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[] | 2016-08-29T14:49:20 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | MACON, Ga. — There are two First Baptist Churches in Macon — one black and one white. They sit almost back-to-back, separated by a small park, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNation%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FNeighbor-churches-split-on-race-lines-work-to-heal-divide-1.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Divided-America-Tale-Of-Two-Churches-18.jpg | en | null | Neighbor churches, split on race lines, work to heal divide | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | “We’re literally around the corner from each other,” said the Rev. Scott Dickison, pastor of the white church.
About 170 years ago, they were one congregation, albeit a church of masters and slaves. Then the fight over abolition and slavery started tearing badly at religious groups and moving the country toward Civil War. The Macon church, like many others at the time, decided it was time to separate by race.
Ever since — through Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, desegregation and beyond — the division endured, becoming so deeply rooted it hardly drew notice. Jarred Moore, whose family has belonged to the black church for three generations, said he didn’t know the details of the history until recently.
“I thought, ‘First Baptist, First Baptist?‘ There are two First Baptists right down the street from each other and I always wondered about it, “ said Moore, a public school teacher.
Then, two years ago, Dickison and the pastor of the black church, the Rev. James Goolsby, met over lunch and an idea took shape: They’d try to find a way the congregations, neighbors for so long, could become friends. They’d try to bridge the stubborn divide of race.
They are taking up this work against a painful and tumultuous backdrop: the massacre last year at a historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina; the much-publicized deaths of blacks at the hands of law enforcement; the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the sniper killing of white Dallas police officers. These events, and the tensions they have raised, have become part of the tentative new discussions among congregants at the two First Baptists.
Next month, the pastors will take their most ambitious step yet, leading joint discussions with church members on racism in the history of the U.S., and also in the history of their congregations.
“This is not a conversation of blame, but of acceptance and moving forward,” said Goolsby, sitting in the quiet sanctuary of his church on a Monday morning. “What will govern how quickly we move is when there’s a certain level of understanding of the past.”
The South is dotted with cities that have two First Baptist Churches.
In the early 19th century, before the Civil War, whites and blacks often worshipped together, sharing faith but not pews; blacks were restricted to galleries or the back of the sanctuary. Eventually, black populations started growing faster in many communities. Whites, made uneasy by the imbalance, responded by splitting up the congregations.
This was apparently the case for First Baptist in Macon.
In 1845, church leaders bought property a block away, as “a place and habitation for the religious service and moral cultivation and improvement of the colored portion” of the congregation, according to the deed. A building was quickly erected and the black church opened.
That was a year when tensions between anti- and pro-slavery Baptists boiled over nationwide, leading Southerners to break away and create their own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention, which upheld slavery as ordained by God. The white Macon congregation, known as the First Baptist Church of Christ, became Southern Baptist.
Whites maintained oversight of the black church as required by Georgia law at the time for fear of slave rebellions. But after the Civil War ended in 1865, the white church fully severed ties.
The two First Baptist Churches stayed that way, just steps from each other but apart, ever since.
Religious groups try to set a moral standard that rises above the issues and ideologies dividing society. But faith leaders often fall short of that ideal, reflecting or even exacerbating the rifts. Like many other American institutions, houses of worship have largely been separated by race, to the point that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called Sunday mornings “one of the most segregated hours.” Recently, more churches have tried to diversify and to look critically at their past actions and teachings, with denominations from the Southern Baptist Convention to the Episcopal Church making a priority of fighting racial bias.
When Goolsby last year told the black church of the plan to work with the white congregation, people applauded. White congregants were enthusiastic as well. Yet, it was excitement mixed with some apprehension, since the effort would inevitably require “some challenging conversations,” Dickison said.
“It’s hard to talk honestly about race,” said Doug Thompson, a member of the white church and also a Mercer University professor who specializes in religion and race. “It’s always hard to help people move forward.”
The two churches’ first activity together was modest but symbolically significant. For years, each church held its Easter egg hunt in the same tree-shaded park behind their churches, but at different times. Last year, they met there together. Photos from the joint gathering show children huddled together for a group picture, grasping pink, blue and yellow baskets, black faces and white faces squinting into the sun.
As the churches held other combined activities — a book drive, a Thanksgiving potluck — some participants were so moved they had tears in their eyes. There were members of both churches who said they had been waiting for decades for such a reunion.
“I thought it would be a great opportunity and a blessing,” said Bea Warbington-Ross, a retired human resources specialist and member of Goolsby’s congregation. “There’s no reason for Sunday to be the most segregated day.”
Congregants were surprised to learn their sanctuaries had nearly identical designs, with vaulted ceilings that resembled the inverted hull of a ship. Warbington-Ross lives in the historic district five blocks from the white church, which some of her neighbors attend. She’d never been inside.
While the visits back and forth and the joint activities are clearly establishing connections, the churches are not working toward a merger.
“We don’t want to be one congregation again. We want to be a family,” said Jessica Northenor, a public school teacher and member of the white church who is helping shape the new relationship.
The congregations sealed their commitment to each other at a joint Pentecost service at the black church. Before a choir drawn from both congregations, leaders pledged to work together under the auspices of the New Baptist Covenant, an organization formed by President Jimmy Carter to unite Baptists.
“If you hold onto the pain of the past, you don’t allow God to minister and bless you in the days to come,” Goolsby said in his sermon that day. “We can show in our relationship what it means to be a child of God.”
But the pastors acknowledge the long journey ahead. They are tackling what some call the original sin of the country’s founding. The influence of racial inequity on U.S. history and modern-day life is, of course, a contentious and sensitive issue. Consider reaction to the recent comment by first lady Michelle Obama that slaves built the White House, a reference long acknowledged by historians as fact but one that critics complained was unpatriotic.
In Macon, where plaques and monuments commemorating Confederate soldiers’ valor adorn street corners and parks, white congregants will be asked to re-examine their own church history, which until recently had been officially recorded in mostly benign terms. It reflected a perspective of white “good paternalism” toward the black congregation, Thompson said, with almost no recognition of racism.
The review is so sensitive that Goolsby had suggested early on that the two churches wait to address the past until they built more mutual trust and goodwill. Dickison, acknowledging that some congregants will be embarrassed and some distressed or resistant, considers the conversation vital.
“A white person from the South — to not come to terms with our own history and experience with race is to deprive ourselves of a full understanding of the Gospel. We need to go through this kind of conversion experience of confession, of repentance and of reconciliation. We need to have that when it comes to race, not just in the country but within the church,” Dickison said.
Goolsby, a 59-year-old Atlanta native and graduate of Morehouse College and Mercer’s McAfee School of Theology, has been pastor at the black church for more than 12 years. He said he and a previous pastor at the white church tried to build ties between the congregations but the effort didn’t go very far.
This time is different, he said, in part because of his relationship with Dickison. The 33-year-old North Carolina native and Harvard Divinity School graduate became a pastor in Macon about four years ago. He and Goolsby have attended meetings of Carter’s organization, and last month took their families to meet the former president on a Sunday at Carter’s church in Plains, Georgia.
“We’ve already seen the fruits of this,” Goolsby said.
He recalled that after the attack last year on the Charleston church, he was in the parking lot of a J.C. Penney store, waiting for his wife, when Dickison called.
“Scott shared how he felt, how he was struggling with what he would share with his congregation,” Goolsby said. The two discussed the history of violence against black churches, and Dickison asked how he could show support.
“I said, ‘We’re already doing it,‘” Goolsby said. “The mere fact he thought to call me was huge.”
The stakes were even more personal about six months later, when the white church invited black church members for a youth trip to Orlando.
Goolsby’s teenage son was among those invited. But Goolsby had considered Florida a danger ever since Trayvon Martin, an unarmed, black 17-year-old, was fatally shot in Sanford by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who was later acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
The pastor could not let his son go on the trip. “If you put a hoodie on him,” he said, “he looks just like Trayvon.”
The concerns of anxious black parents had been much in the news amid the shootings of black men. But the white church members hadn’t had to confront the issue directly until Goolsby raised it.
“It’s one thing to understand it intellectually and another thing to understand it emotionally. Once he said that, I could feel it,” said David Cooke, a white deacon, who is also the Macon-Bibb County district attorney.
Cooke was to be a chaperone on the Orlando trip. He promised Goolsby he would be especially watchful. The trip went ahead safely with young people from both congregations — including the pastor’s son.
“The fact that that was so easy to share — we’ve already made progress,” Goolsby said.
Dickison strode into the basement hall of his church with a box under one arm. Inside, were copies of “Strength to Love,” a collection of sermons and writings by King. The book was at the center of classes that Dickison organized on racism for the white church, in preparation for the talks next month.
But the readings had extra significance that morning. It was the Sunday after the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota, and the fatal ambush on Dallas police. “It’s weeks like these when we need more than ever to be with God’s people,” Dickison told the roomful of congregants.
With the stifling humidity of a Georgia summer building outside, he launched into a discussion of King’s sermon on the parable of the Good Samaritan, about despised groups and showing mercy.
“We have our tribes. We see ourselves over and against others,” he said, then asked church members to reflect.
One man said when you reach out to someone from another group, “you’re perceived as unpatriotic,” or disloyal.
A woman said fear often kept people from crossing racial divides. “What if you make it worse?” she asked.
Another woman said she was upset to see some disrespect of the police. She compared law enforcement officers to the Good Samaritan, who helped a wounded stranger others had ignored. “They rush toward danger when others run,” she said.
Dickison acknowledged “fear is powerful” in shaping reactions to others. After more discussion, he wrapped up the session by quoting King, who said the solution to racism is the “willingness of men to obey the unenforceable.”
“We can’t survive spiritually separate,” the white pastor said.
That same morning, at the service at the black church, the congregation announced it would host the city’s Black Lives Matter vigil, marking the tragedies of the preceding week.
The movement has been a topic at meetings of a group appointed by Goolsby and Dickison, comprised of representatives of each church, to help guide their new relationship.
“I think it’s an opportunity for healing,” said Warbington-Ross, who is part of the group. “It’s an opportunity for us to just inform the church that black lives matter also as it relates to inclusion and exclusion, and to inform them of some things that they take for granted that we have to endure, like racial profiling, like police brutality, like racial inequality, those kinds of things.”
At the vigil the next night, police officers directed traffic as people climbed the steep marble church steps, where “God’s Mighty Fortress” is engraved in gold. Clergy from across the city filled one side of the broad pulpit. Cooke, the prosecutor, and the county sheriff were among those representing law enforcement; community leaders and residents nearly filled the pews.
A speaker wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt explained the movement “was not birthed out of hate. It was birthed out of hurt.”
Goolsby and Dickison sat side-by-side on the pulpit, swaying along with the hymns, then stood together to speak. Dickison compared racism to “a cancer that roams inside the body of this nation, and yes, even in the body of Christ.” Goolsby urged people to maintain hope “in spite of our circumstances,” and he added, “We know there will be change.”
Said both men: “Amen.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Nation/2016/08/29/Neighbor-churches-split-on-race-lines-work-to-heal-divide-1.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/ae084b64cfd702967e40fbeee9d56c8e06d2c8f7f6f2d83948e90ab012264f9b.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:49:13 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | In the summer of 1952, an expert hillbilly fiddler from the mountains of Tennessee became a member of the “world's most exclusive club.” The fiddler was black haired | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FHistory%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FGore-Sr-followed-in-the-musical-footsteps-of-the-Taylor-brothers.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/1-BW-Al-Gore-Sr-jpg.jpg | en | null | Gore Sr. followed in the musical footsteps of the Taylor brothers | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Back in 1938, men of politics were reinforcing old fashion oratory in that year's scramble for votes with fresh appeal in "music, message and machinery." The music (hillbilly bands), the message (old age pensions) and the machinery (motorized loudspeakers) became streamlined versions of salesmanship.
Mountain music was swinging out over the land to charm votes for both Democrats and Republicans, but the marshal airs of military bands still played a campaign counterpoint to those of hotfoot rhythms.
Most spectacular of the hillbilly orators was W. Lee O’Daniel, the singing flour salesman who topped the gubernatorial nomination of the Democrats. His hi-diddle-diddle outfit offered a theme song for the whole mountain music movement. They came to town with their guitars and soon were performing big time. The hillbillies were politicians now, or as the popular song from that era says, “Them Hillbillies Are Mountain Williams now"). They shucked their boots and overalls and even dropped their "howdy you alls."
For 20-year-old Albert Gore, fiddling and campaigning ran hand-in-hand as he won the nomination for Congress in Tennessee’s fourth district. Gore, former state labor commissioner, had quite a reputation in the state as a fiddler.
The politician began his fiddling interest as a young boy in the Cumberland Mountains of Smith County, TN. His father gave him the instrument, but his mountaineer friends taught him how to play it as a fiddle, as opposed to a violin. The music he learned was that of mountain backwoods folk tunes like "Cotton-Eye Joe" and "Soldier's Boy," rather than the modern hillbilly tunes associated with western cowboy crooners like Gene Autry, Tex Ridder and Jimmy Wakely.
The fiddle became an important part of Gore's campaign when he first ran for congress in 1938. He served seven terms in the House of Representatives before being elected to the senate.) At one rally, the crowd liked a couple of tunes he played so much that they kept demanding encores and delaying the candidate’s speech. Gore finally informed them that if they would vote for him, he would just play his fiddle and cut out all the talking.
Gore once appeared with his fiddle on the "Grand Ole Opry," which originates in Nashville. He received a standing invitation to return whenever he wished. Two years prior, his fiddling won second prize when he attended a charity benefit with other talented congressmen.
Gore dropped his fiddling dignity when he ran against McKellar. He likely did not have had time to practice because his campaign against McKellar, who had been in congress since 1911, lasted three full years.
Gore commuted between Washington and Tennessee during the three-year period, making more than 1,000 talks, shaking hands and consistently appearing on weekly television and radio programs.
The congressman, who argued that his 14 years in Congress should earn him a promotion, dwelled on McKellar's age and labeled him "the aging senator" and "the architect of our public debt" as chairman of the appropriations committee. Gore worked hard to get promotions, with his first job being a country schoolteacher. By the time he was 26, he served as a school superintendent.
Eventually, Gore decided to become a lawyer and commuted three nights a week from his mountain home to Nashville to attend YMCA law school. In Nashville, he fell in love with and married a waitress, Lafon Pauline Jackson, at the Andrew Jackson Hotel coffee shop. She was attending Vanderbilt University and also became a lawyer.
Is it possibly that Gore's career path happened because he took a cue from the fiddlin' Bob and Alf Taylor brothers of "War of the Roses" fame.
Reach Bob Cox at boblcox@bcyesteryear.com or go to www.bcyesteryear.com. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/History/2016/08/29/Gore-Sr-followed-in-the-musical-footsteps-of-the-Taylor-brothers.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d08677ab60236a368ff8ef2b25b22930548b9f5852c6b94c697bb4b0ff90192c.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T14:50:12 | null | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | DICKSON, Tenn. — The Tennessee Highway Patrol says alcohol was involved in the wreck of a fire truck that overturned on its way to a house fire.
The Tennessean | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F31%2FTroopers-say-alcohol-involved-in-Tennessee-fire-truck-wreck.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/31/x720_q60/Fire-truck-wreck.jpg | en | null | Troopers say alcohol involved in Tennessee fire truck wreck | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Tennessean reports (http://tnne.ws/2c6Gb5t ) that the tanker truck carrying three Vanleer volunteer firefighters missed a turn Saturday morning and ran off of the road.
Driver David Boutcher told investigators the air brakes didn’t work at the time of the crash.
The THP says Boutcher and another firefighter had been drinking alcohol before the wreck. Both were suspended and the THP said charges are pending.
The tanker had been on the way to a fire caused by a lightning strike. Another volunteer fire crew was already on the scene but the house was a total loss.
Vanleer is about 40 miles west of Nashville. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/31/Troopers-say-alcohol-involved-in-Tennessee-fire-truck-wreck.html | en | 2016-08-31T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/2d8b3f0289a5df67d6df3e238fb3f647f5ffedb3ee7363c2be2943aa2faa6cd9.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T02:49:52 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Adventurers elected to test out the ropes of East Tennessee State University’s new Basler Team Challenge and Aerial Adventure Course at the course’s grand opening Tuesday | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FLearning-the-ropes-ETSU-opens-new-Aerial-Adventure-Course-on-campus.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/30/x720_q60/AerialCourse.jpg | en | null | Learning the ropes: ETSU opens new Aerial Adventure Course on campus | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The course rises into the sky at 503 Go Bucs Trail on ETSU’s campus bordering Greenwood Drive. With platforms ranging from 15 to 45 feet off the ground, the course is designed to give beginners a taste of the aerial course, and a challenge to seasoned aerial adventurers.
A 44-foot tall climbing wall scales one side of the course, while a zip line runs along another side. The course offers 21 unique climbing, zipping, walking, jumping, balancing and swinging challenges, and ETSU President Brian Noland and Vice President for Student Affairs Joe Sherlin suited up in harnesses to test out the new course for themselves.
“All across the institution we are going through a process of evolution,” Noland said. But it was the vision of these individuals who said (that) we have the opportunity to do something special, to differentiate the institution to take something that was a phenomenal challenge for us and turn it into a world-class challenge.”
ETSU Director of Campus Recreation Lynn Nester said the addition of the course to campus is a great way to encourage students to take an opportunity to be challenged outside the classroom. The university’s Department of Campus Recreation will be offering course programs for ETSU students, faculty, staff, student organizations and outside community groups now that the course is up and running.
“Any participants that are out here facing their fears facing challenges can see that they can overcome them and then they can take that back to the classroom and other aspects of their lives,” Nester said.
The Basler Team Challenge and Aerial Adventure Course accepts reservation applications at www.etsu.edu/challenge.
Email Jessica Fuller at jfuller@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow Jessica on Twitter @fullerjf91. Like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jfullerJCP. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/30/Learning-the-ropes-ETSU-opens-new-Aerial-Adventure-Course-on-campus.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/a08065cc5a03c22d313fd9c045a8cc7cb6ec80e41576d2714f5c0c9c145e28af.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:09:17 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — In three days, the rugged residents of the medieval Italian hill town of Amatrice had planned to hold one of their most joyful events of the year: the 50th | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FItalian-town-destroyed-in-quake-was-preparing-food-festival.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/Italy-Quake-2.jpg | en | null | Italian town destroyed in quake was preparing food festival | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Instead, they will now be mourning the dozens dead from a strong earthquake that trapped residents in their homes as they slept.
Due to the upcoming food festival, known as a sagra, there was an influx of visitors to the town, so it was very hard to know how many people were sleeping Wednesday morning in Amatrice when the quake struck at 3:36 a.m.
The mayor said about 70 people had been staying in the Hotel Roma, a town landmark that has a restaurant which serves the famous pasta dish. Rescue workers pulled five bodies from the rubble of the hotel but had to halt rescue operations late Wednesday night because it was too dangerous working in the dark.
Roberto Renzi said he was sleeping “soundly and most tranquilly” when he was jostled awake by the 6.2-magnitude tremor. He said he instantly knew this quake was far, far worse than the “little movements” locals are used to in this quake-prone belt straddling Italy’s rocky Apennines mountains.
His three-story house and the one next to it miraculously remained standing, but the door to his third-floor bedroom was jammed by the quake. He grabbed a fire stoker and pried the door open and ran with his wife to the safety of the street. Renzi said a woman who owns a bed and breakfast across the street escaped by knotting bed sheets and climbing down her building.
Some people never made it out of their beds at all. Dozens are dead in Amatrice amid an overall toll of at least 159 people killed and at least 368 injured in the region by the quake, according to Italy’s prime minister.
And the death toll could rise as rescuers with sniffer dogs prepared to work through the night, checking house after house that had collapsed into mounds of dust and twisted metal.
At a four-story apartment complex on the edge of town, two top floors appeared to be largely intact, but the second floor had lost its exterior walls, exposing a brass bed perched precariously in a child’s room. In the dining room next to it, a hanging ceiling lamp and a wall mirror were unscathed by the earthquake.
Renzi left town carrying two shopping bags of possessions that firefighters allowed him to retrieve. Yet just behind him in a devastated convent, rescuers with dogs searched through the rubble for seven women — four elderly women who had been spending their summer holiday there and three nuns who had been caring for them.
A section of the convent reserved exclusively for males appeared completely unscathed. The convent abuts the Church of the Most Holy Crucifix, where a sign outside recounts how the church was heavily damaged in earthquakes in 1639 and in the early 20th century.
Waiting for news outside with infinite patience was Pina Agostini, the daughter of one of the missing guests. Tanned from her own holiday on the Adriatic coast, Agostini said she felt the quake there herself and instantly thought of her 85-year-old mother, Gilda Morante.
“I called but no one was answering,” she said, surrounding by other family members of the elderly residents, all waiting for news. They had been sitting there since early morning.
“No, eh?” she called out as two rescue workers appeared.
She said her mother, a native of Amatrice who now lives in Rome, had been spending a restful holiday since July and would have come home after this weekend’s traditional festival.
People come to Amatrice for the folklore, the traditions and the food, especially pasta Amatriciana, featuring chewy bits of pork jowl, pecorino cheese and tomato sauce.
Posters advertising this year’s festival lined the dusty walls of the destroyed town, which had billed itself as among the most beautiful in Italy. One poster promised a procession of people wearing traditional costumes and showed a woman walking with a jug of water on her head.
In contrast to the violent destruction of the quake, the courtyard of the heavily damaged convent featured a bed of roses and a breathtaking view of a valley, where five horses placidly grazed. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/24/Italian-town-destroyed-in-quake-was-preparing-food-festival.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/5e125ba96009882eaebf76696aa875e1e9b903333fe8daffb85946f4b865e7a1.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:48:56 | null | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | Dr. Jill Stinson, a faculty member in East Tennessee State University’s Department of Psychology, researches a group so stigmatized that it is often given little professional | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FETSU-s-Dr-Jill-Stinson-researching-often-overlooked-problem-behaviors.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/17/x720_q60/Stinson-Dr-Jill-ETSU-jpg.jpg | en | null | ETSU’s Dr. Jill Stinson researching often overlooked problem behaviors | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | “Research on early childhood abuse, neglect and family dysfunction shows that repeated exposure to early maltreatment has long-term impacts on adult mental and physical health,” Stinson says.
Her target population often comes to the attention of authorities early in life. She adds, “Outcomes, including early-life mental health problems and contact with the criminal justice system, are often worse for those with multiple forms of maltreatment.”
Studying young males with sexual behavior problems can prove difficult. “Those in residential facilities are a fascinating group to study,” Stinson says, “but there are few such places.”
“One of my current research projects involves going through records to find reports of trauma,” Stinson says. “We collect data on adolescents ages 11 to 18 who have been in an area private residential facility. We do not meet the individuals in person. Often, a child doesn’t know the answers to questions we are researching, such as where and when that person was referred by state agencies for help, or if the child’s parent was incarcerated and why.”
She explains, “My immediate goal is to look for patterns, to find out, for example, if foster care helps reduce risk once someone has been taken from an abusive home, and if such variables as how a parent’s attempted suicide or drug abuse impact a child at various ages.”
Ultimately, Stinson hopes to add to intervention strategies to more effectively turn a maltreated child’s future in a better direction.
To assist with her research, Stinson has received a $9,680 ETSU Research Development Committee grant. The grant will allow her to train and hire graduate assistants to go through 16 years of archival records and collect data. This is her fourth RDC grant in her four years at ETSU.
A graduate of the University of Arizona, Stinson received a dual psychology Ph.D. in clinical psychology and psychology, policy and law. Before coming to ETSU, she was director of Sex Offender Treatment at Fulton State Hospital in Missouri.
For further information, contact Stinson at 423-439-4772 or stinson@etsu.edu. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/28/ETSU-s-Dr-Jill-Stinson-researching-often-overlooked-problem-behaviors.html | en | 2016-08-17T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/a4793c7826f3a43462640a9aa77cb7293207e42e7eea5c12c39052a9bf396bdb.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:49:02 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Defiant, and determined to be a conduit for U.S. change, Colin Kaepernick plans to sit through the national anthem for as long as he feels is appropriate | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FKaepernick-will-sit-through-anthem-until-there-s-change.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/28/x720_q60/Packers-49ers-Football.jpg | en | null | Kaepernick will sit through anthem until there's change | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | He knows he could be cut by San Francisco for this stand. Criticized, ostracized, and he’ll go it all alone if need be.
The quarterback realizes he might be treated poorly in some road cities, and he’s ready for that, too, saying he’s not overly concerned about his safety, but “if something happens that’s only proving my point.”
“I’m going to continue to stand with the people that are being oppressed,” Kaepernick said Sunday at his locker. “To me this is something that has to change. When there’s significant change and I feel like that flag represents what it’s supposed to represent, this country is representing people the way that it’s supposed to, I’ll stand.”
Two days after he refused to stand for the “The Star Spangled Banner” before the 49ers’ preseason loss to the Packers, Kaepernick insists whatever the consequences, he will know “I did what’s right.” He said he hasn’t heard from the NFL or anyone else about his actions — and it won’t matter if he does.
“No one’s tried to quiet me and, to be honest, it’s not something I’m going to be quiet about,” he said. “I’m going to speak the truth when I’m asked about it. This isn’t for look. This isn’t for publicity or anything like that. This is for people that don’t have the voice. And this is for people that are being oppressed and need to have equal opportunities to be successful. To provide for families and not live in poor circumstances.”
Letting his hair go au natural and sprinting between drills as usual, Kaepernick took the field Sunday with the 49ers as his stance drew chatter across NFL camps.
He explained his viewpoints to teammates in the morning, some agreeing with his message but not necessarily his method. Some said they know he has offended his countrymen, others didn’t even know what he had done.
“Every guy on this team is entitled to their opinion. We’re all grown men,” linebacker NaVorro Bowman said.
“I agree with what he did, but not in the way he did it,” wideout Torrey Smith said. “That’s not for me. He has that right. Soldiers have died for his right to do exactly what he did. ... I know he’s taken a lot of heat for it. He understands that when you do something like that it does offend a lot of people.”
Both Bowman and Smith are African American.
Kaepernick criticized presidential candidates Donald Trump (“openly racist”) and Hillary Clinton;” called out police brutality against minorities; and pushed for accountability of public officials.
“You can become a cop in six months and don’t have to have the same amount of training as a cosmetologist,” Kaepernick said. “That’s insane. Someone that’s holding a curling iron has more education and more training than people that have a gun and are going out on the street to protect us.”
In college at Nevada, Kaepernick said, police were called one day “because we were the only black people in that neighborhood.” Officers entered without knocking and drew guns on him and his teammates and roommates as they were moving their belongings, he said.
He said his stand is not against men and women in the military fighting and losing their lives for Americans’ rights and freedoms.
Kaepernick, whose hair had been in cornrows during training camp, sat on the bench during Friday’s national anthem at Levi’s Stadium. Giants wideout Victor Cruz and Bills coach Rex Ryan said standing for the anthem shows respect.
“There’s a lot of things that need to change. One specifically? Police brutality,” said Kaepernick, whose adoptive parents are Caucasian. “There’s people being murdered unjustly and not being held accountable. People are being given paid leave for killing people. That’s not right. That’s not right by anyone’s standards.”
On Sunday, he stopped briefly on a side field to talk with Dr. Harry Edwards and they shared a quick embrace before the quarterback grabbed his helmet and took the field. Edwards is a sociologist and African-American activist who helped plan the “Olympic Project for Human Rights” before the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, where U.S. sprinters and medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads through the anthem on the medal podium in their black power protest.
After swirling trade talks all offseason following Kaepernick’s three surgeries and sub-par 2015 season, he has done everything so far but play good football — and he doesn’t plan for this to be a distraction.
Coach Chip Kelly did not speak to the media Sunday. He said Saturday he still hasn’t decided on his starting quarterback in a competition between Kaepernick and Blaine Gabbert, who took over the job from Kaepernick last November and has vowed to be the No. 1 again.
Kaepernick hasn’t stood for the anthem in any of the team’s three preseason games “and I don’t see it as going about it the wrong way.”
“That’s his right as a citizen,” Kelly said. “We recognize his right as an individual to choose to participate or not participate in the national anthem.”
Now, Kaepernick is prepared for whatever comes next.
“I think there’s a lot of consequences that come along with this. There’s a lot of people that don’t want to have this conversation,” he said. “They’re scared they might lose their job. Or they might not get the endorsements. They might not to be treated the same way. Those are things I’m prepared to handle. ...
“At this point, I’ve been blessed to be able to get this far and have the privilege of being able to be in the NFL, making the kind of money I make and enjoy luxuries like that. I can’t look in the mirror and see people dying on the street that should have the same opportunities that I’ve had.”
AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/28/Kaepernick-will-sit-through-anthem-until-there-s-change.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/364f225c6be12855db008295d2694a56b988d1c4618bbde71b7c4e5b1c5ccef6.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T14:50:09 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Don’t be alarmed if come October you see caped or masked superheroes running through the grounds at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Mountain Home. It’s just a 5K. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FHealth-Fitness%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FRun-for-Recovery-5K-set-for-Oct-1.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Run-for-Recovery-5K-1.jpg | en | null | Run for Recovery 5K set for Oct. 1 | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | But it isn’t just any old 5K. Oct. 1 will be the second annual Run for Recovery 5K run/walk, Superhero Edition, sponsored by the Day Reporting Center. The DRC is an intensive outpatient addiction recovery probation program operated by the Tennessee Department of Correction. The DRC was just recently handed over to the TDOC after a successful implementation under a Department of Justice grant — Targeted Community Crime Reduction Project — obtained by the Johnson City Police Department.
Event organizers are hoping to bring in more community participants this year, according to Kelly Sheets, a DRC therapist and event coordinator.
“Last year, it was low as far as participation from the community, so getting it out into the community was a big goal,” Sheets said. “The purpose is twofold. One is to help us raise money to pay for certain aspects of treatment. Some people who come here for treatment don’t have a driver’s license. There is NET Trans, but that costs to ride.This will help offset those costs,” she said.
Money from the run will also be used to help offset costs for graduation programs planned for program participants who successfully complete the intensive therapy.
“It honors their accomplishment and it honors their recovery,” Sheets said. “Recovery is hard and the people who get through it are like heroes so this is to honor the journey that is recovering from addiction.”
Event organizers are encouraging participants to dress as their favorite comic book superhero to any degree they’re comfortable, Sheets said. “It can be just a T-shirt with a superhero on it. I’m going as Heath Ledger’s ‘The Joker.’ ’’
Sheets said the run will be a timed event, but the DRC has not hired and event company to run it due to the expense involved.
Participation is $20 and includes an event T-shirt and swag bag. The run/walk will start and end at the gazebo on Dogwood Avenue. The race will begin at 11 a.m. To register, go to https://2ndannualrunforrecovery.splashthat.com/ and click on the RSVP link.
“We’re also doing a fundraiser on Sept. 8, 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., at Jason’s Deli,’’ Sheets said. “Anyone can donate their receipt to us and we’ll get 15 percent of the taxable sale. People can also register for the 5K at that time.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Health-Fitness/2016/08/30/Run-for-Recovery-5K-set-for-Oct-1.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/a75d3e71a6d8d95d6118f81d7d260e4b3ad1de6c4dc378be1e2cdd0d60d34f3d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:11:18 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | KNOXVILLE — Lenoir City will pay out "six figures" to stave off the threat of a lawsuit from the family of a man killed by a police officer in March, an attorney said | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FState%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FLenoir-City-to-pay-family-of-man-killed-by-officer.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/Lenoir-City-Shooting.jpg | en | null | Attorney: Lenoir City to pay ‘six figures’ to family of man killed by officer | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The city reached the agreement Monday with the family of Joshua William Grubb of Clinton, said T. Scott Jones, the family's attorney. He wouldn't give a specific amount.
"We were pleased with the resolution," Jones said. "Obviously, we were incredibly chagrined that the young man lost his life, and there is no amount of money to compensate his mother and his family for the loss."
A Loudon County grand jury in April ruled out any charges against Lenoir City Police Department Officer Tyrel Lorenz in the case. Lorenz later resigned.
On March 13, Lorenz responded to a report of a drunk driver at Bimbo's, a convenience store on U.S. Highway 321. He was in the process of arresting a passenger in Grubb's pickup for public intoxication when Grubb, 30, began to drive off, and the 6-foot, 8-inch tall Lorenz either fell or leapt into the bed of the truck, authorities have said. Lorenz's body camera captured the incident on video.
That video and security footage from a store camera showed Lorenz shouted twice for Grubb to stop the vehicle before shooting at him nine times through the back window, approximately six seconds after entering the truck bed. The mortally wounded Grubb crossed the U.S. 321 median and traveled nearly a mile in the wrong direction before crashing into a utility pole.
An autopsy later showed Grubb was under the influence of alcohol and drugs that included methamphetamine, morphine and Valium at the time of the shooting. Lorenz shot Grubb in the back, in the head, three times in the right arm and shoulder, and once in the left shoulder and forearm, the autopsy found.
Grand jurors ruled in April that Lorenz shot Grubb in "an attempt to stop Grubb as Lorenz was in fear for his life and the safety of others on Highway 321." Lorenz, who was placed on paid administrative leave after the shooting, was put back on the street on April 14. He resigned on May 25.
Jones said the Grubb family disputed the grand jury's findings. He said he drafted a complaint that argued Lorenz's "cowboy cop position" and "lack of training" led to Grubb's death and presented it to city officials.
Read more about the settlement at KnoxNews.com | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/State/2016/08/25/Lenoir-City-to-pay-family-of-man-killed-by-officer.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/9c7eafbd1d03b0896cf9da278da3bd9c30f1dde25b6a492f7c9ba069d3342151.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:49:15 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Johnson City motorists are the winners here.
Nineteen of State of Franklin Road’s 20 intersections are now signalized, and the near-complete restructuring of the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FCity-racks-up-traffic-improvements.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/traffic-improvements.jpg | en | null | City racks up traffic improvements | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Nineteen of State of Franklin Road’s 20 intersections are now signalized, and the near-complete restructuring of the West Walnut Street/West State of Franklin intersection has eased congestion and relaxed what has been some tense turning situations.
“It used to back up past McKinley Road,” Public Works Department Director Phil Pindzola said Monday about the daily metallic bottleneck caused by narrow lanes and few options for turning left or right onto State of Franklin. “It now runs smooth. I’ve been getting calls from people in the area saying, ‘thank you, thank you, thank you.’ ’’
The formerly T-shaped intersection now offers additional turn lanes, better sight lines and a more driver-friendly passage. Numerous traffic accidents prompted Johnson City officials to reconfigure the intersection near Kroger at a point where West Walnut makes a downhill swoop to the very busy West State of Franklin.
The entry use to employ only one lane. Motorists could turn left or right, but it took a lot of neck-grinding and good timing. There now are two, clearly marked and signalized dedicated left-turn lanes and one dedicated right-turn lane (off West Walnut).
Initially, the project was conceived as merely a means to alleviate traffic and increase capacity on West Walnut, but other options have come into play. Traffic Engineer Manager Anthony Todd said the right turn lane lane onto West State of Franklin has been reconfigured so people won’t have to turn and look over their left shoulder to see if traffic is coming.
Todd said the right turn lane also was reshaped so that there is more of an immediate turn, which reduces the curvature, or angle, that previously existed. The two left turn lanes and the one right turn lane are separated by a large landscaped median, and a new crosswalk is nearly complete.
The city also has resurfaced West Walnut from the intersection west to the bridge over the CSX rail lines. Meanwhile, Coalyard Restoration LLC is working on a combination flood storage area and park off West Walnut near the intersection. The company is creating the space on the city-owned land to help alleviate flooding further down West State of Franklin where it is building a new Starbucks and retail area.
Pindzola said the 20th and final intersection on State of Franklin at Indian Ridge will get signalization soon after state and federal reviews are complete.
Another important project at the heavily traveled intersection of Knob Creek Road and West Market Street is now complete. New traffic signals have been installed, and an island near the right turn off Knob Creek has been reconfigured. Todd said the turn was shaped in a way that did not allow motorists a good opportunity to merge.
Other new and upgraded traffic signals have popped up around Johnson City in an effort by the city’s Traffic Division to replace aging systems and improve safety.
New traffic signals have been installed at the intersections of Princeton Road/East Oakland Avenue and Southwest Avenue/University Parkway. These two signals are part of a project that includes new installations and upgrades to existing signals. The project — financed with federal funds — is a collaboration between Johnson City and the Tennessee Department of Transportation. Nashville-based Stansell Electric Co. is the general contractor, and Todd said he expects work to be complete in late March.
A new signal systems has been completed at Bristol Highway and Carroll Creek Road, and upgrades on signals also have been completed at the following intersections: Boones Creek/Highland Church roads; East Oakland Avenue/East Unaka Avenue; East Oakland/East Watauga avenues; North Broadway Street/East Unaka; and North Broadway/East Fairview Avenue.
The installations at Southwest Avenue/University Parkway and Knob Creek/West Market include digital eyes that feed real-time information about traffic congestion to a control room at the city’s Traffic Division.
Email Gary Gray at ggray@johnsoncitypress.com. Like Gary B. Gray on Facebook at www.facebook.com/garybgrayjcp. Follow him on Twitter @ggrayjcpress. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/29/City-racks-up-traffic-improvements.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/06f901c404fa6c758a65d82ac1d3b26d9fdbb22d79ce2fca700e38b53ed76354.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:10:02 | null | 2015-08-04T00:00:00 | Johnson City commissioners have committed $8 million of taxpayers’ money to add some seats to East Tennessee State | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLetter-to-the-Editor%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FLetters-What-are-soft-costs-of-the-performing-arts-building.html.json | http://jcweb.libercus.net/image/2015/08/04/x720_q60/Forum-jpg.jpg | en | null | Letters: What are 'soft costs' of the performing arts building? | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Over the past three months I have asked Johnson City Mayor Clayton Stout, City Commissioner Jeff Banyas, state Sen. Rusty Crowe, the chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents and the executive director of facilities development for a cost breakdown of the $1.4 million of soft costs.
None of them have provided the information I requested. Why would commissioners approve an $8 million expenditure and not know the breakdown of the $1.4 million for soft costs ?
The chancellor did inform me that he had forwarded my request to ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland. TBR said the soft costs breakdown needed to come from ETSU or the project architect. Neither have responded.
In talking with TBR officials, I learned that they have expressed concerns about students safely crossing State of Franklin Road to get from the main campus to the new arts building. ETSU’s solution was to get Johnson City to put up another traffic signal.
It is not uncommon to see students distracted while talking or texting on their phones when crossing a street disregarding traffic lights, crosswalks and pedestrian bridges. So I believe safety is a valid concern.
TBR also informed me that the annual funds calculated for ETSU to receive for the buildings operation and maintenance costs for education and general space will not be available for some of ETSU’s auditorium seats and all of the seats that Johnson City wants to add. Those funds will have to be covered by ETSU.
TBR, to its credit, is focused totally on education — not on how many seats are in ETSU’s new auditorium.
PETER PADUCH
Johnson City | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Letter-to-the-Editor/2016/08/25/Letters-What-are-soft-costs-of-the-performing-arts-building.html | en | 2015-08-04T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/ff544d3aa673b5cd1f591e0332a24daf1ccf0ec4196f9876520fdb7a424641a3.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:46 | null | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | Eds. note: Individual columns that appear in the Johnson City Press reflect the opinions and viewpoints of the writer and not necessarily those of the newspaper. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FHealth-Fitness%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FThere-are-no-winners-when-cemetery-expansion-is-needed.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/15/x720_q60/VA-Sign-1.jpg | en | null | VA cemetery expansion cuts off best soft surface running spot in the region | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | When I first moved to Johnson City about five years ago, it was recommended by various members of the local running community that I log my miles at the Mountain Home VA Medical Center.
Its soft surface running has treated myself and the Johnson City running community — including some of the best runners on the planet over the years — very well, giving us a scenic spot to gather together and train. Over the course of the last five years, I can’t be the only one who’s logged thousands upon thousands of miles in the grassy field at the bottom of the VA.
My personal favorite route for much of those miles had me waking up at the crack of dawn, and running two five-mile loops shaped like a hand with six mangled fingers. As funny as this configuration might have looked after my run, the reason to run like this is to take advantage of the best grass running in the Tri-Cities.
Almost every morning, when I’d get to the portion of my run that goes near the VA field’s corner near the State of Franklin overpass above the train tracks, I’d see deer, chilling out in a picturesque setting. Many, many times, I’d also see high school, Milligan College and East Tennessee State University runners getting in their long runs or daily mileage.
Last fall, I joined local runners J Penny and James Miller — both former ETSU runners — in running a cross country workout like they might have under the school’s storied coaches. It was wonderful, rolling up and down those grassy fields, getting our shoes wet and covered in freshly cut grass, training over such beautiful hill and dale.
Regardless of the beauty, it’s whose feet have traveled on those grounds before mine that have such an effect on me.
That’s what’s most striking about the VA grounds, that so many world class runners have trained there. Until the fence was put up in the last month, it wasn’t uncommon to trade the beaten-down path with 3:49-miler and ETSU graduate Ray Flynn, still getting his daily miles in there, as he did many years before under legendary coach David Walker.
Walker had both his milers and marathoners running “short sides” and “long sides” at the VA, varying in distance between 400 and 1,000 meters. The two-time Olympian Flynn ran them. Boston marathon and NCAA Cross Country champion winner Neil Cusack ran them. 2:11 marathoner and current resident of Johnson City Mark Finucane ran them. They’re extremely important to the local running lore, because of the good they did for the runners who completed them, but also because future runners could do the same workouts. Penny showed me how they were done, and I got to do the same workout, regardless how much slower and more abbreviated our version might have been.
Now, the party’s over, as the fenced-off field that will serve to accommodate the cemetery expansion means current coach George Watts — a legendary coach in his own right — will not be able to send his best runners across the road for miles on that historic training soft surface ground.
It hits the community, too, as many not-so-serious but significant runners in the region have taken their first running steps there at the VA. Area “couch to 5K” program have used that bottom field as the place where they began their running careers. Science Hill High School also held practices down below the VA in that section.
This seems to be an irreversible decision, so no amount of vocalization can bring back this running option, but I know there are many others out there who feel my pain.
We’ve lost an important piece of grass, folks.
Email Tony Casey at tcasey@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow Tony Casey on Twitter @TonyCaseyJCP. Like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tonycaseyjournalist. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Health-Fitness/2016/08/24/There-are-no-winners-when-cemetery-expansion-is-needed.html | en | 2016-08-15T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/406d8f7fc656d2ceb49260a6eb937f865e4cd0881745353abd3ba3ed7e5830a7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:58:23 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | ESPN College GameDay's information man Chris Fallica and analyst Kirk Herbstreit confirmed on Thursday that the network's Saturday morning show would be at the Battle at Bristol on | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FFootball%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FESPN-College-GameDay-will-be-at-Bristol.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/Basic-RGB-2.jpg | en | null | ESPN College GameDay will be at Bristol | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Because of the magnitude of the game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech, it was expected that the show would broadcast from Bristol Motor Speedway - but the pair officially confirmed it on a Facebook live chat with fans on Thursday.
Fallica said the GameDay crew would be at LSU-Wisconsin at Lambeu Field in Green Bay for the opening Saturday, then head to USC-Alabama, Ole Miss-Florida State, spend two days at home and then head to Bristol for Virginia Tech-Tennessee. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Football/2016/08/25/ESPN-College-GameDay-will-be-at-Bristol.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/1301d49222998682a2519693a713cd6771d3c9bfe928d4119a6e24ad1a478431.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:48:52 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | ETSU’s McCarty wins management award
Don McCarty, director of East Tennessee State University’s Postal and Passport Services, was | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FCommunity%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FHappenings-in-your-community-132.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60_ca88,2,615,489/1895b-jpg.jpg | en | null | Happenings in your community | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Don McCarty, director of East Tennessee State University’s Postal and Passport Services, was recently presented with the Excellence in Management Award by the National Association of College and University Mail Services.
His recommendation for the award states that McCarty earned the honor by being “relentless in pursuing efficiency by streamlining every process,” as well as his attention to detail and his constant pursuit of innovation to improve postal operations.
McCarty retired after a 27-year career with the U.S. Marine Corps. Since arriving at ETSU in 2013, McCarty has initiated many student-friendly services.
He supervised renovations to make ETSU’s postal services run efficiently by installing several new programs and equipment that reduced department mailing cost while increasing the ability to automate mail preparation procedures.
Recently, McCarty has directed the addition of passport services, offering the complete application process, including passport photos, to the campus and the public. For more information, contact McCarty at 423-439-6895 or mccartydl@etsu.edu.
Strolling on Main set in Jonesborough
Main Street in Jonesborough will host Strolling on Main on Saturday, Sept. 3, from 5-8 p.m.
The event is an art walk that will offer cheese and wine tastings. Sample over 20 varieties of cheese and cheese-infused bites throughout Downtown and enjoy wine selections, offered at various locations for an additional fee.
Local art will be featured in downtown businesses, where you can meet the artists and purchase their work. And strolling musicians will also entertain you along the route. The plaza of the International Storytelling Center will be a wine stop and offer a wine and beer garden with selections for sale by the glass as well.
Admission is $15 for cheese tastings and $25 for cheese and wine tastings. Ages 17 and under may enjoy cheese tastings for $10.
A limited number of tickets are available; visit Strolling on Main on Facebook for more information and to purchase tickets. You can also call the Visitors Center at 423-753-1010 to purchase tickets. This event is sponsored by the Jonesborough Area Merchants and Services Association.
Cemetery tours to return in Jonesborough
Old Jonesborough Cemetery tours return Sept. 10. Available at 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays through Oct. 30, tours include the history of Rocky Hill and College Hill cemeteries, 1800s burial customs, the lives of the people buried there and so much more.
Tickets are $3 per person and can be purchased at the Chester Inn State Historic Site & Museum. You’ll meet your tour guide at the top of East Main Street and follow the brand new sidewalk up the hill in the Old Jonesborough Cemetery.
Proceeds from the tour will help fund the ongoing preservation and maintenance of the cemeteries. Combo tickets for $7 per person are available when you purchase both a Jonesborough Town Tour and Cemetery Tour ticket.
For more information on the tours or to schedule a tour for a larger group or another day, call the Heritage Alliance at 423-753-9580.
Apple butter, biscuit making class set
An apple butter and biscuit making class will be held at the Boone Street Market in Jonesborough on Thursday, Sept. 29, from 6-9 p.m.
There are only eight spots available for the class, but another class may be added if there is interest. The cost is $25 per person. The deadline to register is Friday, Sept. 23.
For more information or to register, contact Elizabeth Elizondo at the University of Tennessee Washington County Extension office at 206 W. Main St., Jonesborough, or call 423-753-1680 or email eelizond@utk.edu.
Butterfly watching session set
Naturalist Don Holt of the Mountain Empire Butterfly Club will lead a butterfly watching and identification session at the Ardinna Woods Arboretum and its butterfly garden, on Saturday, Sept. 3, from 10-11:30 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.
The arboretum is located at Highway 81 South and Britt Drive in Jonesborough, 0.9 miles from the Old Courthouse on Main Street. For more information call 423-753-5288.
Federal employees group to meet
The National Active and Retired Federal Employees will meet Thursday, Sept. 1, at 11 a.m. at the Empire Buffet, 2614 N. Roan St., Johnson City.
The speaker is Rebecca Myers with the Jones Chiropractic Clinic in Johnson City. For more information, call Wayne Robertson at 423-741-0612.
Gay Whitt School accepting registrations
The Erwin studio of the Gay Whitt School of Dance announces the start of fall classes, with registrations being taken through Sept. 5. Graded classes are offered in ballet, lyrical, pointe, tap, jazz, acrobatics and weedance (preschool).
The adult class, the Timeless Tappers, is also scheduled for Tuesday evenings from 6:45-7:45, with dancers from age 16–80. Previous tap experience is helpful but is not a requirement for this class.
Gay Evans whitt) is beginning her 61st year as a dance educator and is a member of Dance Masters, Dance Educators, the National Association of Dance and Affiliated Artists and the International Tap Association. The school has an adult faculty with experienced student assistants and offers classes in a wholesome, non- competitive environment.
The studio location is at 109 N. Main Ave., in Erwin, in the second level of the Bradshaw Building, with entrances at 112 Gay St., and 109 N. Main Ave. For information concerning registration, call 423-735-0929, email jergaywhitt@gmail.com or check the website, www.gwsod.com. Scholarships are also available.
“Oh, Hay” event set in Greeneville
Ever wonder what you are feeding your horse every time you throw a flake of hay?
The University of Tennessee Equine Extension Program invites all horse owners, horse farm owners or operators, horse industry members, trainers and anyone with an interest in horses to an event that will cater specifically to their information needs.
The “Oh, Hay” event is set for Sept. 22 at the AgResearch and Education Center in Greeneville.
This event is free to attend, but reservations are requested for planning purposes. Contact Dr. Jennie Ivey at 865-974-3157 or jzivey@utk.edu to confirm your reservation.
Visit the UT Extension Equine Program’s website UTHorse.com to learn more about available equine educational resources, including publications and other educational events for horse owners.
Asbury Place to offer free swim
Asbury Place will celebrate National Grandparents Day by sponsoring a free senior swim day on Sunday, Sept. 11, at the Kingsport Aquatic Center. Seniors 55 and over will be admitted free; attendees 54 and under will enjoy half-price admission.
Admission for others is based on height: those under 48 inches tall will be $3, and those over 48 inches tall will be $4. Children ages 2 and under are free with a paying adult. The center’s outdoor water park will be open 10:30 a.m.-6 p.m., and the indoor pool complex will be open noon-6 p.m.
The outdoor water park features a large pool with a water playground and lily pad crossing, two water slides and a 900-foot lazy river. The aquatic center also has a 46,000-square-foot indoor complex, which includes three heated pools, including the region’s only indoor Olympic-sized pool.
The Kingsport Aquatic Center is located at 1820 Meadowview Parkway in Kingsport. Guests are encouraged to visit the center’s “Know Before You Go” page at www.swimkingsport.com for guidelines intended to ensure the safety and comfort of all guests.
Big Kid Day set at Oak Hill School
Why should kids have all the fun? On Saturday, Sept. 24, Oak Hill School will be open for a Big Kid Day, where students 18 and older are welcome to come and experience a school day in 1892.
Built in 1886 by the Knob Creek Community, Oak Hill School housed first-eighth grade students until 1952.
It was later relocated to Jonesborough and preserved, and today it continues to welcome students as a part of the Oak Hill School Heritage Education Program.
The school day will start at 9 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. and will include lessons in arithmetic, reading, penmanship using quill pens, history, geography, and much more.
There will be recess, of course. The cost for the day is $5 per student, and reservations are required as space is limited. Contact the Heritage Alliance at 423-753-9580 or email info@heritageall.org to make a reservation.
Genealogists group to meet at library
The Watauga Association of Genealogists will meet at the Johnson City Public Library, 100 W. Millard St., on Tuesday, Sept. 6, at 6:30 pm.
The speaker for September will be Dr. Margaret Hougland, a WAGS member and retired faculty member of the ETSU Quillen College of Medicine. Dr. Hougland will speak on Genealogy Tools: Timelines and Research Logs.
For more information, contact Betty Jane Hylton at bjhylton@comcast.net or visit the organization’s website at www.wagsnetn.org.
Center seeking yoga instructor
Memorial Park Community Center, 510 Bert St., is seeking an instructor to teach a variety of yoga classes. Any qualified applicant must be certified in yoga instruction. Teaching hours are flexible.
For more information, call 423-434-5758.
Northeast State holding auditions for plays
The Northeast State Community College Department of Theater announces open auditions next week for the fall productions of “She Kills Monsters” and “No Exit.”
Actors are invited to open auditions for both plays scheduled Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 from 6-8 p.m. at the Wellmont Regional Center for the Performing Arts on the Blountville campus next to Tri-Cities Regional Airport.
“No Exit” is looking to cast two males and two females. “She Kills Monsters” is looking to cast three males, six females and a large chorus. Auditions are open to all students, faculty, and community members ages 18 and up.
Performers are asked to gather in the lobby of the WRCPA. Prospects will audition for both directors at the same time. Ideally, you will have both a contemporary comedic (“She Kills Monsters”) and a contemporary dramatic (“No Exit”) one-minute monologue for these auditions. Northeast State Theatre is an educational theatre department and welcomes any performer to the auditions. Actors can audition with one monologue or read from provided sides of each play.
A list of those who are invited to callbacks will be posted on the Northeast State Theatre Department Facebook page on Aug. 31 by 11 p.m. Callbacks will be held on Thursday, Sept. 1 from 6-8 p.m. For more information, visit www.northeaststate.edu/theatre or contact Northeast State Theater at 423-354-2479 or emsloan@NortheastState.edu.
Duncan family reunion set
The Duncan Family Reunion will be held Monday, Sept. 5, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. with lunch at noon at Lions Pavilion.
Registration for basketball camp underway
Memorial Park Community Center, 510 Bert St., invites girls ages 5-12 to participate in a one-day basketball clinic taught by Milligan Women’s basketball team on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 9-11 a.m.
The team will teach the fundamentals of basketball, including dribbling, shooting and passing. Participants should wear athletic clothes and shoes. Water bottles are recommended.
Space is limited to 50 participants; register before Sept. 13 to be guaranteed a T-shirt. The cost is $10. Registration is open online at johnsoncitytn.org/parksrec and at the center.
For more information, call 423-434-5749.
Department looking for seasonal workers
The Johnson City Parks and Recreation Department is now accepting applications for seasonal recreation workers ages 18 and older for Memorial Park Community Center.
The positions are for up to 40 hours a week monitoring open gym and programs and answering phones.
Applications may be downloaded at www.johnsoncitytn.org/HR and are available in the Human Resources Office at the Municipal and Safety Building, 601 E. Main St. All applications must be returned to Human Resources.
For more information, call 423-283-5758.
Highway for Heroes event canceled
The Highway for Heroes event scheduled for Monday, Aug. 29, at the Washington County Historic Courthouse has been canceled.
Program looking for volunteers
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Tri-Cities is looking for community volunteers to make a difference in a child's life. Spending 2 to 4 hours a month with an at-risk youth can help them improve in school, their behavior and their self-esteem.
The local Big Brothers Big Sisters office, which serves the Bristol, Kingsport, and Johnson City area, is part of one of the oldest and largest youth mentoring organizations in the United States.
It's a system that has been proven to work and transforms the lives of children who might not otherwise ever get the support they need to grow and successfully meet life's challenges.
Child-volunteer matches are made based on in-depth and comprehensive interviewing with parents, children and potential volunteers. Stringent safeguards are in place to assure that all parties are safe. Volunteer and parent engagement and training also play a big role.
Anyone wanting to find out more about the program should call the office at 423-247-3240 or visit TennesseeBig.org.
Elizabethton Democrats set to meet
Elizabethton Democrats will meet at the group’s headquarters, 429 E. Elk Ave., on Tuesday, Aug. 30, with pizza at 5:30 p.m. and the meeting starting at 6.
Guests will be Nancy Fischman (running against State Rep. Matthew Hill in state House District 7) and John Baker (running against State Rep. Micah Van Huss in state House District 6).
They are coming to ask for help and teach attendees about phone banking, canvassing and using social media.
VOX & CO. announces open auditions
VOX & CO. announced today the open auditions schedule for adults and children looking for an outlet for their musical talent.
Auditions for VOX (the Tri-Cities largest mass choir), and for CANDLELIGHT (a children’s choir) will be held at the Lamplight Theatre on Tuesday, Sept., 13, at 7 p.m., and at the Johnson City Ballroom on Sunday, Sept. 11, at 3 p.m.
VOX & CO., is the brainchild of Dwight Whitworth, a successful minister of music for decades and now president of VOX & CO. “VOX is an acronym for ‘vocal outlet exchange,’” Whitworth said, “because it offers an outlet for singers and players who don’t have one for their talent and theie genre of music.”
VOX offers a mix of musical genres, including – but not limited to – Southern gospel, black gospel, hymns, Bluegrass, and Contemporary Christian.
VOX & CO is comprised of VOX; CANDELIGHT; and WHETSTONE, which offers personal vocal coaching, keyboard instruction and church music consultation services. For more information, contact Whitworth at whetstone@voxandco.com or at 423-302-0745.
Talk Like a Pirate activities set
Children who are 5 to 9 years old may sign up in advance to hear “Pirate Pete’s Talk Like a Pirate” by Kim Kennedy and participate in related activities in the Jones Meeting Room at the Johnson City Public Library, 100 W. Millard St., on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m.
Children will make pirate hats and participate in the active game of Ships and Sailors. Registration is required for this free program.
For more information and to register for this free program or other Youth Services programs, call 423-434-4458. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Community/2016/08/28/Happenings-in-your-community-132.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/648a812be82a117dadeb9b70eeb0fac5cc74795a25c6094da13e744faae89318.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T22:49:23 | null | 2015-08-17T00:00:00 | A female student reported that was she was sexually assaulted in an East Tennessee State University campus residence hall, according to an alert issued Monday by campus police. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2Flaw-enforcement%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FETSU-student-reports-sexual-assault-in-dorm-room.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/08/17/x720_q60/ETSU-shield-logo.jpg | en | null | ETSU student reports sexual assault in dorm room | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The student reported that a male acquaintance sexually assaulted her in his residence hall room on Sunday, the alert stated. ETSU’s Public Safety Department is investigating.
The exact location of the assault was not included in the report to protect the student’s identity.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Public Safety at 423-439-4480. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/law-enforcement/2016/08/29/ETSU-student-reports-sexual-assault-in-dorm-room.html | en | 2015-08-17T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/5ac73c62be182639a9071fafd790f573406292077a7280985d5e3fec0bafcb7a.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:13 | null | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | East Tennessee State University has named Dr. Shawn M. Dowiak as director of Fraternity and Sorority Life in the Division of Student Affairs.
Dowiak is responsible for | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FETSU-names-new-director-of-Fraternity-and-Sorority-Life%28copy%29.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/12/x720_q60/Shawn-M-Dowiak.jpg | en | null | ETSU names new director of Fraternity and Sorority Life | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Dowiak is responsible for oversight of planning, policy, program development and assessment for ETSU’s fraternity and sorority chapters and governing associations.
He provides support and coordination for fraternity and sorority leadership development, risk management, community engagement programs and activities, and is a liaison with chapter advisors, alumni, advisory boards and national and international offices. In addition, he assists the Office of the Dean of Students in providing leadership to the fraternity and sorority community concerning student needs, safety and more.
Dowiak is a member and the former executive director of Tau Delta Phi Fraternity. In that role, he oversaw the day-to-day functioning of the organization, with responsibility for budgeting, staffing, new chapter development, educational program development and implementation, policy implementation, branding and more.
Dowiak is a member of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors and a past member of the Fraternity Executives Association, and has served as a delegate and committee member for the North-American Interfraternity Conference. He also served Tau Delta Phi as director of public relations and as international president. He was presented the Convention Key, the highest award given by his fraternity, in 2006.
In addition to his fraternity experience, Dowiak has taught at several higher education institutions in New Jersey, including Ramapo College, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology and literature.
He also holds master’s degrees from Teachers College, Columbia University and Seton Hall University, as well as a doctorate in higher education administration from St. Peter’s University. Dowiak’s dissertation research focused specifically on the leadership development of fraternity men while controlling for institutional size, sexuality, race/ethnicity and parental education. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/28/ETSU-names-new-director-of-Fraternity-and-Sorority-Life(copy).html | en | 2016-08-12T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/bd3fc18d6222afdc7f18a77f86aa78926faf9ce38064c98a1e42624d34d16dc8.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:49:15 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | WASHINGTON — Donald Trump says he’ll deliver a detailed speech Wednesday on his proposal to crack down on illegal immigration — but | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FPolitics%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FTrump-plans-detailed-immigration-talk-as-questions-remain.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Campaign-2016-Trump-37.jpg | en | null | Trump plans detailed immigration talk as questions remain | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The announcement came late Sunday in a tweet by the Republican presidential nominee after days of wavering — and at least one canceled speech — on a question central to his campaign: Whether he would, as he said in November, use a “deportation force” to eject the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally.
Trailing Democrat Hillary Clinton in many key states 10 weeks before the election, Trump is trying to win over moderate Republicans, some of whom have been turned off by his rhetoric on immigration and other issues. But any significant shift could disappoint his core supporters.
Trump’s immigration speech in Arizona will come after he and Clinton spent last week trading accusations on racial issues. Trump called Clinton “a bigot;” Clinton accused Trump of allowing hate groups to take over the Republican Party.
Clinton is starting this week by announcing her proposals for dealing with mental health issues. She is stressing the need to fully integrate mental health services into the U.S. health care system. Her plan stresses early diagnosis and intervention and calls for a national initiative for suicide prevention.
Immigration issues dominated the Sunday talk shows as Trump’s surrogates, led by running mate Mike Pence, discussed his approach. But none could address whether Trump still favored a deportation force.
They said Trump’s immigration policy will be humane, and insisted he has not been wavering on the issue. Any discussion of inconsistencies, they suggested, reflected media focus on the wrong issue.
Trump’s tweet Sunday suggested he was poised to clear up questions about his immigration stance.
Trump’s campaign also announced on Sunday a $10 million-plus buy for ads to air in nine competitive states starting Monday. And late Sunday, America’s only African-American owned and operated national Christian television network announced that its president and CEO, Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, would interview the Republican nominee Saturday in Detroit.
It’s been a long and sometimes puzzling journey to this point for Trump, who defeated 16 Republican opponents while promising to be the toughest on illegal immigration. Trump even questioned whether those born in the United States to people here illegally are citizens — even though they have automatically been considered citizens since the adoption of the constitution’s 14th Amendment in 1868.
But lately, Trump has been exploring the issue’s complexities. Trump had suggested he might be “softening” on the deportation force and that he might be open to allowing at least some immigrants in the country illegally to stay, as long as they pay taxes.
But by Thursday, he was ruling out any kind of legal status — “unless they leave the country and come back,” he told CNN.
Trump has focused lately on deporting people who are in the U.S. illegally and who have committed crimes. But whom Trump considers a criminal remains unclear.
The speech has been rescheduled at least once. Trump’s campaign had scheduled it for last Thursday, then canceled it. The campaign also blamed staff error for reports that it had been scheduled for Aug. 31 in Phoenix.
But it’s not clear what he’ll say, apparently even to his top supporters.
Asked whether the “deportation force” proposal Trump laid out in November is still in place, Pence replied: “Well, what you heard him describe there, in his usual plainspoken, American way, was a mechanism, not a policy.”
Added Trump’s campaign manager, Kellyanne Conway: “The softening is more approach than policy,” adding that on immigration, Trump “wants to find a fair and humane way.”
Pence appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Priebus was on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” and Conway was on “Fox News Sunday” and CBS’ “Face the Nation.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Politics/2016/08/29/Trump-plans-detailed-immigration-talk-as-questions-remain.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/8552bf4783ea26b8c8685cfb70f318ec8870e025f373d2a0f560a258c024d9e3.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:49:12 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | TEHRAN, Iran — Iran has begun deploying a Russian-made S-300 air defense system around its underground Fordo nuclear facility, state TV reported. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FWorld%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FIran-deploys-S-300-air-defense-around-nuclear-site.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Mideast-Iran-3.jpg | en | null | Iran deploys S-300 air defense around nuclear site | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Video footage posted late Sunday on state TV’s website showed trucks arriving at the site and missile launchers being aimed skyward. It did not say whether the system was fully operational.
The large, underground facility is located in some 60 miles south of the capital, Tehran.
Russia began delivering the S-300 system to Iran earlier this year under a contract signed in 2007. The delivery had been held up by international sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, which were lifted this year under an agreement with world powers.
“S-300 air defense system is a defensive instrument, not offensive,” Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said earlier on Sunday. “But the Americans applied all their efforts for Iran not to have it.”
The Fordo site, built at a depth of 300 feet below a mountain, was revealed by Western nations in 2009.
Critics of Iran’s nuclear program pointed to Fordo as further proof of Tehran’s intention to secretly develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists it has never sought nuclear arms, and says the security around the site is intended to protect it from U.S. or Israeli airstrikes. Neither country has ruled out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Iran halted nuclear enrichment at Fordo under the landmark nuclear agreement and says the facility is now being used for research and the production of medical isotopes.
On Monday Iran inaugurated a new radar system it says is capable of detecting radar-evading aircraft like the U.S.-made U-2, RQ-4 and MQ-1, state TV reported. It said the Nazir system is located in “the heart of desert” of Iran and is capable of detecting ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones flying at an altitude of over 9,800 feet. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/World/2016/08/29/Iran-deploys-S-300-air-defense-around-nuclear-site.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/43f2ba534438af7a8e3435e36d0836af6a8c1b7acbb3aa6adf8c54c1bd5504fc.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:59:58 | null | 2015-09-21T00:00:00 | ELIZABETHTON — Brian Keith Moore, 47, a teacher with 20 years of working for the Elizabethton City School System, pleaded guilty Thursday to felony | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FCourts%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FElizabethton-teacher-pleads-guilty-resigns-on-reckless-endangerment-charge.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/09/21/x720_q60/Crime.jpg | en | null | Elizabethton teacher pleads guilty, resigns on reckless endangerment conviction | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Moore’s plea was a plea by information agreement. Such an agreement with the state means the charge bypassed the grand jury.
The sentencing form indicated the victim and Sgt. Chris Bowers, the Elizabethton Police Department investigator, both agreed to the plea.
Bowers’ investigation led to an information paper to the court that said Moore “did commit the offense of felony reckless endangerment by recklessly engaging in forceful conduct that placed (the victim) in imminent danger of serious bodily injury.”
He was sentenced to a year of probation, fined $50 and court costs and was ordered to pay $100 per month restitution until settling the outstanding balance. Judge Lisa Rice also ordered Moore to have no contact with the victim.
Moore resigned from the school system in April.
Corey Gardenhour, director of schools for the Elizabethton school system, said he had not yet seen the plea agreement.
He said the school board and public were notified in April that police started an investigation into the inappropriate contact allegation. Gardenhour also confirmed Moore’s resignation. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Courts/2016/08/25/Elizabethton-teacher-pleads-guilty-resigns-on-reckless-endangerment-charge.html | en | 2015-09-21T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/94ce17be1add314c588c755370082322ffc544a581ad4935bace4eafc2231f09.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:49:51 | null | 2015-08-04T00:00:00 | I am a 43-year-old retired disabled combat veteran. I have had two surgeries on my left ankle from injuries I got while in Iraq.
I have arthritis in my hands, feet, knees | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLetter-to-the-Editor%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FThe-medical-benefits-of-cannabis.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/08/04/x720_q60/Forum-jpg.jpg | en | null | Letters: The medical benefits of cannabis | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | I have arthritis in my hands, feet, knees and shoulders from carrying a rucksack on 12-mile road marches. I also suffer from post traumatic stress disorder.
I do not feel that cannabis is dangerous at all. I feel that if it were not for lobby groups sponsored by the alcohol producers, private prison guard unions and big pharmaceutical, it would have been legalized years ago.
If it is to be considered so dangerous, why does the U.S. government own the patent for medical cannabis? The government knows of the medicinal attributes.
Alcohol has killed more people than cannabis ever has or will yet it is legal. The same is true of cigarettes.
Some will say I should go to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center and get prescription meds that will help my ailments. I have handfuls of meds the V.A. dishes out freely, but most have more harmful side effects than cannabis.
JONATHAN STOKES
Clarksville
Legalize and tax it
Pot (marijuana) should be legal, taxed and regulated just like alcohol. Let me ask a question: When have you ever seen a mean pothead? What about a mean drunk?
All drugs should be made legal, but that will never happen. There is too big of industry created with the so-called War on Drugs.
Attend court sometime and see how may jobs are created by this war. It has increased the number of police officers, prosecutors and defense attorneys.
If someone wants to ruin his life with drug or alcohol abuse, he is going to find a way to do it — legal or otherwise. Life is full of choices and consequences.
If you want to control crime then legalize, regulate and tax drugs and take the criminal profit out of all drugs and hold persons responsible for the choice to use if they harm others. Did we not learn anything from Prohibition?
WILLIAM PRENDERGAST
Elizabethton | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Letter-to-the-Editor/2016/08/30/The-medical-benefits-of-cannabis.html | en | 2015-08-04T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/4174525f9574ae8271ff02b226759c6a8ad38f5314ab09922d91d3d6994f6048.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:15:17 | null | 2016-03-17T00:00:00 | NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee residents can hunt without a license on Saturday.
Free Hunting Day is an annual event provided by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FFree-Hunting-Day-lets-Tennesseans-hunt-without-license.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/03/17/x720_q60/TWRA-Logo.jpg | en | null | Free Hunting Day lets Tennesseans hunt without license | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Free Hunting Day is an annual event provided by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to increase interest in hunting.
A news release from the agency says Tennessee residents are also exempt from Wildlife Management Area permit requirements on Saturday. Hunters should check on the TWRA website to see which areas are accessible that day.
Hunter education requirements are not waived. Anyone born in 1969 or later is required to have successfully completed a hunter education course or obtained an apprentice license.
Saturday is also opening day of squirrel season. And species that have a year-round season will be open. Those include armadillo, beaver, coyote, groundhog and striped skunk. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/24/Free-Hunting-Day-lets-Tennesseans-hunt-without-license.html | en | 2016-03-17T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/fdd5e569bbca407dcb3aa4d0c188537ef6e502718ccdadf8d949313766b18485.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:48:45 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | After decades of enjoying the region’s bountiful natural resources, David Ramsey says he doesn’t want a new designation proposed for nearby | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FBusiness%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FOrganizer-Recreation-area-won-t-change-outdoors-opportunities-in-Cherokee.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/1-Buffalo-Mountain-9-jpg.jpg | en | null | Organizer: Recreation area designation won't change outdoors opportunities in Cherokee | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Hired by the Washington County Economic Development Council to seek a new national recreation area designation for hundreds of square miles of the Cherokee National Forest in Carter, Unicoi, Washington and, possibly, Greene counties, Ramsey said last week the created area would mainly be used as a brand to market to other outdoor enthusiasts.
Ramsey, a manager at Johnson City’s Mahoney’s Outfitters and a nature and landscape photographer, said he understands the concerns he’s already received from hunters, four-wheelers and others who worry the new designation may change the way the U.S. Forest Service manages the land.
“I’ve spent 20 years as manager for the best-known hunting and fishing store in Northeast Tennessee at Mahoney’s, so I think I understand how important it is for hunters and fishermen to have access to public lands,” he said. “To me, this whole project is an important effort to protect those opportunities and rights, not to diminish or restrict them in any way.”
The development council contracted with Ramsey on Aug. 18 to organize the push for recreation area status after seeing his success in a monumental drive to preserve more than 10,000 acres of wilderness in the Rocky Fork watershed.
Similar to the Rocky Fork effort, to gain national recreation area designation for the mountainous land along the North Carolina state line, Ramsey said he need support from as many stakeholders as he can muster — from local hunters, trail riding groups and hiking clubs to local elected officials and U.S. congressmen.
“The interesting thing in the effort to save Rocky Fork, was everyone pulling all together,” Ramsey said. “It was one of those rare times when all these different groups pretty much stood in lockstep in favor of saving this land, as long as their interests were served after it was saved.
“We promised to work toward that, and we insisted that we wanted that land kept open to all the different user groups. Rocky Fork is a pretty strong model for what we’re talking about here. We don’t want anybody excluded.”
Part of his contracted work will include meeting with the area’s outdoor groups to try to convince their members to support the plan. Ramsey told the development council the grassroots effort would be the best way to get the congressional action needed to create the recreation area.
Some of those outdoors groups are already cautiously hoping to learn more about Ramsey’s methods.
Parker Street, the Habitat Chair for the Appalachian Highlands Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society, a national conservation and hunting organization, said he’s worried the new designation would change the way the National Forest Service manages the land.
“Will the U.S. Forest Service be able to manage the forest properly for wildlife habitat?” Street asked in an email.
His and other hunters’ main concern is that the recreation area designation would restrict Forest Service personnel from clearing away brush and cutting trees, which could change habitat for the prey living in the forest, and may ban hunting and vehicles inside the boundaries of the area.
Alan Ward, a local hunter and founder of the Jeep Riders of the Tri-Cities Facebook group, said Ramsey “needs to spell out exactly how this will impact all of these groups,” before they consider supporting the new designation.
“People are for opening up the lands for more use, not limiting their use further,” he wrote. “If this would give the public more access, I would be all for it.”
If a national recreation area were designated in the forest, Terry McDonald, Public Affairs Officer for the Cherokee National Forest, said it wouldn’t automatically place the land in a wilderness area, one of the strictest levels of federal protection.
“One thing it probably would do is put a higher priority, more of a priority, on recreation,” he said. “It already is a priority, but would put more emphasis on recreation.
“Wilderness and NRA designations are two different things, and it wouldn’t put it in wilderness status automatically.”
To be recognized by Congress as a National Recreation Area, the proposed land must meet seven criteria, and is considered a stronger candidate if it meets some of six other criteria.
The mandatory criteria require the area to be spacious, provide a number of significant recreation opportunities and be conveniently situated to be used by a great number of people.
Ramsey said he believes the land in the discussed four-county area meets those, and also meets several of the secondary criteria, most significantly, a recreation area would have a direct positive economic impact on the surrounding area.
“It’s the same draw that draws 10 million people a year to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it’s the same draw that draws 19 million people to the Blue Ridge Parkway,” he said. “It signifies that it’s a special location, not just more national forest land. We have plenty of national forest land, but a national recreation area means we have special features concentrated in an area that has a lot to offer anybody interested in outdoor recreation.”
In contracting with Ramsey to pursue the designation, the leaders on the economic development council hope the new brand — Ramsey proposed The Blue Ridge National Recreation Area as a working title — would help bring tourism dollars and new investment to the region.
“This is going to be a game-changer for Unicoi and Carter counties, especially,” development council Chair Tommy Burleson said. “The people who live here take it for granted, but a lot of people would pay a lot of money to come into the area just to look at what we can look at every day.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Business/2016/08/27/Organizer-Recreation-area-won-t-change-outdoors-opportunities-in-Cherokee.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/2f9b4668751c6a45ad0a6e286ece024c5b976f414d6107d32557152c9a53a5bd.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:04:36 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | Longtime Washington County-Johnson City Health Department Director Tim Carson will retire Aug. 31 after 39 years in the public health industry.
Carson spent 31 total years | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FCarson-steps-down-as-Washington-County-Johnson-City-Health-Department-director.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/Carson-1.jpg | en | null | Carson steps down as Washington County-Johnson City Health Department director | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Carson spent 31 total years as a health department director, including six years with the Carter, Johnson and Washington County Health District and the past 19 years with the Washington County-Johnson City Health Department.
“I think it’s just time for a change,” Carson said inside the Dr. Hezekiah B. Hankal Building Thursday with new director Christen Minnick at his side. “We’ve got some good qualified people in place, and the department’s in good shape.
“I don’t have any specific plans. I’ve got some grandchildren I want to spend more time with, and I want to play golf and fish. I’ll stay busy. I won’t have any problem doing that.”
Minnick, an East Tennessee State University graduate, started with the Washington County-Johnson City Health Department in 2004 as a public health educator. In 2011, she became the region’s health promotion coordinator. In 2015, she took a position as the Northeast Tennessee health department’s assessment and planning coordinator and public information officer. She will take over Sept. 1.
Carson began his career with the South Carolina Department of Health as an environmentalist in Anderson, South Carolina. In 1973, he developed and taught a curriculum in environmental science at both Daniel Boone and David Crockett High Schools.
In 1991, he became head of the three-county health district. He also worked with Washington County and state leaders to secure more than $450,000 in special needs funding to add approximately 6,500 square feet of clinical space to the Washington County Health Department facility, which was needed in anticipation of the implementation of TennCare and Primary Care for uninsured patients.
Carson was appointed to head the Washington County Health Department in 1997, and he worked with TennCare leaders to secure funding to expand the facility by about 6,000 square feet.
In 2009, Carson worked with Washington County, Johnson City and Mountain States Health Alliance officials to orchestrate a “three-way land swap” to secure the current health department building, which provides 37,000 square feet of office and clinical space for provision of preventative and primary health care for the citizens of Washington County and the surrounding area.
“The Washington County Health Department is a large organization, staffed by a team of professionals that have been assembled by Tim over the years,” County Mayor Dan Eldridge said Thursday. “Tim’s legacy will be the lasting commitment of this department to serving the community well, reflecting the attitude and purpose he instilled in the organization.
“Tim was also one of the most effective managers in county government. He had a tremendous depth of knowledge and experience in not only public health, but also in managing people and processes. We will miss his steady hand.”
Email Gary Gray at ggray@johnsoncitypress.com. Like Gary B. Gray on Facebook at www.facebook.com/garybgrayjcp. Follow him on Twitter @ggrayjcpress. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/25/Carson-steps-down-as-Washington-County-Johnson-City-Health-Department-director.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/6ed1f9ba976cb8333efacb5a28c8834f6c132f6257dabaf64c1ebe03a61de11b.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T00:49:03 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | AMATRICE, Italy (AP) — Italian authorities are vowing to investigate whether negligence or fraud in adhering to building codes played a role in the high death toll in last | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FItaly-probes-whether-negligence-played-role-in-quake-toll.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/28/x720_q60/Italy-Quake-23.jpg | en | null | Italy probes whether negligence played role in quake toll | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | They also called for efforts to ensure organized crime doesn’t infiltrate lucrative construction contracts to eventually rebuild much of the picturesque towns leveled in the disaster.
Meanwhile, rescue workers pressed on with the task of recovering bodies from the rubble, with hopes of finding any more survivors virtually vanished more than four full days after the powerful quake.
Over the past two days, they found six more bodies in the rubble of Hotel Roma in Amatrice, the medieval hill town in mountainous central Italy that bore the brunt of destruction and loss of life in the powerful quake. They recovered three and by late Sunday were still working to retrieve others that were hard to reach.
It wasn’t clear if those six were included in the overall 290 death toll given by authorities. The Civil Protection agency, which combines the figures it receives from different provinces affected by the quake, said the number is lower than the previous toll of 291 dead due to a correction in the numbers from the province of Rieti, where most of the victims died.
The quake that struck before dawn Wednesday also injured nearly 400 people as it flattened three medieval towns near the rugged Apennines. Prosecutor Giuseppe Saieva, based in the nearby provincial capital of Rieti, said the high human death toll “cannot only be considered the work of fate.”
“The fault lines tragically did their work and this is called destiny, but if the buildings had been built like in Japan they would not have collapsed,” Saieva said in comments carried by Italian media.
Investigations are focusing on a number of structures, including an elementary school in Amatrice that crumbled despite being renovated in 2012 to resist earthquakes at a cost of 700,000 euros ($785,000). With schoolchildren’s summer vacations in their final weeks, the school wasn’t yet in use. Many were shocked that it didn’t withstand the 6.2 magnitude quake.
After an entire first-grade class and a teacher were killed in a 2002 quake in the southern town of San Giuliano di Puglia, Italian officials had pledged citizens that the safety of schools, hospitals and other critical public buildings would be guaranteed.
Questions also surround a bell tower in Accumoli that collapsed, killing a family of four sleeping in a neighboring house, including a baby of 8 months and a 7-year-old boy. That bell tower also had been recently restored with special funds allocated after Italy’s last major earthquake, which struck nearby L’Aquila in 2009.
Italy’s national anti-Mafia prosecutor, Franco Roberti, vowed to work to prevent organized crime from infiltrating public works projects which will be eventually begun to rebuild the earthquake zone.
“This risk of infiltration is always high,” he said in comments Sunday in La Repubblica newspaper. “Post-earthquake reconstruction is historically a tempting morsel for criminal groups and colluding business interests.”
Deadly quakes that have led to criminal investigations into alleged misuse of funds or corruption involving awarding of construction contracts include the 1980 temblor in the Naples area and a 2009 quake in L’Aquila, central Italy.
Roberti noted he wasn’t involved in the local prosecutors’ probes into last week’s quake. But he added that if buildings are well-constructed according to regulations for earthquake-prone zones, “parts of buildings can be damaged and cracked but they don’t pulverize and implode.”
Italy’s national museums, meanwhile, embarked on a fundraising campaign, donating their Sunday proceeds to relief and reconstruction efforts in the quake-stricken areas.
Besides homes and low-rise apartment buildings, Wednesday’s quake badly damaged scores of churches, town halls, bell towers and other centuries-old cultural treasures. The idea is to use art for art — harnessing the nation’s rich artistic heritage to help repair and restore other objects of beauty in the hard-hit towns.
“It’s a way to rediscover our cultural heritage, to give our small but significant contribution so that endangered artwork that was gravely damaged may have a new chance, be restored and recovered,” Cristiana Collu, the director of Rome’s National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art Museum, said in an interview with The Associated Press.
Also Sunday, Pope Francis told faithful in St. Peter’s Square he hopes to soon visit people in the quake-ravaged regions to bring them “the comfort of faith.”
Amatrice bore the brunt of earthquake’s destruction, with at least 229 fatalities and its medieval heart nearly obliterated. Eleven others died in nearby Accumoli and 50 more in Arquata del Tronto, 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Amatrice.
On Saturday, a state funeral took place for 35 of the victims in the town of Ascoli Piceno, which escaped the heavy damage of other towns in the region. That funeral involved most of the dead from Arquata del Tronto. Some of the dead from Amatrice were still in the town’s makeshift morgue. Identified bodies were being kept in refrigerated trucks in an airport hangar in Rieti, 65 kilometers (40 miles) away. On Tuesday, a memorial service — without the bodies — will be held for the dead of Amatrice on the town’s outskirts.
The last survivor was extracted from rubble on Wednesday evening, and hopes have virtually vanished of finding any living in the ruins.
The number still missing is uncertain, due to the many visitors seeking a last taste of summer in the cool hill towns when the quake struck.
The quake left a few thousand people without homes, with nearly 2,700 hosted in a total of 58 tent “towns” set up on the outskirts of the ravaged areas, or improvised shelters, like a gym with a basketball court in Amatrice.
They continue to be rattled by aftershocks. There have been more than 2,000 since the initial quake, one having a magnitude higher than 5 and 12 between 4- and 5-magnitude. A tremor Saturday afternoon caused further damage to the school in Amatrice.
Countless more who fled damaged homes — or even the ones without any heavy damage — went to stay with relatives in Rome and other Italian cities.
Vanessa Gera and Frances D’Emilio reported from Rome. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/28/Italy-probes-whether-negligence-played-role-in-quake-toll.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/7b803163d108d16779d67a1704a84ce198737ea1aaa04651de1dbcb910d9e0d8.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:49:53 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | BLOUNTVILLE - Wayne G. Byron, 68, Blountville, passed away on Saturday, August 27, 2016, at Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center surrounded by family and friends. He was born in Quincy, MA, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FWayne-G-Byron-1.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/30/x720_q60/byron-jpg.jpg | en | null | Wayne G. Byron | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Wayne G. Byron
BLOUNTVILLE - Wayne G. Byron, 68, Blountville, passed away on Saturday, August 27, 2016, at Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center surrounded by family and friends. He was born in Quincy, MA, and later moved to Weymouth, MA. He moved to Bristol, TN, then to Gray, TN, before settling in Blountville. He was awarded the Purple Heart while stationed in Vietnam in the U.S. Army. Wayne worked for Johnson City Power Board and had retired in 2003. He loved traveling, cooking, going on cruises, golf, adventures, family and friend get-togethers, wood working, and projects around the house. He was a sweet, kind, and nurturing man. Wayne was preceded in death by his mother, Bertha Todd Byron, father, Roland Byron, and step-daughter, Dawn Norwood. He is survived by his wife, Trudy Rose Hale Byron; the mother of his children, Linda Marie Derting; daughter, Lisa Farley (Skip); son, Wayne George Byron II (Gail); step-daughter, Zina Hale; grandchildren, Landon Joseph Byron, Zackary Thomas Byron, Isbella ShyAnn Bledsoe and Jeremy Farley; siblings, Roland Byron (Charron) of Villages, FL, Gail Dennison of MA, Jerry Byron of ME, David Byron (Susan) of MA, and Scotty Byron (Maricella) of MA; many nieces, nephews, and cousins; and his constant companion and nurse, baby girl Sophie. The family would like to extend special thanks to the doctors, nurses, and staff of Wellmont Oncology Center and Holston Valley Med Center nurses and staff; his home health nurse, Jennifer Killibrew; and friends Mary Knapp, and Bob and Judy Kelley for the support they have offered during this difficult time. The family will receive friends from 5 to 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home, Kingsport. The memorial service will follow at 7:00 p.m. with Pastor P.J. Johnson officiating. Military rites will be conducted by The American Legion Posts 3/265. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, 508 Princeton Rd., Suite 102, Johnson City, TN 37601. Please visit www.hamlettdobson.com to leave an on-line condolence for the family. Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home, Kingsport is serving the family of Wayne G. Byron. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/30/Wayne-G-Byron-1.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/cb1eb06d65ca3af3623960ffdd79ba50fc9786f1d8a5f69855f17b8e8cf50d8d.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T00:48:08 | null | 2015-10-08T00:00:00 | A three-county regional economic development group expected to be formed in October will operate similarly to Washington County’s council, but with more classes of contributing | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FBusiness%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FRegional-development-group-s-draft-bylaws-set-up-membership-structure.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/10/08/x720_q60/d0a8d2ad-fdf4-4d20-bfa4-bdf9ff82f408.jpg | en | null | Regional development group's draft bylaws set up membership structure | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Called the Northeast Tennessee Regional Economic Partnership in the documents and public meetings in which it has been discussed, the new group’s founders envision it as a partnership of the public governing bodies in Washington, Unicoi and Carter counties and the private businesses within their borders.
“Through the memberships of private sector businesses, organizations and individuals in large numbers, including governmental units, who will contribute their financial resources, expertise and acumen, an improved enduring and broad-based business climate will result,” the bylaws state.
Like the Washington Economic Development Council, from which the regional corporation evolved, membership in the organization and its board of directors will be granted based on annual financial contributions.
The bylaws, which current WCEDC executive Mitch Miller cautioned were still preliminary, set up four tiered membership levels to the group, each attained by different amounts of contribution set by the board of directors.
The first and highest level, founding members, will be open to the governmental bodies of the three counties forming the group and the bodies of incorporated towns and cities within them.
Miller told Press staff writer Sue Legg the annual dues for the public members was based on population. According to him, Johnson City and Washington County will each contribute $175,000; Jonesborough will pay $7,000: Unicoi County, Erwin and the Town of Unicoi will jointly offer $50,000; and Carter County will add $40,000. Elizabethton has yet to officially join the group, but Miller told Carter County Commissioners in June he expects the city to pay $35,000.
Through the public financing, private membership dues and fundraising, the new group hopes to raise $5.5 million for five years of operations.
Founding members and the next two membership levels, charter members and sustaining members, will have the right to be on the organization’s board of directors, which will manage the partnership’s operations, including electing officers to the board and its Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will have the power to select the partnership’s CEO, subject to the approval of the rest of the partnership.
In previous WCEDC meetings, members said the Development Council’s existing staff, including Miller and the directors working under him, will be transferred to similar positions in the partnership.
The preliminary bylaws set up required annual meetings for the full partnership and its board of directors, and provide for special meetings held at any place and time.
Sections also provide for notice of those meetings to members, specifying how notice should be delivered, and whether delivering notice by email or posting to electronic networks is acceptable, but they don’t mention whether notice will be given to the public, or whether the meetings will be open to the public.
In July, Miller, WCEDC attorney Steve Darden and Washington County Mayor Dan Eldridge said the board hadn’t discussed whether the new partnership would fall under Tennessee Sunshine Laws designating whether meetings and documents are open for public attendance and inspection.
According to Darden, the new regional group will be formed as a 501(c)(6) organization, a federal tax designation applied to business leagues, chambers of commerce, real estate boards, boards of trade and professional football leagues. It’s unclear how much of the organization’s funding will come from public sources, but at least a part of it will.
Two years ago, in the midst of a drawn-out legal fight concerning whether Greene County leaders acted appropriately in approving a US Nitrogen fertilizer plant, Chancellor Douglas T. Jenkins ruled the Greene County Partnership, a 501(c)(6) formed in 1993 to drive economic development in the county, was not a governmental entity and not subject to Open Meetings Act disclosures. The group was dismissed from a lawsuit seeking information about the deal to build the plant in the county.
On Aug. 18, Miller again said members hadn’t yet made that decision. He said the bylaws considered in an Aug. 15 WCEDC Executive Committee meeting had not been finalized and were only drafted to submit to regulators for the organization’s incorporation.
WCEDC members hope to receive tax-exempt organization status approval for the partnership in October, then form the group and set its membership. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Business/2016/08/26/Regional-development-group-s-draft-bylaws-set-up-membership-structure.html | en | 2015-10-08T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/3241d3a8e714300dc7596f3ecfdfb4f64f09980afdc19e5a012eb8a072830fa9.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T02:49:03 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, Wyo. (AP) — Tourist John Gleason crept through the grass, four small children close behind, inching toward a bull elk with antlers like small trees at | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FVisitor-misbehavior-abounds-as-US-parks-agency-turns-100.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/28/x720_q60/National-Parks-Misbehaving-Tourists-5.jpg | en | null | Visitor misbehavior abounds as US parks agency turns 100 | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | “They’re going to give me a heart attack,” said Gleason’s mother-in-law, Barbara Henry, as the group came within about a dozen yards of the massive animal.
The elk’s ears then pricked up, and it eyed the children and Washington state man before leaping up a hillside. Other tourists — likewise ignoring rules to keep 25 yards from wildlife — picked up the pursuit, snapping pictures as they pressed forward and forced the animal into headlong retreat.
Record visitor numbers at the nation’s first national park have transformed its annual summer rush into a sometimes dangerous frenzy, with selfie-taking tourists routinely breaking park rules and getting too close to Yellowstone’s storied elk herds, grizzly bears, wolves and bison.
Law enforcement records obtained by The Associated Press suggest such problems are on the rise at the park, offering a stark illustration of the pressures facing some of America’s most treasured lands as the National Park Service marks its 100th anniversary.
From Tennessee’s Great Smoky Mountains to the Grand Canyon of Arizona, major parks are grappling with illegal camping, vandalism, theft of resources, wildlife harassment and other visitor misbehavior, according to the records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
In July alone, law enforcement rangers handled more than 11,000 incidents at the 10 most visited national parks.
In Yellowstone, rangers are recording more wildlife violations, more people treading on sensitive thermal areas and more camping in off-limit areas. The rule-breaking puts visitors in harm’s way and can damage resources and displace wildlife, officials said.
Often the incidents go unaddressed, such as when Gleason and the children approached the bull elk with no park personnel around. Gleason said he was “maybe” too close but felt comfortable in the situation as an experienced hunter who’s spent lots of time outdoors.
These transgressions add to rangers’ growing workload that includes traffic violations, searches for missing hikers and pets running off-leash in parks.
“It’s more like going to a carnival. If you look at the cumulative impacts, the trends are not good,” said Susan Clark, a Yale University professor of wildlife ecology who has been conducting research in the Yellowstone area for 48 years. “The basic question is, ‘What is the appropriate relationship with humans and nature?‘ We as a society have not been clear about what that ought to be, and so it’s really, really messy and nasty.”
Recent events at Yellowstone grabbed national headlines:
— A Canadian tourist who put a bison calf in his SUV hoping to save it, ending with wildlife workers euthanizing the animal when they could not reunite it with its herd.
— Three visitors from Asia cited on separate occasions for illegally collecting water from the park’s thermal features.
— A Washington state man killed after leaving a designated boardwalk and falling into a near-boiling hot spring.
The flouting of park rules stems from disbelief among visitors that they will get hurt, said Yellowstone Superintendent Dan Wenk. “I can’t tell you how many times I have to talk to people and say, ‘Step back. There’s a dangerous animal,‘ and they look at me like I have three heads,” he said.
Inconsistent record keeping, including a recent switch to a new criminal offenses reporting system, makes it difficult to identify trends that apply uniformly across the major parks.
But the records reviewed by the AP reveal the scope of visitor misbehavior is huge. In Yellowstone, administrators and outside observers including Clark say the park’s problems have become more acute. That threatens its mission to manage its lands and wildlife “unimpaired” for future generations.
Beyond incidents that lead to citations are many more that result in warnings. More than 52,000 warnings were issued in 2015, up almost 20 percent from the year before.
Washington state resident Lisa Morrow’s son was among the children Gleason led toward the elk. Despite safety advisories — and numerous examples of visitors getting gored by bison, mauled by bears and chased by elk — Morrow declared herself unafraid of the park’s wildlife. She said she was eager to see a grizzly up close.
“I want to see one right there,” Morrow said, pointing to a spot just feet away. “I’d throw it a cookie.”
The top 10 parks by visitation collectively hosted almost 44 million people last year, according to National Park Service figures. That’s a 26 percent increase from a decade earlier, or more than 9.1 million new visitors combined at Great Smoky Mountains, Yellowstone, Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the other national parks on the list.
Yellowstone boasts the most large, dangerous carnivores among those parks, but each has its risks. In Rocky Mountain National Park, it’s elk that become more aggressive during mating season. In Yosemite, it’s towering waterfalls where visitors insist on swimming near the edge. In the Grand Canyon, it’s squirrels habituated to humans and sometimes quick to bite an outstretched hand.
Wenk said the rise in popularity of social media complicates keeping visitors safe.
“You take a picture of yourself standing 10 feet in front of a bison, and all of a sudden a few hundred people see it, and it’s reposted — at the same time we’re telling everybody wildlife is dangerous,” Wenk said. “They get incongruous messages and then it happens. They get too close, and the bison charges.”
Associated Press writer Amy Beth Hanson in Helena contributed to this report.
Follow Matthew Brown on Twitter at https://twitter.com/matthewbrownap | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/28/Visitor-misbehavior-abounds-as-US-parks-agency-turns-100.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/8e1b72dd9fd91dbc199c62ebef378bb3a822ed3e003f72782b5a6a2b7ed0c5f5.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:19 | null | 2016-04-20T00:00:00 | DEAR ABBY: I have a complicated family situation. My dad was married to a woman named “Cynthia” for 16 years until they divorced. He met and married my mother the next | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FAdvice%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FDad-dating-ex-wife-causes-daughter-to-feel-betrayed.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/04/20/x720_q60/Dear-Abby-1.jpg | en | null | Dad dating ex-wife causes daughter to feel betrayed | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | A few days ago, Dad told me that he and Cynthia are dating, and he asked me to wish them luck. My immediate reaction was “Why?!” I left immediately, and have ignored his phone calls ever since.
I cannot express how upset this made me. I realize he's a lonely old man who would like to maybe start dating again, but his EX-WIFE? It feels like a total betrayal of my mother and me, like we were only some sort of intermission from his first family.
There are so many reasons why this feels like a sad and terrible idea, up to and including the havoc it will wreak on all of his daughters if something goes wrong again. I feel like he hasn't taken into account anyone's feelings but his own.
Am I selfish to feel this way? Is there anything I can do to stop this dead in its tracks? I don't want to be the bad guy, but I will NEVER be OK with this. — “INTERMISSION” DAUGHTER
DEAR DAUGHTER: If you are never OK with this, you will punish only yourself. Your father's divorce from Cynthia appears to have been amicable. His attraction to her may have more to do with the fact that he is drawn to someone familiar than any lack of feeling for you and your mother.
Instead of punishing him by ignoring his calls, I urge you to talk to him. What he's doing isn't disrespectful. He has mourned your mother's death for a year. Let him find happiness if he can, because if you do, I predict that it will spill over into your own life.
DEAR ABBY: “Hiding My Smile in New Jersey” (Feb. 28) was embarrassed by the condition of her teeth, which she had neglected for years. Your advice to her/him was excellent, but I'd like to add one more suggestion:
Schools of dentistry often have programs in which care is offered to lower-income patients under a reduced-fee structure, based on the client's income. Care is provided by dental students under close supervision by their board-certified dental professors. Students participate as assistants in procedures prior to being allowed to perform these procedures. In the latter case, the senior dentist serves as the assistant (and guide). — PATRICIA IN KENTUCKY
DEAR PATRICIA: Thank you for offering that suggestion, one that was echoed by many readers who wrote to lend support to “Hiding.” Some of them also advised looking into a company that provides credit to finance medical and dental work. Usually it's a no-interest loan for a certain period, which allows patients to pay over time without having to wait for their care. The dental care provider may be able to recommend one.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Advice/2016/08/25/Dad-dating-ex-wife-causes-daughter-to-feel-betrayed.html | en | 2016-04-20T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/5d2fedf3a05014f0384798599d5799513278ac97cdb104a57740cca2e971a29d.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T02:49:53 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | ELIZABETHTON — The Bonnie Kate Theater will once again be the site of a business.
After being acquired in a joint effort by the Elizabethton/Carter County | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FBusiness%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FBonnie-Kate-business-to-open.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | Bonnie Kate business to open | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | After being acquired in a joint effort by the Elizabethton/Carter County Community Foundation and the city of Elizabethton this summer, the building at 115 S. Sycamore St. has stood empty while some renovation work was done. Now a ribbon cutting for the Sugar Love Bakery and Cafe has been scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m.
The bakery side is scheduled to be open at 7 a.m. on Friday and the café will be open at 11 a.m. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Business/2016/08/30/Bonnie-Kate-business-to-open.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/939f830fa5cd8b5c73ad009bd465e8c4db8400358c92c7ef41b61995101a8da9.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:49:04 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | The evening of May 9, 1947, was an eventful and much anticipated occurrence for Science Hill High School's ROTC program that was comprised of several young men and eight young ladies who | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FHistory%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FDrills-part-of-daily-schedule-for-cadets-sponsors.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/2b-ROTC-Ball-Program-May-1947-jpg.jpg | en | null | Drills part of daily schedule for cadets, sponsors | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The military instructors were Lieut. Col. Walter L. Sherfey (Infantry, Professor of Military Science & Tactics); 1st Sgt. Paul H. Hicks (Infantry, Military Instructor), Sgt. William C. Salter (Signal Corps, Military Instructor).
Student officers and (corresponding sponsors) were Cadet Major Gene Arnold (Jo Anderson), Cadet Captain Max Morritt (Jean Chalker), Cadet Captain Hal Youngblood (Amy Winston), Cadet Captain George Johnston (Martha Gene Speed), Cadet 1st Lieut. Frank Larkin (Annette Marshall), Cadet 1st Lieut. Louis Copp (Jane Dance), Cadet 1st. Lieut. John Ryan (Joan Carter), and Cadet 1st Lieut. Jack Sausman (Nancy Jane Kiser).
Those cadets without sponsors included Cadet 1st Lieut. Tommy Vance, Cadet 1st Lieut. Jack Fulks, Cadet 2nd Lieut. Lee Wallace, Cadet 2nd Lieut. Charles Swain, Sgt. J. Max Scott (National Color Sgt.), Sgt. Bill Rushing (Battalion Color Guard Sgt.), Cpl. Elmer Baine (Color Guard) and Cpl. Freddie Barnes (Color Guard).
The sponsors that year were anxiously anticipating new uniforms, which was graciously presented to them that same year by the Johnson City Optimist Club.
Identification of those in the collage photo can be determined by moving counter clockwise from the top left photo. The names of the individuals in each photo are shown left to right.
• Photo 1: Martha Gene Speed, Amy Winston, Jean Chalker and Jo Anderson. They were allegedly discussing the prospects for new uniforms.
• Photo 2: Amy Winston and Annette Marshall as they soothe their aching feet after a period of heavy drilling.
• Photo 3: The left squad (front to back) shows Jane Dance, Nancy Jane Kiser, Martha Gene Speed and Amy Winston. The right squad discloses Jean Carter, Jean Chalker, Jo Anderson and Annette Marshall.
• Photo 4: Nancy Jane Kiser, Jane Dance, Jean Carter and Annette Marshall.
• Photo 5: Lt. Col. Walter L. Sherfey (on the right facing the sponsors). As Professor of Military Science and Tactics (PMS&T), he is putting the group through a rigorous inspection.
The photos were supplied by former Johnson City Press-Chronicle photographer, Jimmy Ellis, now deceased.
The ROTC Ball Program that May 9, 1947 evening was as follows:
"National Anthem by Drum and Bugle Corps.
"Presentation of the Battalion to the P.M.S.&T. (Entire unit with Cadet Major Arnold in charge).
"Sponsors Drill (Cadet Major Arnold in charge).
"Company A Drill Squad (Cadet 1st Sgt. Fred Booher in charge).
"Company B Drill Squad (Cadet S/Sgt. Bob Fields in charge).
"Company C Drill Squad (Cadet S/Sgt. Gene Gross in charge).
"Awarding of Metals (Lt. Colonel Walter L. Sherfey in charge).
"Exhibition by Drum and Bugle Corps (Cadet 1st Lieut. Jack Fulks in charge).
"Intermission.
"The Grand March (music furnished by The Blue Notes).
"Dancing until midnight."
I hope my readers will recognize someone from their past and share their memories with me. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/History/2016/08/29/Drills-part-of-daily-schedule-for-cadets-sponsors.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/ab577ab1d288e7fef93cbf7833111ed9cf6107626da9e59506099ccc11a71c00.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:48:47 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | BLUFF CITY — In the first major cross country meet of the season, the Science Hill girls showed they are a force to be reckoned with.
The Lady Hilltoppers took | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FScience-Hill-places-three-in-top-five.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/Julia-Simpson-JPG.jpg | en | null | Science Hill places three in top five | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Lady Hilltoppers took three of the top five spots at the Run for the 5K at South Holston Dam. It pushed them to a 32-48 win over Daniel Boone in the team competition. Watauga (N.C.) finished third with 82 points.
Junior Julia Simpson led the way for the Lady ’Toppers. She ran 20:32 to finish second in the individual race to Jessey Ball of Lebanon (Va.).
Simpson was 19 seconds behind the race winner, while Science Hill senior Halle Hausman finished third at 20:57 and Gabrielle Mardis finished fifth at 21:21.
“It was a great way to start the season,” first-year head coach Evan Adams said. “It was a hot day on a hard course so three in the top five is a great showing. It looks like we’re going to have a pretty strong girls’ team.”
Casey Miller (22:11) finished ninth and Taylor Canfield (23:21) was 22nd to round out the Science Hill scoring.
Boone showed its girls’ program is in the rise with the strong second-place showing. Gracie Murray finished sixth and Makayla Shaw was right behind her in seventh.
Marley McCoy added a 14th place, followed by Erin Bruce (16th) and Maria Chellah (18th).
David Crockett got a strong showing by sophomore Taylor Roy, who finished fourth individually at 21:00. Her older sister, Breanna, wasn’t able to compete after recently suffering with some compression issues.
If Saturday is any indication, it promises to be a good battle in the 1-A/AA ranks this season.
University High finished fourth in the team standings with 130 points, just three points ahead of Elizabethton with 133 points.
The Lady Cyclones had the top two individuals out of the smaller schools with Heather Feuchtenberger in eighth (21:40) and Lauren Pilkton in 10th (22:23). But, the Lady Bucs passed the Cyclones with the final two scorers.
Bekah Owen paced the Lady Bucs (22:31) for an 11th place run and Ali Burns (23:17) was next fastest in 21st.
“We’re just working towards October region,” UH coach Maggie Whitson said. “Today was a building block.”
Elizabethton coach Mark Newman believes his team has the depth to contend with UH in the long run and achieve its major goal.
“We want to get back to the state again,” Newman said. “That would be three years in a row going to the state. They have to put the hard work in. I’m tickled with what I saw today. I think we’re on target to do what we need to do.”
In addition to the TSSAA schools, Providence Academy finished seventh in the team standings with an individual best of 22:53 by Amy Ferguson.
Among the other local schools, Cheyenne Wilson (23:55) paced Unicoi County and Hunter Malone (30:52) finished best for Happy Valley. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/27/Science-Hill-places-three-in-top-five.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/132c14a5d52bf017c47ac4eb33c0215061bf32137b5d8d77a4795a6fd2907f2f.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:49:14 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | ELIZABETHTON - Patsy Nave-Hubbard, age 61, of Elizabethton, TN went home to be with the Lord on Saturday, August 27, 2016 at her residence following an extended illness. A native of Carter | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FPatsy-Lynne-Nave-Hubbard-1.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/patsyhubbard-jpg.jpg | en | null | Patsy Lynne Nave Hubbard | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by a brother, Ken Franklin. Those left to cherish her memory include her husband, Clinton Eugene Hubbard, of the home; brothers, Gary Nave and wife Miyoko, Sumter, SC and Larry Nave and wife Sara, Elizabethton, TN; sister, Barbara Smith and husband Paul, Banner Elk, NC; sisters-in-law, Jan Franklin, Palmer, TN and Kay Mason and husband Jim, Arkansas; brothers-in-law, Lee Hubbard and wife Terry, Elizabethton, TN and Mike Hubbard and wife Sue, Johnson City, TN; step-son, Chris Hubbard and wife Sheena, Texas and four step-grandchildren. Several nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, special friends and neighbors also survive.
A service to honor the life of Patsy Nave-Hubbard will be conducted at 11:00 A.M. Wednesday, August 31, 2016 in Zion Baptist Church, Gap Creek with Dr. Alan King and Rev. Sherrel Nave officiating. Music will be under the direction of the Zion Baptist Church Choir and Jennifer Hughes, pianist. Graveside service and interment will follow the funeral service in Happy Valley Memorial Park. Active pallbearers will be Chris Nave, Jeremiah Nave, Jeff Smith, Joshua Hubbard, Lee Hubbard, Chris Hubbard and Mike Hubbard. Honorary pallbearers will be Jason Franklin, the men of Zion Baptist Church, brothers and sisters in Christ, cousins and friends.
The family will receive friends at Zion Baptist Church, Gap Creek on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 from 4:00 – 7:00 P.M. or at the residence at any time or at the residence of her brother, Larry Nave at any time.
The family would like to express a special thank you to Amedisys Hospice and her niece, Julie Brown for the loving care given to Patsy and to the members of Zion Baptist Church. In Patsy’s own words, she would like to “thank Katherine White, Yvonne Stegier, all my brothers and sisters in Christ, my fellow associate friends at Walmart and several special friends.”
Those who prefer memorials in lieu of flowers may make donations to Zion Baptist Church, Building Fund, 1982 Gap Creek Road, Elizabethton, TN 37643. Online condolences may be sent to the family and viewed by visiting our website at www.hathawaypercy.com. Hathaway-Percy Funeral and Cremation Services is serving the Nave-Hubbard family. Office: (423) 543-5544. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/29/Patsy-Lynne-Nave-Hubbard-1.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d2bca8cfa9ff8bbb2e1f9963ecaf475b8a802985b660501a36e7987bbeb161fa.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:49:22 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | BRISTOL, VA - Margaret Bierbaum King, 90, of Bristol, VA, died Tuesday, August 23, 2016. She was born in Savanna, GA on January 14, 1926, to the late George Henry Bierbaum and Louise Berges | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FMargaret-Bierbaum-King-2.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/KING-jpg-1.jpg | en | null | Margaret Bierbaum King | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Margaret was a 1943 graduate of Virginia High School and Virginia Intermont College preparatory school. She received her AA degree from VIC and her BS degree from East Tennessee State University. She taught for 24 years in the Bristol, VA school system and served as president of the Bristol, VA Teachers Association. She has been a member of Central Presbyterian Church for over 50 years where she served as Deacon, Sunday school teacher, and Circle member. Margaret was a sustaining member of the Junior League of Bristol. Margaret enjoyed the company of family and friends as well as reading, music, history, bridge, and gardening.
She is survived by 3 children, 4 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Children include Linda Olson and her husband David of Newport News, VA, Connie Bullock and her husband Scott of Piney Flats, TN, and Michael King of Charlottesville, VA. The grandchildren include Brittney Freeland of Weston, MA, Brant Bullock and his wife Shelly of Piney Flats, TN, Aaron Olson and his wife Lela of Richmond, VA, and Michael Olson of Newport News, VA. The great-grandchildren include Collin, Reid and Parker Freeland, Malachi and Axel Bullock and Luke Olson. She is also survived by several nieces and their families including Carol Garnett of Madison, VA, Patricia Amundsen of Mesa, AZ and Barbara Anders of Tucson, AZ.
The family will receive friends on Saturday, August 27, 2016 from 5:00 until 7:00 PM at Oakley-Cook Funeral Home in Bristol, TN. The Celebration of Life service will be conducted on Sunday, August 28, 2016 at 3:00 PM at Central Presbyterian Church in Bristol, VA with Dr. Frank Aichinger and the Rev. Ann Aichinger officiating. A graveside service will follow at 4:30 PM at New Bethel Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Piney Flats, TN.
Memorial contributions can be sent to Central Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund at 301 Euclid Ave., Bristol, VA 24201
The family would like to thank caregivers Barbara Gibson and Sue Smith and special staff at Brookdale for their compassionate care.
Condolences and memories may be shared with the family and be viewed by visiting www.oakley-cook.com. Mrs. King and her family are in the care of Oakley-Cook Funeral Home & Crematory. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/26/Margaret-Bierbaum-King-2.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d1688d11f4aaec9084066a9b5109af7cc1a5df6ead1d0a344f4b8469359738b7.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:00 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | ELIZABETHTON — Many homeowners have heard the loud bang when a bird flew into their window. A woman told Carter County deputies she heard a much louder bang when a man dove through | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2Flaw-enforcement%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FMan-flees-from-shotgun-crashes-through-front-windows.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/Carter-County-Sheriff-s-Office.jpg | en | null | Man flees from shotgun, crashes through front windows | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | It happened Tuesday night at a trailer park on Dave Buck Road. Deputy Jason Mosier of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department said he was dispatched to the scene around 8:50 by a 911 call about a man armed with a shotgun holding another man at gunpoint.
When he arrived, Mosier said he found Brian Sargent, 46, 1957 Dave Buck Road, covered in blood. Mosier said Lt. Michael Bean talked with the man with the shotgun and the armed man told him he was inside his home when he heard the alarm on his truck go off.
When he stepped outside to investigate, the man said he saw Sargent standing near his truck. He said he retrieved his shotgun to hold Sargent until deputies arrived.
Mosier then talked with the woman whose window had been broken out. She told him she was in her living room when out of nowhere someone dove head-first through her windows.
When he couldn’t make entry, she said he broke out the underpinning of her mobile home and got underneath her residence, breaking the water line in the process.
Deputies also talked with a man who said he had witnessed the whole incident. The witness said he saw Sargent threaten to kill the man with the gun, then saw Sargent run head-first into the windows. He said he then saw Sargent go underneath the woman’s mobile home.
Mosier said he took Sargent into custody and transported him to Sycamore Shoals Hospital for treatment. Mosier said he charged Sargent with vandalism over $500. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/law-enforcement/2016/08/24/Man-flees-from-shotgun-crashes-through-front-windows.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/45e068edbe5f38be4eda28aa503bc2503fbb7f3d3bcad7a7c1702074b20be4fb.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T18:48:58 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Donald Trump said rival Hillary Clinton will push regulations and high taxes that will hurt family farmers as he campaigned in Iowa, an agricultural state | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FTrump-warns-of-regulations-taxes-harming-family-farmers.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/28/x720_q60/Campaign-2016-Trump-36.jpg | en | null | Trump warns of regulations, taxes harming family farmers | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Trump warned a crowd in Iowa on Saturday that Clinton “wants to shut down family farms” and implement anti-agriculture policies. His comments came in a speech to the annual “Roast and Ride” fundraiser for Republican Sen. Joni Ernst. Trump skipped the 42-mile motorcycle ride that preceded the event.
Joining the presidential nominee on stage were top Iowa Republicans — among them Ernst, Gov. Terry Branstad, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Steve King — in a rare show of establishment support for a candidate who has struggled to unite his party.
In a gesture to Iowa’s agriculture industry, Trump renewed his commitment to continuing a requirement that all gasoline sold contain an ethanol-based additive, an issue important to corn growers. He also promised to cut taxes on family farms, which he called the “backbone” of the country.
“Hillary Clinton wants to shut down family farms just like she wants to shut down the mines and the steelworkers,” he said at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. “She will do this not only through radical regulation, but also by raising taxes on family farms - and all businesses - to rates as high as nearly 50 percent.”
Clinton’s campaign website touts a plan to increase funding to support farmers and ranchers in local food markets and regional food systems, saying she’ll create a “focused safety net to help family farms get through challenging times.” It also says she plans to target federal resources in commodity payment, crop insurance, and disaster assistance programs to support family operations.
Branstad, in an interview with The Associated Press, said he felt Trump could score points against Clinton by focusing on agricultural issues. Branstad, whose son runs Trump’s campaign in the state, said he also hopes Trump would launch campaign ads there and that he sees the race as “about even.”
“I don’t like that but, hopefully, that’s going to change,” Branstad said.
Speaking to an overwhelmingly white crowd, Trump again pledged that as president he would help African-Americans living in cities with high crime and low employment. He offered no specifics for how he would achieve that goal.
Trump drew an online backlash Saturday for a tweet he sent in response to the shooting death of NBA star Dwyane Wade’s cousin, who was gunned down near the Chicago school where she had planned to register her children.
“Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!” Trump tweeted. He later sent a tweet offering his “condolences to Dwyane Wade and his family.”
Campaigning in Florida, Clinton running mate Tim Kaine said, “We just ought to be extending our sympathy to the family,” and added, “That’s the only reaction that’s appropriate right now.”
Clinton met Saturday for more than two hours with intelligence officials at the FBI office in White Plains, New York, for her first overview of the major threats facing the nation around the globe since she became the Democratic nominee. Trump received his briefing earlier this month, a customary move for major-party nominees.
Trump also previewed his immigration plans at the Iowa event, saying that he was developing an “exit-entry tracking system to ensure those who overstay their visas, that they’re quickly removed.” The proposal echoed the language of Trump’s former primary rival, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is now advising him.
__
Thomas reported from White Plains, New York. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in Washington and Alan Suderman in Miami contributed to this report.
Follow Thomas on Twitter at @kthomasDC and Bauer at @sbauerAP.
What political news is the world searching for on Google and talking about on Twitter? Find out via AP’s Election Buzz interactive. http://elections.ap.org/buzz | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/28/Trump-warns-of-regulations-taxes-harming-family-farmers.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/aa43260959d4925a3d1429088d299c68c955ed5bb6c4e7cb5ea9a1a32d3b7e2b.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:48:22 | null | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | The Johnson City Fire Department is offering installation of a free smoke alarm to any city resident who needs one. This is a valuable service that has helped to save lives. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEditorial%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FWorking-smoke-le.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/07/13/x720_q60/As-We-See-It-1.jpg | en | null | Properly maintained smoke alarms help to save lives | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Every home should have at least one smoke detector. And new technology — such as dual sensor smoke alarms that warn of both flame and smoke — has made these essential devices even more effective. Dual sensor alarms use both ionization and photoelectric technologies.
An ionization smoke alarm warns of flaming fires, such as a cooking fire. The photoelectric alarm is more responsive to a smoldering fire, such as that from overheated wiring.
Firefighters say having a properly functioning smoke detector in the home more than doubles a person’s chances of surviving a house fire. And a smoke detector that has had its battery drained or removed is of no use in alerting a family to a fire.
Tennessee routinely ranks among the top five states in the nation when it comes to the number of residents killed in house fires.
There were 72 fire-related deaths in Tennessee last year, down from the 75 reported n 2014.
Many of those lives might have been saved with a fully functioning smoke detector. That means a smoke detector should be tested regularly.
There should be a smoke alarm on each level of the house, inside every bedroom and outside the bedrooms in each sleeping area.
Any Johnson City resident in need of a smoke alarm or who needs help in replacing the batteries in one they already have should contact firefighting officials at 975-2840. A request for smoke detectors may also be submitted online at jcfd.wufoo.com/forms/smoke-detector-request-form/. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Editorial/2016/08/27/Working-smoke-le.html | en | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/0f670698aeb2eb575768bd8544292d9fac2ee8928c3d6cd24fc7d5d0bec66178.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T02:48:09 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee this week sent a tractor-trailer load of food and supplies to help the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank recover from the loss of 500,000 pounds | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FSecond-Harvest-of-NET-joins-flood-relief-effort-at-Greater-Baton-Rouge-Food-Bank.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/Food-Bank-Flood-Relief-1.jpg | en | null | Second Harvest of NET supporting relief efforts at flooded Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Kathy Smith, community relations director for the local food bank, said Second Harvest of Northeast Tennessee was one of the first to respond to the Feeding America food bank network’s nationwide call for help for the flooded food bank.
Its truck arrived in Baton Rouge on Monday loaded with diapers, baby food, cleaning supplies and other requested items that were donated by local retailers as well as tape and tape guns for food distributions donated by Cantech Industries of Johnson City.
Second Harvest of Northeast Tennessee also sent Warehouse Manager Chuck Burrell to help with cleanup and food-distribution efforts at the Baton Rouge food bank as well as boxes, pallet jacks, tables and chairs and computer equipment to help the food bank resume operations.
Smith said the Baton Rouge food bank had just begun its disaster relief distributions to region’s flooded areas when the water began to rise inside its 170,000-square-foot warehouse.
The water reached about four feet in depth inside the warehouse, destroying an estimated 500,000 pounds of food and flooding the food bank’s offices.
Mike Manning, CEO of the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank, said the lost food included food inside the food bank’s cooler and freezer and shipments that were being prepared to go to flood-affected areas. He estimated the value of the food at $835,000.
“The toughest thing for us and our team is that we can’t do what we do in these situations, which is help people. That’s what we are trying to get back to do,” Manning said.
The Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank serves 90,000 people per year. Burrell was still working on-site at the Baton Rouge food bank Friday, Smith said.
Rhonda Chafin, executive director of Second Harvest of Northeast Tennessee, said, “During times of disaster all food banks in the Feeding America network try to help each other. ... They would do the same for us.”
According to Burrell, volunteers spent the past week cleaning, disinfecting and refurbishing the Baton Rouge food bank. A temporary 18,000-square-foot warehouse has also been set up to receive and distribute food.
More information on the progress at Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank can be found and online donations may be made at the food bank’s website, brfoodbank.org.
Donations to the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank may also be made by mail to 10600 S. Choctaw Dr., Baton Rouge, LA 70815.
Email Sue Guinn Legg at slegg@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow her on Twitter @sueleggjcpress. Like her on Facebook at facebook.com/sueleggjcpress. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/26/Second-Harvest-of-NET-joins-flood-relief-effort-at-Greater-Baton-Rouge-Food-Bank.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/751e81beccfa9e9539f850b0cbdbcb8b13a4a9460d368e423624c8b649517693.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:51 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | ELIZABETHTON — The Burlington Royals opened a close game with a four-run sixth for an 8-3 win over the Elizabethton Twins in Appalachian League play Wednesday night at Joe | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FBaseball%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FE-Twins-come-up-short-against-Burlington.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/E-Twins-jpg-31.jpg | en | null | E-Twins come up short against Burlington | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Chris DeVito hit a two-out single in the sixth that plated two runs for Burlington. The Royals scored two others runs and loaded the bases prior to DeVito’s hit on three walks and a hit batter.
Burlington led 4-3 going into the sixth, scoring one run apiece in the first four innings. Kort Peterson hit an inside-the-park home run in the first and Gabriel Cancel led off the third with a homer.
Chase Livington hit an RBI single in the second and Jonathan McCray doubled in the go-ahead run in the fourth.
Elizabethton starter Alex Schick was charged with the loss, giving up six runs on five hits in five innings. He struck out five and walked four.
Ben Rortvedt had three hits for the Twins, including an RBI single in the second. Elizabethton’s other two runs came in the third. Ariel Montesino led off a double and Caleb Hamilton brought him home in the next at-bat on a double of his own. After a pair of strikeouts, Shane Carrier, who had two hits in the game, doubled to plate Hamilton.
The loss keeps the Twins (33-27) in second place in the West Division behind the Johnson City Cardinals (35-25). Third-place Greeneville also lost Wednesday and is seven games back. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Baseball/2016/08/24/E-Twins-come-up-short-against-Burlington.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/3fc32eb39b7d2174c52c67d2e65e74c1804ffe5ddb70326c983a6678c90b6d6c.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T20:49:20 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | KNOXVILLE - Mrs. Louise Wyatt, formerly of Bristol,TN departed this life Sunday August 27, 2016 at UT Medical Center in Knoxville, TN. Arrangements are incomplete. Online condolences may be | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FMrs-Louise-Wyatt.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Wyatt-jpg.jpg | en | null | Mrs. Louise Wyatt | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Mrs. Louise Wyatt
KNOXVILLE - Mrs. Louise Wyatt, formerly of Bristol,TN departed this life Sunday August 27, 2016 at UT Medical Center in Knoxville, TN. Arrangements are incomplete. Online condolences may be sent to the family at raclarkfuneralservice@yahoo.com Professional service and care of Mrs. Louise Wyatt and family are entrusted to R.A.Clark Funeral Service Inc. (423) 764-8584 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/29/Mrs-Louise-Wyatt.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/9e7b591f7667fc3ba664a2d962edadd3f1b27e44e6b5dbe974422697bcbf7b83.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T18:49:18 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | NEW YORK — Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin said Monday that she is separating from her husband, Anthony Weiner, after the former New York congressman was accused in yet another | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FPolitics%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FWeiner-s-wife-is-leaving-him-amid-a-new-sexting-scandal.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Anthony-Weiner-Sexting.jpg | en | null | Weiner's wife is leaving him amid a new sexting scandal | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | “After long and painful consideration and work on my marriage, I have made the decision to separate from my husband,” Abedin, vice chair of Clinton’s presidential campaign, said in a statement issued by the campaign. “Anthony and I remain devoted to doing what is best for our son, who is the light of our life.”
The New York Post published photos late Sunday that it said Weiner had sent last year to a woman, whom it identified only as a “40-something divorcee” who lives “out West” and is a supporter of Donald Trump.
The photos included several shots of Weiner bare-chested and two close-ups of his bulging underpants. one of the pictures, Weiner is in bed with his toddler son while he is texting the woman, according to the Post. The tabloid also ran sexually suggestive text messages that it said the two exchanged.
Weiner told the Post that he and the woman “have been friends for some time.”
“She has asked me not to comment except to say that our conversations were private, often included pictures of her nieces and nephews and my son and were always appropriate,” he told the newspaper.
Weiner didn’t return a call, text or email from The Associated Press. Weiner deleted his Twitter account Monday.
The Post didn’t say how it had obtained the photographs and messages.
Weiner, a Democrat, quit Congress in 2011 after it discovered that he was sending women sexually explicit messages. Weiner ran for mayor of New York in 2013, but that bid collapsed after it was reported that he was continuing to sext women.
Since then, Weiner has remained in the public eye, commenting on politics on a local cable news show. A documentary offering a cringe-inducing inside view of his mayoral campaign and its unraveling played in theaters earlier this year and is set to air on Showtime this fall.
In the documentary, Weiner allowed the camera crew extraordinary access even after the new scandal broke. His wife appeared stricken and deeply uncomfortable as the cameras continued to roll.
Abedin, 40, is a longtime aide and confidante to Clinton and is often referred to as Clinton’s second daughter. She is widely expected to play an important role in Clinton’s administration if the candidate is elected president.
Abedin began working for the former first lady as a White House intern and became a trusted aide and adviser as Clinton won a seat in the Senate representing New York in 2000, ran for president in 2008 and served as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state.
She has been under scrutiny as part of the probe of Clinton’s use of a private email system while she was secretary of state. Federal prosecutors declined to file charges in the investigation.
Abedin and Weiner were married in 2010 at a wedding officiated by former President Bill Clinton. They have a 4-year-old son, Jordan.
Frequently by Clinton’s side, Abedin was spotted outside fundraisers for the Democratic presidential nominee on Sunday in the Hamptons, on New York’s Long Island. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Politics/2016/08/29/Weiner-s-wife-is-leaving-him-amid-a-new-sexting-scandal.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/e831d9fc14b110747fbddbeb8413bdb8d23481284e42f1987ec86424a8dac7d4.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T00:48:47 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The East Tennessee State University women's soccer team will put its perfect record on the line Sunday when it plays at Tennessee.
The Bucs have won their first two | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FETSU-women-to-take-on-Vols-in-soccer.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/28/x720_q60/ETSU-volleyball.jpg | en | null | ETSU roundup: Women's soccer to take on Vols | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Bucs have won their first two games, both by 1-0 scores, against USC Upstate and Radford.
Sunday's game in Knoxville begins at 6 p.m.
This is the third consecutive year ETSU has started 2-0. Freshman Georgia Allen and senior Simona Koren have scored the Bucs' goals.
ETSU has never beaten a Southeastern Conference school.
The game marks the first road game of the season for the Bucs and the first of a three-game road stretch.
Tennessee is 1-2 and is coming off a 1-0 loss against Washington on Thursday night. The Vols have one goal in three games.
Volleyball team off to perfect start
Two days into its season, the ETSU volleyball team is off to a 3-0 start, thanks to victories over Austin Peay, Troy and USC Upstate in its own tournament, the Doubletree Hotel Buccaneer Challenge, at Brooks Gym.
The Bucs swept Troy 25-22, 27-25, 25-17 on Saturday as Rylee Milhorn had 16 kills and Kristen Favre had 22 assists. They then returned to the court and beat Upstate 25-21, 25-15, 25-20 behind 27 assists from Favre and 10 kills from Briana Allmon.
Throw in the sweep over Austin Peay on Friday, and the Bucs haven't dropped a set yet this season.
ETSU returns to action Friday with a road game against Hampton.
Men's soccer drops opener
John Lucchesi scored his first collegiate goal in his first game, but there were few other highlights for the ETSU men's soccer team when the Bucs dropped their season opener, 5-1, at High Point on Saturday night.
Lucchesi, a red-shirt freshman from Science Hill High School, put in a rebound after another red-shirt freshman, Javier Alberto, hit the goalpost with a bicycle kick. The goal came in the 36th minute and cut High Point's lead to 3-1. The Panthers added two more goals in the second half.
ETSU's home opener is set for Wednesday at 7 p.m when George Mason comes to Summers-Taylor Stadium | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/27/ETSU-women-to-take-on-Vols-in-soccer.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/2f0e78557545ede9d5d82387e532b1d81c6a4f82f0fb8e7b5ddf783927bf1867.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T02:49:17 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | ERWIN — The Erwin Elephant Revival series of benefit community activities wrapped up Saturday with more than $7,000 raised for The Elephant Sanctuary in Tennessee. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FErwin-Elephant-Revival-exceeds-expectations.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Elephant-Revival-2-1.jpg | en | null | Erwin Elephant Revival exceeds expectations | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | “We are thrilled with the total,” said Kristen Anders, co-owner of The Bramble and vice president of the Rise Erwin group that staged the two-week benefit.
“When we started our planning and preparations, we hoped we would raise a few hundred dollars for the sanctuary, much less a thousand, and much less several thousand,” she said.
”We presented the check to them on behalf of the Erwin community, because it was all the people who came out and supported the events that raised the total. Really, we could not have asked for a better turnout at all of the events.”
Anders said $1,000 of the total raised came from two sold-out performances of the drama “The Story of Mary 100 Years Later,” written and presented by the Unicoi County High School Drama Department.
Approximately $700 was raised through kids’ lemonade stand sales. Proceeds from the sale of more than 300 Elephant Revival T-shirts and from ice cream floats sold during Thursday night’s Trunk Show of vintage automobiles also went into the total.
But the biggest fundraiser by far, Anders said, was Friday night’s Low Country Boil community dinner prepared and served by the high school’s culinary classes and attended by 140 guests at The Bramble.
There was live music and dancing with the Carolina Gator Gumbo Band and special craft beer sales by Johnson City Brewing Company that complimented the dinner outside on the street.
Even the free Magical Night for kids and Glow Parade through downtown that wrapped up the benefit series Saturday added to the total through the sale of even more event T-shirts and elephant-themed bracelets, bags and glow-in-the-dark items.
Anders said the crowd at Saturday night’s series finale was estimated in the thousands. Eight small elephant statues to be painted by commissioned artists and displayed throughout Erwin beginning next spring made their debut in the parade.
Erwin Mayor Doris Hensley and Todd Montgomery, an educator from The Elephant Sanctuary, served as the parade’s grand marshals.
And fittingly, a life-sized sculpture of Mary, the circus elephant that was hanged in Erwin for killing her handler in late summer of 1916, was given an honorary spot at the head of the parade.
Despite that large number in attendance, Anders said the free watermelon that was passed out Saturday in honor of the fruit Mary was reaching for when her inexperienced handler struck her in the mouth and incited her murderous reaction was more than enough for those who wanted seconds.
“Everyone who wanted it had two rounds of watermelon and we still had enough left over to send watermelon to the 13 elephants (at the Sanctuary),” she said.
Email Sue Guinn Legg at slegg@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow her on Twitter @sueleggjcpress. Like her on Facebook at facebook.com/sueleggjcpress. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/29/Erwin-Elephant-Revival-exceeds-expectations.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/16d14116a8ec50b2adf69acd5a3ef4f8c67e3ee930603366c4618377bb44acf2.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:07:07 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Andrew Knizner drove in three runs on two hits and the Johnson City Cardinals rallied for a 7-6 Appalachian League win over the Bristol Pirates on Thursday night at TVA Credit Union Ballpark. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FBaseball%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FCards-rally-for-win-over-Bristol.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/Cards-jpg-30.jpg | en | null | Cards rally for win over Bristol | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Down 6-4, the Cards plated three runs in the seventh. Knizner drew a bases-loaded walk for one, and Joshua Lopez reached on a throwing error that plated J.R. Davis and Caleb Lopes for the game-winner.
Estarlin Arias pitched the final two inings for the save, limiting Bristol to two hits and striking out one.
Johnson City remained atop the Appy League West, improving to 35-25 with a 2 1/2-game lead over Elizabethton. Third-place Greeneville also won Thursday and is 6 1/2 back.
The Cards trailed 5-1 after four innings Thursday. Knizner hit a two-run single and Matt Fiedler drew the first bases-loaded walk of the night that scored DeAndre Asbury-Heath.
Davis had three hits and scored two runs, and Lopes scored twice.
Johnson City starter Ramon Santos allowed five runs on five hits over six innings with four strikeouts in the no-decision. Leland Tilley got the win, tossing the top of the seventh to improve to 2-0. He allowed one run on three hits. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Baseball/2016/08/25/Cards-rally-for-win-over-Bristol.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/a6f1196c020d67dadfbb9d8fa28ce87abd2204a9f4788effcbb57cb4dd820c57.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:56 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | ELIZABETHTON — It was a very good summer for the Elizabethton/Carter County Public Library.
The library has always had an active reading program during the time | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FElizabethton-library-reports-busy-summer.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/Elizabethton-Library-summer-program.jpg | en | null | Elizabethton library reports busy summer | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The library has always had an active reading program during the time when children are out of school for the summer, but this year, the library introduced a summer feeding program for needy children who receive most of their nutrition from school lunches during the school year.
In all, 21 volunteers and five community partner agencies donated a total of 215 hours toward the library’s summer programs.
“I would like to thank all of the volunteers, without them this could not have happened,” said Renita Barksdale, director of the library.
She said some of the organizations who helped included the University of Tennessee Extension Service, the Carter County Health Department, the ECHO Home School Coop and the Kiwanis Club,
The champion volunteers included Juli Nave, who donated 90 hours, and Carolyn Stonestreet, who donated 36 hours.
The volunteers helped with 42 children’s reading programs, in which 518 children were registered.
The new feeding program provided 1,462 meals for children. Another new food program was a community garden, where children could watch vegetables grow and taste the bounty at harvest time.
Barksdale said the University of Tennessee Extension Office and the Boys and Girls Club of Elizabethton/Carter County had taught the children about healthy eating.
One of the highlights was when Tennessee Promise students used the program to perform their required community service.
In one program, Tennessee Promise and the Extension Service joined forces to teach children from the Boys and Girls Club how to make pickles.
Other highlights included programs by the Roan Mountain State Park seasonal interpretive rangers and a unique opportunity conducted by the Elizabethton Parks and Recreation Department for young children to play on full-sized trucks.
Just like the new community garden grew outside the library this summer, the staff hopes that the seeds planted with the reading and feeding programs will mature into healthy and knowledgeable adults. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/24/Elizabethton-library-reports-busy-summer.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/b5d4ba5b54ebcc1f83353d07747793b5f7ab457f4aa6a5dcfa9f630d9962f9ee.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:40 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | WASHINGTON — After scanning the vast reaches of the cosmos for Earth-like planets where life might exist, astronomers have found one right next door.
A planet | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FScience%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FJackpot-Scientists-find-Earth-like-planet-at-star-next-door.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/Proxima-Centauri.jpg | en | null | Jackpot: Scientists find Earth-like planet at star next door | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | A planet that is rocky like Earth and only slightly bigger has been discovered orbiting Proxima Centauri , the nearest star to our solar system, scientists reported Wednesday. It is probably in the not-too-hot, not-too-cold Goldilocks Zone where liquid water — a key to life — is possible, if the planet has an atmosphere. And it is a mere 4.22 light-years from Earth, or nearly 25 trillion miles.
It is easily the closest potentially habitable planet ever detected outside our solar system — and one that could be reachable by tiny, unmanned space probes before the end of the century, in time for some people alive today to witness it.
The international team of astronomers that announced the discovery did not actually see the planet but deduced its existence indirectly, by using telescopes to spot and precisely calculate the gravitational pull on the star by a possible orbiting body — a tried-and-true method of planet-hunting.
“We hit the jackpot here,” said Guillem Anglada-Escude , an astrophysicist at the Queen Mary University of London and lead author of a study on the discovery in the journal Nature. He said the planet is “more or less what we have on Earth.”
They’re calling it Proxima b, and while it could be like Earth in the important features, it would probably still look very alien.
It is 4.6 million miles from its red dwarf star, or just one-twentieth of the distance between Earth and the sun, creating an incredible orange sky with no blue, so it looks like a perpetual sunset. And if that’s not different enough, the planet circles its star so quickly that its year is about 11 days.
The planet doesn’t rotate, so one side is always facing its star and the other side is always dark and colder. It is bombarded with X-rays and ultraviolet light, but that wouldn’t necessarily be fatal to life, since life can exist underground, scientists said.
Scientists in the past 20 years have found more than 3,000 planets outside our solar system, or “exploplanets.” And more than 40 of them seem to be in the habitable zone just right for life.
But this one “basically puts a giant flashing neon sign on the nearest star saying: See this right here,” said study co-author R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution for Science.
It would take more than eight years for an energy pulse or radio signal traveling at the speed of light to go there and back. NASA’s New Horizons probe, the fastest spacecraft launched, left Earth hurtling toward Pluto at about 36,000 mph. At that speed, it would take more than 78,000 years to get there.
Earlier this year, an all-star team of scientists and business leaders including Stephen Hawking and Mark Zuckerberg announced Breakthrough Starshot , a project to send out hundreds of light-powered space probes that would weigh about a gram, travel at one-fifth the speed of light and send pictures back to Earth.
Breakthrough Starshot executive director Pete Worden, a former top NASA official, said organizers are hoping to include Proxima in their plans. Even at the hoped-for speed, it will take 20 years to get there and four more years for photos to come back. Worden said he hopes they will launch by 2060.
Yet in the vastness of space, Proxima b is practically just over the fence, “like your next-door neighbor,” Butler said. Proxima b is more than 50 trillion miles closer than the previous closest potentially habitable exoplanet.
The next step may be for a powerful Earth or space telescope to get an actual image of the planet, Butler said. But even when that comes, and it may be a decade or two away, it will only be a single dot: “You’re not going to see espresso bars at the beach. You’re not going to see aliens waving at us.”
Outside experts praised the finding as rock-solid and thrilling.
“It is inspiring to find a potentially habitable world on our cosmic doorsteps, around our next star,” said exoplanet expert Lisa Kaltenegger, director of Cornell University’s Carl Sagan Institute . “It is significant because if we needed inspiration to try to reach the next star, now we have it.”
Four years ago another group of scientists excited the world with a claim of a planet — not in the habitable zone — around Alpha Centauri, a star a bit farther away. That claim was met with suspicion by other astronomers, who later showed that it was unlikely to be real but a ghost signal from the past.
Xavier Dumusque, an author of the Centauri paper, said it is no longer clear if that was a planet, but in an email he said the team led by Anglada-Escude makes a good case for its own discovery.
Anglada-Escude said there is only a 1-in-10-million chance that what they saw was a false positive, proclaiming “no doubt” that what he found was real. That’s because a telescope in Chile that was used to look at Proxima every night for 60 days found a gravitational effect on its star every 11 days or so. Then a close examination of years of data from a different telescope found the same thing, Butler said.
“That cinches it,” Butler said. “You’ve now seen the exact same signal. Two different telescopes, two different techniques.”
There are still many questions, especially the crucial one of whether the planet has an atmosphere.
Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb, who isn’t part of the discovery team but is advisory board chairman for Breakthrough Starshot, said Proxima might someday prove vital to humanity’s future.
“A habitable rocky planet around Proxima would be the most natural location to where our civilization could aspire to move after the sun will die, 5 billion years from now,” he said in an email.
Online:
Nature: http://www.nature.com/nature | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Science/2016/08/24/Jackpot-Scientists-find-Earth-like-planet-at-star-next-door.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/41c04e2e6e5c0917998ca2c5cd9ca900dee67af304ee7cf92f08c6d212cb6381.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T00:49:19 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | DURANT, Miss. (AP) — Hundreds of people filled a cathedral in Mississippi’s capital city on Monday to remember two nuns who spent decades helping the needy and were found | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2F2-slain-nuns-remembered-for-helping-the-needy.html.json | http://jcweb.libercus.net/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/APTOPIX-Nuns-Killed.jpg | en | null | 2 slain nuns remembered for helping the needy | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Bail was denied during the initial court appearance for the man charged with two counts of capital murder in the slayings of Sisters Margaret Held and Paula Merrill, both 68. Rodney Earl Sanders, 46, of Kosciusko, Mississippi, was also charged with one count of burglary and one count of grand larceny. He was not represented by an attorney during his appearance Monday afternoon in Durant city court. City Judge Jim Arnold said the state will appoint an attorney for Sanders.
Capital murder is punishable by execution or life in prison; the sisters’ religious orders have issued a joint statement against the death penalty.
“We are going to consider the heinous nature of the crime and their wishes,” District Attorney Akillie Malone-Oliver said Monday, referring to the families of the sisters and their religious orders.
Sanders confessed to the killings but gave no reason, said Holmes County Sheriff Willie March, who was briefed by Durant police and Mississippi Bureau of Investigation officials who took part in Sanders’ interrogation. Sanders had been living about 15 miles east of the sisters’ Durant home. He has been held at an undisclosed jail since his arrest late Friday.
Sander’s wife attended the hearing and broke down afterward when addressing the family and friends of the nuns.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say to y’all. I’m so sorry ... I’m so sorry. I can’t take this. Oh my God,” Marie Sanders said.
Merrill and Held worked as nurse practitioners at Lexington Medical Clinic, about 10 miles west of Durant, where they often treated poor and uninsured patients with diabetes and other chronic conditions. Their bodies were found in their home after they failed to show up at work Thursday.
The clinic in Lexington and the nuns’ home in Durant are in Holmes County, population 18,000. With 44 percent of its residents living in poverty, Holmes is the seventh-poorest county in America, according to the Census Bureau. The killings shocked people in the small communities where the women committed their lives to helping the poor.
Bishop Joseph Kopacz and more than 20 priests from the Diocese of Jackson celebrated a memorial Mass on Monday at the small but ornate Cathedral of St. Peter in downtown Jackson, about an hour’s drive south of Durant. The front pews were filled by family members and sisters from Held’s and Merrill’s religious orders, the Kentucky-based Sisters of Charity of Nazareth and the School Sisters of St. Francis of Milwaukee.
The Rev. Greg Plata, who ministers at the church in Lexington, Mississippi, where Held and Merrill led Bible study, praised them for their lives of service. Plata also noted the joint statement against the death penalty released Sunday by the sisters’ orders.
“Justice for a heinous crime demands punishment, but it does not demand revenge,” Plata said.
On Sunday, more than 300 people attended a service at the church in Lexington.
Warren Strain, spokesman for the Department of Public Safety which includes the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation, said the organization would neither confirm nor deny that Sanders confessed.
Records from the Iowa Department of Corrections show Sanders was in prison from June 2004 to February 2011 on a conviction of second-degree robbery. Records show he also was in prison in Iowa from August 1999 to August 2002 on a conviction of theft, and from April to October 1996 for two counts of third-offense drunken driving.
Sanders was on probation after a prison term for a felony drunken-driving conviction in Mississippi last year, said Grace Simmons Fisher, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. He was also convicted of armed robbery in Holmes County, sentenced in 1986 and served six years.
The Associated Press’ Rogelio V. Solis contributed from Lexington, Mississippi, and Rebecca Santana contributed from New Orleans.
This story has been corrected to show that Ronald Earl Sanders is facing one count of grand larceny and one count of burglary, not one count of burglary grand larceny. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/29/2-slain-nuns-remembered-for-helping-the-needy.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/c26bb75113c424ad35c48348186d8e670c8ac0db09040bcb887eedc2eea01684.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:49:13 | null | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | The Associated Press reported last week that a number of accidents this summer involving amusement rides — including one in Greene County that sent three girls to the hospital | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEditorial%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FShould-Tennessee-require-tougher-ride-inspections.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/07/13/x720_q60/Question-of-the-Week.jpg | en | null | Should Tennessee require tougher ride inspections? | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The AP said 29 deaths on thrill rides or water slides have been reported to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission since 2010. The latest came earlier this month when a 10-year-old boy was killed at a water park in Kansas.
Meanwhile, a Ferris wheel gondola overturned at the Greene County Fair two weeks ago, spilling three girls more than 30 feet to the ground. They were treated at the hospital with one — a 6-year-old— diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury.
State investigators blamed worn-out rivet fasteners on the underside of the carriage for causing the accident.
Tennessee is among a number of states that allow thrill ride operators to compile their own safety reports based on data from inspectors they hire. The state also accepts safety inspections conducted on traveling rides in other states.
The AP reported that means when an amusement company took apart a Ferris wheel in Indiana, drove it to Tennessee and put it back together at five county fairs (the last being the Greene County Fair), no safety professional in this state had inspected the equipment. Instead, Tennessee relied on an Indiana inspection and gave operators permission to start the ride.
Jason Reynolds, whose daughters Kayla and Briley were two of the girls hurt at the Greene County Fair, said the incident should serve as a wakeup call for both ride operators and state officials.
“Obviously there was some stuff that was overlooked,” Reynolds said at recent news conference. “There is no price on safety. Safety is priceless. When we start trying to shove stuff to the side for money, there is no excuse for it.”
We want to know what you think. Is Tennessee doing enough to insure the safety of thrill rides?
Send your comments to mailbag@johnsoncitypress.com. Please include your name, telephone number and address for verification. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Editorial/2016/08/29/Should-Tennessee-require-tougher-ride-inspections.html | en | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/276e411880a820f58b94e384b90d2df7569737e3730dcffee4b2ceed4c188f79.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:15:12 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | NEW YORK — Hollywood’s blockbuster machine frequently stalled and sputtered this summer, leaving behind a steady trail of misbegotten reboots, ill-conceived sequels and | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEntertainment%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FMeasuring-the-fallout-from-a-summer-full-of-box-office-flops.html.json | http://jcweb.libercus.net/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/Film-Summer-Box-Office.jpg | en | null | Measuring the fallout from a summer full of box-office flops | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | None of the movies that did poorly this summer were the spectacular species of bomb: an out-of-leftfield disaster like “The Lone Ranger.” The failures of “Ben-Hur,” ‘‘Independence Day: Resurgence” and “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” were, to most people who have seen a movie in the last decade, not exactly shocking.
Instead, the running theme was of big movies not living up to the hype, for either moviegoers, critics or both.
“Suicide Squad” is one of the biggest grossers of the summer with $577.6 million globally, but it and the previous Warner Bros.-DC Comics film, “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice,” may have left hundreds of millions on the table by not being better and more crowd-pleasing.
Still, Warner Bros. — while vowing to keep improving its DC superhero films — could celebrate a 39 percent uptick from summer 2015, with successes like the comedy “Central Intelligence” and the low-budget thriller “Lights Out.”
“It’s all about content and making the best movies you can. That’s true in any period of time,” says Jeff Goldstein, distribution head for Warner Bros. “The baby boomers are clearly going to the movies. But the audience that’s a little harder to attract is millennials. You have to come up with something they want to see and have it be cool and different.”
One of the priciest bombs came from Hollywood’s most bankable director. Steven Spielberg’s “The BFG” seemed a surefire combination of director and material, but the Disney release hasn’t made much more than its $140 million production budget globally.
“Alice Through the Looking Glass,” opening on the heels of domestic abuse allegations against its star, Johnny Depp, saw one of the steepest drops ever, compared to a predecessor. It made a staggering $740 million less than the 2010 original.
And yet the North American box office, according to comScore, is nearly equal to last summer. The industry projects somewhere around $4.4 billion in ticket sales, making it one of the highest grossing seasons ever (in today’s dollars). On the year, the box office is pacing ahead of last year, despite the potholes along the way.
“Even in the midst of mixed results from just about every studio, we’re still seeing some record numbers being put up,” said Dave Hollis, distribution head for Disney. “Lots of reasons to be excited, but there certainly have been some pauses momentum-wise.”
The overall numbers, however, obscure the losses for many movies and several studios. While business is booming at Disney, thanks to the likes of “Finding Dory” and “Captain America: Civil War,” it isn’t so much at Paramount or Sony. The top three films of the summer — “Dory,” ‘‘Civil War” and Universal’s “The Secret Life of Pets” — account for more than 25 percent of the box office. Out of 14 sequels this summer (four more than last year), only three have outperformed their predecessors.
“More of the same is not working and that’s a pretty glaring problem for the studios,” says Jeff Bock, senior box-office analyst for Exhibitor Relations. “This was a crop of rushed, bad sequels.”
It’s not easy to sift through the wreckage of the summer’s numerous whiffs, particularly since the definition “a flop” is often debated. Few films bombed in North America more than the $160 million video game adaptation “Warcraft,” but that film made oodles of money in China — perhaps a sign of shifting international priorities.
The much scrutinized, female-led “Ghostbusters” was hailed by Sony Pictures as a hit, even while its lackluster performance doomed hopes for more installments from the cast and director Paul Feig. Before “Star Trek Beyond” made its tepid arrival in theaters, Paramount announced its plans for a fourth “Star Trek” film. Wishful thinking or smart marketing?
Other disappointments offer more clarity. Last weekend’s dismal opening of the big-budget “Ben-Hur” may have cost Paramount $100 million and could signal an end to the resurrection of the Bible epic. The 20-year-old “Independence Day” franchise, too, will likely surge no more.
“Hollywood needs to find a balance between ‘What are people really interested in?‘ versus ‘We just want to make a sequel to this because that first one made money,‘” says Bock.
The temptation for executives to quickly greenlight sequels is easy to understand. They remain by far the most lucrative releases. All but two of the top 13 movies this summer (“The Secret Life of Pets,” ‘‘Central Intelligence”) are based on previously existing properties.
But if summer 2016 stands for anything, it’s that there may be a kink in the franchise formula. Quality has emerged as a vital ingredient for audiences facing ever-higher ticket prices and expanding home entertainment options. It’s no coincidence that the summer’s biggest hit, “Finding Dory,” comes from an animation studio, Pixar, with the most respected record of good moviemaking.
“The biggest lesson from the summer is: Try to maintain a level of quality and not take it for granted that just because something’s branded, a sequel, a known quantity, that’s it’s automatically going to be a hit,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for comScore. “You can’t have audience members leaving feeling underwhelmed after they’ve spent their hard-earned money.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Entertainment/2016/08/24/Measuring-the-fallout-from-a-summer-full-of-box-office-flops.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/5cf74340adee2ff72236eb3bb45ead6bfc2e0d812455a8c369701af6f167fa72.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T18:48:39 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | ERWIN - Curtis Buford White, age 76, Erwin, passed away on Friday, August 26, 2016 in the James H. Quillen VA Medical Center, Mountain Home surrounded by his loving family. He was a lifelong | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FCurtis-Buford-White.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/Curtis-White-jpg.jpg | en | null | Curtis Buford White | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Other than his parents he was preceded in death by his grandson, Senior Airman Benjamin Daniel White who died while performing a rescue mission on June 9, 2010, near Forward Operating Base Jackson, Afghanistan, as a result of injuries received from an aircraft accident due to hostile actions. One brother, Robert L. "Bobby" White, Jr., and one sister, Jackie White Hampton.
Mr. White leaves behind to cherish his memories, four sons: Timothy White and wife, Dorie of Knoxville, Daniel White and wife, Ruth of Louisville, TN, Anthony "Tony" White and wife, Jennifer of Erwin, Eugene White and wife, Tanesha of Erwin; three daughters: Angela Dittmeier and husband, R. J. of San Antonio, TX, April Martinez of Duluth, GA and Natasha White Shelton of Unicoi; one brother, Douglas White and wife, Kay of Johnson City; two sisters: Geraldine Banks, Betty Tipton and husband, J. D. all of Erwin; step-mother, Peggy Elaine White of Erwin; a host of grandchildren and great grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; his special friends: Jan Lindsay, Bobby Whitson, D. C. Bennett and Gene Logue.
The family will receive friends from 5:00 P. M. until the hour of service on Friday, September 2, 2016 at the Robert Ledford Funeral Home Chapel. Reverend Ron Fender will officiate at the 7:00 P. M. funeral service. Music will be provided by Inez Chandler. Pallbearers will be Eugene White, Tony White, Danny White, Tim White, Luke White and Evan White. Honorary pallbearer will be Cole Shelton. Committal service will be held at 10:00 A. M. Saturday in the Evergreen Cemetery. Military Honors will be rendered by the Kingsport VFW Post #4933. Those wishing to attend should assemble by 9:30 A. M. Saturday at the Robert Ledford Funeral Home to go in procession to the cemetery.
Online condolences, photos and memories may be shared with the White family through our complimentary, interactive Book of Memories at www.ledfordfuneralhomes.com.
Robert Ledford Funeral Home, 720 Ohio Avenue, Erwin, is privileged to serve the White family. (423) 743-1380. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/27/Curtis-Buford-White.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/03ea570f9adf6e3b7af72f496385d6547136fc4c20a719947080427d2e428701.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:58 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | JONESBOROUGH - Mr. Bobby Jack Bennett, Jonesborough, passed away Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at his residence. Arrangements are pending. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FMr-Bobby-Jack-Bennett.html.json | http://jcweb.libercus.net | en | null | Mr. Bobby Jack Bennett | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Mr. Bobby Jack Bennett
JONESBOROUGH - Mr. Bobby Jack Bennett, Jonesborough, passed away Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at his residence. Arrangements are pending. Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Jonesborough, TN 753-3821 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/24/Mr-Bobby-Jack-Bennett.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/b9487b555847cfdecb2c8c154197bd63ddd20747d942058d670e1b93948ab742.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T02:49:22 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | GREENEVILLE — As the Elizabethton Twins were closing in on Johnson City for a division championship, their bats were suddenly silent.
The Greeneville Astros held | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FBaseball%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FE-Twins-1.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/30/x720_q60/E-Twins-jpg-35.jpg | en | null | E-Twins fall two games out of first with three to play | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Greeneville Astros held the Twins to two hits and posted a 2-1 victory Monday night at Pioneer Park.
Elizabethton, which had closed within a game of the Cardinals in the Appalachian League West Division, fell two games back with three to play.
Jonathan Matute's RBI single in the fifth inning broke a 1-1 tie, and the Astros bullpen held the Twins in check for th final five innings.
Greeneville had been eliminated from playoff contention a night earlier, but still managed to play an errorless game.
After Greeneville's Raymond Henderson's solo homer gave his team the lead in the first inning, Elizabethton's Amaurys Minier drove in a run with a groundout in the fourth to tie the game.
That was the last run the Twins would score.
Greeneville starter Guadalupe Chavez held Elizabethton to one hit over four innings. Reliever Ricardo Castro (3-2) earned the win with four effective inings.
Dariel Aquino pitched the ninth for his first save. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Baseball/2016/08/29/E-Twins-1.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/f6b4462149eb6b38e3846db5e7f0748a768360fca9e70a0d21568e59f650501e.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:17 | null | 2015-08-04T00:00:00 | I read Tony Casey’s Aug. 25 column about his pain of losing the unique running area at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLetter-to-the-Editor%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FThe-National-Cemetery-is-indeed-a-special-place.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/08/04/x720_q60/Forum-jpg.jpg | en | null | Letters: The National Cemetery is indeed a special place | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | I, too, am a runner, although not in-depth as Casey’s community. However, I have run several marathons as an amateur. I respect and acknowledge the significance of that area to the historical running community here dating back to the 1970s.
I am a Marine Vietnam combat veteran, who was decorated for valor in 1968. I beg to ask if Casey has walked through a national cemetery? Has he taken the time to read the tombstones and think of the significance each grave represents? It’s a moving experience.
With a lot of luck I’ll be buried in that area where Casey and others ran. God bless Casey and his community of runners. Thank you for your efforts and contributions. I will honor you and all the runners who ran there.
I hope Casey and all other runners will honor me and my fellow veterans who will be buried there. We also ran a good race — maybe not on as soft a ground as you.
DUKE HALL
Johnson City
Feeling real pain
I am writing about Tony Casey’s column on Aug. 25. I was saddened and disappointed by the lack of respect for the men and women who have given their all so that we can sleep at night.
The grounds of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at Mountain Home exist for one reason — to serve these heroes and provide them a final resting place. Sure it is a good place to run, I ran there when I was at East Tennessee State University 30 some years ago, but that is not why it’s there.
Casey’s comment about feeling his pain really got to me. The pain of losing a place to run is absolutely nothing compared to the pain experienced by veterans and their families who have sacrificed their health and lives for the rest of us.
STEVE JONES
Jonesborough
Other places to run
Please tell me Tony. Casey’s latest column regarding the Mountain Home National Cemetery expansion interrupting runners is a joke. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center’s buildings, services and property are to service our area’s veterans — those who have served our country (many voluntarily) — not the general population of Johnson City.
The fact that they welcome local citizens to even use the property is a luxury and blessing. How selfish, short-sighted and immature of the writer to even consider the personal loss he is suffering because of this necessary decision on the VA’s part to expand the cemetery to create final resting places for these men and women of our military forces.
There are many places in Johnson City for our local runners to go, but only one place to honor our fallen veterans.
REBECCA WHITE
Johnson City
A unique perspective
Like Press writer Tony Casey, I am a relative newcomer to this area. I love it here for a number of reasons, including the amazing beauty of the region and the unmatched friendliness of the people. I’ve felt more at home here than in any other place I’ve lived. Unfortunately, the friendliness I experience in my day-to-day dealings with people is all but absent in the vitriolic and anonymous online comments on Tony’s recent column about the expansion of the Mountain Home National Cemetery.
Tony provided a unique view of the history of the area that will now be home to additional, needed gravesites for veterans. His piece was educational, and I found it to be an appropriate homage to one of many important roles that the land has played. I’m sure that others have stories about their own appreciation for that property over the years and I’d be happy to hear them.
The truth is that all those stories help to make the land special, as it should be. The loss and sacrifice of other potential uses of the property is a fine analogy for the many sacrifices made by those for whom it will now be a final resting place.
As a veteran, I appreciate Tony’s effort to enlighten me about one aspect of the history of Mountain Home. I also believe that the VA should be considered an important part of the community, and I applaud those who do visit, whether to spend some quiet time among the dead, to help the living, or to exercise and enjoy the beauty of the campus, whether walking, running or simply sitting in the shade.
MURPHEY JOHNSON
Johnson City | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Letter-to-the-Editor/2016/08/28/The-National-Cemetery-is-indeed-a-special-place.html | en | 2015-08-04T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/fb0f9fc494f6108431ae0ee2778dd43caac84f21e66870872fa1ebe7c18c6fad.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T22:49:20 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | A Dunkel for a doggie. A Porter for a puppy. Maybe even a keg of Eighty for a kitten. Your consumption of a local brewery’s craft brews could really help the dogs and cats of the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FPints-for-Paws-to-help-get-pets-adopted-when-it-s-needed-most.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Pints-for-Paws-Animals-11.jpg | en | null | Pints for Paws to help get pets adopted when it's needed most - PHOTOS/VIDEO | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Washington County-Johnson City Animal Shelter, at 3411 N. Roan St., is at its seasonal peak of available dogs and cats. Yee-Haw Brewing Company’s Pints for Paws fundraiser series and adoption drive, next coming Thursday at the brewery from 5-9 p.m., is taking place at exactly the right time.
Shelter administrators and brewery managers hope the event will be an opportunity for potential pet parents in the area to adopt.
“Watch for weekly specials,” shelter Director Debbie Dobbs said. “There isn’t a week where we don’t have a special deal going on. All this week, dog adoptions have been $35, and that covers spaying and neutering and microchipping.”
Dobbs recently retired from directing the shelter full-time, but is working there part-time until her successor is selected by the Animal Control Board.
She said it’s programs like Pints for Paws, with Yee-Haw and the Humane Society teaming up, that give people prime opportunities to adopt a new dog or cat — maybe both.
“Any time we can promote the cause and get the word out to people is great,” Dobbs said.
Dave McDaniel, Yee-Haw’s taproom general manager, said they will dedicate $1 from every pint of beer they sell in the event’s four-hour window to help get the dogs and cats in the taproom and in the shelter adopted.
It adds up quickly, and McDaniel has seen several hundred dollars go to the cause during previous events, as well as other positive outcomes.
“At our first fundraiser for them in May, they brought dogs to get adopted, and they all got adopted in the first two hours,” McDaniel said. “Now they’re bringing a lot more.”
And unfortunately, there are a lot to bring. The shelter recently hit its capacity.
Dobbs said it’s a combination of a lack of spaying and neutering and the economy. When times get tougher, some people move from single-family homes to apartments, and their landlords just don’t allow pets. When that situation comes about, there’s no other place for an extra dog or cat to go but the local shelter.
“It’s so sad, and it happens too often,” Dobbs said. “It’s like they’re losing a member of their family. I get it.”
On Thursday night, Yee-Haw will be a great place to rescue one of these dogs, but that’s not the only time you can find them at the downtown Johnson City brewery. McDaniel said Yee-Haw is very dog-friendly, and allows them on the patios with proper supervision.
Pints for Paws is one of the nonprofit events Yee-Haw got behind because of how community-oriented the Humane Society is and the good that comes of it, he said.
For anyone who wants to learn more about Pints for Paws, information is available on the Facebook pages of both Yee-Haw and the Humane Society.
Email Tony Casey at tcasey@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow Tony Casey on Twitter @TonyCaseyJCP. Like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tonycaseyjournalist. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/29/Pints-for-Paws-to-help-get-pets-adopted-when-it-s-needed-most.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/530f5027c2d893f600258489d152a3d2ef53996fbcad31327eca7af1fc5ef1ba.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:48:52 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | Science Hill High School’s Percussion Ensemble is one of two ensembles selected from around the world to perform at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FScience-Hill-s-percussion-ensemble-selected-for-top-honor.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | Science Hill’s percussion ensemble selected for top honor | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | This recognition is the highest honor achievable for a high school percussion ensemble in the country.
The Topper Ensemble will make its second appearance at the convention scheduled for Friday, Nov. 11, in Indianapolis, Ind.
A benefit dinner and concert are currently planned for Sunday, Nov. 6, from 6 to 8 p.m.
Anyone wishing to make a donation to help defray student expenses to PASIC may contact Dan McGuire at 232-2193 or by email at mcguired@jcschools.org. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/28/Science-Hill-s-percussion-ensemble-selected-for-top-honor.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/a578c841142701e2dc4bfbc0dfb0981cc35f9218d8500f2e594907692f965e0b.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T22:49:50 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | FRANKFORT, Ky. — Days after Matt Bevin took office in December, the Republican governor went to work on an ambitious project: persuading some Democratic state representatives from | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FPolitics%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FKentucky-lawmaker-says-governor-left-threatening-voicemail.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/30/x720_q60/Kentucky-Governor-Debate.jpg | en | null | Kentucky lawmaker says governor left threatening voicemail | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Two representatives did switch parties, while two more resigned to take other jobs. But Russ Meyer, a Democrat from Nicholasville, declined. Democrats held onto their majority, setting up a series of pivotal elections this November as all 100 seats are on the ballot.
Now, Bevin and Meyer’s discussion — chronicled in part by a voicemail the governor left on Meyer’s cellphone —has prompted the Kentucky House speaker to threaten Bevin with impeachment and has only increased the pressure in elections that could determine which party will control the last legislative chamber in the South still held by Democrats.
Tuesday, Meyer released a 42-second voicemail message he says Bevin left him the day after Meyer told Bevin’s office he would not be switching parties. Meyer, who is in his first term and is being challenged by Republican Robert Gullette III in November, called it proof Bevin threatened to use his office to punish him and his district if he refused to become a Republican.
“I want to make sure you understand where things are in my mind and the decisions that I’m going to make in the days ahead, weeks ahead, months ahead,” Bevin said, according to a recording where he identified himself by name. “I want you to be very aware of what the impact of those decisions will be as it relates to you, your seat, your district, etc., just so we have all of the cards on the table.”
Bevin spokeswoman Jessica Ditto confirmed the message was from Bevin. In a news release, she did not explain what Bevin meant by “the impact of those decisions” and how they would affect Meyer and his district. She called Bevin’s message “polite and personal” and said the fact that Meyer would wait nine months to release it is “proof of his continued insecurity about keeping his seat.”
“His desperate and partisan effort to misconstrue the conversations that he initiated is a discredit to the office he holds,” she said.
Bevin has been aggressive both in his courtship of and conflict with Democrats since he took office. Democratic House Speaker Greg Stumbo has already taken him to court over his vetoes of the state budget, and Democratic Attorney General Andy Beshear has sued Bevin three times. In July, Bevin angered Democrats again by approving a contract of up to $500,000 for a private law firm to investigate former Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear, who has denied any wrongdoing and accused Bevin of political gamesmanship.
Meyer said Blake Brickman, Bevin’s chief of staff, threatened road projects in his district as retaliation for not switching parties. Meyer said he decided to release the voicemail after the Bevin administration delayed a road project in his district earlier this month, which was first reported by The Courier Journal.
“I felt like, man, this is not right,” he said.
In a news release, Brickman denied he threatened road projects in Meyer’s district. Transportation Cabinet officials say construction was delayed because Steve Beshear approved the project without securing the land. Beshear has blamed Bevin for stopping the work. The state had to pay a $625,000 fine to the contractor as a result of the delay.
On Tuesday, Stumbo again threatened to impeach Bevin over the incident and called for a state and federal investigation. Bevin’s spokeswoman called that “ridiculous” and said “it is difficult for intelligent people to take him seriously.”
John Roach, an attorney who worked on Bevin’s transition team, said he met with Meyer several times about switching parties, saying Meyer even inquired about resigning his House seat to take a job in the Bevin administration. Roach said none of their conversations included threats.
“My discussions with him were about how this would be good for Kentucky,” Roach said, adding he was disappointed by Meyer’s characterization of Bevin. “I mean, I’m sickened by it. It saddens me.”
Meyer confirmed he discussed taking a job in the Bevin administration, but said he decided against it. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Politics/2016/08/30/Kentucky-lawmaker-says-governor-left-threatening-voicemail.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/960985f7a35517485c320b5bb5add893fb682f25a55143e74460ac682d78ae40.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T18:48:59 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | MACON,Ga. (AP) — There are two First Baptist Churches in Macon — one black and one white. They sit almost back-to-back, separated by a small park, in a hilltop historic | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FNeighbor-churches-split-on-race-lines-work-to-heal-divide.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/28/x720_q60/Divided-America-Tale-Of-Two-Churches.jpg | en | null | Neighbor churches, split on race lines, work to heal divide | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | About 170 years ago, they were one congregation, albeit a church of masters and slaves. Then the fight over abolition and slavery started tearing badly at religious groups and moving the country toward Civil War. The Macon church, like many others at the time, decided it was time to separate by race.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This is part of Divided America, AP’s ongoing exploration of the economic, social and political divisions — and in some cases attempts at reconciliation — in American society.
Ever since — through Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, desegregation and beyond — the division endured, becoming so deeply rooted it hardly drew notice.
Then, two years ago, the Rev. Scott Dickison, pastor of the white church, and the Rev. James Goolsby, pastor of the black church, met over lunch and an idea took shape: They’d try to find a way the congregations, neighbors for so long, could become friends. They’d try to bridge the stubborn divide of race.
They are taking up this work against a tumultuous backdrop, including the much-publicized deaths of blacks at the hands of law enforcement and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Next month, they will lead joint discussions with church members on racism in the history of the U.S., and also in the history of their congregations.
“This is not a conversation of blame, but of acceptance and moving forward,” Goolsby said.
Like many American institutions, houses of worship have largely been separated by race, to the point that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called Sunday mornings “one of the most segregated hours.” Recently, several denominations, from the Episcopal Church to the Southern Baptist Convention, have tried to look critically at their past actions going back centuries.
In the early 1800s, in Baptist churches of the South, whites and blacks often worshipped together, but blacks were restricted to galleries or the back of the sanctuary. Eventually, black populations started growing faster in many communities. Whites, made uneasy by the imbalance, responded by splitting up the congregations.
This was apparently the case for First Baptist in Macon, which built a separate church for blacks in 1845, then finalized the separation two decades later soon after the Civil War ended.
Goolsby and Dickison said their respective churches were enthusiastic about plans to work together, under the auspices of the New Baptist Covenant, an organization formed by former President Jimmy Carter to unite Baptists.
Yet excitement mixed with apprehension, since the effort would inevitably require “some challenging conversations,” Dickison said, including a re-examination of the official church history, which had been recorded in mostly benign terms, with almost no recognition of racism.
“We need to go through this kind of conversion experience of confession, of repentance and of reconciliation. We need to have that when it comes to race, not just in the country but within the church,” Dickison said.
Goolsby recalled that after the massacre last year at the historic black church in Charleston, South Carolina, he was outside a store, awaiting his wife, when Dickison called.
“Scott shared how he felt, how he was struggling with what he would share with his congregation,” Goolsby said. Dickson asked how he could show support.
“I said, ‘We’re already doing it,‘” Goolsby said. “The mere fact he thought to call me was huge.”
The stakes were even more personal months later, when the white church invited black church members for a youth trip to Orlando.
Goolsby’s teenage son was among those invited. But Goolsby had considered Florida a danger ever since Trayvon Martin, an unarmed, black 17-year-old, was fatally shot in Sanford by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer who was later acquitted of second-degree murder and manslaughter charges.
The pastor could not let his son go on the trip. “If you put a hoodie on him,” he said, “he looks just like Trayvon.”
The concerns of anxious black parents had been much in the news, but the white church members hadn’t had to confront the issue directly until Goolsby raised it.
After reassurances from a white chaperone, Goolsby allowed his son and the other young people to participate.
“The fact that that was so easy to share — we’ve already made progress,” Goolsby said.
Dickison strode into the basement hall of his church with a box under one arm. Inside, were copies of “Strength to Love,” a collection of sermons and writings by King. The book was at the center of classes at the white church that Dickison organized in preparation for the joint talks on racism next month.
This class was held on the Sunday in July after the fatal police shootings of Alton Sterling in Louisiana and Philando Castile in Minnesota, and the fatal ambush on white Dallas police officers.
With the stifling humidity of a Georgia summer building outside, Dickison launched into a discussion of King’s sermon on the Good Samaritan, about despised groups and showing mercy.
“We have our tribes. We see ourselves over and against others,” he said, then asked church members to reflect.
One man said when you reach out to someone from another group, “you’re perceived as unpatriotic,” or disloyal. A woman said she was upset to see some disrespect of the police. “They rush toward danger when others run,” she said.
The next night, the black church hosted the city’s Black Lives Matter vigil, marking the tragedies of the preceding week.
Clergy from across the city filled the pulpit. Goolsby and Dickison stood together to speak. Dickison compared racism to “a cancer that roams inside the body of this nation, and yes, even in the body of Christ.” Goolsby urged people to maintain hope “in spite of our circumstances,” and he added, “We know there will be change.”
Then both men said, “Amen.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/28/Neighbor-churches-split-on-race-lines-work-to-heal-divide.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/866b2c4942ed03062d9222964ea62784c26198828a73215f026c731fdf54762e.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:48:11 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee Valley Authority has approved a $10.37 billion budget for fiscal year 2017.
President and CEO Bill Johnson has made diversifying | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEnvironment%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FTennessee-Valley-Authority-approves-10-37-billion-budget.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/TVA-plant-jpg.jpg | en | null | Tennessee Valley Authority approves $10.37 billion budget | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | President and CEO Bill Johnson has made diversifying TVA’s energy generation fleet a priority. According to a news release from the utility, at its quarterly board meeting on Thursday, Johnson highlighted completion of a Watts Bar Nuclear Plant reactor near Spring City and construction of natural gas units in Paradise, Kentucky, and Memphis.
Johnson said TVA is “working to adapt to new business conditions that include reduced energy needs and increased demand for energy efficiencies and renewables.”
Renewable energy accounted for 13 percent of the electricity TVA generated or bought in 2015.
The budget contains a 1.5 percent retail rate increase. For a customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month, that amounts to about an extra $1.50. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Environment/2016/08/26/Tennessee-Valley-Authority-approves-10-37-billion-budget.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/80fa7c8ed140675991eaa001d2e46c5963170697ce26d4e44e29c0cb4c3380d4.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:19 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | The name of the scholarship has grown and so has the number of students it’s helped.
Founded in 1991, the Melvin Stevens Scholarship Award was named honor of the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FStevens-Wade-tournament-set-for-Saturday.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | Stevens/Wade tournament set for Saturday | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Founded in 1991, the Melvin Stevens Scholarship Award was named honor of the former Carver Recreation Center director.
Now it’s called the Melvin Stevens/Thomas Wade/Jeremy Stevens Scholarship to also honor Mr. Wade who served for 35 years in the Johnson City School System, and Jeremy Stevens, who spent 25 at Carver Rec before his untimely death in a highway accident last September.
But the scholarship, which has helped 235 students continue their education by going to college or a trade school, has also grown in the number served annually.
“We’ve gone from 2-3 students per year to 10-12 per year,” said Herb Greenlee, supervisor of Carver Rec Center. “Anybody can apply for it, no matter who you are. We’ve given it to a kid in Elizabethton, to some at Daniel Boone. Both of George Pitts’ daughters got it. It’s a process you have to go through, but it’s open to the public, a 501-c3 for everybody to utilize.”
This Saturday, one of the scholarship’s biggest fundraisers takes place with the 13th annual golf tournament at Elizabethton Golf Course. The deadline to enter is Friday and forms can be picked up at Carver Rec. There is a $50 per player entry fee for a two-person tee time at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Lunch is served at 1 p.m. with prize drawings to follow.
Beyond the golf, it’s about helping the community with the students receiving scholarships.
There is also the Thomas Wade Helping Hand Grant as long as the students stay in school.
Success stories include Michael Lewis, who went to college and now works for a pharmaceutical company in Nashville, and Bryant Mathes, who went to a trade school and now owns three barber shops in Pennsylvania.
Mathes cuts hair for professional football players from both the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.
Some of the local high school athletes who received scholarships to attend college this fall included Trent Martindale, Peyton Wingate and Janae Fields from Science Hill, Alex Percell, Ryan Dent and Jaclyn Jenkins from Daniel Boone, and Patrick Good and Ian Martin from David Crockett.
The decision to have so many receipients from the Washington County schools is a tribute to Jeremy Stevens, the nephew of Melvin Stevens. He was headed to work at Daniel Boone High School, where he had become a beloved figure, at the time of his accident.
“They welcomed him in and he had a time,” Greenlee said. “That’s all he would talk about, Daniel Boone sports. All the coaches loved him and when you got attached to Jeremy, it was a lifetime deal.”
For more information on the golf tournament, you may call Herb Greenlee at 461-8330 or 747-1425. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/24/Stevens-Wade-tournament-set-for-Saturday.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/a67ed5c93ecbc86d891096aceff50793bd68a73f14e3f48b722cc628cb14e488.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T18:49:04 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | The Tennessee Health Services and Development Agency voted 8-0 Wednesday to grant a certificate of need for Mountain States Health Alliance and East Tennessee State University’s | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FJCP-Week-in-Review-August-25-VIDEO.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/40a22531-98a2-4748-a32c-5d9761b22b61.jpg | en | null | JCP Week in Review, August 26 - VIDEO | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Gray resident Danny Sells said the state agency’s approval won’t end the battle over a proposed addiction treatment clinic in his community, however, stating, “I’ve specifically said that if this clinic is forced upon us, that we will not accept it in our community,” noting the Citizens to Maintain Gray opposition group will continue to fight the plan.
The Johnson City Press will continue to follow the story as it unfolds. You can follow along with us in print or here on our website.
Food trucks have become a major addition to our region’s culinary offerings, and there’s a new one setting up shop on North Broadway selling hot dogs for all the right reasons.
The Haven Hut food truck is sitting next to the Haven of Mercy nonprofit’s thrift store location on N. Broadway St. in east Johnson City, and all the proceeds from sales of hot dogs, smoothies, biscuits and the rest of the Haven Hut menu go directly into the Haven of Mercy’s coffers, which are often used to help out the area’s homeless population through a variety of programs. Meals, housing and financial help for those in need tend to be its most frequently used programs.
Tony Casey has video:
After more than six hours of deliberation, a Washington County trial jury convicted Moses Alfonso Ballard Jr. of second-degree murder in the 2014 shooting death of Michael Rowe.
Ballard was convicted of shooting Rowe while he sat in his car, after Rowe confronted him for assaulting a woman earlier in the evening of July 4, 2014. There was dramatic testimony on both sides, and the prosecution and defense both laid out conflicting theories of the evening’s events, but it was the presentation of the vehicle Rowe was shot in, and the trajectory rods all pointing to the driver, that likely sealed Ballard’s fate.
Becky Campbell has video of the verdict being read: | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/26/JCP-Week-in-Review-August-25-VIDEO.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d628181d3f5287fd3ea6482f2d276242df25e94dd5c36ab709c6cb4acef172f7.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T22:49:19 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Science Hill’s Ahmik Watterson earned the top spot in the Players of the Week. Tennessee High, Hampton, Happy Valley and Sullivan East football players took the other | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FHilltoppers-facing-potential-season-shaping-game.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/SH-Ahmik-Watterson-jpg.jpg | en | null | Hilltoppers facing potential season-shaping game | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Players of the week
Five Star
#26
Ahmik Watterson
Science Hill, RB, So.
On just six carries, rushed for 193 yards and had two fourth-quarter game-tying TDs in 28-21 double-overtime win over Elizabethton.
#16
Four Star
Courtland Carter
Tennessee High, QB, Jr.
Totaled 217 yards and 4 TDs (three rushing) in Vikings’ 48-21 win over Sullivan South.
#3
Three Star
Adam McClain
Hampton, RB, Sr.
Rushed for 166 yards and scored three times in 54-22 rout of Johnson County.
#16
Two Star
Sage Haun
Happy Valley, QB, Sr.
Passed for 138 yards and totaled three touchdowns (one rushing) in the Warriors’ 45-0 whipping of Cloudland.
#57
One Star
Hunter Parker
Sullivan East, LB, Jr.
Totaled 10 tackles, including two solo and one for loss, in a 41-6 win over Unicoi County.
THE NOTES
Science Hill took an important step Friday night, holding off a fiercely determined rival and earning a season-starting victory.
And while beating Elizabethton is nice, the 2016 football season won’t really begin to take shape for the Hilltoppers until Friday night when they play host to Class 6A state power Bradley Central.
Science Hill’s ultimate goal is to win Class 6A playoff games, so the Hilltoppers need to know where they stand against that level of competition. The fourth-ranked Bears are ahead of No. 8 Science Hill in this week’s poll, and will have one of the state’s best players at their disposal in senior quarterback Cole Copeland.
Sometimes statistics don’t tell the whole story, but in the case of Copeland they paint a genuine picture. Chattanooga Times Free Press writer Ward Gossett pointed out some numbers for Copeland:
— Of the top 20 single-game passing performances in 100 years of Bradley Central football, 13 belong to Copeland.
— He has six of the top 10, including the second, third and fourth.
— Copeland’s best performance was 456 yards, which came last year against Dobyns-Bennett.
— On Friday, the Chattanooga commitment passed for 366 yards while totaling 437 yards of offense in a 39-7 win over McMinn County. He connected on 27 of 37 passes, and tied a school record with six TD tosses. He also rushed for 71 yards.
— Copeland also holds the school’s top two performances for passing yards in a season (2,489 last year and 2,355 in 2014). He has passed for 5,613 yards in his career.
Certainly football is a team game, and Science Hill won’t be playing Cole Copeland. The Hilltoppers will be facing a Bradley team that beat a good Walker Valley squad (40-28) and McMinn County (39-7).
Science Hill won this matchup last year, but it was a battle, 29-24. The Hilltoppers got a game-ending sack after the Bears had moved to the Science Hill 9-yard line.
It may be too early in the season to call this a critical game, but it’s a showdown between teams picked No. 2 (Science Hill) and No. 3 in Region 1-6A. Certainly whoever wins is going have the upper hand for second place all season — assuming neither team pulls off a huge upset of Maryville.
By the end of Friday night, one thing seems sure: Science Hill will know a lot more about its football team than it knows today.
— — —
The TSSAA released Monday the outcomes of games affected by weather on Friday:
Unfinished Games
Decided
Ensworth 20, Madison Academy, AL 16 (FINAL)
Dresden 24 at Gleason 0 (FINAL)
No Contest by Mutual Agreement
Lipscomb Academy at Page (tied, 12:00 2Q)
Oakhaven at Halls (not started)
Camden at Huntingdon (not started)
Clarksville Academy 7 at Eagleville 0 (12:00 2Q)
Columbia Academy 3 at Franklin Road Academy 9 (0:14 2Q)
May be Rescheduled
Houston 0 at Henry County 7 (12:00 2Q)
— — —
Football games of the week: Bradley Central at Science Hill, David Crockett at Morristown West, Sullivan East at Grainger, Elizabethton at Johnson County, West Greene at Unicoi County, Pigeon Forge at Northview Academy, Happy Valley at Sullivan North, Oakdale at Cloudland.
Bears vs. Hilltoppers — It’s probably going to take some points, maybe five touchdowns, to win this game. It should be fun to watch.
Pioneers vs. Trojans — The good news for Crockett is West hasn’t won a game on the field this season (it did get a forfeit win). The bad news? West’s two previous opponents are among the best Class 4A teams in the state.
Patriots vs. Grizzlies — It’s the first road game for East, and the first league test, and it should provide insight into the type of season the Patriots are going to have.
Cyclones vs. Longhorns — After two thumpings, Johnson County needs a get-your-footing game. But it’s a tough chore against an agitated Elizabethton squad.
Buffaloes vs. Blue Devils — Which direction will Unicoi’s season go after last week’s whipping by East?
Tigers vs. Cougars — Which of these teams will give the toughest challenge to Region 1-3A favorite Elizabethton?
Warriors vs. Raiders — Which of these teams will give the toughest challenge to Region 1-2A favorite Hampton?
Eagles vs. Highlanders — Oakdale is 0-2, but the Highlanders share the same record and really have their backs against the wall after last week’s whipping at the hands of Happy Valley.
— — —
Pick of the week
Happy Valley 28, Sullivan North 23
Both teams have been very impressive out of the gates, and this was a dandy matchup last season. It should be a tight one, decided in the final five minutes.
Picks record: 1-0.
— — —
Player of the week
Ahmik Watterson
Twice with his team trailing by seven points in the fourth quarter, Watterson authored a catchup moment. He went 83 yards for a game-tying score, and then went 65 for another knot-maker.
The 5-foot-9, 179-pound sophomore finished with 193 yards on six carries.
— — —
The Hogs Award
Happy Valley Warriors
Opening holes for a consistent ground attack, the War Hogs made life miserable for Cloudland’s defense in a 45-0 victory. Also, pass protection was rock solid at the 80-percent mark (4 of 5).
— — —
Defensive unit of the week
David Crockett Pioneers
In a 12-0 victory over Chattanooga Howard, Crockett allowed just 55 yards of total offense. The Pioneers held Howard to just over one yard per rushing attempt, and forced all seven pass attempts to be incomplete. Crockett also came up with five fumble recoveries, including a game saver in the fourth quarter at the Pioneers’ 2-yard line in a 6-0 game.
— — —
There was very little change as team’s held their positions in this week’s High School Top 10.
NORTHEAST TENNESSEE
Team W-L
1. Science Hill 1-0
Last week: 1
2. Greeneville 1-0
Last week: 2
3. Elizabethton 0-1
Last week: 3
4. Dobyns-Bennett 1-1
Last week: 4
5. Sullivan East 2-0
Last week: 5
6. Hampton 2-0
Last week: 6
7. Happy Valley 1-0
Last week: 7
8. Daniel Boone 2-0
Last week: 8
9. Tennessee High 1-1
Last week: 9
10. David Crockett 1-1
Last week: 10
(tie) Sullivan North 2-0
Last week: unranked
— — —
Here are the first Region 1 rankings of the season:
1. Maryville 2-0
2. Science Hill 1-0
3. Bradley Central 2-0
4. Greeneville 2-0
5. Elizabethton 0-1
6. Jefferson County 2-0
7. Knox Bearden 2-0
8. Dobyns-Bennett 1-1
9. Hardin Valley 0-1
10. Seymour 2-0 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/29/Hilltoppers-facing-potential-season-shaping-game.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/75a416f83b836361a44c579f4042d73b717f6509cbd7bc2ab03da474c2be91da.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:03:05 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | Backyard Terrors creator and manager Chris Kastner has a little less than a year to finish raising the funds to bring his free-for-all dinosaur park up to code.
Between | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FJRH-Brewing-s-Prehistoric-Pints-to-benefit-Backyard-Terrors-Dinosaur-Park.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/BackyardTerrors.jpg | en | null | JRH Brewing's Prehistoric Pints to benefit Backyard Terrors Dinosaur Park | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Between renovating the playground, building the restrooms, fencing the park and surveying the land, Kastner said the park, at 1065 Walnut Grove Road in Bluff City, is still looking to raise about $10,000 by June to complete the construction needed to bring the park up to code and avoid closure.
And four of those months will be too cold for work, shortening Kastner’s gap for construction even more.
Since the park relies on donations, money collection has been going slow for Kastner, who hasn’t yet reached the $10,000 goal between in-park donations and Gofundme donations.
But JRH Brewing owner John Henritze stepped in a couple of months ago and decided to host a fundraiser for the park at the brewery’s six-month anniversary celebration.
Henritze and his family learned about the park two years ago and have continued to be impressed by Kastner’s work and generosity by refusing to charge entry to the park.
“We thought we should do something to help him out, the work that he does is phenomenal,” Henritze said. “It would be a shame to see that disappear from the community.”
Henritze had been planning a celebration for the six-month anniversary at the brewery, 458 W. Walnut St., so he and his wife and co-owner, Jill, decided to combine the celebration with a fundraiser to benefit the park in an event dubbed Prehistoric Pints.
Patrons can come to Prehistoric Pints, starting at 2 p.m. Saturday, which will feature a few vendors, food trucks and an outdoor concert where Irish band JazReel and Lexington-based C2 & The Brothers Reed will perform.
Tickets are on sale online for $7 and will be $10 at the door, and all proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the dinosaur park.
Kastner said weather permitting, he will bring his dinosaur best to the fundraiser including a mini dig site and a ride on a dinosaur with a photo op, all while keeping his claws crossed for a boost to his park.
“We really appreciate the help we've been given to continue to be here to provide a fun and educational place for all to enjoy,” Kastner said.
Email Jessica Fuller at jfuller@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow Jessica on Twitter @fullerjf91. Like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/jfullerJCP. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/25/JRH-Brewing-s-Prehistoric-Pints-to-benefit-Backyard-Terrors-Dinosaur-Park.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/576da5896f8929cc7120737653d3f0ac1798d201f4a55ae9ff3dddc0cb648b5d.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:07 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | ERWIN — The Erwin Elephant Revival series of community activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the infamous hanging of the elephant in Erwin and benefit The Elephant | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FErwin-Elephant-Revival-finale-on-deck.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/Elephant-Revival.jpg | en | null | Erwin Elephant Revival marching toward weekend finale | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Tonight’s activities will be lead by a “Trunk Show” of vintage automobiles, coordinated by the Erwin Cruisers car club.
Main Avenue will be closed between Gay to Love streets for the show. Live music will be provided. An old-fashioned ice cream floats will be available for a donation to The Elephant Sanctuary. Admission is free.
On Friday night, The Bramble wedding and event venue on Gay Street will host a community dinner featuring a Low Country boil meal prepared by Unicoi County High School’s culinary classes.
The Carolina Gator Gumbo band, of Asheville, N.C., will be performing on the street outside The Bramble and leading guests in Cajun waltz and Cajun two-step dancing.
The Johnson City Brewing Company will also be on hand with a specially crafted Mary’s Brew, from which $1 of every pint sold will go to The Elephant Sanctuary.
The dinner will begin inside The Bramble at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and include admission to the outdoor concert and craft beer station.
For those who do not attend the dinner, admission to the music and craft beer area is $5. All proceeds from both events will go to the sanctuary.
On Saturday, Main Avenue closes at 6 p.m. for a Night of Magic for children and after-sunset glow parade.
The event will feature a Kids Sensory Zone in the courthouse parking lot presented by Hands On! Children’s Museum and live music by the Fly By Night Rambler band of Asheville, jugglers and other circus-themed performers at the Gathering Place park across the street from the courthouse. Admission is free.
The glow parade along Main Avenue from Love Street to the Post Office parking lot on Clinchfield Street will begin at 9:30.
Children who would like to join in the parade are invited to bring the music-making and glow items created in the Hands On! Sensory Zone with them to the First Baptist Church parking lot on Love Street to line up for the parade at 9:15.
In addition to any kid who would like to march along, the parade will feature a life-size elephant sculpture created by Bluff City artist Chris Kastner to memorialize Mary, the elephant hanged in Erwin; eight smaller elephant statues; the UCHS marching band; jugglers; hula hoop dancers; and a wagon load of singers from the county’s elementary schools.
For more information about the events, visit The Erwin Elephant Revival page on Facebook or @riseerwin on Twitter or Instagram.
Email Sue Guinn Legg at slegg@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow her on Twitter @sueleggjcpress. Like her on Facebook at facebook.com/sueleggjcpress. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/24/Erwin-Elephant-Revival-finale-on-deck.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/67038c6e7d54b8eb4180aa03a6530b07c357a6ec4e6b8bd48d9efceff3db8f14.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:02 | null | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | The theme of the 90th annual Appalachian Fair, which got underway Monday in Gray, is “summer days and country ways.” That seems to be a fitting description of an event | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEditorial%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FAppy-Fair-still-delivers-on-fun-and.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/07/13/x720_q60/As-We-See-It-1.jpg | en | null | Appy Fair still delivers on fun and nostalgia | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The fair means summer is almost over, the new school year is here and football season is just around the corner.
The Appy Fair, which ends Saturday, has become as much a part of local Americana as funnel cakes or cotton candy. The sights and sounds of the midway, the exciting rides and the farm and home exhibits still lure local families to the Appalachian Fair. Oh, and did we mention the funnel cakes?
It’s comforting to know that at least three generations in Upper East Tennessee have enjoyed a visit to the fairgrounds in Gray. The fair as we know it today began taking shape in 1952 when Washington County donated 5 acres near the school to become a permanent home for the event.
Both children and their parents rejoiced when the James Drew Exposition came to the fair in the late 1960s, bringing rides that still excite and thrill fairgoers today.
Over the decades, music has been a prime draw to the fair. This year is no exception. Many top acts will perform on the main stage, such as the Brothers Osborne concert tonight, Granger Smith on Thursday, MercyMe on Friday and Josh Turner on Saturday. Tickets are $8 for adults, $3 for children age 6 to 11 and free for children 5 and younger.
For more information, including a complete schedule of events, visit appalachianfair.com. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Editorial/2016/08/24/Appy-Fair-still-delivers-on-fun-and.html | en | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/7f17cfab436cc0210b959c6455ea3cc483d01216d279d4b2b0bd9f0f427211d9.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:06:33 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30. This was the theme of Bobby's life, from the time he accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior, November 12, 1972. On that day, he became the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FMr-Bobby-Jack-Bennett-1.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/bobbyjackbennettLIB-jpg.jpg | en | null | Mr. Bobby Jack Bennett | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | JONESBOROUGH - Mr. Bobby Jack Bennett, Jonesborough, passed away Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at his residence.
Bobby was born in Roan Mountain, TN, May 12, 1941, to the late Neta Hyder Bennett and Harry Bennett. He lived in the Limestone Cove area of Unicoi County and grew up in Erwin. He graduated from Unicoi County High School in 1961. He retired from Nuclear Fuel Services in 2001, after thirty-nine years of service. He also proudly served his country in the United States Army, from 1967-1970, and in Okinawa, Japan for eighteen months.
Bobby was a faithful member of Cherry Grove Baptist Church, where he served as greeter. Every Sunday he greeted the people with a smile, hug, handshake, and a lifesaver. He always had a lifesaver with him and shared that Jesus was the real Lifesaver. He loved to sing in the church choir and served on the finance committee. In his years of service to his Lord, he was a church bus driver, Discipleship Training director, worked in VBS, and youth director.
Among Bobby’s hobbies were restoring antique cars, riding his motorcycle, helping his wife and daughter with any and all things they desired to do, and fishing with his grandson, Matthew.
Bobby was preceded in death by his parents, his brother, Lester Bennett, sister, Patsy Ruth Bennett Tipton, his father and mother-in-law, Vasco and Sara Cooper, and sister-in-law, Jewel Cooper.
Left behind to cherish his memory are his loving wife and best friend of past forty-six years, Kathy Cooper Bennett, his daughter Amy Webb, his daughter and son-in-law, Sharon Bennett Millsaps and Doug Millsaps. The loves of his life, his precious grandchildren, Davis Webb, Sara Millsaps, and Matthew Millsaps, sister, Alice Bennett, sister-in-law, Helen Bennett, brother-in-law, Alvin Tipton, brother-in-law and special friend, David Cooper. He also leaves behind several nieces, nephews, cousins, and special friends.
Funeral Services for Bobby Jack Bennett will be held on Saturday, August 27, 2016, at Cherry Grove Baptist Church, 104 Cherry Grove Rd., Jonesborough, TN, at 3:00 pm. The family will receive friends beginning at 12:00 PM until the service begins. Burial will follow the service at Cherry Grove Cemetery. Pallbearers will be Doug Millsaps, Davis Webb, Hal Bennett, Gerald Webb, Clyde Story and Everett Scott. Honorary pallbearers will be Matthew Millsaps, the retired men’s group of Cherry Grove Baptist Church and his Sunday School Class.
In lieu of flowers, it was Bobby’s desire that contributions be made to the Matthew Millsaps fund or the Cherry Grove Food Pantry. For those wishing to donate in Bobby’s memory, please make checks to Cherry Grove Baptist Church, and in the memo add Matthew’s fund or Food Pantry. The address is Cherry Grove Baptist Church, 104 Cherry Grove Road, Jonesborough, TN. Attention Doyle Walters.
Condolences may be sent to the Bennett family online at www.dillow-taylor.com.
Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Jonesborough, 753-3821 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/25/Mr-Bobby-Jack-Bennett-1.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/2c0fb633747fcc91289621e743d691bb5cfc52d9ccd11b7059b9624fad103170.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T22:48:09 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | “Ecclesiastes 3:1-12”
RIDGELAND, SC - Dr. Richard William “Rick” Hensley, DDS, 65, Ridgeland, SC, died unexpectedly Monday, August | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FDr-Richard-William-Rick-Hensley-DDS.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/Richard-Hensley-jpg.jpg | en | null | Dr. Richard William “Rick” Hensley, DDS | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | RIDGELAND, SC - Dr. Richard William “Rick” Hensley, DDS, 65, Ridgeland, SC, died unexpectedly Monday, August 22, 2016, at Coastal Carolina Medical Center, Hardeeville, SC.
Dr. Hensley was born November 28, 1950 in Johnson City, to Mary F. Hensley, Johnson City, and the late William “Mac” Hensley.
Rick was a 1968 graduate of University High School, received his B.S. Degree from Milligan College in 1971, his Masters Degree in Bio-Chemistry from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1975, worked in cancer research with St. Jude’s Hospital, Duke University from 1975-77, then finally received his Doctorate from The University of Tennessee Dental School, Memphis, in 1981.
Dr. Hensley opened his first dental office in Roan Mountain in 1981, then practiced briefly in Johnson City before moving and practicing dentistry in Beaufort, SC for 26 years. Rick served as a missionary, providing dental service in the Ivory Coast in Africa. After moving to Africa in 1998, Dr. Hensley provided dental service to needy patients until he returned to his dental practice in Beaufort in late 1999, where he continued working until the time of his death.
Rick was raised in Munsey Memorial United Methodist Church, where he was very active and as a youth, held several positions. He was a member of Compassion Christian Church, Savannah, GA, where he provided dental services for missionaries. He was a loving husband, loved his family, and could do or fix anything, which earned him the nickname “MacGyver”.
In addition to his father, Rick was preceded in death by his brother, Thomas Ronald “Ronnie” Hensley.
In addition to his mother, Dr. Hensley is survived by his wife, Linda R. Driggers Hensley, Ridgeland, SC; his sons, Richard McKinley “Mac” Hensley, CDT, Memphis, Dr. William Matthew Hensley and wife Rachel, Russellville, and Thomas Ronald Maxwell Hensley, Johnson City; his grandchildren, Hadley Brooke Hensley and William Clay Hensley.
The funeral service will be conducted Sunday, August 28, 2016, at 2:00 P.M., from the East Chapel of the Appalachian Funeral Home, with Reverend Michael Lester, officiating. Special music will be provided by Jane LaPella, organist.
The committal service and entombment will follow in the Mausoleum Chapel of Monte Vista Memorial Park.
The family will receive friends prior to the service from 1:00-2:00 P.M. Sunday in the East Parlor of the funeral home.
Memories and condolences may be shared with the family at www.appfh.net.
Appalachian Funeral Home & Cremation Services, 800 E. Watauga Ave., Johnson City, is serving the Hensley family. (423)928-6111 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/26/Dr-Richard-William-Rick-Hensley-DDS.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/00086ae5a72cf23feb220b28d077c811d279fbbcb626b36afa470d7b1734b807.json |
[] | 2016-08-31T00:49:58 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Things are about to get real for the East Tennessee State University football team. And this time around, winning will be a little more important.
As the Bucs entered last | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FFootball%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FBucs-have-new-outlook-this-season.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/30/x720_q60/a-5.jpg | en | null | Bucs have new outlook this season | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | As the Bucs entered last season, nobody knew what to expect. The players had never been in a college football game, they really didn’t have any size and the program was brand new.
In short, the team was expected to struggle on the field, and it did, winning just twice in 11 games.
Now, with a year of learning experiences to look back on, the Bucs have a new outlook. They’re still building a program, but they’ll pay a little more attention to the scoreboard this season.
“It’s a lot more important for us to win ballgames this year than it was last year,” ETSU coach Carl Torbush said. “Last year we were trying to build this program to where it needs to be. I think it’s very, very important that we take a step forward as far as winning football games.
“I think we’re better at every postion across the board, amd we need to be. It’s the time this year that we need to jump up a notch and play a lot better than we did.”
It all starts Saturday night when the Bucs pay a visit to Kennesaw State to open the season. In a battle of new programs, the Owls hammered ETSU last year 56-16.
ETSU’s lineup — its depth chart was released on Monday — is a mixture of holdovers from last year, red-shirt freshmen who sat out last year and a handful of upperclassmen, most of them transfers.
Matt Pike kept his job as the starting center after seemingly losing it to Myles Smith midway through preseason camp. “Matthew Pike was an 11-game starter last year and he did a really nice job for us,” Torbush said. “I think he did OK early in the two-a-day camp, but Myles Smith did a better job. Last couple of scrimmages, we felt like Matt had really worked hard to get his position back.”
Center appears to be a position that might change week to week unless one of them grabs the job and hangs onto it.
“It’s great,” Torbush said. “Hopfeully that thing will keep going back and forth because if it does, then both guys will get better as football players. Any time we have competition, it will make us a better football team.”
Torbush is looking forward to seeing how much improvement the offensive line as a whole shows.
“They are bigger and stronger,” Torbush said, “and that ought to enable us to make some of the third down and one, third down and two, third down and three that last year we didnt make, and quite honestly it cost us a couple of ballgames.”
Several freshmen made the travel squad, and Torbush says if any of them play, they’ll play a lot.
“I’m not going to mention names until after they play because we might try to hold them,” he said.
The coach prefers to red-shirt as many freshmen as he can, allowing them time to grow and learn the system more before they see live action.
“Once we make a commitment to play them, they’re going to play,” he said. “It’s not going to be that we’re going to play them five or six plays a game and special teams and waste a year of eligibility. If we play them, they’re not only going to play on special teams, they’re going to play on offense or defense.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Football/2016/08/30/Bucs-have-new-outlook-this-season.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/8f73d26ecb87cfc1d790f1c15c2d44fbfcaf1cf461e2a4755909af6b32162f21.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:35 | null | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | Most homeowners in Northeast Tennessee don’t carry flood insurance. That is something many could regret if this area is ever hit with an epic flood like the one that has deluged | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEditorial%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FNow-is-the-time-to-consider-flood-insurance.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2015/07/13/x720_q60/As-We-See-It-1.jpg | en | null | Now is the time to consider flood insurance | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Standard residential insurance policies cover damage from wind or rain (water that comes from above), but they don’t include water that comes from below. Local insurance officials say now is a good time for homeowners to consider flood insurance. It might provide them with some peace of mind during the next big thunderstorm.
More Americans are killed annually from flooding than from any other weather-related hazard. That is one of the reasons emergency officials often remind motorists never to drive through flooded areas. Weather officials say most flood deaths occur at night and when people become trapped in automobiles that stall on flooded roads. Flash floods are the deadliest because they can happen in a short period of time, generally less than six hours.
Our region is most susceptible to flash flooding from mountain streams and rivers. If the National Weather Service issues a flood watch, residents living in the affected area should check flood action plans, keep informed and be ready to take action if a warning is issued or flooding is observed.
Now is the time to consider flood insurance | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Editorial/2016/08/25/Now-is-the-time-to-consider-flood-insurance.html | en | 2015-07-13T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/4c1937ed4fe00077f69c8ce75df13ff238b65df3bd56236d6eafbb9b7abb6f3a.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:12:01 | null | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | Eleven Washington County residents may have already received a harsh letter from Criminal Court Judge Stacy Street ordering them to court Friday.
The letter/subpoena order | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FJudge-issues-stern-warning-for-jurors-who-fail-to-show-up-for-service.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/23/x720_q60/Judge-Stacy-Street-1.jpg | en | null | Judge issues stern warning for jurors who fail to show up for service | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The letter/subpoena order came as a result of nearly a dozen people summonsed for jury duty not showing up Tuesday for jury selection in a first-degree murder trial.
The process starts by Criminal Court Clerk Karen Guinn calling out a name, chosen randomly from a list of the people called in for jury duty.
When Guinn came across the first absent juror, Street’s didn’t have much reaction except to tell the clerk to send a letter ordering that juror to court Friday.
After the third or fourth name was called and those people hadn’t shown up, Street’s ire was obvious.
“Be glad you’re here, ladies and gentlemen,” Street said to those in attendance. “If you were not, you’d get to come to court and show cause why you shouldn’t be held in contempt of court and fined $50. If enough people don’t show up, we can’t have a trial.”
There have been times in the past where judges ran out of potential jurors when trying to pick a panel.
After several more names were read and the people were not present, Street became more aggravated. He had first told the clerk to mail letters out, but decided quicker action was needed.
“I’m directing the Washington County Sheriff’s Department to get in their squad cars and deliver those letters to their homes, workplace or wherever,” Street said.
He won’t be in a hurry to get to those missing jurors Friday, either.
“They’ll come Friday and sit through my docket until the end, and if they don’t have a valid reason, they’ll be fined and have extended jury service,” Street said. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/24/Judge-issues-stern-warning-for-jurors-who-fail-to-show-up-for-service.html | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/0640eee5907b282b780f19126c35bc5637569483636988141a42385db4a19ce6.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:00:51 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | Police arrested a Johnson City woman Thursday and charged her with forgery and theft after a victim reported a check was taken from his mailbox.
In a news release, the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2Flaw-enforcement%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FJohnson-City-woman-accused-of-stealing-forging-check.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/Aleigh-Myers.jpg | en | null | Johnson City woman accused of stealing, forging check | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | In a news release, the Johnson City Police Department said Aleigh Kristine Myers, 21, 1422 E. Lakeview Drive, No. 100, was charged with one count of forgery over $1,000, one count of theft of property over $1,000 and one count of theft of property under $500.
According to investigators, the victim reported a check was stolen from his mailbox and forged in Johnson City.
Myers was transported to the Washington County Detention Center and held on $30,000 bond. She is scheduled to be arraigned at 10:30 a.m. Friday in Washington County Sessions Court. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/law-enforcement/2016/08/25/Johnson-City-woman-accused-of-stealing-forging-check.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/5cd3163457f909c2a8e0b04184e57afbff9b5151286c8a434c817bb5417f50c8.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:15:03 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | FREMONT, Ohio — A grand jury indicted an Ohio sheriff on dozens of felonies Tuesday for allegedly stealing public funds, tampering with public records and illegally obtaining | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNation%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FOhio-sheriff-indicted-on-43-charges-including-theft-records-tampering.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/Sandusky-Co-Sheriff-Kyle-Overmyer.jpg | en | null | Ohio sheriff indicted on 43 charges, including theft, records tampering | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Sandusky County Sheriff Kyle Overmyer’s 43 indictments — 38 of which are felonies — came after a yearlong investigation, and a marathon grand jury session on Tuesday. Special Prosecutor Carol Hamilton O'Brien emerged from the Sandusky County Courthouse and announced the final tally of Overmyer's alleged crimes:
• 12 counts of tampering with records
• 15 counts of deception to obtain a dangerous drug
• Six counts of theft in office
• Five counts of theft
• Five counts of filing false financial disclosure records
The Sandusky Register reports that the sheriff reportedly deceived doctors and pharmacists in order to obtain prescription painkillers. He allegedly stole medications from drug take-back boxes at local police stations. Overmyer also misspent public money from the sheriff's office's Furtherance of Justice fund, then tampered with bookkeeping records, officials say.
The six police chiefs of Sandusky County first rang the alarm last year and brought attention to Overmyer's alleged misdeeds. O'Brien took on the case in February. The chiefs “expressed concerns regarding alleged unusual behavior by Overmyer in prescription drug disposal drop box collections,” according to a news release, and “the scope of the investigation quickly expanded into other allegations of wrongdoing.”
Overmyer was arrested Tuesday, then booked into the Erie County jail just before midnight and held without bond. He is expected to appear for his arraignment today.
He is still the sitting sheriff of Sandusky County.
“No, there is not a new sheriff now,” O'Brien said. “At this point in time, what we have is the indictment. To get a new sheriff is a process.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Nation/2016/08/24/Ohio-sheriff-indicted-on-43-charges-including-theft-records-tampering.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/415752f7f6feb2d48feb14e7f45c3478d817932afb484d8a71b8a8b954655a06.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T20:49:34 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | CHICAGO — NBA star Dwyane Wade’s cousin was shot and killed in Chicago while pushing her baby in a stroller near a school where she intended to register her children. | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNation%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FDwyane-Wade-s-cousin-fatally-shot-pushing-baby-in-stroller.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/Chicago-Violence.jpg | en | null | Dwyane Wade's cousin fatally shot pushing baby in stroller | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Nykea Aldridge, 32, had recently relocated to an area on the city’s South Side, her family said.
On Friday, Aldridge was near the school, which is about a mile and a half southwest of the University of Chicago, when two males walked up and fired shots at a third man but hit Aldridge in the head and arm. She wasn’t the intended target, police said.
Police are questioning witnesses in the shooting but had no suspects in custody.
Wade, a native of Chicago who signed with the Chicago Bulls in July after 13 years with the Miami Heat, posted Friday on Twitter: “My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough.” On Saturday, he again tweeted: “RIP Nykea Aldridge...#EnoughIsEnough.”
Chicago has been plagued by gun violence for years, especially in a few South and West Side neighborhoods. This July alone, there were 65 homicides — the most that month since 2006.
A day earlier, Wade had participated via satellite in a town hall meeting in Chicago on gun violence hosted by ESPN, along with his mother, pastor Jolinda Wade. Dwyane Wade’s charitable organization, Wade’s World Foundation, does community outreach in the Chicago area.
Wade also tweeted Saturday morning: “The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!” adding in a following tweet, “These young kids are screaming for help!!! #EnoughIsEnough.”
Outside the emergency room where Aldridge was pronounced dead, Jolinda Wade clutched her sister and spoke for the family as mourners stood in a circle holding hands and praying. She said she’d participated in the ESPN town hall meeting “never knowing that the next day we would be the ones that would actually be living and experiencing it.”
“We’re still going to try to help and empower people like the one who senselessly shot my niece in the head,” Jolinda Wade said. “We’re going to try to help these people to transform their minds and give them a different direction.”
It is not the first time Dwyane Wade’s family in Chicago has been affected by gun violence. His nephew, Darin Johnson, was shot twice in the leg on the South Side in 2012 but recovered.
Chicago had recorded 381 homicides by the end of July, up 30 percent from the same period of 2015. Its murder rate is higher than the more populous cities of New York and Los Angeles.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has spoken about the city’s violence , and used Aldridge’s death as a chance to tweet about it Saturday morning. He posted: “Dwayne (sic) Wade’s cousin was just shot and killed walking her baby in Chicago. Just what I have been saying. African-Americans will VOTE TRUMP!”
Family members are caring for Alridge’s baby, who wasn’t hurt. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Nation/2016/08/27/Dwyane-Wade-s-cousin-fatally-shot-pushing-baby-in-stroller.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/21d8decd4eef1825f4d7870137ba6ed8bc76ddb7f05eb57d26a2e7b58085df72.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:48:15 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | For a second straight year, the David Crockett defense pitched a shutout against the legendary Reggie White’s alma mater.
The Pioneers had five fumble recoveries | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FFootball%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FCrockett-4.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/DSC-0774-JPG.jpg | en | null | Crockett shuts out Howard for second straight year | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Pioneers had five fumble recoveries and defeated Chattanooga Howard 12-0 on Friday night at the Pioneer Field.
The key recovery came midway through the fourth quarter with the Pioneers clinging to a one-touchdown lead.
Howard fumbled on a lateral for the third time in the game, and Dylan Royston came up with the ball on the 2-yard line. Two plays later, Cole Ricker went in for the touchdown to pretty much end the game.
“I just got to give credit to my teammates,” Royston said. “They saw the ball and they were yelling at me to get on it.”
Crockett evened its record at 1-1 while the Tigers fell to 0-2.
Royston’s night was extra special since his brother, Hunter, also came up with a fumble recovery.
“It’s special to have your brother out here playing with you,” he said. “It’s great we were both able to get the job done.”
In addition, Justin Eib forced two fumbles and had two recoveries, while Logan Foster came up with the other recovery.
As a unit, the Crockett defense held Howard to just 55 rushing yards on 46 carries. They also held the Tigers to 0-for-7 passing.
“It’s the best defensive effort since I’ve been down here,” Coach Jeremy Bosken said. “Those boys just came out here and played their hearts out. They just worked hard.”
The defense was able to consistently get pressure on Howard quarterback Vincent Bowling.
John Kollie and Johnny Barnett had big games on the defensive side of the ball as did lineman Kyle Mann and Ausitn Lewis.
“They’re a big fast, physical team,” Lewis said. “Their linemen were bigger than anyone we’ve got. But, Kyle Mann kept disrupting everything. When they did get the ball off, we adjusted from there.”
The offense came through with just enough plays to seal the victory.
Crockett was led by T.K. Hill, who finished with 17 carries for 63 rushing yards, and Darian DeLapp, who had five carries for 45 yards.
DeLapp provided the only touchdown of the first half with a 32-yard run around the left side.
His touchdown came after a 30-yard screen pass from Cade Larkin to Hill was called off the scoreboard for an ineligible receiver downfield.
Bosken was glad to win the home opener and see such an inspired effort from the defense.
“Our coaches did an amazing job this week getting those guys prepared,” Bosken said. “They hunkered down. We knew coming in that our defense was our rock and it showed tonight.”
Crockett plays Morristown West next Friday night in a first Region 1-5A game of the season. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Football/2016/08/26/Crockett-4.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/71d3eae712e5f4379604c1150af0a49ee854c7679e50cca5fe56d621dab73918.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:22 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | KINGSPORT – Eastman and East Tennessee State University’s College of Business and Technology announce IDEAcademy (www.ideacademy.com), a free, multi-day event featuring | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FETSU-and-Eastman-announce-speaker-lineup-for-IDEAcademy-2016.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | ETSU and Eastman announce speaker lineup for IDEAcademy 2016 | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The event, focused on the theme “Leading Innovation and Change,” will feature regional speakers and a keynote by entrepreneur and author Randi Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Zuckerberg Media, a boutique marketing firm and production company.
Prior to founding her own company, Randi worked at Facebook, where she created and ran the social media pioneer’s marketing programs from 2005-11. She is the author of “Dot Complicated,” a New York Times bestseller, which follows her personal journey on the front lines of Facebook and her thoughts on how technology is changing our lives.
The event hosts, David Golden, senior vice president, chief legal & sustainability officer and corporate secretary at Eastman; Dr. Brian Noland, ETSU president; and Dr. Dennis Depew, dean of the College of Business and Technology, welcome the following regional speakers and guests:
• Jennifer Adler, assistant director of Roan Scholars Program, ETSU.
• Brendan Boyd, Eastman Innovation.
• Michael Cadore, president of Magnus Solutions.
• Jose Castillo, founder of Think Jose.
• Lafe Cook, director of the Dobyns-Bennett Band.
• Owen Foster, director and chief student affairs officer of Aether.
• Hannah Harvey, storyteller and professor.
• Michael Hubbard, director of Performance Excellence for Kingsport City Schools.
• Steve Marshall, chairman of Mass Communication at ETSU.
• Morgan Munsey, ETSU student.
• Jim Welch, director of Elizabeth Griffin Research Foundation.
• Randy Wykoff, dean of the College of Public Health at ETSU.
The main event will be held at Eastman’s Toy F. Reid Employee Center in Kingsport, Wednesday, Sept. 14, from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (lunch provided). Two satellite events are scheduled for Sept. 13 at The Foundation in Bristol (11:30-1, with lunch) and Millennium Center in Johnson City (5:30-7, with dinner).
Online registration is now open to attend one or more of the IDEAcademy events at www.IDEAcademy.com. Seating is limited. Attendees must register by Sept. 7. Event agendas and speaker biographies are also available on the website.
IDEAcademy is part of an ongoing leadership development series endowed by Eastman to provide free, world-class leadership training.
For more information, email Eastman Global Public Affairs Representative Chrissy Idlette at cidlette@eastman.com or Andrew Amodei with East Tennessee State University at amodei@mail.etsu.edu. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/28/ETSU-and-Eastman-announce-speaker-lineup-for-IDEAcademy-2016.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/f24a1c99afcd0c487e355c657417074b50e02048a99987c6c01d2a63f8699669.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:51:52 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | MARYVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — A police officer has died in a shooting in eastern Tennessee.
Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp said the officer responded with a Blount | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FPolice-officer-fatally-shot-in-eastern-Tennessee.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/Shooting-jpg-10.jpg | en | null | Police officer fatally shot in eastern Tennessee | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp said the officer responded with a Blount County sheriff’s deputy to a domestic disturbance. Sheriff James Berrong says when the two arrived Thursday afternoon, a man came out firing and fatally wounded the officer.
Crisp said the other officer returned fire. He says the suspect wasn’t hit and was taken into custody.
Crisp didn’t identify the officer, saying some family hadn’t yet been notified. He said the man had three small children and had been with the department for several years.
Crisp and Berrong held a news conference outside the University of Tennessee Medical Center where the officer was pronounced dead. The news conference was posted on WATE-TV’s website.
Information from: Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/25/Police-officer-fatally-shot-in-eastern-Tennessee.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/956396a8a669cc30a51fbca55a938f96938acd0b166467d8f74d5fea9bca122b.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T18:49:00 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Scientists say the Gulf of Maine’s once strong population of wild blue mussels is disappearing.
A recent report in the journal | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FMussels-disappearing-from-New-England-waters-scientists-say.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/28/x720_q60/Disappearing-Mussels.jpg | en | null | Mussels disappearing from New England waters, scientists say | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | A recent report in the journal of Global Change Biology says the numbers along the gulf coastline have declined by more than 60 percent over the last 40 years.
The Gulf of Maine stretches from Cape Cod to Canada and is a key marine environment.
Blue mussels are used in seafood dishes. They are worth millions to the economy of states like Maine and Massachusetts.
But they also are important in moving bacteria and toxins out of the water.
Biologist Cascade Sorte (SORE‘-tee), of the University of California, Irvine, and her colleagues conducted the study.
She says that for marine habitats, it is like losing a forest. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/28/Mussels-disappearing-from-New-England-waters-scientists-say.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/2724f1d6eaa078ede98cbfb0d34ed1755faaace59ef253fe510d32e95c9b3590.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:01 | null | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | Three East Tennessee State University employees were awarded the Best Paper Award by the International Conference on Learning and Administration in Higher Education for a paper they co | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FETSU-trio-earns-Best-Paper-Award-for-paper-addressing-changes-related-to-FOCUS-Act.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/11/x720_q60/Dr-Bethany-Flora-ETSU-jpg.jpg | en | null | ETSU trio earns ‘Best Paper Award’ for paper addressing changes related to FOCUS Act | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | With the final passage of the FOCUS Act, which was signed into law in April, state universities in Tennessee are heading for major transitions in governance structure and autonomy. Six soon-to-be former Tennessee Board of Regents universities, including ETSU, must determine the best way to proceed from their current governance structure to localized governing boards.
Jennifer Barber, a doctoral student and marketing coordinator in ETSU’s University Relations office; Colin Chesley, instructor and field internship coordinator for the Department of Health Services Management and Policy in the College of Public Health; and Dr. Bethany Flora, assistant professor in the Claudius G. Clemmer College of Education, wrote “Impacts of the FOCUS Act on Governance in Tennessee Higher Education Institutions.”
Their work was awarded the Best Paper Award at the International Conference on Learning and Administration in Higher Education annual conference for the exchange of research ideas and practices. The aim of the conference is to provide a collegial forum for the presentation of research and the sharing of ideas and experiences. This year’s conference was held in Nashville.
For information, call 423-439-4317 or visit www.etsu.edu. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/28/ETSU-trio-earns-Best-Paper-Award-for-paper-addressing-changes-related-to-FOCUS-Act.html | en | 2016-08-11T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/5568c9e6f25818676fa2c12526c9f8cbefe1a716523d531ebc9b6bd26b2ea2f5.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T04:48:09 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | When push came to shove on Friday night against Cherokee, Daniel Boone dug deep and found a way to win.
The Trailblazers went back to an old-school running attack and got | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FFootball%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FBoone.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/image-jpeg-736.jpg | en | null | Boone escapes Cherokee to move to 2-0 | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Trailblazers went back to an old-school running attack and got a pair of crucial stops from their defense to escape with a 21-18 victory over the Chiefs to move to 2-0. With the win, Boone doubled its win total from a year ago and will now enjoy a bye week after a hard-fought win.
“I thought our kids did a really good job getting those tough yards, with our offensive line and our tight ends blocking,” said Boone coach Jeremy Jenkins. “We really just took control of the line of scrimmage when we had to.”
After going to the air to pick up a win over Sullivan South last week, the Trailblazers came out and found themselves lineup against a Cherokee defense intent on taking away the pass.
“After what we did to South, they knew we could throw the ball,” said Boone quarterback Noah Shelton. “They put two high safeties up there and we knew we’d have to run the ball between the tackles.”
So Jenkins went back into his file cabinet and pulled out some old-school, smashmouth run plays that helped the ‘Blazers batter their way up and down the field.
Shelton and Mason Mounger did the bulk of the damage behind a physical offensive line. Shelton ran for a pair of touchdowns in the first half to put Boone up 14-6, but after a roughing the passer penalty gave the Chiefs one untimed down at the end of the second quarter, Cherokee quarterback Collin Trent found Jeremiah Bragg in the end zone to pull the Chiefs within two points at halftime.
The Chiefs actually went ahead 18-14 on a 68-yard TD run by Trent with 9:56 left in the third quarter, but the ‘Blazers answered with another TD run from Shelton to take the lead for good at 21-18.
Mounger had an outstanding game, finishing with 128 yards on 20 carries, but an uncharacteristic fumble in the fourth quarter set the Chiefs up in the red zone with a chance to go back ahead midway through the fourth quarter.
Boone’s defense came up huge, however, getting a stop on fourth-and-1 at the 11-yard line to get the ball back.
“I had a good feeling we were going to win when we stopped them there,” said Shelton, who finished with 98 yards on 16 carries.
From there, Mounger and Shelton ran the clock down under a minute and left the Chiefs with a couple final desperation plays. Boone’s defense was able to get Bragg on the ground after time expired to end the game.
Bragg ran for 121 yards on 12 carries while Trent ran for 129 yards, threw for 120 and accounted for all three Cherokee touchdowns. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Football/2016/08/26/Boone.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/7b43668c32e413080b9f8ef2d7fcab241e1fa6989b3ce0033c09bef87df719a9.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T22:49:25 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | Mountain States Health Alliance has been awarded a $133,659 grant to establish a telemedicine network connecting doctors at Unicoi County Memorial Hospital and Johnson County Community | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FMSHA-awared-grant-for-telemedicine-network-for-Unicoi-and-Johnson-counties.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Unicoi-County-Memorial-Hospital.jpg | en | null | MSHA awarded grant for telemedicine network for Unicoi and Johnson counties | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | USDA Rural Development State Director Bobby Goode announced the Distance Learning and Telemedicine grant award Monday.
According to the USDA, the grant will improve health care for patients served by the two rural hospitals, who have difficulty accessing care due to the distance they must travel, by connecting them with doctors and health care educators outside their communities.
Goode said the program is important because it ensures rural residents access to modern communication technologies and helps rural communities compete in a global economy.
USDA Rural Development grant and loan programs are designed to strengthen rural communities through investments in improved housing, business, infrastructure and employment opportunities, with an emphasis on assistance to areas of persistent poverty.
Since 2009, the agency has invested more than $6.6 billion in affordable loans, loan guarantees and grants that assisted more than 1.5 million Tennessee families and businesses in 230 communities in all 95 counties of in the state.
More information about USDA Rural Development programs available in Northeast Tennessee can be found online at www.rd.usda.gov/TN or may be obtained by calling the Greeneville Area Rural Development office at 423-638-4771. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/29/MSHA-awared-grant-for-telemedicine-network-for-Unicoi-and-Johnson-counties.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/bb395e15faa19467a55d889cf1689d9598b940b33e47b0f00afb030ec28aa8a7.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:49:57 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | AFTON - Connie Hamaker went Home to be with the Lord on August 28, 2016. She departed this life from the Johnson City Medical Center. Connie was born December 18, 1953 in Johnson City, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FConnie-Leigh-Hamaker.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | Connie Leigh Hamaker | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Connie Hamaker was preceded in death by 2 sisters, Brenda Birchfield and Linda Higgs.
Those left to cherish her memory are daughter, Angela Carter of Afton, TN; sons, Christopher Hamaker of Jonesborough and Aaron Hamaker of Afton; sisters, Caroline Britt of Erwin, TN and Pat Honaker of West Virginia; brother, Jerry Birchfield (Bud) of Oklahoma; 7 grandchildren; 2 great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews; best friend, Mary Carder; lifelong friends, Bill and Luke; and her companion ZoZo.
Services are incomplete at this time.
Snyder’s Memorial Gardens is serving the family with honor and compassion. Condolences can be sent at www.snydersmemorialgardens.com | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/30/Connie-Leigh-Hamaker.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/42738077576d80fbaec3821ca5e2775d9b809f95612cfb077b94e72e9a7df2d6.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:57:08 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | MINNEAPOLIS — The Detroit Tigers slipped back toward the pack in the wild-card race with an ill-timed stretch this month of 10 losses in 13 games.
They found the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2FMcCann-powers-Norris-Tigers-past-Twins-8-5-for-series-sweep.html.json | http://jcweb.libercus.net/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/Tigers-Twins-Baseball-8.jpg | en | null | McCann powers Norris, Tigers past Twins for series sweep | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | They found the perfect tonic on this trip to Minnesota, using the last-in-the-league Twins as a launching pad for their playoff push.
James McCann had a three-run homer among his four hits, Daniel Norris pitched into the seventh inning and the Tigers completed a sweep with an 8-5 victory on Thursday for the Twins’ seventh straight defeat.
“Our pitching is solid, especially in the second half,” manager Brad Ausmus said, “but we’re built to slug and it’s nice to see it.”
The Tigers, who are 10-2 against the Twins this year, stretched their winning streak at Target Field to eight games.
“We needed this for sure,” Norris said. “We’ve kind of been up and down a little bit, but anytime you win three in a row that’s always good.”
Norris (2-2) struck out five in 6 1/3 innings, allowing six hits without a walk in his longest and strongest start this season. He took a shutout in the sixth, surrendering RBI singles by Robbie Grossman and Eduardo Escobar over his last two innings.
“It showed me I can go out there and compete without my best stuff and get deep into games,” Norris said.
Jose Berrios (2-4) finished five innings, but the organization’s top pitching prospect gave up six runs on six hits and five walks in his ninth major league start and was optioned to Triple-A Rochester after the game. Tyler Duffey, the starter on Wednesday, was sent down, too.
“I’m surprised. However, I do understand the decision,” Berrios said through an interpreter. “I do understand they want me to go down there and gain more confidence in what I’m doing.”
His ERA actually dropped four percentage points to an unsightly 9.24.
“Young players struggling up here,” manager Paul Molitor said, “it takes its toll.”
Catcher Juan Centeno made a mound visit three batters into the game after Berrios issued back-to-back walks, and Ian Kinsler’s two-run double in the second sent the Tigers on their way.
McCann’s two-out, three-run drive into the flower bed above right-center field pushed the lead to 6-0 in the third inning. He missed the cycle by a triple.
“It definitely feels good to have another day like this,” McCann said, “and constantly making hard contact is all I’m really looking for.”
Victor Martinez went 3 for 4 with two RBIs for the Tigers, raising his career batting average at Target Field to .370 in 46 games. He’s 16 for 26 there this year and has scored seven runs in six games.
Max Kepler’s two-run double punctuated a three-run eighth for the Twins, giving him 55 RBIs to lead AL rookies, but the Twins finished 2-8 at home in August while allowing an average of 7.9 runs per game.
Francisco Rodriguez preserved the victory by striking out two in a perfect ninth for his 35th save in 38 opportunities.
STREAK STOPPED
J.D. Martinez’s 14-game hitting streak, the longest active run in the league and tied for the longest of his career, ended with a 0-for-5 afternoon. He was the only Tigers starter not to reach base. In 21 games since coming off the disabled list, Martinez is still batting .410 with six home runs.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: With Jose Iglesias expected back on Friday from a DL stint for a strained left hamstring, Ausmus said he’ll still play Erick Aybar at SS at times. Casey McGehee will continue to be the regular 3B with Nick Castellanos out.
Twins: Miguel Sano was the DH again, with a sore elbow that has kept him from playing 3B for a week. Molitor said he doesn’t believe Sano is confident enough yet to make the long corner throws.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Justin Verlander (13-7, 3.38 ERA), who ranks second in the league in strikeouts and innings, will take the mound on Friday at home against the Angels. RHP Ricky Nolasco (4-11, 5.22 ERA) will start for Los Angeles.
Twins: LHP Pat Dean, subbing for an injured Hector Santiago, will pitch on Friday at Toronto. Dean (1-3, 5.48 ERA) last started for the Twins on June 17. He’ll face former Twins LHP Francisco Liriano (6-12, 5.21 ERA), who was recently acquired in a trade with Pittsburgh. This will be Liriano’s fourth start for the Blue Jays. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/25/McCann-powers-Norris-Tigers-past-Twins-8-5-for-series-sweep.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/cdeaf37cdb73a1c52f87c1501dd69abbbfc1b8866eac0c6c6059b3c09c6d1a37.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T14:49:21 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Hillary Clinton is rolling out a comprehensive plan to address millions of Americans coping with mental illness, pointing to the | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FPolitics%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FClinton-proposes-plan-to-address-mental-health-treatment.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Campaign-2016-Clinton-21.jpg | en | null | Clinton proposes plan to address mental health treatment | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Clinton’s campaign released a multi-pronged approach to mental health care on Monday, aimed at ensuring that Americans would no longer separate mental health from physical health in terms of access, care and quality of treatment.
The Democratic presidential nominee’s agenda would focus on early diagnosis and intervention and create a national initiative for suicide prevention. If elected, Clinton would hold a White House conference on mental health within her first year in office.
Clinton’s proposal would also aim to enforce mental health parity laws and provide training to law enforcement officers to deal with people grappling with mental health problems while prioritizing treatment over jail for low-level offenders.
“Building on her longstanding commitment to health care for all, Hillary believes everyone should be able to access quality mental health care — without shame, stigma or barriers,” said Maya Harris, a senior policy adviser to Clinton’s campaign, in a statement.
The former secretary of state planned to hold a town hall meeting by telephone with stakeholders on Monday during a three-day fundraising spree in the Hamptons. The policy rollout would overlap with a Clinton plan to address drug and alcohol addiction which she campaigned on in Iowa and New Hampshire after hearing frequently about the problems from voters.
The federal government estimated in 2014 that about 43.6 million adults in the U.S. had mental illness in the past year, or about 1 in 5 adults age 18 and over. It estimated nearly 10 million adults suffered from serious mental illness.
An estimated 17 million children in the U.S. experience mental health problems, including 1 in 5 college students, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Nearly 1 in 5 veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan experienced post-traumatic stress or depression.
Clinton’s campaign said the plan would attempt to integrate the nation’s health care system to create a more seamless way of providing both medical and mental health treatment to patients.
It would expand the reimbursement systems for collaborative care models under Medicare and Medicaid that aim to treat patients through a team of health care professionals, including a primary care doctor, a care manager and a behavioral health specialist.
It would also be helped by a Clinton proposal to boost funding for community health centers that she announced earlier in the summer along with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, her primary rival.
Money for the centers, a priority for Sanders, was increased under the Affordable Care Act. Clinton’s plan would make the money for the centers permanent and expand it by $40 billion over the next decade. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Politics/2016/08/29/Clinton-proposes-plan-to-address-mental-health-treatment.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d0663b0d9a1f25fcdf4f0b441687536233b439fc77e64454361028e6d2a5aaa9.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T16:48:00 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Morley, formerly from Tampa, FL, presently of Elizabethton, TN, will celebrate their 50th anniversary on August 27, 2016, at their home.
The couple | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FAnnouncements%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FMr-and-Mrs-Dennis-Morley.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/MrandMrsMorley-jpg.jpg | en | null | Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Morley | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The couple were married on August 27, 1966, in Tampa, FL.
Mr. Dennis retired from Reddy Ice in 1997. Mrs. Diane Morley is the former Diane Wallace. She retired from Publix in 2008.
The couple have two children, Marc Morley and wife Susan, of Tampa, FL and Robert Morley, of Washington, IN; and two grandchildren, Bradley and Emily Morley. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Announcements/2016/08/26/Mr-and-Mrs-Dennis-Morley.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/0bf2c124fcba475511613aa7ac89c40df7a2abd9f97614a92148f3fd005c30f5.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:49:49 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | LIMESTONE - Mrs. Pauline Arrowood Hensley, age 79, Limestone, passed away Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at Four Oaks Health Care Center.
Mrs. Hensley was born in Washington | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FMrs-Pauline-Arrowood-Hensley.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | Mrs. Pauline Arrowood Hensley | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Mrs. Hensley was born in Washington County and daughter of the late Harrison Green & Masel E. Branch She was also preceded in death by her husband, Luther Hensley.
She was a member of Limestone Freewill Baptist Church.
Mrs. Hensley was a Homemaker.
Survivors include her son and daughter-in-law, Ruble & Ann Hensley, Limestone; sister, Vivian Arrowood, Jonesborough; brother, Jackie Arrowood, Johnson City; grandson, Phillip Hensley, Limestone; great grandchildren, Taylor Hensley and Zayne Hensley.
The family will receive friends from 5:00-7:00 pm Wednesday, August 31, 2016 at Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home.
Graveside services will be conducted 2:00 pm Thursday, September 1, 2016 at Limestone Freewill Baptist Cemetery with Rev. Tim Roach officiating.
Pallbearers will be Men of Limestone Freewill Baptist Church.
Condolences may be sent to the Hensley family online at www.dillow-taylor.com.
Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Jonesborough, 753-3821 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/30/Mrs-Pauline-Arrowood-Hensley.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/66353ca728d425dc3f0270ed1546bf0c4e09f8770661498b1263cb4d46fc0917.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:48:52 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | Undeniably it was a loss that was particularly hurtful to Elizabethton players, coaches and fans.
However, taken in context, the Cyclones’ heartbreaking 28-21 | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FSilver-linings-prevalent-in-Cyclones-loss-to-Toppers.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/DSC-0798-jpg.jpg | en | null | Silver linings prevalent in Cyclones' loss to 'Toppers | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | However, taken in context, the Cyclones’ heartbreaking 28-21 double-overtime loss to Science Hill on Friday night was something far different from an endpoint.
In fact, in its truest sense, this game was foundational if all of the elements were reasonable representations of what the Cyclones’ football team has to offer in 2016.
Senior running back Jacob Turner said something very significant after the game. His comments included “14-0.” That’s the perfect picture for the team’s mindset going forward. It’s not about trying to win 14 games all at once, but if a team really believes it can win a state championship it should not look at any game as a potential loss.
Certainly the Cyclones didn’t look at Science Hill that way. They had several distinct chances to put the Hilltoppers away, but didn’t. That’s a badge they will have to wear heading into their next game, which is Friday at Johnson County.
But it’s also the kind of thing a team can remember — in the stick-in-your-craw kind of way. It can be a rallying cry without words, just a fourth-quarter look from a teammate, or a nod. It can remain a distasteful memory.
This was not the big fish that got away. This was a pesky shark. Elizabethton is seeking the Great White. That shark resides in Alcoa.
But it is unattainable without going through the work involved in the regular season. It will take good health, heady play, and tons of hustle. Those things stand between the Cyclones and any postseason hopes.
There were some very encouraging signs against the Hilltoppers:
— The quarterback situation is fine. Carter Everett is young and inexperienced, but he showed a steadiness that bodes well for the future.
— Corey Russell is fun to watch. He runs hard, sees things others don’t, and has the gift of natural athletic ability. He’s not going to be a dandy. He already is.
— Elizabethton’s run defense is trench tough. The Cyclones stuffed the Hilltoppers for just 133 yards on 32 attempts — minus Ahmik Watterson’s two home runs. And almost half of those 133 yards came from Jaylan Adams in quarterback-scramble mode, making something out of nothing. Yes, Watterson’s plays matter, and they count as much as anything. But it’s possible — perhaps likely — the Cyclones will not see a running back with that kind of speed again this season.
— Elizabethton’s ground attack didn’t look as dynamic as it will as the season goes along. It was the level of the first opponent making the difference. When the Cyclones are playing in the Class 3A ranks, teams will likely have a much tougher time slowing them down.
— The Cyclones looked good in every phase of the game. Yes, there were a few breakdowns, but it’s hard not to have those on occasion, especially in the season opener.
— Fan support was tremendous. That’s a tribute to both Science Hill and Elizabethton. Yes, it wasn’t far to travel, but this was one of the Hilltoppers’ best and most enthusiastic road crowds in this series in quite some time.
Meanwhile, Elizabethton’s fans turned out in droves. Cyclones fans are excited about this season. And while they may have walked out of Citizens Bank Stadium with a gnawing feeling in their gut, Saturday should have brought the realization something special is potentially in the works.
“We played at a state championship level tonight,” said Cyclones’ head coach Shawn Witten.
There’s plenty of work to do. But there’s no reason to stop dreaming. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/27/Silver-linings-prevalent-in-Cyclones-loss-to-Toppers.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/7ca181271a4fee2991e253a20998aaadbb6c88b78d663133a6b55df9ff713f45.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:06 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | The Health Resources Center at the Mall at Johnson City will host the following programs:
• “Infant Massage,” Mon., Aug. 29, 1-2:30 p.m. The | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FHealth-Care%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FHealth-Resources-Center-schedules-classes.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | Health Resources Center schedules classes | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | • “Infant Massage,” Mon., Aug. 29, 1-2:30 p.m. The facilitator is Tracey Chitwood, MPH, CIMT, OTR/L, MSHA.
Bring your little one and join us for a time of relaxation that promotes bonding and improves sleep. Bring a blanket and unscented massage oil or lotion. Appropriate for infants and babies up to 18 months.
• “Money Matters: Understanding Long Term Care,” Tuesday, Aug. 30, 5-6 p.m. The speaker is Michael Bird, certified financial planner
Learn what Medicare will and will not do, the costs of long-term care in our area, and what you cannot do in order to get on Medicaid. The opportunity is provided to ask questions about how long-term care insurance works.
• “Diabetes 101: Problem Solving and Reducing Risks,” Wednesday, Aug. 31, 4-5 p.m. The speaker is Teri Hurt, RN, CDE.
Learn how to interpret your blood sugar results to improve the highs and lows of diabetes and reduce your risks for developing complications.
• “Diabetes Survival,” Wednesday, Aug. 31, 5:30-6:30 p.m. The speaker is Teri Hurt, RN, CDE. Join us to learn the basic survival skills needed when you are newly diagnosed with diabetes.
Registration is required. Call 1-844-488-STAR (7827) to reserve your space. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Health-Care/2016/08/28/Health-Resources-Center-schedules-classes.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d6fa90c963ca2ad4feec8ad375602bcf7a750e52205c471c4e4182da99491eeb.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T20:48:10 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two nonprofits will donate $100,000 to fight a fungus that is killing cave bats in many places, including Tennessee.
The Knoxville News | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FLocal%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FNonprofits-donate-100K-to-fight-bat-killing-fungus.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/Bat.jpg | en | null | Nonprofits donate $100K to fight bat-killing fungus | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The Knoxville News Sentinel (http://bit.ly/2bFQxIE ) reports that Bat Conservation International and the Tennessee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy will support three research projects to fight the fungus that causes a lethal disease known as white-nose syndrome, which has killed 6 million bats since its 2006 arrival in North America.
Researchers surveying caves in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park last winter found a decline of 83 percent to 94 percent among the six bat species living there.
One of the research projects will use an environmental cleaning agent to reduce the amount of fungus in human-made bat hibernation sites. Another project will use a natural biopolymer to treat bats in the wild and determine if it increases the survival of bats exposed to the fungus. The final project will test the safety of two treatments for white-nose syndrome.
Katie Gillies, imperiled species director for Bat Conservation International, says the effort needs many different tools at its disposal.
“There isn’t likely to be a single silver bullet, as white-nose syndrome is affecting several species across a broad geographic area,” she said. “Developing a suite of tools is likely to be more effective than putting all our eggs in one basket.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Local/2016/08/26/Nonprofits-donate-100K-to-fight-bat-killing-fungus.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/a900e1303614d5f482d9f3725892711d605d5e78ed550c7e58c3fe0d9269faad.json |
[] | 2016-08-29T04:49:13 | null | 2016-04-20T00:00:00 | DEAR ABBY: Clearly, America is in a state of turmoil. I am horrified and ashamed of the senseless death occurring daily.
I deal with anxiety, particularly regarding fear | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FAdvice%2F2016%2F08%2F29%2FWoman-copes-with-anxiety-by-filtering-out-bad-news.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/04/20/x720_q60/Dear-Abby-1.jpg | en | null | Woman copes with anxiety by filtering out bad news | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | I deal with anxiety, particularly regarding fear of death. As a result, the only thing I’ve found that I can do to cope with current events is to scan headlines, and ask my understanding husband for a synopsis of events that doesn’t include major triggers.
However, I feel serious guilt that I may not be fully educating myself on recent events. Am I wrong to prioritize my mental well-being over the gravity of our country’s current situation? — SERIOUS GUILT
DEAR SERIOUS GUILT: Wrong? Absolutely not! According to The Journal of the American Medical Association, 13 percent of Americans now use antidepressants to combat depression and anxiety. Our news media feed so many salacious details into our homes in the interest of high ratings that it’s a miracle the majority of Americans aren’t in need of them.
If you are getting the news you need to know, do not feel guilty for using your husband as a filter. You are only protecting yourself, and that’s not wrong. It’s HEALTHY.
DEAR ABBY: I need advice. I’m 23 and have been living with my boyfriend of almost two years. I have never been in a relationship before this one, so I have little experience. I love him dearly, but every time there’s an issue between us, it always becomes my fault and I’m always the one to apologize. What should I do? — INEXPERIENCED IN TAMPA
DEAR INEXPERIENCED: Even a stopped clock is right twice a day. You should not be forced into the role of perpetual peacekeeper by accepting the blame for everything, and it won’t improve your relationship.
Because your boyfriend’s preferred method of solving disagreements is laying the blame on you, suggest the two of you get couples counseling. However, if he refuses — and he may — you will then have to decide whether this is the way you want to spend the foreseeable future because things aren’t likely to change.
DEAR ABBY: My sister-in-law “Dani” and my brother have been married almost three years. I recently discovered that Dani has created a fake social media page. She posted some nude photos on it and acts like she’s single. I suspect she is getting paid to do live nude video chatting, too.
Abby, I’m shocked over this. I’m sure my brother would explode with rage and disappointment if he knew. They have two small daughters, which leaves me to wonder if she has considered their embarrassment if they ever find out.
She’s a good person, so I don’t know why she would do this. I really need your advice. — SHOCKED SISTER-IN-LAW IN THE SOUTH
DEAR S-I-L: It’s time to talk to Dani. Tell her what you have learned and ask her why she’s doing it. When you do, ask how she thinks your brother will react when he finds out — if he doesn’t already know — and how this could affect their daughters. This may be a fling, a way to prove to herself that she’s still attractive, or a way to earn needed money. But you will never know until you initiate a conversation with her.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Advice/2016/08/29/Woman-copes-with-anxiety-by-filtering-out-bad-news.html | en | 2016-04-20T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/bf5a44f57b0136e604ce822824216cf1c2ee673ff43889f44f4a26ad999a32d0.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:10:13 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | BRISTOL — Bristol Motor Speedway general manager Jerry Caldwell won’t say crews are ahead of schedule in getting the field ready for the Pilot/Flying J Battle at Bristol | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FBMS-crews-get-busy-laying-ground-work.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/DSC-0866-JPG.jpg | en | null | BMS crews get busy laying groundwork | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | But he is certainly pleased with the progress.
With the most popular race in NASCAR, the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race, over Sunday night, the infield already had a distinctly different look on Wednesday afternoon.
A base of rock had been laid down and the first layers between the rock and the field turf were being applied. There were also goalposts already up as BMS is being converted to the world’s largest college football stadium for a much anticipated game between Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
“There is a lot of energy in this place,” Caldwell said. “There is a lot of passion from the people here who want to put on an amazing show for the 155,000 people who are coming.”
Caldwell talked about the game being 20 years in the making and how the intensity has ramped up in the nearly three years since the game was announced.
Like a football team, success comes down to execution by the BMS staff and the outside companies working with them in the conversion process.
Instead getting hit by a ton of bricks, it was like several tons of rock which made Caldwell realize this was truly going to happen in a few days.
“When they started bringing in the base and the middle of the field was raised up, it was a bit surreal,” he said. “It was amazing to see the height of three and a half feet in the middle of that field and to know what the football field is going to look like. That’s when it really hit me.”
For the general manager, he feels like a movie director seeing all the pieces and parts come together. There were already stands built on the race track’s front stretch.
This is a time of year when BMS staff normally catch their breaths after their biggest event of the year with the Night Race. But with the Battle at Bristol and another game between ETSU and Western Carolina coming up, the intensity has actually hit another gear this year.
It will take an estimated four days to finish installing the turf for the games.
This comes just days after the biggest week of the year for BMS where over 200,000 fans were in attendance for the Sprint Cup, Xfinity Series and Truck Series races.
To answer many of those fans’ criticism, the turns of the track were polished and a rosin was applied for the races. It created more racing grooves which created a ton of positive feedback.
“It was bit of an old-school approach to a race track to put rosin down on the bottom,” he said. “It’s something a lot of tracks did years ago. Obviously, it produced some great results and it will be fun to see how we use that in the future.” | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/24/BMS-crews-get-busy-laying-ground-work.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/17636becb4167eea11b22ae66cefb870aa1b785f026b04bfbbbe6eafdc5f6711.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T14:49:44 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | KINGSPORT — A Kingsport woman got a shock after returning home from a weekend trip and finding a pantless man inside her home holding a card and a lighter, according to a police | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2Flaw-enforcement%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FPantsless-Kingsport-man-arrested-in-bizarre-burglary.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/30/x720_q60_ca206,8,694,613/Sean-Wampler-41.jpg | en | null | Pantless Kingsport man arrested in bizarre burglary | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | The incident began when the woman arrived home Sunday evening and noticed some things were out of order at her home. Mud was on the front porch and the mail was missing from the mailbox. Inside, a broom was in the living room, and things were out of place in the kitchen.
The victim heard a noise and exited the house and called her mother. The victim's mother and stepfather came to the house, and the victim and her stepfather went back into the house to get baby bottles and for the stepfather to check the home.
According to his statements, the stepfather grabbed the broom in the living room and began checking the house. When he walked into the master bedroom, a man he did not know, later identified as Sean Wampler, 41, 1653 Virginia Ave., Kingsport, walked out of the bathroom. He was carrying a card and a lighter in his hand.
More about the burglary from the Kingsport Times-News. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/law-enforcement/2016/08/30/Pantsless-Kingsport-man-arrested-in-bizarre-burglary.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/1091a27315913b1a0a22cb7b0a9d8cbfbcf978d0336dcc62138f88528e936232.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:05 | null | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | KINGSPORT — A new graduate certificate program in community leadership will be offered starting this fall by East Tennessee State University.
Intended for | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FETSU-to-offer-graduate-certificate-in-community-leadership.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com | en | null | ETSU to offer graduate certificate in community leadership | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Intended for individuals who do not need a master’s degree but desire or need certification in leadership skills, the program consists of four courses that may be completed in a minimum of one year. It is designed to help leaders of community, government non-profit and for-profit organizations to further develop their leadership and management skills. In addition, students in master’s or doctoral programs in other fields might find the new courses beneficial as electives.
It was developed by Dr. Deborah Harley-McClaskey, an associate professor in the Department of Special Education Foundations and Special Education in ETSU’s Clemmer College of Education. She is nationally recognized in the field of leadership development and the author of a recently published book, “Developing Human Service Leaders.”
Harley-McClaskey said the idea for the new program came through her work as a consultant and certified facilitator of many different leadership seminars.
“In working with groups all over the community — from student organizations at ETSU to non-profits in the service learning arena and other organizations — I started to see certain skill sets that are missing,” she said. “I’ve just been doing a lot of listening. I hear a lot of ‘I wish I knew this’ and ‘I really don’t understand that part,’ so the certificate program is designed to fill those gaps.”
The first course in the series is “Strategies for Personal Productivity and Interpersonal Effectiveness.”
“This course is all about how you manage yourself and the roles in your life, as well as your ability to communicate with others,” Harley-McClaskey said. It covers dialogue and listening skills, building trust, handling conflict and creating an atmosphere of accountability in the workplace.
“Foundations for 21st Century Leadership” is the second course, which focuses on building and leading teams.
“It’s understanding what’s required in the role of a leader, what’s required of a team member, and what’s required of an organization to support teams,” Harley-McClaskey said. “We’ll look at how to screen members when you select folks to be on a team, and then how to jump into getting a team up and running with a mission, vision and goals.”
“Financial Leadership and Resource Development,” the third course, provides a study of financial and resource management of community organizations.
“Far too many folks, unless they have business degrees, don’t understand all those spreadsheets,” Harley-McClaskey said, “or they might apply for a grant but aren’t sure how to manage those monies. We’ll also look at fundraising.”
The fourth and final course, “Empowerment, Collaboration and Advocacy for Change,” is a capstone study of community leadership that provides students with hands-on experience.
“We’ll study what it takes to build and lead a collaboration within a community,” Harley-McClaskey said. “Then the group will handle case studies. These will be ‘moving’ case studies, in which I will add a change factor each week. The group will need to make decisions and figure out how to resolve the new issue. It’s based on all the things the students have learned in the previous three courses.”
All classes will be held at ETSU at Kingsport Downtown, 300 Clinchfield St., Suite 460.
A bachelor’s degree and admission to the ETSU School of Graduate Studies are the only prerequisites for entering the program, which requires no thesis or comprehensive exam for completion.
For program information, contact Harley-McClaskey at 423-439-7683 or harley@etsu.edu. For admission information, call the ETSU School of Graduate Studies at 423-439-4221 or visit www.etsu.edu/gradstud. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/28/ETSU-to-offer-graduate-certificate-in-community-leadership.html | en | 2016-08-28T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/19843d2cef1ff6867c0fb3cc1bf455c9b47fe8af1d7fe7ed6a2a91f1394e7bb8.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:13:36 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | Museum’s Heritage Day set for Saturday
On Saturday, Aug. 27, East Tennessee State University’s George L. Carter Railroad | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FCommunity%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FRailroad-Museum-presents-Heritage-Day-on-Saturday.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/carter-museum-august-photo-jpg.jpg | en | null | Happenings in your community | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | On Saturday, Aug. 27, East Tennessee State University’s George L. Carter Railroad Museum’s monthly Heritage Day will feature “Coal, Coke and Commerce — The Appalachian Carriers.”
The George L. Carter Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society and members of the Mountain Empire Model Railroaders club are developing the program, which will feature displays, images of mining rail lines and more.
Model trains will include coal and mixed freight equipment on the club’s large 24 by 44 1:87 HO scale layout, one of four model lines that are housed in the museum. This layout has a large model of a typical Appalachian coal mine on one of its modular sections.
The Carter Railroad Museum is open every Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free, but donations are welcomed. The museum can be identified by a flashing railroad crossing signal at the back entrance to the Campus Center Building. Visitors should enter ETSU’s campus from State of Franklin Road onto Jack Vest Drive and continue east to 176 Ross Drive, adjacent to the flashing RR crossing sign.
For more information about Heritage Day, contact Alsop at 423-439-6838 or alsopf@etsu.edu.
Eastman Road Race practice run set
The 2016 Eastman Road Race is coming up on Saturday, Sept. 3. To help participants prepare for this year's race, all runners are invited to participate in a free practice run on the Eastman Road Race 10K course Saturday, Aug. 27.
Those who want to participate in the practice run should meet at the Eastman Toy F. Reid Employee Center parking lot on Wilcox Drive.
Stretching and warm-ups will begin at 7:15 a.m., with the group starting the course at 7:30.
Water stops will be provided at the halfway point and the finish line. Bicycle escorts will also patrol the course to provide assistance as necessary.
For more information about the 2016 Eastman Road Race, go to www.eastmanroadrace.com. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Community/2016/08/24/Railroad-Museum-presents-Heritage-Day-on-Saturday.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/49519005961e66f2499aa19cf8b02ddc12c830b54bd3a680e1e85edc54750e42.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T20:49:50 | null | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | Investigators sought the public’s help in locating a compact loader stolen from the Shadden Springs area of Washington County last week.
Sheriff Ed Graybeal said | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2Flaw-enforcement%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FHeavy-equipment-stolen-from-Washington-Co-home-construction-site.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/30/x720_q60/Skid-loader.jpg | en | null | Heavy equipment stolen from Washington Co. home construction site | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Sheriff Ed Graybeal said Tuesday the 2013 Caterpillar brand compact was taken from a home under construction in the 700 Block of Hales Chapel Road in the early morning hours of Aug. 25. Commonly referred to as a “skid loader,” the equipment and is yellow with the model number “259B3” visible on its sides. The loader was valued at more than $40,000.
It was driven away from the construction site through a soybean field where it was then loaded on to a trailer. Graybeal said there were no known witnesses or suspects.
Investigators were seeking anyone who might have seen the incident or anyone that might have information about the case.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Washington County Tennessee Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division at 423-788-1414. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/law-enforcement/2016/08/30/Heavy-equipment-stolen-from-Washington-Co-home-construction-site.html | en | 2016-08-30T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/9dd9d5db89e66e1b9cd328b36dac0822362e09944f8f5b808882d92390cd6ecb.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:14:10 | null | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida boy has survived a rare brain-eating amoeba that kills most people, aided in part because a hard-to-get drug to fight the infection is made by | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FNews%2F2016%2F08%2F23%2FTeen-survives-rare-amoeba-infection-that-kills-most-people.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/23/x720_q60/Brain-Eating-Amoeba.jpg | en | null | Teen survives rare amoeba infection that kills most people | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Sebastian DeLeon came to the hospital two weeks ago with sensitivity to light and a headache so severe the 16-year-old couldn’t tolerate anyone touching him, doctors at Florida Hospital for Children said at a news conference.
Hospital staffers had been trained to look for the amoeba, which often is contracted through the nose when swimming in freshwater lakes or rivers. The infection has a fatality rate of 97 percent and another boy died from it at the same hospital two years ago.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says only four out of 138 people have survived being infected with the amoeba in the past 50 years, including DeLeon, according to the hospital’s doctors.
“It is so rare that a lot of times we don’t think of it and that’s where a delay occurs in starting a treatment,” said Dr. Dennis Hernandez, head of the hospital’s emergency department. “It wasn’t very clear-cut and I’m still shaking about the whole case.”
DeLeon, who had worked as a camp counselor in Broward County, was infected in South Florida. He began having a severe headache two weeks ago on the same day his family traveled to Orlando for a vacation. His parents took him to the emergency room at Florida Hospital almost a day and a half later when his headache worsened.
Acting on a hunch, emergency room doctors ordered a spinal tap to test for meningitis, and lab scientist Sheila Black found the amoeba moving in the spinal fluid. Doctors lowered the teen’s body temperature to 33 degrees, induced a coma, inserted a breathing tube and gave him a cocktail of drugs that help kill the amoeba.
One of the drugs, miltefosine, isn’t readily available at most hospitals.
“When the family came to me, I had to tell them to say their goodbyes,” said Dr. Humberto Liriano, who choked up as he described the case. “I had to tell them, ‘Tell him everything you would want to tell your child because I don’t know if he will wake up.‘”
Luck was on DeLeon’s side since the manufacturer of miltefosine is based in Orlando, and a shipment got to the hospital quickly.
“This infection can be rapidly fatal. Minutes count and having the drug rapidly at hand ... is crucial,” said Dr. Federico Laham, a hospital pediatrician specializing in infectious diseases.
Because the amoeba infection is so rare, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention typically flies the drug miltefosine to the patient. But in DeLeon’s case, a hospital pharmacist called the chief executive of the Orlando-based company that manufactures the drug and the CEO’s son dropped it off at the hospital within minutes.
The drug, which originally was used to treat breast cancer, isn’t readily available. But the manufacturer, Profounda Inc., and the family of the 12-year-old boy who died from an amoeba infection at Florida Hospital two years ago, are pushing for the drug to be in hospitals, especially in the South where the amoeba thrives in warm weather.
DeLeon is expected to recover with therapy. He is still at the hospital and needs a walker to get around, doctors said.
“We are so thankful that God has given us this miracle through this medical team ... to have our son back and having him full of life,” said Brunilda Gonzalez’s DeLeon’s mother. “He’s a very energetic, adventurous, wonderful teen. We are so thankful for the gift of life.”
Follow Mike Schneider on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mikeschneiderap .
His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/Mike-Schneider | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/2016/08/23/Teen-survives-rare-amoeba-infection-that-kills-most-people.html | en | 2016-08-23T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/61da9800e3e906b31f9c5fe57f88c794e291cd2652da931644ec3d7ad9bb3b9f.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T12:54:51 | null | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | JACKSON, Miss. — Two Catholic nuns were found slain in a Mississippi home where they lived when the women, both nurse practitioners, didn’t report to work at a nearby | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2Flaw-enforcement%2F2016%2F08%2F25%2F2-nuns-found-slain-in-Mississippi-home-motive-unclear.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/25/x720_q60/NationalNews2-jpg-18.jpg | en | null | 2 nuns found slain in Mississippi home; motive unclear | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Durant Assistant Police Chief James Lee said it was too early to say how the nuns died, but it appears they were not shot.
There were signs of a break-in and the nuns’ vehicle is missing, said Maureen Smith, a spokeswoman for the Catholic Diocese of Jackson. Both women worked at the Lexington Medical Clinic, about 10 miles away from their home in Durant, a town in a poor, rural part of the state.
Authorities didn’t release a motive and it wasn’t clear if the nuns’ religious work had anything to do with the slayings.
“I have an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach,” said the assistant police chief, who is Catholic.
One nun is a member of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth, Kentucky. The other is part of the School Sisters of St. Francis in Milwaukee. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/law-enforcement/2016/08/25/2-nuns-found-slain-in-Mississippi-home-motive-unclear.html | en | 2016-08-25T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d7db95e6ea0f2965bab9696a80d63a72ee63780c1b8b0f18916f9d967602c024.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:48:51 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | KNOXVILLE — Tennessee will wear a commemorative sticker on the back of its helmets this season to honor former Lady Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt.
Vols | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FNo-9-Tennessee-to-wear-helmet-stickers-honoring-Pat-Summitt.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60_ca525,0,1020,386_cTL/TennesseeBig-jpg.jpg | en | null | No. 9 Tennessee to wear helmet stickers honoring Pat Summitt | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Vols coach Butch Jones announced Saturday that the team would wear the stickers. Summitt died June 28 after battling early-onset dementia, Alzheimer’s type.
The sticker includes a capital “P‘‘ inside a circle. The “P‘‘ is based off the way Summitt wrote the letter in her actual signature.
Summitt led Tennessee to eight national titles in 38 seasons at Tennessee before stepping down in 2012, one year after she announced her diagnosis. Her 1,098 wins are the most of any Division I men’s or women’s basketball coach.
The ninth-ranked Vols open the season Thursday by hosting Appalachian State. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/27/No-9-Tennessee-to-wear-helmet-stickers-honoring-Pat-Summitt.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/51ea2bdc36e65c7b0f5d28cb076c0259cd23233b08a802cd1f59764b3f3b13bd.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T13:11:42 | null | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | The wheels are in motion for Johnson City to host its first charter school.
If the process goes according to the plan set forth by Teresa Battle — the dean of | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F24%2FSTEM-focused-charter-school-could-be-in-downtown-Johnson-City-by-2017.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/24/x720_q60/Teresa-Battle.jpg | en | null | STEM-focused charter school could be in downtown Johnson City by 2017 | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | If the process goes according to the plan set forth by Teresa Battle — the dean of the proposed Insight STEM School — and other local interested parties, the school could be opened by 2017. It’s already been given a location on the downtown Johnson City-based Northeast State Community College campus.
Charter schools receive government funding but operate independently of the established public school system.
In the case of the Insight STEM School, initially funded by private dollars, it would roll out a class of approximately 20 STEM-focused ninth-graders for one year. After that first year, when it would presumably gain its charter, this would allow it to receive that public money and contract over resources with the Johnson City Schools district.
The purpose of this school, specifically, would be to help get Johnson City students into STEM-trained jobs like engineering. Through a private partnership with the Johnson City-headquartered NN Inc., a global industrial company, Insight STEM School could help land local students long and fruitful careers.
She said efforts would be focused on underserved student populations.
On Aug. 12, Battle made a brief presentation to the Johnson City Development Association, giving some of the early details to its members. Next up, Richard Bales, director of Johnson City Schools, will relay the information he’d received from Battle to the board of education at its upcoming September meeting.
“The feedback that I've received from different presentations has been positive,” Battle said.
She said Bales didn’t give his personal opinion, but that he will share the idea with the board. Agreement with the board of education will be a necessity for the charter school to come to fruition, as the Insight STEM School would look to contract the city school’s meal and transportation resources.
According to two members of the school board, vice chairman John Hunter and chairman Tim Belisle, while they’re both open to the conversation, it’s going to be an uphill battle for the proposed charter school.
“They are an additional burden on taxpayers as they are funded through the school system’s budget,” Hunter said. “If there is a need that people believe isn't being met through the existing public education system and they believe that a specific program or model of education ought to be incorporated, then I think that could be accomplished through advocacy and showing support for the current system to create or incorporate those aspects into the existing system.”
Belisle joins Hunter in not wanting to add another level of bureaucracy with charter schools.
He pointed at the quality of education and achievements of Johnson City Schools as a reason to trust the system in place. Acknowledging that changes could be made to improve the system, Belisle would also prefer to see those tweaks being made to what’s already in place.
Battle has the support of NN Inc. President and Chief Executive Officer Rich Holder, who serves on the board to make this plan come together and is the person who cut a big check to support the effort.
Holder doesn’t look at charter schools and traditional public schools as competing against each other, as much as entities that need each other.
“It's not an either-or,” he said. “It's a symbiotic relationship. A mature community needs both. We both need each other to make this thing work.”
Holder pointed at the contributions NN Inc. has made to the local public school systems.
What he wants to see is more engineering jobs being filled with local students and college graduates, rather than having to import that talent. In establishing the worldwide NN Inc. headquarters here in Johnson City, Holder said it was one of their priorities to invest in the community, and this is one of their ways of doing that.
“We really need to create a pipeline that can support the community in a holistic way with technologies,” he said.
Battle will make a presentation to the Washington County Economic Development Council Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. at the Millennium Centre.
Email Tony Casey at tcasey@johnsoncitypress.com. Follow Tony Casey on Twitter @TonyCaseyJCP. Like him on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tonycaseyjournalist. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/24/STEM-focused-charter-school-could-be-in-downtown-Johnson-City-by-2017.html | en | 2016-08-24T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/232fdd8beca8fa36ae8227a77193438777310afe70618f382c2f6af43c7380ad.json |
[] | 2016-08-26T14:48:51 | null | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | JOHNSON CITY - Gladys Inez Johnson O'Dell Duvall went home to be with her Lord on August 24, 2016. Gladys was born in Erwin, TN on April 19, 1922. Early in life she moved to Johnson City, | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FObituary%2F2016%2F08%2F26%2FGladys-Inez-Johnson-O-Dell.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/26/x720_q60/DuvallLIB-jpg-1.jpg | en | null | Gladys Inez Johnson O'Dell Duvall | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | A special thank you to the wonderful people at Four Oakes Healthcare for the loving compassionate care given to Gladys and her family. A thank you to Avalon Hospice Care for your care during this time.
Family will have a Celebration of Life for Gladys Saturday August 27, 2016 from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm at North Johnson City Baptist Church, 305 Ferndale RD., Johnson City. Gladys has donated her body to medical science. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to North Johnson City Baptist Church. Condolences may be sent to the Duvall family online at www.dillow-taylor.com. Dillow-Taylor Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Jonesborough, 753-3821 | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Obituary/2016/08/26/Gladys-Inez-Johnson-O-Dell.html | en | 2016-08-26T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/90be625626dac083de3ab45b3c1ba8df8b1e55963b68ffe4ca87f81db1d2f95f.json |
[] | 2016-08-28T04:49:16 | null | 2016-08-04T00:00:00 | GREENEVILLE — Crystal Gilland has been named the director of finance at Tusculum College.
Gilland previously served as executive assistant to the vice president | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FEducation%2F2016%2F08%2F28%2FGilland-named-director-of-finance-at-Tusculum-College.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/04/x720_q60/CrystalGilland2016-jpg.jpg | en | null | Gilland named director of finance at Tusculum College | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | Gilland previously served as executive assistant to the vice president for finance and chief financial officer. Gilland came to Tusculum College in 2012.
“Crystal has long been an asset to the business and finance division and will continue to use her talents to serve Tusculum College in her new role,” said Steve Gehret, vice president for finance and chief financial officer. “In her new capacity, the college will be able to take full advantage of her talents and skills.”
As the director of finance, Gilland will provide leadership, direction and coordination for the oversight of finance and administration for fiscal operations of the college, as well as executive support to the vice president for finance/CFO and the Board of Trustees subcommittees. In this role, she will be responsible for developing and executing financial reporting, contract management, procurement management, vendor relations and administrative oversight of in-house and third-party collections.
“I am very pleased to be able to serve the needs of Tusculum College through my work in the finance department,” said Gilland. “This new position will allow me to continue to play a role in helping Tusculum continue to grow as an institution.”
Gilland graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in business administration from Grand Canyon University and graduated in 2012 with a Master of Business Administration, also from Grand Canyon University.
She has previously served as office coordinator in the dean’s office for the College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences at East Tennessee State University. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Education/2016/08/28/Gilland-named-director-of-finance-at-Tusculum-College.html | en | 2016-08-04T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/d06cc753267a54301e916d1a85c8853857c7faa2ee1257ec9179b1ef0904d8db.json |
[] | 2016-08-27T22:48:50 | null | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | BLUFF CITY — Ben Varghese was ready to pick up the pace.
For the first mile of the varsity boys’ race at the Run for the Hills cross country meet at | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2FSports%2F2016%2F08%2F27%2FRun-for-the-Hills-Varghese-leads-Boone-boys-to-victory.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/27/x720_q60/Ben-Varghese-JPG.jpg | en | null | Run for the Hills: Varghese leads Boone boys to victory | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | For the first mile of the varsity boys’ race at the Run for the Hills cross country meet at South Holston Dam, the Daniel Boone senior, along with Science Hill senior Alex Crigger, settled in behind Karl Thiessen of Abingdon.
But Varghese didn’t feel they were going fast enough so he bolted out front with Crigger in tow.
Varghese pulled away from Crigger over the final mile and posted a winning time of 16:02.
“I thought the pace was a little slow and I needed to take it to another gear,” Varghese said. “Overall, that race felt incredibly smooth because I was mentally prepared for it. I was never at a point where I told myself that I couldn’t do it.”
Boone had five runners finishes 16th or better and won the team competition, 46-81, over Watauga (N.C). Abingdon finished third with 91 points, followed by Science Hill with 94 and University High at 185.
Beyond Varghese, Daniel Boone had Zac Branham run a 17:20 to finish fifth and Chance Bowman go 17:37 to finish ninth.
The Trailblazers also got points from Matt Huff (15th) and Connor Loyd (16th).
“It was a good solid run by Ben and he set the tone for the team,” Boone coach Len Jeffers said. “This is a very close-knit group whether they’re in practice or in the races. We have just good, smart kids who listen and do the things they’re supposed to do.”
Crigger did what he could for Science Hill. He completed the course in 16:39 to earn the runner-up spot.
“In the beginning, Karl set the pace and Ben and I hung back,” Crigger said. “But at the end of that first mile, Ben took the lead and I just tried to stay with him.”
It was a challenge for the rest of the Science Hill squad to keep up on a very hot morning.
Caleb Seeley finished 20th for the Hilltoppers, while Cole Benedict (23rd), Gavin Ledford (25th) and Aaron Jones (28th) rounded out the scoring.
“It was a very tough course with a lot of heat,” Science Hill boys coach Ryan Edwards said. “We told them to focus more on beating people and no sot so much on our times. It’s a good test for us early to see where we’re at. I’m proud of Alex and his performance as well as the rest of them.”
Sophomore Porter Bradley led University High’s strong showing by placing seventh individually. He ran the course in 17:28, while Pablo Rivas (18:16) finished 17th out of 164 individuals.
David Crockett finished eighth out of the 22 teams entered.
The Pioneers wore Superman ribbons on their jerseys to honor former teammate Dakoatah Lyons, an All-State runner who died tragically last May.
Senior Andrew Keys led Crockett with a run of 19:30, followed by Camren Butler at 19:34
Among the other local schools, John Campbell led Unicoi County at 20:29, Ethan Cook went 20:43 for Providence Academy, Tristan Morley finished in 22:15 for Happy Valley and Corbin Hazelwood ran a 22:28 to pace Elizabethton. | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/Sports/2016/08/27/Run-for-the-Hills-Varghese-leads-Boone-boys-to-victory.html | en | 2016-08-27T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/cd1a8baa5838f5ee04e1377570d160078b8eea04277148c3b9e27c4e59ad9603.json |
[] | 2016-08-30T04:49:26 | null | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | null | http%3A%2F%2Fwww.johnsoncitypress.com%2Ffrontpage%2F2016%2F08%2F30%2FBest-Shots-August-30-2016.html.json | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/image/2016/08/29/x720_q60/Bee-JPG.jpg | en | null | Best Shots: August 30, 2016 | null | null | www.johnsoncitypress.com | null | http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/frontpage/2016/08/30/Best-Shots-August-30-2016.html | en | 2016-08-29T00:00:00 | www.johnsoncitypress.com/b9ab41bc0005c2167472b828501eeb867fcd820f4c2f6b5696d0c2bf0e7a2a5c.json |
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