For the Volunteer State, the incredible Mega Millions jackpot run that ended Friday night resulted in more than 291,000 winning tickets sold in the state, including 2 who won $250,000 in Monteagle and Ardmore. Additionally, there was an amazing amount of fun around offices, coffee shops and elsewhere, with the most important news of approximately $9.3 million generated for education during this jackpot cycle alone. Sales in Tennessee for the Mega Millions jackpot run, which began on Jan. 27, were approximately $22.8 million, from which an estimated $9.3 million will be given to the scholarship and grant programs funded...

The Duck River Utility Commission (DRUC) is seeking grant funding to reduce its energy expenses and operate a more environmentally friendly facility. DRUC General Manager Randal Braker told the commissioners at Wednesday afternoon’s meeting that an application has been submitted for a Clean Tennessee Energy Grant to help cover the cost of updating the lighting fixtures in DRUC buildings. The grant application calls for upgrading a total of 183 fixtures in eight different facilities with high-efficiency fluorescent and, in some instances, LED units. Once the conversion is completed, he said DRUC’s electricity bills should decrease between $10,000 and $12,000...

Drivers passing the Tullahoma Utilities Board building on South Jackson Street will soon notice a new addition to the scenery once a new video monument sign is installed outside the facility. The utility board voted to purchase the LED sign at a cost of $49,220 from Sign-A-Rama/Cook Neon Signs. According to the memo general manager Brian Skelton, TUB had budgeted $100,000 for the purchase in a prior year’s budget, and will now be able to make the purchase for roughly half the cost they had anticipated. The board also awarded Garners Painting of Decherd will be paid a total...

WMSR News was first to report Thursday (March 29) that Thomas “TJ” Greenwood of Tullahoma was found guilty of 1st degree murder. Greenwood faced accusations after the death of 2-year-old child, Hayden Gage West, on March 9, 2010. Greenwood was babysitting the child at the time. Greenwood told police that he suffered a seizure, and when he fell in the bedroom, the child’s head struck a bed rail in the bedroom. Tullahoma Dr. Clifford Seyler testified that Hayden had numerous bruises and injuries on various parts of his body. “There were bruises on places not normal for him,” the...

A man was arrested in Arkansas after he threatened a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Officer. Thirty-three-year-old James Mitchell Hicks was arrested in Fort Smith, Arkansas on Wednesday. Officials said Hicks threatened to kill a Coffee County TWRA officer. The threat allegedly follows a boating accident on Tims Ford Lake a couple of years ago. Area law enforcement officers have been searching for him in recent weeks due to the threats, which officers are said to have taken...

Governor Bill Haslam and Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development Commissioner Karla Davis have awarded $25,000 to Batesville Manufacturing, Inc. in Manchester for job training. “If Tennessee is going to become the number one location in the Southeast for high-quality jobs, then we must offer a well-trained workforce to employers,” said Governor Haslam. “This kind of training grant not only helps educate workers, but also provides incentive to employers looking to relocate or expand in Tennessee.” In their application for the grant, Batesville Manufacturing, Inc. stated this grant will directly contribute to improving company processes by aligning skills...

A proposal that would prohibit students from dressing indecently in school is headed for floor votes in both chambers of the Legislature. The measure unanimously passed the Senate Education Committee 7-0 on Wednesday and is now being scheduled for a vote on the Senate floor. A full vote in the House is scheduled for Monday evening. The bill seeks to prohibit students from exposing “underwear or body parts in an indecent manner that disrupts the learning environment.” A stricter version of the proposal failed to pass the Legislature three years ago. That measure particularly targeted individuals that sag their...

A proposal that would require all doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges in a licensed hospital, either in the county where the procedure is performed or in an adjacent county, has passed the House. The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Matthew Hill of Jonesborough was approved 72-24 on Thursday. Eight Democrats voted for the mostly Republican-backed proposal. Hill has said the bill is about women’s health and safety and he reiterated that Thursday. Critics, however, contend that abortion providers are being singled out because the law doesn’t require doctors at other ambulatory clinics to have hospital admitting...