Bradley Newton Weir who is the former head baseball coach at Coffee County High School will return to the county for a court appearance next month. The 45 year-old Weir is accused of having sex with a student. The discussion about his case will take place on Aug. 10. He was indicted by the Coffee County grand jury on one count of statutory rape by an authority figure, one count of aggravated rape, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, seven counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and six counts of sexual exploitation of a...

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency participated in the eighth annual Operation Dry Water weekend which has been held the weekend prior to the July 4 holiday since its inception. Operation Dry Water is a national weekend of Boating Under the Influence (BUI) awareness and enforcement campaign directed toward reducing alcohol and drug-related accidents and fatalities. It is held at this time to give BUI enforcement high visibility during the peak boating season. Reports from the TWRA’s four regions indicated 10 boating BUI arrests across the state, the same number as recorded in 2015 during the weekend. TWRA boating officers...

Tennessee drivers can no longer cruise in the fast lane. The state’s new “slow poke law” took effect Friday and officers are enforcing it. Tennessee Highway Patrol says the law could help ease traffic backups and improve safety. The law prohibits the operation of vehicles in a passing lane on interstates or multi lane highways except when passing. If you’re caught, it’s a misdemeanor and a $50 fine. There are exceptions to the slow poke law. The slow poke law will not apply if inclement weather or an official traffic control device makes it necessary to drive in the...

Coffee County FBLA represented Coffee County High School with 24 members attending the National Leadership Conference recently in Atlanta, Georgia. Hayden Proffitt placed 2nd in the nation in the Business Financial Plan event, and Andy Dong placed 10th in the nation for his preparation of the Local Chapter Annual Business Report. The chapter was recognized at the Southern Region meeting for achieving the following awards: Outstanding Local Chapter, Gold Seal Award of Merit, Chapter Challenge, Super Sweeps, Nonstop November, and Action Awareness.  The following eight members became Microsoft Office certified in either Word or PowerPoint:  Jaia Barrett, Tyler Reynolds,...

The Coffee County Commission has voted to lower the speed limit on a portion of Wattendorf Highway from 55 mph to 35 mph. The commission’s action followed a recommendation by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The speed limit will be reduced for a 0.2 mile from north of the Volunteer Parkway intersection to just north of the I-24 interstate ramp. According to TDOT, the reduction of the speed limit is in the best interest of Coffee County residents. Not only will it protect locals but it will also protect drivers passing through the area crossing the highway near the...

It took firefighters several hours to put out a house fire in Winchester on Monday. The fire on Windtrace Road started around 1:30 a.m. and rekindled later in the day, so firefighters were called back out. Firefighters found several bunnies and rabbits trapped inside the home. They rescued four of them, but one of them was having trouble breathing and did not survive. The 4th District Fire Department, the Winchester Fire Department, the Decherd Fire Department, the Cowan Fire Department, the Belvidere Fire Department and the Broadview Fire Department all assisted with the...