Category: News

May 9th, representatives of the Tennessee Future Farmers of America (FFA) Association selected Stephen McBride of the Coffee County FFA Chapter to serve as the Tennessee FFA National Officer Candidate at the 2014 National FFA Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, which takes place annually in October.
McBride was elected to serve a one-year term as State FFA President in 2012. During his year of service, his team travelled to more than 150 schools and numerous businesses promoting the Association. Among other honors, McBride was named State Prepared Public Speaking Winner in 2011 and became a national finalist. McBride is a 2012 Coffee County High School graduate and is a sophomore at the University of Tennessee at Martin majoring in agricultural business.
Candidates representing each state will complete a series of interviews ranging in topics from leadership, agricultural issues and agricultural education. They will also complete a knowledge test and present leadership workshops to FFA members.
Tennessee has successfully elected three of its last five candidates for National FFA Office. Mitch Baker from Cookeville, member of the Baxter FFA Chapter, serves as National FFA Secretary. During their year of service, National FFA Officers travel over 100,000 miles, visit more than 40 states and travel internationally promoting agriculture.
Over 60,000 FFA members from across the country will gather in Louisville in October to compete in Career Development Events ranging from prepared public speaking to dairy cattle judging, participate in leadership workshops facilitated by various leaders in the agriculture industry and attend general sessions highlighting student achievement.

Acting on information, Coffee County Sheriff’s Investigator James Sherrill conducted a search of a residence on West Hogan Street in Tullahoma Tuesday and allegedly found drugs.
According to the deputy he found 15 grams of marijuana, some Hydrocodone pills and three sets of scales that had cocaine residue on them.
While Sherrill did not make an arrest he plans to present a case against an individual living at the residence to the Coffee County Grand Jury when it convenes next month.
Tullahoma investigators Tyler Hatfield and Sam Campbell assisted in the search.

A Franklin County woman has been ordered to repay the state for healthcare insurance benefits she received through TennCare, even though she was not eligible for TennCare.
Wendy Farrell, 37, of Estill Springs, was ordered by a Rutherford County court to repay the TennCare a total of $25,041.80, after she pleaded guilty to TennCare fraud, a Class E felony, and felony theft of services. She also received four years’ probation.
The Office of Inspector (OIG) brought the charges against Farrell in February for falsely claiming dependents in her household, which would have made her ineligible for TennCare.
“People who misrepresent something about their current situation in order to qualify for TennCare are going to get caught and prosecuted,” Inspector General Deborah Faulkner said. “TennCare fraud is a felony, and a conviction could mean jail time and paying back the state for any medical services received.”
The OIG, which is separate from TennCare, began full operation in February 2005 and has investigated cases leading to over $3.5 million paid in restitution and recoupment to TennCare, with a total estimated cost avoidance of over $173 million for the TennCare program, according to latest figures. To date, 2,111 people have been charged with TennCare fraud.
Through the OIG Cash for Tips Program established by the Legislature, Tennesseans can get cash rewards for TennCare fraud tips that lead to convictions. Anyone can report suspected TennCare fraud by calling 1-800-433-3982 toll-free from anywhere in Tennessee, or log on to www.tn.gov/tnoig/ and follow the prompts that read “Report TennCare Fraud.”

A disaster declaration has been granted for Lincoln County and its bordering counties for flooding and tornado damage last month.
The declaration includes Bedford, Franklin, Giles, Lincoln, Marshall and Moore counties in Tennessee. Homeowners and businesses affected by the bad weather will be eligible for low-interest federal loans.
On April 28, Tennessee experienced an outbreak of severe storms producing heavy rain, hail and damaging winds.
A tornado touched down in Lincoln County striking several homes and South Lincoln Elementary School. The tornado killed two people and injured six more.

Two Tennessee cities are near the top of the latest rankings of the deadliest large cities in the nation for pedestrians. The Memphis metro area is listed as the fifth most dangerous and Nashville as the 15th in the report from the National Complete Streets Coalition. Director Roger Millar says many of the pedestrian deaths and injuries are happening at intersections that are dangerous by design. “They’ve been engineered and operated for speeding traffic with little or no provision for the safety of people walking or biking or using public transit,” he explains. Overall, Tennessee ranked as the 11th most dangerous state for pedestrians, with 800 deaths in the decade from 2003 to 2012. Nationally, there were more than 47,000 pedestrian deaths during that time, along with nearly 700,000 injuries. The report suggests adding sidewalks and bike lanes, reducing crossing distances and improving crosswalks to make the roads safe for all users. The strategy is similar to what’s known as universal design, which aims to produce buildings, products and environments that are inherently accessible to everyone, says Sue Lowery chairwoman of STAGES for Independent Living in Chattanooga. “There’s a certain aspect of it that’s planning for the future,” she says. “You may not need the single floor now, but at some point if you suddenly find yourself in a wheelchair or with a walker and unable to get up and down steps, you realize that that single-level design is so critical to that.” There is a great need for such housing that’s affordable, and Lowery says her organization is currently involved with two residential projects that will use universal design. “It’s much easier to build that into it then to go back and retrofit,” she explains. “If we can put it in in the beginning and think about that from the kitchen and the way cabinets and stove tops are accessible, to the doorknobs, sink heights, everything that we try to design into a project from the get-go.” In all, there are seven principles of universal design, including low physical effort, tolerance for error and simple and intuitive use.

This weekend, Tullahoma citizens will have an opportunity to show their support for America’s Veterans by buying and donning one of the bright red paper poppies that have become synonymous with the American Legion and its women’s auxiliary.
The bright red “remembrance poppy” was first used worldwide in 1920 to commemorate the American soldiers who had died in the fields of France during World War I.
In the United States, The American Legion honors veterans of all wars by distributing red poppies in exchange for contributions to associations that benefit veterans near Memorial Day each year. On Tuesday, Mayor Lane Curlee signed a proclamation marking Saturday, May 24th Poppy Day in Tullahoma.
On hand at the reading of the proclamation were Poppy Drive Chairman Diana Robinson and Treasurer Wilma Kane.

Helen Burks of Winchester reported to Tullahoma Officer Rocky Ruehling that she found items belonging to her son at a storage unit on South Jackson Street. The items had been reported as stolen.
On May 17, Burks stated that she found some items that had been reported stolen from her son in Decherd. She noted that her son, Jeff Burks, is currently undergoing medical treatment in South Carolina.
She said that she stopped at the storage building on South Jackson when she allegedly discovered that there were several of her son’s belongings being sold at the site.
One of the individuals selling the items allegedly told Officer Rocky Ruehling that the items belonged to his father and that he was selling them. He offered to get his mother and bring her back to the storage building but never returned.
Decherd Police were told of the items being found and they obtained a search warrant.
Franklin County authorities arrested Jimmy Wesley Hargrove, 42, of Lynchburg Monday, May 19, on charges of possession of stolen property and burglary. He was booked into the Franklin County Jail and later released on a $7,500 bond.

Crude oil supplies in the Gulf Coast continue putting downward pressure on the price of gasoline. However, prices are not in a free fall as demand reached its highest level since 2009, according to the Energy Information Administration.
More than 31.8 million Americans will fill their gas tanks and take a trip of 50 miles or more this Memorial Day weekend. Many of them will be delighted to see that gas prices continue getting cheaper. The national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell 1-cent last week. The average price in Tennessee fell 2 cents. In Coffee County the low price is down to $3.37 in Manchester and $3.38 in Tullahoma.