The Tennessee State Library and Archives is providing more than $305,000 in grants to help libraries upgrade their computer equipment and software. State officials say the grants will go to 128 public libraries across Tennessee. The grants will help finance technology upgrades for equipment used directly by patrons, as well as computers needed by library staff to perform tasks such as taking inventory and cataloging books. Secretary of State Tre Hargett says libraries need to have up-to-date computer equipment and software in order to provide the best possible service to their patrons. Each library had to commit to provide...

A Tennessee judge on Wednesday upheld the state’s lethal injection process for executing inmates. Davidson County Chancery Judge Claudia Bonnyman said from the bench that the plaintiffs, 33 death row inmates, didn’t prove that the one-drug method led to a painful and lingering death. She also said the plaintiffs didn’t show during a lengthy trial that there have been problems in states where the method has been used. “Plaintiffs were not able to carry their burdens … on any of their clams,” Bonnyman said. Plaintiffs’ attorney Kelley Henry said they plan to appeal. Tennessee’s protocol calls for the use...

Connie King and her husband Troy King were to be sentenced on Wednesday for the murder of Thomas Colucci in November 2012 just outside Manchester. The sentencing was delayed Wednesday in Coffee County Circuit Court. In late July of this year Troy King plead guilty to second-degree murder as well as theft over $1,000. Colucci was found dead in the garage of his house from multiple gunshot wounds. Connie King was seen running from the house screaming and covered in blood. Connie King had agreed to testify against Troy King in exchange for a lighter sentence. Assistant District Attorney...

Christopher Wayne Holman of Tullahoma was arrested Tuesday night on a charge of arson. He allegedly set fire to his own business. Holman, 33, of South Polk Street was charged after a fire at Wayne’s Radiator located 710 South Polk Street. Warrants obtained by Tullahoma Police Detective Tyler Hatfield indicate that Holman may have poured gasoline on the floor of the building and ignited it. According to Tullahoma Fire Chief Richard Shasteen, firefighters were able to contain the fire and extinguish it within about 15 minutes. The fire chief said that the fire was contained to the area where...

As many Tennessee companies ask employees to do more with less in the post-recession era, many of those workers are not being compensated for working overtime. As it stands, salaried workers can be denied overtime if they make a little more than $23,000 a year. The threshold hasn’t been raised since the 1970s and the U.S. Secretary of Labor wants to raise the cap. Michelle McIntyre, outreach manager with the Center for Effective Government, explains why it’s important. “By raising it, you would be able to give a bump to working Americans and the middle class by moving it...

Motlow College’s nursing program recently learned that all 51 of its 2015 graduates passed the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), giving the College a best-in-the-state 100 percent pass rate. In 2014, Motlow exceeded state and national pass rates. Motlow’s 2014 nursing graduate pass rate was 97 percent, while the state average was 87.44 percent and the national average was 81.79 percent. Sixty-three of Motlow’s 65 graduates in 2014 passed the test. While the state average was one of the highest in the nation, Motlow’s 2014 NCLEX pass rate was the highest of all the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR)...

Tyler Scott Calloway of Tullahoma was arrested on Monday for his 10th driving on revoked/suspended driver license. Calloway, 22 of Silver Street Tullahoma was arrested by deputies of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department. According to a report by Investigator James Sherrill, Calloway was seen driving on Highway 55 and the officer knew that he was driving on revoked license and that there was an arrest warrant for failure to pay child support. Sherrill along with Deputy Brandon Reed then saw Calloway turn onto Freeman Street and then to Silver Street in Tullahoma. When he approached a stop sign, the...