Latest Headlines
Report on Tennessee Accidental Gunshot Deaths was Wrong
A publicized report that Tennessee had 105 accidental gunshot deaths during 2014-more than any state in the nation-was wrong. There were actually just five such fatalities, according to the state Department of Health. The Safe Tennessee Project initially reported the 105 fatalities earlier this month, saying the surprisingly high figure had been verified at the time by both the federal Center for Disease Control and the Department of...
Lady Raider Golf Wins 4th Consecutive District Championship
Four in a row! For the 4th consecutive year, the Coffee County Central High School Lady Raider golf team captured the District 8AAA crown as they finished with 3 of the top 4 individual scores to outdistance their competitors by 36 strokes. The win advances them to Thursday’s Region 4AAA tournament in Murfreesboro. The Red Raiders finished in 2nd place behind Tullahoma which was still good enough to qualify them for Thursday’s Region tournament as well. Ashley Gilliam fired a 1 over par score of 72 on the Bear Trace Course at Tims Ford to tie for the overall...
Man claiming to be a Clown Threatening Children Arrested
On Friday night the Coffee County Communications Center notified officers that a call had come in with the caller identifying himself as the clown who has been threatening children. According to the arrest warrant, the subject became very lewd with the dispatcher talking sexually with her and stating he was going to harm children. He also allegedly stated that he was going to kidnap children and her, cut their ears off and other lewd acts. The call came through the non-emergency line and was not traceable. The caller allegedly called back a second time a short time later and...
Fatal Crash in Franklin County on Sunday
On Sunday morning around 1:20am there was a one vehicle crash in Franklin County on the Old Alto Hwy at the intersection of Greenhaw Rd. According to a report by Tennessee Highway Patrolman Tommy Lyles, a 2010 Mercury MPR driven by Gary L Jones age 36 of Winchester was traveling east on the highway when the driver apparently lost control and over corrected. The vehicle exited the right side of the roadway, traveled through a ditch, and struck a utility pole. Jones died in the crash and passenger Amy E Campbell age 38 of Winchester was injured. No other information...
Franklin County Authorities Searching for Wanted Man
Authorities are attempting to locate Joseph Luther Garner, 219 Bethpage Road, Estill Springs, TN. Garner is wanted for Violation of Federal Probation in connection with Methamphetamine charges. Anyone having any information that could lead to the apprehension of Garner is asked to contact Investigation George Dyer of the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office at 931-308-9420, 931-962-0123 or Crime Stoppers at...
Tennessee Middle School Social Studies standards involving Islam might be dropped
School officials have dropped most of the Tennessee middle school social studies standards involving Islam as part of newly proposed standards. The Kingsport Times-News reports that an entire section on Islam currently taught to seventh-graders has been removed from the state Board of Education’s draft, which went online for public review Sept. 15. Most of the sections involving Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions have remained in the draft in some form. Public comment is open through Oct. 28. A Standards Recommendation Committee will make the ultimate recommendation for new social studies standards to the board in early...
Baiting program begins in Tennessee
An annual baiting program to help prevent rabies in raccoons began on Monday in Tennessee. The Tennessee Department of Health is working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture on the project. Oral rabies vaccine for wild raccoons will be distributed along Tennessee’s borders with Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. Vaccine packets coated with fishmeal will be distributed in a 20-county area, including portions of Bradley, Carter, Cocke, Franklin, Greene, Grundy, Hamblen, Hamilton, Hawkins, Lincoln, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Monroe, Moore, Polk, Sequatchie, Sullivan, Unicoi and Washington counties. The bait will be distributed by airplane and helicopter. The products are...
Thanks for a Great Day of Fishing
A big thank you from Coffee County Sheriff Steve Graves to all of you who participated in the 18th Annual Fishing Tournament on Saturday to benefit the needy children of Coffee County at Christmas. The event sponsored by the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department was held at Normandy Lake, Barton Springs Boat Ramp and had a huge turnout. Graves said, “This was the best turnout in our tournament’s history.” Plans are already underway for the fishing tournament in...
