State lawmakers have passed legislation that would shift federal funding for Tennessee’s Medicaid program into a block grant. Co-sponsored by several lawmakers, including state Sen. Paul Bailey, a Republican from Sparta, and Rep. Timothy Hill, a Blountville Republican, the block grant bill would give the state more flexibility in deciding how to use federal Medicaid money. Mary-Linden Salter, executive director of the Tennessee Association of Alcohol, Drug and Other Addiction Services, says amid the state’s opioid epidemic, any changes to Medicaid billing could mean less access to residential treatment services for people struggling with addiction. “The people who are...

As a part of his audio/visual production classes, Scott Anderson, a teacher at Coffee County High School had his students create a 60-second public service announcement for the Drug Enforcement Administration Operation Prevention video challenge. One of the groups from the level 3 class – consisting of Dalton Sherrill, Jackson Hamm, Brian Wang, and Yanely Luna – were selected as a finalist in the nationwide competition. On Thursday, Anderson announced that the group had won 1st place and were also selected as the People’s Choice winner. Anderson gave us his thoughts on his students being honored in such a...

The 27th annual Letter Carriers’ Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive is on Saturday, May 11, 2018. The food drive, sponsored by the National Association of Letter Carriers, is the world’s largest one-day food drive, taking place in more than 10,000 cities and towns in all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia. Participating in the food drive couldn’t be easier. Before your regular mail pick-up on Saturday, May 11, postal customers are asked to leave bags of non-perishable food items by their mailboxes. Letter carriers will pick up the bags and—with help from retired letter carriers, other...

Commissioner of Education Penny Schwinn has announced that 18,560 students in 928 classrooms across Tennessee will benefit from the Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) program in the 2019-20 school year. 138 districts applied for and received VPK funding through the competitive grant designed to serve 4-year-old students who are at-risk and students in high-priority communities. Sixty-eight of these 138 districts are rural. Revisions to the Tennessee Early Learning Developmental Standards (TN ELDS) aligned instructional expectations with Tennessee’s K-12 Academic Standards to ensure kindergarten readiness. For the 2019-20 school year the Coffee County School system will continue to have 7 classes, Manchester...

McMinnville police are investigating break-ins at three businesses and at the civic center. Police reports indicate someone broke into Taco Bell sometime early Tuesday morning. Entry is believed to have been gained by breaking a drive-thru window. An unknown amount of cash was taken in the break-in. A break-in was reported at the Coffee Cat in the Northgate Shopping Center. Reports indicate the owner of the business came in Tuesday morning and discovered the place had been burglarized. An unknown amount of money was taken. Police were also called to the McMinnville Civic Center, where someone had entered and...

Despite not having a hotel or motel in rural Coffee County, the county government can now charge up to 2.5% hotel/motel tax countywide including the two cities. The state approved legislation pushes the current city rates up. The new tax grows the hotel/motel tax in Manchester to 6% and 5% in Tullahoma. Gov. Bill Lee signed the new bill that was sponsored in the Senate by (R)Sen. Janice Bowling and in the House by (R)Rep. Rush Bricken. The possible starting date is said to be July 1,...

A new study by SmartAsset ranked Coffee County among the top places in Tennessee to grow your short-term savings. The study analyzed data on savings account rates, household income, living expenses and taxes to determine where savings could be maximized over a one-year period. Based on median income $46,614, Coffee County ranked 7th with a short-term interest earned amount of $43 with a return rate of .09%. Long-term Savings Interest Earned is $1,549. Long-term Savings Return Rate for Coffee County is 3.32% and the Short-term Savings Interest Earned Index is 16.68. Sequatchie, TN ranked first in the...