Category: News

A Shelbyville woman died Monday as the result of a multi-vehicle crash on U.S. 41A South early Saturday night.
Linda Ruth Talley, 66, died at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, where she and her husband Richard Talley were taken after the crash.
Officials said the Talley vehicle was struck head-on near the Shipman’s Creek Road intersection, in the area where a widening project is in progress.
Several emergency crews responded to the deadly crash.
No other information was available.
(Courtesy of the Shelbyville Times-Gazette)

More than $125 million in winning prize money has gone unclaimed since the Tennessee Lottery began more than a decade ago on Jan. 20, 2004.
That figure includes $14.3 million left on the table by winners during the fiscal year of 2013-14 ending June 30.
The figure does not include the unclaimed prize of $2 million from a winning Powerball ticket purchased Nov. 26 at a Nashville store, or two $1 million prizes unclaimed so from the Memphis area this fall.
So what happens to the unclaimed prize money?
By law, it goes to fund afterschool programs under the guidance of the Tennessee Department of Education.
Since 2004, the lottery has raised more than $3.1 billion for scholarships at Tennessee colleges.

Progress is being reported in Tennessee as the number of foster children in the state who are aging out of the system without finding a forever home is trending down. Michael Leach, director of independent living with the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, says fewer than 1,000 turned 18 and aged out last year, down from around 1,200 over the past five years. “The department has, with the focus and emphasis on permanency and adoption and exits to connected caring people…we have seen a decrease in young people aging out,” he says. Leach says, overall, there are about 8,000 children and young people of all ages in the Tennessee foster care system at any given time. Leach notes that in Tennessee, foster youth who are enrolled in higher education can opt back into the system until they’re 21 to continue receiving services and key support in areas such as housing, employment skills and education. “Whatever was going on in their living situation may have affected their schooling or life skill development,” he says. “Or the traumas associated with abuse and neglect, they’re dealing with those needs and so it’s hard to focus on other things to move you forward.”

The Tennessee Highway Patrol believes its new efforts to keep roads safe are going well as the number of people who’ve died on Tennessee roads is down from last year. Troopers say signs displaying the number of fatalities on Tennessee roadways this year have grabbed a lot of attention.
The number of fatalities on Tennessee interstates has gone down compared to last year. As of Monday, the fatality count stood at 952, down 34 from this time last year.
THP officials say most fatal crashes occur because of speeding, careless driving, impaired and distracted driving and not wearing a seat belt. Officials say you increase your chances of surviving an accident by simply putting on your seat belt.

The Tennessee Department of Health is urging all Tennesseans to increase their efforts to prevent flu and flu-related health threats by getting the flu shot and talking with their healthcare providers about flu-like symptoms. Since 2007 there have been 29 pediatric flu-related deaths recorded in Tennessee, including three in December of this year.
That is the highest number of pediatric flu deaths in the month of December since current reporting began in 2007. Prior to 2007 pediatric influenza deaths were not specifically required to be reported.
Those with flu-like symptoms should ask about the use of anti-viral medications such as oseltamivir (Tamiflu®) or zanamivir (Relenza®). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, clinical benefits are greatest when antiviral treatment is administered early, ideally within 48 hours of symptoms starting. These antivirals may decrease the severity of flu but are not always advisable for every patient. The CDC also advises treatment with antivirals is recommended as soon as possible without waiting for confirmatory testing for those patients with confirmed or suspected influenza who have severe, complicated or progressive illness.
In some cases, he or she may provide antivirals before flu confirmation tests are complete, as a precautionary measure.”
Currently in Tennessee influenza-like illness activity is above CDC epidemic thresholds. The TDH has detected confirmed cases of influenza in 44 of 95 counties.
Even in years, like this one, when other strains not present in vaccine are circulating, flu vaccine is still the best protection available. Other key protective measures include hand washing, avoidance of touching your face, covering a cough or sneeze and staying home if you are sick to avoid exposing others.
For additional information about the 2014-2015 flu season, visit the CDC website at:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/season/index.htm

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Career Coach will be at the Grundy County Courthouse in Altamont on Tuesday, Jan. 6th from 10am-2pm. They will be setting up outside the courthouse recruiting candidates for multiple companies in Grundy County for various positions.
Career Coach staff will be on-site helping people to create resumes and register with Jobs4TN.gov where there are thousands of jobs available statewide.

The Manchester City School Board wants to settle lawsuit action with the City of Manchester and the Coffee County government.
The school board is offering a settlement with Manchester that would stop legal action. The Manchester school system would drop the $40,000 that it says that the city owes in trade-off for the city paying all future taxes for liquor-by-the drink owed the school system.
In the proposal to the county would pay the system $500,000 over a 10 year period, beginning in 2018, in $50,000 yearly increments and the county could not raise taxes to pay for the settlement.
An agreement vote by the board of Mayor and Aldermen is needed on the city side and county commission will have to approve the county end of the proposal. (Portions of this story from the Manchester Times)

A man wanted for robbing a Tullahoma man was arrested in Lincoln County and now faces charges there and here. In addition to the robbery charges the man also faces charges for burglary in Tullahoma.
Zedekiah Cates Wooten of Tullahoma told Officer Sam Campbell that a white male approached him in the parking lot off of Wall Street Christmas night. The man asked him if he was okay and when he said yes the man then allegedly pulled out a pistol and stuck it to Wooten’s neck. He ordered Wooten to get into his own vehicle and empty his pockets into the passenger seat. He also demanded that Wooten hand over his phone and wallet.
The thief told him that he would throw the phone out at the end of the street.
The offender then jumped into a vehicle a drove away with Wooten chasing him. Wooten also was screaming that he had been robbed and two men leaving London’s bar heard him yelling. The men, Trevor Schmit and Thomas Gregory also gave chase on foot.
Wooten described the thief as being a white male wearing a dark colored ball cap, with blondish brown hair, about six feet tall, face mask, and a gray hoodie.
All three men stated that the robber was driving either a gold or silver colored hatchback Honda.
While Officer Campbell was searching the area he located Wooten’s phone in three pieces. He also found three vehicles with broken windows and had been burglarized.
Dispatchers with the Coffee County Communication Center notified area law enforcement of the description of the vehicle and the robber. Around 1 a.m. a Lincoln County officer located the vehicle and stopped it.
The driver, Michael Wilburn of Fayetteville was taken into custody on other charges in Lincoln County. He was charged with his third DUI, possession of schedule VI, possession of schedule III, driving on revoked license, possession of a firearm while intoxicated and violation of implied consent law.
In addition to matching the description that Wooten provided, the Lincoln County officer stated that he found a .380 caliber handgun.
Detective Rana Pawlowski was notified and will take the burglary charges to the Coffee County Grand Jury.