Last week we reported that Coffee County Director of Schools Dr LaDonna McFall told the school board that she was seeking other job opportunities. Her contract runs until June of 2020. This year’s evaluation committee has been formed. School board members serving this year are Shannon Duncan, Gary Nester and Pat Barton. The evaluation will include leadership and culture, policy and governance, communications and community relations, organizational and human resources management, curriculum planning development, instructional leadership, and ethical leadership. Added to the evaluation process this year includes the district’s five-year plan and add in how well the director met...

We have an update on an apparent homicide in Grundy County. Early Sunday morning around 12:20am Grundy County deputies were called to Lockhart Town Road in Coalmont. When they arrived, 38 year-old Bradford Orion Meeks of Coalmont was found shot to death. Reports indicate an altercation at a residence led to the death of Meeks. While information is limited, investigators for Grundy County and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation say that an argument had ensued on Saturday night between Meeks and his girlfriend Brandy Shrum at the residence. Meeks left the residence but returned a short time later and...

A Tennessee lawmaker has introduced a bill to observe daylight saving time year-round in the Volunteer State. The bill is being filed by Rep. Rick Tillis and if passed, would make daylight saving time the standard time of the entire state. Tillis has said in the past that the extra hour would improve health and the overall quality of life for people living in the state. He also feels it would encourage people to stay active and spend time supporting local businesses. However, even if it does get approved at the state level, the law can’t go into effect...

Former Rutherford County Sheriff Robert Arnold may be released a year early, not as a “political pardon” but for “good behavior.” He might be in a Tennessee halfway house by this coming May. Reports indicate that Arnold has been a model prisoner. Arnold is serving a 4-year sentence at Maxwell Federal Prison Camp outside Montgomery, Alabama. Officials are beginning the paperwork now, and if approved, the ousted Rutherford County Sheriff could serve his first 6-months of freedom in a halfway house in Tennessee. That could be as soon as 3-months from now. The remaining half-year would be under house...

In the wake of record-breaking flooding across Tennessee, the Department of Commerce and Insurance and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners are sharing tips to help homeowners stay afloat, financially. According to the National Weather Service in Nashville, the city’s average rainfall total for February was exceeded within the first week of the month. Kevin Walters of the Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance said it’s important to prepare now for the possibility of more storms. “We want to tell people to be prepared in the event of future flooding events,” Walters said. “So remember, where it can rain,...

City of Manchester leaders have been told by the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) that Coffee County commissioners are the ones with authority to appoint members of the Public Building Authority (PBA), the board that oversees the Manchester-Coffee County Conference Center. As we reported earlier, the County Technical Assistance Service CTAS issued an opinion late last year that also said only the county commission is authorized to appoint members to the PBA. According to CTAS, the Manchester City appointments of Jewell Noblitt and Richard Dix to the PBA without the approval of the county commission are not valid. MTAS...