Category: News

Less cigarette smoking, soda drinking and physical fighting, but more time at computers and other tech devices. That’s the snapshot from the new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Youth Risk Behavior survey. The government goal of reducing teen smoking nationally to less than 16 percent has been met. CDC director Tom Frieden noted that it’s a fragile victory, however, at 15.7 percent. And it comes with the rise in popularity of e-cigarettes, smoking pens and electronic hookahs. “No kid should be exposed to advertising that glorifies the use of nicotine,” said Friden. “Or be able to easily buy e-cigarettes because their sales haven’t been restricted.” Frieden said he’s also concerned about declining condom use and poor diets among teens. The study also found that most young people are spending fewer hours watching TV, but more time in front of a computer for non-school reasons. Stephanie Zaza is director of the division of adolescent and school health at the CDC. She said the center has a lot of great data, but they don’t know why kids do the things they do. She found it alarming that 41 percent of teen drivers admit to texting or e-mailing while driving. She urged parents to take steps to stop behavior that takes a teen’s attention away from the road. “Parents play an active role in keeping their teen drivers safe,” said Zaza, “by close monitoring, frequent discussions, parent-teen driving agreements, and acting as a role model of good driving habits.” The CDC study also found that vehicle accidents cause 23 percent of deaths among 10-to-24-year-olds, making it the biggest killer of teens and young adults. Read more about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior survey.

A possible wheel tax is back on the agenda for Coffee County Commissioners to consider at its next meeting on June 24. The Coffee County Legislative Committee voted unanimously Monday to allow commissioners to vote to put the choice of a $50 wheel tax on the November ballot.
A similar resolution failed by one vote in May, which would have placed the wheel tax question on the August ballot. The resolution requires 11 “yes” votes for passage, regardless of how many of the 21 commissioners vote on the issue.
If this vote fails on the part of the commissioners or by the voters, property owners will be looking at tax increase of around 33-cents which turns out to be $83 per year on a home valued at $100,000.

The 13th Annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival has ended for another year and Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves says it makes him happy when there are no deaths to report. He did report that there were 60 arrests made by all law enforcement combined. Sheriff Graves said his department issued 258 citations for various charges. They responded to 38 calls inside the Bonnaroo grounds for thefts, fights, domestic disturbances and other reasons. The sheriff said that number could go up because they still taking reports.
Manchester Police made 12 out of the 60 arrests during Bonnaroo, issued 45 citations and seized $38,000 in cash. The arrests by Manchester and money seized are both up from last year with citations down.

Gasoline prices in the southeast were on a streak of declines before the conflict in Iraq began. The average price for a gallon of gasoline fell 12 straight days in Tennessee. However, the streaks ended Saturday as the violence in Iraq caused oil prices to jump. Here in Coffee County, Manchester’s lowest price stands at $3.28 per gallon and the low price in Tullahoma is $3.34. Tennessee’s average price is $3.43 per gallon.
Crude oil prices had its biggest weekly gain of this year because of the violence in Iraq. The cost for a barrel of oil closed last Friday at $106.91 on the NYMEX — $4.25 more than the week prior ($102.66).
(Local gas prices were gathered Tuesday afternoon.)

The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced Brownsville, located in Haywood County and Winchester, located in Franklin County, have achieved Tennessee Main Street certification. These communities join 26 other Tennessee Main Street communities that are certified through the state program and accredited by the National Main Street Center, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Tennessee Main Street provides technical assistance and guidance for communities in developing common sense solutions to make downtowns safe, appealing, vibrant places where folks want to shop, live and make memories.
In 2013, certified Main Street communities generated more than $59 million of public/private investment and created 646 new jobs.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development have announced a new initiative designed to raise awareness about sex trafficking in Tennessee.
Beginning this month, visitors too many of the state’s welcome centers and rest stops will see signs posted inside bathroom stalls designed to draw attention to the issue. The signs feature the slogan, “You see a girl who could do anything. He sees a girl he can force to do anything.”
“Sex trafficking is one of the fastest-growing crimes in the United States,” said Margie Quin, TBI Assistant Special Agent-In-Charge and TBI’s representative on the Governor’s Human Trafficking Task Force.
The three state departments joined with the Tennessee Women’s Funds Alliance to expand the reach of its established campaign. The poster features a compelling image along with established warning signs that may indicate someone to be a victim of sex trafficking.
“The Tennessee Welcome Centers host more than 12 million visitors annually,” said Commissioner Susan Whitaker, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. “With this poster initiative, Tennessee is providing an opportunity to raise awareness on human-trafficking and potentially help victims who are caught in its grip. That is our ultimate goal.”
The Tennessee Human Trafficking Resource Center offers a hotline for those who suspect someone is a victim of trafficking or witness activity believed to be related to trafficking at 1-800-558-6484.

Lizzy the Red-Tail Hawk and Snapper the Barred Owl visited the Day Campers at the Manchester Recreation Department. Melissa Jones, Park Ranger at Paris Landing State Park accompanied the feathered friends and answered camper’s questions. Keith Wimberley-Park Manager at Old Stone Fort State Park, invited Jones, Lizzy and Snapper for this teaching session at the Rec Center. Wimberley said, “Teahing the children about our native wildlife gives them an appreciation for the animals…and hopefully they will help protect them and their environment in the future.”
The Manchester Recreation Department has day camp available for children age 5-12. Visit cityofmanchestertn.com for more information.

Gregory Scott Hale the Manchester man charged with the murder and abuse of a corpse last week was ordered Monday to undergo a mental evaluation. Coffee County General Sessions Judge Jere Ledsinger signed the order after a request by public defender Kevin Askren.
The 37 year-old Hale was not in the courtroom when Askren requested Judge Ledsinger to sign the order.
The petition for a forensic evaluation states that Hale has “a prior history of mental illness” and that he has a history of prior commitments to psychiatric hospitals. The petition also alleges that Hale “may suffer from a mental illness.”
He is accused of killing Lisa Marie Hyder by dismembering her body at his residence on Pete Sain Road on June 8.
Hale is being held in the Coffee County Jail under a $1.5 million bond.

Coffee County residents who are nearing retirement age can increase their lifetime income if they can wait a bit to start drawing Social Security benefits.
In Coffee County 6,743 residents – or 12.7 percent of the population – are aged 55 to 64. Those are the years when folks start thinking seriously about retirement.
Workers can start taking Social Security at age 62. But for those who can wait, the benefits go up.
Payments increase by 5 to 7 percent for each year of delay between ages 62 and 66, and by 8 percent for each year of delay between ages 66 and 70. The increases stop at age 70.
For someone who can wait until age 70 to take Social Security, the reward is a lifetime monthly benefit that is 76 percent higher than if taken at age 62.
For example, a worker who qualifies for a Social Security benefit of $750 at age 62 would receive $1,000 by waiting until full retirement age (66 for people born in 1943 to 1954). By waiting until age 70, the retiree would receive $1,320 a month.
The higher benefit would also be the basis for future inflation adjustments.
Around Tennessee, only about one in four residents who are currently receiving Social Security retirement benefits waited until full retirement age to start their payments, according to the Social Security Administration.
In Coffee County, 8,425 residents received retirement benefits from the federal system, according to 2012 figures.
The average recipient of Social Security retirement benefits in Coffee County received $1,204 a month in December of that year. On an annual basis, that brought $121,752,000 in income to the area – 6.3 percent of all personal income in the county, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The Social Security Administration website (ssa.gov) has a calculator that allows workers to estimate their retirement earnings based on their own work records and estimated retirement age.