Category: News

With the death toll in Nepal’s earthquake projected to climb to as many as 10,000 people, Tennesseans are looking for ways they can help. At the same time, organizations such as the Better Business Bureau, say scammers are looking for ways to take advantage of generosity. The BBB’s “give.org” website has information on charities providing aid to victims. Individual efforts are also common on social media. Nancy Crawford, spokesperson for the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South, says if you choose that route, make sure you know the person directly or indirectly. “With things like crowd-sourcing, crowd-funding, you want to do as much homework as you can and make sure you understand that in those cases,” she says. “There may not be a way to prove that the money that you’re sending is indeed getting to the victims who need it.” Reports from Nepal indicate that aid is slow in getting to the remote villages. Identifying a reputable charity that accepts monetary donations to purchase food and supplies on the ground in the region will also help boost the local economy. In addition to people posing as charities to redirect money to their wallet, Crawford says a relatively new problem is people posting photos and videos on social media to gain access to your computer. It’s called “click-baiting.” “Somebody posts a teaser headline and says, ‘click here for shocking photos of earthquake victims,’ and the danger in that is, oftentimes, when you click on those kinds of links they download some type of malware to your computer and you could get a virus of you can have something running in the background that’s searching through your stuff trying to find personal information,” says Crawford. If you do want to donate to relief efforts, it’s recommended you research not only the organization’s reputation, but also it’s specific presence in Nepal. Unlike other regions impacted by natural disasters in the past, some regions of Nepal are rural and difficult to navigate.

After a plan was put in place to start the task of moving inmates this week to the new Coffee County Jail, that process will start a little later.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has to activate the fingerprint machine and the NCIC (National Crime Information Center) hookup at the $22 million facility.
Sheriff Steve Graves says they are also working out a new standard of operation for the medical staff. The county just recently signed an operations contract with Quality Correctional Health Care for $456,000. Inmate medical costs for the current fiscal year ending June 30 are expected to end up somewhere between $1.2 and $1.5 million. Sheriff Steve Graves said in an interview on WMSR that he expects jail medical costs will come down substantially at the new facility. The two-man cell system should make things safer, cleaner, and healthier for everyone including jail staff.

Nonprofits play an essential role across the region—in health, arts, environment, education and social services. In today’s economic environment, these organizations need to accomplish much more with much less.
To celebrate Middle Tennessee’s spirit of generosity and “payback” the work of nonprofits, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is bringing back The Big Payback.
The Big Payback, a 24-hour, online giving event, highlights nonprofit organizations’ great work and inspires community-wide giving. Starting at 12 a.m. on the morning of Tuesday, May 5, 2015, the public has 24 hours to make gifts at www.TheBigPayback.org from a selection of 755 participating nonprofits, including schools and religious institutions, which are located in or provide services to the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee.
Gifts from the public will be boosted with funds from sponsors of The Big Payback. Nonprofits will vie for financial incentives, bonus donations and additional prizes totaling more than $240,000. An online leaderboard will track donations in real-time.
Donors will be able to view and select from participating nonprofits based on location and focus area, such as animals, education, healthcare and more. Donors can support multiple nonprofits and make gifts of any size, from $10 and up.
Nonprofits and the general public also can participate in The Big Payback in person. Thanks to the Nashville Predators, the Smashville Plaza in front of Bridgestone Arena will turn into The Big Payback Party Plaza on May 5, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.. Participating Big Payback nonprofits will have the opportunity to showcase their organization and all who attend can enjoy food trucks, donation stations, giveaways, music and much more. The Predator’s Foundation also is joining The Big Payback movement. On May 5, The Predators will announce their 2015 nonprofit grant recipients. Grant funds can be used by the nonprofits toward their Big Payback goals. The Community Foundation thanks the Nashville Predators for their support of the Middle Tennessee community.
Nonprofits from Coffee County you can give to:
Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition, Coffee County Children’s Advocacy Center, Coffee County Humane Society, Coffee County Senior Citizens, Inc., Haven of Hope, Keep Coffee County Beautiful, Manchester Arts Center, North Coffee Elementary, Partners for Healing, Tullahoma Community Foundation, Tullahoma Day Care Center, South Jackson Center and the Tullahoma Fine Arts.

May is designated as national Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month. The Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office and the Tennessee Highway Patrol have joined to share a unified message: Share the Road.
“As the weather gets warmer, more and more motorcyclists will be on the road,” said Governor’s Highway Safety Office Director Kendell Poole. “It takes everyone working together to stay safe. Motorcyclists take extra precaution with protective gear and being aware of their surroundings. We are asking all other drivers to do their part and take the extra time to look twice.”
According to the Department of Safety and Homeland Security, there were 2,710 known crashes involving a motorcycle in 2014 that resulted in 121 deaths.
“When a car collides with a motorcyclist, it is much different than a crash between two cars,” said Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott. “A motorcyclist has little defense against the tons of steel that will hit them. While traffic fatalities statewide are declining, motorcycle fatalities have continued to rise. Over the last decade, we have seen an approximate twenty-five percent increase.

One person was killed in a two vehicle crash Wednesday morning at the intersection of Highway 55 and Pete Sain Road.
According to a report by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Corey Stuart, Edith Cox, 70, of Manchester was killed in the accident that occurred around 11:30 a.m.
According to the trooper’s report, Cox was driving a 1998 Ford car across State Highway 55 at the intersection of Pete Sain Road and Highway 55 and failed to yield to a 2005 Ford pickup operated by Helen Harrell, 36, of McMinnville.
Harrell’s vehicle then struck Cox’s vehicle in the passenger side door.
According to the THP, Cox was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.

On Friday April 24th, Richard Skipper who is the Career and Technical Education director at Coffee County High School was presented the Pioneer Award from the Tennessee Association of Career and Technical Education.
TACTE (Tennessee Association of Career and Technical Education) gives out 2 awards annually. The Pioneer Award is presented to an outstanding CTE director in the state of Tennessee with 5 years or less experience.
Last year Richard was the Middle TN nominee but finished second overall. Skipper is currently the president of the South Central Region of CTE directors and will be starting his second term as a member of the State CTE Leadership Committee.

A man nicknamed the “Cross-Country Cowboy” is traveling across the U.S. on horseback. Over the past few weeks Tod “Doc” Mishler has been staying in Manchester at the home of former Coffee County Mayor David Pennington and his wife Nancy. Doc was a recent guest on Thunder Radio’s “Let’s talk Antiques” program talking about why he does what he does. The 79 year old Mishler, who has a PHD in Philosophy is on a mission to shed light on the starving children in the world. Doc said recently on WMSR, “My message is that we have the money to do it, unfortunately we don’t have the will. The way is not lacking. The way to feed every starving child in the world is there, but the will is lacking.” He is urging our country’s leaders to provide funding to feed the hungry children in world. Doc rode into town with his two horses named “Chief Free Spirit” and “Charity.” He bought a third horse, “Green Eyes” at a stable on Hwy 41 on his first trip through town. He rides between 10-20 miles a day. This is not his first trip across the United States, he completed another cross country trek in 2002 where he traveled from Montana to Washington. On that trip he took his message to Congress. Doc has had some health issues during his travels through Murfreesboro. He had to have a stint put in at St Thomas Rutherford after having a heart attack while camping for the night. He lost some weight during his health problem but has been gaining weight and feels stronger. He gives credit to Nancy Pennington’s cooking for helping him.
The Penningtons got to know Doc when he stopped by the Jiffy Burger as he traveled through Manchester on Hwy 41.
While in Manchester he received the “Key to the City” and a Humanitarian certificate for his efforts to feed hungry children.
Tracy St John, the daughter of David and Nancy, says her whole family became very close with Doc and they are sad to see him leave, but she knows his journey and message are not complete. Mishler headed toward Nashville earlier this week.

Two local dealerships in Manchester have had cars stolen from their lots recently.
At Lawrence Family Motors they discovered missing keys about 2 months and thought they were misplaced. On Monday (April 27) morning the owners discovered a red 2012 Hyundai Veloster missing from the dealership. The Hyundai has around 30,000 miles and valued at nearly $17,000.
In a surveillance video, an unknown subject walked onto the lot Monday morning around 7:15am. The person used what appeared to be a key-fob (original key) got into the vehicle and left. As the vehicle traveled north on the Hillsboro Blvd., it appears that a dark colored small truck, maybe a Ford Ranger, followed closely behind.

Also on Monday Officer Daniel Ray responded to Roberts Nissan about a breach of trust vehicle. An employee at the dealership said he rented a 2014 Nissan Sentra to a Lucas Van Strickland on April 18. The car was supposed to be returned in 2 days. Apparently several calls had been made to reach Strickland but they got no answer. The man used an Ascend Credit Union card to rent the Nissan valued at $18,000. Investigator Chief Billy Butler checked with the credit union.  Strickland does have an account at the bank, but the number on the card does not match the account.
Since Strickland lives in Bedford County, Investigator Jason Kennedy was contacted and is now on the lookout for the vehicle.
If you have any information on either one of the cases, please contact the Manchester Police Department at 728-2099.