NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee Department of Health announced Thursday the release of the WICShopper application for smartphones. As a part of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, the new WICShopper app is another tool to help participants establish and re-enforce healthy eating habits.The WICShopper app helps WIC participants identify what they can purchase with their prescribed WIC benefits. The app allows WIC participants to scan the UPC barcode of store products determining whether that product is allowable as a WIC food item and on the participants WIC benefits. There are many key features such as location of Health...

By Nadia Ramligan, TN Public News Service For rural Tennesseans, the cash-bail system has accelerated an endless cycle of arrests, excessively high bonds and incarceration, in communities already grappling with a substance-abuse epidemic and shrinking local economies.According to a Vera Institute of Justice study, pre-trial incarcerations have jumped by 163% in the 53 rural Tennessee counties, compared with a 2% increase in urban areas in the past two decades.Selina Williams, a mental-health liaison at Carey Counseling Center in Union City, a town with a population of about 10,000, said rural families without the means to pay bail suffer the most.“People feel like...

The Manchester Police Department is asking for the public’s help to identify a man responsible for recent storage unit burglaries in the area.  Look at the photos below. If you can identify this person or the vehicle, contact MPD investigator Bryan Eldridge at 931-728-2099. Tips are anonymous. ...

Legislation that seeks to protect the anonymity of citizens related to firearm ownership is moving through the Tennessee House committee system. Similar to the protections guaranteed by the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA), House Bill 1171, also known as the Firearm Information Privacy Protection Act (FIPPA), will protect Tennesseans who are exercising their right to own and purchase firearms. This legislation will create a Class A misdemeanor for any public personnel that intentionally discloses information about an owner of a firearm, for the purpose of compiling a federal firearms registry or confiscation of firearms. The bill will...

The Tennessee Department of Health is acting upon recent guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to pause administration of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Our vaccine supply continues to surpass demand and we do not anticipate this shift will impact our efforts to vaccinate as many Tennesseans as possible. We continue to monitor the situation closely. While the reports of serious adverse events after the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine are rare, six cases out of nearly 7 million doses administered, TDH is taking necessary...

Anyone still looking to receive the COVID-19 vaccine – there will be vaccines next week at the fairgounds with no appointment needed. Currently, the vaccine is available to people ages 16 and older. The health department will be administering the vaccine at the Coffee County Fairgrounds  next week with no appointment required at the following times: Monday, April 12 from 9 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Tuesday – Thursday, April 13-15, from 1-3 p.m. Friday, April 16, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Appointments for vaccines are also still available and can be booked at...

The Director of United Way of Highway 55, Ashley Abraham, is reminding non profits that this is the time to apply for allocations from the organization. United Way of Highway 55 allocations process has begun. Each year, United Way of Highway 5 strives to reach and receive more applications in all 3 counties served – Coffee, Moore and Warren. Last year, there were 22 applicants. Any non profits wishing to apply should email Ashley Abraham directly at director@highway55unitedway.org. United Way prides itself on being a safe, effective outlet for donors to make a difference in their community. We raise...

The Tennessee General Assembly last week unanimously passed legislation that aims to curb thefts of catalytic converters in Tennessee.  In partnership with local and state law enforcement agencies, House Bill 1155 targets those who steal catalytic converters from cars. The bill requires any entity engaged in buying these unattached parts to notify law enforcement of these purchases. This will support the creation of a registry which will help suppress criminal activity in Tennessee.  House Bill 1155 heads to the governor’s desk for his...