New COVID-19 related unemployment claims are on a slight increase, after Tennessee saw three weeks of unemployment claims going down. The latest numbers for the week that closed on November 7, 2020 showed new unemployment claims rang in at 7,221. The previous week that ended on October 31st closed with 6,992 new unemployment filings in Tennessee. Since March 15th, there have been 913,581 jobless claims filed in Tennessee. That number represents filings related to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Currently, there are 58,298 approved recipients receiving unemployment benefits in the Volunteer State due to COVID related unemployment. When COVID was at...

Manchester Parks and Recreation Department will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the Ada Wright Center to discuss a local Parks and Recreation Fund Grant Application. This application is from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the proposed project is to replace lights on three baseball fields and three softball fields in Fred Deadman and Dave King Parks. These lights would all have metal poles and LED lights similar tot eh new lights recently installed at the soccer fields. Any citizens with questions can attend the meeting or email Bonnie Gamble at...

Thanksgiving will be on the lighter side when it comes to the typical number of travelers on the roads and at airports. According to AAA Travel, effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including health concerns and high unemployment, are impacting Americans’ decisions to travel for the Thanksgiving holiday. With health and government officials stressing that staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick, AAA anticipates at least a 10% drop in travel – the largest one-year decrease since the Great Recession in 2008. AAA projects 50 million Americans will travel this Thanksgiving. In Tennessee,...

Story and photo by Susan Campbell, for Thunder Radio   Thanksgiving is best described as a holiday for “family, football and feasting.” According to the Calorie Control Council, the average American will consume 3,000 calories at the meal alone, plus drinks, desserts and appetizers, which brings total calorie count to 4,500! To help work off the hefty caloric intake that often accompanies Thanksgiving Day, Tennessee’s 56 state parks are offering a chance to #optoutside on Friday, Nov. 27 with guided hikes in all of the parks. The hikes are for all ages and abilities, and range from easy peaceful...

Local businessman Jay Kalvala and Manchester resident Gene Holmes have paired up to work on a project to show support for law enforcement officers at Manchester Police Department. They began this project in September, and this month were able to recognize four more officers. The officers were: Assistant Chief Adam Floied, Captain Nilesh Patel, Sergeant Landon Pence and the late Captain Chris Patterson, who recently passed away. Captain Patterson’s family was in attendance to receive his letter and gift cards. Mr. Kalvala and Mr. Holmes stated they intend to continue this project until every officer is...

With so much focus on COVID-19 – it’s important to remember we are entering the season or another highly contagious virus – the flu. There will be free flu shots administered through local health departments in Tennessee between 12:30-3:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 19. In Coffee County, anyone can go and receive the free flu shot. The health department will be administering those shots at the Coffee County Fairgrounds – 99 Lakeview Dr. in...

Coffee County Schools and Manchester City Schools in partnership with First Baptist Church are hosting a Mobile Food Pantry on Friday, November 13th. This event will be held at First Baptist Church of Manchester (1006 Hillsboro Blvd). The drive thru event starts at 9am and is a first come, first serve opportunity. This program is for families who have a student enrolled in Coffee County Schools or Manchester City Schools. For questions, contact Carrie Davis, Coordinator of Family Resource Center for Coffee County Schools at (931) 222-1066 or BJ Sylvia, Coordinator of Family Resource Center for Manchester City Schools...

Wednesday, Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. Due to COVID-19 concerns and restrictions, many area schools are not holding their normal Veterans Day ceremonies that are usually held each year. Coffee County Central High School normally holds a large ceremony each year. And while that ceremony will not happen in the gymnasium this year, there will be a virtual ceremony to recognize and honor local veterans. This will take place at approximately 11:20 a.m. Wednesday and you can watch it on the Thunder Radio Facebook page. You can also watch on the Raider TV Youtube...