Gov. Bill Haslam says he is making the case for Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp. to build a new assembly plant in Tennessee. But the Republican governor says Tennessee is far from alone in its efforts to land the $1.6 billion facility that could create up to 4,000 jobs. Mazda and Toyota announced last week that the joint facility will have an annual production capacity of 300,000 vehicles, producing the Toyota Corolla sedan and a new Mazda crossover. Tennessee is home to General Motors, Nissan and Volkswagen...

Dr. Kim-Sue Tudor has been selected to lead the newly approved medical laboratory technology (MLT) program at Motlow State Community College, according to Pat Hendrix, dean of allied health. The goal of the Smyrna campus-based program is to obtain state approval and to be positioned to attain national accreditation by the summer of 2018, when MLT classes are scheduled to begin. Tudor comes to Motlow State with the blended background needed to establish as well as to grow a first-class, competitive, and successful MLT program. She has worked on staff at John Hopkins University and Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland...

On August 3, 2017 Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Investigator James Sherrill received a call from Sheriff Patrick Ray with DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department who advised that he may have a suspect in a trailer theft that occurred on the Woodbury Hwy on April 6, 2017. Colton Young was being held in the White County Jail for multiple trailer thefts. Sherrill and Investigator Kerry Farrar went to speak to Young and he allegedly admitted to multiple trailer thefts and the theft of some wheels from Ragsdale and Bushy Branch Road in Coffee County. Young said he took the trailer to...

Students and parents and all motorists have until January to adjust to a new state law that makes talking on a cell phone – with the device in hand – illegal in an active school zone. Not only texting or reading texts, but also talking on a phone in your hand. The Tennessean reports State Sen. Jim Tracy, who sponsored the legislation with state Rep. John Holtsclaw, said constituents and law enforcement have said “they don’t think that anybody ought to be using a handheld cell phone during an active school zone.” The law states that it’s an offense,...

Tennessee skews older than the nation overall, and overall, the state’s disability rates are higher in rural communities, according to Census data analyzed by the nonpartisan think tank ThinkTennessee. Shanna Hughey, the group’s president, says she hopes ThinkTennessee’s study of the population data gives state lawmakers access to information that helps them help their constituents. “So knowing who Tennesseans are, and who will be in decades to come, is a really important part of that,” she states. “We’re hoping this information honestly inspires legislators from urban and rural areas to work together on issues that will affect them both.”...

On Thursday night (August 3rd 2017) Joshua Coty Gilley was stopped for a traffic violation on Lumley Stand Road. A check of his driving privilege revealed the subject was revoked / suspended 5th offense. While speaking with Gilley age 37, whose address is listed as homeless. Coffee County Deputy Blake Simmons noted a smell of marijuana coming from the car, the deputy inquired if Gilley had anything in the vehicle and the man allegedly told Simmons that he had a small amount of marijuana in the car. The arrest warrant indicates the Gilley gave consent to search and approximately...

A Tullahoma man was arrested Aug. 2 on a charge of theft after he allegedly took $84,100 for construction work that he did not perform. Elmer Ray Church, 46, of East Grundy Street was arrested on the charges. According to a police report by Officer Rocky Ruehling, on Jan. 23 Robert Moyer of Lake Circle Drive hired Church to do work on his house. The report states that Church told Moyer that the work would cost $55,000 and would be completed in 45 days. Moyer told the officer that only 25 percent of the work has been completed to...