A Manchester woman was cited into to Coffee County General Sessions Court after she allegedly took $183 worth of meat from a grocery store. Melissa A. Brewer, 47, allegedly took the meat Friday, May 16, from Food Lion on West Lincoln Street in Tullahoma. Store employee Jerry Franklin Bell reported to Tullahoma Police Officer Donnie Burnett that she observed Brewer taking the meat and when confronted she fled on foot to Wheeler Street. That’s where she was apprehended and taken back to the store for positive identification. Brewer is scheduled to appear in Coffee County General Sessions Court June...

Manchester Police Department is joining departments all across the United States in stepping up high-visibility enforcement during the 2014 Click It or Ticket national mobilization Now to June 1. Statistics show nighttime drivers are less likely to buckle up compared to daytime drivers. In 2012, 10,480 passenger vehicle occupants were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m. Of those killed in nighttime crashes, 55 percent were not wearing seat belts; compared to 41 percent of occupants killed during daytime hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. In 2012, the National Highway...

There’s been yet another delay in the case against the former director of the Bedford County Emergency Communications District. She is accused of theft. The Shelbyville Times-Gazette reports that Circuit Court Judge Lee Russell said Friday one piece of information is required from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office “in order to complete a resolution” in the case against Cathey D. Mathis. Russell is giving the office until June 20 to get the information to the court, at which point a settlement will be announced, he said. In April, defense attorney Greg Reed told Russell that preliminary discussions were taking place...

Tennessee Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Burns Phillips has announced the Tennessee preliminary unemployment rate for April is 6.3 percent, which is four tenths of one percentage point lower than the 6.7 percent March revised rate and equal to the national preliminary rate for April. The U.S. revised rate for March was also 6.7 percent. Economic Summary: • Over the past year, Tennessee’s unemployment rate decreased from 8.3 percent to 6.3 percent while the national rate decreased from 7.5 percent to 6.3 percent. • The number of unemployed persons (192,000) is the lowest since May 2008 and is 11,700...

C. Thomas Robinson, CEcD, executive director of the Tullahoma (TN) Area Economic Development Corporation (TAEDC), has been awarded re-certification by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) effective April 28, 2014. Robinson first achieved the Certified Economic Developer designation in 1993. With 32 years of economic development experience, Robinson has served as director of the Tullahoma organization since August of last year. The designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) is a highly recognized national recognition that denotes a mastery of principal skills in economic development, professional attainment and a commitment to professional growth. Robinson first earned certification by passing a...

Last week (May 14) Coffee County Deputies Daniel Ray and Stephen Sharketti were responding to a call of two men acting suspicious at the Dollar General Store on Woodbury Highway when they spotted a Nissan that the individuals were riding in and turned around to attempt to stop the vehicle. The driver then drove in a “reckless manner onto the shoulder of the roadway” as well as driving through a red light at the intersection at Woodbury Highway and Interstate Drive. The driver then pulled onto I-24 west bound ramp. When Deputy Sharketti pulled alongside the car, the driver...

Recently the Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee voted to present a resolution to the full commission. That resolution would be to include a wheel tax referendum on the Aug. 7 election ballot. Last week the vote was in favor by a vote of 10-8, but it takes an 11-vote majority of the commission to pass a motion. Three commissioners did not attend the meeting: Janet Fann, Gail Hines and Warren Walker. The Budget and Finance Committee had recommended a $50 per vehicle tax to generate roughly $2 million to help run the new Coffee County Jail and the...

The use of food stamps in Coffee County increased during the recession, assisting families in stretching their food dollars, contributing to local spending and helping spark a national debate about the future of the federal nutrition program. The proportion of Coffee County residents receiving food stamps hit 21.5 percent in 2011, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Services. That’s an increase of 7.5 percentage points since 2007, the year the recession started. Across Tennessee, 20.4 percent of residents in 2011 received support from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), as the food stamp program...