John Coffelt, Editor

With the passing year, this week we look back at some of the most notable stories of 2025 that range from the city’s retooling the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center to the near ouster of a sitting County Commissioner.

County begins ouster proceedings against commissioner

Following an executive session during the May 13 Coffee County Commission meeting, the legislative body voted to task the county attorney to begin the investigative process for the ouster of County Commissioner Joseph Hodge for official misconduct.

The commissioners and Coffee County Mayor Dennis Hunt recessed for an executive session with Coffee County Attorney Mark Williams towards the end of a nearly three-hour commission meeting. The executive session lasted nearly 40 minutes before the commission and Hunt returned. The press was not allowed in the executive session.

After hearing reports from the standing committees, County Commissioner Terry Hershman made the motion to begin the ouster proceedings. After receiving the second, Hunt clarified that the motion made was to direct the county attorney to begin ouster proceedings against Hodge. 

Before proceeding further, Williams advised the board that the body could not oust Hodge presently, but they could have him (the county attorney) investigate the matter further to see if there is evidence of alleged misconduct.

Hershman adjusted his motion to add the item to let the county attorney investigate the ouster procedure for Hodge. The motion passed with a show of hands with 13-yes votes.

DA says no crimes committed; Northcutt calls Hodge ouster plan political shenanigans 

 “I’m frankly disappointed and disgusted about how this has been handled and the implication of the misrepresentation of my position in trying to use my reputation and the authority of my office to further political shenanigans,” said District Attorney General Craig Northcott.

A petition filed June 20 in the Coffee County Chancery Court by Commissioner Joseph Michael Hodge alleges that two high ranking public officials falsely accused a county employee and Hodge of crimes in an attempt to force them to resign.

According to accusations in the petition, Coffee County Mayor Dennis Hunt and Sheriff Chad Partin met on separate occasions with former Administrative Assistant Connie Goethe and Hodge and accused them of illegally sharing documents from the mayor’s office.

Court grants stay on OSF bridge construction

Coffee County Chancery Court Judge William Lockhart granted the Old Stone Fort Bridge Preservation Group a temporary limited stay Nov. 6 on construction that could cause permanent damage to the Old Stone Fort State Archeological Park truss bridge.

The court set a truncated timeline for the hearing that was supposed to take place in mid-to-late December. Lockhart also set a $260,000 bond that the bridge group would need to provide to cover expenses related to further delays in construction.

The Coffee County Commission recently gave the group $36,000 to cover previous legal fees and the current suit challenge for review.

The Bridge Group is challenging an Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit (ARAP) arguing that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) violated the required procedure by failing to consider alternatives.

Group Attorney Jason Holleman, in his initial arguments, moved away from the assertions previously stated that the project would pollute the Duck River.

This appeal follows a state administrative hearing that upheld the state’s issuing of the ARAP permit. The judge rejected the OSF Bridge Preservation Group’s proposal for bridge refurbishment as an unfeasible alternative.

The order said the proposal does not meet the project’s purpose because it is not possible to meet current TDOT design standards by refurbishing the bridge, nor is it practical to expect a bridge that is over 100 years old to have a service life much further into the future, particularly given the weight of modern vehicular traffic compared to the weight of vehicles at the time the bridge was built.

The state’s attorney and TDEC officials declined to comment citing department policy and referred the Times to their official media spokesperson. Any official TDEC response will be added to this story.

Hodge affair details shown in audio tapes

Coffee County Mayor Dennis Hunt voluntarily emailed an unredacted audio file to the media on Thursday, June 26 of a closed-door Human Resources meeting during which an interrogation of former Administrative Assistant Connie Goethe was conducted by himself and Sheriff Chad Partin.

The meeting was called at about 9 a.m. on Sunday, April 13 in the HR office at Coffee County Administrative Plaza with HR director Heather Shelton also present to confront Goethe for what is being called a “conspiracy to remove documents” for Commissioner Joe Mike Hodge. As far as the Times can determine, no attorney was present, nor was Goethe placed under arrest or advised of her rights.

In the recording, Goethe called some of the evidence accusing her of a conspiracy “misconstrued.”  

Hunt questions Goethe about Hodge’s motives for seeking the box of documents and makes clear he knew the existence of the box and what was in it.

During a public opening of the box on June 27, Hunt said he only had looked into the box to add a note to Hodge that read, “Smile you’re on camera.”

Following Goethe’s resignation, Sheriff Partin began a mild interrogation of Goethe to address the “criminal side of things.”

“I’m back here for a different part, Miss Connie,” Partin said on the audio. “We’re back here, nobody knows what’s going on but us, and I don’t want to make no hoopla about it…my job on the criminal side of the house is to see if there is something that will lead further that I would report back to the District Attorney General.”

Partin tells Goethe that Northcott is informed of the situation, that Sheriff Office investigators have been working on this and instructs her to tell Hodge that he’s coming for them.  

“Joe Mike and yourself have basically formulized a criminal attempt crime,” Partin said.   “And that is why we’re approaching this this morning. The Attorney General knows about this, but we’re handling it in this situation… There is a guideline on how we handle records, it’s not that the mayor’s office has anything to hide, it’s the principle that this is basically theft on your part had it happened or conspiracy to commit theft. Then the big thing is…official misconduct of elected officials – it’s a class E felony.”   

On June 24, an email was sent by General Northcott to the members of the County Commission requesting to be added to an upcoming Commission Meeting agenda. In this email, Northcott confirms he was requested by Hunt, Partin and County Attorney Mark Williams to investigate the affair. He said also that his position was completely misrepresented. And he calls into question the motives of those involved. Northcott spoke to the Times when the story broke June 23. Neither Northcott nor the mayor’s office provided the Times with the email.

In an email from Hunt to Northcott also dated June 24, which was provided to media other than the Times, Hunt tells Northcott that the meeting did not take place and disputes Northcott’s statements to the media.    

In October, Commissioner Tim Brown made a motion, seconded by Todd Malone, to amend the agenda to add an executive session to discuss the status of ouster investigation against Hodge. The motion failed to receive a majority vote of commission members.

Coffee County Conference Center

Members of the Manchester Finance Committee drew a line in the sand at the May 8 meeting to recommend to the full Board of Mayor and Aldermen that the city take over the operation of the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center in the coming months.  

Alderman Thomas Crosslin said, “Business as usual, in my opinion, is off the table.” 

 Mayor Joey Hobbs said, “I think the conference center is an asset as a whole because there is no other space (like it) available. We can agree or disagree how it’s operated, but once you put your hands on it you can dig into the numbers and everything and have an honest conversation.”

Then in June, BOMA voted during the June 3 meeting to take over the operation of the Manchester Coffee County Conference Center through a one-year sub lease from the Manchester Public Building Authority.

The resolution returned to the floor following its failure due to lack of votes during a May 15 special call meeting.

Alderman Julie Anderson called the process muddy, suggesting the city should first dissolve the PBA if it intends to take over operations of the center.

Hobbs called this a “shortcut” and a “stopgap” to keep the center open until negotiations with the county could be made and a new contract formed.

“Our long-term goal is to get with the county, clean up the language so that the (PBA) is dissolved,” Hobbs said.

  This time the motion passed 5-1 with Anderson offering the no vote. On May 15, Parsley also voted no and James Threet abstained.

The Public Building Authority (PBA), a seven-member volunteer board selected by Manchester’s Mayor and Alderman, announced June 22 that each member submitted notice of their resignation.

The move comes prior to the PBA signing a lease accepting the city’s plan to take over operation of the conference center. The timetable for the transition is set to begin July 1.

Tullahoma skydiving plane crashes with 20 on board

A twin-engine propeller airplane crashed June 8 in Tullahoma near the Beechcraft Museum with 20 people on board. 

Three people on board the skydiving plane were air lifted from the scene, and four were treated at Vanderbilt Harton Hospital. 

Tullahoma Community Engagement Officer Lyle Russell sent the following statement:

“At approximately 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 8, a plane crash occurred at Tullahoma Regional Airport. There were no casualties. There are some minor injuries. The scene is being secured by local authorities while FAA officials are en route to continue the investigation.”

In a later update, Russell confirmed the total number of passengers aboard, including the crew, was 20.

Russell also confirmed the plane involved was a DeHaviland DH-6 Twin Otter skydiving plane.    

Engine failure appears to be the primary culprit in the crash, according to the National Transportation Safety Board preliminary investigative report.

Bonnaroo soaked by heavy rains

The Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival 2025 was canceled after its first day due to severe rainfall, causing widespread flooding, saturated grounds, and hazardous camping/egress conditions, leading organizers to prioritize safety and offer full refunds after initial pushback. The festival announced its return for June 11-14, 2026, following the difficult decision to shut down the 2025 event.

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.