Category: News

Tullahoma is fortunate to have a technology heritage. An impressive short list includes the Nation’s largest wind tunnel operated by hypersonic engineers, smallest city with gigabit fiber; 25 percent of residents hold advanced degrees and the University of Tennessee Space Institute graduates rocket scientists.
The newest addition to this tech talent is Native Chad Marcum, whose app was selected as the winner of Atlanta’s NASA International Space Apps Challenge and will represent the city of Atlanta in the International Judging. The app will be available to the public on the app store following the international judging and NASA’s official launch.
“The city has more advanced technology in its 23 square miles than most countries possess in all their cities combined,” said Mayor Lane Curlee. “We are very proud of Chad’s accomplishment.”  It is this type of talent that helps make Tullahoma unique. There are many stories of technology accomplishments going on in our town each day.
“This was an intense 48-hour international competition to solve some of the largest global challenges we face.” said Chad Marcum. “I was honored and humbled to receive the award in an international competition. I couldn’t have done it without the support of my team member from South Africa, Heidi Proske.”
Marcum was tasked with the challenge to leverage NASA’s Earth Observing System, creating a game or app that displays satellite images of places around the world and asks users to guess where and what they are. The app could include land cover and land class identification tools for users to visually interpret features on the ground.
What Marcum created was Astrid – a smart bubbly astronaut, who needs your help as she flies her spaceship around our planet looking for new cities to land in and explore. Astrid’s space ship blasts of into space, and users look down on the earth from Astrid’s cockpit and must successfully determine what city they are viewing.  If users successfully select the correct city, Astrid lands safely in that city, and users can accompany her and explore the city by learning exciting and fun facts about that particular location (Population Data, History, Economy, Government, Politics, And much more!)
Since the win, Marcum has worked with other app developers to create the apps #selfie360 (an app that uses stop motion to take and share selfies) and BallTune (an app that tells users the PSI of a soccer ball by filming it bounce).  Both apps are available on the app store.
In the future, Marcum hopes to host a hackathon event in Tullahoma. “Tullahoma has the infrastructure and resources; this would be an opportunity to showcase our local talent while introducing new talent to our technology oasis.”

A tip from a Tullahoma business led Coffee County investigators to a home where allegedly methamphetamines were being cooked. Coffee County Sheriff’s Investigator James Sherrill received information from a Tullahoma business that alerted him of individuals purchasing a gallon of muriatic acid, tubing and 2 lbs. of crystal drain opener which are ingredients used in the production of methamphetamines. Charges are now pending against a Tullahoma man after deputies found a meth lab after searching the home on East Decherd Street in Tullahoma on Monday.
When authorities arrived they were given permission to search the residence.
One male suspect allegedly admitted to cooking methamphetamines. The man told officers that he had “been cooking the meth to help pay the light bill.
Names were not released because the case will be presented to the June term of the Coffee County Grand Jury.

A family traveling through Coffee County on I-24 were involved in one vehicle accident on Sunday. 16 year-old Andrew Fonseca was flown to Vanderbilt Medical Center following the crash and three others were transported by Coffee County EMS to a Manchester hospital.
The driver, Laura Fonseca 45, of Arlington Heights, Illinois along with passengers Herman Fonseca, 47, and Eric Fonseca, 12 were transported to Medical Center of Manchester for treatment of their injuries.
According to a report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, a 2009 Subaru Forester SUV was traveling eastbound at mile marker 110. The SUV went off I-24 into the median. The vehicle rolled over on its top when it struck the cable wire traffic barrier.

It will be at least 2015 before the city pool reopens in Tullahoma. It has been closed since the end of the summer in 2011. Tullahoma City Administrator Jody Baltz says that “value engineering” process is ongoing and the hope is to have a new bid package ready to advertise by the end of the month with the intention of opening the new pool in time for the summer of 2015, according to a report in the Tullahoma News.
The city had originally budgeted $2.45 million for the project. Of that amount, $42,250 has already been spent to purchase the adjacent lot at 512 Cedar Lane.
When bids for the project were opened on Feb. 27 of this year, Sain Construction Company was the only bidder, submitting a quote of $3,594,125. The company’s base bid for the work was $2,705,530, with an additional $534,031 for the indoor pool upgrades, $277,404 for the concessions stand and $77,160 for the parking lot upgrades to accommodate the additional traffic at the community center. City leaders turned down that bid so the project has been on hold.
The plan approved by the city board last summer calls for an outdoor water park with three intertwined water slides at 25.5 feet tall, a graduated pool beginning at 1 foot and sloping to a depth of 4 feet, a lazy river, a climbing wall, a shade structure with a mushroom-shaped fountain and dumping buckets and a poolside basketball hoop.

A Moore County man on trial for rape of an underage girl was found not guilty on Tuesday in a Lynchburg courtroom.
Randy Cleek, 51, of 703 Leon Clifton Rd., Shelbyville, was acquitted of all four counts, which included rape of a child, aggravated rape and recklessly engaging in sexual contact with the girl.
A Moore County Courthouse jury of eight men and four women, took less than three hours to return its verdict.
On Monday, the prosecution called four witnesses to the stand, the alleged victim, who is now 20 years old, her mother, Moore County Investigator Mike Rainey and one of the alleged victim’s former school teachers.
The alleged victim testified that she was assaulted by Cleek in a trailer while with Cleek at his father’s residence in Lynchburg.
Cleek was first accused of the sexual assault in 2011.
The defense presented only one witness, Clarence Estill Cleek, Randy Cleek’s father. He took the stand as the defense attempted to punch holes in the 2003 timeline established by the prosecutors.
Cleek testified that he was with the two the entire time, with the exception of possibly leaving them alone “for a few minutes” while he used the restroom, adding that he did not leave to get something to drink or to eat while they were there.
Under cross examination, the elder Mr. Cleek said that he was unaware of the nature of potential trouble his son was in when he drove him to the police station in 2011 to be questioned. He said his son had simply told him that he was in trouble and “might get arrested.”
He also said that he did not come forward to speak with investigators or prosecutors earlier in the investigation because he was told by defense attorneys not to speak about the pending case.
(Thanks to the Moore County News for information in this story)

This past Saturday at the Copperweld Arena, located in Nisbett Center on the Motlow College Moore County campus, graduation was held for 729 graduates. Energy, excitement and pride were not limited to graduates, however. Family members and friends filled the bleachers for the 44th graduation event. Motlow College opened in 1969 and held its first graduation in 1971. Keith Hamilton, corporate manager of the North America Manufacturing and Education Center for Bridgestone Americas Tire Operation in LaVergne, was guest speaker for two commencement ceremonies. The first ceremony, at 10 a.m., accommodated nursing graduates and graduates who took most of their courses on the Moore County campus. A second ceremony was held at 2 p.m. for graduates from Motlow’s Fayetteville, McMinnville and Smyrna centers. Hamilton spoke to the graduates about recognizing heroes in their everyday lives and how people would look to the graduates to be heroes in the future. He encouraged the graduates to take advantage of the opportunity that a college degree represents. Dr. MaryLou Apple, president of the college, emphasized the importance of graduation day and recognized outstanding students, including 21 who earned perfect 4.0 grade-point averages and honors graduates.

Fifty World War II and Korean War veterans and their guardians traveled to Washington D.C. Saturday (May 10) to visit their war memorials and observe the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery.
AEDC (Arnold AFB) Commander, Col. Raymond Toth, Coffee County Mayor David Pennington and Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman were some of the local officials along with local National Guard officers including two Tennessee National Guard generals seeing the veterans off early Saturday morning (2:45-3:45 a.m.) in Winchester, Tullahoma and Manchester.
Local police and sheriff’s departments from Coffee and Franklin counties escorted the veterans chartered bus along with National Guard vehicles and the American Legion (motorcycle) riders.
The veterans got to meet Senators Bob & Elizabeth Dole at the World War II Memorial. They also talked with veterans from eight other Honor Flights from across the United States at the World War II Memorial.
After a short lunch break they visited the Korean War Memorial, and then it was on to Arlington National Cemetery.
Manchester Coffee County High School graduate, Army Major Paul Sipe and his wife Jessica also from Manchester, greeted the group at Arlington National Cemetery where the veterans observed the Changing of the Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers.
Following that the group drove by the Marine Corps Iwo Jima Memorial the Air Force Memorial and the Pentagon.
The bus then dropped the veterans off in Manchester, Tullahoma and Winchester between 10-11 p.m.
The Honor Flight of Middle Tennessee is part of the national Honor Flight network. The group’s goal is take all local World War II and Korean War veterans who have not seen their war memorials to Washington D.C. The trip is free to qualified veterans.
Planning and fundraising is currently under way for a fall Honor Flight from Middle Tennessee. Each flight costs around $20,000. Special thanks to all who donated to make this weekend’s flight happen.
Special thanks also to Mr. and Mrs. Daryl Doney owners of Middle Tennessee Respiratory of Decherd Tenn. for providing the wheel chairs for each Honor Flight.

Katrina Kay Smith, 27, of Fairground Heights, Shelbyville was indicted by the Coffee County March term of the Grand Jury for selling drugs in a school zone.
Smith, was arrested Thursday May 8 on charges of manufacture/deliver/sell of a controlled substance and being in possession of drugs in a school zone.
At last report she was being housed in the Coffee County Jail under a $70,000 bond. Smith is to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court May 14.
The arrest came about after the Manchester Police Department’s yearlong undercover drug operation.
The indictment alleges that she sold .5 grams or more of cocaine in the school zone of Higher Ground Christian Academy in Tullahoma.

A Moore County resident is accused of seriously injuring a man found walking along Anthony Lane after large amounts of blood were discovered in the Cedar King Road and L. Fisher Road area late Friday night.
Loyd McGough of Shelbyville was airlifted to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville for treatment of severe facial injuries after initial treatment at Heritage Medical Center early Saturday. He was released
Monday, Det. Sgt. Brian Crews of the Shelbyville Police Department said.
John Barclay Holt, 34, of Hilltop Circle, Tullahoma is charged with aggravated assault. He was released on $25,000 bond. Officers were notified of a man behind a business shortly after 10 p.m. found a truck in the roadway with its engine running and a blood trail leading toward two other trucks, officer David Curley’s report said.
Approximately 45 minutes later officer Gregg Loyd found McGough “covered in blood” on Anthony Lane.
“They had been feuding for several weeks and it escalated to where they met Friday night to take care of business,” Crews said. Holt’s wife, Jolynn Holt, 29, is charged with criminal responsibility for conduct of another after allegedly failing to help McGough. “After McGough fell she thought her husband had killed him,” Crews said.
“She left and came back to check on him and see if he was dead and didn’t call for help.” Jolynn Holt was released on $25,000 bond.
(CREDIT SHELBYVILLE TIMES GAZETTE)