State parks in Tennessee are looking for volunteers to help fight invasive plant species. Tennessee State Parks said in a news release that the so-called “Weed Wrangle” is set for March 2. The event is part of a nationwide effort to remove trees, vines and flowering plants that encroach on native plant species. At Old Stone Fort State Park in Manchester, work will take place on the Garrison Road trail to clear the area of privet and any other overgrowth. Please come prepared for this event by wearing old clothes you do not mind getting wet or dirty, closed...

  The Winchester Airport Authority announced that it has been awarded a $1.87 million grant from the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s Aeronautics Economic Development Fund. The money will be put toward the development and construction of a hangar with classroom space that will house an Aviation Maintenance Technology program to be located at the Winchester Municipal Airport. The facility will be operated as a secondary campus in Franklin County by the Tennessee College of Applied...

State Sen. Richard Briggs and State Rep. Matthew Hill announced legislation this week that would require certain prescription drugs, such as opioids and stimulants, to be dispensed in lockable containers. The “Pilfering Prevention Act” refers to the act of “pilfering,” or stealing a few pills at a time. At a news conference Monday, the two lawmakers, along with a statewide coalition called “STOP – Secure Tennessee’s Opioid Prescriptions,” explained that pilfering is the number one source of teenage drug abuse nationally and Tennessee. They said statistics show 80 percent of heroin users started with a prescription opioid, and 90...

About 1-in-10 teens who have been on a date have also been physically abused by a boyfriend or girlfriend in the last year according to the Department of Health and Human Services. With Tennessee seeing a growing number of suicides among children ages 10-17, advocates say it’s important to focus on the positive aspects of adolescent relationships during Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. Rikki Harris, CEO of Tennessee Voices for Children, said teens can be hard to read from one day to the next. But values such as mutual respect, respect for individuality, respecting boundaries and positive communication should...

Throughout this past fall, Coffee County High School Future Business Leaders (FBLA) members, officers, and advisors, along with special volunteers spent many hours organizing the “Team Up to Tackle Breast Cancer” event. FBLA members sold t-shirts and Otis Spunkmeyer breast cancer cookies and hosted a “pink out” game where the football team wore pink jerseys and all other participants at the game sported pink. Funds raised from these activities totaled $6,500. The donation was presented to the Tennessee Breast Cancer Coalition with all funds set to benefit breast cancer patients in Coffee County. FBLA would like to thank everyone...