Bonnaroo Works Fund (BWF), the charitable arm of the world-renowned Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, has named more than 40 nonprofit organizations as 2015 recipients of the Fund’s grants, totaling nearly $200,000. BWF is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that supports local, regional and national organizations that advance the arts, education and environmental sustainability, with a focus on local reinvestment. Some of this year’s grant recipients include; Coffee County Manchester Public Library, Coffee County Board of Education Anti-Drug Program, Coffee County Schools, Manchester Municipal Arts Commission, Keep Coffee County Beautiful, Park Partners, Hands-On Science Center and Westwood Jr High. Nina...

It’s graduation season, and more Tennessee high school seniors are donning a cap and gown, according to the 2015 Building a Grad Nation report. The numbers show Tennessee’s high school graduation rate rose slightly in 2013 to 86.3 percent, which is higher than the national average. Report co-author John Bridgeland, CEO of Civic Enterprises, says there are clear advantages to earning a high school diploma. “Students who drop out of high school are disproportionately more likely to be unemployed, more likely to be in prison, more likely to be on welfare, have higher health care costs and sadly to...

Tennessee officials are looking for more groups to serve summer meals to make sure low-income children don’t go hungry when school is not in session. During the school year, about 650,000 Tennessee children get free or reduced-priced school lunches. But only a fraction of those youngsters participate in summer meals programs. That’s why the agency is looking for more groups to provide free meals during the summer. The groups can include schools, private nonprofit organizations, government entities and nonprofit residential camps. If your organization is interested in sponsoring the SFSP in your community, or becoming a feeding site under...

Michael Allen Davis of Manchester is facing several charges after being arrested over the weekend. Davis, 65, of Miller Lane, Manchester was charged with aggravated assault, aggravated burglary and kidnapping. According to a report by Coffee County Sheriff’s Deputy David Reed, Davis had agreed to rent a bedroom from Charles Droysen and Mary Abel on May 21 but returned on May 23 armed with a pistol and told the couple that he wanted his “stuff” back. When he entered the house he, according to the deputy’s report, asked Droysen where his baseball bat was, which he normally kept in...

On Saturday Corporal Jim O’Neal of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department was in route to answer a call when he drove by Ben’s Lakewood Market, 53 Lakewood Park Drive. O’Neal observed a small four wheeler on fire in the parking lot and it was fully engulfed. He advised the Coffee County Communications Center of the incident and asked for the fire department to be in route due to the close proximity of diesel tanks and gas pumps to the fire. A bystander, John Foster ran to the incident and removed the pump nozzle and pushed the four wheeler down...

As Elk River Public Utility District prepares to wrap up FY2015 and pass its FY2016 budget, general manager Mike Gundersen says that gas customers can expect fiscal-year-end rebates again this year and no rate increases for the year to come. In fact, the rebate amount will effectively credit customers for two month’s service charges, returning approximately $400,000 to its customers. Residential customers, who pay between $9 and $12 each month depending on service, will see their bills drop by $18 and $24 respectively in June. Industrial processing customers are most likely to notice the rebate without any such notation....