More than 13,000 teachers across the state began training this week in what education officials describe as the largest program of its kind in Tennessee history. They will be trained in math curriculum standards to be implemented in grades 3-8 during the coming school year. They will be coached by more than 200 fellow teachers selected earlier this year for their role. Training sessions last three weeks at 16 schools across Tennessee. Similar training will be done a year from now in English/language...

A recent report shows problems transitioning to a new computer system are preventing the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services from fully complying with a court-ordered reform plan. The report released this week is the latest assessment of the agency’s performance under a reform plan brought by the national advocacy group Children’s Rights and a group of Tennessee attorneys to improve foster care across the state. According to the report, the agency’s conversion to a new computer system called Tennessee Family and Child Tracking System has prevented the collection of DCS data in over 20 areas of court-ordered...

Thunder Radio and the Manchester Times will host the Manchester Municipal political forum July 12 at the Coffee County Central High School Auditorium. Carefully planned to take place one day prior to early voting – the forum will focus on the Manchester city election, which will see the mayor’s seat and five of the six aldermanic seats up for grabs. The debates will be held at separate times – with aldermanic candidates taking the stage from 6-7:30 p.m. and mayoral candidates taking the stage from 8-9:30 p.m. Both will be aired live on Thunder Radio – WMSR AM-1320 and...

On Monday morning (July 9, 2012) around 7:30am, a head-on collision occurred on the Wattendorf Highway, the AEDC access road. Five people were injured in the two-vehicle crash. According to a report by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Carl Seagroves, a 1998 Nissan Maxima driven by Evan John Smith, 20, of Louisville, Kentucky, drifted off the highway and struck a guardrail. The car then crossed the center line into the path of a 1996 Chevrolet pickup operated by James Richard Edwards, 45, of Hillsboro. According to the trooper’s report, Smith was the only occupant in the Nissan, and he was apparently...

A two-car crash occurred around 5:00 PM Sunday afternoon (July 8, 2012) at 3261 Hillsboro Hwy. A white van with five occupants was stopped to make a turn into a driveway when it was struck by a small black car with two occupants. Out of the seven persons involved, only one was transported to an area hospital. The one taken was a woman that was seven months pregnant. Coffee County Sheriff’s Department controlled traffic and the Tennessee Highway Patrol was in charge of the scene.      ...

According to a report filed at the Tullahoma Police Department, a 23-year-old Tullahoma man was arrested on sex charges Friday afternoon (July 6, 2012). Christopher Baker was charged by Tullahoma Police Investigator Jason Kennedy with statutory rape in connection with an incident that allegedly involved a 16-year-old girl. The investigation...

Crews in Tullahoma have been working on school facilities paving the Bel-Aire Elementary School parking lot. Daryl Welch of the Board of Education said Friday that the paving provides a much-needed lift to the school system’s oldest building. The $35,000 paving project is being performed by Rogers Group. Workers have already performed a $40,000 air-conditioning upgrade project and $22,000 in new windows installed in the gym area. The Board of Education has said it needs a new roof on Tullahoma High School that is estimated to cost more than $1 million but that was not included in the city’s...