In a lawsuit obtained by Thunder Radio, Tullahoma alderman Jenna Amacher has filed litigation against the State of Tennessee in an effort to make municipal elections partisan. Amacher’s lawsuit claims she is being denied freedom of speech under the First Amendment and equal protection by the 14th Amendment. Currently, TCA does not allow for partisan municipal elections in Tennessee. A change in the law could open up municipal elections (such as city mayor and city alderman) to having primaries. Currently, most county political races consist of primaries and are partisan. Amacher argues in her lawsuit, filed in federal court,...

An investigation by special agents and fire investigators with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Coffee County Fire Investigations team, and Coffee County Sheriff’s Office has resulted in the indictment of a 65-year-old Beechgrove man on an arson charge. On February 13th, TBI fire investigators joined Coffee County officials in responding to a fire scene on Lakeshore Drive in Beechgrove. During the course of the investigation, agents developed information that identified James Davis as the individual responsible for starting the fire. In June, the Coffee County Grand Jury returned an indictment charging James Davis (04/14/1956) with one count of Arson....

The Tennessee Department of Health is acting upon recent guidance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding an additional dose of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine for moderately and severely immunocompromised individuals.   On August 13, the CDC accepted ACIP recommendations for an additional dose of the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine.  This includes approval for a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine (approved for individuals age 12 years and above) and the Moderna COVID-19 Vaccine (approved for individuals age 18 years and above).  The recommendation from the CDC does not include...

By Lily Bohlke, Public News Service American kids are returning to school an average of four to five months behind in their learning, according to a new study.Groups that support children’s well-being have said the pandemic has exacerbated the disparities in education that have existed for years. Chapple Osborne-Arnold, who works in Tennessee for the nonprofit Save the Children, said the hardest-hit students include those living in poverty.“And then of course, in rural communities, especially here in Tennessee,” she said, “we are seeing those state test scores from the spring significantly drop compared to years past.”She added that establishing and normalizing...

Duck River Electric Membership Corporation (DREMC) is announcing the cancellation of their 2021 Annual Meeting, originally scheduled for Saturday, August 21, at Harris Middle School in Shelbyville, TN. “The rising number of COVID-19 cases in the area has led us to the difficult decision to cancel the in[1]person meeting this year,” said Scott Spence, DREMC President and CEO. “We look forward to reconvening with the membership in 2022.” Results of the Zone 5 director election, business reports and other important information will be made available to the membership in the October edition of The Tennessee Magazine and in video...

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s Asian Carp Harvest Incentive Program (ACHIP) has reached a milestone in July as 10 million pounds of invasive carp have been removed from Kentucky and Barkley reservoirs. The program began in September 2018 and has provided incentives to wholesale fish dealers and commercial fishers that harvest invasive carp.  “Commercial harvest is a key strategy to defend our waters from the impacts and expansion of invasive carp,” said Cole Harty, TWRA Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator. “The other key strategy to prevent the spread of carp to waters upstream is deterrents.” TWRA continues to support the...

Manchester has experienced significant growth in population over the past decade, according to 2020 Census Data. The census puts the population of Manchester at 12,212, which is a 9.2% growth over the 2010 population of 10,102. Meanwhile, Tullahoma grew in population but at a much slower rate. Census data shows that Tullahoma population is at 20,339, which is a 4.9% population growth when compared to the 2010 Census. Coffee County as a whole now has 57,889 residents, according to Census data. This is a 7% growth from the 52,796 reported in the 2010 census. Coffee County ranked very high...

Unity Medical Center in Manchester is reimplementing COVID-19 protocols at the hospital in regards to patients and visitors. The hospital announced Tuesday that it is implementing a no-visitor policy in all areas of the hospital campus at this time. The hospital is asking that all patients wear a face covering upon entry to the facility and maintain a distance of six feet from others. “Thank you for allowing us to serve you and helping us maintain the health and safety of our community,” the hospital stated. The hospital added that due to high testing volumes, rapid testing may not...