FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

A Johnson City Man Is Behind Bars Following An Alleged Assault On A Woman. 44 Year Old Gary Adkins Is Charged With Aggravated Domestic Assault After He Allegedly Hit, Choked, And Cut The Woman. He’s Being Held In The Washington County Detention Center On A 5-Thousand Dollar Bond. Adkins Is Scheduled To Appear In Sessions Court On January 2nd.

The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development is warning that federal extended unemployment benefits are about to expire. Congress created the Emergency Unemployment Compensation program in 2008 to provide unemployment benefits to workers who had exhausted their state benefits. The legislation has been amended 10 times since it became effective, but it is set to expire on Jan. 2.
After Jan. 2, Tennessee will return to a system in which new claimants receive a maximum of 26 weeks of Tennessee Unemployment Compensation benefits.

Greeneville Authorities Say Some Funny Money Is Circulating Locally. A Counterfeit 20-Dollar Bill Was Passed At Mcdonalds On The Asheville Highway. A Man Told Police He Had Obtained The Fake Bill In Change From Another Eatery Earlier. The Bill’s Been Put Into Police Evidence. The Police Are Conducting An Investigation.

Bristol Regional Medical Center has earned a 2012 Award of Excellence for its promotional campaign to encourage people to call 911 when someone is displaying signs of a stroke. The BRMC public service announcements stressed the importance of quickly getting hospital treatment for someone suffering a stoke. The awards are sponsored by the Health Improvement Institute. Bristol Regional Medical Center is part of the Wellmont Health System.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol Will Continue Its New Year’s Eve No Refusal Enforcement. Numerous Driver License And Sobriety Checkpoints Will Be Conducted Across The State Over The Holiday Period. The Initiative Concludes At Midnight On Tuesday, January 1st.

A Hawkins County Murder Suspect Has Been Brought Back To Hawkins County. Randy Harr Of Kingsport Was Captured By U.S. Marshals In Gainsville Florida Two Weeks Ago. He’s Charged With First Degree Murder, Aggravated Burglary, And Aggravated Arson Charges In Connection With The Death Of 27 Year Old Christopher Varalli Who Was Shot And Poisoned With Cyanide At His Surgoinsville Home In March. Harr Is Being Held Without Bond. No Court Has Been Set. Meanwhile, A Second Suspect, His Ex-Wife Lisa Harr, Turned Herself Into Police On Charges Of Tampering With Evidence And Hindering Officers From Apprehending Another Person.

Four People Have Been Arrested After Police Discovered A Meth Lab In A Car In Johnson City. Amber Winterroth, Jeremy Irvin, Lance Nidifer, And Latosha Ashby Are Facing Various Meth Charges. Johnson City Police Said They First Approached The Vehicle The Four Were In Because Of A Window Tint Violation On North Roan Street. That’s When The Meth Lab Was Found. The Four Suspects Are Being Held In The Washington County Detention Center. They Are Slated To Be In Court On Wednesday.

A Carter County Couple Has Been Busted On Meth Charges. Ricky And Penny Oliver Are Facing Several Charges Related To Meth Manufacturing. The Couple Who Burned Down Their Own House In October Along Highway 91 In The Stoney Creek Community Ago While Making Meth Are Accused Now Of Making The Drug A Second Time. A Court Date Is Pending For The Olivers.

The Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation Has Cancelled An Endangered Child Alert For A Kingsport Girl. According To The TBI, The Kingsport Police Department Found Four Year Old Saran Malone Safe At A Residence. The Girl Was Taken By Her Non-Custodial Mother, 23 Year Old Jonnie Hammonds On December 28th From A Kingsport Residence. Police Are Looking For Hammonds Who Has Red Or Blond Hair, Blue Eyes, Is 5-1,. Weighs 165 Pounds, And Has Tattoos On Her Back And Neck. Hammonds Currently Has Active Warrants For Meth Manufacturing And A Parole Violation Warrant. She Is Believed To Be Traveling In A Full-Size Silver Pickup. Anyone With Any Information Is Asked To Contact The Kingsport Police Department Of The TBI.

Starting In January, A Sullivan County High School Will Begin What Administrators Say Is The State’s First Dual Enrollment Program For A Vocational Subject. The Pilot Program Allows Students At Sullivan Central High School To Learn Welding From A Northeast State Community College Instructor For College Credit. Sullivan Central Teacher Barry Jessee Runs The Vocational Program. He Told The Bristol Herald Courier That Many Of His Students Are Smart But Not Interested In Going To College. They Want To Graduate From High School And Start Earning A Living. The New Program Is A Way For Students To Start A Career Quickly.

Three Schools In Kingsport Will Be Providing Free Breakfast To All Students Soon. The Effort Is Part Of An Effort To Provide Breakfast To Students To Help Aid In Health Academics And Discipline. The Pilot Program Will Last At Least 60 Days And Will Be Held At Lincoln And Kennedy Elementary Schools And Sevier Middle School. The Cost Will Be Absorbed Within The Self-Supported School Nutrition Budget.

About 7 percent of Tennesseans previously receiving jobless benefits have been dropped for failing to verify that they were searching for work. That’s according to an audit by the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. New rules that went into effect on Sept. 1 require Tennesseans receiving jobless benefits to document at least three job searches a week. Job searches can include completing job applications or interviews or mailing resumes to employers.

A Unicoi Man Has Been Arrested For Allegedly Growing Pot In His Home. 22 Year Old Josh Wall Is Charged With Resisting Stop/Frisk/Halt, Maintaining A Dwelling Where Drugs Are Used Or Sold, Evidence Tampering, And Numerous Other Charges. Investigators Received A Tip That Wall Was Growing Marijuana. A Search Of His Buffalo Mountain Lane Residence Yielded A Ventilation System, Grow Canopies, Grow Lights, And Other Items Indicating A Marijuana Grow Operation. He Is Free On A 30-Thousand Dollar Bond And Will Appear In Unicoi County Sessions Court On February 7th.

One Northeast Tennessee Sheriff Is Not Happy With Officers’ Pay Levels. Unicoi County Sheriff Mike Hensley Said His Department Has Served As A Sort Of Training Ground For Officers, A Place Where Officers Receive The Training And Experience Needed To Seek A Higher-Payer Job Elsewhere. The Sheriff Said He Intends To Address The Situation With The County Commission To See What Can Be Done To Put The Sheriff’s Department On A Level Playing Field With Surrounding Police Organizations So He Can Retain Officers.

Pregnant women considering inducing labor to have a New Year’s Day baby may want to reconsider. The Tennessee Department of Health warns that inducing labor to make the delivery date arrive more quickly for special days, such as holidays or birthdays, can cause birth defects. Dr. Michael Warren is head of the department’s maternal and child health. He says babies born earlier are at risk for respiratory distress and other conditions. Tennessee has joined 47 other states in a pledge to lower the rate of prematurity by eight percent by 2014. Prematurity is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in Tennessee.

A Judge Has Thrown Out A Class Action Cancer Lawsuit Against Nuclear Fuel Services In Erwin. The Lawsuit Claimed Radioactive Emissions From The Facility Were To Blame For High Rates Of Cancer. Attorneys From Greeneville, Rhode Island, And New York Filed The Lawsuit Against NFS In June 2011. Their Goal Was For Their Clients To Get Personal Injury And Property Damage Compensation. NFS President Joe Henry Said He Is Pleased The U.S. District Court Ruled In Their Favor And Said NFS Remains Committed To Operating Safely And Securely.

A Hawkins County Woman Who Was Arrested Last Week For Forging Three Checks Is Facing Additional Charges For Unauthorized Use Of A Credit Card. Greeneville Police Have Charged 31 Year Old Katherine Renee Jones Of Bulls Gap With Two Counts Of Forgery And One Count Of Use Of A Credit Card In Connection With Three Purchases Made Late Last Month. She Is Now Facing Three Counts Of Forgery For Writing And Cashing Three Checks For Nearly 700 Dollars On The Account Of A Greeneville Woman. Jones Is Being Held In The Greene County Detention Center And Set To Appear In Court On Friday.

Bristol Virginia Police Are Investigating A Holdup At A City Business. A Woman Walked Into Approved Cash Advance On The Lee Highway And Demanded Money. She Fled The Store With An Unknown Amount Of Cash In A Blue Vehicle. The Bandit Is 5-6 And Around 150 Pounds With Light Brown Or Blond Hair. Anyone With Any Information Is Asked To Contact Bristol Police.

Three Sullivan County Residents Have Been Arrested For Allegedly Burglarizing A Home On Rock Springs Road In Kingsport Earlier This Month. Ashley Johnson Of Blountville, David Kaywood Of Kingsport, And Clifton “Hugo” Laughlin Also Of Kingsport Are Each Charged With Aggravated Burglary And Theft Over A Thousand Dollars. The Charges Stem From The Theft Of Guns From The Home. A Neighbor Reportedly Witnessed Johnson Go Through A Window To Gain Entry Into The Residence. She’s Free On A 17-Thousand 500-Dollar Bond. The Three Will Appear In Court Soon.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol Says Speed Played A Factor In A Christmas Day Crash That Killed A Bristol Man. 39 Year Old Eric Dowell Died After He Drove His Car Over The Center Line, Overcorrected, And Crashed Into A Cement Utility Pole On State Route 126 In Bristol. Dowell Was Not Wearing A Seat Belt. However, Officers Don’t Believe Safety Restraints Would Have Made A Difference In The Wreck.