Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Wednesday that he is recommending that schools remain closed through the end of the school year. “Our department of education will work with local leaders. We want to make sure to be flexible with districts across the state. They have critical year-end activities to complete and prepare for next year,” said Lee. “This pandemic has created many challenges for families, teachers and students. Classroom time has been lost. Students have lost a significant amount of learning time. We will continue to provide resources to keep our students engaged over the next several weeks. “...

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has gone up by one number here in Coffee County, with Tennessee Department of Health reporting there are now 12 cases here. The number of confirmed cases statewide is now at 5,823, with 124 deaths, 633 hospitalizations and 1,969 people classified as recovered. Statewide, there have been 78,831 tests administered. There have been 332 negative tests performed in Coffee County. As a reminder, Governor Bill Lee on Monday extended his executive stay-at-home order through the end of the month. List your house with an expert on this marketYour home is valuable –...

Coffee County Schools is still planning to conduct its graduation ceremony on May 22, as previously scheduled. However, guidance from local, state, and national leaders may make that impossible. To prepare for different possibilities, Coffee County Schools has chosen three potential backup dates for graduation should a postponement occur. Announcing these dates at this time allows students and their families to leave these dates open on their calendars as life returns to normal. Should guidance from health and/or government officials dictate a postponement of graduation, three possible dates will be utilized. These dates are June 26, July 24, and...

The state of Tennessee has started paying approved unemployment claimants their first installment of the $600 Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) benefit, in addition to their Tennessee Unemployment Compensation (TUC) benefit. On Tuesday, April 14, the state distributed benefit payments of close to $94 million to financial institutions for approximately 110,000 unemployed Tennesseans. Most claimants will receive their directly-deposited payment on Wednesday, April 15. The number of payments is projected to increase throughout the week and will likely exceed 150,000. During the entire previous week, the state sent 114,000 claimants more than $33 million in unemployment benefits. That week...

With the extension of Governor Bill Lee’s stay-at-home order, Thunder Radio wants to remind you that you can visit our website for the Manchester Code COVID page (click here), or visit the tab through the Manchester GO smartphone app, to get information on local businesses. As a small, local, family-owned business ourselves at Thunder Radio, we have the small-business community on our minds. We are using this page to inform the public of altered operating hours, different procedures and other anomalies at area businesses to allow you to continue to patronize local business during this time. If you see...

Coffee County Schools is still planning to conduct its graduation ceremony on May 22, as previously scheduled. However, guidance from local, state, and national leaders may make that impossible. To prepare for different possibilities, Coffee County Schools has chosen three potential backup dates for graduation should a postponement occur. Announcing these dates at this time allows students and their families to leave these dates open on their calendars as life returns to normal. Should guidance from health and/or government officials dictate a postponement of graduation, three possible dates will be utilized. These dates are June 26, July 24, and...

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Monday that his executive “stay at home” order has been extended through April 30. His original executive order would have expired Tuesday. The extension calls for all non-essential businesses to be closed to the public, requires restaurant to offer curbside or carry-out services only and calls for Tennesseans to limit movement to essential functions, although that list of essential functions is large. Earlier this month, Coffee County District Attorney General Craig Northcott clarified for residents that you do not need a special letter to travel within the county, and he added that police will...

Greg Perry, who was elected to the seat of Coffee County General Sessions Judge during a special primary election held in early March, was officially sworn in to his new judge position Monday morning. Perry was sworn in by longtime Coffee County judge Jere Ledsinger. Even though most court proceedings have been halted, some court matters are continuing forward despite COVID-19 Pandemic. “We are still here to serve the people of the county in emergency matters,” explained Perry. “I would like to thank the constituents of Coffee County for giving me this opportunity. I hope to earn their vote...