Category: News

A new campaign has been launched urging the largest restaurant chain in the nation to stop purchasing meat that’s been raised with antibiotics. Pamela Clough, campaign coordinator with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)’s Stop the Overuse of Antibiotics initiative, says there’s a growing public health threat with what she calls the overuse of antibiotics in meat agriculture. They’re asking McDonald’s to take food made with antibiotics off the menu. “They are one of the largest purchasers of beef, pork and chicken in the U.S.,” says Clough. “This commitment from McDonald’s would really help tackle the growing public health crisis of antibiotics resistance.” In 2003, McDonald’s did adopt a policy on purchasing meat raised without antibiotics, but Clough says while it was a step in the right direction, the “Golden Arches” didn’t go far enough. “It only applied to some suppliers and didn’t require the suppliers to only purchase meat raised without antibiotics,” she says. “It had to do with antibiotics used for growth promotion versus disease prevention. So in the end it’s not enough. We need stronger action.” McDonald’s says it recognizes the importance of combating antibiotic resistance, and an update to its policy on antibiotic use in food animals is due out this year. According to the CDC, each year some two million Americans become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. At least 23,000 of those infected die as a direct result of their infections.

There’s no denying the current 615 area code is quickly running out of numbers, so the Tennessee Regulatory Authority has announced a new area code in portions of middle Tennessee.
The TRA had been gauging public opinion on how best to handle the area code problem, and it decided to go with the overlay option by popular demand.
Cell phones and online numbers have ramped up the use of phone numbers.
Skype allows each user to reserve up to 10 phone numbers, while Google has purchased thousands of 615 numbers for its Google Voice customers.
On top of that, pre-paid phones use tens of thousands 615 area code numbers.
That means the new 629 area code will cover the same region as 615, and everyone will have to dial all 10 digits no matter your area code.
The good news is people who currently have 615 phone numbers will get to keep them, and calls that are local now will still be local when the new rules go into effect.
That is expected to happen this spring.

Projections for enrollment in Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to cover low-income Tennesseans have been revised upward to 280,000 people in the first year.
Haslam’s chief of staff, Mark Cate, said Wednesday that new number reflects an actual study and comparisons with Medicaid programs in other states. The original estimates for the Insure Tennessee plan had pegged the expected enrollment at 200,000 or below.
Cate says while the enrollment projections have gone up, the estimated cost per enrollee has gone down enough to keep cost expectations at their original level.
Cate and other Haslam administration officials presented details and answered questions about the plan to state lawmakers in advance of next week’s special session to decide its fate.
Haslam wraps up a statewide tour to promote the plan on Thursday.

The Manchester Board of Education met on Monday night at Westwood Elementary and approved a motion to drop the $1.56 million lawsuit against Coffee County. The vote dropping the lawsuit was unanimous.
In other board business, Director of Instructing and Student Testing Sandra Morris was appointed interim director while Director of Schools Dr. Keith Brewer is on medical leave.
The school board and the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen are scheduled to have a joint meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 29, at Manchester City Hall. Budget cuts and the possible merger referendum will be discussed.

Trevakias Vondez Rankins is wanted by the Shelbyville Police Department for Aggravated Burglary and Possession of a Weapon during the commission of a violent felony.
Two men have been charged in a Carter Street home invasion Saturday night, and Shelbyville police are now looking for Rankins.
Shelbyville Police say Rankins is a black male and should be considered ARMED and DANGEROUS.
If you know the whereabouts of Trevakias Vondez Rankins please call the Shelbyville Police Department at 931-684-5811 or Crimestoppers at 931-685-4300.

Concerns are being raised by a number of health organizations and physicians over new research that downplays the link between high sodium consumption and health problems. The study found no association between salt intake and risk of heart failure or mortality among the elderly over a 10-year span. But Dr. Rose Marie Robertson, chief science and medical officer with the American Heart Association, says the study had a limited number of participants, who self-reported their intake. “And you know we’re not very good at remembering many things, but particularly it’s been well demonstrated that if you ask us what we eat, we invariably underestimate many things about that and it’s just not accurate,” she points out. Robertson says it remains clear that a high sodium diet increases the risk for high blood pressure, which uncontrolled can lead to more serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. While people should be conscious of not regularly consuming too much salt, Robertson says keeping your blood pressure in check should also include other healthy lifestyle choices. “So controlling your weight, getting to a healthy body weight, engaging in physical activity,” she states. “We all ought to be exercising, doing something vigorous at least 30 minutes a day.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one in three adults has high blood pressure, which is a primary or contributing cause in 1,000 deaths in the U.S. each day.

The Manchester Police Department is investigating a credit card fraud case that occurred at Wal-Mart in Manchester on January 2, 2015.
Investigators are searching for two females they would like to question. Both women are Caucasian and their pictures were taken by surveillance video.
If you recognize either of these women please contact Manchester Police Investigator Butch Stewart at 931-728-2099. The other woman’s picture can be seen below.
(Note: All persons of interest in pictures posted are considered innocent until proven guilty)

A reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a Franklin County man.
Authorities in Winchester say a $1,000 reward is being offered to anyone who can lead them to the whereabouts of Marc Castle.
Castle has been at large since a shooting incident on Tuesday, Jan 20.
The bullets passed through a house and into a neighboring home. A 70-year-old woman was inside but was uninjured.
Castle, according to authorities is heavily armed.
He fled the scene last week on a bicycle. Castle is described as a white male, 5-feet-9-inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds and is in his mid-30s with a normal build.
Castle has a lengthy criminal record, which includes involvement in the robbery of a financial institution in McMinnville when he was a teenager in the early 1990’s.
Anyone knowing his whereabouts should call police.

Over the last six years Randall Morrison has served as the city attorney for Tullahoma. On Jan. 31 Morrison will no longer serve in that capacity.
Morrison recently added a new partner to The Morrison Law Firm, William Lockhart. Within the next 30 days, the firm’s name will officially change to Morrison & Lockhart.
Morrison has been in business since 1980 and also served as Coffee County Juvenile Court Judge from 1990 through 1998.
The City of Tullahoma will now start the process of hiring a new attorney.