Category: News

The City of Manchester board of Mayor and Aldermen will meeting in regular session Tuesday night at 6:30pm. Many items are planned for vote and discussion including:
• Reading of a letter from State of Tennessee Commission on Firefighting commending Chief George DeShields.
• Appreciation letter from the Lions Club
• 2nd reading of an ordinance adopting a continuing annual operating budget of Manchester, TN for fiscal year 2015.
• 2nd reading of an ordinance authorizing the City of Manchester, TN to enter into a mutual aid agreement with the Secretary of the Air Force for fire protection.
WMSR News has talked with an alderman and various people around Manchester over the past few days. All are saying that during the meeting aldermen will be discussing the job performance of Fire Chief George DeShields. Many Manchester residents are planning on attending Tuesday night’s meeting and have ask to speak. WMSR News will be at the meeting and report on the latest news concerning the City of Manchester. Thunder TV will have a video from the meeting available online as soon as possible after its conclusion.

Local authorities were busy Monday morning searching for two men who broke out of the Grundy County Jail.
30 year old Dustin Byers of Estill Springs and 31 year old Nathan Childers of the Manchester area left the jail early Monday morning in a 2001 Mazda owned by Kayla Eubanks.
Byers is described as being 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighs 250 lbs and has red hair, along with a tattoo that reads “Big Country.”
Childress 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 190 lbs with brown hair and green eyes.

A missing Tullahoma man was found alive and well Saturday afternoon by Tullahoma Police Officers.
Roger Dale Burgess, 56, was found in a wooded area behind Piggly Wiggly on East Lincoln Street by 2 officers.
The officers went to the wooded area after an individual called 911 about a suspicious man in the woods behind the store. When the officers found Burgess they said that he was a “little dehydrated” but other than that he was okay.
Burgess has been missing since May 22 when he was last seen leaving his daughter’s apartment where he lived. She said that he turned around and waved at one of his grandchildren and left.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention released the top 25 cities in the United States with high HIV and AIDS rates. Nashville came in at number 22.
Experts said the high numbers are linked to several factors including poverty, education, limited access to health care in rural areas and drug abuse.
The southern U.S. has the highest HIV diagnoses rate of any other region, yet the population of the South only accounts for about 37% of the population.
Right now, more than 21,000 Tennesseans are living with HIV or AIDS.

The Water Safety Fair was held on Saturday at the Manchester Recreation Center. Many, many people attended the 1^st annual event that was also a fund raiser for the Hunter J. Gattis fund. The young Gattis was a drowning victim 18 years ago. The playground at Fred Deadman Park is named in his honor.
Manchester Police and Fire, Clearwater Pool and Spa, TWRA and the Coffee County Rescue Squad were on hand at the event teaching about various safety aspects around water.
There was a silent auction to help the Hunter J. Gattis fund and several prizes were given away by the Manchester Recreation Center.

Sylvester Norman nephew of Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman who passed away last week was laid to rest on Monday. The 51 year-old Norman was recently elected as Seat 1 Constable in Coffee County. He also served as a crossing guard for the City of Manchester, was a captain on the Coffee County Rescue Squad and a former city fireman.
Services were held at the Chapel of Central Funeral Home in Manchester. Burial was held at Cypress Gardens Cemetery in Manchester
Firemen, policemen, rescue squad members and residents lined the streets as the funeral procession made its way through Manchester Monday afternoon.

Because of continuing budget issues in Coffee County government the Coffee County Emergency Medical Service (EMS) has decided to stop taking non-emergency ambulance transports outside the county.
EMS director Michael Bonner said at a recent Budget and Finance Committee meeting he still did not have enough crews and vehicles to service both the emergency and non-emergency operations, especially outside of Coffee County. Coffee County EMS has 5 full-time ambulances and one part-time.
Bonner told the Budget and Finance Committee that the call volume has jumped from roughly 700 per month to 800 in recent months, and that the calls requiring a trip to Nashville had shot up from roughly 14 per month to roughly 80 per month. (Some information provided by the Tullahoma News)

A Silver Street resident was arrested early Friday May 30 on charges of child abuse.
According to a report by Tullahoma Officer Holly Sparkman, the charges were filed against Randy Dewayne Wilkerson after an alleged incident involving his son.
The officer’s report states that nurses in the emergency room of Harton Regional Medical Center notified police after a minor appeared in the ER with a black eye.
The child told the officer that his father had given him the black eye.
Officer Sparkman went to the Silver Street residence and spoke to the man, who allegedly admitted to “punching the boy after an argument concerning curfew and the boy’s previous bad behavior.”
Wilkerson is free on a $5,000 bond and is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court June 5.

In a follow-up to a story we brought you late last week, A Manchester couple is now recovering at home after being injured in an automobile accident on Thursday in Wilson County.
According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tony Clayborne, 51, of Manchester was driving a Ford F-150 in the southbound lane of State Route 109 when the crash occurred. The report alleges that as Clayborne approached an intersection he swerved to the left to avoid stopped traffic.
According to the THP, Clayborne’s truck collided with a 1999 Chevrolet truck operated by Joseph Deathridge, 56, of Gallatin, head on. Deathridge was traveling in the northbound land of State Route 109.
Clayborne was transported by helicopter to Vanderbilt. His wife, Gail Clayborne, 50, of Manchester was transported to Vanderbilt by ambulance. Deathridge, and a passenger, Owen Deathridge, 86, were also transported to the hospital by ambulance.
An update on the Clayborne’s; Gail came home Thursday night with fractured sternum and a broken rib. Tony was kept overnight for observation after receiving stiches for cuts and suffered some bruising. He was released Friday afternoon.

Last week Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel conducted a search warrant at a residence in the Pleasant Grove area of Franklin County. As a result of the search, authorities discovered approximately 3 ½ pounds of what is believed to be marijuana with a street value of approximately $4,000. Sheriff’s Office personnel also confiscated 1 gallon of untaxed liquor and $900 in cash. There is an ongoing investigation concerning this matter and charges in the near future are anticipated.