Authorities are investigating after a Franklin County detective reported his gun and bulletproof vest missing. According to a police report, Detective Nick Watson said the items were in his car at the Ashwood Cove Apartments on North Tennessee Boulevard in Murfreesboro. Upon returning to his car he noticed the items were missing. Watson said there were no visible signs of forced entry. At this point, no word on who may have stolen the detective’s gun and vest. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at...

At the beginning of a new year, we often feel compelled to look forward at the year ahead and think, “What could I do differently this year?” or “How could I improve myself as a person?” Our resolutions may lead to us to get in better physical shape, to volunteer more, to spend more quality time with our families, and so on. This year, the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition wants to challenge everyone to take on a resolution that will make a real difference for kids and parents in our community – Be a Mentor! Their EMPOWER program matches...

A joint meeting of the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen and the city school board will take place Thursday, Jan 29 beginning at 5:30pm at city hall. This meeting is to discuss possible cuts in the school system budget and merging with the county school system. Last week WMSR started an online survey concerning the merger issue. The results are in and 1,147 people participated. Question 1: Are you in favor of Manchester City Schools merging with Coffee County Schools? 763 voters said yes and 380 said no. 4 people did not vote. Question 2: Are you a...

A new campaign has been launched urging the largest restaurant chain in the nation to stop purchasing meat that’s been raised with antibiotics. Pamela Clough, campaign coordinator with the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG)’s Stop the Overuse of Antibiotics initiative, says there’s a growing public health threat with what she calls the overuse of antibiotics in meat agriculture. They’re asking McDonald’s to take food made with antibiotics off the menu. “They are one of the largest purchasers of beef, pork and chicken in the U.S.,” says Clough. “This commitment from McDonald’s would really help tackle the growing public...

There’s no denying the current 615 area code is quickly running out of numbers, so the Tennessee Regulatory Authority has announced a new area code in portions of middle Tennessee. The TRA had been gauging public opinion on how best to handle the area code problem, and it decided to go with the overlay option by popular demand. Cell phones and online numbers have ramped up the use of phone numbers. Skype allows each user to reserve up to 10 phone numbers, while Google has purchased thousands of 615 numbers for its Google Voice customers. On top of that,...

Projections for enrollment in Republican Gov. Bill Haslam’s proposal to cover low-income Tennesseans have been revised upward to 280,000 people in the first year. Haslam’s chief of staff, Mark Cate, said Wednesday that new number reflects an actual study and comparisons with Medicaid programs in other states. The original estimates for the Insure Tennessee plan had pegged the expected enrollment at 200,000 or below. Cate says while the enrollment projections have gone up, the estimated cost per enrollee has gone down enough to keep cost expectations at their original level. Cate and other Haslam administration officials presented details and...