In the state's opening, Sullivan County Assistant District Attorney Teresa Nelson argued Royston had an opportunity to drug the woman at a bar the evening before the alleged incident. Nelson said the victim would testify that shortly after leaving that bar she fell asleep in a car driven by Royston and also occupied by his landlord, Danny Hunt. When the victim awoke, she would testify she discovered she was naked, facedown, and bound with ropes about her neck, wrists and legs, inside Royston's camper. She would testify that she was able to escape after hitting Royston in the head with a coffee pot.

In the defense's opening, attorney Randy Fleming argued the alleged victim broke into Royston's camper and demanded he give her $50 he owed her, and that she hit Royston with the coffee pot while he was still in his bed. He said the woman never called 911 after leaving the camper. He asked the jury to, "Follow the evidence and follow the blood," and suggested that the state's evidence will not prove their theory of the case.

The commission approved using $144,500 to help offset higherthan-budgeted costs for operations at the sheriff’s office and jail. It’s not the $180,000 identified earlier as needed to make sure the sheriff’s office and jail can meet payroll and other expenses through June 30 — when the current 12-month budget cycle ends — but Sheriff Wayne Anderson said he and his staff would make it work.

The county’s budget crunch seems to be provoking some officials and county employees to be more frank — tossing aside concerns about losing friends or popularity.

First thing Monday morning, Register of Deeds Bart Long — a former county commissioner himself — got things rolling by telling the full County Commission they’ve “laid down on the job” and brought county government to “borderline bankruptcy.”

As the day drew to a close, at a budget-related “work session,” Sullivan County Department of Archives and Tourism Director Shelia Steele Hunt lamented “This isn’t going to make me very popular,” and went on to say every time she and her staff visit the county courthouse they witness “a lot of waste in personnel.”

“We see people with their feet up,” Hunt said. “Sitting with nothing to do. I’ve heard it said by some that they don’t have anything to do for two weeks.”

Hunt, like Long and a whole cavalcade of others throughout the day, finished up by calling for teamwork and cooperation among all departments and employees to solve the county’s budget woes.

Long said all he has ever wanted is for everyone to get along as a group and solve problems to best serve county residents.

“I am going to lose some friends today,” Long said, going on to say he is “sick and tired” of the commission telling constitutional officeholders it’s their fault when the budget is tight. “I’ve tried to bite my tongue, but I’m over it.”

Long said it’s the commission’s job, under state law, to create revenue. He and the other constitutional officeholders, he said, are supposed to provide services.

Long said Anderson has operated the sheriff’s department and jail on the same budget for seven years despite rising costs beyond his control, such as gas — which long said was $1.70 a gallon seven years ago and has been near $4 this budget year — and an evergrowing number of inmates in the jail.

“I’ve heard some of you say ‘We’ve got to run the county like it’s a business,’ ” Long said. “If it was a business, they’d be firing the CEO, and there would be an investigation into where all the money went.”

As the county’s surpluses have dwindled, Long said the commission has spent its time talking about “stop signs and barking dogs.” Long said the commission has “lost focus of the job” it is supposed to do, and “sadly, you’re going to burden these people with a tax increase.”

“You’ve been kicking the can down the road,” Long said. “And you’ve run out of road.”

Read the expanded version of this report in today's print edition of the Times-News or its enhanced electronic edition.

Billy Ray Woliver, 73, 410 Elphis St., Pennington Gap, had 28 counts of animal cruelty against him dismissed following a motion from his defense attorney, H. Fuller Cridlin, of Jonesville.

Woliver was found guilty of two remaining counts and ordered to serve a 60-day suspended sentence and submit to 12 months of probation.
Woliver was also fined $400 and ordered to undergo animal counseling. He is also barred from owning a dog for at least three years.

The charges he was convicted of stemmed from two dogs that were chained to a tree outside Woliver’s home without access to s h e l t e r.
Cridlin said the remaining charges against Woliver were dropped after prosecutors failed to present evidence that the dogs were intentionally abused or mistreated.

“Mr. Woliver loved these animals and did the best he could to provide them with food and shelter,” Cridlin said. “But as a 74-year-old man in failing health, he simply could not continue to care for so many animals. The officers did the right thing by removing the animals from the home, and the dogs are in a better place now, but that doesn’t make Mr. Woliver guilty of animal crue l t y. ”

Cridlin said prosecution witnesses testified that the dogs were “well-fed and in decent health, and did not require any emergency veterinary treatment after being removed from the home.”

Prosecutors also failed to prove that dead dogs found on the property had been killed or died as a result of abuse, Cridlin said.

“Mr. Woliver intended to bury these dogs but could not as a result of some recent health issues that have severely limited his physical capabilities,” Cridlin said.

Woliver was arrested in March by the Pennington Gap Police Department after 21 dogs ranging from a Saint Bernard and a Weimaraner to Chihuahuas, Jack Russell terriers and Yorkshire terriers were reportedly found in poor living conditions in and around his home.

Animal control officers said 13 of the animals were found living inside the residence. The bodies of at least two dead dogs were found in coolers on the p r o p e r t y.

The animals removed from the residence were either adopted or placed in foster homes with the help of Lee Fosters Rescue in B l a c k w a t e r.

James Walter Grooms, 44, 142 Herbert Lane, Bulls Gap, failed to appear for arraignment in Hawkins County Criminal Court on April 27 following his indictment a few days earlier on two counts of aggravated assault.

Hawkins County Sheriff Ronnie Lawson said neither his office nor the court was notified that Grooms was in Woodridge.

Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office deputies went to Grooms’ house Saturday morning to serve an arrest warrant for failure to appear, at which time they were informed of his current residency at Woodridge.

Deputies met a female at the residence who signed a consent to search the home.

During that search, deputies discovered a hidden compartment in an outbuilding that led to a back room where one marijuana plant was allegedly found growing in a pot. Deputies also allegedly found materials associated with marijuana growing.

Lawson said that although there was no arrest related to the new marijuana find, a “hold” has been placed on Grooms for him to be placed in HCSO custody when he is released from Woodridge.

The aggravated assault charges stem from an incident that occurred on April 13, 2011. According to police, following a verbal altercation in front of the victims’ residence, Grooms allegedly struck a female neighbor with a pistol and then shot the woman’s boyfriend in the groin when the boyfriend attempted to come to the woman’s defense.

Police said the boyfriend lost a testicle as a result of the gunshot wound.

While free on bail, Grooms was arrested again on May 9, 2011, after Hawkins County deputies responded to his residence on a complaint he was firing gunshots in his neighborhood while “very much” under the influence of alcohol.

Following his May 9, 2011, arrest, deputies allegedly found an indoor marijuana grow inside Grooms’ residence.

On May 9, 2011, Grooms was charged with manufacturing marijuana, felony reckless endangerment, resisting arrest, simple possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, and public intoxication.

He was scheduled to appear in Hawkins County Sessions Court Monday for a preliminary hearing on the May 9, 2011, charges but didn’t appear due to his hospitalization. A new preliminary hearing date will be scheduled when Grooms is released from Woodridge.

The testimony from Washington County Sheriff’s Investigator Jared Taylor came Monday during a preliminary hearing for Roger Glen Ball, 42, 350 Hillcrest St., Greeneville, charged with two counts of solicitation of a minor.

Ball knew the 15-year-old teen from being her basketball coach and a teacher in her home school co-op. She was also good friends with his teenage daughter.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

And it affected students 3-8 in K-8 schools.

Because of the way the Tennessee Department of Education pulled student course codes, Sullivan County Assistant Director of Schools David Timbs said teachers will have to go through manually and figure Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program scores as 15 percent of second semester reading, math, social studies and science grades.

Timbs said the situation involves 5,000 students, each of which had four course grades for a total of 20,000 individual grades to figure.

The goof was that the state pulled student course codes for those four subjects plus the “self-contained homeroom.” That is not a subject in which students are tested, but because it was pulled, scores from one of the other four subjects randomly showed up there.

“Every time it was a grade in the self-contained course code,” Timbs said. “It would leave out one course.”

Because the scores did not consistently go from one subject to homeroom, Timbs said teachers must figure the grades manually, including some arithmetic.

“Now instead of automatically compiling, they’re now going to hand calculate grades,” Timbs said. “It was one of those unforeseen issues with the requirement of using the scores as part of the students’ grades.”

Timbs said the situation is the same one that caused Hawkins County schools not to release report cards Monday as scheduled. Instead, those report cards will be mailed to students.

Kingsport schools’ last day is Wednesday, which also is the day virtual report cards will go out at the elementary level, said Dory Creech, assistant superintendent of Kingsport City Schools.

“Ours came back fine,” Creech said.

She said the system programmed its student data management system to plug in the TCAP scores as 20 percent of the final grade. The Kingsport Board of Education chose 20 percent, while the county chose 15 percent. That was the range the state allowed.

Creech said she wasn’t sure how the new Innovation Academy of Northeast Tennessee — a joint city-county operation — would handle report cards and the percentage of second semester grades determined by TCAP scores.

Kingsport’s elementary report cards will be e-mailed Wednesday, with the middle and high school ones coming a bit later, Creech said.

“I’m just pleased we got all our scores back and they will flow as planned,” Creech said.

The service has only been available to some, not all, county taxpayers — even though the highway department is funded by property taxes paid by all.

Trees and debris that are felled by storms and blocking county roads or rights of way will continue to be removed by the highway department.

The service has never been listed as a line item in the county’s budget — in or out of the highway department’s accounts.

County Commissioner Dwight King, lead sponsor of the resolution to end the service, said it has been costing the county about $200,000 per year.

State law permits the highway department to provide the service if two criteria are met: The County Commission approves that as policy; and the county “reimburses” the highway department fund from elsewhere in the county budget, King said.

“It should be under public works,” King said. “There needs to be a line that shows the money being reimbursed.”

King said the county has never kept track of what was being spent on brush pickup and never made the necessary budget transfers to reimburse the highway department.

King said while his biggest concern is the $200,000 cost of the service, he cited several other reasons brush pickup shouldn’t continue under the highway department including: Residents on state routes or those whose homes are on roadways annexed by cities don’t have any chance at getting the service; and the “gray” area over the legality of the service, without “reimbursement” from the county.

Interim Highway Commissioner Terry Shaffer said the service has sort of gotten out of control, with his department getting 500 or 600 calls per week seeking brush pickup.

Prior to the commission’s vote on the issue, Shaffer displayed hundreds of paper slips, each representing a request for service.

Both Shaffer and King have said the program has been abused in many cases — with people hauling brush from other locations, and more so with paid contractors leaving brush at the curb and depending on the county to pick it up.

The service has been intended only to pick up brush residents have cleared themselves. Paid contractors are supposed to dispose of trimmed trees, limbs and brush — not leave it at the curb.

Shaffer said it is often difficult, however, to prove who trimmed brush.

But the sheer volume of requests led him to believe brush is being brought to county rights of way from outside the county — and possibly from outside the state.

About two years ago, the County Commission voted to OK curbside brush pickup — on county right of way — with many commissioners then describing the action as a vote to continue or reinstate an existing service.

Then-Highway Commissioner Allan Pope said his workers would only provide the service for debris that results from residents’ own work — and would not pick up leaves, brush, limbs or tree parts produced when a resident has hired someone to cut the items and drag them to the curb.

Timothy Edward Lindstrom, 57, received the 60-month prison sentence in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on Monday. Judge Ronnie Greer also imposed a $15,000 fine on Lindstrom and ordered him to be on supervised release for life.

The prison sentence and fine constitute the minimum amount Greer could impose on Lindstrom.

Lindstrom pleaded guilty to the charge in December 2011 and faced up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Prosecutors had recommended a prison sentence of 97 to 121 months.

Lindstrom retired in 2006 as a captain in the U.S. Navy after 29 years of service, then served as the director of nuclear operations at NFS until November 2010.

According to court records, Lindstrom received more than 7,000 images and 21 videos of child pornography at his home from 2006 through February 2011.

Prosecutors say Lindstrom gave his desktop computer to an assistant at NFS as a gift in August 2010, and the assistant sold the computer to another co-worker, who then found the child pornography images. The computer was eventually given to the NFS legal staff, which delivered it to the FBI for examination.

The FBI found 592 images and eight videos of child pornography on the computer, along with more than 500,000 images of child erotica that do not meet the statutory definition of child pornography, child pornography sex stories in narrative form, and child sex cartoons.

Court records state the FBI then obtained a search warrant for the defendant’s new Apple iMac computer, and a forensic examination yielded 6,983 images and 13 videos of child pornography, along with 1.3 million images of child erotica.

Some of Lindstrom’s child rape videos exceed five minutes and included very young victims and victims in bondage, court records state. During the investigation, 11 different victims were identified within the material by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

“These cases are disturbing, but the United States will continue to prosecute whoever is violating these laws and subjecting our children to these illegal influences,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Killian.

Johnson City attorney Richard Pectol — who represented Lindstrom — argued in a sentencing memorandum that from the moment Lindstrom learned of the investigation, he cooperated completely with law enforcement, admitting to downloading child pornography and promptly negotiated a plea agreement.

Prosecutors say Lindstrom used a fee-based online news subscription service to download large quantities of files and later mined them for child sex images. In addition, Lindstrom used a newsgroup reader and special search application to surf for and filter through the material.

“Lindstrom is a sophisticated child porn collector who would never have been detected if he had not given his old computer to the assistant at NFS,” court records state.

During the course of his career, Lindstrom was the commander of the USS Maine submarine, worked in the Pentagon for five years, and was commander of Submarine Squadron 20 of Kings Bay, Ga. Lindstrom received a number of citations, medals and commendations during his career in the U.S. Navy, including five Navy Commendation Medals, two Navy Meritorious Service Medals, three Legions of Merit, the Defense Superior Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.

Wise County Sheriff's Office

5/18

A woman requested police file a report on two golf carts "intentionally wrecked" at a county golf course.

5/19

A Big Stone Gap woman called dispatch to solicit help in getting her husband out of the floor. She said medial attention was not needed, just a couple of "hefty officers" to pick him up. She advised only one or two were needed, "if they're hefty ones."

Kingsport Police Department

May 18

A Vance Street resident reported she had been assaulted by her 13-year-old daughter. The girl was mad because her mother had taken away her iPad.

An adult brother and sister were allegedly fighting on Robertson Street, "holding babies while hitting one another."

Hawkins County Sheriff's Office

May 18

Police responded to a Rogersville home on a vandalism complaint. The resident stated his son, 26, had broken several items and ran out of the house. The suspect was located near the residence and attempted to run away from the responding deputy. He was tackled by the officer — with both landing on a pile of wood — then arrested for vandalism, evading arrest and resisting arrest.

May 19

Police were called to a county boat ramp due to drunk men, "causing a disturbance." One was located in the back of his vehicle, while the other was passed out, "halfway under a vehicle." They were each arrested and charged with public intoxication.

Police responded to Jarvis Road where a car had received several scratches. The car owner stated his neighbor had been spotted walking around the vehicle, "with a duck in one hand and something silver in the other." The complainant further advised his dog had recently attacked one of the suspect's ducks.

For complete blotter entries read each Tuesday and Friday's print or electronic edition of the Times-News.

Joseph Hite, 16, of Kingsport, was riding a1995 Kawasaki ZX6R on Diana Road at 6:21 p.m. Police say he lost control and left the right side of the roadway, striking a stop sign.

Hite was transported to Holston Valley Medical Center where he died from his injuries. An investigation into the crash is continuing.

A resolution to end the service will need 13 votes for approval. At least that many commissioners have gone on the record in favor of ending the service as the resolution worked its way through the commission’s committee system in recent weeks.

Including Commissioner Dwight King, the proposal’s primary sponsor, eight commissioners were on board from the get-go — its listed co-sponsors including commissioners: Cathy Armstrong; Mark Bowery; John Crawford; John Gardner; Bill Kilgore; Bob White and Eddie Williams.

The service has never been listed as a line item in the county’s budget — in or out of the highway department’s accounts.

King and Interim Highway Commissioner Terry Shaffer now say the curbside brush pickup is costing the county about $200,000 per year. King and others have said they’d rather that money be instead spent on the highway department’s primary duty — maintaining roads.

“The bottom line is, we can’t afford to do it anymore,” King said earlier this month.

And there is some question whether brush pickup “is actually legal as we’re doing it now,” King has said.

Read the expanded version of this report in today's print edition or the Times-News or its enhanced electronic report.

The mild winter and spring has likely helped the tick population survive and grow, causing a documented 533 percent increase in Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the Volunteer State, according to information from the Tennessee Department of Health.

A weekly report of provisional reportable diseases issued by the agency on May 14 shows 74 cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever so far this year.

The Northeast Region — composed of Sullivan, Carter, Greene, Hancock, Hawkins, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington counties — has three confirmed cases currently, while those eight localities only have one case of Lyme disease reported.

Rocky Mountain spotted fever is spread from a tick to a human through a bite and can take two to 14 days before the infected patient starts developing symptoms, which include: fever, rash, headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, muscle pain, lack of appetite, and red eyes.

Members of the Mountain Empire Epidemiology Task Force said during a recent news conference that a number of diseases that humans can contract during outdoor activities or contact with animals, including rabies, are all on the rise in the Southeastern part of the United States.

The task force and Centers for Disease Control recommend the following tips to stay tick-free while outdoors this spring and summer:

• Wear light-colored clothing to help you spot ticks that may catch a ride on you.

• Tuck pants into socks to keep ticks off your legs.

• Apply EPA-approved repellents to discourage tick attachment. Repellents containing permethrin can be sprayed on shoes and clothing and will last for several days. Repellents containing DEET can be applied to skin but must be reapplied every few hours. Follow label instructions for repellents.

• Search your entire body for ticks upon return from a potentially tick-infested area. Remove any tick you find on your body; grasp with tweezers and pull straight back if the tick is attached.

• Check children for ticks, especially in their hair, when returning from potentially tick-infested areas.

• Ticks may be carried into your home on clothing and pets, so examine both.

• Reduce tick habitats around your home by removing leaf litter and brush.

Ordinarily school systems wouldn’t expect to receive their T-CAP achievement test results until well into the summer break, but this is the first year that the state achievement testing results were to count as 15 percent of a student’s final grade. Only grades 3-8 take the annual T-CAP tests.

Today is the last day for school in Hawkins County.

Director of Schools Charlotte Britton told the Times-News on Sunday she doesn’t know exactly when the report cards for grades 3-8 will be available, but she doesn’t anticipate a long delay. Report cards for those students will be mailed to their parents.

“These (T-CAP) scores are needed to calculate the second semester average grade as required by Tennessee state law,” Britton said.

“Our parents have been previously notified that T-CAP scores will be factored into the second semester average for math, reading/language arts, science, and social studies as required by Tennessee state law,” she said.

“Due to our inability to calculate the second semester average, we are also unable to calculate a final grade for students,” Britton said.

Britton added, “Parents will receive your child’s report card for grades 3-8 as soon as the state Department of Education releases student T-CAP scores to the Hawkins County Board of Education and we are able to complete all the necessary grading procedures. The promotion/retention status will be clearly marked on the final report card.”

All report cards for grades K-2 will be available today. High school report cards were already scheduled to be mailed out.

Britton said the delay is in no way associated with a Department of Education investigation into a potential “security breach” that may have occurred at one school during T-CAP testing. Britton said that investigation has not been completed by the state and she cannot discuss the circumstances while the investigation is pending.

Britton would say, however, that the investigation hasn’t resulted in any T-CAP tests being disqualified.

Parents should contact their child’s school if they have not received their child’s report card by May 31, Britton said.

“We are going to give parents a heads- up as soon as we receive the scores,” Britton said. “We will let them know when they are mailed. We should be mailing sometime this next week, but I’m just not sure of the correct date.”

Scott County schools receiving the designation were Fort Blackmore Primary, Nickelsville Elementary, Rye Cove Intermediate, Shoemaker Elementary, Weber City Elementary and Yuma Elementary.

Those schools were among 92 statewide that were recognized by the Virginia Board of Education for “raising the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students.”

The county’s three remaining Title I schools — Hiltons Elementary, Duffield Primary and Dungannon Primary — did not qualify for the award.

Officials with the school system said they appreciated the hard work that it took for each school to earn the recognition.

“We would like to express our gratitude to the families, staff and students for their dedication to excellence,” Scott County Public Schools Director of Personnel Jason Smith said. “Scott County Schools is recognized annually for high academic achievement in the classroom, but we never underestimate the hard work and support it takes to gain this level of achievement.”

The awards were based on student achievement on state tests taken in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

In order to become a “Distinguished Title I School,” schools must maintain full state accreditation under the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning program for two consecutive years while meeting federal benchmarks in reading and mathematics and having average test scores in both subjects at the 60th percentile or higher.

Also earning the award were St. Charles Elementary and Stickleyville Elementary in Lee County and Coeburn Primary, Powell Valley Primary and St. Paul Elementary in Wise County.

The proposed budget, which must be adopted prior to July 1, currently totals just over $23.6 million. That amount includes $7.6 million in local funding for the Scott County School Board.

The deficit is likely to shrink, however, since supervisors voted 5-2 at a special called meeting Tuesday to reject the school board’s proposed budget, which called for more than $4.8 million in funding required by the state.

The additional $7.6 million figure needed by the school system covers mandatory increases in retirement contributions and insurance costs, but does not include a step increase for teachers.

The school board had originally sought $8.1 million in county funding. That proposal included a step increase for teachers.

Supervisors Chad Hood and Joe Horton were the only members to vote for the school board’s request, which school officials say is needed to avoid teacher layoffs.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Danny Mann said he understood the school board’s desire to keep as many employees as possible, but felt the county cannot afford to cover the costs.

“There is no way this county can do what they’ve asked us to do,” Mann said. “There are some hard decisions to make and they’re going to have to make them. (The amount requested) is so far out of the ballpark of what the county can afford it’s not even close.”

Mann also ruled out the possibility of supporting a property tax increase to cover the costs.

“Tax rates would go up a significant amount in this county if we fund what they are asking for,” Mann said. “I would not support any kind of tax increase like what would have to be done in the county.”

A special called meeting is set for Tuesday so supervisors can review projections of what the county’s general fund will contain at the end of June. Officials said the figure is needed to give the school board a better idea of how much money the county has to work with.

The additional funding requested by the school board is fueled in large part by recently passed legislation that requires teachers and other state employees to contribute 5 percent of their salary to the Virginia Retirement System.

“The school board actually has a huge increase in their VRS rate and they have to cover that, as well as increases in life insurance,” Scott County Administrator Kathie Noe said. “It’s mandates from the state that are causing a lot of our budget problems.”

Money to cover the contribution must be given to employees as a salary increase, according to the legislation.

Also denied by supervisors was a request for an additional $150,000 from Scott County Sheriff John Puckett. Puckett said his office needed the money to fund positions for two patrol officers and an investigator.

In addition to denying those requests, supervisors also voted to forgo giving county employees a raise.

Ramsey, R-Blountville, had floated the idea of holding a special session later this year on creating an exchange pending a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the law this summer.

“The federal government has now decided they aren’t ready (to implement the exchanges). ... Time is not of the essence now. We’ll come back in session in January and address it then,” Ramsey said.

Tennessee’s state government still faces a January 2013 deadline to develop a “readiness review” for an exchange, according to TennCare spokeswoman Kelly Gunderson.

The reform law, also called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), says either the states or federal government can run state health insurance exchanges starting in 2014.

In a policy overview document, Gov. Bill Haslam’s administration noted the exchanges represent a “dramatic shift” in the insurance market.

For more than a year, Haslam administration officials have been barnstorming the state to meet with small businesses, agents and brokers, health care providers, insurers, consumer advocates, and other stakeholders to discuss the state’s options.

An exchange, according to the document, would enable consumers to qualify for tax credits, define commercial standards for exchange health plans, and allow consumers to compare multiple plans.

The exchange plans could provide “bronze, silver, gold or platinum” coverage according to the percentage of expected health care costs each health plan would cover.

Employers, meanwhile, would face penalties for not offering “affordable” health insurance, according to the ACA.

To enroll in the exchange, consumers would have to log on to an Internet portal, choose their level of coverage, and compare health plans.

A concern expressed by the Haslam administration is there would be a “tsunami of demand” during the exchange’s first open enrollment period in October 2013. Other concerns include whether insurers would participate in the exchange, employers dropping coverage, technical failures, and skyrocketing insurance rates.

Insurers for the first time will also need to estimate the unknown health care needs of the uninsured, the Haslam administration document also pointed out.

The federal government recently announced Tennessee will be awarded $4.3 million to use in establishing a state health insurance exchange. More than 30 other states and the District of Columbia will receive similar federal grants.

As of this month, 10 states and the District of Columbia had passed legislation to establish state-based health insurance exchanges, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Two states established an exchange by executive order. Governors in New Jersey and New Mexico, however, vetoed exchange establishment bills passed by their legislatures.

Ramsey said the Haslam administration, with assistance from state department heads, will put together an exchange plan for lawmakers to consider.

“I think the (Obama) administration in Washington realized with the Supreme Court decision up in the air, and the fall (presidential) election up in the air, this isn’t the time to be pushing this,” Ramsey said. “(But) we either design a plan of our own and adopt that or the federal government comes in with their plan. ... I don’t think there is a third option.”

With or without an exchange, Tennessee still faces expanded Medicaid eligibility called for in the ACA.

For more information go to www. tn.gov/exchange.

“Sheriff Anderson has led one of the most progressive and professional Sheriff’s Offices in the State,” McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck and Madison County Sheriff David L. Woolfork wrote in a joint press release issued Friday.

“The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office is one of the few Sheriff’s Offices that is recognized as an accredited law enforcement organization by the Committee on Law Enforcement Accreditation (COLEA). Personally Sheriff Anderson has received both State and National awards and recognition for his personal training and handling of law enforcement K-9s. Of four dogs he has personally trained and handled, two of those have been listed in the Top 20 Law Enforcement K-9s in the United States.”

Buck and Woolfork also announced Trooper Dwayne Stanford of the Tennessee Highway Patrol will receive the Local Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award.

“Trooper Stanford was THP’s Officer of the Year due to his apprehension of a fugitive on Interstate 40,” the release stated. “During the arrest, Trooper Stanford was shot by an accomplice but was able to return fire and neutralize the threat.”

The awards will be presented May 26 during the Buford Pusser Festival in Adamsville, Tenn.

Festival activity is scheduled to begin with a parade at 10:30 a.m., with the awards service to follow at 11 a.m.

Also there will be a motorcycle ride led by Buck that will visit several sites of importance in Sheriff Pusser’s life. The motorcycle ride begins at noon and all riders should meet at Adamsville City Park. All riders who would like to ride in the parade are encouraged to do so. Lineup is at 10 a.m.

Police responded at 6:21 to reports of a wreck on Diana Road at Diana Circle.

According to a press release from Sgt. Joe Earles, a 1995 Kawasaki ZX6R was traveling north on Diana Road when the driver lost control and left the roadway on the right side and struck a stop sign.

The victim was transported to Holston Valley Medical Center, where he died from his injuries.

The victim’s name is being withheld pending family notification.

The investigation of the accident is continuing.

June 2 at 10:00 a.m.

New Bethel Cumberland Presbyterian Church
90 Cox Road
Greeneville

Deputies also were looking for an adult connected to another stolen car case.

Sheriff Ed Graybeal said in a news release investigators stopped a car on Taylor Bridge Road near Jonesborough after witnessing a traffic violation.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

Michael Scott Albright, 37, was taken into custody by the Gate City Police Department and charged with felony eluding a police officer, obstruction of justice, driving on a suspended license fourth offense, and two counts of failure to obey a stop sign.

Gate City Police Chief Kim Birchfield said a town officer was attempting to make a traffic stop at 2:47 p.m. on West Jackson Street when Albright began “to accelerate quickly in an attempt to get away.”

Albright turned onto Lombard Street and then onto Benton Street before driving at a high rate of speed on the narrow street through a residential neighborhood, Birchfield said.

Police said Albright then turned down Virginia Avenue before crossing West Jackson Street and abandoning his car on Park Street.

Albright then fled on foot behind some houses in the area.

Birchfield said officers spotted Albright about six houses down from the abandoned car and ordered him to stop.

Police said Albright ran again but was caught when he attempted to hide in flowers and vines beside a residence.

Albright was out on bond on charges of abduction and unlawful wounding when he was arrested Thursday.

He is being held without bond in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Duffield and is scheduled to be arraigned in Scott County Circuit Court Monday.

The Weber City Police Department and Scott County Sheriff’s Department assisted the GCPD with the arrest and search.

The school board, in a called meeting Thursday night to approve various contracts related to the Innovation Academy of Northeast Tennessee STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) platform school, also voted 5-0 on first and only readings to:

• Approve an amendment to the Internet use policy to include items mandated by the federal government on not releasing student information on the Internet and safety and anti-cyber bullying instruction. Without it, officials said the system would stand to lose federal Web connectivity funding.

• Approve reapplying for a federal grant for elementary school counselors, adding one elementary counselor to two existing ones and maintaining one elementary social worker. All would be Frontier Health contract employees. The old grant was $400,000, but the estimated new one is $421,000, communications specialist Debi Tabor said.

• Approve submitting an application for Victoria “Tori” Baldock, a Dobyns-Bennett High School junior, to receive a Tennessee School Boards Association Student Recognition Award.