FROM THE RADIO NEWS DEPARTMENT

Authorities Have Made An Arrest In The Robbery Of An Elderly Hawkins County Woman Earlier This Week. 36 Year Old Molena Dowell Of Morristown Is Charged With Aggravated Robbery, Burlglary, And Theft Of Property Over 500 Dollars. Dowell Reportedly Confessed To Entering The Home Of 86 Year Old Louise Howard, Taking Her Property And Struggling With The Victim. Detectives Discovered A Ring Belonging To The Victim At A Pawn Shop In Morristown. Several Items Belonging To Howard Were Also Found In The Vehicle Dowell Was Driving The Day Of The Robbery. A Court Date For Dowell In Pending.

The Postal Service announced it planned to cut back to five-day-a-week deliveries for everything except packages. Saturday delivery of mail, such as letters and magazines that are going to street addresses, would end. Delivery would be only Monday through Friday. Mail addressed to P.O. boxes still would be delivered on Saturday. Post offices now open on Saturday would remain open on Saturday. Delivery of packages of all sizes would remain the same, i.e., six days a week. The change would begin the week of Aug. 5. Officials estimated that the cutback would save around $2 billion annually when it was fully in place.

Both chambers of the Virginia General Assembly have approved legislation to toughen penalties for texting while driving. Texting while driving is already punishable by a $20 fine, but it’s a secondary offense. That means police can only write a ticket if they stop the motorist for another violation. The Senate and House of Delegates voted to increase the fine to $250 and make it a primary offense. That would allow police to stop and ticket anyone they spot texting behind the wheel.

A Member Of The Sullivan County School Board Is Calling For A New Board Designees To Oversee The Ketron Elementary School Project As It Moves Toward Final Acceptance. Todd Broughton Spoke To The Board Of Education This Week Regarding Concerns Of A Sinkhole, A Cracked Retaining Wall And A Leaking Roof. Director Of Schools Jubal Yennie Said Educational Leaders Are Working Through A Punch List With Burwil Construction Company, The Project’s General Contractor And That Things Are Moving Along Just Fine.

Sullivan County Leaders Are Wanting To Cut Spending In All Departments For The Upcoming Fiscal Year. Commissioners Propose To Reduce Funding By 5-Percent. The Move Is Being Made To Prevent A Budget Battle Like The One The County Had Last Year Which Resulted In A 20-Cent Property Tax Hike. The Proposal Will Next Go For Consideration By The Budget Committee Today. If It Passes, It Will Go Before The Full Commission February 19th.

A Search Firm Will Be Consulted To Find A New Washington County Virginia Administrator. Current Admininstrator Nadine Culberson Will Be Retiring At The End Of The Year. Leaders Will Be Looking Into Hiring The Search Firm Springsted Which Has An Office In Richmond. Supervisors Have Already Interviewed Three People For The Position. The Decision To Use A Search Firm Came After Board Members Could Not Come To A Unanimous Consensus On Hiring Any Of The Three Candidates.

It’s Going To Be Awhile Before You Will Be Able To Watch A Movie In Kingsport. Kingsport Town Center Owner, Somera Capital Management, Terminated Marquee Cinemas’ Lease, Which Prompted The Theater To Close Monday. Marquee Has Until Mid-February To Remove Equipment From The Mall. It’ll Take Up To 30 Days From That Point To Prepare The Space For Frank Entertainment, The New Theater Tenant. At That Point, Frank Would Have About 30 Days To Reopen The Theater. It Could Possibly Be Mid-April Before The Theater Reopens, But There’s A Possiblity It Could Be Sooner.

A Kingsport Man Is Behind Bars Facing Child Porn Charges. 24 Year Old Keith Shapardon Is Charged With Sexual Exploitation Of A Minor And Tampering With Evidence. The Charges Follow The Alleged Discovery Of More Than 100 Images Of Child Pornography On His Home Computer. Shapardon Is Being Held In The Sullivan County Jail On A 40-Thousand Dollar Bond. A Hearing Is Pending.

Residential Building Codes In Jonesborough Have Lapsed For Nearly 10 Months Beyond The Maximum 7 Year Code Revision Interval Allowed By Tennessee Code Enforcement Regulations. Town Administrator Bob Browning Said An Ordinance To Adopt The 2006 International Residential Code Currently In Use In Washington County And Johnson City Is Being Drafted And Will Be Presented To The Jonesborough Board Of Mayor And Aldermen Next Week.

Three Johnson City Residents Are Facing Charges For Allegedly Making Methamphetamine At A Montgomery Street Residence. 22 Year Old Monroe Lowe And 21 Year Old Carla Lowe Are Each Charged With Manufacture Of Meth, Possession Of Meth For Resale, And Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia. 51 Year Old Thomas Bugg, Who Was On Probation For Manufacturing Marijuana, Is Facing Driving On A Revoked License, Promotion Of Meth Manufacture, And Maintaining A Dwelling Where Controlled Substances Are Used Or Sold Charges. Washington County Sheriff Ed Graybeal Says Monroe Lowe Was Observed Disposing Of Items Used To Make Meth. He’s Being Held In The Washington County Detention Center. Carla Lowe Is Free On An 11-Thousand Dollar Bond. Bond For Bugg Was Set At 37-Thousand Dollars And He Will Be Arraigned Soon.

A House Fire In Bristol Tennessee Has Claimed The Life Of A Local Woman. 66 Year Old Eulala Matthews Was Found In The Home. The Call Came In Around Four O’clock Yesterday Morning. The Fire At The Residence On Oakland Drive Appears To Have Begun In The Bedroom Of The Home. There Was Heavy Damage. Authorities Are Trying To Determine How Matthews Died As Well As The Cause Of The Blaze.

A Tennessee Board Of Parole Hearing Officer Has Recommended A Former Hawkins County Judge Serve His Full Prison Sentence With No Further Parole Hearings. A Parole Hearing Was Held In Nashville For 41 Year Old James Taylor, Former Sessions Court Judge, Where He Has Been Incarcerated Since May 25th. He Plead Guilty In September To Six Counts Of Felony Theft And Was Sentenced To Three Years With 30 Percent Release Eligibility. In October, Taylor Plead Guilty To An Additional Six Counts Of Felony Theft. The Parole Hearing Officer’s Recommendation Will Be Considered By The Board Of Parole Which Will Render Its Final Decision In Two To Four Weeks.

A Hawkins County Grand Jury Has Indicted One Of Two Men Accused Of Attacking A Pregnant Church Hill Woman With A Baseball Bat. 35 Year Old Benjamin Carroll Is Charged With Aggravated Robbery, Aggravated Burglary, Theft Under $500, Simple Possession Of Marijuana, Simple Possession Of Schedule Iii Narcotics And Possession Of Drug Paraphernalia. Carroll And Another Unidentified Male Suspect Allegedly Forced Their Way Into A Home On Old Union Road Seeking Out Pain Medication. Following The Alleged Assault, The Men Fled The Home With The Victim’s Purse. No One Was Seriously Injured In The Ordeal. The Investigation Is Continuing. Carroll Is Expected To Appear In Court Soon.

East Tennessee State University Will Be Testing Its Emergency Notification Systems This Week. The Test Will Include The Outdoor Siren System With Speakers Placed On The ETSU And Veterans Affairs Medical Center Campuses, An ETSU Alert Link On The ETSU Home Page, A Public Address Unit In Selected Campus Buildings And The Goldalert Text And E-Mail System. The Test Will Take Place At 9:35am Thursday Morning. During The Process, No Action From Students Or Persons Residing In The Surrounding Neighborhoods Is Required.

A 14 Year Old Male Has Been Arrested In Connection With A Telephone Call Made This Week Resulting In A Security Lockdown At A Greene County High School. It Happened Yesterday Morning At Chuckey-Doak High School And Caused Modified Lockdowns At All Other County And City Public Schools. Sheriff Steve Burns Said The Juvenile Has Been Charged With Felony Filing A False Report. The Caller Claimed A Student Was Going To Bring A Gun To Chuckey-Doak To Do Harm To Other Students. An Investigation Revealed It Was A Hoax And There Was No Actual Threat.