News – Page 958 – Thunder Radio

Two Area Crashes Result In Two Deaths

The driver of a tractor trailer was struck by a car on Interstate 24 after he crashed his own truck on the opposite side of the highway.
The accident happened just outside Manchester in Coffee County early Sunday morning at 5:20 a.m.
According to a traffic report, 27-year-old Phillip Toombs of Beechgrove, TN was driving a semi when he crashed in the eastbound lanes.
Toombs got out of his truck and walked through the median into westbound lanes where he was struck by a 2008 Trailblazer driven by Gregory W Shannon age 36 of Manchester, TN.
Toombs was pronounced dead on the scene.

A single vehicle crash in Grundy County on Friday took the life of a Sewanee, TN woman. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol this was the first death for the Labor Day weekend in 2014 on a Tennessee roadway.
On Friday night around 6 p.m., a Nissan Maxima driven by Travis Johnson, 35, of Tracy City was traveling north on State Highway 56 at a high speed, according to a THP accident report. The vehicle went off the right side of the roadway and struck a tree, which caused the car to flip several times.
Johnson, was injured and passenger Karen Scott, of Sewanee, was pronounced dead on the scene after being ejected from the vehicle.
Johnson and Scott were not wearing seat belts, which officers believed might have prevented the fatality.

Man Receives Plea Deal After Lying To Police

Nicholas Lee Curtis

A Tullahoma man entered a plea of guilty to perjury in Coffee County Circuit Court last week.
Nick Curtis pleaded guilty to the perjury charge for lying to police about what happed the day that Kayla Qualls was murdered in November 2012.
Qualls body was found in the rear of her SUV by hunters in Franklin County in a wooded area behind the UT Tree Farm on Spring Creek Road. An autopsy revealed that she had been beaten to death.
The investigation into the murder revealed that Nick Curtis’ father Michael Curtis committed the murder and at the time of his arrest he allegedly admitted to investigators that he killed her.
Nick Curtis is the father of Kayla Qualls’ two young children who were in the Curtis residence the day of the murder.
Nick Curtis reached a plea bargain deal through his attorney Craig Northcott and Assistant District Attorney Kristy West. He admitted to lying to police and obstruction of justice. Investigators have alleged that he knew about the murder.
In exchange for Nick Curtis’ plea he will be required to serve one year in the Coffee County Jail and four years’ probation. His father is being held in jail awaiting trial in February on the murder charge.

D.A. Says No Evidence To Support Criminal Prosecution In Investigation Of The Manchester Police Department

Former District Attorney Mickey Layne

On April 15, 2013, Coffee County District Attorney Mickey Layne requested the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to conduct an investigation of the Manchester Police Department’s use of the money from the Police Officers’ Fund, aka the Flower Account, and the use and disposition of surplus equipment obtained from the United States Department of Defense during the year 2012 and prior to.
The Police Officers’ Fund had been in existence for some twenty (20) years and was funded by police officer contributions, fundraisers and from other sources. This fund did not contain public taxpayer money. On Friday Layne said in a press release that the records of how the fund was used were either poor or non-existent. Thus, the investigation did not uncover evidence of any criminal violation in the use of the Police Officers’ Fund.
As to the surplus equipment, Layne stated that the Department of Defense requires items to be kept for twelve (12) months. The items may then be disposed of and records tracking their use and disposition is not required. Thus, few records of the use and disposition of this property were found, as they were not required to be kept. D.A. Layne added, “Thus, it was not possible to determine which, if any, items were actually missing, and which, if any, items had been sold. Also, if sold, it could not be determined how any money acquired was used after a sale”.
Layne said the investigation did not acquire evidence of any criminal violations in the use and disposition of the Department of Defense surplus property by the Manchester Police Department during the year 2012 and prior to.
The now former district attorney says there being no evidence to support a criminal prosecution, this investigation is closed.

Changes At The District Attorney’s Office

New Coffee County District Attorney Craig Northcott

With newly elected officials in Coffee County now sworn-in some big changes have already taken place at the district attorney’s office. Coffee County District Attorney General Craig Northcott is working at putting together his new team. Northcott has decided not to retain four employees including two longtime assistant district attorneys. Felicia Walkup, assistant district attorney for over 10 years; Marla Holloway, assistant district attorney for nine years; Kathy Walker, Child Support administrator for 10 years; and Stacey Dotson, an administrative assistant for four years.
“A lot of difficult decisions had to be made regarding personnel,” Northcott told The Tullahoma News on Thursday, “but only to make sure I have the right group of people who I believe will serve the community best, and who share the same mission that I have.”
Northcott began his duties today.
Others beginning new jobs today: Coffee County Mayor Gary Cordell, Register of Deeds Donna Toney, Road Superintendent Benton Bartlett and Trustee John Marchesoni.

Drowning Occurs In Franklin County

Craig Caldwell.. Photo from WTVC in Chattanooga

A man drowned in a lake in Franklin County Saturday afternoon around 3pm.
The victim was identified as 42-year-old Craig Caldwell of Palmer, TN.
According to officials, Caldwell was tubing when he fell into the water and drowned near Tims Ford State Park at Mansford Bridge.
Emergency crews arrived about 30 minutes later, but could not revive him. He was not wearing a life jacket.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency was in charge of the scene. No other details are available.
Officials said alcohol was not a factor in the incident.

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Coffee Middle and New Union Back Open After Water Problem

Manchester Water Department pouring the final layer of flowable fill as they finished up work on Thursday afternoon… Photo provided.

Two Coffee County schools remained closed on Thursday following a water main break in Manchester on Wednesday.
The water main break occurred on State Route 53/Woodbury Highway.
Both New Union Elementary School and Coffee County Middle School were closed Thursday but are reopening Friday.
All Coffee County schools dismissed at Noon on Wednesday due to the rupture.
The Manchester Water Department worked for many hours to repair the damage. Director of the water department Brian Pennington, said this was the most difficult water repair that he has seen in his 17 years as director.

Manchester Man Charged With Criminal Attempt To Commit Murder

Matthew Butler

Matthew Butler of Spring Street Manchester is accused of stabbing Martin Anderson of Hillsboro in the throat on Monday. The incident allegedly occurred around 1am Monday.
The Coffee County Sheriff’s department received a call from 911 about a possible stabbing at a Hillsboro location.
After arriving at the scene, deputies found Anderson had a three inch cut to his throat and it was approximately three inches deep. He was transported by Coffee County EMS to a landing zone, so Air-Evac could fly Anderson to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga.
Butler was questioned at the Coffee County Jail and was charged with criminal attempt to commit murder. He is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a $150,000 bond.
According to Sgt. Danny Ferrell, Anderson underwent surgery to repair the cut to his throat.

THP Looking For Distracted Drivers

High school and college students are back in school, it means more teens and those just above their teen years are on the roads. New studies show how dangerous that can be. Wrecks are the leading cause of death for 15-20 year olds in the U.S.
The latest study from the Governor’s Highway Safety Association attributes distracted driving of all kinds — not just texting — to those statistics.
And with the Labor Day Weekend here, the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) is stepping up enforcement in a high-visibility campaign to help, among other things, combat distracted driving.
There’s a statewide texting ban in effect in Tennessee. But the THP is looking not just for those typing away on their devices, but for all kinds of distracted driving.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol knows the visual cues of distracted driving: frequent head nods, staring or gazing downwards, and swerving in and out of lanes. But it’s not just smartphones that are the problem and it doesn’t only involve teens. One state patrolman said he stopped a driving that was reading a book.
This Labor Day Weekend, the THP will have a trooper driving a semi-truck around a certain part of the state to get a good visual on distracted drivers. Another trooper in the passenger seat will radio a distracted driver’s license plate number and vehicle make/model to a nearby patrol car.
Some schools in Tennessee are also welcoming a Jeopardy-like game show into their schools called “ThinkFast Interactive.” The game combines the state’s teen driving safety rules with pop-culture and trivia to educate teens about safe driving.
We also remind you to buckle up as you travel.

Package Deal in Congress Could Include TN Wilderness Act

PHOTO: It would permanently protect some 20,000 acres of Cherokee National Forest, and supporters of the Tennessee Wilderness Act are hoping the passage by Congress will come yet this year. Photo credit: Mark Doliner/Flickr.

Congress returns to session next month, and while not much may get done pre-election, there could be moved afterwards on several bills, including one that supporters in Tennessee have been trying to get passed for years. There’s a chance that the Tennessee Wilderness Act could win approval by being grouped together with other bills, said Will Skelton, an advisory committee member with the group Tennessee Wild. “That’s the most likely outcome,” he said. “Everyone thinks that they’ll package several non-controversial Republican and Democrat bills together and possibly pass them after the election.” Approval of the act would permanently protect some 20,000 acres of Cherokee National Forest, with the expansion of five current wilderness areas and the creation of the state’s first new one in 25 years. Skelton said that new area would be the Upper Bald River Wilderness, which is more than 9,000 acres in Monroe County. “Upper Bald River is one of the very, very best,” he said. “It’s one of the gems of the whole forest, and so we really think it’s time to protect those areas. This bill would do that. It would protect the Upper Bald River and the additions to several other areas that also should be protected.” The Tennessee Wilderness Act was first introduced in 2010. It’s now awaiting a vote on the Senate floor and has the support of both of the state’s U.S. senators, Republicans Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker. Details of the legislation, S.1294, are online at beta.congress.gov.

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