FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

A Hawkins County Murder Suspect Has Been Extradicted To East Tennessee From Florida. 49 Year Old Randy Edwin Harr Was Captured By U.S. Marshals In Gainsville Florida. Investigators Charged Harr With Murder, Burglary, And Aggravated Arson In The Death Of Christopher Varalli. Varalli Was Found Shot To Death In His Burning Surgoinsville Last In March. According To The Sheriff’s Office, Varalli Died From A Gunshot Wound And Toxic Levels Of Cyanide. Harr Was On The Tbi’s Ten Most Wanted List When He Was Captured At A Campground On December 13th. He’s Being Held Without Bond And No Court Date Has Been Set Yet.

Sullivan County Sales Tax Revenues Are Behind Last Year’s Numbers. Monthly Sales Tax Collections And The Subsequent Revenue To Local School Systems And Governments, Remain Down For The Fiscal Year To Date. That According To A Report Prepared By The County’s Budget Office. The Past Couple Of Months Have Shown Increases From The Same Period A Year Ago, But Not Enough To Completely Offset Decreases In Earlier Months.

In Kingsport, school administrators once banned the use of smart phones, tablets and laptops. Now they are embracing it. Wireless Internet should be available at all of the city’s schools by the end of January. A Bring Your Own Device program will see a soft start in the spring, ramping up to a full launch in August. Schools Director of Technology John Payne said students can use the devices for research. He said students will be allowed to share their devices with others who don’t have them. Officials also hope to offer some loaner devices. Board of Education member Betsy Cooper said the focus of the program is to “just get as much technology in the children’s hands as you can.”

Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s Republican run for governor has a campaign manager. The appointment of Dave Rexrode was announced on Monday. He is the former executive director of the Virginia Republican Party and has run several successful state and congressional races. Cuccinelli became the presumptive GOP nominee for governor after Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling announced he would not seek the party’s nomination. Bolling has not ruled out an independent run.

A new law requiring Tennessee residents 60 years or older to have a photo on their driver’s license is among those taking effect January 1st. State Sen. Jim Tracy, the legislation’s sponsor, said seniors who don’t have a photo on their license before January 1st won’t be required to get one. However, Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jim Kyle of Memphis said the new requirement poses an inconvenience to seniors with mobility issues, or those in rural areas, who may be unable to get to the proper location to make the change. Kyle said they were exempt when the measure requiring photos on driver’s licenses first passed because the legislation was aimed at preventing teenagers from using fake identification to purchase alcohol.

The Bristol Tennessee Police Department And The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office Said They Have Found A Missing 13-Month Old Child At A Bristol Residence. Dakota James Smith Was The Subject Of An Endangered Child Alert That Was Issued When His Non-Custodial Father, 22 Year Old Tayler James Smith, Stated He Was Taking Dakota From Their Holiday Drive Residence To See Family In The Area. Tayler Smith Was Located At A Home Off Highway 394 In Sullivan County. He Was Arrested For Custodial Interference. Meanwhile, The Chiild Was Not Harmed And Was Returned To His Mother.