Category: News

For the first time in years, the penalty for not wearing your seat belt in Tennessee is set to increase.
The fine will increase from $10 to $25 for first time offenders if a new bill is passed. Governor Bill Haslam is expected to sign the new fines into law in the next couple weeks.
Tennessee Highway Patrol said they hope the increase in fines will reduce traffic deaths in Tennessee. Three hundred people were killed and more than 4,000 people were injured in 2014 because they did not wear a seat-belt, according to THP.

The Tullahoma High School and Coordinated School Health are pleased to host the first ever Wheels in Motion Tour de Raider vs Tour de Cat. This is local school duel parade along the Little Duck River. The school with the most participation is proclaimed the winner. The Wheels in Motion Tour de Cat VS Tour de Raiders will be a fun-filled-family friendly bicycle parade (scooters and skateboards are eligible) that combines school spirit with a good cause. On Saturday, May 9th at 9am, the Wheels in Motion bicycle parade starts at the Manchester Recreation Center and follows the greenway along the Little Duck River.
The $10.00 entry fee supports Tullahoma High School Interact to raise money for bikes for Tullahoma City School students and the money raised for Coffee County High School will help those students in need receive school and other supplies. The first two hundred entrants will receive a T-shirt. All proceeds will help projects at Tullahoma and Coffee County High Schools. Sign up by going to http://www.tullahomatn.gov/get-fit or go by the Manchester Recreation Center and complete the registration form.
The Tour de Cat vs Tour de Raider is a fun celebration of cycling. Ride one, ride all and get your ride decked out and join our parade that loops from the Rec Complex to the County Courthouse.
This is an all age event, and participants are encouraged to wear costumes and decorate their bikes, scooters and skateboards.
Prizes will be awarded for best costume, best group, best decorated bike and the winner of the event will the school with the most participants.
Afterwards, enjoy Parkpalooza with food, fun, Zumathon and live music featuring Spencer’s Own starting at 10 a.m. There will also be games, inflatables and health and wellness booths.
For more information, contact Gina Bumbalough in Tullahoma at 931-454-2639 or the Manchester Recreation Center.

A Grundy County Sheriff’s Office deputy is facing a driving under the influence charge after a fellow deputy watched him drive off the roadway.
Deputy Joseph Greenwell, 59, was not on duty or driving a department issued vehicle when he was arrested Wednesday morning, said Sheriff Clint Shrum.
A deputy was driving behind Greenwell when he noticed his vehicle swerve and leave the roadway.
When the deputy approached Greenwell, he had indications that he had consumed alcohol.
Greenwell was supposed to work Wednesday. Shrum said Greenwell has missed 6 days of work.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Colonel Tracy Trott has announced Jeff Mosley of McMinnville as the new captain of the agency’s Chattanooga District, effective immediately. Mosley replaced Captain Jessie Brooks, who last month was appointed to lead the THP Knoxville District.
Prior to his promotion, Mosley had worked as a road lieutenant in Coffee County since 2009. During that time, he assisted with the organization and allocation of manpower for the Bonnaroo festival, which brings over 80,000 motorists to the area annually.
Mosley became a state trooper in 1987. His first assignment was as a road trooper in Giles County until 1992. He also worked in White and Van Buren Counties in the THP’s Cookeville District until he earned his first promotion to sergeant in Warren County in 1998.

The state House has passed a bill to make the Bible the official state book of Tennessee, despite opposition from Republican leaders and an attorney general’s opinion that the measure would violate the state and federal constitutions. The chamber voted 55-38 on Wednesday to approve the measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Jerry Sexton, a former pastor from Bean Station.
Sexton argued that his proposal reflects the Bible’s historical, cultural and economic impact in Tennessee.
But several opponents raised concerns about putting the Bible on par with other state symbols like the official salamander, tree and beverage.
The measure would need to be approved by the Senate before heading to the desk of Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, who opposes it.

Not all farm groups are in agreement on whether President Barack Obama should be given fast track negotiating authority on foreign trade agreements. The proposal may be introduced as early as this week and would allow the administration to negotiate trade deals in secret and then send them to Congress for an up or down vote without the ability to make any amendments. Karen Hansen-Kuhn, director of international strategies with the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, says the outcomes of previous deals such as NAFTA and CAFTA have proven that this is the wrong way to go. “While we’ve had tariffs go down, we’ve had greater protections for foreign investments,” she maintains. “So companies have been able to shift production to wherever it’s cheapest and farmers have lost bargaining power. So we have a real loss of family farms. We have farmers unable to get fair prices for their goods.” Supporters of Trade Promotion Authority, including the Tennessee Farm Bureau, say it will give the administration the power needed to best negotiate deals with other countries, opening new export markets for U.S. farmers and companies. Rhedona Rose, executive vice president of the Tennessee Farm Bureau, says with exports being important to the state’s agriculture industry, her organization supports giving the president and his staff authority to act fast. “We think it’s important for our negotiators to have the leverage of knowing that they’re acting within what Congress would want them to do,” she stresses. But Hansen-Kuhn says a better approach would be to make the process of negotiations on trade deals more transparent, allowing for congressional and public scrutiny. “There’s no reason they can’t be publishing exactly what it is they’re doing along the way,” she states. “They could give Congress a role in setting the negotiating objectives. “Let Congress certify that they’ve met those objectives before they complete the negotiations. Really just opening up the process, starting with transparency, would be a great start.” The debate over the fast track authority comes as the U.S. is in talks on two huge trade agreements – the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, both of which have raised concerns among many food and farm groups.

The Coffee County Grand jury met Tuesday to consider 48 cases that were bound over to it from the General Sessions courts.
There were also 37 sealed or original cases that were considered by the secret panel. Those cases are those that were presented straight to the grand jury by law enforcement. Those cases usually include drugs or other cases that have not been through the court system.
Those named in sealed indictments will be arrested and booked into the Coffee County Jail on the charges.
All of those indicted will appear in Coffee County Circuit Court for arraignment and a court date to be set.

April 15 is “Tax Day” and some area residents have had the rude awakening that their Social Security numbers were stolen. The residents found out when they filed their income tax forms this year with the Internal Revenue Service. They were told that their Social Security numbers had been used by other filers.
When the people check with the IRS they confirm the fraudulent actions.
Some of those who have experienced the problem had earlier been told that their information had been hacked when thieves hacked their insurance carrier.

Tennessee’s Department of Agriculture says it has received 53 applications seeking approval to grow industrial hemp.
The Knoxville News Sentinel reports the applicants will serve as test cases for the state law if the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration gives its approval to the project.
Officials say industrial hemp is the same plant species of marijuana, but it has a significantly lower content of THC, the part that makes you high. It can be used in a variety of products, including fabric, textiles, fibers and foods.
The DEA has asked state officials for more details on planned uses for the crop.
Those who applied to grow hemp asked for plots ranging from one-tenth of an acre in Nashville to more than 900 acres in Memphis. Most sought approval to grow the crop on 5 acres or land or less.