assets.
The brief, called “Investing in Tomorrow,” also recommended creating universal savings accounts upon a child’s birth, increasing access to home ownership and making the federal retirement savings program more accessible. Woo said boosting a family’s ability to save can have a long-term impact, not only on parents’ lives, but on those of their children.
“There are common-sense federal policies that can create more opportunities for families to save, and those change the life course for their children,” she said. “Children whose families can save will do better in school and have stronger outcomes through access to opportunities.”
According to the brief, nearly half of U.S. households could not subsist at the federal poverty level for three months if they had a sudden loss of income. Without access to savings, Woo said, families often resort to high-cost payday loans to make ends meet.

On Tuesday afternoon, Manchester fire crews responded to a fire alarm at the Sleep Inn/Suites Hotel on Relco Drive. When crews arrived on scene, they noticed water flowing from a third floor air conditioning vent area. Firemen immediately went inside, located the areas affected (all three floors) and shut down the sprinkler system and began to access the damage and cause of the activation.
Manchester Firemen began using squeegees to remove as much water as they could from the rooms affected on the third floor.
According to Fire Chief George Chambers, approximately 39 rooms were affected by the water leak from the sprinkler system. Chambers added that his department contacted Serv-Pro to come to the scene and assist the hotel with clean up and restoring the rooms for service.

 

A new study finds that traffic congestion and road deficiencies in Tennessee cost motorists in the state $5.6 billion a year.
The Washington-based transportation research group Trip conducted the study that calls for boosting investment in Tennessee roads, bridges and transit.
But Republican Gov. Bill Haslam announced Friday that he won’t propose legislation this session to boost the state’s gas tax for the first time since 1989.
The report finds that the increasing congestion means drivers waste more time and fuel each year.
According to the study 40 percent of major urban roads in the state are either in poor, mediocre or fair condition, and that one out of five bridges are structurally deficient or obsolete.
About 5,000 people have been killed on Tennessee’s roads between 2010 and 2014.

A proposal to provide state vouchers for parents to send their children to private schools in Tennessee has cleared a House committee where the measure has failed in recent years.
The bill sponsored by Rep. Bill Dunn of Knoxville cleared the House Finance Subcommittee on a voice vote on Wednesday.
Opponents of the measure complained that the vote was being held while Republican Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville, a longtime opponent of the measure, was absent to have surgery.
Dunn said the state costs of the proposal will be covered in Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s budget this year.
House Democratic leader Craig Fitzhugh of Ripley warned of what he called the “devastating effect” of shifting funding out of public school funding to pay for the voucher program.

The expected arrival of single-digit weather in Tennessee this week is prompting Tullahoma Fire Chief, Richard Shasteen, to remind residents to stay safe when using portable heaters to stay warm.
Portable heaters are common sights during winter, but they can sometimes lead to tragedy. In Tennessee, 3,194 heating fires occurred in Tennessee from 2009-2013, claiming the lives of 39 people, injuring 49 and damaging an estimated $32.7 million in property, according to figures from the Tennessee Fire Incident Reporting System (TFIRS). Space heaters were involved in 59 percent of all of Tennessee’s heating fire deaths while 56 percent of all heating fires happened in just three months of the year – December, January, and February.
“We cannot stress enough the importance of following safety precautions when using portable space heating devices in your home,” said Chief Shasteen. “Keeping fire safety in mind this winter can help save lives and property.”
· Turn heaters off when you go to bed or leave a room.
· Keep anything that can burn – including bedding, clothing, curtains, pets and people –at least three feet away from portable heaters.
· Only use portable heaters from a recognized testing laboratory and with an automatic shut-off so that if they tip over, they will shut off.
· Plug portable heaters directly into outlets and never into an extension cord or power strip.
· Check the cord for fraying, cracking and look for broken wires or signs of overheating in the device itself.
· Never run the heater cord (or any cord) under rugs or carpeting.
For the best protection from fire, use working smoke alarms on every level of your home, outside every sleeping area and in every bedroom, and interconnect them if possible. Test smoke alarms monthly and entirely replace any smoke alarm that is 10 years old or older. Develop and practice a home fire escape plan with every member of your household. Have two ways out of every room and a designated outside meeting place to gather in the event of an emergency.
If you need a free smoke alarm, please contact the Tullahoma Fire Department at 455-0936.

Tuesday night Bonnaroo released its lineup for the 15th annual music & arts festival to 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.

Other musical acts include Death Cab for Cutie, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Third Eye Blind, Grace Potter, and Mavis Staples.

Additional musical and comedy performances will be announced this spring.

Tickets go on sale Friday, January 22 at Bonnaroo.com

The music festival runs June 9 – 12, 2016 in Manchester.

Work has begun in Coffee County on a new exit ramp on the eastbound side of Exit 111. Grading, drainage, retaining/barrier walls and paving are taking place. As of yesterday (Jan 19) work on Hwy 55 West will close the right lane from around the fuel tanks at the Coffee Farmers Co-op to the entrance to the Coffee County 9th Grade Academy. The entrance to the school will NOT be closed as previously reported.
Once work begins on the interstate the outside shoulder on I-24 East will be closed on Monday through Friday between the hours of 6AM and 6PM. The estimated project completion date is July 2016.
At the completion of the work all eastbound traffic wanting to go to Tullahoma will take the new ramp. This work is being done so traffic will not have to cross over Hwy 55 in order to turn toward Tullahoma.

Aaron Dwayne Troutt age 31 of Winchester was arrested this week in Tullahoma for; resisting stop, frisk, halt, arrest or search, simple possession/casual exchange; manufacturing/delivering/selling/possession of a controlled substance and driving on revoked/suspended.
On Monday Tullahoma Officer Derrick Derlien responded to North Jackson St in reference to a reckless driver. Upon making contact with the vehicle a traffic stop was made. According to the arrest warrant the driver jumped out and began to run from officers. After a brief chase Troutt was brought into custody.
The warrant goes onto to say that officers began searching the vehicle and saw in plain view on the floorboard a small bag of green leafy substance. The weight of the substance was approximately 6 grams. Also in the same bag was what was believed to be 4 grams of METH, digital scales and rolling papers. A check of Troutt’s driving privilege reveled it to be revoked/suspended 2nd offense.
His bond was set at $9,500 and he has a court date of Feb 11, 2016.