A Tullahoma woman has been arrested after she was indicted by the Franklin County Grand Jury. Kimberly Renee Austin, 34, of Overlook Circle, Tullahoma was charged with theft of property between $1,000 and $10,000, fraudulent use of a credit card and theft of property of $500 to $1,000. She was released from the Franklin County Jail on a $15,000 bond. Austin is accused of taking some $8,000 from the North Lake Elementary PTO, as well as taking money from Center Stage Dance Company. According to Franklin County Sheriff’s Investigator Robert Tipps, Austin served as treasurer for the school PTO...

Coffee County has been awarded federal funds through the Department of Homeland Security for the local Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program. Coffee County’s $23,835 award is to be used specifically to supplement and expand emergency food and shelter programs. The award amount is based on the county’s total number of unemployed as compared to the total number of unemployed in all qualifying jurisdictions. According the board officials, a local board made up of representatives from county and city municipalities, United Way, and helping agencies will determine how the funds are to be distributed among the emergency food...

The register of deeds in Franklin County says the county finance committee ignored multiple requests for staff salary increases, undermining her ability to run the county office with competent employees. The Chattanooga Times Free Press reports that Lydia Curtis Johnson filed a Chancery Court petition July 7, asking the court for an order authorizing increased salaries for four positions. The four positions are administrative supervisor II, administrative supervisor I, and two administrative clerks. Johnson says the finance committee and county mayor violated state law, under which Johnson can set the salaries of her office. County Mayor Richard Stewart says...

The state legislature has changed the date for TENNESSEE’S SALE TAX FREE WEEKEND, but the value remains the same. Freedom from sales tax on certain items begins at midnight Friday, July 29th and continues until midnight Sunday, July 31st. The great news is that the benefits remain the same. No sales tax on clothing, school and art supplies costing $100 or less per item; and no tax on computers that cost $1,500 or less. And if you’re trying to figure out when this major sales weekend began, it was back in 2007–when our economy had many challenges. It accomplished...

The Tennessee Education Lottery contributed $394 million to education programs for the fiscal year ending June 30, a record high contribution that is $46 million more than last year’s record. According to a news release, the lottery had over $1.6 billion in total sales last fiscal year, also a record. The lottery set monthly total sales records in 11 of the 12 months of fiscal year 2016 and set quarterly records for all four quarters. Instant game sales brought in a record $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2016. Drawing-style game sales set a record of nearly $323 million. That...

At the start of this school year, the students at Deerfield Elementary will be served breakfast in the classroom. Students wanting breakfast will receive it as they enter the classroom and eat at their desk. If the child is currently a paying student, the cost will continue to be $1.25 or $ .30 for a reduced meal price. There are many benefits to this program. First, students that arrive at school on a later bus will still have time to eat their breakfast. Also, students eat with their classmates and enjoy a quite environment while announcements are made. Hopefully,...

Education officials say changes in standardized testing in Tennessee are expected to reduce testing time for students and teachers by about 30 percent. The Tennessean reports the state has cut the first part of spring standardized testing to create only one assessment window at the end of the school year. The changes stem from the Tennessee Department of Education’s two-year, $60 million contract with Minnesota-based Questar Assessment, which was finalized last week. The changes mean that in grades 3-8, students will spend about three-and-a-half hours less time on state-mandated standardized testing each year. High school students will also see...