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As part of her annual 95 county tour, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., made a stop in Manchester to talk with city and county leadership with what’s been happening in the county, as well as what’s happening in Washington, D.C.

Blackburn met with various officials representing Manchester, Tullahoma, Coffee County and Arnold Air Force Base at the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center on the morning of Friday, April 26, where she spent an hour talking with the leadership about the status of the county and providing updates with what she’s been doing in the Senate.

Blackburn said she and her team travel to every county each year, and they always go in with the invitation of the mayors in the county they visit. She praised the county officials for pulling the group together which included mayors, judges, representatives of Arnold, county commissioners and so on.

“We do this to address the needs and the issues in the county and figure out how to best support,” Blackburn said. “Sometimes it may be schools, sometimes it may be infrastructure, but here looking at how federal contracting effects (the area), that is something that does have an impact.”

She added that the county is fortunate to have so many community leaders and citizens are engaged at the local level and working together because they love where they live.

“Citizens that are engaged on the local level, that are working together and that love the county want to make certain that the growth that is coming this way is going to benefit the long-term health of the county and citizens,” she said.

Blackburn and county officials discussed various topics, ranging fiscal and growth updates of the cities and county, the rise in fentanyl overdose, the base being rewarded the Test Operations and Sustainment (TOS) II contract, valued at more than $3.7 billion, local economic development projects like the I-24 Industrial Rail Complex megasite.

Another topic of discussion was the process of federal contracting with local businesses, particularly involving Tullahoma business Micro Craft. In February, Micro Craft had sent employees homes and had reportedly closed permanently. The News reached out to officials with the city, AEDC and Micro Craft for clarification at the time, and Executive Director of the Tullahoma Area Economic Development Corporation Winston Brooks said while he did receive information that employees were sent home, he had not confirmed that Micro Craft was closing. AEDC officials said in a statement there were no current contracts with Micro Craft and had no knowledge of Micro Craft’s business developments. The News received no response from Micro Craft representatives after several attempts.

Blackburn said her team has been keeping up with the situation as it allows them to know where the pressure points are so they know best how to help.

“While there is nothing we can do specially about a private company issue, what it does allow us to realize is the problems with that federal contracting process and how that ends up effecting communities,” Blackburn said.

Blackburn also took a moment to give her condolences to county officials in regards to the sudden passing of Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny, who was a long-time friend of the senator.

“I came out here to help him when he first ran for the State House,” Blackburn said. “I was always impressed with how he wanted to come back to Coffee County. Coffee County was first and foremost for him, and when the opportunity to run and (to) serve as mayor, for Judd that was a dream job and he was very devoted to the community.”

After meeting with the local leadership, Blackburn said it helps her and her field team as they will be following up with leadership and for her as the Arnold Community Council would be visiting D.C. the following week to discuss more about the needs for the base.

“There’s a partnership on this,” she said. “Congressmen DeJarlais and I work on these issues all the time because much of this funding comes through the House and Senate Arms Services. We work with them, they tell us what they need, we submit that for the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) and then we shepherd it through that process. That means Congressmen DeJarlais and I share that responsibility. I keep it in the bill in the Senate and he keeps it in the bill in the House.”