A bill seeking to reduce the penalty for possessing small amounts of marijuana in Tennessee has been extinguished in a state Senate committee. The Judiciary Committee voted 6-3 on Tuesday against the measure sponsored by Sen. Jeff Yarbro. The bill would have made possession of less than one-eighth of an ounce of marijuana a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no more than $50. Pot possession is currently a Class A misdemeanor that can be punished with up to nearly a year in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. The legislation was filed by Yarbro...

Tullahoma Police are investigating the robbery of two men on Saturday March 4. Travis Rogers’ vehicle broke down while he was driving home. He left it in the parking lot of the Westwood Church of Christ on West Lincoln Street. Rogers was being followed by Travis Patterson who picked up the man and they went to Rogers’ Cobb Hollow Road home to retrieve a jump box. When they returned and began to try and start the car, an unknown male wearing a camouflage jacket and blue jeans with a black athletic shirt around his face approached them. The man...

The Shelbyville Police Department responded to a report of shots fired Sunday morning at approximately 2:20am. Responding officers discovered multiple rounds of various caliber ammunition within the event venue and in the parking lot. The venue was rented to celebrate the 30th birthday of Dequan Twilley, a former Shelbyville and ETSU basketball player. Investigators have been told approximately 30 people were present when an altercation ensued and an attempt to disarm Corey Carlos Garrett led to Garrett discharging a firearm into the ceiling. During the struggle to disarm Garrett a party attender fired toward Garrett striking Garrett in the...

The Trump administration’s $54 billion proposed hike in military spending could come at a cost to states such as Tennessee, according to a budget research group. The National Priorities Project notes the United States already spends more on defense than the next seven largest military budgets in the world combined. Money that now goes to domestic spending and foreign aid would pay for the increased military budget. And Lindsay Koshgarian, the National Priorities Project’s research director, points out states would be huge losers if those cuts take place. “States get, on average, about 30 percent of their budgets from...

In response to a request from the Farm Service Agency’s (FSA) acting State Executive Director in Tennessee, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 66 counties in Tennessee as primary natural disaster areas due to losses and damages caused by a recent drought. Those counties include: Coffee, Franklin, Moore, Bedford, Warren, Grundy and Cannon. Counties listed were designated natural disaster areas, making all qualified farm operators in the designated areas eligible for FSA’s emergency (EM) loans, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of the declaration (Feb 23, 2017) to...

On Sunday, a man was observed on video and by Tullahoma Walmart personnel allegedly huffing a can of car air freshener. Walmart notified Tullahoma police and kept watch of the subject. The man, who according to the arrest warrant admitted to smoking marijuana, appeared to be under the influence of drugs/inhalants, as his speech was very slurred, his pupils were very restricted and he was extremely unsteady on his feet. The man identified as Joshua Dane Jackson age 28 of Lee Lane, Huntland was observed on video and by personnel allegedly taking two cans of lighter fluid, a can...

On Thursday March 2, 2017 Franklin County Sheriff’s Office personnel executed a search warrant at 1920 Oak Grove Rd Decherd, TN. The search resulted in law enforcement discovering components consistent with the production of methamphetamine, equipment and materials used in producing marijuana and various stolen items were recovered as well. Authorities also anticipate charges of animal cruelty being presented to a Franklin County grand jury as well as charges for the alleged offenses. No names were given by...