Coffee County commissioners met on Tuesday night with a property tax increase on the agenda along with a resolution under unfinished business about placing a referendum on the November ballot concerning a motor vehicle tax or wheel tax.
Commissioners decided not to vote on the 27-cent property tax hike. They instead voted to have an emergency meeting on August 12 at 6pm, 5 days after the Coffee County elections. Commissioners will not be paid to attend the August 12 meeting.
Commissioners on Tuesday did approve for voters to decide on a motor vehicle tax or wheel tax. On the November ballot voters will have a choice to say yes or no to a $50 wheel tax.
Category: News
Property Tax Increase? Not Yet
Man Accused Of Shooting At Police In Court This Week
Shawn Michael Luce
Shawn Michael Luce, 25, is charged with two counts of aggravated assault, theft of property, two counts of unlawful carrying of a weapon, reckless endangerment and resisting arrest involving an incident that occurred June 18 on Normandy Road.
He is accused of being in a domestic dispute with his girlfriend Michelle Haney and getting out of the car and then leaving her. He then allegedly fired several rapid shots while police were in the area.
After a massive search the next day, he was apprehended by sheriff’s investigator James Sherrill on Riley Creek Road.
After the hearing, Luce was returned to his cell in the Coffee County Jail under a $500,000 bond.
Other cases involving Luce concerning 70 burglaries in Tullahoma, Manchester and rural Coffee County are expected to be presented to the grand jury in August.
Home Burns In Normandy
The Shelbyville Times-Gazette is reporting that several Normandy residents said they heard one or more explosions and saw flames suddenly burst from a vacant home late Sunday night.
No one was injured. The old, wood-frame home was destroyed, the cause remains undetermined, the Bedford County Fire Department said.
Homes on College Street in Normandy are very closely packed and fire officials were initially concerned flames could spread to nearby structures.
The home, owned by Patricia Smith of Normandy, is directly across from the town’s old school.
Tennessee Children Improving In Education and Health
The latest national ranking of the well-being of children shows Tennessee is among five states that made the biggest improvement in the last year.
The Kids Count Data Book, an annual report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, grades states on education, health care and poverty.
Tennessee moved from 39th to 36th this year. The state made strides on all eight scores for education and health.
Particularly in the case of education, more children met reading and math goals, preschool enrollments increased, and more teenagers graduated high school on time.
The state improved from 42nd to 37th in education, and from 33rd to 31st in health.
Education advocates say education reforms the state has put in place over the last few years contributed to the improvements.
Residual ACT To Be Given At Motlow
Motlow College will administer the complete Residual ACT assessment test twice during the month of August.
Applicants under 21 years of age who plan on attending Motlow College should register for the ACT assessment. Scores cannot be transferred to another college or university. All applicants taking the ACT test must have a Motlow admission application on file prior to taking the test.
The Residual ACT assessment test will be given from 12:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 1 and Thursday, Aug. 14. The test will be administered in Crouch Center Room 1046 on the Moore County campus.
Applicants are required to complete an application as soon as possible to be eligible for the test. Applicants must complete the ACT application and enclose a check/money order for $34 to be eligible. Picture identification is required on the day of the test.
For complete information regarding the test or to obtain a printable application, visit the Motlow website at <www.mscc.edu/testing> or contact the testing office at 931-393-1763, or 1-800-654-4877 ext. 1763.
Don’t Miss The Political Forum
To better inform the voters before the Aug. 7 Coffee County General and Manchester Municipal Elections, the Manchester Times and Thunder Radio have teamed up for a candidate forum from 4:30-8 p.m. Thursday, July 24 at the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center – 147 Hospitality Blvd. In total, 23 candidates from seven county-wide races and one city race have been invited to participate in the event.
The event, sponsored by the Manchester Times will be broadcast live on Thunder Radio 107.9FM and AM1320. The event is free to attend and is free for candidates who are invited to participate.
County Commission Race Heats Up
Zak Mohyuddin.. Photo provided
In Tullahoma’s District 15, things have become heated between incumbent Mark Kelly a Republican and Christian and Democratic primary winner, Zak Mohyuddin a Muslim.
In a letter to WMSR News Mohyuddin says that Kelly made a set of serious allegations against his patriotism and loyalty. Mohyuddin says he never used the words or anything similar alleged in a letter Kelly sent to voters. Mohyuddin added he never made the comments in public or in private. In the letter dated July 16, Kelly claims Mohyuddin “expressed his beliefs publicly,” that “the American flag should be removed from public buildings because it is a symbol tyranny and oppression; that public prayer should be banned because it insults non-Christians; and that the Bible should be removed from public places.”
Mohyuddin claims that he has never made such statements to anyone, and that Kelly is simply making the whole thing up.
“To me, flags and bibles are objects of respect, regardless of what country or religion they belong to, and I’ve always treated them with respect,” Mohyuddin said. “This man is saying things about me that don’t reflect my values in any way.”
Mark Kelly
Kelly told WMSR News that nothing he has done is against the 1st amendment. He said that he and his opponent have different principles that they disagree on. He added that this is not about religion just a difference in beliefs.
Kelly says that during this campaign he has been attacked as well. He said people have accused him of wanting to close the libraries and that is not true.
Mohyuddin says that he has not had any private conversations with Kelly for roughly 25 years.
Kelly, on the other hand says that he and Mohyuddin have had several private conversations over the years, on the AEDC walking trail, among other places.
Remember early voting is going on now through August 2 and Election Day is August 7. So far over 1,500 people have voted early in Coffee County.
Real Estate Blog Names Manchester As One Of Tennessee’s Most Exciting Cities
Any state that can turn out the likes of Morgan Freeman, Dolly Parton, and Elvis has got to be pretty darn exciting—and we didn’t even mention the barbecue.
With all of Tennessee being so exciting, how could you possibly pick the most exciting places within its borders? Well, that’s where the Movoto Real Estate Blog team comes in. Movoto, in their latest report names the 10 most exciting places in Tennessee:
1. City of Knoxville
2. City of Chattanooga
3. Nashville-Davidson
4. City of Franklin
5. City of Johnson City
6. City of Manchester
7. City of Maryville
8. City of Memphis
9. City of Gallatin
10. City of Jackson
Movoto started this exciting journey by gathering up all of the places in Tennessee with populations of 10,000 or more, which left them with a total of 59 places. Then, they used the 2010 U.S. Census and business listings to research each place according to the following eight criteria:
• Nightlife per capita (bars, clubs, comedy, etc.)
• Live music venues per capita
• Active life options per capita (parks, outdoor activities, etc.)
• Arts and Entertainment per capita (movie theaters, festivals, galleries, theaters, etc.)
• Fast Food restaurants per capita (the fewer the better)
• Percentage of restaurants that are not fast food (the higher the better)
• Percentage of young residents ages 18 to 34 (the higher the better)
• Population density (the higher the better)
Manchester may be small, but that only means that it has more nightlife, music, and food per capita than many of the larger places Movoto looked at.
Weekly Update On Gas Prices
News that a Malaysian Airliner was shot down quickly put upward pressure on the price of oil. West Texas Intermediate closed the week at $103.13 a barrel on the NYMEX on Friday – an increase of $2.30 from last week.
“Oil rose on concerns that violence could spread in response to the crash,” said Mark Jenkins, spokesman, AAA – The Auto Club Group. “Gas prices are currently falling more than a half cent a day, but geopolitical tension could slow the rate of discount at the pump this week.”
The national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded is 5 cents cheaper than last week and fell for the 23rd consecutive day on Sunday. Prices in Tennessee fell 4 cents last week. In Coffee County the low price in Manchester is $3.25 and Tullahoma’s low price per gallon is down to $3.23.
I-24 Crash Hurts The Driver Of An 18-Wheeler
Johnny Wells age 42 of Brownsville, TN was driving his tractor-trailer on I-24 Monday afternoon when he lost control. Preliminary information indicates that the 18-wheeler was traveling eastbound on Interstate 24 at mile-marker 130 in Grundy County. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol report, Wells lost control of the vehicle while negotiating a curve and veered into the median. The tractor-trailer continued through the median, going through a guardrail where it then continued across the westbound lanes of traffic, through another guardrail and went down an embankment.
Wells suffered injuries and was taken to an area hospital.
