Category: News

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is holding a sign contest to see who can come up with the best safety message for dynamic message signs on interstates.
According to WBIR TV, TDOT’s goal with these messages is to raise awareness of highway safety.
The contest gives Tennessee motorists an opportunity to help save lives.
Last year’s winning entry was, “Texting and driving, Oh cell no!”
Throughout other states’ departments of transportation, there were custom signs for Thanksgiving and Christmas. There were even a few special signs on the day the new Star Wars movie hit theaters.
Contestants are asked to enter a message for one of the following categories: speeding, distracted driving, impaired driving, seat belts and aggressive driving.
The contest runs from Tuesday through Feb. 2.
Voting for the best sign runs from Feb. 16 through March 1.
Go to TDOT’s website for more information on the sign contest.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is working to ban the use of smoking products inside their buildings. This means if regulations are passed there will no smoking of cigarettes, cigars and pipes.
This would bar people living in public housing from smoking tobacco not only in indoor common areas and administrative offices, and not only within 25 feet of the buildings, but also in their own apartments.
HUD said the proposed rule is an effort to protect housing residents from the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.
HUD said the rule will help improve the health of 760,000 children and help public housing agencies save more than $153 million in health care, repairs and preventable fires.
Since 2009, HUD has asked public housing managers to implement nonsmoking policies voluntarily, but many, were against the change.
At least for now, tenants can still smoke in their apartments.
There are several HUD complexes in Coffee County.

La Vergne Police arrested a woman after finding several children in the trunk of her car. Thirty-three-year old Andria D. James was arrested after dispatch received several calls from concerned citizens.
Officer John Fesmire told our news partner WGNS Radio, when officers arrived at the Speedway gas station on Murfreesboro Road, they found the accused with three kids ages nine and 10 in the trunk. He says there were also six similarly aged kids in the cab area of the vehicle.
Fesmire says parents of the kids were called to pick up their children. James was arrested and faces three counts of reckless endangerment. She will appear in General Sessions Court March 9th at 8am.
The officer said – in an email – he’s received information about from other news organizations about the woman being a teacher. He didn’t know which school system James may be employed.

An investigation into a statewide nonprofit organization has resulted in the indictment of two people, who are accused of stealing more than $175,000 for their personal use.
Members of the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Officers Association requested that the state investigate after the association discovered questionable payments from its bank account.
John Dunn, spokesman for the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office, says the case is a reminder why charities should require more than one person to supervise incoming and outgoing funds.
“Really, any time you control a significant amount of money, you should have what we call internal controls or checks and balances over that money,” he stresses. “The lesson here is that one person really shouldn’t have too much control over the financial process.”
Last week the White County Grand Jury indicted Robert Hall and Gary Bradley for theft, criminal conspiracy and one count of forgery.
Citizens who suspect fraud, waste or abuse of public money in Tennessee are encouraged to contact the Comptroller’s office.
Dunn says while most nonprofit organizations and their members have honorable intentions, the temptation of easy money can be too powerful for some.
“You would hope that people working in government or working for a nonprofit have the right intentions, that they have a high level of integrity,” he states. “But money is a great temptation, and when you have money that is available and no one is watching over your shoulder, the potential for theft is there.”

As most of you know there was a terrible accident on New Year’s Eve in Winchester that took the life of three people including twin 7 year-old boys James and John Hill of Hillsboro. A benefit and auction for the Hill family will be held Feb. 13 at the Hillsboro Elementary School. Aaron and Lynetta Hill have huge hospital bills as they have been in the hospital since the wreck. The benefit auction will feature barbecue plates for $8 with serving time between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The auction will be held at 6 p.m. A $1 donation will give you an opportunity to win special items. Donations and items for the auction can be left with the sponsors, Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, Coffee County Rescue Squad, Hillsboro Volunteer Fire Department, Dr. Jay Trussler or auctioneer B.B.
Brown.

The Manchester Police Department has accepted the challenge from the Manchester City School System to a charity basketball game to raise money for the Hill family. Donations will be accepted in lieu of admission and all proceeds will go to the family. MPD encourages everyone to come support the law enforcement and school system employees, and help the Hill family during this very difficult time. Thunder Radio will also be on hand to broadcast all the action. MPD vs. Manchester City Schools, January 28th, 2016 at 6:30 pm at Westwood Middle School gymnasium.

Four Coffee County juveniles believed to be involved in the death of McMinnville man early last week have been ordered held pending a transfer hearing on Feb. 4th. The four are accused in the murder of 43-year-old Osbaldo Luna early Tuesday morning.
During a detention hearing Thursday, testimony indicated that 17-year-old Shazon Brinkley told police he fired the shots that killed Luna inside Luna’s camper.
The other juveniles are Charles Guess, Malik Scott and Melvin Horn, all 17 years old and all from Coffee County.
The four reportedly went to Luna’s camper to rob him of what they thought was a large amount of marijuana.
Already facing charges are 19-year-old Tyler Allen Jones and 20-year-old Nicholas McGee.

The economic impact of Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC), which includes the Complex and its remote operating locations – the Hypervelocity Tunnel 9 at White Oak in Silver Spring, Md., and the National Full-Scale Aerodynamics Complex at Moffett Field, Calif. – was $609.3 million for fiscal year 2015.
Each location impacted the local areas through payroll, secondary jobs created through local spending, and other expenditures for supplies, utilities, fuel and services and the spin-off impact of those purchases.
AEDC employed a combination of active-duty military personnel from the Air Force and Navy; Department of Defense civilians; and contractor personnel, which totaled 2,266 personnel in fiscal 2015. Of the 2,266 personnel, 53 were active-duty military; one Air Force Reserve and National Guard; 324 appropriated fund civilian employees (includes general schedule, federal wage board and other military branches); 53 government non-appropriated fund employees; 36 other civilians (credit union, Base Exchange and commissary tenants); and 1,799 contractor and sub-contractor employees.
Additionally, using the Tennessee Valley Authority economic impact model methodology, AEDC estimated that more than 1,608 secondary jobs were created in the local area, for a total of 3,874 jobs directly related to AEDC. Examples of secondary jobs include those created by home construction and at local supermarkets, car dealerships and department stores.
The economic impact data and secondary employment estimates represent the economic impact of AEDC during fiscal 2015, which runs from Oct. 1, 2014, to Sept. 30, 2015.
AEDC operates the world’s largest complex of ground test facilities with a replacement value of more than $11.6 billion.

Three high school officials charged with failing to report the sexual abuse of four basketball players have been suspended without pay.
Hamilton County Schools Superintendent Rick Smith says Ooltewah head basketball coach Andre Montgomery, assistant basketball coach Karl Williams and athletic director Allard Nayadley will be suspended until the investigation into last month’s incident is complete.
He made the announcement after the Hamilton County Board of Education held an agenda work session Thursday in which it discussed clarifying its anti-bullying policies.
Three Ooltewah High School basketball players have been charged with the aggravated rape of a teammate while on a trip to Gatlinburg. The complaint against the school officials says four freshmen boys were apparently abused, but no other charges have been filed in the incident.

Upon hearing the story of a Middle Tennessee teen’s battle against heart failure, THP Colonel Tracy Trott knew he had to do something.
Tanner Davis, a senior at Lawrence County High School, was born with a congenital heart defect called hypoplastic left heart syndrome and critical aortic stenosis.
When he was just hours old, he had the first of many surgeries at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Though his life was full of extensive procedures, including multiple open heart surgeries, Davis was a fighter. His mother said he continuously surprised and puzzled the doctors.
In 2012, his health began decline again. He started going into heart failure and other organs were beginning to shut down. He was put on the heart donor list in June of 2013 and received a heart just 48 hours later.
Davis’ mother said he grew up saying he wanted to be a police officer or in the army. When asked why, Davis would reply “Because they are one of the bravest people I know and I want to be like them.”
On Saturday, Davis’ dream came true.
Colonel Trott, with the help from THP troopers and Davis’ mother, arranged a surprise ceremony for Davis Friday before his high school’s basketball game.