This past year has been riddled with tragedy and misfortune – with the COVID-19 pandemic halting local schools, sports and businesses in the spring to other unfortunate news events.
While we do try and find the positives – like the many great deeds over the holidays by those who worked to provide for the less fortunate and Manchester citizens going the extra mile to support local businesses in a time of downright crisis – this year’s top area stories have an overwhelmingly negative feel to them.
Thunder Radio has pulled our website analytics and subtracted out most all COVID-19 related stories to provide you with the top 3 local stories of 2020. These stories are decided by those who visit our website, ranked in order of most viewed.
1 – Dennis Weaver, longtime voice of Coffee County athletics, passes away. In July, Coffee County athletics lost its voice with the sudden passing of longtime play-by-play man Dennis Weaver. Beloved by all coaches and athletes he came across, Weave’s absence is palpable, even today. That likely won’t change soon. If you are looking for a positive spin, you can look at the emergence of the Dream for Weave Foundation. This foundation, in its infancy, is now open for business and accepting donations with a key mission to help athletes across Manchester. See the original coverage of Weave’s passing by clicking here.
Learn more about the Dream for Weave Foundation here.
2 – September shooter: 3 dead, others injured in carjacking and subsequent manhunt in Manchester.
Who could forget the terror that reigned on the Coffee County area on Sept. 13, 2020. A male shot and killed another inside of a vehicle while traveling on Interstate-24 through Coffee County. He subsequently carjacked multiple vehicles while eluding law enforcement in the Cannon, Warren, Coffee and Marion County areas. One hostage was later killed and the criminal committed suicide after crashing during a pursuit. It was without a doubt one of the wildest, most tragic stories to take place in the Manchester area. See some of Thunder Radio’s original coverage here:
3. Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman passes away. There have not been a shortage of COVID-19 victims in Coffee County over the course of this year. But the passing of longtime Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman was particularly devastating for the community. Norman served many years as both mayor and an alderman. His death drew attention from around the country. See our original story following his death here:
Next two most viewed stories:
*1 killed in 2 vehicle crash on Highway 55 in Manchester
*Franklin County man allegedly shoots wife, kids
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