Emergency crews work to free Horn from wreckage… Photo by Barry West
The Tennessee Supreme Court has agreed to hear a legal challenge over a law allowing the state to electrocute death row prisoners if lethal injection drugs are unavailable.
The challenge is part of a lawsuit filed by 34 death row inmates over Tennessee’s death penalty protocols – both lethal injection and electrocution. The state wants the court to dismiss the challenge to electrocution protocols because none of the inmates are currently scheduled to die by electrocution.
The new electrocution law was meant to jumpstart the state’s stalled execution process, but it opened the door to new legal challenges.
The hearing is scheduled for May 6 in Knoxville.
The high court also is considering whether the state must release the identities of the people who carry out executions.
Tullahoma Police Chief Paul Blackwell
Cancer’s effects can stretch far beyond the physical, emotional and psychological problems the disease can have and it is not limited to the individual facing the diagnosis.
These are facts that Tullahoma resident Julia Logan-Mayes and her family know all too well.
After finding solace, guidance and support in connecting with other cancer patients and their families during her husband’s battle with the disease, Logan-Mayes has dedicated herself to providing that network of caring and understanding to people in the Tullahoma area.
Logan-Mayes and her husband, Stephen Logan, were raising their family in San Francisco in 1999 when Stephen was diagnosed with a grade four brain tumor.
Stephen Logan died in May 2001, and Logan-Mayes said the friends she made at Gilda’s Club helped her and her children through their bereavement. Logan-Mayes, who worked as the volunteer coordinator for Hospice of the Highland Rim for seven years, is now working to establish a Gilda’s Club in Tullahoma.
Gilda’s Club is a community organization for people living with cancer, their families and friends. Local chapters provide meeting places where those living with cancer, their families, and friends can join with others to build emotional and social support as a supplement to medical care. Free of charge and nonprofit, Gilda’s Club chapters offer support and networking groups, lectures, workshops and social events in a nonresidential, homelike setting. Gilda’s Club was named in tribute to comic actress and Saturday Night Live star Gilda Radnor who died of ovarian cancer in 1989. It is now known as the Cancer Support Community.
The Aaron’s Sales and Lease Student of the week for
13 February 2015 is Yusuke Takahashi. Yusuke is in
fifth grade at Jack T. Farrarr Elementary School in
Tullahoma. He is the son of proud parents Fumie and
Iichi. He was nominated for this award because he
embodies the three “R’s” at Jack T. Farrarr, responsible,
respectful and ready. He is also very helpful to both his
fellow students and teachers. Yusuke is an extraordinarily
student, who could speak very little English when he first
entered Tullahoma Schools but has thrived in the learning
environment. Yusuke is a Blue Belt in Karate and likes to
play with his friends either playing catch or jumping on the
trampoline. Yusuke’s favorite subject is math because he likes
numbers and says it’s easy. He hasn’t considered what he
would like to do when he grows up but whatever it is, we are
sure he will successful at it. Yusuke was presented with a
plaque (courtesy of K&S Trophies of Tullahoma) and a set of
tickets to an up-coming Nashville Predators game.
Congratulations to Yusuke Takahashi, the Aaron’s Sales
and Lease Student of the Week.
The Aaron’s Sales and Lease Student of the Week – Yusuke Takahashi
Troy King
It’s been over 2 years since we reported the murder of Thomas Colucci, at his residence on Maple Springs Road near Manchester on Nov. 13, 2012.
Connie King and Troy Lynn King are accused of killing the man. Their trial is set to begin in May, 2015.
Troy was in court this week trying to get his bond lowered. The judge denied his request and King’s bond will remain at $1 million.
Connie King has also asked that her bond be lowered from $500,000 to $50,000. Judge Vanessa Jackson will decide soon on that bond reduction request.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on Thursday awarded over $47 million to public housing authorities in Tennessee. The funding will allow agencies to make major large-scale improvements to their public housing units.
The grants are provided through HUD’s Capital Fund Program, which offers annual funding to approximately 3,100 public housing authorities to build, repair, renovate and/or modernize the public housing in their communities. These housing authorities use the funding to do large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to replace old plumbing and electrical systems.
The Manchester Housing Authority will receive $80,050 and Tullahoma will get $299,432.
The American Heart Association is reminding people to take steps to improve their heart health this Valentine’s Day, including improving their diet and increasing exercise. Photo credit: AHA
Hearts are everywhere this week as Americans prepare to celebrate a holiday that is projected to gross a record-setting $18.9 billion this Valentine’s Day. But medical experts want to remind folks it’s the heart that should be top of mind. The American Heart Association says regular exercise and a healthy diet are gifts to the vital organ. Dr. Andrew Zurick, a cardiologist with the St. Thomas Health System in Nashville, says physical activity should be the norm, not an exception to how you go about your day. “Ideally, I tell people they should be exercising every day,” says Zurick. “It should just be sort of a habit, like brushing your teeth or putting your clothes on.” In addition, Dr. Zurick says to remove salt from your diet by reducing the amount of processed foods and eating out, and filling half your plate with vegetables at every meal. According to the Centers for Disease Control, one in four deaths in Tennessee is related to heart disease. The AHA also recommends making a date this Valentine’s for your heart with your doctor, to check cholesterol levels and obtain a fasting blood glucose check. “As long as it’s working well, most people, I don’t think, give a whole lot of thought about how to keep it working,” he says. “But it’s like the engine of your car if you don’t change the oil regularly you’re going to eventually run into problems with the engine working right.” The AHA also recommends you “rethink your drink.” Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugars, and excess sugar is linked to increased risk for high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and inflammation in the body.
Outgoing first sergeant, 1st. Sgt. Greg Sawyer (second from left), hands the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 30th Troop Command, Tennessee Army National Guard, guidon to Command Sgt. Maj. Greg Turner during a formal change of responsibility for the unit, held Feb. 8, 2015. Sawyer relinquished his position as the unit’s first sergeant to incoming 1st Sgt. Kenneth Latham (right) while Sgt. 1st Class Ronald Cannon (left) the unit’s guidon bearer, oversees the traditional exchange. (U.S. Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Sarah Holt, released.)
Roland Segroves, Chairman of the Industrial Board of Coffee County, jointly with Joe Franks, plant manager of fischer USA, are happy to announce expansion plans for fischer USA in Manchester.
The expansion will consist of two separate construction phases to optimize Manchester’s location.
Phase 1 will be comprised of an approximate 35,000-square foot addition to the existing facility. The expansion is required to keep up with the increasing demand for fischer USA products, the group said. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of September 2015.
Phase 2 will consist of a new structure that will be approximately 100,000-square feet in size. This facility will house new equipment and will need to be ready for occupancy by the beginning of January 2016 at the latest. The construction will be overseen by general contractor Jamesway Construction.
Together, both facilities will be creating approximately 50 new jobs for Manchester over the coming year, the company says.
This is the largest single investment in the history of the fischer Group.
The company is a manufacturer of premier stainless steel tube and tubular components.
