Animal rights activists attended county meetings last week in support of dogs they allege are being abused by Coffee County Animal Control employees. A petition to end animal cruelty at the animal shelter by shutting down the facility and replacing the staff with personnel “that has been trained to properly care for animals” currently has several signatures. The animal welfare meeting opened with discussion of the Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee’s approval of $500 for the purchase of a new color printer and scale. Commissioner Margaret Cunningham presented photos of a dog illustrating its weight loss over two...

The first Saturday in May, Motlow State Community College dual enrollment student Alexis Dietz will accomplish something no other Tullahoma High School (THS) student in history has ever accomplished. She will be the first THS student to earn her Motlow State associate degree BEFORE she receives her high school diploma. Dietz knew that dual graduation was a goal for herself after seeing Motlow’s president hand out diplomas to area high school students at a previous Motlow graduation ceremony. Students from a number of area high schools, including Moore County, Smyrna, Coffee County and Lincoln County have earned dual enrollment...

The 2016 Presidential Preference Primary and Coffee County Primary will be held Tuesday (March 1, 2016). You’ll be able to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary and county primary. The county offices are: Public Defender (unexpired six (6) year term), Assessor of Property, Constable – Seat 4 – Dist. 3, 14 & 16 (unexpired two (2) year term) and Constable – Seat 7 – Dist. 17, 19 & 20 (unexpired two (2) year term). District Offices are elected by voters living in those areas only. 3,461 people voted early in Coffee County with 2,588 voting Republican and 873 casting...

A 15-year-old Tullahoma youth is in stable but critical condition in a Chattanooga hospital after being struck by a train early Sunday morning just outside of Tullahoma. According to Franklin County Sheriff Tim Fuller, the department received a report from CSX after a train hit the teen in the area between Blackberry Lane and UT Farm Road around 3:30 a.m. Sunday. An investigation by the sheriff’s department revealed that the teen, who authorities are not identifying, along with three others were walking along the railroad tracks when the train struck him. He was flown to Erlanger Medical Center in...

Here’s another reason to teach your kids a second language. Research in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology shows children learning two languages perform better at certain problem-solving tasks than their monolingual peers. Cristina Crivello, a Ph.D. student at the University of Concordia in Montreal led the study. She says one-and-a-half-year-old bilingual children have abilities that are beneficial for people at any age. “It’s these specific cognitive abilities, like selective attention and cognitive flexibility,” says Crivello. “Where they have to focus on relevant information, and ignore distracting information.” Although there is no consensus yet on exactly how learning other...

The Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame has announced that The University of the South (Sewanee) 1899 football team will be honored as the Historical Achievement Award recipient at its 50th Anniversary Banquet on Saturday, June 18, 2016, at the Omni Nashville Hotel. The University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee made its place in the history of College Football in 1899. That year the Sewanee Tigers went 12-0-0. What further distinguishes the Sewanee Iron Men in college football history is the remarkable schedule they played. Sewanee took the ultimate road trip to play five games in six days, and...

Franklin County authorities reported Sunday that a teenager had been hit by a train. The sheriff’s office reported a CSX train struck the teen between Blackberry Lane and UT Farm Road around 3:30am Sunday morning The victim was transported to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga where he was listed in critical condition. The identity of the victim has not be released. He was accompanied by three other unidentified males. The victim was described as a white male, 5 feet 8 inches tall, wearing a green-colored hooded sweatshirt, blue jeans and red Nike shoes. A teal backpack with a panther...

Late last week a man was stopped for a traffic violation on Old Tullahoma Highway at Belmont Road. Manchester Officer Dustan Foster checked the subject’s driving status and found him to be driving on a revoked driver’s license. According to the arrest warrant, Foster says he smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle. Foster then asked the man identified as Davion Elam if he had any drugs and Elam said a little. Foster allegedly found two bags of marijuana in subject’s right pants pocket, one bag of marijuana in the subject’s left pants pocket. Officer also found a set of...