Category: News

The Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center is looking for its third General Manager in the last year and a half as Alyce Heifner has resigned. She served in that capacity for approximately a year and five months after long-term General Manager and Chef Mike Osbourne left for a job in Rutherford County.
Coffee County Public Building Authority (PBA) which oversees the conference center will now start the search for Heifner replacement. Her resignation was not expected according to a current board member.
The Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center has been in operation since 2003 and is funded by Coffee County and City of Manchester tax payers.

Five years of development, impressive outcomes, teamwork and diligence has paid off in a big way for the mechatronics program at Motlow State Community College. The program recently received a critical accreditation from the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE), a nationally recognized accrediting agency for technology programs within community colleges and universities.
The mechatronics program at Motlow began with the Level One certification in 2010, with the goal to build it into a two-year AAS (Associate of Applied Science) program while working to achieve accreditation. The AAS program began in 2012.
Over a dozen Motlow employees worked with the mechatronics staff to obtain the accreditation. Much documentation, research, success tracking, and data assembly was required, with assistance from supporting Motlow departments such as institutional research, human resources, library staff, and others.
Currently the mechatronics program has partnerships with Oakland High School in Murfreesboro and Warren County High School in McMinnville, with both schools offering dual enrollment credit and the Level One certification. The instructors at these schools possess the same qualifications as Motlow instructors.
The industry partnership list for the program is rapidly growing, including existing relationships with Bridgestone, Batesville Casket, and Jarden. Representatives from each of those companies are on the advisory board. Other company partners include Great Lakes Cheese, Nissan, Yorozu and more, with additional industry frequently coming to the program requesting involvement.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol has issued a preliminary crash report. It states 82-year-old John Nagata from Huntsville, Alabama was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes (wrong way) of Interstate 24 around 5 o’clock Sunday morning near the 135 mile marker in Monteagle when his vehicle struck a minivan head-on. Nagata did not survive.
The minivan, with Wisconsin plates, was carrying a 29-year-old male driver and four passengers; a 36-year-old woman, a 17-year-old girl, a nine-year-old boy, and six-year-old girl. The 36-year-old woman was ejected from the van on impact into a grass median. She was wearing a seat belt. Both the woman and three other passengers sustained injuries, although the extent of those injuries are unknown. The driver was not injured.
State troopers say a third vehicle, a tractor trailer, was also involved in the accident. The driver was not injured.
The accident is still under investigation.

A state representative said he is considering legislation that would ban the use of cell phones while driving.
Rep. John Holsclaw, R-Elizabethton, said he plans to file legislation that would make it illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving unless drivers use a hands-free device.
In a statement, Holsclaw said this is the next step in curbing distracted driving.
Texting while driving is already banned in Tennessee.
Fourteen states and Washington DC already prohibit talking on a hand-held phone while driving.

As Gov. Bill Haslam crisscrosses the state trying to build support for a gas tax increase, a new Vanderbilt University poll finds voters are willing to pay more to improve roads and bridges. That’s a contrast to a similar poll in May that found only 25 percent of voters supported an unspecified gas tax increase. For the new survey, conducted in November, pollsters asked about specific increases. This poll found 66 percent of Tennessee voters were willing to pay 2 cents more per gallon and 54 percent were willing to pay 8 cents more. Poll Co-Director John Geer said that shows the public will support a modest increase if they know the exact amount. Most Republican legislative leaders have said they oppose a gas tax increase.

A Georgia man faces a number of charges after a traffic stop on Dec. 3.
According to warrants obtained by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Jason Boles, Sergio Ramone Willis, 23 of College Park, Georgia was arrested on charges of schedule I, schedule II, schedule VI, 8 counts of identity theft, vandalism and eight counts of criminal simulation.
According to the warrants, the man was stopped on Arnold Center Road for a traffic violation.
He also had the drugs in his possession and numerous Visa/MasterCard debit cards and altered credit cards.
Willis was booked into the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $619,500. He is set to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Jan. 26, 2016.

A Florida man is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $502,000 following a traffic stop by Trooper Donnie Clark on Dec. 3.
James Arnold Wilder, 53, of Cauburndale, Florida was charged with being a fugitive from justice, simple possession of a controlled substance and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
According to warrants obtained by the trooper, Wilder was in possession of five grams of marijuana and rolling papers.
A check revealed that he was wanted in Florida for parole violation on charges of possession of a firearm and two counts of habitual violent offender. Florida officials plan to extradite him to face the charges against him.

Last Thursday detectives with the Fayetteville Police Department charged 3 individuals they believe to be responsible for making at least one bomb threat at Goodman Manufacturing in Fayetteville. Corey Cozad, an employee of Goodman at the time of the threat, Zachary Posey and Tyler Petty have all been charged with making a false report and criminal conspiracy. Cozad has a $65,000 bond. Posey and Petty have $70,000 bonds.
At this time investigations continue into the other threats made at Goodman.
Also Posey and Petty along with Amberly Coats have been charged with theft under $500 and burglary. These charges are in reference to an incident that occurred in November at Lincoln Medical Center. Coats was an employee of the hospital at the time of this incident.