The year 2012 marks Tennessee State Parks’ 75th Anniversary, and to help commemorate this important milestone, Old Stone Fort State Archaeological Park held a special community event on Monday. The event coincides with Old Stone Fort’s own 46th anniversary of the park’s dedication in 1966. As one of only two archaeological state parks in Tennessee, Old Stone Fort is certainly a fitting backdrop for one of the many statewide celebrations we will be holding throughout the year. It’s also a great opportunity to thank the park’s many patrons and the entire local community for all their hard work and...

As spring speeds into summer, officials with the Tennessee Department of Transportation have sent out a reminder to motorists not to speed through construction and work zones. This is National Work Zone Awareness Week. It’s a week in which officials work to remind residents to slow down and pay close attention to work zones and interstate alert boards. TDOT officials hope to use this time to improve safety in Tennessee’s interstate and highway construction and maintenance work zones. “We are heading into the busiest construction time of the year, and there will be hundreds of active work zones across...

A Middle Tennessee man credits his three Jack Russell terriers with saving him from a mobile home fire. According to the Shelbyville Times Gazette, the fire broke out early Monday at the trailer where Doyce Mitchell lived. Mitchell told the newspaper he would have died had the dogs – which he called his boys – not barked and awakened him. The blaze began at an electrical fuse box that was mounted on an outside wall of the mobile home. Mitchell said he had been smelling burned rubber or plastic for a couple of days before the fire broke out....

A design engineering firm has made an application to have site plans for a Chick-fil-A to be presented to the Tullahoma Planning Commission at its May 7 meeting.  A spokesperson with the restaurant chain says company officials are excited about locating in Tullahoma. The commission will not take any action at that time. According to City Administrator Jody Baltz, who is serving as interim planning director the commission will review the plans to be considered at its May 21 regular meeting. An engineer with GBC Design Inc, based in Akron, Ohio, recently presented the site plans to the Tullahoma...

Coffee County man has been charged with possession of methamphetamines and other charges are pending against him. Deputy James Sherrill, Dale Robertson and Chief Investigator Doug Richardson received information that Boyce Brown who lives in 16th Model community had been seen with items used to produce meth. After checking with the Tennessee Meth Task Force they learned that the man had made several purchases of items used in the production of the drug in Coffee and Rutherford Counties. When the officers arrived at Brown’s address they met him at a barn behind the residence. Police informed him that he...

Ravago Manufacturing Americas has purchased  16-acres  behind its current facility located in the Coffee County Interstate Industrial Park for future expansion. According to Industrial Board of Coffee County Executive Director, Ted Hackney, the company is expected to purchase additional equipment this fall as well as adding a few new jobs. The company currently employs 130 at the...

Local law enforcement continues on alert for a man accused of attempting to lure children into his red pickup truck Friday in Wartrace. “We’ve been looking all over the county and haven’t found him yet,” Sheriff Randall Boyce said. The man approached two groups of children near the intersection of Hill and Vine Streets, Boyce was told. “A guy pulled up in an old, red pickup truck and offered them some strawberries,” Boyce said. “There were two groups (of children). One was a kind of young group,. He tried to get them to get in the truck and they...

Over the last 60 years, Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) has continued to perform its primary mission: develop, test and evaluate weapon, propulsion, aerodynamic and space systems at realistic conditions for the nation. But many things regarding the way AEDC employees worked have changed, and some of them are being shown off during an exhibit at the Cowan Center for the Arts. As part of the Smithsonian Exhibit “The Way We Worked,” which wrapped up a visit to Cowan recently, AEDC set up a booth with photos, historic information and instruments that were commonly used during the 1950s and...