An Atkins Virginia Company Says It Is Shutting Down Two Plant In January. Officials With Merillat, A Cabinet Maker, Have Confirmed The Closings. The Company Has Eight Plants Across The Country And Employs More Than 5-Thousand Workers. Employees At The Local Plants Were Notified Of The News Yesterday. The Smyth County Facilities Have Between 250 And 350 Workers.
A Meeting Between Officials With Mountain States Health Alliance And Wellmont Health System To Provide The Unicoi County Memorial Hospital Board Of Control With Answers To The Board’s Questions Concerning Their Respective Proposals To Acquire The Hospital Did Not Happen As Scheduled Thursday. Both Sides Had Planned To Give Presentations On Their Revised Acquisition Proposals, Which Were Submitted To The Board Last Month. No Reason Was Given For The Cancellation.
The United Way Of Washington County Tennessee Is Reporting 1.3 Million Dollars In Revenue Earned So Far This Year. The Agency Is 443-Thousand Dollars Away From This Year’s Goal Of Just Over 1.7 Million Dollars. There Are Only Six Weeks Left In This Year’s Fundraising Campaign. The Money Raised Will Service 17 Local Nonprofit Service Agencies.
Carter County authorities say a fire has burned a mobile home where a woman was earlier found dead. Sheriff Chris Mathes said it’s unusual to have a death and then a fire a few days later in the same place. Mathes also said it appears the fire started in more than one place. The sheriff’s office was called Saturday and responded to find the body of 50-year-old Sabrina Michelle Smith in her bed. A friend found her and called 911. An investigation is under way into the cause of Smith’s death and now an arson investigator is examining the fire, which burned the trailer Tuesday night.
A Suspected Member Of The Mexican Drug Cartel Has Been Arrested In Washington County, Virginia. Police Arrested Jose Luis Vidal Santillian While Conducting A Routine Traffic Stop In Damascus. Authorities Said Immigration And Customs Agents Informed Them He Was A Wanted Fugitive With 14 Warrants For His Arrest. Santillian Is Being Held In The Southwest Virginia Regional Jail In Abingdon.
It’s Been A Busy Week For Volunteers Who Have Been Filling Crates With Candy And Presents At Food City On Eastman Road In Kingsport. It’s In Preparation For The 70th Annual Santa Train That Will Run On Saturday. A Joint Project Of CSX, Food City, And The Kingsport Chamber Of Commerce, The Train Will Distribute About 15 Tons Of Early Christmas Gifts, Toys, Snacks, And Clothing Throughout The Region. The Santa Train Will Make 14 Stops Along A 110-Mile Route From Shelby, Kentucky To Kingsport. The Husband-Wife Team Of Keifer And Shawna Thompson, Known As Thompson Square, Will Be Aboard The Train And Will Perform In Kingsport On Saturday Afternoon.
A Rogersville School Has Received State Recognition. Rogersville City School Received Straight A’s In Academic Achievement Earlier This Month For The Sixth Year In A Row On The 2012 State Report Card. In Addition, The Board Of Education Recently Said The School Is Currently Getting The Best Bang For Its Buck With Regards To Per-Student Spending Compared To Other City School Systems In The Region. Both Of These Attributes Resulted In The School Being Named One Of Only 21 Exemplary Schools In The State.
Roadrunner Markets Presented More Than 131-Thousand Dollars To St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital In Memphis. The Money Was Raised In The Company’s 21st Annual Halloweeen Drive. 92 Markets In Northeast Tennessee, Virginia And North Carolina Sold Paper Pumpkins For $1 Each.
A Johnson City Organization That Provides Free Medical Care To People Who Cannot Afford It Is Closing Its Doors. Non-Profit, Project Access Will Be Open Until The End Of The Year. Officials Said Donations Were Down This Year And Grants Are Non Existent. According To Director Aubrey Everhart, Without Funding The Agency Cannot Stay In Business.
The Man Involved In A Shooting In Bristol Tennessee That Left A Bounty Hunter Dead Will Not Be Facing Charges. Sullivan County District Attorney Barry Staubus Said The Grand Jury Heard The Evidence In The Case And Decided That David Cresong Acted In Self Defense When He Shot 32 Year Old Joseph Scott Horne In August. Horne Showed Up In Cresong’s Trailer Park Trying To Find A Fugitive For A Local Bonding Company When He Mistakenly Thought Cresong Was The Fugitive. Horne Died From A Single Gunshot Wound.
The Kingsport Social Security Office Hours Are Changing. The Office Will Be Open To The Public Monday Through Friday 9am To 3pm, Which Is A 30 Minute Reduction Each Weekday. In Addition, Beginning January 2nd, The Office Will Close To The Public At Noon Every Wednesday. The Reduced Hours Will Allow The Office To Continue Face-To-Face Interviews And Process Claims Work Without Incurring The Cost Of Overtime.
The rate of homelessness in Virginia has declined by eight percent since 2010. Gov. Bob McDonnell cited data compiled by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and the Virginia Coalition to End Homelessness. McDonnell said the homeless rate for families declined 11 percent, and the number of people experiencing chronic homelessness fell by more than one-third. The governor said the state has shifted some resources from traditional shelter services to rapid re-housing – moving people into permanent housing more quickly while providing appropriate services through community resources.
The Hawkins County Building Committee And The Contractor Performing Work On The Historic Courthouse Have Agreed On A Deadline Penalty For The Construction Work. Joseph Construction Agreed To Buy Nearly 6-Thousand Dollars Worth Of Hand-Made Lighting Fixtures For The 178-Year Old Courthouse And Call It Even. The County Will Perform The Installation Of Those Light Fixtures. Originally, It Was Estimated Joseph Construction Would Have To Pay As Much As 27-Thousand Dollars For Surpassing The Construction Deadline.
A Kingsport Tennessee Pharmacist Has Been Charged In A Federal Indictment With Allegedly Substituting A Cheaper Drug Imported From China For Dialysis Patients. The Indictment Alleges That As A Result Of Fraud, Kidney Dialysis Patients Threated By Kansas Dialysis Service Received Iron Sucrose That Hadn’t Been Certified By The Federal Drug Administration To Meet Quality And Safety Standards. 53 Year Old Robert Harshbarger, Doing Business As American Inhalation Medication Specialists Inc. Is Charged With Selling Misbranded Drugs, Mail Fraud And Five Counts Of Health Care Fraud. There Were No Reports Of Any Patient Being Harmed. If Convicted, Harshbarger Faces Up To 20 Years In Federal Prison And A Fine Up To 250-Thousand Dollars.
A Greeneville Attorney Is Behind Bars. 34 Year Old Duncan Cates Cave Was Arrested On A Contempt Of Court Charge In A Civil Case. He Was Arrested By Deputies And Taken To The Greene County Detention Center. According To The Order, Cave Continually And Willfully Failed To Comply With An Order Of The Court, And Failed To Appear After Having Been Cited To Show Cause As To Why He Should Not Be Held In Contempt And Failure To Appear. Cave Will Be Incarcerated Until He Complies With Or Demonstrates His Willingness To Comply With The Court.
Bristol Compressors Has Announced Two New Appointments Within Its Top Management Team. Joel Moseley Has Been Promoted To Senior Vice President Of Global Sales And Marketing, And Dustin Steward Has Been Named Senior Business Development Manager. Moseley Joined The Company In 1993, While Steward Owns The Sears Store In Abingdon. Headquartered In Bristol Virginia, Bristol Compressors Is A Leading Global Producer Of Compressors For Residential And Light Commercial Air Conditioning, Heat Pump, And Refrigeratation Systems.
A Wise County Virginia Grand Jury Has Indicted Two People In Connection With The Death Of A County Girl. 29 Year Old Brandie Baldwin Is Charged With Felony Murder, Felony Child Neglect With Serious Injuries And Two Counts Of Felony Child Neglect. 30 Year Old Juwan Moore Is Charged With Capital Murder And Two Counts Of Felony Child Abuse. The Charges Stem From The October 19th Death Of Baldwin’s Two Year Old Daughter, Emma. The Little Girl Had Been Taken To A Hospital In Norton For Treatment Where She Was Transferred To Knoxville And Later Died. Although The Autopsy Report Is Still Outstanding, Charges Were Filed Based On The Present Evidence. Baldwin Is Free On Bond While Moore Remains In The Southwest Virginia Regional Jail In Duffield. Capital Murder Is Punishable By Death In Virginia.
The Washington County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office Is Searching For A Female Bandit That Held Up A Local Restaurant. It Happened Yesterday At China Luck Buffett On Bobby Hicks Highway. Deputies Said A Female Entered The Restaurant And Brandished A Weapon Demanding Money. An Undetermined Amount Of Cash Was Taken But No One Was Hurt. The Suspect Is Described As A White Female In Her Late 20’s To Early 30’s, Between 5-2 And 5-6, With Blonde Hair, Wearing A Reddish Colored Hooded Sweatshirt With Aero Across The Front. Anyone With Information Should Call Police.