Two Monroe County Deputies Accused of Bringing Contraband into Jail, TBI Says

Two Monroe County Deputies Accused of Bringing Contraband into Jail, TBI Says

Posted on December 9, 2024

Monroe County, TN (WOKI) Two now-resigned deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office are indicted on official misconduct counts.

The office started an investigation into Corrections Deputy Caleb Kirkland and Deputy Sheriff Ava Hensley which was taken over by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation when both deputies resigned.

Both deputies were indicted by a grand jury on December 4 and arrested that same day.

Kirkland was indicted on one count of official misconduct while Hensley was indicted on three counts; both were accused of bringing contraband into the county jail.

“As your Sheriff of Monroe County, I have promised to uphold my deputies to a higher standard. No one that wears a badge is above the law, and if a law enforcement officer breaks the public’s trust by committing a crime, and violating their oath while wearing a badge, then they need to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. When I took the office as Sheriff, I promised transparency and will continue to be transparent throughout my service as your sheriff.” – Monroe County Sheriff Tommy Jones

Two deputies with the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office were indicted for official misconduct.(Courtesy: WVLT)
Parkdale Mills to Close in New Year after Hurricane Helene

Parkdale Mills to Close in New Year after Hurricane Helene

Posted on December 9, 2024

Mountain City, TN (WOKI) Citing the devastating impact wrought by Hurricane Helene, an East Tennessee textile company announces plans to close its doors in the New Year.

According to a Tennessee WARN notice, Parkdale Mills in Mountain City will shut its doors for good on January 3, 2025.

The notices act as a way to report to the state mass layoffs. According to the notice, the extent of the damage suffered at the company’s Mountain City location “makes it impossible to resume operations.”

“The decision comes because of the devastating impact of Hurricane Helene, which left the facility completely inoperable,” the notice reads. “Despite best efforts to assess all options, the extent of the damage makes it impossible to resume operations.”

The closure is affecting 120 workers.

According to the notice, the company is closing down because of Hurricane Helene. (Pexels)
Court Records Provide New Details in Bean Station Officer-Involved Shooting

Court Records Provide New Details in Bean Station Officer-Involved Shooting

Posted on December 9, 2024

Bean Station, TN (WOKI) We’re learning more about an officer-involved shooting last month out of Bean Station.

Court records indicate a police officer went to a house on Love Drive on November 30 to find a man who was wanted for stealing a vehicle. When the officer arrived, a man identified as Dustin Lee Carpenter allegedly started running behind the house.

According to the affidavit of complaint, a foot chase ensued with the officer telling Carpenter, repeatedly, to stop.

After failing to scale a fence, Carpenter allegedly pulled a concealed handgun and shot at the officer. The officer shot back, hitting Carpenter in the right buttock who was placed into custody then transferred to UT Medical Center.

He was charged with attempt to commit felony murder on a police officer.

Dustin Lee Carpenter (Courtesy: Bean Station Police Department)
Lady Vols Debut In AP Top 25 At No. 19
Courtesy / UT Athletics

Lady Vols Debut In AP Top 25 At No. 19

Posted on December 9, 2024

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Wins over Florida State and Iowa last week have propelled the Tennessee women’s basketball team into the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time this season at No. 19. 

The Lady Volunteers beat the Seminoles (79-77) last Wednesday night in Knoxville and (then) the No. 17/20 Hawkeyes (78-68) on Saturday night in Brooklyn, N.Y., to improve to 7-0. This marks UT’s best start to a season since opening at 9-0 in 2021-22. 

Kim Caldwell, who is 224-31 in her ninth season as a head coach and off to a remarkable start in her first year at the helm of the Lady Vol program, has Tennessee back in the AP Top 25 for the first time since Nov. 27, 2023. Since the rankings began in 1976, Tennessee has been in the AP Top 25 in 779 of 870 total weeks (89.5%). 

The 7-0 beginning this season is the second best of Caldwell’s career after a 29-0 start in 2021-22. That season, she guided Glenville State (W. Va.) to an NCAA Division II National Championship at 35-1.

UT, which joins LSU as the only remaining undefeated SEC women’s teams, will be back in action at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, as NC Central visits Food City Center. The game will be streamed on SECN+ and available on Lady Vol Network radio stations statewide as well as on UTSports.com.

Cooper Mays Tabbed Rimington Trophy Finalist
Courtesy / UT Athletics

Cooper Mays Tabbed Rimington Trophy Finalist

Posted on December 9, 2024

NEW YORK — The Boomer Esiason Foundation announced Monday that Tennessee senior Cooper Mays is a finalist for the Rimington Trophy, which annually recognizes the most outstanding center in college football.
 
Mays becomes the first player in Tennessee history to be named a Rimington Trophy finalist since the award’s inception in 2000. He is one of three final candidates recognized by the committee in 2024, joining Western Michigan redshirt senior Jacob Gideon and Ohio State graduate student Seth McLaughlin.

In his fourth-straight season as the starting center, the Kingston native anchored the Volunteers as UT produced a top 10 rushing offense and total offense in the country and punched its ticket to the College Football Playoff. Mays played a team-high 816 offensive snaps according to PFF and did not allow a sack or QB hit throughout the entire campaign, and he carries a current streak of 26 consecutive games without allowing a sack that dates back to the 2022 season.
 
Mays led an offensive line unit that paved the way for the top rushing attack in the SEC for the second year in row. Tennessee’s 232.0 rushing yards per game ranked first in the conference and ninth in the FBS, while its 462.9 yards of total offense per game were second in the league and eighth nationally. For their efforts, Tennessee’s offensive line was recognized as Joe Moore Award semifinalists for the third-straight season, joining Oregon as the only schools in the country to accomplish that feat.
 
While more than a dozen All-America teams are selected annually, the Rimington Trophy committee uses these three prestigious teams to determine a winner:

  • Walter Camp Foundation (WCF)
  • Sporting News (SN)
  • Football Writers Association of America (FWAA)

The center with the most first team votes will be determined the winner. If there is a tie with first team votes, then the center with the most second team votes will win. If there is still a tie, the winner will be determined by a majority vote from the Rimington Trophy Committee, provided with data from Pro Football Focus.
 
The 2024 Rimington Trophy recipient will be announced during the Home Depot College Football Awards Show on Saturday, Dec. 14, and honored at the Rococo Theatre in Lincoln, Nebraska, on Jan. 25, 2025.

2024 Tennessee Postseason Award Honors as of Dec. 9

DC Tim Banks
Broyles Award Semifinalist

DB Will Brooks
Burlsworth Trophy Semifinalist

QB Nico Iamaleava
Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award Semifinalist

OL Cooper Mays
Rimington Trophy Finalist

WR Bru McCoy
Witten Award Semifinalist
Comeback Player of the Year Semifinalist
SEC Community Service Team

DB Jermod McCoy
Thorpe Award Semifinalist

DE James Pearce Jr.
Bednarik Award Semifinalist
Lombardi Award Semifinalist
Walter Camp Player of the Year Semifinalist

LB Keenan Pili
NFF Campbell Trophy Semifinalist

RB Dylan Sampson
Maxwell Award Semifinalist
Doak Walker Award Semifinalist

Offensive Line
Joe Moore Award Semifinalist

TBI Silver Alert Issued for South Carolina Missing From Gatlinburg has Ended
TBI

TBI Silver Alert Issued for South Carolina Missing From Gatlinburg has Ended

Posted on December 9, 2024

Update: Ronnie Donald has been located, and is safe.

Original Story: The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued a Silver Alert for 71-year-old Ronnie Donald who went missing while on vacation with his family in Gatlinburg.

He left the hotel they were staying at around 5 p.m. last (Sunday) night, wearing a gray and black t-shirt and dark khaki pants.

He was last seen driving a silver 2019 Kia Sorrento with South Carolina license plate QUL 353.

He has several medical conditions that may impair his ability to return safely without assistance.

We have his photo on our website, Newstalk987.com.

Anyone with information, please call 800-TBI-FIND.

Knoxville Police Arrest Suspect in Bomb Threat at West Town Mall
WVLT

Knoxville Police Arrest Suspect in Bomb Threat at West Town Mall

Posted on December 8, 2024

Knoxville Police says a man has been arrested and charged after making a fake bomb threat at West Town Mall.

32-year-old Marshall Hazlett was arrested Friday night after he claimed to have put a bomb on a TV inside one of the stores which resulted in a significant law enforcement response but officers determined the threat was not credible before mall security evacuated the mall as part of their emergency protocol.

Hazlett was found at Target on Ray Mears Boulevard and charged with making a false report.

A Neighbor’s Quick Actions Prevent Apartment Fire from Spreading
KFD

A Neighbor’s Quick Actions Prevent Apartment Fire from Spreading

Posted on December 8, 2024

An alert neighbor calls the Knoxville Fire department and helps keep an apartment fire from spreading.

KFD received the call Saturday for a porch on fire at the Addison at Sutherland. The neighbor also alerted the person inside about the fire.

Thanks to the quick actions of the neighbor, the fire was quickly brought under control through the use of a portable fire extinguisher. KFD was able to completely put the fire out on their arrival.

The building’s exterior wall suffered minor damage.

Thanks to a quick-thinking neighbor, the damage was limited and likely prevented a much larger fire on this frigid December morning.

Cause of Fire that Destroys a Home is Determined by Knoxville Fire Department Officials
KFD

Cause of Fire that Destroys a Home is Determined by Knoxville Fire Department Officials

Posted on December 8, 2024

The cause of a fire, that injures two, at the Amherst Ridge Mobile Home Park is determined to have been caused by unattended cooking, which is the leading factor contributing to cooking fires and casualties according to the National Fire Protection Association.

The Knoxville Fire Department was called to Saturday’s fire in the 2600 Miss Ellie Drive and found heavy smoke with flames showing from the home’s exterior.

Crews found two people and got them out of the home. They were taken to the hospital and treated for minor injuries.

The home is a total loss and the American Red Cross is assisting.

Knoxville Man Sentence to More Than a Decade in Prison for Deadly Crash Involving a Motorcycle in West Knoxville
WVLT

Knoxville Man Sentence to More Than a Decade in Prison for Deadly Crash Involving a Motorcycle in West Knoxville

Posted on December 8, 2024

A Knoxville man is sentenced to more than a decade behind bars after a deadly crash involving a motorcycle on Kingston Pike.

The Knox County District Attorney’s Office says 23-year-old Christian Elwood was driving down Kingston Pike at 91 mph on July 23rd in 2022 when he hit the victim, who was on a motorcycle, near Huxley Road and died the next day.

Elwood was convicted of vehicular homicide by intoxication, reckless endangerment, driving under the influence and speeding. He has been sentenced to 11 years behind bars without the possibility of parole.

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