Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman was officially sworn in to a third consecutive term in office Tuesday night at Manchester City Hall by Judge Craig Johnson. Norman won a narrow mayoral race over Steven Jones on Aug. 6. Also sworn in Tuesday night were three incumbent alderman who all won another term – Chris Elam, Bob Bellamy and Ryan French. New Manchester School Board Member Lee Sullivan was also sworn in. Sullivan takes over for Mike Lewis, who did not seek re-election to the city board of education. (In the top photo, Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman is sworn in by...

Active COVID-19 cases in Coffee County continue to fluctuate, dropping by 20 to 301 as of Monday afternoon according to data provided by Tennessee Department of Health. There has been an additional COVID-19 related death in Coffee County, however, bringing that total to six. Since testing began in March, there have been 695 confirmed cases of the virus in Coffee County. Of these, 388 have recovered and six deaths have occurred, leaving 301 active cases. Across the state of Tennessee, active cases decreases by about 1,341 Monday compared to...

With a forecast that projects tropical storm Laura could eventually track into the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys later this week, Tennessee Valley Authority has announced that it will be increasing water releases from mainstem Tennessee river dams ahead of the forecasted tropical rainfall. Currently, Laura is projected to intensify into a hurricane on Tuesday before making...

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved the state of Tennessee’s grant application to receive funding to pay the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) unemployment benefit, in addition to current benefits. In conjunction with guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor concerning program administration, the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD), and its unemployment computer system vendor, are currently building the new program that will pay the LWA benefit. Work on the latest federal unemployment program started during the application process and that proactive move will speed up the implementation of LWA in Tennessee. At this time,...

By Nadia Ramligan, Tennessee Public News Service One-in-five Tennessee businesses operates in an industry most likely to be affected by the coronavirus recession, according to a new report. Based on data from 2019, that’s about 34,000 businesses across the state. Jobs that have disappeared tend to be concentrated in the industries most affected by social distancing, including restaurants and bars, retail and manufacturing, travel and transportation, and entertainment. Brian Straessle, external affairs director at The Sycamore Institute, said without extra assistance for unemployed Tennesseans, the state will begin to see multiple crises of hunger, eviction and mental health. “The...

There are now 321 active cases of COVID-19 virus in Coffee County as of Sunday afternoon, according to data provided by the Tennessee Department of Health. Since testing began in March, there have been 691 total cases of the virus in Coffee County. Of these, 365 have recovered and five people have passed away. This leaves 321 active cases. Across the state of Tennessee, there are approximately 35,419 active cases of the virus in the state. There have been 1,527 COVID-19 related deaths in Tennessee since March, and 6,378 hospitalizations. The total of people tested has crossed the two...

Census takers officially began working their way through the Coffee County community on Aug. 11. Since then, law enforcement in surrounding communities are reporting that people are posing as census takers and approaching citizens when, in fact, they are not. Legitimate Census workers will have federal identification and a bag that says Census worker on it. The badge will have a phone number to call and verify that person’s identity, if you wish. If someone approaches your residence and identifies as a Census worker and does not have these items readily presentable, you are encouraged to contact your local...

Coffee County’s 2020 self-response rate continues to be among tops in the state. In fact, Coffee County’s 2020 response rate is just .6 percent shy of surpassing the 2010 self-response rate of 70%. Currently, Coffee County is sixth in the entire state for highest self-response rate. If you have yet to respond, you can still do so. By responding, you help to ensure an accurate count for Coffee County, which will ensure more federal money will be allocated to this area for transportation, school funding and other areas. One study shows that for every person who is not counted,...