FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

The Virginia House of Delegates has passed legislation to allow home-schooled students to play public school sports. The House voted 56-43 to pass the so-called “Tebow bill” – a reference to the New York Jets quarterback who was home-schooled but played high school football in Florida. It now goes to the Senate, where the Education and Health Committee killed the same bill last year. Supporters of the bill say home-schooled children deserve the opportunity to play because their parents pay taxes to support public schools.

A Telford Man Who Admitted To Drug Charges Is Set To Be Sentenced Later This Year. 30 Year Old Freddie Matthew Sergent Pleaded Guilty To Unlawfully Distributing Anabolic Steroids In U.S. District Court In Greeneville. Between 2009 And April Of 2012, Sergent Unlawfully Distributed Steroids From His Residence. Sergent Processed And Packaged The Steroids Into Vials And Sold Them To Customers In East Tennessee And Across The United States. Sergent Will Be Sentenced On August 12th. He Faces Up To Ten Years In Prison And A 500-Thousand Dollar Fine.

The Cause Of A Blaze That Destroyed A Gray Tennessee Gentleman’s Club Is Still Under Investigation. The Fire Broke Out January 10th In The Early Morning Hours At The Mouse’s Ear On Highway 36. The Cause Of That Blaze Is Still A Mystery. The State Fire Marshall’s Office Has Taken Samples For Testing To Try To Determine The Cause Of The Fire. It’s Unclear How Long The Probe Will Take.

A Tri Cities Lawmaker Has Announced Legislaton Seeking Local Referendums On Wine In Food Stores. State Representative Jon Lundberg, A Bristol Republican, Said He Is Filing Legislation To Allow Localities To Hold Referendums On Whether Wine Should Be Sold In Tennessee Grocery And Convenience Stores. Past Legislative Attempts To Expand Wine Sales Beyond Liquor Stores Have Failed In Tennessee. Virginia, However, Allows Wine To Be Sold In Grocery Stores. To Get On The Ballot, The Local Referendum Would Need Ten Percent Of The Signatures Of Those Who Voted In The Last Gubernatorial Election.

The Husband Of A Woman Who Was Killed In A Single Vehicle Crash Earlier This Week In Kingsport Has Been Arrested On Drug Charges At A City Hotel. 24 Year Old Jeffrey Bryd Is Charged With Posession Of Schedule Four Narcotics For Resale Within A Thousand Feet Of A Day Care In Addition To Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia. His Arrest Stems From A Search Of His Americourt Hotel Room. Detectives Found Schedule Four Prescription Pills In His Room In Addition To Items Used To Inject Narcotics. Nearly 11-Hundred Dollars In Cash Were Also Seized. Byrd Is Free On A 15-Thousand Dollar Bond And Will Appear In Court Soon. On Tuesday, His Wife, 25 Year Old Hayley Byrd Died When Her Car Failed To Negotiate A Curse On Bloomingdale Pike, Struck A Power Pole And A Concrete Culvert.

Some Good Economic News For Greene County. Huf North America Has Announced Plans To Expand Its Greeneville Facility. The Expansion Represents An Investment Of 20 Million Dollars And The Creation Of 100 Manufacturing Jobs. The Company, Which Is A Global Leader In Mechanical And Electronic Key Systems For The Automotive Industry, Will Add A 52-Thousand Square Foot Addition To Its Current Structure For Its Plastic Injection Molding And Painting Facility Located On T. Elmer Cox Drive. The Expansion Is Expected To Be Complete Later This Year.

A Parole Hearing Has Been Set In Nashville For A Former Hawkins County General Sessions Court Judge Who Is Spending Time Behind Bars On Felony Theft Charges. 42 Year Old James Taylor Pled Guilty To Six Counts Of Felony Theft In September Of Last Year. The Charges Stemmed From Money Taken From Clients Of His Private Practice As Well As Money He Raised To Install A Display Of The Ten Commandments At The Justice Center. Taylor Has Been Serving Time In The Davidson County Jail Since May 2012. His Parole Hearing Is Set For February 6th.

A New Fee At East Tennessee State University Is Paying Off. A $5 Green Fee Being Paid By Each Student Each Semester Has Raised Nearly 130-Thousand Dollars. That Money Will Be Used To Help Pay For Environmentally, Socially And Economically Sustainable Projects, Programs And Initiatives. One Of Those Projects Will Include Light Sensors That Will Allow Power To Be Shutoff When There’s No Activity In Locker Rooms, Bathrooms And Shower Areas At The Basier Center For Physical Activity. Other Projects At That Facility Include An Ecomill Self Powered Treadmill, The Installation Of A Solar Power System And Campus Bicycle Rentals.