FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

Two Teens Are Behind Bars In Sullivan County Following An Abduction Hoax. Zachery Marshall Of Russellville Tennessee And Jesse Robinson Of Kingsport, Who Are Both 19, Are Each Charged With Extortion. The Charges Stem From An Incident In Which Robinson’s Sister Called Sullivan County Authorities Claiming She Had Not See Her Brother In Three Days. Marshall And Robinson Are Accused Of Attempting To Extort One Of Their Family Members Saying They Needed 15-Thousand Dollars For Safe Release From Their Captor. The Two Teens Are Being Held In The Sullivan County Jail, With A Court Date Pending.

New Research Show Risky Behaviors Climb When Peer Passengers Are Onboard A Young Driver’s Vehicle. Martha Meade With Triple A Auto Club Said Findings From A New Study By The Organization’s Foundation For Traffic Safety Revealed That The Prevalence Of Speeding Increase From 30 Percent To 48 Percent When Three Or More Teen Passengers Ride In A Young Driver’s Vehicle.

Washington County Tennessee Officials Are Once Again Trying To Sell The Princeton Arts Center. The Building Along East Oakland Avenue Is Owned By The County And Serves As An Artistic And Cultural Arm Of The Johnson City Parks And Recreation Department And Offers A Variety Of Programs. Proceeds From The Sale Would Go Into The County’s General Fund. County Officials Are Going To Give The City An Opportunity To Purchase The Building First.

A 2012 Paralympic Champion And Kingsport Native Will Be Honored On Saturday. Blake Leeper Will Be Honored At Kingsport Olympic Game Day Held At The V.O. Dobbins Senior Complex On Louis Street. The Event Will Include Various Sports Festivities And Games For Area Children. Leep Was Born Without His Lower Legs Due To A Congenital Birth Defect. The Kingsport Olympic Game Day Will Include An Opening Ceremony On Saturday At 10 A.M., Followed By Olympic-Style Games.

The Hawkins County 911 Board Has Agreed To Postpone The Dispatching Fee Due For Both County Ambulance Services. The New 5-Thousand Dollar Fee Was Approved Earlier This Year With An August Due Date. So Far, Neither Church Hill EMS Nor Hawkins County Ems Have Paid The Bill. Church Hill Ems President Fred Arnold Expressed Concern About The Bill And Said There Wasn’t Money In The 2012 Budget It. Mount Carmel Mayor And Hawkins County 911 Board Member Gary Lawson Made A Motion To Postpone The Due Date For Each Bill Until January 30th.

The Tri Cities Law Enforcement Community Is Mourning The Death Of A Former Sheriff. Former Washington County Sheriff And Johnson City Police Chief 72 Year Old Fred Phillips Passed Away At His Home On Thursday. Phillips Was Sheriff From 1994 To 2003. Funeral Arrangements Are Incomplete At This Time.

A Greeneville Man Is Behind Bars For Allegedly Using A Debit Card To Make Nearly 55-Thousand Dollars In Purchases Over A Three-Month Period. 26 Year Old Stephen Garay-Leon Is Charged With Fraudulent Use Of A Debit Or Credit Card And Identity Theft. He Was Working As A Live-In Caregiver For A Greeenville Woman And Is Accused Of Using Her Debit Card And Pin Number To Obtain Cash From Atm’s And Make Purchases Without Her Permission Or Knowledge. Garay-Leon Is Being Held In The Greene County Detentin Center Under A 60-Thousand Dollar Bond And Will Appear In Court Soon.

An Experimental Plane Has Crashed In Greene County, Sending Two Chuckey Men To A Local Hospital. 66 Year Old Old Jack Cooper And 50 Year Old Marcelino Bravo Were Taken To The Johnson City Medical Center For Their Non-Life Threatening Injuries. The Plane Went Down Thursday Afternoon Around Two O’clock At Hensley Airpark On Chuckey Pike. It Had Taken Off And Was Coming Back Around To Land In The Fly-In Community When Something Went Wrong With The Controls. The Plane Crashed Near The Runway. The Crash Is Under Investigation By The Faa.

East Tennessee State University Has Dedicated A New Health Care Facility. University Officials Unveiled A 6.8 Million Dollar, State-Of-The-Art Facility Known As The Johnson City Community Health Center. The New Facility, Which Replaces And Builds On The Legacy Of The Johnson City Downtown Clinic, Will Offer Patients A Wide Spectrum Of Health Care Services Under One Roof. The Size Of The New Facility More Than Doubles The Size Of The One It Replaces.

Authorities Are Asking For The Public’s Help In Finding A Johnson City Man Accused Of Taking A Section Of An Atm Machine That Contained Cash From A Kingsport Convenience Store In July.44 Year Old Eddie Fink Is Charged With Burglary. The Charge Stems From An Incident In Which Fink Is Accused Of Using His Vehicle To Break The Front Glass At The Sunoco On Fort Henry Drive. Anyone With Any Information About Fink’s Whereabouts Should Contact Authorities.

The Asthma And Allergy Foundation Of America Has Released Its Annual Allergy Capitals. Louisville, Kentucky Made Number One While Knoxville, Tennessee Took Third Place. This Places The Tri-Cities And The Mountain Empire Within Both Regions. Ratings Are Determined By Combined Pollen Scores. To Help Control Allergies, It’s Recommended You Keep Windows And Doors Closed To Prevent Pollen From Blowing Into The House, Control Dust Mites By Using A Quality Vacuum Weekly With A High-Efficiency Filter, Change The Air Filter In Your Furnace Regularly And Reduce Mold By Decreasing Moisture Around The House.

All After School Activities Today (Thursday) At Johnson Elementary School In Kingsport Have Been Cancelled. This Following A Gas Leak That Earlier Today At The School. Following The Incident, All Students Were Taken To The School’s Alternative Location At Oakwood Forrest Christian Church On East Sevier Avenue. All The Students Are Safe

Some Big News From Officials With The Birthplace Of Country Music Museum In Bristol. Executive Director Leah Ross Announced That Fundraising For The Museum Has Been Completed. Museum Officials Have Worked Since 2004 To Create A State-Of-The-Art Facility To Showcase The Impact Of The 1927 Bristol Sessions Recordings And Other Local Claim To Music Immortality. The Non-Profit Organization Has Been Helping Breathe Life Into What Once Was A Vacant Two-Story, Brick Building At The Corner Of Cumberland And Moore Streets Downtown. Construction On Is Set To Begin On The Former Goodpasture Motors Building In November.

Eastman Kodak Company Retiree Health Care And Survivor Benefits Will Be Going Away By The End Of This Year. The Bankrupt New York Based Company Is Asking A Court To Present A Proposed Deal To The Official Committee Representing Retirees. As Part Of The Plan, Kodak Seeks To Cut 1.2 Billion Dollars In Retiree Obligations Such As Medical, Dental, Life Insurance And Survivor Income Benefits. Pensions Will Not Be Impacted. The Plan Must Be Approved By The Bankruptcy Court. Many Kodak Retirees Live In The Tri-Cities Region. You May Remember, Eastman Chemical Company Was A Part Of Kodak Until 1994.

A Cancer Center In Johnson City That Has Been The Focus Of A Federal Investigation Concerning Unapproved Medication Plans To Close Its Doors Soon. Mcleod Cancer And Blood Center And Its Founder, Dr. William Kincaid, Have Been Under Investigation By The Federal Drug Administration Involving A Variety Of Misbranded Or Mislabeled Chemotherapy Medications. Even Though Mcleod Is Closing, The Cancer Treatment Center Will Reopen Under A New Name And New Director At Offices On North State Of Franklin Road. Kincaid Will Reportedly Retire. The Cancer Center’s Office Manager Pled Guilty In Federal Court Last Month To Receiving Misbranded Medication.

Unicoi County Memorial Hospital Leaders Have Approved The Hiring Of Legal Counsel To Represent The Hospital’s Control Board During The Facility’s Acquisition By A Larger Health Care System. During A Meeting Yesterday, Board Chairman Glenn Tilson Was Granted Authority To Engage In Legal Counsel In The Transaction Involving The Hospital. The Hospital Was Allowing Proposals From Any Interested Larger Health Organization Through Today. A Meeting Is Set For October 18th To Consider Which Proposal Hospital Leaders Will Choose.