FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

The Virginia Department Of Transportation Wants The Public’s Input About A Proposed Road Project. A Proposed Renovation Of Interstate 81 At Exit 14 Will Be The Topic Of A Public Hearing Thursday Evening. The 36 Million Dollar Project Would Rebuild The Bridges And Interstate Ramps At The Exit. It Would Also Rebuild Parts Of Jonesboro Road And Dennison Drive. The Public Hearing Will Take Place At The Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center In Abingdon From Four To Six P.M.

The Wellmont Cva Heart Institute’s Innovative Approach To Treating Patients With Heart Failure Is Expanding To Greene County. The Heart Institute Has Begun Offering Its Heartsuccess Program At Its Laughlin Memorial Hospital Campus. More Than 15-Thousand People In This Region Are Affected By Heart Failure. The Heart Institute Already Offers Heartsuccess In Kingsport, Johnson City, And Bristol.

Traffic Fatalities Were Down Slightly For 2012 In Greene County. Fatalities Totaled 18 Last Year, Down From 20 The Year Before. Meanwhile, The Two Traffic Fatalities Through This Week Are Consistent With Figures From The Same Period In 2012. Overall, 2012 Traffic Fatalities In The 13-County Tennessee Highway Patrol Fall Branch District Were Up More Than 20 Percent Between 2011 And 2012, From 100 To 121.

Second Harvest Food Bank Of Northeast Tennessee Has Received A Monetary Donation From The Food Lion Charitable Foundation To Help Local Residents. Second Harvest Will Use The 45-Hundred Dollars For The Food For Kids Backpack Program. Second Harvest Food Bank Has Led The Effort To End Hunger In Northeast Tennessee For Over 26 Years. It Serves An Eight-County Region Including Carter, Greene, Hawkins, Johnson, Sullivan, Unicoi, And Washington Counties.

Kingsport City Leaders Have Given A Thumbs Up To A One-Million Dollar Waterline Project Along Konnarock Road, Warpath Drive And Truxton Drive. Just Over 63-Hundred Linear Feet Of Waterlines Will Be Replaced. Work Is Expected To Begin In March And Could Take Nearly Five Months To Complete.

A Washington County Tennessee Circuit Court Judge Has Granted The Right For The Tennessee Court Of Appeals In Knoxville To Review The November Decision That Gave Johnson City The Go-Ahead To Possess And Demolish The U-Haul Property In Downtown For A Flood Mitigation Project. This Will Be The First Case Heard By A Tennessee Appellate Court Involving State Statutes Regarding Eminent Domain Since 34 States Modified Laws In 2008. Johnson City Had Worked For More Than A Year To Get U-Haul To Accept An 820-Thousand Dollar Offer For The Property And To Undergo Negotiations To Help The Company Relocate To Work To Ease Flooding In Downtown Can Get Underway.

Former Unicoi County Sheriff Kent Harris Is Expected To Once Again Be In The Courtroom In July, This Time To Face A Single Charge Of Official Misconduct. A Hearing Was Held This Week To Discuss The Trial, Which Is Set For July 8th In Unicoi County Criminal Court. His Most Recent Trial On Charges Of Theft Over 1-Thousand Dollars And Criminal Simulation Ended In A Mistrial A Second Time.

A Washington County Virginia Grand Jury Has Returned Indictments Against 50 People Facing 111 Offenses. Among The Charges, The Grand Jury Indicted Vickie Lynn Parker On An Embezzlement Charge. Parker Is The Wife Of Washington County Treasurer Fred Parker. She’s Accused Of Embezzling More Than 200 Dollars From Grundy National Bank Where She Worked Until May 2012. Parker Was Released On A 35-Hundred Dollar Bond. If Convicted, The Embezzlement Charge Carries Up To 20 Years In Prison.

A Former Daniel Boone High School Shop Teacher Accused Of Inappropriately Touching A Female Student Has Pled Guilty To A Reduced Charge In Washington County Criminal Court. 64 Year Old Estel Kiser Entered A Best Interest Plea Under Judicial Diversion To Contributing To The Delinquency Of A Minor. A Female Student Accused Kiser Of Inappropriate Contact In December 2010. If Kiser Has No Other Arrests And Follows All The Rules Of Probation, His Conviction Will Be Removed From His Record.

The Return Of A Football Program At East Tennessee State University Is One Step Closer To Reality. ETSU Student Senators Voted Overwhelmingly This Week To Support Starting A New Football Program. With The Yes Vote, The Student Senate Imposed A $125 Fee Per Student Per Semester To Fund A New Program Should One Be Started. This Clears The Way For ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland To Submit A Request To The Tennessee Board Of Regents For A Vote In March.

Hawkins County Leaders Have Voted In Favor Of Allowing A Historical Document Display To Be Placed In The Lobby Of The Justice Center In Rogersville. The Display, Known As “Foundations Of American Law And Government” Has Raised Controversy For Several Reasons, The Main Being It Will Display The Ten Commandments. Hanging The Ten Commandments On Public Buildings In Other Parts Of The Country Has Resulted In A Lawsuits Being Filed Over Concerns For Maintaining Separation Of Church And State.

Bristol Tennessee Authorities Have Arrested Two People Following An Ongoing Criminal Investigation Into The Distribution Of Illegal Drugs In The City. James Thomas Oxendine And Thomas John Dulls Are Each Charged With Delivery And Distribution Of A Schedule Two Controlled Substance. The Two Suspects Are Accused Of Delivering And Selling Crack Cocaine To An Address On Pennsylvania Avenue In Bristol Tennessee. Oxendine And Dulls Were Transported To The Sullivan County Jail. They Will Appear In Court Soon.

Carter County Mayor Leon Humphrey Has Vetoed A Resolution For The First Time In His Three Years In Office. The Veto Came On A Request To The County’s Representatives And Senators In The General Assembly To Sponsor A Private Act To The State Law That Would Take Away The Mayor’s Supervisory Authority Over The Director Of The Carter County Landfill. If The Private Act Is Passed, The Director Would Be Overseen By The Landfill Committee Of The Carter County Commission. Humphrey Contends To Place Other Department Heads Under Committees Is Inefficient And It Sets A Dangerous Precedent.

Bristol Virginia Leaders Are Expected To Talk About The Merits Of A Downtown Parking Structure At Its Meeting Next Month. Last Year, Officials With Structured Parking Solutions Of Pensacola Florida Presented Council Members With A Two-Hour Presentation. The City Previously Commissioned A Parking Garage Study With Burwil Construction Of Bristol Tennessee. The Firm Is Asking The City To Allow It To Proceed By Submitting A Formal Proposal To Finance And Build A Parking Structure That Could Hold As Many As
700 Vehicles.

Bristol Compressors International Has Launched A Food Drive At Its Bristol Virginia Facility. The Initiative Is An Effort To Support Feeding America Southwest Virginia’s Mission To Provide Food For The Region’s Hungry. The Food Drive Runs Through February 8th. It Gives Bristol Compressors’ Employees An Opportunity To Contribute Non-Perishable, Non-Glass Packaged Food Items At Designated Drop-Off Locations In The Plant. The Company Has Pledged To Match The Value Of All Employee Contributions.

With Continuing Clean Audits And High Credit Ratings, Eleven Major Institutional Bidders Are Wanting To Get In On Kingsport’s 43 Million Dollar Refunding Offer. A Refunding Is Similar To A Refinancing Opportunity At The Household Level. According To City Spokesman Tim Whaley, The Confidence Of The Markets And Sound Fiscal Management Are All Clearly Evident By This Bond Offer. The 43 Million Dollar Refunding Refinances About 25 Percent Of The City’s Total Debt. The Move Will Save The City 2.77 Million Dollars Over The Life Of The Bonds.