Coffee County residents who are nearing retirement age can increase their lifetime income if they can wait a bit to start drawing Social Security benefits. In Coffee County 6,743 residents – or 12.7 percent of the population – are aged 55 to 64. Those are the years when folks start thinking seriously about retirement. Workers can start taking Social Security at age 62. But for those who can wait, the benefits go up. Payments increase by 5 to 7 percent for each year of delay between ages 62 and 66, and by 8 percent for each year of delay...

The Manchester Police Department is proud to announce that Officer Landon Pence will be the new D.A.R.E. (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Officer. Officer Pence graduated from D.A.R.E. training Friday afternoon. Pence will be working with the Manchester city school system to implement this program. The new D.A.R.E program will begin when school starts back up for 2014-15 school term. Starting in 5th grade, elementary students are given lessons to act in their own best interest when facing high-risk, low-gain choices and to resist peer pressure and other influences in making their personal choices regarding: Tobacco Smoking, Tobacco advertising, Drug...

Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA) is allocating $15.25 million of HOME funding to cities and counties across the state for homeowner rehabilitation projects and supportive housing rental projects. The federally funded HOME program promotes preservation and rehabilitation of housing for households of low income. THDA awarded a total of $15.25 million in HOME funding to over 50 cities, counties, and non-profit agencies in Tennessee. The funds will provide supportive housing development, homeowner repairs and down payment assistance to more than 450 households of low income. The local governments and non-profit agencies will post information regarding timing and procedures for...

Thunder Radio wants to Salute our Troops this Summer, but we need your help. Tell us about that special troop in your life so we can properly salute them this July. In honor of Salute our Troops this year, we decided to Salute WWII Navy Seaman 1st Class William Keesee on Thunder TV this week. Mr. Keesee born on June 3rd, 1925 served in the military from 1943-1946. In honor of his 89th birthday recently, Mr. Keesee decided to tandem jump out of an airplane at the Tullahoma Airport. After his 14,000 feet jump, Mr. Keesee said that it...

The animal-rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has sent a letter to Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves regarding 37 year-old Gregory Scott Hale. Hale is the man accused of killing, dismembering and cannibalizing the body of 36 year old Lisa Marie Hyder. Part of the statement reads: When police arrested Gregory Scott Hale, the reported Satan worshipper confessed to killing, dismembering and cannibalizing the body of 36-year-old Lisa Marie Hyder. PETA wrote a letter to Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves, asking him to place Hale, who is now in Coffee County Jail, on an all-vegan...

  Six years ago, back in 2008, Kanye West appeared six hours late for his performance at Bonnaroo. In the middle of his act he was basically booed off stage by the fans, which prompted Kanye to aggressively attack the press, Bonnaroo organizers and the crowd for weeks following the show. Friday night he was back and several Bonnaroovians in Manchester were not happy with West and his foul-language rants and comparing himself to John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison, calling himself the biggest rock star in the world. As some fans booed his wife Kim Kardashian cheered...

Visitors to Tennessee Department of Health facilities across the state including Manchester and Tullahoma will see a prominently-displayed public health advisory on electronic cigarettes and other electronic nicotine delivery systems. The advisory, originally posted to the TDH website earlier this year, cautions about using the devices or being exposed to secondhand emissions. Electronic cigarettes may emit a variety of chemicals. Most of these emissions have nicotine as a base ingredient, a highly addictive substance that can raise heart rate and blood pressure and damage coronary arteries. Currently there is no government regulation of how much nicotine, or any other...

Health officials in Tennessee say they are investigating what could be a new mosquito-borne virus in the state. The Tennessee Department of Health said the state may have its first cases of the chikungunya virus, which is painful but not usually fatal. Officials said those exhibiting symptoms recently traveled to the Caribbean, where the disease has reached an epidemic state. Symptoms, including a high fever, nausea and joint pain, can be severe. State Health Department officials say anyone exhibiting symptoms should limit their exposure to mosquitoes because the insects can pick up the virus from an infected person and...