Thunder Radio WMSR is discontinuing its text message alert service effective Wednesday, Feb. 8, announced company vice president Josh Peterson. Instead, daily weather messages, school closure and breaking news alerts will continue to be sent via push notification from the station’s smartphone app: “Manchester Go” app. “The text message service that we have used for over a decade has become outdated and, frankly, obsolete,” explained Peterson. “We have been sending breaking news alerts, school closings, etc. out via text message for over a decade. In the past year we began also sending those messages out as a push notification...

 For the fourth consecutive week the Tennessee gas price average has increased. Since last Monday, gas prices across Tennessee have risen six cents, on average. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $3.10 which is 11 cents more expensive  than one month ago and 87 cents more than one year ago.   The average price per gallon in Coffee County is $3.09 per gallon, which is just 1 cent below the state average and 28 cents below the national average of $3.37. “Tensions along the Ukrainian border have helped push crude oil prices higher almost daily,” said Stephanie Milani, Tennessee Public Affairs Director, AAA – The Auto Club Group....

The Mechatronics program at Motlow State Community College recently achieved reaccreditation by the Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE). Motlow has proudly been accredited by the ATMAE since 2015. “Accreditation proves Motlow’s Mechatronics program meets established standards in providing the best possible learning experience to our students. It indicates that Motlow has a vested interest in ongoing educational improvement,” said Walter McCord, Dean of Career and Technical Programs at Motlow. “It is quality assurance from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) that says Motlow meets a strict and recognized set of service and operational standards.” Why This Matters Accreditation sets standards...

Candidates who wish to file for the upcoming May 3 primary have just over two weeks to do so. Candidates for the upcoming May 3, 2022 State and Coffee County Primary Elections began picking up petition papers on Dec. 20 at the Coffee County Election Commission. The deadline to have petitions returned is Thursday, Feb. 17 at noon with a withdrawal deadline of Feb. 24. Anyone wishing to vote in the May 3 primary must be registered by Monday, April 4. You can register by visiting the Coffee County Election Commission on McArthur St. Early voting will be April...

By Rosalyn Partin, H&R Block IRS is currently accepting returns for processing. As in previous years, IRS says most taxpayers will receive their refund within 21 days of IRS acceptance if the return is electronically filed with direct deposit of the refund. Due to the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, the IRS cannot issue refunds containing Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit before mid-February. The IRS expects most EITC/CTC related refunds for returns filed by February 15 to be available in taxpayer bank accounts or on debit cards by the first week of March, if they...

The Hillsboro Elementary Cadets, under the supervision of the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department SRO program, recently took part in a community outreach project to help the Coffee County animal shelter. The cadets led the school in collecting food and blankets over the past several weeks and delivered the items to the Coffee County Animal Shelter to help care for those...

Secretary of State Tre Hargett is warning Tennessee business owners about a scam that has recently resurfaced targeting businesses with a deceptive mailer from a company that goes by two names: Tennessee Certificate Service and TN Certificate of Existence Filing Company. “Our Division of Business and Charitable Organizations and I personally have heard of multiple complaints from business owners across Tennessee about these misleading mailers. We have seen scams like this before, with similar deceptive language that implies that businesses must have a Certificate of Existence to complete its formation or to fully operate in the state,” said Secretary Hargett. “This is not the case. Unfortunately, businesses...

Multiple area businesses and community leaders earned awards at last Thursday’s 46th annual Awards Gala hosted by the Manchester Chamber of Commerce. Among the award winners were: Tourism Partner Award – Common John Brewing Company The Other Award – Ryan and Rebecca French Wayne Bramblett Award winner – David Cleveland Roger Dotson Board Member of the Year – Brad Goodwin Ambassador of the Year – Heather Phillips Spotlight Award – Old Timers Day Tourism Achievement Award – Barbara Arp, Ryan French Small Business of the Year – Thunder Radio Business of the Year – Rogers Group Industry of the...