Your Local News
Registration for Motlow State “Late-Start” classes open until Mar. 14
Any student who missed the opportunity to register for classes beginning in January can still register for “late-start” classes at Motlow State Community College. Most classes will begin on Mar. 14 and end on Apr. 28. Registration for these “late-start” classes ends Mar. 14. Applicants must apply online by Mar. 9. The following classes are available for the late-start session at the Moore County Campus: Art Appreciation, English Composition I, Survey of American Literature, Survey of American History II, and Intermediate Algebra. Courses available at the Smyrna Campus are: Art Appreciation, Survey of American Literature, and Introduction to Theatre....
Fugitive from Justice Caught in Coffee County
On Thursday February 11th the Tennessee Highway Patrol stooped a vehicle for a traffic violation on Interstate 24 at mile marker 114. Upon making contact with a male subject he could no produce a valid driver’s license. The patrolman ran a check of his driving status and it revealed it to be revoked/suspended. Upon placing the man under arrest he was searched and the trooper allegedly found a small bag of green leafy substance believe to be marijuana on the man’s person and a marijuana blunt in his vehicle. A criminal check of the subject found him to be wanted...
Man Arrested after issues with Landlord
On Saturday (February 13, 2016) Coffee County deputies responded four times to 290 Shelley Rd near Manchester on calls from a subject against his landlord. As a deputy was trying to access the situation, the man allegedly threatened the landlord. The man, James William Newsom age 33 of Shelly Rd Manchester failed to comply with officer’s request. According to the arrest warrant, when the deputy entered the home and told Newsom he was under arrest and got one handcuff on him he would not comply and started fighting the deputy. Other deputies had arrived on the scene and assisted...
More Funding Proposed for Rape-Kit Testing Reform
President Barack Obama has included an additional $41 million in funding for rape kit testing reform in his 2017 budget. If it survives the contentious federal budgeting process, the money could help process the more than 9,000 untested rape kits at Tennessee law enforcement agencies, some as many as 30 years old. Ilse Knecht is a senior adviser for policy and advocacy with the Joyful Hearts Foundation, a group sponsoring an End the Backlog initiative. She says the money would go a long way toward increased justice and community safety. “Every day, we see stories of rape kits connecting...
Motlow State’s Kevin Fitch provides expertise to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Kevin Fitch, associate professor of biology at Motlow State Community College, recently provided consultation services to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) for the habitat characterization of the Federally Protected plant, Short’s Bladderpod (Physaria globosa). Professor Fitch provided plant-ecology expertise to the USFWS in support of a cooperative project with Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville. These efforts support the goals for the U.S. Endangered Species Act and its objectives: to designate the critical-habitat for Short’s Bladderpod which is required for its recovery. Short’s Bladderpod is a plant in the mustard family and is found in middle Tennessee in...
Tullahoma Man Charged after Drugs Found
A Tullahoma man was arrested Feb 11 on drug charges after he was allegedly found to be in possession of two pounds of marijuana, drug paraphernalia and weapons. According to a report by Officer Tommy Elliott, James E. Blair, 34, of East Grundy Street was charged with possession of schedule VI and possession of drug paraphernalia. The report alleges that the officer received information that Blair was in possession of marijuana. Elliott then obtained a search warrant and went to Blair’s residence and served the search warrant. Once inside he allegedly found approximately the two pounds of marijuana, several...
Murder Conviction Upheld
The 2012 first degree murder conviction of Jeffrey Smithson has been upheld by the Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee. Smithson was found guilty by a Coffee County Circuit Court Jury of first degree felony murder, theft over $1,000, first degree premeditated murdered and especially aggravated robbery in the murder of his 81-year-old aunt Virginia White in her residence in Manchester Aug. 16, 2011. The appeals court judges noted that Judge Jackson concluded that “there was no evidence that Smithson’s statement was involuntary or that he did not know what he was doing when he made statements to police”...
Roof Needed at CCAP
The roof at the Coffee County Administrative Plaza (CCAP) has not been replaced since 1996 so at a recent meeting the Coffee County Capital Outlay Committee says it will seek a $575,000, five-year capital outlay note to replace the roof. Coffee County accepted a $429,753 bid for the roof replacement. The bid comes with a 25-year labor and materials warranty. The extra $145,247 built into the loan is meant to cover expected, unknown costs. The $575,000 capital outlay note requires approval by the Coffee County Budget and Finance Committee before coming up for vote at the full Coffee County...
