Category: News

Road construction won’t slow motorists down as they travel Tennessee’s highways this Memorial Day weekend. The Tennessee Department of Transportation will suspend all construction-related lane closures on interstates and state routes beginning at 12:00 noon on Friday, May 22 through 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26. This will provide maximum roadway capacity for motorists expected to travel in the state this Memorial Day weekend.
Motorists may still encounter some lane closures or restrictions while traveling through long term construction projects.  Drivers should be aware that reduced speed limits will be in effect in work zones. Drivers convicted of speeding through work zones where workers are present face a fine of up to $500, plus court fees and possible increased insurance premiums.
Travelers can dial 511 from any landline or cellular phone for travel information, or follow TDOT on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TN511 for statewide travel.

Tennessee is doing something right when it comes to caring for foster children in the state. According to a report released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Volunteer State has reduced the percentage of children in custody who are housed in residential settings by nearly half since 2000. Linda O’Neal, executive director with the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth, says children have a lot to learn in a family setting. “Tennessee is definitely on the right track, with a great emphasis on placing children in family placements whenever possible,” says O’Neal. “We know how important it is for children to grow up in families, where they really learn how families should interact.” According to the data, since 2000, Tennessee has increased the number of children in family settings by 25 percent. O’Neal notes the progress made in the state is significant because Tennessee is one of a small number of states where data in this report includes dependent, neglected children and children who have been in the court system for crimes. The report, Every Kid Needs a Family: Giving Children in the Child Welfare System the Best Chance for Success, recommends agencies work with families to keep children in their own homes by providing the resources, skills and services they need. Tracey Feild, director and manager of the Casey Foundation’s Child Welfare Strategy Group, says when kids are removed from families without cause, there can be lifelong ramifications. “Kids who live in families, supported through tough times have the best chance for life success,” she says. “Separating children unnecessarily from families exacts too high a price in both human terms and taxpayer dollars.” O’Neal says more children can be helped if individuals step up and offer support to people in their lives who may be struggling to raise their children. “We know Tennessee could do better if more families would step up and provide support for their extended families that are struggling to care for their children if they have to come into state custody,” she says. “We know the state always needs more foster families that are willing to give the love and support to young people.” According to the report, relatives can offer a familiar relationship and connection to a child’s identity and culture, ultimately making an eventual return home easier.

The City of Tullahoma is asking residents to vote for the name of the new Tullahoma outdoor aquatic complex. Residents are invited to cast their vote at or http://www.tullahomatn.gov.
The final five nominations include Splash Landing, Splash Down, Splash Lagoon, Splash Island or The Splash. Cast your vote now through June 5, 2015.
In April, Mayor Lane Curlee invited the community to assist the city by submitting names for the new pool. The names listed on the ballot are a result of the names submitted from that contest.
The person who nominated the winning entry will win 30 free passes to the new outdoor aquatics complex.
Three ways to vote:
Online at http://www.tullahomatn.gov
You can print a ballot from the above link or clip the ballot from the Tullahoma News and mail to Vote for the Pool, PO Box 807, Tullahoma, TN 37388, or drop it off at City Hall between 7:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday – Friday.
The new pool also means new positions for lifeguards and concession attendants. Applications are available at http://www.tullahomatn.gov/job-openings.

On Monday night during the Manchester City School board meeting interim Director of Schools Dr. Sandra Morris announced the resignation of Director of Schools Dr. Keith Brewer. Brewer had been on an extended medical leave before his resignation. The board voted to keep Morris as acting director for one year under her stipulation that a director search begins in January of 2016.
The school system’s 2015-16 budget will be $13.1 million with a surplus of $1,823. Several positions were cut from the school system including some in the central office and school personnel.
In a 3-2 vote, the board hired Nashville attorney Chuck Cagel as its new legal counsel.

This week is Tennessee Rescue Squads Week and the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads encourage all citizens to join them in this worthy observance.
The members of the 105 squads of the Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads, including Coffee County tirelessly give of their time and energy in humanitarian efforts and make themselves available every hour of the day, every day of the year to help save lives.
The Tennessee Association of Rescue Squads is concerned with accident prevention and works to promote research which will serve to advance techniques of rescue squads and lifesaving work throughout our state.
The Coffee County Rescue Squad is celebrating 52 years as a volunteer service. They have a total number of combined years of service of 289 years. The Coffee County Rescue Squad is always looking for dedicated volunteers.  If you are interested they meet the third Tuesday of every month at 7pm. The rescue squad is located at 2270 Murfreesboro Highway in Manchester. You can give them a call at 931-728-1785.

Women seeking an abortion in the state of Tennessee will now have to wait 48 hours after consulting with a doctor before coming back in for the procedure.
Governor Bill Haslam signed the measure, which was sponsored by Republican Sen. Mae Beavers of Mt. Juliet, into law late Monday.
Doctors who fail to comply with the new law could face misdemeanor or felony charges.
Currently, Tennessee is among 28 states that require women to undergo some sort of a waiting period before having an abortion.
Haslam also recently approved a measure making facilities or physician offices be licensed as ambulatory surgical treatment centers if they perform more than 50 abortions in a year.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has signed Tennessee’s $33.8 billion annual budget plan into law.
Haslam spokesman David Smith said the governor signed the appropriations legislation this week that establishes spending priorities for the spending year that starts July 1.
The plan does not include the first installment of a $2.8 billion plan to extend health insurance to 280,000 low-income Tennesseans. Haslam’s Insure Tennessee proposal would have had state hospitals cover the $74 million state share to draw down the money, but fellow Republicans in the Legislature twice rejected efforts to allow the governor to proceed with the deal.
The budget does include about $166 million in economic incentives for the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga.

A lawsuit has been filed against the City of Tullahoma and Coffee County government. The suit was filed in Coffee County Circuit Court by a former inmate at the Coffee County Jail.
Terry Justin Vaughn was working on May 14, 2014, while serving time in the county jail, perform law care for a cemetery at the Citizens Cemetery located on Montclaire Street in Tullahoma. Vaughn was told to weed eat the cemetery around a tall concrete gravestone.
According to the lawsuit, the gravestone fell over crushing Vaughn’s leg. “The gravestone was not attached to the base, but rather just sitting on top of the base,” according to the lawsuit. “The gravestone was a dangerous and defective and unsafe condition, which caused Vaughn’s injury.” The suit alleges that the gravestone had deteriorated to the point where the structure had separated from its base.
The suit which was filed May 12, alleges that the gravestone had fallen over prior to the date of the accident and was “placed back on its base by unknown employees of the City of Tullahoma, acting in their capacity as employees to maintain the cemetery.”
The suit alleges that two employees of the City of Tullahoma had picked the gravestone up on prior occasions and placed it back on its base. Those same two employees worked with inmates on the grounds of the cemetery and the employees had “reported the dangerous condition.” The suit claims that the workers supervisor was “negligent in supervising the employees.”
The suit also claims that Coffee County had the duty “of reasonable care to inspect and maintain areas where inmates are required to work so to keep areas in a reasonably safe condition.” The suit also claims that the county should inquire into the safety of inmates work areas.
“Coffee County failed to keep Vaughn, an inmate, reasonably safe by failing to inspect and failing to maintain the cemetery and gravestone where inmates of the Coffee County Jail worked,” the suit alleged.
The suit ask for Vaughn to be awarded an “amount in compensatory damages to be determined to be fair and just, but not to exceed the separate maximum allowed under state law. The suit also ask for that Vaughn be awarded appropriate prejudgment and post judgment interest the cost of litigation, as well as other expenses.
This information includes only one side of the legal matter. (News Source Tullahoma News)