Earthquakes are a natural disaster not many know they could affect the mid-state, but emergency responders are making sure they’re ready in case of a catastrophic emergency. All this week the Coffee County Emergency Management Agency, several state and local agencies have been working together to practice an emergency earthquake drill. Crews are practicing a scenario where the New Madrid fault line a major seismic zone near Memphis, creates a 7.7 magnitude earthquake. The drill focused on managing lifesaving supplies, establishing emergency communications at the state and local level and tracking the movement of medical supplies to local...

Bell Buckle residents have been fed up with rusty tap water for years, and now they’re taking their clams to court. On Tuesday, a group of residents filed a lawsuit against the city. The Bedford County city installed new water lines, but residents insisted the problems continued. The city of Bell Buckle declined to comment, citing the pending lawsuit, but city leaders said they test the water regularly, and insist it is...

The American Red Cross recently issued a national blood appeal, but the severe storms in the Midwest and mid-Atlantic areas may severely impact the ability to build the blood inventory back up to sufficient levels in many locations. Power outages, fallen trees and other storm impacts mean that blood donors have been unable to get to blood donation centers and blood drives. Dozens of Red Cross blood drives have been cancelled, resulting in the shortfall of nearly 1,700 units of blood and platelets. The Red Cross is calling on all eligible blood donors – now more than ever –...

Sometimes elections can be confusing, trying to figure out who to vote for or what district you’re in, or even where to vote. We can help with part of that. Click on the link to a map of districts, and you can also click on the link to the Coffee County Election Commission for more information about voting. Click here for Coffee County’s map of districts Coffee County Election Commission:...

Tullahoma has streamlined its construction project permit process to make it easier on developers, and the effort seems to be paying off with a Chick-fil-A restaurant chain’s commitment to locate an outlet in the city. Gary Rouse, a principal engineer with GBC Design Inc, based in Akron, Ohio, who has been working with the city’s Planning Commission and Development Committee on Chick-fil-A’s behalf, said the staff he has dealt with in the process to locate a restaurant outlet in Tullahoma has been very accommodating and made his job considerably easier. The city issued a demolition permit on May 31...

Keith Toler of Coffee County was traveling north on Highway 41 around 2:30 Monday afternoon, when he said he lost consciousness and ran off the left side of the road. The vehicle overturned several times and entrapped Toler. Manchester Fire & rescue had to cut the top off the Honda SUV to remove the driver. He was taken to Medical Center of Manchester and then on to Air-Evac to be transported to Vandy. THP is investigating the cause of the...

Just before 11:00 Tuesday morning (July 10, 2012), a rain storm hit I-24 around the 106 mile marker. A Georgia man, his wife, and child were traveling east when the Jeep they were riding in began to hydroplane. The Jeep left the interstate and crashed into a tree, causing it to flip up on its side. The family was checked out by Coffee Co. EMS and was not transported. The air bags seem to have caused the most scrapes and bruises. The heavy rain and the wet roads were determined to be the cause of the crash. Coffee County Sheriff’s...