There are now 267 positive cases of COVID-19 in Coffee County as of 2 p.m. Thursday, according to the Tennessee Department of Health. This number is up 28 from the previous day. The 267 cases represents approximately 0.47 percent of the county’s total population. All three school systems have said if total cases reaches 0.50 percent, the school’s will go to a hybrid schedule of in school and distance learning.  Since testing began in March, there have been 482 positive tests in Coffee County. There have been 212 recoveries and three people have passed away in Coffee County leaving...

A Franklin County resident has been taken into custody by Franklin County Sheriff’s Office authorities and charged with criminal homicide. The arrest is a culmination of an investigation that originated from a police report filed with the Winchester Police Department. Sheriff’s Office Investigator’s initiated an investigation Tuesday, August 4th in the early morning hours. Through investigation, authorities were able to determine the location of the suspected homicide and also determine a suspect. Sheriff’s office personnel processed the scene and through further investigation were able to determine the location of the suspected victim. At approximately 9:30pm Investigators were able to...

Unemployment claims dropped significantly in Tennessee last week as the state saw federal COVID-19 pandemic unemployment benefits come to an end. There were only 11,690 new claims for unemployment filed in Tennessee for the week ending Aug. 1. While this is still abnormally high, it is down from 19,461 the week before and 25,794 the week before that. Continued claims also dipped by a large amount, down to 224,093. This is over 18,000 fewer than the prior week and is the biggest dip in continued claims since the pandemic began in...

By Susan Campbell, Thunder Radio Feature Writer South Jackson Goes Country (SJGC), a popular showcase of area talent for over four decades, takes place Aug. 14-16 at the South Jackson Civic Center in Tullahoma. At the helm as director in its 41st year is Samantha Terrell-Watters, of Hillsboro, who is assuming the director position from long-time director and show originator Peggy Burton. Shows are set for Friday through Sunday, Aug. 14-16, with a variety of musical and comedic talent each night. Friday and Saturday shows begin at 6:30 p.m. with a patio stage event that will feature concessions. The...

Election day is Thursday, Aug. 6. There are several local races of interest. In Manchester, incumbent Mayor Lonnie Norman and challenger Steven Jones are both vying for the Mayor’s seat. Meanwhile, there are six candidates vying for three Manchester alderman seats. In Tullahoma, there are three candidates on the ballot for Mayor seeking to replace Lane Curlee, who did not seek re-election. Meanwhile, there are three candidates seeking two alderman seats. There are four candidates seeking three Tullahoma School Board seats. Those voting in the Republican Primary will be selecting between Rush Bricken and Ronnie Holden in the primary...

There are 239 active cases of COVID-19 in Coffee County as of 2 p.m. Wednesday, according to Tennessee Department of Health. This is a jump of 18 from the previous day. Since testing began in March, there have been a total of 448 cases in Coffee County. Of these, 207 have recovered and two have passed away. The population of Coffee County is approximately 57,000. Numbers across the state dipped for the third consecutive day. The active case count fell by about 661 on Wednesday. This means cases have dropped by over 2,600 in the past three days. There...

Coffee County Schools director Dr. Charles Lawson issued a press release Wednesday afternoon to offer clarity as to why Coffee County Middle School and North Coffee Elementary School has been closed for the remainder of the week – a move that was announced Tuesday afternoon. Lawson explained that the closures were not due to a COVID-19 outbreak, but instead because of concerns about possible and tests that were not finalized. The full release is below: “ The decision to close these two schools was made because Coffee County Schools did not want to bring students into an area in...