The call came in two days before Christmas… A Murfreesboro victim was told that he was chosen to receive one million dollars. The victim told police the caller suggested that he was one of two people in Tennessee to receive the pay-out. The victim told the person on the other end of the line to stop by his house to issue him the winning check. The caller’s name was Jack Mendez. A quick search on the internet showed that this was not the first time that a Mr. Mendez has called someone telling them they had just won a...

Christmas Day around 11:51am the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel responded to 35 BJ’s Landing Estill Springs in reference to an injured person. A report filed by Corporal Craig Arnold, stated that upon arrival he observed Estill Springs Fire Chief Anthony Lowhorn lying on his back next to the house. According to the officer’s report, Chief Lowhorn had been on a ladder attempting to change the flood lights on the corner of the home and had apparently fallen from the ladder sustaining severe trauma to the head. Lowhorn was transported to Southern Tennessee Medical Center in Winchester where he...

State officials are reminding Tennessee residents to be careful when using alternate heat sources as colder weather becomes more common across the state. Fire Marshal Julie Mix McPeak says the changing weather means more people will start heating their homes with fireplaces, wood stoves and space heaters, which typically means a “higher number of accidental fire injuries and deaths.” For instance, in the case of space heaters, McPeak says they should never be placed within three feet of anything combustible, including furniture, bedding or aerosol cans. She says homeowners should also check their smoke alarms at least...

Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA), the company that conducts testing operations at AEDC, has earned an award fee of $5,974,000 for the second half of the last fiscal year. The Air Force recently announced that ATA was awarded an overall rating of 94 for the most recent six-month evaluation period. ATA has earned a total award fee of $11.7 million for fiscal year 2012, including $5.7million for the first six-month period in addition to the nearly $6 million in profit the company earned for the second half of the year. Operations at AEDC have been outsourced since the base opened...

End of the year statistics shows that handgun carry permits have greatly increased in 2012. LegallyArmed.com reports there are 3,372 handgun carry permit holders in Coffee County. In Tennessee alone, gun permit holders have increased by over 35,000 in the past year. There are 376,050 active handgun permit holders in the Volunteer state. In 2011, there were 341,000 active permit holders. Other area counties: Franklin 2,454, Grundy 879, Moore 572, Cannon 1,095 and Warren...

Students are helping create a community garden at Sewanee: University of the South. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports it is the latest reclamation of the land that has been cultivated on and off for over 100 years. Students were recently helping farm manager Gina Raicovich put down ground cover on a plot of land that used to be a parking lot. The chore came at the end of the first fall harvest at Sewanee’s farm, which currently serves as a teaching lab but hopes to provide more opportunities for research as it expands. The university farmed the land...

A Shelbyville man has been reported missing by his family. Charles ‘Motoe’ Farrar, 42, was last seen around 9:30 p.m. Saturday by his family and about 6 a.m. Sunday by his girlfriend, a family member said today. Farrar stands 5-feet-10 and weighs 185 pounds, has black hair and brown eyes and tattoos on both arms. His family said he was wearing a navy blue or black hat with white pinstripes, black or blue flannel coat, t-shirt and blue jeans and New Balance shoes. Call the Shelbyville Police Department, 931-684-5811, with information. Thanks Shelbyville...

In this season of giving, a group in Murfreesboro is working to give back to a police officer’s family, after he died unexpectedly this past Saturday from complications from Crohn’s Disease. The group Angels For Protectors put on an auction fundraiser held Saturday night, with the proceeds going to help pay medical bills and the funeral costs of Murfreesboro police officer Adam Pewitt. The fundraiser also benefited Murfreesboro Detective Bill Heringlake, to help pay medical expenses recently after he suffered peripheral aneurysms. Pewitt was a resident of...