Beginning on September 1, anyone claiming unemployment benefits will have to show that they are actively looking for work, including keeping a work search log. According to a news release from the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development, claimants will be required to conduct three work searches each week. Labor and Workforce Development officials will conduct random audits of 1,000 claimants’ work search documentation each week to verify work search activity. If work search claims are found to be fraudulent, the department will stop a claimant’s benefits immediately and can suspend payments for eight weeks. Notices will be...

Longtime Manchester fireman Rod Ballard, who was serving as assistant fire chief, was laid to rest yesterday afternoon in the Manchester City Cemetery. Ballard, who passed away on Friday, became a full-time member of the Manchester Fire Department in 1981. Ballard, 67, was battling stag-four lung cancer. Firemen came from many different cities to honor the dedicated firefighter. Citizens of Manchester lined Hillsboro Boulevard to pay tribute to Ballard as the funeral procession passed...

Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee State Commissioner of Education Kevin Huffman announced Monday that Coffee County Central High School and New Union Elementary School have been categorized as reward schools. These schools are being recognized by the State of Tennessee as the top 10% academically in the state. The data inputs for the calculation of the success rate include: – 3-8 Math – 3-8 Reading/Language Arts – 3-8 Science – Algebra I – English I – English II – Biology I – Graduation Rate New Union Elementary ranked in the top 5% statewide for its performance on the TCAP...

A Coffee County jail inmate who escaped last week was arrested after crashing a stolen car during a police chase. DeKalb County investigators arrested Mark Cope Saturday afternoon. Cope had walked away from a work detail in Manchester on Thursday but was spotted Saturday in Warren County. He led investigators on a high-speed chase across the county line towards Smithville, where he ran off the road and hit an embankment. He tried to run away but was caught by...

A Tennessee man who pleaded guilty to horse soring has been banned for life from the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration. The Tennessee Walking Show Horse Celebration issued the ban Saturday after discovering that 38-year-old Barney Davis of Lewisburg was in attendance at a gathering in Shelbyville. Earlier this year Davis received a one year prison term and was fined $4,000. At his sentencing he described mechanical devices and chemical irritants used to sore horses to force them to show an exaggerated gait in the show ring. The ban comes as the Tennessee Walking Show Horse Organization called on...

Fourth Congressional District Democratic hopeful Eric Stewart from Winchester was slapped with federal tax liens totaling $24,678.81 in 2002 and 2011 for not paying his federal personal and business taxes on time, records show. According to the Chattanooga Times Free-Press Stewart resolved a 2002 IRS lien of $9,541.09 on his 2000 and 2001 personal taxes on March 21, 2003, according to an IRS release filed with the Franklin County Register of Deeds. But the 2011 IRS lien remains on the books, records show. It involves $15,227.72 owed by Stewart and the insurance agency he owned on a matter involving...

Motorists apparently are not going to let rising gas prices keep them from traveling during the Labor Day weekend. AAA says 2.9 percent more people will travel at least 50 miles from home this holiday compared to last year. The Labor Day weekend runs from Thursday, August 30th to Monday, September 3rd. AAA estimates 33 million people will travel 50 miles or more from home this weekend, up from 32.1 million over the same time last year. That could be the highest travel volume since 2008, when Labor Day travel dropped because of the...

The Bonnaroo Works Fund (BWF), the charitable arm of Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival, acknowledged the good work of nine notable organizations across the state with donations totaling $82,000. In addition to the grants made this week, Bonnaroo officials have tallied this year’s fundraising totals and report that local organizations earned more than $200,000 in commissions while assisting with festival concession booths. According to Ashley Capps, owner of AC Entertainment and festival partner, Bonnaroo organizers created the Bonnaroo Works Fund to help make impactful contributions to the community they call home. Among the recipients this year are Junior Achievement...