Since 2002, Manchester and Coffee County have hosted one of the most popular live music events in the country – the annual Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. Held on a 700 acre farm, the festival is a four-day, multi-stage event that showcases a diverse assortment of musical styles and performers. Thousands of people from all over the country make the yearly trip to attend the festival, and Manchester becomes their temporary home for several days in June. As in years past, over 80,000 music lovers are expected to attend this year’s festival, which kicks off Thursday night, June 9,...

Sunday morning (June 5) around 3 a.m. two people were traveling eastbound on I-24 in Coffee County when the vehicle they were in left the interstate crossing the westbound lanes traveling approximately 1/4 mile through a field before crashing into a home on Joe Hickerson Road. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, driver Carmen Reyes age 35 was operating a 2003 Acura and apparently fell asleep and ran into the house. A female was asleep inside the home and suffered minor...

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a theft and aggravated burglary that occurred at 990 Old Mansford Rd. Winchester, Tn. A preliminary investigation revealed that between May 22nd and May 28th person(s) unknown gained access to the residence and removed several items from the home and property. One major item taken was a 2007 Seadoo 200 Speedster. The value of the property stolen is estimated at $29,000. Anyone having any information regarding this matter is asked to contact Investigator Robert Tipps at the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office...

The director of the state health department’s vector borne diseases program gave area officials an update on mosquito borne disease. He advised local city and county officials at a recent event in Tullahoma to take precautions against mosquito borne diseases such as Zika and other viruses. He noted that residents should clear their homes and businesses of anything holding standing water like tires, buckets, planters, toys, etc., this will decrease the probability of mosquito infestations. Daylight hours are the most dangerous due to the mosquitoes harboring Zika and other vector-borne diseases biting most often before dark. Although, nighttime bites...

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, rolls in 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....

Mothers Against Drunk Driving or MADD issued a release stating the organization is in danger of losing a key piece of funding if it fails to maintain 500 license plates in circulation by June 30. The organization says their license plates will lose over $15,000 in annual funding if they fall short of the 500 plate minimum by the end of the month. Currently, MADD is 70 plates short of what needs to be purchased. The plates cost $35 for drivers with $30.75 going towards the organization’s efforts in fighting impaired driving. MADD license plates went into production in...

According to the Coffee County Sheriff’s Department, 19 year-old Donny Everett a freshman baseball pitcher for Vanderbilt University was at Normandy Lake with two teammates and two other people fishing on Thursday afternoon. Witnesses told authorities Everett was swimming when he started asking for help. They said they thought Everett was “just joking around” because he was smiling and did not seem to be struggling. A friend went in and pulled Everett several feet along. The friend said he is not a good swimmer and was struggling to stay afloat when he let Everett go and swam back to...

On May 29 someone entered a storage building at Stone Fort Storage on Hendrixson Drive in Manchester and stole a Honda 150 dirt bike along with several accessory items, a gas leaf blower and a century safe with contents. On the following day, the male subject reentered the same space and stole a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Items were valued at several thousand dollars. On June 2 Manchester Police say Todd Shannon Marshall age 46 of Hickerson Rd Manchester admitted and signed a statement that he took the items. He was arrested Manchester Officer Brandon Tomberlin and charged with theft...