News – Page 810 – Thunder Radio

Fire Destroys Coffee County Home

Fire at the home at 39 Goodman Trace in the New Union community… Photo by Barry West

Coffee County Deputy David Grosch reported to a house fire on Monday night around midnight at 39 Goodman Trace.
The deputy’s report states that when he arrived at the address, the house was fully engulfed with flames. The New Union Fire Department along with several other volunteer firefighters responded to the late night blaze.

No was living at the home that burned late Monday night/Tuesday morning.

Three doors on the three car garage behind the house had graffiti painted on them including “we want our money”.
No one was living at the house at the time of the fire and the home was valued at over $200,000.
Anyone with information about the fire is asked to contact Investigator Larry Floyd at 931-570-4422.

Tullahoma Man Charged With Domestic Assault

Tye Elijah Valentin intake photo provided by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department

A Tullahoma man was arrested Monday, Oct. 26, and charged with domestic simple assault following an incident at an apartment on Freeman Street.
A female reported to Tullahoma Police Officer Mickey Blanton early Monday morning that she was assaulted at the Freeman Street apartment by Tye Valentin, 23. She said that she was asleep with her daughter when Valentin became belligerent and struck her on the arm and the back of her head. The woman told the officer that Valentin then pinned her against a back door of the apartment. The victim told the officer that Valentin then grabbed the three month pregnant woman by her hair and started kicking her in the side.
She was then able to get away from her alleged attacker and was walking down East Lincoln Street when officers found her. They then took her back to the apartment so officers could get both sides of the story.
According to Officer Mickey Blanton’s report, the woman had bruises on her left arm and the right side of her body.
Valentin was booked into the Coffee County Jail under a bond of $25,000.

Gas Prices Continue Downward Trend

The national average price for regular unleaded gasoline has fallen for 16 consecutive days, reaching a price of $2.21 per gallon. The average is the lowest since February 2015, and represents a savings of 59 cents per gallon compared to the 2015 peak price of $2.80 (June 15).
“Gas prices keep falling because oil prices are low and gasoline supply continues to outpace demand,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group.
The average price in Tennessee is $1.95, 5 cents lower than last week, 86 cents lower than last year.
The low price per gallon in Manchester as of Tuesday afternoon was $1.80 and in Tullahoma the low price for gas has dipped to $1.81

5th Quarter Student Lounge Now Open in Tullahoma

The Tullahoma Parks and Recreation is pleased to announce the opening of the new 5th Quarter Student Lounge. Students are invited to hang out after the game and enjoy some fun activities.
“We are excited about this new lounge for our student community,” said Program Director, Tori Raby. “It is here for kids of all ages to take advantage of, and during 5th quarter we will have corn hole and basketball in the gym and be open until 11:00 pm.”
The area is designed to be a comfortable and safe place for the community to gather and enjoy visiting and a snack. Middle school and high school students will receive a free bag of chips and a drink with their football ticket stub.
“All of the new upgrades at our facility are designed for young families and we want to also give students a place they can congregate after the games,” said Director of Parks and Recreation, Kurt Glick. “After football season we will continue to have Friday night fun nights for kids from 8-10:00 pm with different activities.”
It is open during regular hours and features TVs, games and a comfortable sitting for socializing with friends. Its staffed and programmed afterschool. The community is invited to stop by and take a tour.

“The Glass Slipper” Begins at Motlow

The Motlow College theatre department is eager to delight children with its production of “The Glass Slipper” beginning Wednesday, Oct. 28, according to Jeannie Gallant, associate professor of communications at Motlow and director of the production.
Performances are scheduled for Wednesday through Friday, Oct. 28 – 30, at 9 a.m., 10:20 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The play will conclude with November performances Wednesday through Friday, Nov. 4 – 6, at the same times. All performances will be held inside Powers Auditorium in Eoff Hall on Motlow’s Moore County campus.
While thousands of area children will come to Motlow to enjoy the production during the daytime performances, the public is invited to a reception on Nov. 6 at 6:30 p.m., followed by a final evening performance.
Tickets are free but reservations are recommended and can be made by calling Bobbie Underwood at 931-393-1700.

Fire Injures Coffee County Woman

On Saturday morning around 9:45am Coffee County Deputy Everette Mullins responded to a call of a trailer fire at 247 Ferrell’s Branch Road. When Mullins arrived, a Gary Foster advised the owner of the camper Clara Anderson was at 2730 Noah Road and needed medical attention. Coffee County EMS was called to Anderson’s location.
In his report Mullins says Foster told him that he was on his way to work and noticed smoke coming from the camper. Foster said he saw debris in the yard and didn’t think Anderson was at home, but he started to hear her cry. At this time Foster says he ran inside and pulled Anderson to safety. Foster received burns to his arms.
Mullins’ report goes on to say that after seeing that the camper was completely burned he went to check on Anderson. The deputy noticed Anderson, who is 91, had severe burns on her hands and her hair was singed.
When Coffee County EMS arrived they transported Anderson to North Coffee Elementary and she was airlifted to the Vanderbilt Hospital Burn Unit in Nashville.
Miss Anderson’s daughter told Deputy Mullins that she and her husband had just left the trailer a short time before receiving a call about the fire. She stated that they relit Anderson’s pilot light on the hot water heater before leaving to haul garbage.
Upon checking the camper, the North Coffee Volunteer Fire Department advised that it appeared there had been a small explosion in the camper. There was glass from the camper windows about 20′ from the camper were it landed. The deputy’s report says that it appeared that possibly the oxygen that Anderson uses or gas fumes ignited a short time after the pilot light was lit causing a small explosion.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

Grants Available for Planting Trees

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says grants are available to help cities, civic organizations or other nonprofit agencies plant trees near streams.
A statement from the wildlife agency says $2,500 is available for each of Tennessee’s four regional Aquatic Habitat Protection projects. Seedlings must be purchased with the Department of Agriculture, Division of Forestry and projects must be completed by June 30, 2016.
The TWRA is accepting proposals through Nov. 30.
Tree planting season in Tennessee runs from December through March.

Operation Blackout Has Begun

The Tennessee Department of Correction says it has launched Operation Blackout, an annual initiative to protect trick-or-treaters from registered sex offenders.
A TDOC statement says probation parole officers have teamed up with local police to conduct random visits and compliance checks across the state to make sure that sex offenders are following strict guidelines for the Halloween season.
During the first night, officers checked on 300 sex offenders, which resulted in one arrest, one citation, and four violations. TDOC says it plans to check on 3,500 sex offenders statewide through Oct. 31.

Fall Colors are Spectacular

A national park ranger say this month’s especially vibrant fall leaves in the Smoky Mountains have helped bring in more visitors than the park has seen in 15 years.
National Park Service Park Ranger George Luther tells WBIR-TV that Great Smoky Mountains National Park likely has seen a 5.5 percent increase in visitors to the park, compared to last year, because of this year’s fall foliage, which he calls “quite spectacular.”
Last year, the park saw the highest numbers since the year 2000. Nearly 10.1 million people visited the park in 2014.
Luther warned drivers to be especially cautious on the road in order to not run into people who may have unexpectedly stopped.
Luther said the peak season should last about 10 more days.

Bonnaroo Wants Water

Cooling fountain at Bonnaroo

Jeff Cuellar, vice president of strategic partnerships at AC Entertainment, addressed the Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee last week about bringing water to the Bonnaroo site. He said it’s the vital backbone they’re missing.
Permanent bathrooms and showers are the types of structures Cuellar hopes to see built on the site.
According a report in the Tullahoma News Cuellar says that engineers estimate that it would cost around $2.5 million to bring water to the farm.
Commissioner Bobby Bryan suggested that the Hillsville Utility District could meet Bonnaroo’s water needs. Cuellar responded, “Hillsville doesn’t have our water rights anymore. Manchester has our water rights.”
“I can tell you right now that Manchester can’t support the water load based on their current infrastructure,” said Cuellar. “There would have to be some improvements to handle our entire load.
The budget and finance committee expressed the desire to upgrade infrastructure to meet Bonnaroo’s future needs rather than its current needs.
Cuellar agreed, “Once you upgrade you don’t want to have to go back and redo it.”
The $2.5 million estimate provided by Cuellar does not include the infrastructure upgrades Manchester would be required to complete in order to fully meet Bonnaroo’s needs.
The closest waterlines have pipes with 9-inch diameters. According to Cuellar, a 12-inch diameter would be more suitable to meet the volume of water Bonnaroo would need in such a short time period.
Also up in the air is how this project will be funded. Manchester, Coffee County, AC Entertainment, Live Nation and Superfly are the parties that would benefit from infrastructure upgrades throughout the city and on the site.
The report says that Cuellar suggested that both Manchester and Coffee County look into outside funding from Urban Action Development Grants.
Commissioner Steven Jones and Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell said they will get with Manchester City officials to discuss their course of action.
Bonnaroo provides approximately $1 million of revenue to the county through sales tax, ticket revenue and permits.

Category: News