The Tennessee Emergency Management Agency is apologizing for Thursday’s statewide Emergency Alert System and Wireless Emergency Alerts test. Seems hundreds of folks received alerts on their mobile devices but the message that it was ONLY A TEST was not received. TEMA Director Patrick Sheehan said in a statement that the purpose of the test was to assess the readiness and effectiveness of the system in an effort to save lives and protect property. He apologized for upsetting people and said that TEMA will not be conducting any public tests of the Wireless Emergency Alerts system in the foreseeable...

According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Matthew Waylon Oakley, age 21 of Manchester was killed in a motorcycle accident Thursday morning. The man crashed as he was traveling south bound on State Highway 269 near Normandy in Bedford County. Trooper Jackie Smith’s report says that Oakley’s Honda motorcycle struck a road sign and slid down the embankment where it struck a tree, with the Manchester man being found about 15 feet...

FedEx has announced plans to build a $190 million distribution center in Murfreesboro. The Daily News Journal reports that the Memphis-based shipping company will add the equivalent of 200 full-time positions to work at the 1-million-square-foot facility. About 40 of the new positions will pay an average of $53,500 per year, while the remaining jobs will pay an average of $24,000 annually. Brian Hercules, the vice president for economic development at the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, says that there are hundreds of additional contract jobs like long-haul drivers that will also gain work through the facility. Construction is...

The number of children receiving dental care through the state’s TennCare program is on the rise. The care provided for Medicaid-eligible children has increased by 3 percent since the new company managing the care, DentaQuest, won the contract. According to federal figures, more than 925,000 children are now covered through TennCare or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). TennCare spokeswoman Sarah Tanksley says the success is largely coming from community outreach efforts. “They have done some community events, just really working with our members and establishing that relationship,” she explains, “creating dental homes where our members are assigned to...

Secretary of State Tre Hargett is urging Tennesseans to use #GoVoteTN on social media as a way to encourage others to register to vote. During the month of September, which is National Voter Registration Month, people should have someone take a picture of them holding an “I’m registered to vote. Are you?” sign, then post it using the hashtag #GoVoteTN. A flurry of posts is expected on Tuesday, September 27 to celebrate National Voter Registration Day. #GoVoteTN is consistently one of the most successful state-led voter registration social media campaigns in the country. “Tennesseans will be heading to the polls...

Late last week Coffee County Sheriff’s Department Investigator James Sherrill and Deputy Brandon Reed received information about a possible methamphetamine cook going on at Ashley Drive in Lakewood Park. While standing in the doorway of the camper home the investigator and deputy said they could smell a possible meth lab being “gassed off.” After receiving permission to search the camper home, Deputy Reed says in his report that he saw in plain view, needles and straws used to allegedly “snort pills and shoot up narcotics.” One subject asked for them to stop searching after Deputy Reed said he saw...