FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

Sullivan County School Leaders Are Trying To Decide The Fate Of Five Former County Schools. Members Of The County Commission’s Building Committee Were Told Recently The Former Valley Pike School Is Currently The Most Ready To Be Disposed Of As A County Owned Property. The Other Properties Include Cedar Grove, Kingsley, Holston And Akard Elementary Schools. The Building Committee Will Meet Again Once County Attorney Dan Street Researches The Deed On The Rest Of The Properties.

Some Skeletal Remains Have Been Found In Carter County And Authorities Are Treating The Case As A Homicide. Sheriff Chris Mathes Said Survey Crews From A Private Company Found Human Skeletal Remains Off Of Gap Creek Road. More Details Are Expected To Be Released Later.

In An Effort To Enhance The Safety Of Students And Staff, A Police Officer Will Be Posted At Each City School In Greeneville. Beginning January 7th When Students Return From Christmas Break, Each Of The Six Greeneville Schools Will Have A Full-Time Officer On Campus Throughout The Day. Director Of Schools Dr. Linda Stroud Said The Purpose Of The New Plan Is In Response To The Deadly December 14th School Shooting At Sandy Hook Elementary School In Newtown, Connecticut In Which 20 Students And Six School Staff Members Were Killed By A 20 Year Old Man Who Then Took His Own Life.

A New Courthouse Fee In Scott County Virginia Will Help Pay For Security Upgrades At The County Commonwealth Attorney’s Office. The County Was Responsible For Paying 23-Hundred Dollars Of The 45-Hundred Dollar Project, Which Was Paid For From The 3-Month Old Courthouse Maintenance Fee Instead Of The County’s Building Maintenance Budget. A New Layout Of The Office And Security Locks On Each Of The Doors In The Office Were Among The Main Improvements.

The Carousel Project, A Volunteer-Led Effort To Establish A Working Carousel In Kingsport, Is Moving Forward As Planned. Volunteers Are Currently Working On A Menagerie Of Animals 0 Horses, Frog, Tiger, Golden Retriever, And Buffalo – Within A Vintage Frame And Hand-Carved Animals. Bonnie Macdonald, Cultural Arts Director For The City, Says It’s Taken A Lot Of Effort On The Parts Of Many For The Project To Progress. The Project Has A 1956 Herschell Frame That Includes 24 Rounding Boards. Work On The Rounding Boards Is Projected To Begin Later This Month.

A Kingsport Man Has Been Arrested For Allegedly Accidentally Shooting A Friend With A Shotgun On New Year’s Eve. 27 Year Old Eric Flanary Is Charged With Reckless Endangerment, Possession Of A Gun While Under The Influence, And Other Charges. When Sullivan County Deputies Arrived To Myron Street, They Found Flanary In The Driveway, Holding A Compress To The Throat Of An 18 Year Old Acquaintance. Flanary Allegedly Had A Strong Odor Of Alcohol And Had A Small Baggie Of Marijuana In His Back Pocket. He’s Free On A 5-Thousand Dollar Bond. A Court Date Is Pending.

A Bristol Tennessee Man Who Police Allege Was Drunk With Children In His Vehicle Is Facing Charges After Crashing Through A Blountville Fast Food Restaurant. 42 Year Old Robert Schenker Is Charged With Child Neglect, Dui, And Violation Of Child Restraint Laws. He’s Accused Of Running His Pickup Truck Through The Drive-Thru At Burger King On The Blountville Bypass In Front Of The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office. Police Found Two Children, Ages Two And Seven, Inside The Man’s Vehicle. Schenker Reportedly Admitted To Taking A Morphine Pill. He’s Free On A 5-Thousand Dollar Bond And Will Appear In Court Soon.

One Northeast Tennessee United Way Has Decided To Extend Its Fall 2012 Community Fundraising Campaign. The Board Of Directors Of The United Way Of Washington County Will Continue To Solicit The Assistance Of Everyone In The Community Through January 11th. Lester Lattany, President And Ceo, Said They Have A Long Way To Go In Order To Finish The “Give From Your Heart” Campaign Goal Of 1-Million 775 Thousand Dollars.

The Carter County Sheriff’s Office Has Taken Three Suspects Into Custody And Are Searching For One More In Connection With A Residential Armed Robbery. Gary Hammonds, Ashley Nicole Norris And Robert Goines Have Been Arrested And Authorities Are Still Searching For Crystal Dawn Barnes. The Incident Happened New Year’s Morning On Hillside Drive In The King Springs Community. Sheriff Chris Mathes Said There Were Two Black Males And Two White Females That Went To The Home Forced The Victim On The Bed And Ordered Him To Give Them His Wallet. One Of The Suspects Allegedly Fired A Shot But No One Was Hurt. A Wallet With A Large Amount Of Cash Has Been Recovered. The Three Suspects Are Expected To Appear In Carter County Court Soon.

Bristol Police Have Found A One Year Old Toddler Whose Disappearance Sparked An Endangered Child Alert This Week. The Boy’s Father, Tayler James Smith Is Charged With Custodial Interference. Authorities Found The Man And His Son At A Home Off Tennessee Highway 394. The Boy Was Safe And Unharmed.

Sullivan County Voters Will Head To The Polls Later This Year To Cast Ballots In Municipal Elections. The Qualifying Deadline For Candidates Seeking Seats In Kingsport, Bristol And Bluff City Is Noon February 21st. In Kingsport, Voters Will Elect A Mayor, Three Aldermen And Two Board Of Education Members. Bristol Will Fill Three City Council District Seats As Well As Three School Board Seats. Bluff City Voters Will Elect A Mayor And Two Aldermen. The Election Is Set For May 21st.

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.

A 10-year-old Bristol, Virginia boy has donated his savings to a Kingsport family who lost their home in a fire. Damon Balogh (BAY’-loh) was saving the money to buy a train set. But when he heard about the Farmer family losing their rental home, Christmas presents and most of their belongings, he changed his mind. He gave the family his jars of change totaling about $114. Damon reportedly said the Farmers needed the money more than he did. He hoped they could use it to buy food or presents for their two children. He said he could always save more money.