State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) announced this week that she has signed on as a prime co-sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution 648 which would add Tennessee’s Right to Work law to the state constitution. The Right to Work statute, established in 1947, protects the rights of those who choose not to join a union. It provides workers cannot be hired or fired based on their affiliation with any labor union or employee organization. The bill advanced out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday by a vote of 7 to 2 with Sen. Bowling’s support. “This resolution allows the people...

After almost three years of planning, anticipation and delays, contractors expect to break ground on the Love’s Travel Stop and Country Store off of Interstate-24 exit 117 sometime in mid to late February of 2020.  When Love’s officials originally announced the project in the summer of 2017, the anticipated cost was to be $20 million with the expectation of bringing 40 full-time jobs. There will be a Hardee’s restaurant going in with the store, according to local officials. County mayor Gary Cordell is excited about the prospect of tax revenues the new business will bring to the county’s coffers. ...

The Comptroller’s Office has released a new report that examines the opioid prescribing patterns of Tennessee’s doctors, nurses, dentists, and other licensed practitioners. Comptroller researchers worked to identify prescribers whose patterns were “significantly statistically abnormal,” and to investigate what disciplinary responses, if any, were taken by the licensing boards in response. The Comptroller’s Office of Research and Education Accountability (OREA) identified 62 prescribers for further investigation based on their 2017 prescribing patterns. It is important to note that identification by OREA for further investigation alone did not indicate inappropriate prescribing. Prescribing data can be used as a tool to...

With its most recent round of layoffs, Goodman Manufacturing in Fayetteville has now laid off nearly 1,500 employees. The company filed a WARN notice with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce on January 9, notifying that 11 more workers would be permanently laid off by March 8 as the company continues to work to shutter operations in Fayetteville. In total, 1,492 people have lost their jobs. The most recent round of layoffs is the 10th for the company since 2018. According to the Elk Valley Times, fewer than 100 employees remain inside the plant. Daikin, which is parent...

A new scam is targeting even the most tech savvy of folks – this one is targeting people who often order from Amazon. This scam is through text message and is disguised as a delivery notification from companies like Amazon and FedEx. The scammer sends text message that poses and appears to be from these companies and within the text will be a link to take you to a fake Amazon page. This fake page looks remarkably similar to the real Amazon page, however, you can see differences in the website url if you look closely. This fake page...

Coffee County and Manchester City Schools are partnering together to host a Mobile Food Pantry for families in need on Friday, February 21st at First Baptist Church of Manchester. A Mobile Food Pantry is a large scale food distribution in which food items are delivered via Second Harvest Food Bank to a designated location for immediate distribution to those in need.     “We, Coffee County and Manchester City Schools, are excited to offer this opportunity for our families. By working together, this allows us to ensure we are serving every family in need,” said Taylor Rayfield, Coordinator of Family...

Those of you who frequently travel Oakdale Street in Manchester may have noticed the ride is a bit smoother after last week. The Manchester Public Works Department paved a 2,500 foot stretch of Oakdale St. last week at a cost of approximately $57,000 that took about 693 tons of asphault. According to department director George Gannon, the department still has to re-stripe the section of road with divider lines, crosswalks and other important markers and that work will be done when weather permits. The public works department has also been busy with other projects, such as paving Taylor St....