Nearly two hundred attorneys from across the state of Tennessee are calling for an investigation into Coffee County District Attorney General Craig Northcott. A video was posted online earlier this week by the political website TNHoller.com of Northcott speaking at a religious conference in 2018. In the video, Northcott is speaking to a group and says that if there is domestic violence in a marriage involving a gay couple, he would not prosecute it as domestic violence because he does not recognize the marriage. In Tennessee, domestic violence crimes carry heavier, more serious penalties than other assaults. Northcott added...

Lakeway Publishers, Inc. President R. Jack Fishman announced this week that the company had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Lakeway owns and operates the Manchester Times and the Tullahoma News in Coffee County plus some other nearby newspapers, including ones in Grundy, Franklin Lincoln and Moore counties. Chapter 11 permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Chapter 11 bankruptcy is available to every business, whether organized as a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship and to individuals, although it is most prominently used by corporate entities. When a business is unable to service its debt or pay...

Coffee County Administrator of Elections, Andy Farrar has been recognized for passing the state certification exam. Secretary of State Tre Hargett presented the administrator with a certificate on Monday at the annual state election law summer seminar in Nashville. Participants must first complete a training process that covers 40 different topics related to election law. The exam, which is administered by the Division of Elections, is a rigorous closed book written assessment that can last up to three and a half hours. Questions, which are based on statutory requirements, range from voter registration to Election Day...

Faced with mounting public pressure to take action against robocalls, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday voted to make it easier for telecom companies to block suspected scam calls on their customers’ behalf. Companies like AT&T and Verizon can now, under the newly approved rules, automatically enroll their customers in their call-blocking services. Currently, customers have to sign up for the tools. The FCC said this action empowers providers to protect their customers from unwanted robocalls before those calls even reach the customers’ phones. The FCC said the move would lead to consumers receiving fewer unwanted calls. Wireless companies...

Coffee County entrepreneur Scott Van Velsor is a person you might remember being one of the people to begin the mural program in Manchester. Van Velsor has now written a blog online at www.camelsandchocolate.com about his displeasure with the City of Manchester and Alderman Ryan French. The online post has created a lot of talk around town. Van Velsor states in part on the blog that the City of Manchester, Tennessee hired his company Odinn Media for marketing services, then he claims the city never paid for the work that was done. The city rebukes that claim. WMSR News...

We have an update on the drownings in Grundy and Franklin counties over the weekend. Authorities in Grundy County say a teenager drowned over the weekend in a Tracy City reservoir. The victim was identified as 17 year-old Skyler Copeland. The teen was reportedly fishing in a boat with his father and 16 year-old brother Saturday evening when the boat overturned. The father and the 16 year-old were able to get to shore. The victim was not, in spite of his father’s efforts to get him out. First responders, with help from the Franklin County Dive Team, were able...