A Texas Man Is Behind Bars After Kingsport Police Say He Tried To Strike The Squad Car. 24 Year Old Jesse Lloyd Woods Is Charged With Aggravated Assault, Evading Arrest, Driving Under The Influence, And Driving On A Closed Road. He’s Accused Of Attempting To Strike A Patrol Officer With His Vehicle Near Tri Cities Crossing. Woods Was Taken To The Kingsport City Jail. He Will Appear In Court Soon.
About 2,000 acres of wilderness in upper East Tennessee are slated to become the Rocky Fort State Park. Gov. Bill Haslam and U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander announced the plans earlier this week. The total Rocky Fork tract is 10,000 acres, with 8,000 acres to be managed by the U.S. Forest Service. The property already is surrounded by national forest and contains a section of the Appalachian Trail. Rocky Fork has more than 16 miles of blue-ribbon trout streams and is a popular hunting area for black bear, turkey, deer and grouse. The overall project cost approximately $40 million, with Tennessee committing about $6 million.
The New Carter County Detention Center Has Passed It’s First Inspection. The Tennessee Corrections Institute Completed A Surprise Inspection Earlier This Month By State Jail Inspector And Facility Specialist William Kane. Sheriff Chris Mathes Said He Was Extremely Proud Of His Administration And Staff For All Of Their Hard Work And Dedication In Serving The Citizens Of The County.
A Johnson City Man Accused Of Killing His Girlfriend And Then Dumping Her Body Has Had His Case Bound Over To A Washington County Grand Jury. 31 Year Old Steven Bennett Is Charged With Second-Degree Murder And Abuse Of A Corpse In The September 29th Death Of Vonda Donaldson. He’s Accused Of Killing Her And Then Dumping Her Body Off The Butler Bridge In Carter County. A Judge Found There Was Enough Evidence To Bind The Case Over. Bennett Remains Jailed On A 100-Thousand Dollar Bond. He’s Scheduled To Appear In Criminal Court January 22nd.
Keep Kingpsort Beautiful And The City Of Kingsport Will Host A Tree Fund Fall Planting Ceremony On Friday. According To KKB Director Robin Cleary, The Event Honors Special Individuals In The Area. Since Its Origin, More Than 600 Trees Have Been Planted In Areas Within The Community. Cleary Said About 30 Trees Are Set To Be Planted During The Event This Time Around. The Ceremony Will Be Held At Noon On Friday At 651 Industry Drive Across The Street From The Waste Water Treatment Plant In Kingsport.
Johnson City Authorities Have Arrested A City Man In Connection With Recent Burglaries In The Area. 18 Year Old Matthew Dylan Norris Is Charged With Burglary, Theft Of An Auto Over 10-Thousand Dollars, Theft Of An Auto Over 1-Thousand Dollars, Theft Of Property Over 1-Thousand Dollars, And Theft Of Property Under 500 Dollars. He’s Currently Being Held In The Washington County Detention Center And Will Appear In General Sessions Court On Thursday. Johnson City Police Have Been Investigating A String Of Burglaries That Have Occurred At Area Churches And At The Legion Street Recreation Center In Johnson City.
Many Industry Analysts Are Predicting Gas Prices To Flucuate Very Little As The Result Of Hurricane Sandy’s Devastation. Windy Van Curen With Triple A Auto Club Says Storm Concerns Have Pressured Wholesale Gas Prices Somewhat Higher. Unlike Hurricane Isaac Earlier This Year, Hurricane Sandy Will Impact An Area That Is A Major Consumer Of Gas Rather Than A Major Producer.
A Former Kingpsort Pastor Has Pleaded Guilty To Sex-Related Charges In Sullivan County Circuit Court. 55 Year Old Anthony Adinolfi Entered An Alford, Or Best Interest Plea, To Two Counts Of Aggravated Statutory Rape, A Class A Misdemeanor. The Charges Stem From Two Alleged Incidents In Which He Solicited Statutory Rape Of A 16 Year Old Girl Via Text Messages. Adinolfi Was Ordered To Undergo A Sexual Offender Evaluation And Pay 33-Hundred Dollars In Sexual Offender Surcharges And Fines. A January 25th Sentencing Hearing Has Been Set. If Denied Probation Or Other Alternative Sentencing, Adinolfi Faces Up To 11 Months And 29 Days In Jail.
A Carter County Criminal Court judge has dismissed contempt convictions against a man who failed to appear in General Sessions Court after hearing from the judge who issued them. Sessions Judge John Walton was called to the witness stand this week to explain why he issued two criminal contempt convictions against Aaron Keever. Keever was jailed for contempt from Aug. 13 to 20 after he failed to appear on driving on suspended license charges. Keever’s attorney argued that the judge could not hold Keever in contempt without a hearing. Criminal Court Judge Robert Cupp agreed, saying that since the sessions judge could not know why Keever was not in the courtroom, he could not determine whether his failure to appear was willful or not.
Do You Know Someone In Need Of A Coat Or Blanket? There Will Be A Blanket Appalachia Event On Saturday. Anyone Who Needs A Coat Or Blanket Can Come To Lynn Garden Baptist Church At 301 May Avenue Behind Pals Between The Hours Between Eight A.M. And Noon. The Event Is Sponsored By Lynn Garden Baptist Church And Blanket Appalachia.
Area Law Enforcement Are Seeking Your Help In Finding Out Who Is Breaking Into Area Fast Food Restaurants And Stealing Money. The Incidents Have Occurred Between June And September, At Places Like Pizza Hut, Hardees And Subway In Kingsport, Johnson City And Mount Carmel. Police Say The Bandits Are Stealing The Safes From Some Of The Businesses, While At Others, The Safes Have Been Broken Into, And Money Taken. Most Of The Breakins Are Occurring Right After The Businesses Close. Anyone With Information Is Urged To Call Authorities.
Power Crews Continue To Work To Restore Electricity To Areas Of Southwest Virginia. Over 13-Thousand Homes Were Without Power Yesterday. Some Of Those Have Come Back Online But Others Still Remain In The Dark. In Russell County, Over 12-Hundred Residents Had No Electricity. Buchanan County Appeared To Have Suffered The Most Outages With Over Three Thousand Without Power. The American Red Cross And Local Departments Set Up Shelters In Buchanan, Russell And Dickenson Counties. Power Crews Are Hoping To Have Electricity Restored Soon.
A Summer Concert In Bristol Virginia Apparently Had A Positive Impact On The Local Economy. The Virginia Tourism Corporation Commissioned A Study Of The Mumford And Son’s Concert That Attracted Over 17-Thousand People. The Event Generated A Five Million Dollar Impact For Businesses In The City Of Bristol Virginia. The Figures Were Released At A News Conference This Week.
Time Is Running Out To Early Vote In Person In Tennessee. With 95 Counties Reporting, A Total Of 108,994 Voters Have Cast Their Ballots, Bringing The Total Turnout To Over 1.1 Million. Early Voting Continue Through Thursday, November 1st. The General Election Is Set For Tuesday, November 6th.
With Wintry Conditions In The Region, Triple A Auto Club Reminds Motorists That Driving During The Inclement Weather Conditions Can Be Treacherous. Stephanie Milani With Triple A Says To Check Your Vehicle’s Lights And Oil, Drive Below The Posted Speed Limit, Watch For Black Ice, And Break Early, Brake Slowly, And Never Slam On The Brakes.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol is once again stepping up safety measures for Halloween. THP Colonel Tracy Trott says in a news release that troopers will be conducting increased patrols and using other enforcement techniques to look for aggressive or impaired drivers because of the increased number of people that will be out. According to the highway patrol, last year in Tennessee no one was killed on Halloween. That compares to one person killed in one crash on Halloween during the same time period in 2010.
Tennessee saw the number of homeless public school students increase by 74 percent between 2007 and 2010. That number was well above the national average of 38 percent, but the true number may be even higher. The state comptroller’s report says the dramatic increases in Tennessee – from 6,565 in 2007 to 11,458 in 2010 – may be a consequence of job losses and the economy. They may also be the result of some school districts’ improved efforts to identify homeless students.
The Tennessee Department Of Safety Of Homeland Security Will Open Eight Of Its Driver Service Centers This Saturday To Give Citizens An Additional Opportunity To Obtain Free Photo Id’s In Order To Vote In The Upcoming State And Federal General Election. The Service Center In Greene County Will – Not – Be Open On Saturday. The Closest One Open Is The Washington County Driver Service Center On Lake Park Drive In Johnson City. Hours Will Be 8 Am To 4 Pm This Saturday. A New State Law Went Into Effect This Year Requiring Citizens To Present A Federal Or State-Issued Photo Id In Order To Vote.
Milligan College Leaders Are Considering An Idea To Acquire Emmanual Christian Seminary. Milligan President Bill Greer Said Emmanuel’s Board Along With President Michael Sweeney Approached Milligan About The Acquisition In Late June. Greer Was Recently Granted Approval To Fully Investigate The Financial, Academic, Administrative And Logistical Details Of Such An Arrangement. Before Any Changes Take Place, The Boards Of Both Schools Would Have To Approve Any Action On The Idea.
A Johnson City Man Accused In A Shooting Last Year At A Johnson City Night Club Has Pled Guilty To A Lesser Charge In Washington County Tennessee Criminal Court. 27 Year Old Moses Ballard Had Originally Been Charged With First-Degree Murder In The February 2011 Shooting Of 39 Year Old Michael Gaitor At Big G’s Nightclub. As Part Of A Plea Agreement, Ballard Will Serve Eight Years In Prison With Eligibility For Probation. His Sentencing Hearing Is Set For January 8th.