“Fair Day” is this Friday, September 22. The Coffee County DARE program is honored to be sponsoring the “Youth Field Day” events for its 16th year. Between 300-400 students will be participating in sack races, 3 legged races, basketball and football throw, a dash and relay race, tug-a-war (boys vs girls) and it is finished up with a water balloon throw. All events are open to boys and girls ages 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12 year old. Area students will have a great time in all their favorite type activities. In addition to the cash prizes for the top three...

2017 Fairest of the Fair: Emma Catelyn Millaway, daughter of Kyle and Callie Millaway 1st runner up- Maggie Blair Partin, daughter of Chad and Leann Partin 2nd runner up- Madison Brooke Vaughn, daughter of Jack and Stacie Vaughn 3rd runner up- Heather Cunningham, daughter of Maria Barnett and Eric Davidson 4th runner up- Lindsey Dickson, daughter of Scott and Patty Dickson 2017 Miss Teen Coffee County- Ryan Green, daughter of Greg and Mary Green 1st runner up- Claire Eyvonne Bryant, daughter of Jamie and Kate Bryant 2nd runner up-Trinity Nicole Taylor, daughter of Cathy and Jeremy Taylor 3rd runner...

There will be a special meeting for parents of Westwood Middle School students on Wednesday afternoon at 5 p.m. This meeting is being conducted because of the gun that was found on a student at the school last Thursday, September 14, 2017. Westwood Middle School is located at 505 Taylor St in...

Gov. Bill Haslam says Tennessee has set a new high mark for its high school graduation rate. A news release from the governor’s office says the 2016-17 graduation rate of 89.1 percent has set a record. The rates increased in about 56 percent of districts with high schools. The release says the rate is up by more than half a percentage point since last year, and overall it has increased 3.6 percentage points since the 2010-11 school year. The administration says 13 districts increased their graduation rates by 5 percentage points or more. Lake County experienced the biggest improvement...

Coffee County plans to appeal a district court ruling in a lawsuit that, if settled now, could cost county taxpayers nearly $600,000. Of that amount, $490,000 would be paid to plaintiff and former county employee Melinda Keeling, with $79,000 in attorney fees going to Jerry Gonzalez, who represents Keeling. Keeling, an employee of the Coffee County Department of Codes and Safety from 2006 to 2010, filed a claim under the Tennessee Public Employee Political Freedom Act (PEPFA) following her dismissal. Keeling was fired from the county’s codes department on May 27, 2010. At that time, Glenn Darden was the...

Gov. Bill Haslam is reinstating food stamp work requirements for most Tennessee counties starting Feb. 1. Haslam said Monday that Tennessee will re-establish federal work requirements in 70 counties for able-bodied adults without dependents who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. That requirement was waived in 2008 amid recession. It won’t be reinstated for 16 economically distressed counties. Currently, the work requirement is in place in nine counties, including seven in the Nashville area. Those receiving SNAP benefits in Coffee County and are able-bodied adults without dependents will have to meet the requirements to continue getting assistance. The only...

On Thursday afternoon, a student at Manchester’s Westwood Middle School (WMS) reported that another student was in possession of a handgun. http://www.thunder1320.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Lee-Wilkerson-1.mp3 School administrators immediately investigated and discovered an unloaded handgun in the possession of a student. Administrators immediately contacted the Manchester Police Department who confiscated the weapon and began an investigation. Manchester Police took the unnamed student into custody and are actively investigating the incident to determine the charges. Investigator Jackie Matheny stated that when officers arrived at the school, officials had the situation under control. He added that the gun belonged to a family member and by...