A well-known Chattanooga author and counselor fell approximately 120 feet to his death at the Stone Door Overlook in Grundy County Friday. Family members reported Dr. Ross Campbell missing late Friday evening, and officials at the state park confirmed that he was found dead. He had apparently gone sightseeing alone to the natural area near Beersheba Springs. Dr. Campbell was a former Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine. His book, How To Really Love Your Teenager won the Gold Medallion Award. More of his titles include How to Really Love...

A group that tracks violence across the nation says Tennessee is now third in the nation in women killed by men. The Tennessean cited a report by the Violence Policy Center in Washington, D.C., in reporting there were at least 62 such Tennessee cases in 2010 – the latest year tabulated. Gov. Bill Haslam had cited an earlier report from the group to bolster his call for mandatory jail time for a second offense of domestic assault. At the time, the state ranked fifth nationally. Noting that Tennessee has been in the top 10 with one exception in the...

A nurse at a Manchester nursing is accused of stealing patients’ pain medication. Brooke Sissom, 33, of Double Tree Circle, Shelbyville was arrested Oct. 12 on nine counts of obtaining controlled substance by fraud. According to Manchester Police Investigator Stuart Colwell, Sissom stole powerful narcotics that were intended for patients at the Manchester Health Care Center. Police say that she would order the drug narcotics using patients’ names and prescriptions. Police allege that Sissom “likely used hundreds of pills herself and may have sold some.” A few of the pills were recovered. Police say that the staff at the...

A two vehicle accident occurred on I-24 Friday afternoon at approximately 4:45pm near mile-marker 104. Both vehicles were traveling eastbound on Interstate 24 when a 2007 Mazda 3 driven by Josh Thurman, 27 of Clarksville struck a Tractor Trailer in the rear. Thurman then lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway, traveled into the median and across the westbound lanes, struck a tree and caught fire. Emergency personnel were able to get Thurman from the burning vehicle and transported him by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt. Thurman was accompanied by a dog that died as a result of the...

The Coffee County Joint Industrial Park could be getting a new acceleration lane onto Highway 55 at no cost to county taxpayers. Members of the Coffee County Industrial Board appeared this past week with the county Budget and Finance Committee to request their help in coordinating the funding for the new merging lane. They stated that while Omar industries won’t be expanding their glove manufacturing here, they would be increasing their distribution. The industrial officials stated that the warehouse will cause more truck traffic coming out of the park, and a merging lane would help the trucks accelerate more...

Jeff Gamble, a veteran funeral director, has confirmed the purchase of Daves-Culbertson Funeral Home in Tullahoma. Gamble is president of Gamble Holding Co., which owns several funeral homes in Alabama. He said he looks forward to providing additional information in the near future about his plans to bring traditional, quality funeral merchandise and services to residents of the Coffee County area. Gamble became involved in the business when he purchased and later sold Watson Funeral Home (now Watson-North) in Winchester in 1982. Daves-Culbertson, a landmark on North Jackson Street, most recently was operated by Neil...

Those driving along Anderson Street in Tullahoma are running into delays. Paving work is in progress, and delays can be expected until the job is done sometime this week on the section between Lincoln and Carroll streets. Public Works Director says the Rogers Group was able to begin the job earlier than intended, leading to closing the road to one open lane while work is in progress. Although the road will be partially open, Public Works is recommending drivers select an alternate route to avoid being delayed. The road is being milled down to its concrete base and will...

University of Tennessee researchers are predicting modest economic gains for the state through the first half of 2013, but they say significant economic improvement is still a year or two away. That’s according to UT’s fall 2012 Business and Economic Outlook released this week by the school’s Center for Business and Economic Research. Report author Matt Murray told the Knoxville News Sentinel that an increase in residential building permits and rising home prices are signs of a strengthening housing market, which could be a “real game changer” for the economy. Most sectors show prospects for job growth in 2012...