The Tennessee Department of Health has updated Tennessee’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan as the state continues to prioritize Tennesseans most at risk of illness and death from COVID-19. Protecting Medically Fragile Children and Adults Tennessee has added people living in households with medically fragile children to Phase 1c of the state’s COVID-19 Vaccination Plan. Vaccination of their parents, caregivers and other household residents will help protect these children, as at this time no COVID-19 vaccine has been approved for use in children under age 16. Phase 1c also includes people age 16 and older who have medical conditions that put...

On January 15th, Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security Commissioner Jeff Long and Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) Colonel Matt Perry welcomed the newest graduating classes of Tennessee State Troopers. This was the first time in the department’s history that a regular 16-week trooper cadet class and an eight-week lateral trooper cadet class simultaneously attended training. The lateral class returned from their district assignments for the graduation ceremony that took place at the Tennessee Highway Patrol Training Center in Nashville. The 29 graduates of Trooper Cadet Class 121 included three prior law enforcement officers, 11 cadets with prior military...

Sportsmen & Businessmen Charitable Organization (SBCO) awarded over $8,000 to local educators across Coffee County and Manchester City through its Educational Enrichment Grant opportunity. SBCO’s Educational Enrichment Grant encourages local educators to submit innovative, outside-the -box opportunities for their students and schools that may encompass STEM, literacy, physical activity, social/emotional, to fine arts or career readiness. “This year’s selected recipients, through a highly competitive grant application cycle, represents our continued interest in and support of the outstanding work educators do for their students and our community,” said Carter Sain, SBCO President. This year’s grant recipients are as follows: Coffee...

Tennessee will be allocated roughly $458 million from the federal government for COVID-19 Rent Relief and Governor Lee has tasked THDA with administering these funds for the majority of the state. THDA is working now to develop a web portal for applicants, establish a call center for application assistance, and prepare an adequate number of staff to review and process thousands of payments to landlords and utility providers. “Further, the US Treasury is expected to release additional funding guidance later in January that will impact our program administration. While this is a big challenge, THDA is working to open...

Statewide unemployment inched upwards during the final month of 2020, according to newly released data from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). The preliminary, seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for December 2020 is 6.4%, an increase of 1.2 percentage points from November’s revised rate of 5.2%. Tennessee’s latest jobless statistic remains below the national unemployment rate. Unemployment across the state has fluctuated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. It reached its all-time high of 15.5% in April 2020 and is currently just over 3 percentage points higher than the state’s pre-pandemic unemployment rate....

The Crimson Clover Master Gardener Association has partnered with the Tennessee Environmental Council to host Tennessee Tree Day in Coffee County on March 19 and 20. This is a statewide event is led by the Tennessee Environmental Council and provides Tennesseans with trees to plant to enhance our state’s appearance and environment. There will be 50,000 native bare-root tree-seedlings available in all 95 Tennessee counties during the weekend of March 19-20, 2021. Bare-root seedlings range in size from 1 ft. to 3 ft. depending on species. The tree varieties include buttonbush, tulip poplar, sweet gum, red mulberry, wild plum,...

Join us at Thunder Radio and Rosalyn Partin of the Manchester H&R Block and congratulate our student of the week – Madelyn Schultz. Madelyn is a senior at Coffee County Central High. She is the daughter of Maureen Schultz. She enjoys cheerleading and baking. When she graduates, Madelyn plans to attend UTC to pursue a career in nursing. 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 card, a commemorative plaque, as well as a special letter...

Coffee County Central High School is in the process of installing new sidewalks along the school’s “car rider circle” area all the way to Highway 55. “We have noticed over the years that walkers diverge in every direction across campus as they leave the building at the end of the school day,” explained CHS principal Paul Parsley. “Overall, the new sidewalk should result in cleaner shoes for those walking on and off campus via the front side of the campus and give us a nicer looking campus entrance area.” The project began on Jan. 18 and should be complete...