Sales tax collections in June were up in Manchester and Tullahoma along with the county. In Tullahoma June collections in 2011 were $751,837 and last month Tullahoma collected $838,524, increasing $86,686. In the county tax collection were up again after being down slightly in May. For June Coffee County collected $829,553 compared to $805,040 June 2011. The City of Manchester saw another month with sales tax collections going up, this time $56,311 over June of 2011 with $651,504 collected. Overall net county collections were $2.3(M) for June...

The lead contractor at Arnold Air Force Base, Aerospace Testing Alliance (ATA), announced it will offer a voluntary reduction in force (VRIF) to its employees this week. The voluntary reduction in force allows interested employees to voluntarily request a layoff, often meaning the company faces fewer involuntary or forced layoffs. Budget and skill mix issues are the reasons for the voluntary reduction in force. ATA General Manager, Steve Pearson, says it is too early to know if there will be an involuntary layoff later in the year. “We are better off than we thought we would be at this...

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is running more than 11% ahead of 2011 visits for the first half of this year. Park officials said Wednesday that June visitation was up 7.2% – a total of 1,202,056 visitors to the 500,000-acre park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border. The year-to-date figure is up 11.5% over the first six months of 2011. That means an additional 410,767 people have come into the park this year. A Smokies spokeswoman said the park is also 3.6% ahead of the 5-year average for park...

Coffee County Central High School Resource Officer Dale Goodwin who passed away Sunday after apparent complications from surgery was laid to rest yesterday (July 18, 2012). Goodwin 61, was a 22-year veteran of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, was currently assigned as School Resource Officer to CHS. Coffee County Mayor David Pennington said on Thunder Radio on Wednesday that Goodwin will be missed by all that knew him. Pennington added Goodwin was known to many as a very good antique collector. Goodwin, a Lieutenant with the department, also served time as a patrol deputy and was a veteran of...

Local farmers and gardeners have certainly welcomed the recent rains with open arms, as have those whose yards are brown. But the rains that have suddenly become frequent have done very little to help lake levels at Normandy Reservoir. As of yesterday, lake levels at Normandy were at 865.42 feet. That is actually down slightly from 865.50 that was recorded at 1 a.m. Sunday. It is also down from the 866.25 that was recorded earlier this month. The desired summer pool is 875, according to the Tennessee Valley Authority. The dam, as of Tuesday, was releasing 149 cubic feet...

Average retail gasoline prices in the Coffee County area have risen 2.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.04/g yesterday. This compares with the national average that has not moved in the last week to $3.42/g. Prices yesterday were 51.5 cents per gallon lower than the same day one year ago and are 7.1 cents per gallon lower than a month ago. The national average has decreased 11.0 cents per gallon during the last month and stands 24.7 cents per gallon lower than this day one year ago. Prices are as low as $3.03/g in Manchester and...

The next time you swipe your credit or debit card, you may be charged a fee. Businesses can now charge customers a fee for using a credit card for a store purchase or transaction. The idea of charging customers for a credit transaction is the result of a $7.25-billion lawsuit settlement with Visa and MasterCard merchants. The National Retail Federation says that retailers pay about $30-million annually in credit card fees. Some businesses in Coffee County already ask customers to spend a minimum amount before using credit...