Category: News

Last week a Franklin County resident was sentenced in Franklin County Circuit Court after being found guilty on charges of Rape of a Child and Sexual Battery. The conviction was the culmination of a criminal investigation conducted by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office investigator George Dyer. William Julian Pillars (196 Sunshine Circle Decherd, TN.) was charged with Rape of a Child 3 counts and Sexual Battery 1 count and ultimately found guilty in a jury trial proceeding in Franklin County Circuit Court. Pillars was sentenced to serve 62 years in a facility to be named by the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Cornelia A. “Connie” Clark will be in Manchester Monday to hold an informational meeting regarding the upcoming retention vote of Tennessee Supreme Court justices.
The meeting is set for 3 p.m. in the Coffee County Circuit Courtroom, 300 Hillsboro Boulevard.
Also scheduled to be on hand at the meeting are former Tennessee Court of Appeals Judge Patricia Cottrell, Senior Judge Walter Kurtz, attorney Margaret Behm, and attorney William “Bill” Purcell. The vote will effect the retention of Tennessee Supreme Court Justices Gary Wade, Clark, and Sharon Lee.
For more information about the event, call Christina Henley Duncan at Rogers, Duncan & North for additional information, (931) 728-0820.
The public is invited and encouraged to attend.

Tennessee’s unemployment rate for the month of June was 6.6 percent, a slight increase from the May rate of 6.4 percent. That’s according to Tennessee Labor Commissioner Burns Phillips.
The national unemployment rate for June was 6.1 percent, which was down from 6.3 in May.
Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 8.4 percent to 6.6, while the national rate decreased from 7.5 percent to 6.1 percent.
The largest decreases occurred in mining, logging and construction, government and other services. The largest increases occurred in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality and trade, transportation and utilities.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has obtained indictments for a former Grundy County Sheriff’s Department captain accused of stealing handguns from the department’s evidence room.
At the request of 12th District Attorney General J. Michael Taylor, TBI Special Agents began investigating Deke Matthew Stone on August 1, 2013. During the course of the investigation, Agents developed information, that in June 2013, Stone took three handguns from the department’s evidence room. Stone left his job with the department before the TBI case began.
This week, the Grundy County Grand Jury returned indictments for the Altamont man, charging him with one count of Official Misconduct and one count of Theft over $1,000. Wednesday, the 33-year-old turned himself in to TBI Agents at the Grundy County Jail, where he was released after posting $7,500 bond.

The Shelbyville Board of Zoning Appeals has been ordered to issue a permit to Wright Paving and Custom Stone LLC to allow a rock quarry on their property in the Bedford County city. The order was issued by the Bedford County Chancery Court by Senior Judge Ben Cantrell of Nashville. The permit according to the ruling is for a period of five years from the date of the issuance of the permit. Wright is also allowed to recover their attorney fees.
Concerns such as blasting, noise, vibration, dust, public health, safety and welfare and other issues were cited as reasons for rejection by the BZA last year.
However, Cantrell ruled that the BZA’s holding on those issues “is not supported by material evidence,” also stating that “there is no proof that the use of the quarry will adversely affect other property in the area.”
The next city council meeting in Shelbyville will be Tuesday at 4 p.m. Wright Paving and Custom Stone LLC have been attempting for years to build a quarry in Hillsboro. The Coffee County town is home of one quarry owned by the Rogers Group. The Wright quarry would be located next to the Rogers location.
Grady Wright says his company remains hopeful of bringing a competitive business and good paying jobs to Coffee County. Those opposed to the idea complain it would bring down property values and bring to much dust and noise to Hillsboro.

More than a quarter-million Tennesseans without health insurance could also lose access to primary care, with Community Health Centers across the state now looking down the edge of a looming fiscal cliff. Funding to help the centers expand reach and capacity was part of the Affordable Care Act, but the operating grants are set to expire next year. Mary Bufwack, CEO, of Nashville’s United Neighborhood Health Services, said if the funding is lost, they would likely have to close four of their 11 clinics. Statewide numbers could be even higher. “There are 28 centers and we altogether have 201 clinics,” said Bufwack. “If the impact is about the same in other areas, you’re looking at about 80 clinics out of that 201 closing.” Bufwack added that the closures and elimination of other services would impact about 260,000 CHC patients in Tennessee, which means they’d either have to go without care, or show up at the emergency room when a health issue becomes a crisis. CHCs can also be economic drivers in their areas. Dr. Gary Wiltz, board chairman of the National Association of Community Health Centers, said such areas are often small communities that need jobs as much as they need health care services. “We’re employing 250,000 people nationwide,” said Wiltz. “Fairly good-paying jobs. And by nature, we’re located particularly in the rural areas, like I’m in.” Nationally, research shows the number of CHC patients could drop by 7 million by the year 2020, if federal funding is lost and if more states don’t expand their Medicaid programs. Tennessee hasn’t made any expansion moves yet. But Bufwack said it’s greatly needed, because of the state’s high rates of poverty and uninsured, and low health rankings. “Look at every measure of health status,” said Bufwack. “Whether it’s diabetes, cardiovascular disease, prenatal care, infant mortality. We’re always 48 or 47, competing with Louisiana and Mississippi for the bottom rung of health care.” Currently, it’s estimated that 62 million Americans still do not have regular access to a primary care provider, and the demand is only expected to continue to rise in the years ahead.

Graphic details, please be aware… A Shelbyville man is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a $250,000 bond after being arrested Monday.
Aled Key Marable, 28, of Highway 41A South, Shelbyville is charged with rape and aggravated assault following an alleged incident Sunday.
The victim told Tullahoma Police Officer Lynn Cannon that she was held against her will at an apartment. When the officer found the woman she was at the intersection of Freeman and East Lincoln Street with visible severe injuries to her head and face. She also had bruise marks on her upper torso. She also, according to the officer’s report, was not wearing any pants when she was found.
The woman told the officer that she was beaten to a blackout state after she refused to take part in group sex with her boyfriend and others.
According to the warrants, in addition to the bruises the victim also had her head shaven as punishment for not participating.
According to the officer’s report, the woman had something sprayed into her eyes.
She told the officer that she knew she had been raped and forced to have an oral encounter. A rape kit was conducted at Harton Regional Medical Center.

Recently the Tullahoma Board of Mayor and Alderman, meeting as the beer board, assessed the maximum penalties to two business that sold beer to minors during a compliance check conducted back in April.
Gregory Jackson, who holds the permit in use at the Piggly Wiggly on East Lincoln Street, appeared before the board to answer for two complaints. One was for selling beer to someone underage. The other was for a store clerk selling the product, that clerk had been barred from selling beer and tobacco after a conviction back in 2012. That conviction disqualified the clerk from selling beer for a period of 10 years.
Jackson was fined a total of $2,000. The clerk no longer works at the store.
Another hearing involved the Mapco Express on East Lincoln Street, also known as Favorite Market. Representing the business at the hearing was Yuri Rodriguez, the store’s general manager.
Tullahoma City Attorney Randall Morrison said a clerk at the market sold beer to a 19-year-old undercover informant back in April. The clerk has since pleaded guilty in city court and been assessed the maximum fine.
The board voted to assess a $1,000 fine to the market, the maximum penalty for a first offense. (Portions of this story provided by the Tullahoma News)