FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

Some Good News For Northeast State Community Technical College. In His Budget Address On Monday, Governor Bill Haslam Revealed The State Has Included 33.2 Million Dollars In Funding To Build A New Technical Education Complex At Northeast State. It Would Replace Existing Technology Shop And Lab Buildings, The Two Oldest On Campus. School President Dr. Janice Gilliam Said The New Structure Will Allow The School To Implement Several New Programs. Dr. Gilliam Expects The New Building – To Be Called The Emerging Technology’s Building – To Be Completed Within Three Years.

An Early Morning Wreck In Kingsport Has Claimed The Life Of A Nashville Woman. The Accident Occurred Around Five Am Tuesday Y Morning On Bloomingdale Pike, At The Intersection With Bloomingdale Drive. A 2005 Mazda Was Westbound When The Female Drive Failed To Negotiate A Curve, Crossed The Eastbound Traffic Lanes, And Exited The Roadway. The Vehicle Struck A Power Pole And A Concrete Culvert. The Victim Was Taken To A Local Hospital Where She Died From Her Injuries. She Was Reportedly Not Wearing A Seatbelt. The Victim’s Name Is Not Being Released Pending Notification Of Next Of Kin. An Investigation Is Continuing.

Three Carter County Residents Are In Police Custody Following A Meth Lab Bust. Shannon David Long Is Charged With Possession Of Schedule Two And Three Drugs For Resale; And Samara Wilcox And Jonathon Campbell Are Each Facing Initiation Of A Process To Manufacture Meth, Maintaining A Dwelling Where Illegal Narcotics Are Made Or Sold, And Aggravated Child Endangerment Charges. The Charges Stem From An Investigation At A Residence On Old Elizabethton Highway. Officers Found Cut Lithium Batteries And Other Items Used To Make Meth. The Trio Will Appear In Court Soon.

A Kingsport Woman Is Accused Of Stealing From A Nonprofit Organization Out Of Bristol Tennessee. 37 Year Old Quyen Renee Quillen Is Charged With Theft Over Ten Thousand Dollars After Allegedly Stealing About 50-Thousand Dollars From A Nonprofit Group That Supports A Bluff City Christian Radio Station. The Station Is Directed By Kenneth Hill, The Director Of The Tennessee Regulatory Authority And The Father Of Local Representatives Timothy And Matthew Hill. Quillen Had Been An Employee Of Hill’s Nonprofit Appalachian Education Commission Corporation For Four Years. Quillen Is Free On Bond.

A Kingsport Man Who Had Gone To Pay His Fines At The Justice Center In Blountville Was Arrested Again Along With His Wife After Police Discovered Drugs And Weapons Inside Their Vehicle. Kevin Wells Is Charged With Driving On A Revoked License, Unlawful Possession Of A Weapon, And Possession Of Schedule Three Drugs For Resale. His Wife, Angela Graham, Faces Charges Of Possession Of Schedule Two And Three Drugs For Resale And Simple Possession Of Schedule Three Drugs. Deputies Recognized Wells From Previous Incidents And, Therefore, Knew He Didn’t Have A Valid Driver’s License. He Was Taken Into Custody By Vice Detectives. Meanwhile, Graham Gave Detectives Consent To Search The Vehicle. Inside They Found Guns And Drugs. The Two Will Appear In Court Soon.

Nine people each face up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to charges stemming from a drug distribution ring in Tennessee and Virginia. U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Heaphy says all nine defendants pleaded guilty in federal court in Abingdon to conspiracy to distribute Oxycodone. One defendant also pleaded guilty to distributing Suboxone within 1,000 feet of a school. The drugs were distributed in Scott County, Va., and Sullivan County, Tenn., from about 2007 to 2011. Each defendant also faces a $1 million fine.

A Jonesborough Woman Accused Of Falsely Reporting Three Gunmen At The Johnson City Medical Center Has Had Her Case Bound Over To A Washington County Tennessee Grand Jury. 28 Year Old Sherry Morgan Is Charged With Filing A False Police Report Along With Shoplifting And Resisting A Stop. She Allegedly Called The Medical Center From Her Cell Phone While At The Hospital December 27th. During A Hearing Monday, A Judge Bound The Case Over. She’s Being Held On Bond And Is Scheduled To Appear In Criminal Court March 11th.

Johnson City Police Have Identified A Man Who Was Found Dead Earlier This Month. 45 Year Old Robert Blevins Was Found At The Castle Clinic Infusion Center On University Parkway January 19th. He Had Been Staying There. His Body Was Found Partially Burned In The Lower Level Bathroom. The Body Was Sent For An Autopsy. Foul Play Is Not Suspected.

A Northeast Tennessee Legislator Has Announced Plans To File The Safe Schools Act Of 2013. Matthew Hill, A Jonesboro Republican, Explained His Bill Will Give County And Municipal Governing Bodies The Opportunity To Opt-In To A School Resource Officer Program That Will Ensure Properly Trained Officers Are Assigned To Protect Local Schools. If Passed, The Act Will Put At Least One Post Certified And Trained School Resource Officer In Every Public School In Tennessee That Currently Does Not Have An Established Sro Program.

A Hawkins County man told a Church Hill police officer he didn’t go anywhere or steal anything. The officer hadn’t mentioned theft. 25-year-old James Blake McFarland then told the officer he didn’t take anything at a school. Officer Dustin Dean then told McFarland that he had not mentioned a school when he said he wanted to talk to McFarland and advised him of his rights. A witness told police McFarland was near the Church Hill Elementary School on Jan. 22, dressed similarly to a thief captured on surveillance video. Officials said $250 was taken from an office safe. After McFarland implicated himself, he was arrested on charges of burglary, theft and vandalism. He is currently in jail in lieu of $50,000 bond.

Four East Tennessee college campuses, Including East Tennessee State University, have been selected for a new energy efficiency program. The Tennessee Valley Authority announced the EnergyRight Solutions for Higher Education program. Each campus will select projects to improve energy efficiency and raise awareness of the need to conserve energy. The campuses will get funding for projects and staff, consulting support, energy audit training and an online energy tracking tool for measuring the results of the projects. Student interns paid a stipend by TVA will implement the projects. Local power companies are assisting with the program.

A Southwest Virginia Lawmaker Fielded Questions From Students In Our Region. Ninth District Congressman Morgan Griffith Met With Students At Virginia High School In Bristol. During The Tuesday Visit, There Were Also Questions Concerning Gun Control. Griffith Told The Students He Does Not Believe We Need Any More Gun Control Laws, But He Wants To Make Sure We Are Properly Enforcing The Ones We Already Have On The Books.

East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College Of Medicine Could Be Teaming Up With King Medical School To Establishing A Presence In Abingdon, Virginia. The Two Schools Recently Signed A Memorandum Of Understanding. King School Of Medicine Incorporated Was Established To Setup And Oversee The King School Of Medicine And Health Sciences Center. The Entity Is Not Affiliated With Bristol-Based King University. Talks Are Now Underway Between Both Entities To Establish Collaborative Ideas And To Determine The Feasability Of The Proposed Joint Venture.

Several Economic Development Projects Under Development In Elizabethton For A Long Period Of Time May Soon Be Close To Being Realized. Those Projects Include A Plant That Would Convert Used Tires Into Synthetic Diesel Fuel, The Development Of A New Hotel, A New State Road In The Watauga Industrial Park, Traffic Signal Installations At Sycamore Shoals Hospital And The Watauga Industrial Park.

Gov. Bill Haslam has presented to lawmakers a nearly $33 billion annual spending plan that includes a staffing shake-up at the troubled Department of Children’s Services, a heavy investment into construction projects around the state and a large deposit into the state’s cash savings fund. The Republican governor also formally introduced his proposal to create a limited school voucher program in Tennessee to allow parents to use public money to send their children to private schools. However, the program would be limited to 5,000 students in the school year that begins in August, and grow to 20,000 students by 2016. Haslam acknowledged that the proposal will be “hotly debated”.