The latest jobless numbers show unemployment increased in each of Tennessee’s counties during December 2020, according to new data released by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). There were six counties with an unemployment rate of less than 5% in December, 88 counties had rates greater than or equal to 5%, and one county had a rate higher than 10%. Coffee County now has an unemployment rate of 5.9 percent. That is a jump of 1.3 percentage points from 4.6 percent in November, and is well above the 3.3 percent from December of 2019. The jump in...

The Tennessee Department of Education announced a new five-year partnership, T-Mobile Tech for TN Students, to provide school districts across the state with access to over 200,000 student connectivity devices, or mobile Wi-Fi hotspot device, to provide directly to families at no cost to them. Through T-Mobile’s nationwide initiative, Project 10Million, the department will provide participating districts access to student connectivity devices to provide mobile Wi-Fi to households across Tennessee, with more than 40,000 devices available this year. Districts have three tiers of service to choose from, with 100GB of data per device per year available for free. “As...

Join us at Thunder Radio and Rosalyn Partin of the Manchester H&R Block and congratulate our student of the week – Riley Keele! Riley is in fifth grade at New Union Elementary School. He is the son of Jeff and Beverly Keele. His favorite subject is science. When he grows up, he would like to be a veterinarian. Riley’s favorite hobbies are snow skiing, fishing and riding horses. Rosalyn Partin, owner of the Manchester H&R Block, has been inspired to recognize great kids in our community all year long. H&R Block gives each Student of the Week a gift...

Diane Argraves, who is the director of the Coffee County 911 Communications Center, has filed a complaint against Coffee County Sheriff Chad Partin recently, claiming that she has been bullied and discriminated against by the sheriff. Among many accusations, Argraves claims that Partin has created a hostile work environment. She also claims that Partin treats her differently because she is female. She claims that she believes “it is a personal matter that Sheriff Partin has against me and other women in authority in county government. “ Thunder Radio News reached out to Partin to address these claims, and he...

Winchester Police Department officials are asking for the public’s help to identify two people who broke into Bennett’s Pharmacy on Dinah Shore Blvd. According to Winchester Police, officers responded to the location at 10:30 p.m. on January 25 to burglar alarm. When officers arrived they found the front window shattered and further investigation revealed that property was taken. Surveillance video shows two suspects dressed in black committing the burglary. Authorities believe that a Toyota Rav4 (2017-2020 model) is also involved. From a video provided, the vehicle appears to be blue or gray. Anyone with information about who may have...

By Nadia Ramligan, Tennessee Public News Service Some 77% of Tennessee households with college plans say those plans have changed due to the pandemic, according to a new report. The data show plans were more likely to change in households with members planning to work toward a certificate or associate degree. Megan Fasules, assistant research professor at Georgetown University Center for Education and the Workforce, said she’s particularly worried about low-income students. “There’s definitely a concern that this is going to be a profound change, because any time you interrupt college-going, you are less likely to complete,” Fasules explained....

Authorities with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department are seeking the public’s help to locate three individuals who have felony warrants for violation of sex offender rules. The three men are identified as David Donaldson, Jared Stewart and Mikell Moore. Anyone with information regarding the location of any of these individuals is asked to contact Franklin County Sheriff’s Department at...