Officials in Monroe County have issued a boil water notice this morning after a suspected large line break.
Water pressure is down across the county with bacteria contamination possible.
Until further notice, water customers are advised to boil water prior to using it for drinking or food preparation.
Also, Monroe County Schools say that Tellico Plains High School, elementary school and junior high school will be including bottled water on their lunch menus.
For the first time since, 2005, NOAA has issued a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm watch over the northern half of the U.S.
The storm could even bring aurora borealis, or northern lights, to East Tennessee skies.
G4 storms are the second-strongest type of geomagnetic storm. According to NOAA they can ““trip out key assets from the grid,” meaning possible widespread voltage problems.
National Weather Service are hoping we’ll get to see this and say the possibility of lights comes Saturday night.
As for Saturday’s weather, the skies in East Tennessee look clear.
For best viewing, get away from man-made lights.
AUBURN, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference announced its post-season awards Friday morning with head coach Karen Weekly and freshman Karlyn Pickens garnering individual honors. McKenna Gibson, Payton Gottshall, Taylor Pannell, Pickens and Rylie West garnered All-SEC First Team honors – while Kiki Milloy, Sophia Nugent and Zaida Puni landed second-team recognition.
Leading Tennessee to a 40-9 record and its second straight SEC regular season crown, Weekly garnered 2024 SEC Coach of the Year honors. It is the second year in a row that Weekly has been named coach of the year and is her fourth time being tabbed as the award winner.
After a dominating season in the circle, sophomore Karlyn Pickens was voted as SEC Pitcher of the Year – joining Monica Abbott as the only Lady Vols to win the award.
With only conference stats considered, Pickens finished SEC play with a 9-3 record, six complete games, four shutouts and a save. The flamethrower notched 94 strikeouts over 86.2 innings of work and held opposing hitters to a .181 batting average.
The Weaverville, North Carolina, native closed league play with a 1.70 ERA.
Since 1997, UT has collected 85 total All-SEC accolades from 47 student-athletes.
Voted on by the league’s 13 head coaches, the All-SEC Teams consist of 21 student-athletes on the First Team, 21 student-athletes on the Second Team and a nine-member All-Defensive Team. No ties were broken in the selection process.
McKenna Gibson • 3B • Jr. • Santa Clarita, Calif.
Named All-SEC First Team in consecutive seasons, Gibson has been a steady performer for Tennessee. Hitting .291 with a .506 and .345 slugging and on-base percentage, the third baseman has five doubles, four home runs and 19 RBIs in SEC play this season.
Payton Gottshall • P • Gr. • Massillon, Ohio
One of the best pitchers in the nation, Gottshall holds a 1.41 ERA in conference play with a 9-2 record. The right-hander tossed four complete games and two shutouts with 68 strikeouts over 69.1 innings pitched. She held opposing hitters to a .147 batting average. Gottshall is a first-time All-SEC team member.
Taylor Pannell • OF • R-Fr. • Milan, Ill.
The redshirt freshman led Tennessee in conference play this season with a .342 batting average, six home runs and finished second on the squad with 18 runs batted in. Pannell slugged .589 with a .360 on-base percentage. This marks Pannell’s first appearance on the All-SEC team.
Karlyn Pickens • P • So. • Weaverville, N.C.
The other half of Tennessee’s one-two punch in the circle, Pickens was named the SEC Pitcher of the Year after a stellar sophomore season. Pickens earned All-SEC First Team honors for the first time in 2024 after earning second-team accolades in 2023.
Rylie West • OF • Sr. • Eastvale, Calif.
A senior outfielder, West slashed .308/.538/.356 in league play as she garnered All-SEC First Team accolades for the first time in her career. Playing in 21 games, West scored 13 runs, clubbed four home runs and drove in 11 runs in her final season on Rocky Top.
Kiki Milloy • OF • Gr. • Woodinville, Wash.
For the fourth time in her career, Milloy has earned All-SEC honors. A second-team member, the graduate hit .284, scored a team-high 20 runs with four doubles and three home runs. Milloy also stole a team-best seven bases during conference play.
Sophia Nugent • C • Jr. • Seal Beach, Calif.
A first-year Lady Vol, Nugent was tabbed All-SEC Second Team after hitting .277 with 10 runs, four doubles, five home runs and 14 RBIs. The junior was solid behind the plate with 118 putouts and three assists.
Zaida Puni • DP • Sr. • Carson, Calif.
The senior split time at first base and being the designated player in 2024 – earning All-SEC honors for the third time. Puni knocked five home runs during the conference season with 17 RBIs – slugging .507 with a .425 on-base percentage.
Game Recap: Softball | May 09, 2024
AUBURN, Ala. – It was another pitcher’s duel between No. 2 Tennessee and No. 10 LSU in the quarterfinals of the SEC Softball Tournament, with the Tigers emerging with a 2-1 win.
Tennessee (40-10) managed five hits – all singles – off LSU starter Kelley Lynch.
Sophia Nugent drove in UT’s run with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth. Laura Mealer, Giulia Koutsoyanopulos, Zaida Puni and Rylie West had the Lady Vols’ other hits in the contest.
LSU (40-14) pushed across one run in the first off the bat of Ali Newland – knocking an RBI single through the middle of the diamond. Newland finished the night 2-for-3.
In the fifth, the Tigers scratched across their second run of the game on a Taylor Pleasants RBI single to center.
Lynch pitched 4.2 innings for LSU, allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks. The right-hander was lifted in the fifth for Sydney Berzon. Lynch earned the win – her eighth of the season.
Berzon closed out the quarterfinal, pitching 2.1 frames with one hit and three strikeouts and picking up her fourth save.
Karlyn Pickens started in the circle for Tennessee, tossing 3.1 before being lifted for Payton Gottshall with one away in the fourth. She returned to the circle in the sixth inning, finishing the night.
Her final line was five innings pitched with one run allowed on four hits, three walks and four strikeouts. Pickens suffered the loss – her sixth in 2024.
Gottshall threw two innings in relief, giving up one run on three hits with a walk and a strikeout.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday, May 12 when the 64-team bracket is revealed at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
The Sevier County Sheriff’s office needs your help to find two missing children.
Authorites say 10 year-old Alaina Willis and 15 year old Jesse Willis haven’t been seen since April 22nd.
They might be in the Pikeville Kentucky area.
We have their photos on our website Newstalk987.com.
If you have any information please call the Sheriff’s Office or 1-800-TBI FIND.
Alaina Willis is 4’10” tall and weighs around 120 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. Jesse Willis is 5’11” tall and around 130 pounds with red hair and blue eyes.
Knoxville Fire Department crews are on the scene (Friday morning) of a house fire at the corner of Cottonwood Drive and Burwood Road.
Crews are battling the fire at 3400 Burwood and say a woman was awakened by smoke and jumped out a window before they arrived. She was treated for possible injuries at the scene and taken to the hospital.
Three dogs were located safely, and one cat is missing.
There were no working smoke alarms in the home. The home has suffered heavy fire damage.
The American Red Cross is assisting.
Louisville, TN (WOKI) A man is taken to the hospital Wednesday morning following a shooting in Louisville.
Officials with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office say deputies responded to a home on Samples Road around 10:00 a.m. and found the 63-year-old victim outside who had been shot at least once. He was taken to UT Medical Center in critical condition.
BCSO deputies and officers with the Alcoa Police Department arrested the suspect, 29-year-old Benjamin Absher, who is charged with attempted criminal homicide and is being held at the Blount County Correctional Facility on a $200,000 bond.
The investigation is ongoing.
Harrogate, TN (WOKI / WVLT) Lincoln Memorial University has named their next president.
Dr. Jason McConnell, who has served as the interim president since January 1, 2024 will now fill the role on a full-time basis. He is the 22nd president at the school.
“I am deeply honored to serve as the president of Lincoln Memorial University, an institution that holds a special place in my heart,” McConnell said. “I am committed to advancing LMU’s mission of providing transformative educational experiences to our students and fostering a culture of excellence. Together, with the support of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni, I am excited to lead LMU into a new era of innovation and success.”
McConnell first joined LMU as a member of the Information Technology Department in 2001.
Morristown, TN (WOKI) The former Witt Utilities Board general manager has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Benjamin Harris pleaded guilty to theft of property and official misconduct on May 1 in Hamblen County Circuit Court and was sentenced to supervised probation.
He was charged in May of last year after the comptroller’s office found he had misappropriated at least $12,000 and received “questionable” overtime payments of almost $68,000 during part of 2022.
The investigation also found that Harris used a district-owned car to go to a bar in Knoxville to drink during work hours.
Sevier County, TN (WOKI) If you are traveling in Sevier County, you will need to take several road closures into account when choosing your routes Thursday. Severe storms that moved through East Tennessee Wednesday have shut many of them down.
At this time, 11 roads are compromised due to flooding and debris resulting from Wednesday’s severe weather in the region.
In Sevier County, the following roads have been affected:
Officials in Monroe County have issued a boil water notice this morning after a suspected large line break. Water pressure is down across the county with bacteria contamination possible. Until further notice, water customers are advised to boil water prior to using it for drinking or food preparation. Also, Monroe County Schools say that Tellico…… Continue Reading
For the first time since, 2005, NOAA has issued a G4 (severe) geomagnetic storm watch over the northern half of the U.S. The storm could even bring aurora borealis, or northern lights, to East Tennessee skies. G4 storms are the second-strongest type of geomagnetic storm. According to NOAA they can ““trip out key assets from…… Continue Reading
AUBURN, Ala. – The Southeastern Conference announced its post-season awards Friday morning with head coach Karen Weekly and freshman Karlyn Pickens garnering individual honors. McKenna Gibson, Payton Gottshall, Taylor Pannell, Pickens and Rylie West garnered All-SEC First Team honors – while Kiki Milloy, Sophia Nugent and Zaida Puni landed second-team recognition. Leading Tennessee to a 40-9 record and its second straight SEC regular season crown, Weekly garnered 2024 SEC Coach of…… Continue Reading
Game Recap: Softball | May 09, 2024 AUBURN, Ala. – It was another pitcher’s duel between No. 2 Tennessee and No. 10 LSU in the quarterfinals of the SEC Softball Tournament, with the Tigers emerging with a 2-1 win. Tennessee (40-10) managed five hits – all singles – off LSU starter Kelley Lynch. Sophia Nugent drove in UT’s…… Continue Reading
The Sevier County Sheriff’s office needs your help to find two missing children. Authorites say 10 year-old Alaina Willis and 15 year old Jesse Willis haven’t been seen since April 22nd. They might be in the Pikeville Kentucky area. We have their photos on our website Newstalk987.com. If you have any information please call the…… Continue Reading
Knoxville Fire Department crews are on the scene (Friday morning) of a house fire at the corner of Cottonwood Drive and Burwood Road. Crews are battling the fire at 3400 Burwood and say a woman was awakened by smoke and jumped out a window before they arrived. She was treated for possible injuries at the…… Continue Reading
Louisville, TN (WOKI) A man is taken to the hospital Wednesday morning following a shooting in Louisville. Officials with the Blount County Sheriff’s Office say deputies responded to a home on Samples Road around 10:00 a.m. and found the 63-year-old victim outside who had been shot at least once. He was taken to UT Medical…… Continue Reading
Harrogate, TN (WOKI / WVLT) Lincoln Memorial University has named their next president. Dr. Jason McConnell, who has served as the interim president since January 1, 2024 will now fill the role on a full-time basis. He is the 22nd president at the school. “I am deeply honored to serve as the president of Lincoln…… Continue Reading
Morristown, TN (WOKI) The former Witt Utilities Board general manager has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from an investigation by the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Benjamin Harris pleaded guilty to theft of property and official misconduct on May 1 in Hamblen County Circuit Court and was sentenced to supervised probation.…… Continue Reading
Sevier County, TN (WOKI) If you are traveling in Sevier County, you will need to take several road closures into account when choosing your routes Thursday. Severe storms that moved through East Tennessee Wednesday have shut many of them down. At this time, 11 roads are compromised due to flooding and debris resulting from Wednesday’s…… Continue Reading
