FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

Two Men Who Pled Guilty Earlier This Year To Their Role In A Drug Distribution Ring That Operated In Southwest Virginia And Northeast Tennessee Have Been Ordered To Spend Time In Prison. A Judge Sentenced 58 Year Old Jeffery Light Of Gate City To 57 Months In Federal Prison While 26 Year Old Anthony Sloan Of Kingsport Was Ordered To Serve 33-Months. Meanwhile, Five Other People Involved In The Case Have All Been Convicted On Conspiracy Charges And Are Set To Be Sentenced This Month.

Three People Accused Of Running Over A Washington County Tennessee Sheriff’s Deputy During A Chase Will Appear In Court Thursday. Dalvin Stephens, Reginald Smith, And Ashley McGraw Are Each Charged With Attempted First Degree Murder And Attempted Aggravated Robbery. Smith And Stephens Face Additional Charges As Well. The Attempted Murder Charge Stems From Injuries Deputy Gary Daughtery Suffered On New Year’s Day While Attempting To Deploy A Spike Strip To Help Stop The Car That Was Transporting The Robbery Suspects.

The Centers For Disease Control Is Reporting That The Number Of Rare Fungal Meningitis Cases In Tennessee Has Increased By Five More, To 44. But The Number Of Deaths In The State Remains At Six. Nationwide, The Number Of Cases Reported In Ten States Has Increased To 137, Including 12 Deaths Nationwide Since The Outbreak Was First Discovered Last Month.

A Sullivan County Grand Jury Has Indicted A Johnson City Man Accused Of Carrying A Handgun On The Campus Of Northeast State Community College. 38 Year Old Brandon Scott Is Charged With Carrying Weapons On School Property. He Allegedly Pulled The Gun Out During An Argument. A Student Who Saw The Gun Notified The Instructor. Scott Is Expected To Appear In Court Soon.

A Trial Date Has Been Set For A Kingsport Woman Accused Of Causing A Crash That Claimed The Life Of A Gate City Virginia Man In July 2011. 19 Year Old Victoria Arapakos Is Charged With Vehicular Homicide And Reckless Aggravated Assault. She’s Accused Of Losing Control Of Her Vehicle In A Curve On New Beason Well Road, Crossing The Center Line And Striking A Mortorcycle Being Driven By 64 Year Old Mark Owens. Owens Died Shortly After The Crash. Arapakos Will Stand Trial In Sullivan County Criminal Court July 2013.

Frontier Health, Which Serves Northeast Tennessee And Southwest Virginia, Has Received A 194-Thousand Dollar Federal Grant Aimed At Helping Runaway Youths. The Federal Money Is Designated For A Three Year Period And Is Expected To Serve Nearly 200 Children And Youths Who Come To Link House. Link House Is The Only Shelter For Runaway Youths Located Within 100 Miles Of The Tri-Cities Region.

A Kingsport Man Accused Of Soliciting Sex From An Undercover Officer Posing As A 15 Year Old Girl Has Admitted To The Crime In Sullivan County Circuit Court. 22 Year Old Zachary Johnson Pled Guilty To Solicitation Of Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor By Electronic Means. A Judge Ordered Johnson To Serve 75 Percent Of An 11 Month 29 Day Jail Sentence. The Possibility Of Alternative Sentencing Will Be Determined At A Hearting Set For January 7th.

The Public Is Urged To Participate In An Upcoming Southwest Virginia 9th District Congressional Debate Next Week. Incumbent Morgan Griffith And His Democratic Challenger, Anthony Flaccavento, An Abingdon Farmer And Businessman, Will Square Off At The Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center In Abingdon. It’s Being Hosted By The Washington County Member At-Large Unit Of The League Of Women Voters Of Virginia. The Candidates Will Debate For One Hour. The Event Will Begin At 7:30 P.M On Thursday, October 18th.

The Leaves Are Changing Colors And Temperatures Are Dropping. But One Thing That Remains The Same Is The Constant Need For Blood. You Can Donate The Gift Of Life Every Tuesday At The Johnson City Blood Donation Center On Sunset Dirve From 2:30 Pm To 7 Pm, And On Wednesdays From 8 Am To 1 Pm. Every Time You Give Blood You Will Be Registered For A Chance To Win A 1-Thousand Dollar Gift Card Useable Toward Gas, Rent, Food, Or Tickets To Your Favorite Event.

The Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation Has Issued An Endangered Child Alert For A 12 Year Old Johnson City Boy. Joao Guimaraes And His Mother 30 Year Old Jesiane Nixon Failed To Appear In Court This Week. A Bench Order Was Issued For Nixon. The Boy Is Described As Five Nine And Weighs 140 Pounds. Nixon Is Five Six, Weighs 118 Pounds With Black Hair And Brown Eyes. Anyone With Information On Their Whereabouts Should Call Johnson City Police Or The Tbi.

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office Has Made Arrests In The Discovery Of A Meth Lab At A Home Where Two Small Children Were Found. 31 Year Old Brian Reynolds And 29 Year Old Holly Hilliard Are Each Charged With Manufacturing Meth Within A Thousand Feet Of A School Zone, Promotion Of Meth, Maintaining A Dwelling Where Narcotics Are Manufactured Or Sold, And Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia. Two Small Children, Ages 2 And 5, Were Living In The Home On Bristol Caverns Highway.

The Control Board Of The Unicoi County Memorial Hospital Is Set To Meet Tonight To Cover The Legal Bases Involving The Sale Of The Healthcare Facility. The Board Will Meet In A Called Session At 5pm In The Hospital’s Boardroom. The Purpose, Is To Discuss And Approve Giving Board Chairman Glenn Tilson Authority To Engage In Legal Counsel In The Transaction Of The Hospital. Mountain States Health Alliance Has Proposed Taking Over The Facility, Assuming All Debts And Building A New Hospital. It’s Unclear Whether The Board Will Vote In Favor Of Mountain States Or Some Other Healthcare Organization Such As Wellmont.