The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued a warning about a potentially dangerous drug found in pills that otherwise appear to be oxycodone. Recently, a Tennessee law enforcement agency recovered what appeared to be several 30mg pills of oxycodone during a traffic stop. Each was the same size and featured the signature A/215 stamp characteristic of oxycodone. However, laboratory analysis performed by TBI Forensic Scientists indicated the pills were counterfeit and did not contain oxycodone. Instead, they contained fentanyl, a pain killer 50 times as potent as heroin that can be deadly in high doses. “This disturbing discovery only...

Payday lending is alive and well in Tennessee, but consumer advocates are critical of its high interest rates and what they call predatory business practices. A bill in the state House of Representatives aims to cap the interest rate charged by lenders at 28 percent. Currently, lenders can charge as much as 375 percent interest. Andy Spears, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, said payday loans are targeting people who have run out of options. “People go to these places when there’s nowhere else to turn for money,” he said. “It really is kind of a last effort to...

Manchester Police Department is partnering with the Tennessee Governor’s Highway Safety Office to step up seat belt enforcement from May 18 to 31, just ahead of one of the busiest travel weekends of the year. “Every day, unbuckled motorists are losing their lives in motor vehicle crashes,” said Sgt. Chris Patterson. “As we approach Memorial Day weekend and the summer vacation season, we want to make sure people are doing the one thing that can save them in a crash – buckling up.” Tennessee reached its highest seat belt usage percentage last year at 87.71%. However, Tennessee is still...

Over the past few days the Tullahoma Police Department has received numerous reports of vandalism to vehicles across the city involving a BB or Pellet gun. Anyone with information regarding these crimes or those who may have witnessed suspicious activity in their neighborhood is asked to call the Tullahoma Police Department at 931-455-0530. Please continue to be vigilant within your communities and neighborhoods. All area law enforcement ask you to report any suspicious activity to them...

With the summer’s festival season approaching, the State Fire Marshal’s Office is reminding residents that it is illegal to fly flame-fueled sky lanterns in Tennessee without a professional fireworks license. Also known as Chinese or wish lanterns, they can cause fires on the ground or on rooftops when they land and can also be a hazard to livestock that might consume them. Under a 2011 state law, sky lanterns can be confiscated and destroyed if found in the possession of anyone without a proper license for flame effects, pyrotechnics or outdoor displays. According to the fire marshal’s office, sky...

The price of cigarettes is going up in Tennessee, but the proceeds won’t be landing in state tax coffers. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that under a new law signed by Republican Gov. Bill Haslam, the minimum markup on cigarettes – which retailers say covers the “cost of doing business” – will rise from 41 cents on each pack of cigarettes to 76 cents per pack over the next two years. That 85 percent increase in the markup is projected to direct $129 million into retailers’ bottom lines by the third year of the law. It’s the first...