FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

The United States Postal Service Is Working To Open A New Location Within Kingsport. The Company Is Seeking Interest From Retailers In Locating A Contract Postal Unit At Their Business. This Would Be A 200 Square Foot Outlet Located Within The Business Offering Postal Products And Services To Customers. The Postal Service Will Pick Up The Letters And Packages Daily From The Site And Provide Retailers With The Counters, Training, Advertising And Signage. The Additional Location Is Designed To Work In Conjunction With The Main Post Office Located On Eastman Road.

A Trial Date Has Been Set For A Former Sullivan County Teacher Accused Of Having Child Pornography. 48 Year Old Randall Mccoy, Who Taught At Vance Middle School, Is Accused Of Storing Almost 600 Images Of Child Pornography On His Home Computers. He’s Charged With One Count Of Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor After Police Seized The Computers From His Home On Eastwood Avenue In Kingsport On June 30th, 2010. Mccoy Is Set To Go On Trial On The Charges On May 20th, 2013 In Sullivan County Circuit Court.

Time Is Running Out To Apply For Assistance If You Were A Victim Of Flooding On August 5th And 6th Flooding In Washington, Carter, Greene, Or Unicoi County. So Far, Over One Million Dollars In Funding From The Small Business Administration Is Coming To Those Who Sustained Damage Due To The Flooding, Particularly In The Dry Creek Road Area. Sba Assistance Is Available In The Form Of Low-Interest Loans That Pay For Damages Not Covered By Insurance. To Apply For A Loan, You Can Call 1-800-659-2955 Or Log Onto Www.Sba.Gov. The Deadline To Apply For Help Is October 15th.

The Scott County Board Of Supervisors Voted Recently To Submit An Application For A New Virginia Enterprise Zone After Learning The County’s Existing Area Would Expire At The End Of This Year. If Approved, Two Separate Enterprise Zones Would Be Established, One In Duffield And Another Along A Small Stretch Of U.S. Route 23 That Runs From The Tennessee State Line In Weber City To The End Of Gate City’s Downtown On West Jackson Street. County Officials Expect To Make A Decision On The Zone By At Least December.

A Former Hawkins County Prosecutor Charged In A Sex For Leniency Scandal In 2010 Won’t Spend Any Time Behind Bars. Doug Godbee Entered A No Contest Plea In Jefferson County Criminal Court To A Single Count Of Felony Official Misconduct. He Served As Rogersville’ s Chief Prosecutor For More Than 30 Years Before Resigning Amid Allegations He Solicited And, In Some Cases, Received Sexual Favors In Exchange For Leniency From Female Drug Defendants And/Or Their Mothers. Godbee Was Sentenced To Two Years Probation And 200 Hours Of Community Service. He Is Also Officially Disbarred From Practicing Law In Tennessee.

Tennessee And Virginia Election Offices Are Staying Busy These Days Registering People In Time To Vote In The November 6 Th General Election. Sullivan County Administrator Of Elections Jason Booher Says His Office, Which Normally Sees About 200 People Per Month Complete A Registration, Has Been Averaging Around 10-Thousand The Past Couple Of Months. The Deadlines To Register For The November Election Is October 8th In Tennessee And October 15th In Virginia. Registration Forms Are Available On State Election Websites And In The Election Offices.

Appalachian Power is asking Virginia regulators to increase what it charges customers to recover costs related to renewable energy. The company said it has filed a request with the Virginia State Corporation Commission. If approved, rates would increase the monthly bill for the typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity by more than 25 cents. Appalachian Power serves about 500,000 customers in Virginia.

Gas Prices Are Continuing Their Gradual Decline, And That’s Good News For Motorists. The Prices Of Gas Are Retreating From An Atypical September Rally Of Daily Gas Price Records Where Prices Peaked At $3.87 A Gallon Nationwide. Triple A Expects Gas Prices To Continue To Decline As We Move Further Into Fall And Approach The End Of The Year. Oil Analysts Believe Gas Prices Are Almost Certain To Drop In November, The Month When The Biggest Drops Typically Occur Due To Refineries Switching To Cheaper Made Winter-Blend Fuel.

The Greene County Sheriff’s Office And The District Attorney’s Office Are Investigating The Death Of An Infant. 3rd Judicial District Attorney General Berkeley Bell Has Reportedly Said The Eight Month Old Was The Victim Of Child Abuse And Someone Is To Blame. No Names Have Been Released At This Time. According To A Report, The Baby Was Bruised And Had What Appeared To Be A Bite Mark On One Of Her Arms. The Child Had Been On Life Support Before She Died. Bell Is Awaiting Autopsy Results Which Could Take Several Weeks To Complete. There Are Suspects But No Charges Have Been Filed.

A Japanese Manufacturing Company Is Considering Locating In Kingsport. The Move Could Bring As Many As 200 Jobs To The Model City And Would Represent An Initial 100-Million Dollar Investment. The Name Of The Company Or The Products It Makes Have Not Been Disclosed At This Time. The Properties Being Considered By The Company Include 72 Acres Of The 112-Acre General Shale Site Off Industry Drive And The Adjacent 59-Acre Domtar Property Which Would Include Cement Hill.

Kingsport’s Unemployment Rate Is Getting Better. In August, It Dropped A Half A Percentage Point To 7.7 Percent, Which Is The Lowest Since August 2008. Similar Declines Were Posted In Bristol And Johnson City. Greene County’s Rate Was Down Five Tenths Of A Percent To 11 Percent In August. Tennessee’s Jobless Rate Now Stands At 8.4 Percent Compared To The U.S. Rate Of 8.1 Percent. So Far, The Kingsport Labor Market Has Managed A 2.5 Percent Growth Rate By Adding Over 19-Thousand Jobs Last Month.

An Erwin Uranium Fuel Materials Production Facility Has Once Again Pledged Money To Habitat For Humanity Of Unicoi County. Nuclear Fuel Services Will Give The Agency 25-Hundred Dollars. So Far This Year, NFS Has Given Over 50-Thousand Dollars To Local Programs That Directly Benefit The People And Places Of Unicoi County. These Programs Include The Unicoi County Leadership Class Initiative “No Child Left Behind,” The Unicoi County YMCA, The Unicoi County Imagination Library, And A Number Of Unicoi County School Programs.

The Ringleader Of A Group Who Pirated And Sold Dvd Movies To Friends, Family And Co-Workers Will Not Be Serving Any Jail Time. Richard Arnold Was Sentenced In U.S. District Court In Greeneville To Five Years Probation, Ordered To Pay Over 200-Thousand In Restitution And Perform 150 Hours Of Community Service. Four People Were Indicted In May Of Last Year In A Five Count Indictment Charging Them With Copyright Infringement And Dealing In Counterfeit Labels. All Four Defendants Have Plead Guilty In Federal Court.

Tusculum College Has Received A Loan To Allow For Construction Of A New Science And Math Building On Its Campus. The 39 Million Dollars Will Come From The U.S. Department Of Agriculture’s Rural Development Agency. First District Congressman Dr. Phil Roe Joined Tusculum President Dr. Nancy Moody In Making The Announcement. The Loan Will Permit The College To Refinance And Lower Its Debt Service While Freeing Up Funds For The Planned Construction.