FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

Legislation to require drug screening of welfare recipients has failed by one vote in the Virginia Senate. All 20 Democrats voted against the measure in the evenly divided Senate. Republican Sen. Harry Blevins of Virginia Beach did not vote, denying the GOP a 20th vote that would have allowed Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling to break the tie. Last year, Bolling cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of similar legislation, which died in the House. Sen. Bill Carrico’s bill would have required an initial drug screening of applicants, followed by testing if officials suspected illegal drug use. Anyone testing positive could lose benefits for a year.

Director Of Sullivan County Schools, Jubal Yennie, Is Hoping School Leaders Will Consider A Rezoning Issue For 2013-2014. Yennie Wants To Address Overcrowding And Underutilization Of School Facilities. The County School System Has More Than 10-Thousand Pre-K Through 12th Students In 20 School Facilities.

Sullivan County Property Owners Have Until The End Of The Month To Pay Up. The Deadline For Payment Of 2012 Property Taxes Is Feb. 28th. County Trustee Frances Harrell Reportedly Said Payments Have Been Coming In Over Recent Weeks And Paying Online Seems To Be A Popular Method. You Can View Your Taxes At Sullivancountytn.Gov. The County’s Tax Rate Stands At 2.33 Cents Per 100 Dollars Of Assessed Value.

According To The Scott County Virginia Sheriff’s Office, There Has Been A Double-Digit Increase In Domestic Violence Cases In 2012 While Drug-Related Offenses Decreased. Deputies Responded To 288 Domestic Calls Over The Course Of Last Year, Which Is Up 20 Percent Over The Previous Year. Sheriff John Puckett Said The Trend Is A Concern Since Domestic Violence Related Cases Are Usually The Most Dangerous Calls The Department Receives. Drug Arrests Dropped To 281, Which Reflects A 37.6 Drop From 2011.

Apparently Kingsport Is Happy With Its Red Light Camera’s And Has Decided To Extend Its Contract For At Least Four More Years. An Agreement Was Recently Reached Between Kingsport And Redflex Traffic Systems Incorporated. Kingsport Assistant Police Chief David Quillen Supports The Cameras And Said T-Bone Collisions Have Been Reduced By 50 Percent As A Result Of The Devices. According To Red Light Camera Data, 74-Hundred Citations Were Issued Last Year Compared To 84-Hundred The Year Before.

The Tennessee Bureau Of Investigation Has Released The Names Of The Victims And The Shooter Who Died Following A Domestic Dispute Over The Weekend In Erwin. The Victims Are 39 Year Old Bridget Hughes, 12 Year Old Whitney Hughes, 11 Year Old Austin Hughes, And The Alleged Shooter, 47 Year Old Herbert Clyde Hughes, Jr. Police Responded To A Call Of A Wounded Person At Erwin Housing Authority On Carolina Avenue Early Saturday Morning. It Appears Herbert Hughes, Jr. Fatally Shot His Wife, Two Children And Then Himself. Autopsies Are Expected To Be Finished Later This Week.

Between 2011 And 2012, Downtown Kingsport Continued To See Phenomenal Growth In Taxable Property Value, Jumping By 22.7 Million Dollars During The Period. The One Year Increase In Downtown Property Values Was 20 Percent. The Board Of Mayor And Aldermen Invested More Than 20 Million Dollars In The Academic Village Which Has Brought Accessible Educational Opportunities As Well As Potential Customers To Downtown Merchants.

A Car Crash In Carter County Has Injured Three Elizabethton Residents. 23 Year Old Stormey Shepherd Was Traveling Eastbound On Highway 91 When Her Gmc Truck Crossed Into The Westbound Traffic Hitting Another Vehicle Almost Head On. The Passengers Of The Car, 45 Year Old Melissa Carter And 44 Year Old Penny Carter, Had To Be Helped From The Vehicle By The Carter County Rescue Squad. All Were Taken To The Johnson City Medical Center. Their Conditions Are Unknown At This Time. Charges Are Pending. Authorities Say Alcohol May Have Been A Factor Of The Wreck. The Investigation Is Continuing.

An Alleged Altercation Between Two Brothers In Sullivan County Has Resulted In The Arrest Of One Of The Siblings On Numerous Charges Including Assaulting A Police Officer. Sullivan County Sheriff’s Deputies Responded To The Alleged Incident On Harr Trail Road In Blountville. When They Arrived, 24 Year Old Aaron Hooker Had Already Left The Home And Was Later Located On Apache Drive In Blountville. After Being Given Several Verbal Commands, Hooker Didn’t Respond. Sheriff’s Spokeswoman Leslie Earhart Said A K9 Officer Held Him Until He Could Be Taken Into Custody. Hooker Was Transported To The Sullivan County Correctional Facility. He’s Charged With Assault On An Officer, Felony Vandalism, Parole Violation, And Failure To Appear. Hooker Will Appear In Court Soon.

The U.S. Army Has Granted Bae Systems In Kingsport A 27-Million Dollar Contract To Complete The A2b Project At Holston Army Ammunition Plant. This Project Involves Building A State-Of-The-Art Energy-Saving Chemical Processing Facility. Work Is Expected To Be Completed Later This Year. The New Facility Will Transform And Modernize The Way Acetic Acid And Acetic Anhydride Are Produced, Stored And Handled At The Plant For Manufacturing Military Explosives.