Tennessee officials say fewer teenagers and pre-teens in the state are binge drinking. The state Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services says the decreases follow a five-year effort to heighten awareness about the dangers of having five or more drinks on one occasion. The agency says that between 2009 and 2013, binge drinking rates for teens ages 14 to 17 dropped nearly 16 percent. Among those ages 18 to 25, that drop was 5 percent. Other findings include a 25 percent drop in alcohol-related arrests among young people, a 24 percent reduction in juvenile drunken driving arrests...

On Saturday night at 11:57pm (Sept 20) Manchester Police responded to a call at 46 Shelton Rd. Lot #20. The person who called police said someone was trying to enter her residence through a window. The female gave a description and when Officer Keith Hendrix arrived he saw a man matching the description. The man walked across the street and got into a vehicle. Officer Hendrix approached the pickup and began talking to Willie Lee Brown, 46 of Woodbury who said he was looking at discarded furniture in a ditch. Sergeant Debbie Guffey arrived at the scene and stayed...

The U.S. Census Bureau is reporting the poverty rate in Tennessee was 17.8 percent last year, down a tenth of a percent from 2012. Despite the slight improvement, that still leaves more than 1.1 million people in the state below the poverty line, says Linda O’Neal, executive director with the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth. “Well, no matter how you measure it, Tennessee remains in the bottom 10 percent of people making ends meet,” says O’Neal. “This particularly impacts Tennessee families with children. More than one-in-four Tennessee children lives in a family experiencing economic stress.” O’Neal says ways...

The Employee Community Activities Committee of Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA) recently donated $350 to Millennium Repertory Company (MRC). The funds are allotted toward the purchase of a multipurpose projector and backdrop screen, which will be used onstage during performances. We’re really looking forward to using it in our upcoming productions of *Duck Hunter Shoots Angel *in October and Mel Brooks Broadway musical *Young Frankenstein* in November, said Noel Clements, managing director of MRC. We’re very grateful to ATA as we rely on the generosity of local businesses to keep community efforts like ours going. The ATA Community Activities Committee...

AEDC Services Office is reorganizing and cleaning out storage and a large quantity of items is now eligible for a Nonappropriated Funds (NAF) Sale. The sale, open to the public, will be at 8 a.m. on Sept. 26 and 27 at the Arnold Golf Course. All items will be displayed on site and sold cash and carry. Only cash or checks will be accepted – no credit cards. All items will need to be removed at the time of purchase and are sold as is; no returns. Larger items such as vehicles and boats will be sold by sealed...

The Annual Cougar Cat Walk is coming up this Friday at College Street Elementary School. This fundraiser is hosted every year by the Committee of Parents & Teachers in order to help raise money to better equip the College Street Elementary School for not only the current students and teachers, but for future generations as well. Sponsors of the Cougar Cat Walk over the years have made the walking trail, the fence around the walking trail, new playground equipment, library tables and chairs, as well as a renovated teacher’s lounge possible at College Street Elementary School. CPT’s goal for...

Investigators with the Coffee County Sheriff’s department are asking for the public’s help with a case. An incident allegedly took place early Saturday morning (Sept. 20) just outside Manchester near or at the “Just One More Time” bar on the Hillsboro Hwy. (Formerly Vi’s Lounge). A female victim was allegedly drugged and raped. The sheriff’s department is asking that if anyone, that was in the area of the “Just One More Time” bar around 1am-5am and saw anything that could help them in this case to please call. If you know any information that could help authorities please contact...