Gas prices fell, on average, 68 cents in the month of July. As Tennessee heads into its seventh straight week of declining gas prices, the state gas price average is now less than a dollar more expensive than last year. The Tennessee Gas Price average is now $3.78 which is 68 cents less expensive than one month ago and 88 cents more than one year ago.   Gas prices in Coffee County have fallen below the state average for the first time since prices began declining in June. The average price in Coffee County is now $3.76, 2 cents below the state average. Still, gas is much less expensive in neighboring...

Well, it was raining on the first day of school Monday. So there wasn’t much of a sunrise to see at Coffee County Central High School’s Senior Sunrise event. But there was still plenty of fun to be had. For the second year in a row, a new tradition at CHS kicked off the school year – senior sunrise. Senior students began gathering inside Joe Frank Patch Memorial Gymnasium at 5:30 a.m. Monday to play games and socialize before the 2022-23 school year officially began. Weather forced the event indoors. Thunder Radio morning show was on hand to broadcast...

Final numbers are in for early voting in Coffee County – with 14.3 percent of registered voters having cast their ballots during the 14-day early voting period. According to Administrator of Elections Andy Farrar, 5,065 total votes were cast during early voting, with 304 voting on the final day of early voting Saturday. Of these voters, 2,263 were rural county voters, 1,795 were Tullahoma voters and 1,007 were Manchester voters. Statewide, the voter turnout for early voting has been down about 25 % versus the 2018 August election. If you did not vote early, you may vote at your...

Tennesseans will be able to purchase food and food ingredients without paying sales tax for the entire month of August. This year’s state budget allocates for the entire month to be exempt from state sales tax at the grocery store. The holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 1 and ends at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 31. During this period, food and food ingredients may be purchased tax free. Food and food ingredients purchased from a micro market or vending machine remain subject to sales tax. Food and food ingredients are defined as liquid, concentrated, solid, frozen, dried...

Both the Coffee County and Manchester City School Systems will officially return from summer break on Monday. This means the return of school zones and children walking to school. The Coffee County Sheriff’s Department urges motorists to please use caution, obey school zone lights and speeds, do not drive distracted inside school zones and remember to stop for school buses with an extended stop arm activated. For Coffee County Schools, Monday will be an abbreviated registration day from 8-10 a.m. There will be no school on Tuesday, and the first full day set for Wednesday, August 3. There will...

School employees on their yearly summer break were one of the factors that impacted the June 2022 county unemployment rates, according to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (TDLWD). The latest statistics showed, as they typically do in June, jobless numbers increased in each of the state’s 95 counties. Statewide, unemployment remained unchanged between May and June at 3.3%. The state rate is seasonally adjusted to consider seasonal impacts, like school breaks, while county unemployment data is not adjusted. In Coffee County, unemployment rate jumped to 4.2 percent in June compared to 3.4 percent in May. But this year’s...

The Teen Actors Guild brings the high-flying musical comedy Catch Me If You Can to the stage at the Manchester Arts Center beginning August 5.  Based on the hit Leonardo DiCaprio – Tom Hanks movie and the incredible true story, it’s all about chasing your dreams… and not getting caught. Seeking fame and fortune, precocious teenager Frank Abagnale, Jr., played by Caleb Heath, runs away from home with nothing more than boyish charm, a big imagination, and millions of dollars in forged checks, successfully posing as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer – living the high life until his lies...

Friday is the final full day of early voting that remains for the upcoming Aug. 4 election in Coffee County, with a half day available for voters to head to the polls on Saturday, July 30. An additional 392 voters went to the polls on Wednesday, July 27, bringing the total of early votes cast to 3,837. Of those, 1,706 are rural county voters, 1,354 are Tullahoma voters and 777 are from Manchester. This makes about 10.84 percent of registered voters who have voted early. July 18 has been the heaviest day of early voting so far, with 535...