Category: News

Strong storms rolled through Coffee County on Wednesday afternoon around 5pm. The storms damaged several structures, blew down trees and heavy limbs plus over an inch of rain fell. The Manchester area saw many homes and businesses lose electricity, cable and telephone service for several hours, including WMSR.
One of dugouts at the Westwood Middle School softball field lost its roof when it was blown off, leaving it lying on the playground fence at Westwood Elementary School. A tree was split in half on the playground at College St Elementary.
Some homes in the area received damage as trees and limbs fell on or near houses.
At Dave King and Fred Deadman parks in Manchester a lot of debris had to be cleaned up by city workers on Thursday.

Current law is unclear in Tennessee as to when police have the right to stop you for unsafe driving. The state Supreme Court is hearing two cases that ask the question how many times a driver must cross the center line before they’re stopped for a violation. Attorney Sara Compher-Rice with Oberman and Rice in Knoxville says a clarification of the law is important. “It’s impossible for every motorist at all times to drive in a perfectly straight vector down the center of the lane,” she says. “If the court is going to allow for anyone who crosses the line to be stopped, you’re virtually subjecting every motorist on the roadway to being stopped.” Compher-Rice adds that crossing a center line and putting other people on the road in danger should merit a stop by a police officer, versus the single act of crossing the line. Both cases involve drivers charged with DUIs after police observed them crossing the yellow line one time before stopping them. Compher-Rice says it’s important to remember that crossing the center line for a moment isn’t always tied to alcohol consumption – and the interpretation of the law should reflect that. “If someone crosses over the lane one time, you’re not likely to think, ‘oh, there’s a drunk driver,'” she says. “Something where someone touches a lane line once or crosses over once could be reaching to turn the radio. They could have their kids in the car and be turned around to discipline them.” While judges initially ruled in the cases that crossing the center line once was enough to merit a stop, judges in prior cases have dismissed charges, saying that crossing the line once wasn’t enough to justify a stop. That includes the dismissal of DUI charges against state Representative Bill Beck of Nashville earlier this year, and Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair several years ago.

Patriot Day observance in Manchester is scheduled for Friday, September 11th, at 11am, on the courthouse lawn. This is the 14th year of the event and will be held in Manchester. Patriot Day is an annual observance on September 11 to remember those who were injured or died during the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001. The event is held each Sept. 11 in Manchester is to honor first responders in our area. The local veterans groups put on the event so that we can pay tribute to those who serve us. A ceremony will be held in Tullahoma on Friday morning at the main fire hall on South Jackson St beginning at 7:30am.

Manchester Police are attempting to identify multiple suspects that have allegedly stolen “Go Pro” cameras from Wal-Mart on Hillsboro Boulevard.
On the night of Sept. 2 a white male and a white female entered the store and allegedly took two cameras from the case in the store and left.
According to police reports, a black male entered the store on Sept. 3 and used a key to allegedly take the cameras from a case in the store. He then left the store without paying for the cameras.
Police asked that anyone having information about the thefts to contact the Manchester Police Investigator Bryan Eldridge at 728-2099.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has a new addition to the state’s Top Ten Most Wanted list, Michael Domonic Sales of Shelbyville.
Sales is wanted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the Fayetteville Police Department for Homicide in the shooting death of Carlton Capone Caruth in Fayetteville, Tennessee, on September 6th.
Sales is a 29-year-old African American male with black hair and brown eyes. He’s 5 feet 8 and weighs approximately 185 pounds and has gold teeth. He was last seen in a silver Chrysler 300. Sales should be considered armed and dangerous.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Michael Domonic Sales is urged to call the TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND (1-800-824-3463). There is a $1,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Tennesseans can now get a clearer picture of teen pregnancies in the state.
The State Comptroller’s office has released an interactive map that illustrates which counties have high teen birthrates.
John Dunn, a spokesman for the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, explains the map shows the percentages of teen pregnancies per 1,000 girls ages 15 to 17.
“What our map shows is that there are 37 Tennessee counties, which is more than one-third of the counties in the state of Tennessee, that have a teen pregnancy rate which exceeds 19.5, and that means that those counties have to teach a Family Life Education Program in their high schools,” he explains.
In Tennessee, counties with elevated teen pregnancy rates are required by law to offer Family Life Education in public schools.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, since 1991, Tennessee’s overall pregnancy rate has dropped by at least 45 percent.
A recent report by the Offices of Research and Education Accountability said Tennessee school districts lack guidance on what they should be teaching young people about preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
State law says any sex education course must include presentations that encourage abstinence.
Dunn says the map is one way lawmakers can identify the steps being taken in their districts.
“The primary reason we put this information together is to provide lawmakers with information about their districts, so that they know whether or not education requirements like the Family Life Education program are being taught in their schools,” he states.
According to the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, the number of teen pregnancies among 15-to-17-year-olds is on the decrease. Last year, pregnancies in that age group totaled more than 1,900, but five years ago, there were more than 3,000.
The rate in the three school systems in Coffee County has dropped from over 30% of teen girls that were reported pregnant in 2010 to about 15.5% in 2013.

What is your plan to get fit? Get Fit! Tullahoma is pleased to announce that we are planning for the next Community Health Fair and Fitness Expo Saturday, October 31, from 9 am to noon at Northgate Mall. Admission is free and visitors will find fitness and nutrition tips, health screenings and much more. Please join us and learn how you can move more, eat well and get fit.
If you have a fitness related product or service, please consider hosting an exhibitor table. There is no charge. The theme for this fair will be Fall family fun, and we are asking that vendors think about providing a healthy snack for visitors.

Bruce M. Sova of Beechgrove was arrested last week on a charge of sexual exploitation of a minor. Sova, 53 is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a $100,000 bond and is due in court Sept. 14.
Investigators from Coffee County and Metro Nashville Police served a search warrant to go through Sova’s cell phone. They allegedly located images of the young children involved in sexual situations.
According to the arrest warrant obtained by Investigator Jason Dendy of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, there were over 50 pictures on the cell phone
The investigator stated that they do not think that any of the children are from the Coffee County area.
Investigator Dendy stated that Sova is on the State sex offender registry and the investigation into the pictures is continuing.