Category: News

A Franklin County teacher has been released from her position, following a Department of Children’s Services child abuse investigation that stemmed from a previous probe about a potential link to methamphetamine production.
However, the teacher, Susan Meeks, was never charged nor arrested in connection with the incident and has now filed a $1.5 million defamation of character lawsuit against Sheriff Tim Fuller in response to statements he had allegedly made about the case.
Dr. Rebecca Sharber, director of schools, said Friday she was following a new change in the state law that she had only recently been made aware of. She said the law says employees who have been investigated by DCS for child abuse cannot be retained as employees.
However, Colette Crawley-Martin, a case reviewer with the Department of Children’s Services, had written a letter to South Middle School Principal Sandra Stewart explaining the DCS’ approach to the situation involving Meeks, who had been the South Middle School guidance counselor before the incident had occurred and was transferred to North Middle School as a reading teacher.
Sharber said that the system’s legal counsel had advised her of the law, and although Meeks has not been charged, the law’s language has been changed to address “retaining” existing employees.
Sharber in a letter dated August 27 wrote; “Based on this information I have no ability to retain you as an employee of the Franklin County School System. As of today, you are no longer employed by the Franklin County School System.”
Meeks filed the lawsuit against Fuller on Aug. 26, seeking $500,000 in compensatory damages and $1 million in punitive damages.
The lawsuit says that on Aug. 29, 2013, “Sheriff Tim Fuller gave a statement to News Channels 4 and 5 (Nashville) in which he specifically claimed that Ms. Meeks was personally making illegal methamphetamine in her home, and that she did so while young children were present. Fuller then stated of Ms. Meeks, ‘It’s terrible that an educator has gotten into this,’” according to the lawsuit.
In November 2013, a Franklin County Grand Jury heard the evidence against Meeks and “found that there was no probable cause to indict her for any crime,” the lawsuit says. (Some information from the Winchester Herald-Chronicle)

Patriot Day observance in Manchester is scheduled for Thursday, September 11th, at 11am, on the courthouse lawn. This is the 13th year of the event and will be held on the newly designed courthouse square.
Patriot Day is an annual observance on September 11 to remember those who were injured or died during the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001.
The event is held each Sept. 11 in Manchester is to honor first responders in our area. The local veterans groups put on the event so that we can pay tribute to those who serve us.
A ceremony will be held in Tullahoma at the main fire hall beginning at 7:30am.
The observance in Manchester will be broadcast on Thunder Radio immediately following Coffee County football on Thursday night at approximately 9:30pm.

At approximately 2:05 pm Monday afternoon the Tullahoma Police Department was notified by a concerned citizen that a man made a statement that he was going to “go shoot someone”.
The unknown white male was last seen on a pathway behind the Wendy’s restaurant on Wilson Avenue heading in the direction of the Library. Officers responded to the scene and began looking for the alleged gunman. Officers scoured the area of the greenway and the areas around it. During this time the Tullahoma High School was placed on lockdown as a safety precaution.
Officers were able to locate five adult males on the greenway in the area of D W Wilson recreation center. The five adults were carrying “airsoft” style pistols and told officers they were going into the woods to “play”. The officers identified the five adults and cautioned them about the dangers of openly carrying replicas of firearms. Tullahoma High School was taken off the lockdown around 2:50pm and continued with school activities.
This incident is a reminder of the hazards of replica pistols and other weapons. A very serious incident could easily occur had the replica weapons been pointed, whether intentional or not, toward a private citizen or a law enforcement officer. Please remember that officers have only seconds to respond to a perceived threat. Fortunately this incident was resolved peacefully.

A Franklin County teenager drowned in Tims Ford Lake Sunday afternoon while on an outing with some friends.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Department identified him as Jesse Barnes, 14, Powell Street of Decherd.
According to Franklin County Sheriff’s department spokesperson Sgt. Chris Guess, the teenager died after swinging on a rope over the lake and dropped into the water. “Once he was in the water his friends said that he began to struggle,” Guess stated.
The friends then swam out to him and attempted to rescue him but they were unable to save him.
The teenagers were swimming in the Kitchen Hollow area in the Harmony community of Franklin County. Guess noted that the area is off of Highway 50 west of Winchester.
After he went under the water the Franklin County Rescue Squad was summoned and they retrieved his body from the waters of Tims Ford Lake. “He went under the water around 3:30 p.m. and the rescue squad recovered the body around 5 p.m.
Barnes was a sophomore at Franklin County High School.
An autopsy will be performed to determine the cause of death.
This is the second drowning death on Tims Ford Lake in a week.
Grundy County resident Craig Caldwell of Palmer drowned Labor Day weekend while tubing on the lake.

Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett is calling on people across Tennessee to celebrate National Voter Registration Month by registering to vote themselves if they haven’t already, and encourage friends and neighbors to register. As part of the month-long celebration, Secretary Hargett is asking registered voters to join a nationwide social media campaign.  The initial campaign last year in Tennessee generated more than 15 million impressions on social media. Hargett and other secretaries of state around the country have declared September 23rd as National Voter Registration Day-a day intended to highlight the importance of registering to vote. Eligible Tennesseans have until October 6th to register if they wish to vote in the November 4th election.

Preliminary figures show 10 people died in crashes on Tennessee roadways over the Labor Day holiday weekend. The Tennessee Highway Patrol said the number was down from 16 fatalities in 2013. Of those killed in accidents during the holiday weekend, officials said eight were vehicle occupants, one was a motorcyclist and one was a pedestrian. Four vehicle occupants were not wearing seatbelts and three were killed in alcohol-related crashes. There were two fatalities in Coffee County and one in Grundy County. Troopers also arrested 56 people in the nine-county “no refusal” enforcement effort this Labor Day period.

A Coffee County woman has been charged with TennCare fraud for using the state’s Medicaid program to obtain a prescription drug, which she later sold.
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has announced the arrest of Deborah Kay Copestick, 61, of Manchester, after a joint investigation with the Tullahoma Police Department.
An indictment accuses Copestick of TennCare fraud in connection with selling the painkiller Hydrocodone, a Schedule III controlled substance, which was obtained through TennCare healthcare insurance benefits.
“New rules are scheduled to go into effect in October that will make most Hydrocodone products less accessible, and that’s because this is a strong drug that is dangerous when not used under a doctor’s care and for a medical purpose,” Acting Inspector General Lawrence S. Saylor, Jr., said. “It is critical that law enforcement personnel do all we can to stop the abuse of this drug, especially in the TennCare program.”
TennCare fraud is a Class E felony, carrying a sentence of up to two years in prison. District Attorney General Craig Northcott is prosecuting.
Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”

Last week Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel arrested three Franklin County men on charges of theft from $1,000 to $5,000. The arrests are the results of a yearlong investigation conducted by Investigator George Dyer and working out to three indictments returned by a Franklin County grand jury. Charged were Warren Brown (54 year old male, 801 Gem St., Winchester, TN.) William Estill Cornett (42 years old, 209 West Cowan St., Cowan, TN.) and Paul Ronald Click (52 years old, 95 Lakeland Court, Winchester, TN). Two of the defendants, Mr. Click and Mr. Cornett were employees of the Franklin County Sanitation Department. All three defendants were booked into the Franklin County jail and issued a $5,000 bond and have a court date of September 19th at 9:00am in Franklin County Circuit Court.