Category: News

A Winchester woman was shot dead by her husband in Bedford County on Saturday morning. Deputies with the Bedford County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a shooting at a home in the Fairfield community around 7:58 a.m. Saturday. The call came in by a 12 year-old girl who lives at the house and not related to the deceased.
Police say Kristal L. Hall, 46, of 207 Franklin Park in Winchester, died from one shot to the head from a 9 mm handgun. Hall was staying at a friend’s house on State Highway 64 East just past the Fairfield Pike intersection.
Authorities said they believe Hall was allegedly shot and killed by her estranged husband, James Timothy Hall of Winchester.
Warrants were obtained for Hall for first degree murder, aggravated robbery, and reckless endangerment, according to officials.
Hall was being held in the Bedford County Jail with no bond.

Hamilton County education officials have voted to sue the state over its formula to fund schools.
The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports the Board of Education voted 8-1 Thursday night to sue over the Basic Education Program, which is how the state determines funding for public school systems. It joins other districts including Polk, Bradley, Marion and Coffee.
Meanwhile, Metro Nashville Public Schools decided on Tuesday to wait at least 30 days before actively considering a lawsuit.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam has said he will try to meet with the state’s four largest school districts as early as this week to discuss funding issues. He has said his proposed budget provides $100 million for teacher pay raises and nearly $50 million to help the state’s Basic Education Program.
Hamilton County education officials say the state doesn’t provide enough funding for a multitude of expenses, including pay and health insurance for teachers.
“The state has simply chosen to ignore their own laws,” said D. Scott Bennett, the attorney for the Hamilton County Department of Education. He said children are guaranteed a free K-12 education by the state Constitution.

All Tennessee law enforcement officers will have to wear wide angle body cameras if a bill in the Tennessee General Assembly passes.
The House bill sponsored by Democrat Brenda Gilmore and its Senate counterpart sponsored by Democrat Sara Kyle requires all officers to wear the body cameras if money via grants, donations or the federal government is provided to the department.
Officers are concerned that passing the bill into law without clear policies on when and how the cameras are used could create privacy concerns for the public.
“State law says we have to check on every person in a house when there’s domestic issue,” Nashville Fraternal Order of Police President Sgt. Danny Hale said. “What if I am standing at the door and the person says they don’t want to be videoed. Then we are in a catch-22.”
Sen. Kyle said privacy issues would be one of the things discussed in the subcommittee as part of the bill.
The bill also states that any video found to not show criminal activity would not be made public and other evidence based video would only be available to the public after the case is completed.
The proposed bill would not require the department to buy the cameras unless there was grant money.

At the national level, President Barack Obama has pledged more than $260 million to match state funds and outfit 50,000 officers with body cameras.

The move would require congressional approval.

If the Tennessee version passes both chambers and is signed by the governor, it would take effect on January 1st 2016.

In a follow-up to a story we brought you yesterday, a joint drug operation between Manchester Police Department and the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department took place Wednesday afternoon. Manchester Police Department Assistant Chief Adam Floied told WMSR News the drug operation involved two suspects. When police began to surround the suspect’s Chevrolet SUV in a business parking lot, the driver then allegedly put the car in reverse, jumping curbs and entering Highway 55 toward Tullahoma. A high-speed pursuit ended when the driver Corerius Temon Trammell started to drive into oncoming traffic and then collided with a state trooper’s vehicle from the rear. According to Floied, after hitting the trooper’s vehicle, Trammell began to back up toward an investigator and the state patrolman and a sheriff’s investigator opened fire. The suspect then backed through the median and, with a flat tire, came to rest in the westbound lanes near Rose Hill Memorial Gardens. The two suspects were arrested and taken to the Coffee County Jail.
Trammell of Chattanooga, TN was charged with Reckless Endangerment, Resist, Stop, Frisk, Halt, Search and Mfg/Del/Sell of a controlled substance. Trammell’s Bond was set at $265,000. The passenger Carlon Dontez Bowman listed an address of Tullahoma. TN but apparently is living in Chattanooga, was charged with Mfg/Del/Sell of a controlled substance and Resist, Stop, Frisk, Halt, Search. Bowman’s bond was set at $252,500.00. Both remain in the Coffee County Jail. They are scheduled to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court Monday March 16.

A three vehicle crash occurred Wednesday afternoon in Manchester. Two cars were in the turning lane attempting to go left onto Stillwood Dr. off Hwy 41.
Manchester Patrolman Daniel Ray said witnesses told him the third vehicle was traveling in the opposite direction in a reckless manner and collided head-on with the lead car in the turning lane and that automobile slammed into the other vehicle in the turning lane.
One person was checked out by Coffee County EMS and waived his right for transport.
All three vehicles suffered damage. Other photos can be seen below.

A man whose nude body was found floating in Tims Ford Lake Sunday morning died of an accidental drowning, according to an autopsy. He was identified as Mark A. Dye of Shelbyville. A fisherman found the body on Tims Ford off of Highway 130 near the Bell Acres Subdivision in Winchester and notified authorities. “We sent the body to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy,” Sgt. Chris Guess of the sheriff’s department stated. “After they ran his fingerprints through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System they learned his identity,” Guess said. While the death has been ruled an accident, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department is continuing to investigate the incident. Anyone with information concerning Dye’s death is asked to contact Sgt. Guess at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department at 931-308-9415.

Figures released this week show that more than 231,000 Tennesseans have enrolled in the federal health insurance marketplace passed into law at the urging of President Obama.
Federal health officials say 82 percent of those consumers who got insurance through Healthcare.gov qualified for an average tax credit of $213 per month to help them pay their premiums, and 34 percent of those enrolled are under the age of 35.
There are an estimated 280,000 low-income Tennesseans who lack insurance and who do not qualify for help pay for coverage on the federal exchange. Gov. Haslam unsuccessfully tried to get the legislature to pass a bill to cover them.

The winter blast dealt the area a nasty blow, and the hits keep on coming for many residents.
Ice dams have caused damage to countless Middle Tennessee homes, bringing price tags in the tens of thousands of dollars.
Many residents also report being contacted by out-of-state contractors.
The Better Business Bureau (BBB) says there’s nothing wrong with contractors that move from market to market. But residents should do their homework before hiring any contractor, especially one who knocks on your door offering services.
The BBB says it’s important to know who you’re dealing with. If a contractor knocks on your door, ask for their driver’s license, write down the name and address, and make sure the person is licensed and insured.
You can also check out contractors at GoBBB.org. Businesses are rated there on an A to F scale.
Finally, be wary of paying up-front. Any transaction where you pay before the work is done is high risk. But if you do pay a percentage of the costs in advance, use a credit card.

The Tennessee National Guard’s 30th Troop Command, headquartered in Tullahoma, Tenn., recently honored a fallen hero, Col. Martin Basham, the commander of the 230th Digital Liaison Detachment based in Memphis, Tenn. A memorial service was held at the Tullahoma Armory on March 7.
Col. Basham, of Jacksonville, Fla., died unexpectedly after a brief illness on February 10, at Malcolm Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville, Fla. Basham was on his way home after completing a National Guard drill weekend when he became ill. He served as the commander of the 230th DLD since 2013.
In his 40 years of service Basham received numerous awards to include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (third award), Army Achievement Medal, the Iraqi Campaign Medal with three campaign stars, the Tennessee Distinguished Service Medal, the Tennessee War Service ribbon (third award), and other various awards.