Category: News

A rainy evening turned into a scary evening on Monday in Manchester. Five teenagers, all at least 18 years old were at the former Old Stone Fort Golf Course when they apparently decided to cross the Duck River over a man-made bridge to explore a nearby cave. After exploring the five young people were going to cross back over and that’s when they discovered the bridge had been taken over by high water after heavy rain in the area.
Manchester Police was called to the scene, but they turned over the situation to Coffee County authorities due to the area being outside the city.
The Coffee County Rescue Squad was dispatched to the scene around 6:30pm for a water rescue. The rescue squad members did an outstanding job as they were able to put a small boat in the water and transported to five teenagers to safety. Neal Simmons of the rescue squad said the three males and two females were not hurt, only cold. Three of the five are from Manchester and the other two are from Monteagle.
Coffee County EMA and EMS also responded to the scene.

Motlow College theatre department students will present a new, original musical titled “Issues,” beginning Thursday, April 9, in Powers Auditorium inside Eoff Hall on the Moore County campus. The musical was written by Jeannie Gallant, associate professor of communications at Motlow, with the assistance of her students.
The 75-minute show will have performances on Thursday and Friday, April 9 and 10, at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.; and Saturday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday’s show will feature a question and answer session with the class after the performance.
The issues that are addressed throughout the musical are bullying, teen violence in dating relationships, self-image, racism and homelessness.
For more information, please call 931-393-1730.

Colon cancer, vision problems and myths about “vaping” – a slang term for using e-cigarettes – are featured in a new CDC public health campaign called Tips from Former Smokers. According to CDC senior medical officer Dr. Tim McAfee, the public awareness of smoking-related health damages beyond the heart and lungs is limited, but the risks have been proven scientifically. He says vaping is being aggressively marketed as a way to help smokers quit. So far research shows it doesn’t help. McAfee also cites research showing that reducing the amount of traditional smoking by using e-cigarettes doesn’t help, either. “The 2010 Surgeon General’s Report found that fewer cigarettes per day does not reduce cardiovascular disease,” he says. “The only way to stop the progression of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is to quit smoking completely.” The anti-smoking campaign features television and radio spots, online images, video and print components, all bearing testimonials from former smokers now dealing with major health problems – and directing smokers to call the Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW. “Julia” is one of the former smokers in the CDC campaign. She details her life after colon cancer, which she says is the result of more than 30 years of smoking, starting as a teenager. “It wasn’t just about the physical pain and suffering I endured, it was also the fear and sadness I saw in my family,” she says. “That hurt almost more than the cancer itself.” Other former smokers share their stories about rectal cancer, lung cancer and age-related macular degeneration.

Powdered alcohol, marketed under the name Palchhol, was recently approved by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for sale in the United States. It is a powder that is packaged in a 4-by-6-inch pouch, to which water can be added to produce an instant alcoholic beverage.
A bill currently making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly would ban sale of the product in the state. Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves says he hopes the ban will take place in Tennessee.
While proponents of its sale point out that this new product will be useful for purposes including camping, airline travel or any other activity where weight is a significant issue, Tennessee Poison Center officials have expressed concern that the availability of powered alcohol may lead to more instances of alcohol poisoning, especially among children and adolescents.
“We are concerned that as more flavors and more sophisticated marketing make this product more enticing and available, more children will ingest it,” said Donna Seger, M.D., professor of Clinical Medicine and medical director of the Tennessee Poison Center, located at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
“It’s also a concern that the availability of powdered alcohol will make it easier for adolescents to obtain and ingest alcohol, either by itself or with other drugs,” she said.
She added, from a poison control point of view, acute alcohol presents as a central nervous system depressant, which can range from drunkenness to, most severely, coma and death.
Seger said, “Parents and other adults should treat powdered alcohol just as they would any potentially harmful substance—it should be stored away from children.”

Big Smo is coming to Tullahoma. The man from Bedford County who took the country by storm last year with his hit TV show on A&E will be performing live in September at the 41-A Music and Arts Festival.
The always fun event will be held September 25 & 26 in downtown Tullahoma with profits from the event going to local children’s charities.
Big Smo, a self-proclaimed ‘hick-hop’ artist, mixes country, hip-hop, rock, and pop into his own kind of music. Kicking off the Saturday night lineup will be local southern alternative group, The Stagger Moon Band. Friday will be headlined by the popular Resurrection, a Journey tribute band.
The event is sponsored by the Highland Rim Kiwanis Club.

70,000 gun enthusiasts are descending on Nashville this week for the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting. Members won’t be hearing from one prominent Tennessean: Republican Gov. Bill Haslam.
NRA spokeswoman Jennifer Baker commended the governor’s office for helping bring the convention to Tennessee. But she said the NRA was unable to accommodate a speaking role for Haslam at the Friday opening of the event that will feature several potential Republican presidential candidates.
“It is a very lengthy program, and we’re trying to accommodate the 2016 candidates,” she said. “So unfortunately there wasn’t time to include everyone.”
The speakers Friday include U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.
Also welcoming the NRA at the meeting is Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, who has announced he is not running for president.

Gov. Bill Haslam will travel across the state this week to highlight an initiative for adults to attend a Tennessee college of applied technology free of tuition and fees.
Tennessee Reconnect is a last-dollar scholarship program that was part of Haslam’s Tennessee Promise legislation passed last year.
It also ties in with Haslam’s “Drive to 55″ campaign to improve the state’s graduation rates from the current 32 percent to 55 percent by 2025 in order to help improve overall job qualifications and attract employers to the state.
There are 27 colleges of applied technology in the state.
Go to tnreconnect.gov for more information and to sign-up. Deadline is May 15.

An accident on Blanton Chapel Road in Coffee County early Saturday morning took the life of a Manchester woman.
In a report by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Harrison Fisher, a 2000 Ford Expedition driven by 23 year-old Whitney C Austin of Eagleville ran off the left side of the roadway and struck a tree. Passenger Nettie R Austin age 45 of Manchester was pronounced deceased on the scene.
After a test was given, Trooper Fisher’s report showed alcohol was in use by the driver, Austin.
Criminal charges are pending.

A one vehicle crash late Friday night on Normandy Road at Ralph Broadwick Rd injured two people.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 25 year-old Felicia McGee of Wartrace, TN was driving a 2008 Chevy Equinox and lost control of the vehicle and exited the roadway and struck a tree. McGee was injured and taken via ambulance to Harton Regional Medical Center in Tullahoma. Passenger 27 year-old Sara Norman was also injured and was airlifted to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville.
According to the THP report, a toxicology test was given and showed that the driver, McGee had been drinking.
Charges are pending after the investigation is complete.