Police say a search at 927 Larry Neil Way found the resident, Ben Norris, 25, smoking a joint on the patio. Four bags of marijuana, along with digital scales and other items of paraphernalia, were located inside the residence. Norris was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana for resale, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a dwelling where illegal drugs are sold, stored or used.

Police say a search warrant at 617 Broad St. located a large quantity of schedule III drugs believed to be Marinol, a prescription THC pill. Detectives say they also located schedule III Lortabs, a bag of marijuana and scales.

The resident, Dustin Rhoton, was arrested and charged with possession of schedule III drugs for resale, simple possession of marijuana, simple possession of schedule III Lortabs, possession of drug paraphernalia and maintaining a dwelling where illegal drugs are sold, stored or used. It was later determined that the Sullivan County Sheriff's Office had warrants for Rhoton's arrest for failure to report for jail time and violation of probation.

Another man at Rhoton's residence, Trinity Jarrett, 27, of 2308 Bloomingdale Pike, was allegedly in possession of Lortabs not prescribed to him. He was charged with simple possession of schedule III Lortabs and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The final search warrant was executed at 926 Myrtle St. Police say resident Tamon Carpenter, 33, attempted to flee as the SWAT team made entry. Tamon was allegedly, "disposing of money onto the ground going down the back stairway."

Once Tamon was handcuffed and the residence was secured, detectives allegedly found nearly a pound of marijuana in the master bedroom. They say it was separated into 14 small baggies. Tamon was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana for resale and maintaining a dwelling where illegal drugs are sold, stored or used.

Police say that a short time later the other resident returned home. Caressia Bristol, 29, was arrested for possession of marijuana for resale and maintaining a dwelling where illegal drugs are sold, stored or used.

Detectives later learned that the Sheriff’s Office held warrants for Bristol’s arrest, on charges of forgery and obtaining food stamps by fraud.

Kingsport police say the warrants netted $10,000 cash from the illegal drug trade, along with three automobiles used in the sale or delivery of narcotics.

According to prosecuting attorney Julie Canter, James David Thompson, 47, last known address 201 Woods Edge Drive, Kingsport, was originally set for trial this month. He is now scheduled for a May 5 trial for for an alleged rape of a child less than 13 years of age. The incident is alleged to have occurred between January 1997 and January 1998.

According to prosecuting attorney Barry Staubus, Thompson and the alleged victim have had two children together. Paternity tests in Thompson’s court record are cited as proof.

In a written statement provided to authorities, Thompson admitted to having sex with the victim when she was a juvenile and later, after she became an adult. He also admitted to fathering one of her children while she was still a juvenile.

However, Thompson also said he didn’t remember having sex with the girl before she was 13.

Thompson remains free on a $50,000 bond posted by his employer the day of his arrest.

At about 6 a.m. Kingsport police responded to Holston Valley Medical Center to speak with the alleged victim. The 34-year-old man said he was sitting on a couch at 2833 Pansy Drive, apartment No. 3, when his girlfriend pulled a knife from the kitchen drawer and, "came at him."

The victim stated he was able to grab his girlfriend's hand, and another person present at the apartment grabbed the knife away. Police say the witness corroborated the victim's statement of events.

An incident report categorizes the man's injuries as "small puncture wounds." The victim also displayed a bite mark on his back and scratches to his neck, claiming his girlfriend caused the injuries during a previous argument.

Police went to the apartment to speak with Brittany N. Woliver, 20. Officers report a knife was on the kitchen table, but Woliver claimed her boyfriend had tried to attack her with the weapon. When asked how the victim sustained the puncture wounds, scratches and bite marks, Woliver allegedly had no explanation.

Woliver was arrested and charged with domestic aggravated assault. The police report says a small child Woliver had at the apartment was released to the care of a family member.

The victim was treated and released from the hospital.

According to an incident report from Kingsport police, Haile O. Dujon, 29, of 1625 Harris Ave., was taken to the jail for a strip search after acting suspiciously during a traffic stop. Police say that when they initially made contact with Dujon, he smelled strongly of marijuana and alcohol and was carrying $3,485 in cash.

Police say Dujon denied being having any illicit substances. But during the search, a jailer at the justice center allegedly found three baggies of narcotics hidden within his dreadlocks. One baggie is believed to be marijuana, one contained 11 green pills and another contained 11 pills of different colors.

Dujon was charged with possession of schedule IV drugs, possession of schedule IV drugs for resale, possession of schedule I drugs, possession of schedule I drugs for resale and the introduction of narcotics into a penal facility.

The police report added that a check of Dujon's cell phone contained text messages indicating he was involved in the sale and purchase of drugs.

Police were alerted to Dujon and two people he was traveling with after an anonymous call, shortly after 3 a.m. The caller reported they were at the Waffle House on East Stone Drive, and suspicious of a black male, "displaying a large amount of cash."

Officers saw the suspects' vehicle turning into the Shell Station at West Stone Drive and Gibson Mill Road. They stopped the car and during the interview detected the odor of marijuana and alcohol.

The driver of the car, who acknowledged being at the Waffle House, was asked to step from the vehicle and was patted down for weapons. The front passenger, Ashley Nicole Wright, 22, of Abingdon, Va., was also asked to exit the car.

Police say Wright's purse was left open in the seat, and, "in plain sight was two white pills." Wright allegedly said the pills were Temadol, and she did not have a prescription. She was arrested and charged with public intoxication and possession of a legend drug.

Police report that when Dujon was asked to exit the back seat of the vehicle, he was unsteady on his feet and needed assistance to balance. When police asked the last time he smoked marijuana, the report says "he just shook his head no."

Dujon's intoxication -- and possession of nearly $3,500 in cash, sorted into $100 increments -- prompted his transfer to the jail for a strip search.

CASPER, Wyo. (AP) — Authorities say a Wyoming woman was assaulted at her front door, raped at knifepoint in her living room and left bound on the floor, and they say one of the men charged in the brutal attack claimed that he thought it was invited.

Two men are accused in the crime. One is charged with carrying out the rape. The other, the woman's ex-boyfriend, stands accused of posing as the victim online and claiming she harbored a rape fantasy and wanted to be assaulted.

The case in the central Wyoming city of Casper, population 54,000, illustrates that middle America isn't immune to the dangers of Internet anonymity and predators who target victims through online ads that hint at sex and prostitution.

Prosecutor Mike Blonigen, the Natrona County district attorney, declined to comment on the specifics of the ongoing rape case. But he said Internet cases generally pose a challenge to law enforcement.

"Tracking down who's involved is relatively difficult," Blonigen said. "It's pretty easy to set up a false identity in cyberspace, so that's always an issue. And of course, they have to make some overt act to actually accomplish any of these things. We're not the thought police."

In the Casper case, Blonigen's office has charged Ty Oliver McDowell, 26, of Bar Nunn, a Casper suburb, with three counts of first-degree sexual assault, one count of kidnapping and one count of aggravated burglary. Jebidiah James Stipe, 27, a Marine based in Twentynine Palms, Calif., is charged with conspiracy to commit first-degree sexual assault.

Lawyers representing McDowell and Stipe declined comment.

A few days before the Casper woman was raped, she had complained to the Natrona County Sheriff's Department that someone had made a false Craigslist posting about her, including photographs and personal information. The ad read, "Need a real aggressive man with no concern for women," authorities said.

Craigslist took the advertisement down when the woman complained. Yet prosecutors say it was posted long enough to catch the attention of McDowell, a medical technologist.

According to a statement filed in court by Natrona County Sheriff's Deputy Todd Sexton, McDowell waived his right to remain silent and talked to deputies investigating the case.

"McDowell admitted to going to the victim's residence ... and having sexual contact with (the woman) to fulfill a 'rape fantasy' for her," Sexton wrote.

McDowell told investigators that he had corresponded with a person he thought was the woman at an e-mail address featured on the advertisement, Sexton wrote.

However, prosecutors charge that McDowell was actually communicating by e-mail with Stipe, the woman's former boyfriend. They say Stipe posted the ad to set the woman up for the attack without her knowledge.

The San Bernardino County (Calif.) Sheriff's Department on Dec. 16 arrested Stipe, a private first-class in the U.S. Marine Corps then stationed at Twentynine Palms. A spokeswoman for the Marine Corps said Stipe enlisted in July 2001 and, "was being processed for administrative separation as a result of a pattern of misconduct at the time of his arrest."

The Casper case is one of several sex crimes to grab headlines recently in which the Internet linked perpetrators and victims. Law enforcement officials around the country also have in the past accused Craigslist of promoting prostitution.

Scrutiny of Craigslist increased significantly when prosecutors in Boston last year charged that former medical student Philip Markoff used Craigslist to arrange a meeting with masseuse Julissa Brisman. He's accused of shooting her to death last April and of attacking other women he met through the site.

In 2008, Craigslist agreed to tighten its adult services advertisements as part of an agreement with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and with the attorneys general for 43 states and territories, including Wyoming.

Under the agreement, Craigslist started requiring a working telephone number and charging a small credit card fee for each such ad.

"Requiring credit card verification and charging a fee to post in this category raises accountability to a point where we expect few illicit ads will remain," Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster said in November 2008 in a joint statement with the state prosecutors and the children's center.

Craigslist didn't respond to an e-mail sent to their San Francisco headquarters seeking comment on the Wyoming rape case, although a company phone message requests that press inquiries be made by e-mail.

Blonigen, the Casper prosecutor, said Craigslist was cooperative with Wyoming investigators.

"I would prefer that they maybe not run these ads," Blonigen said. "You know somebody's going to do it even if they don't."

Wyoming State Sen. Tony Ross, R-Cheyenne, is a criminal defense attorney and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the state Legislature. He said the committee may have to consider whether state law is up to the challenge of dealing with sexual predators who prowl the Internet.

"The world is changing so rapidly here, particularly with regard to Internet, cyber crimes, and things like that, that we're going to see a whole new evolution of law, it seems to me," Ross said.

Officials with the state Department of Children's Services addressed members of the Select Committee on Children and Youth.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Justice ranked Woodland Hills in Nashville 13th in the country among juvenile facilities where there had been reports of sexual abuse by staffers.

Deputy Commissioner of Juvenile Justice Steve Hornsby said the agency takes the report seriously and has taken steps to ensure its children are safe, such as installing cameras in all living units in the last six months.

"We do take this very seriously and see it as a learning opportunity," Hornsby said of the report, which interviewed children anonymously.

Rep. Sherry Jones, who chairs the committee, agreed.

"Anytime there's an allegation of abuse from a child, we have to take that seriously," said the Nashville Democrat.

Children's officials explained to lawmakers that the facility has grievance boxes for youth to lodge their complaints and those that can be substantiated - such as cases of sexual abuse - are thoroughly investigated, including possible involvement of law enforcement.

However, lawmakers said some youth might be intimidated with lodging in-house complaints and suggested the agency get an entity or someone outside the state system for them to talk to, such as a forensic interviewer.

"If children have someone invading their space, then they should feel comfortable talking to someone," said Sen. Thelma Harper, D-Nashville.

The votes in both chambers - 65-31 in the House and 24-7 in the Senate - easily met the majority threshold needed to turn back the veto.

The measure sponsored by Republican Rep. Susan Lynn of Mt. Juliet only allows local elected officials - and not the health boards they appoint - to establish requirements to list calorie counts on menus.

When local health boards make decisions on menu labeling "the voters have no recourse and elected boards should be making these decisions," Lynn said.

The bill was introduced in response to a decision in Nashville last year to require menu labeling at chain restaurants.

Republican Rep. Curry Todd of Collierville said he supported the override because calorie count requirements would increase costs for diners as "you would have 40-page menus."

The Democratic governor vetoed the bill in July, citing Tennessee's obesity rate that ranks among the highest in the nation. Bredesen's office said it had no new comment beyond what it offered when on the Senate vote last month.

"Anything that stalls progress toward getting healthier is something the governor opposes, which is why he vetoed the bill," spokeswoman Lydia Lenker said at the time.

Lynn said the restrictions will help prevent local health boards from creating a series of varying requirements on menu labeling. Calorie count requirements also limit restauranteur's flexibility if they want to make last-minute menu changes.

"And in some areas of our nation this is becoming a cause of action to sue, because the calorie counts were incorrect on the menu," Lynn said.

All but two of the votes to sustain Bredesen's veto came from Democrats. The GOP voters against overriding the veto included House Speaker Kent Williams, an Elizabethton restaurateur.

Lynn said there's better ways to be healthy than imposing menu label requirements.

"Eating nutritionally is quite different than calorie counts," she said.

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Read SB1092 at: http://www.capitol.tn.gov

KINGSPORT — If you’ve driven the roads and highways of the Model City recently, chances are you’ve hit a pothole. Probably several. And the number of potholes appears to be rising.

Kingsport Public Works Department crews began filling potholes last Saturday and were hitting the streets hard on Monday to fill some of the worst potholes along Stone Drive and Riverport Road.

Ronnie Hammonds, streets and sanitation manager for the city, said the crews would be working all week on filling potholes, moving on to Netherland Inn Road, Eastman Road and Orebank Road later in the week.

“The top layer of asphalt is popping off where the water got down in the cracks, froze and expanded, which busted the asphalt up. Some the patch is still there, but the asphalt around the patch is broken up,” Hammonds said. “The rain last week really brought out a bunch of them. There were a couple of roads that looked like you took a shovel and ripped up the asphalt.”

Three city crews are on the job this week, using two methods to patch the potholes — a hot asphalt mix and the city’s new pressurized patching machine, which can fill an almost crater-sized pothole with liquefied asphalt. To help locate the less-than-obvious potholes, city garbage crews have been pinpointing potholes along their routes.

The work being done is consider annual, routine maintenance, with the funds coming out of the city’s annual appropriation for pothole patching — $70,000.

Ryan McReynolds, public works director for the city, said the reason why the potholes have been worse this year is because of the weather. Crews need a day of clear weather to patch a pothole, and if the temperature is below 35 degrees, the asphalt plants will not open.

“You do get a rash of potholes after a snowstorm and heavy rain. The fact is we’ve just not been able to get to them since these snowstorms other than just a few windows of opportunity. But we’re trying to tackle them hot and heavy this week,” said McReynolds. “We always fill potholes, but we’ve not had that many opportunities to fill them.”

Some of the worst areas in town include Stone Drive from Fairview to Jackson Elementary School, Eastman Road and Interstate 81. Hammonds said the city gave a “pretty heavy effort” in December to fill potholes and has patched Eastman Road three times in recent months, but when one pothole is patched, another one “creeps up” beside it.

“We’ll keep at it till we’re done or until the weather gets worse,” Hammonds said.

Mayor Dennis Phillips sent an e-mail to city officials on Sunday expressing concern over the potholes, asking if the city needs to tap reserve funds and outside contractors to get the work done.

“My concern is that we will not be able to get all these repaired in a reasonable time,” Phillips wrote.

McReynolds said neither reserve funds nor contracting the work out needs to be done at this time.

“Right now we’ve got three crews out. The question is how fast do you want it taken care of?” McReynolds said. “We feel like we can go through this week and see how far ahead we can get on them.”

In addition to annual pothole repair funds, Kingsport plans to spend all of its transportation stimulus funds — $2.16 million — on street resurfacing, which should clear up a number of streets plagued with potholes.

Sections of streets aimed for repaving include Center Street (Fort Henry Drive to Memorial Boulevard), Eastman Road, Orebank Road (Memorial Boulevard to Cleek Road), Clinchfield Street (Stone Drive to Center Street) and Bloomingdale Road (Stone Drive to the city limits).

Hammonds said some preliminary work on Center Street should begin next week, with the repaving work on all of the sections beginning in March.

KINGSPORT — Kingsport police captured a man Monday who allegedly escaped from a South Carolina prison last week with the help of three friends, then beat one of them “beyond recognition” in Marion, Va., because he thought the man had called the police.

Chuckey J. Elmore Jr., 27, allegedly escaped from Catawba Pre-Release Center in Rock Hill, S.C., last Wednesday. He had been sent there following a grand larceny conviction.

According to Marion Police Department Officer April Morgan, Elmore was wanted for the attempted murder of Michael Collins, one of three friends who allegedly aided his prison break.

The alleged attack occurred while the four of them were staying at a Marion business called Virginia House Inn on Friday.

A 911 call led to the discovery of Collins at the inn. He had been beaten “beyond recognition,” bitten, kicked and more, Morgan said. The attack was allegedly prompted by Elmore’s belief that Collins had called the cops on him because he thought he saw an unmarked police car outside. It was a taxi, Morgan said.

Elmore, his girlfriend Tina Diane Mackey, 30, and Collins’ girlfriend Melissa Dawn White, 32, then left Collins for dead, Morgan said, adding it’s possible Collins’ girlfriend was being held against her will, but that has not been confirmed.

Kingsport Police Department Lt. Jerry Robinson said they received word from South Carolina police that Elmore and the two women might be found at the West Side Inn on Stone Drive. Police went to the motel and spotted Elmore and Mackey leaving in a Mercury Sable.

Police attempted to stop the car, chasing it from Stone Drive onto John B. Dennis Highway. The chase ended when the car crashed at Lincoln Street.

Elmore and Mackey were taken to Holston Valley Medical Center for treatment of injuries that police did not consider life threatening. White was found walking on Stone Drive a short time after the crash. She was booked into jail on a fugitive charge.

Elmore and Mackey will be booked on identical charges upon their release from the hospital, Robinson said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.

The Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control as the wreck was being cleaned up.

WISE — First-term member of the Wise County School Board Rocky Cantrell pushed for the elimination of all coaching stipends on Monday as a way to help deal with a projected $4.5 million budget deficit for next fiscal year.

Cantrell said the move would save over $373,000 for 2010-11 and insisted the item be placed on the board’s next action agenda.

Cantrell, of Pound, was elected in November. He said all coaching positions — including activities like drama, forensics, cheerleading and PACE competitions along with athletics — should be done on a voluntary basis “until we get this shortfall straightened out.”

Coaching stipends are not included in a budget-cutting plan now before the board that would eliminate at least 47 teaching positions, most if not all to be absorbed by retirements at the end of the current school year, among a host of other cuts and staff reductions.

School Superintendent Jeff Perry said his administration had no problem putting any item on an action agenda requested by any board member, but advised communities may have a problem with all coaching stipends being put on the chopping block with little time to reflect and respond. Perry said athletic and other extracurricular pursuits have instructional value, too.

Board Vice Chairman Mike Mullins said Cantrell’s recommendation was unreasonable.

“I apologize to the coaches of Wise County for even having this discussion,” Mullins said.

He said Cantrell’s recommendation was in “poor taste for this community and this board.”

“It’s not like we’re taking bread off their table,” Cantrell responded.

Another testy item related to budget cuts involved the director of elementary education position at the Central Office. Last month Big Stone Gap’s Betty Cornett and Appalachia’s Mark Hutchinson brought up potential elimination of that position as an added budget-cutting measure, yet both expressed surprise the Wise County Principals Association brought the matter up on Monday.

J.W. Adams Combined School Principal George Barton defended the K-8 director’s position on Monday. Cornett and Hutchinson grilled Barton why the WCPA wanted to discuss something not presently included in the budget-cutting proposal.

“There are 46 line items of cuts being entertained by this board,” Hutchinson said. “It disturbs me that (the WCPA) wants to address us about a proposal that’s not even made this list.”

“In the Central Office the sky seems to be the limit, and I can’t understand it,” Cornett said. “To say that you have to have a director of elementary education for the principals to have success, well, I’m sorry.”

Barton said while he respected Cornett’s opinion, he asked her to respect the WCPA’s opinion, too.

Perry said the board provided the WCPA with an opportunity to address the board at every meeting, just as it does the Wise County Education Association, and while the board or individual members needn’t agree with a WCPA opinion, the board has an obligation to heed Barton’s request for respect for that opinion.

In high school consolidation matters, Perry said he asked the Norton School Board earlier Monday if the city school division may still be interested in joining the county’s consolidation effort. Perry said his impression was city school officials were open to “furthering the conversation” but not committed to a merger of the two school divisions at this point.

ROGERSVILLE — Between his beating and robbery of a pizza delivery man last January, and his beating of a Hawkins County jailer and escape last February, Bradley Alan Bond has accumulated 24 years of prison time.

Bond will be eligible for parole after serving 30 percent of the sentence.

But Circuit Judge John Dugger said during Bond’s guilty plea hearing on Friday that due to the the violent nature of his crimes, it’s “very unlikely” that Bond will be released when he is eligible.

Bond, 24, formerly of Hampton, had previously been sentenced to eight years in prison related to the Jan. 25, 2009, beating and robbery of a Papa John’s pizza delivery man who was bringing an order to a Mount Carmel residence.

Bond clubbed the delivery man with a piece of firewood and fled the scene with $37 worth of pizza, hot wings and cheese bread, but no cash.

On Friday, he pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree murder and felony escape and was sentenced to another 16 years — 15 years for the attempted murder consecutive to one year for the escape.

During the escape, Bond and fellow inmate Travis Wayne Gunter, 27, each pried metal rods off the ceiling of the old Hawkins County Jail. One of them then faked illness, and when the jailer opened their cell they each beat a jailer with their metal rod.

Bond didn’t make it a block away from the jail before he was recaptured.

Gunter stole a pickup from a nearby residence and was arrested days later in Greeneville. Gunter, who allegedly committed several robberies following his escape, is still awaiting trial in Greeneville federal court.

Assistant Attorney General Doug Godbee said Monday that after federal court is finished with Gunter, he will be transferred back to Hawkins County to be prosecuted there as well.

Among the other guilty pleas heard Friday before Dugger were:

•Lora Lee Trent, 29, 343 Poor Valley Road, Rogersville, who was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $4,150 for possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, promotion of manufacturing meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.

•Johnny Summers Cavin, 33, 5843 Stardust Road, Kingsport, who was sentenced to four years in prison and fined $6,000 for two counts of delivery of cocaine under a half gram and delivery of a counterfeit substance.

•Joseph D. White, 21, of Morristown, who was sentenced to three years in prison, fined $500, and ordered to pay $7,712.50 in restitution for aggravated burglary and theft over $10,000.

There were also several guilty pleas Thursday, including:

•Robert L. Fann, 26, of White Pine, who was sentenced to three years in prison, fined $500, and ordered to pay $7,712.50 in restitution for aggravated burglary and theft over $10,000.

•Jeremy Mikel Webb, 27, 221 Silver Lake Road, Church Hill, who was sentenced to two years and one day in prison, fined $1,300, and ordered to pay a yet to be determined amount of restitution for 16 counts of burglary, one count of auto burglary, six counts of theft under $500, two counts of theft over $500, and five counts of theft over $1,000.

•Amanda Marie Linkous, 29, 432 Amos Chapel Road, Surgoinsville, who was sentenced to three years, 11 months and 29 days in prison, fined $635, and ordered to pay a yet to be determined amount of total restitution for two counts of forgery over $10,000, theft over $1,000, DUI, failure to show proof of insurance, and improper lane usage.

•Bruce Harold Boatman, 28, 189 Little Boy Circle, Bean Station, who was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $4,000 for possession oxycodone with intent to deliver and possession of morphine with intent to deliver.

BLOUNTVILLE — Old Man Winter is making it increasingly likely some area students will spend Presidents Day in class instead of at home.

Sullivan County students may not get Feb. 15 as a holiday if the wintry weather persists. If so, they would join Kingsport students, who have already lost that long weekend.

The Sullivan County Board of Education at a meeting last week voted 7-0 for schools to be in session Feb. 15 if the system missed any more days for weather between now and then.

The vote came at the behest of Director of Schools Jack Barnes and Lib Sells, supervisor of student services.

The problem is that the school system has already used all eight of the days it has set aside for snow through its extended school day system, which allows time from days that are 30 minutes longer than the standard school day to count toward “banked” days.

The other five days are designated for professional development, including April 26 and May 10, which could be canceled and become regular days.

Spring break is set for April 5-9.

Sells said she would feel much better having three days for snow since the region seems to be a magnet for snow.

“We’re in the middle of the worst winter we’ve had in 14 years, I believe,” Sells said.

Kingsport does not have an extended school day, so the Feb. 15 holiday was canceled to make up for its one missed snow day so far.

The Kingsport BOE has discussed asking the General Assembly to change the law to allow the school day to be extended by 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes, giving them about seven “bankable” days instead of 13.

Historically, the city system doesn’t miss as many days for snow, and Kingsport BOE members said most of the days would be designated for professional development.

If necessary, Sells said the county school calendar can add seven days to the end of the school year. The tentative last day of school is May 24.

In Hawkins County, Director of Schools Charlotte Britton said the BOE has not addressed the issue of makeup days yet but would at its Thursday meeting, since the system has used up all 10 of its designated snow days.

“We are out of designated snow days,” Britton said.

An 11th day, set for teacher in-service, could be used, but two other teacher in-service days already have been used.

Britton said Presidents Day is not among designated snow makeup days, but the board could choose to use it.

She said other options are adding days to the school year in May and extending the school day by another 30 minutes to make up for the lost time.

SURGOINSVILLE — One day shy of 14 months after he was charged with the theft of more than $65,000 from the Surgoinsville Water Utility, longtime board member Hanes Cooper unexpectedly resigned Monday from the utility’s three-man board of directors.

Cooper, 77, said nothing about his resignation during Monday’s board meeting but at the end presented board Chairman Lynn Norris with a letter citing health reasons and “unforeseen circumstances” as his reasons for stepping down.

Cooper declined a request by the Times-News to comment further on his resignation following the meeting.

He had been scheduled to stand trial on Feb. 22 with his daughter, Robin Hoffman, on charges related to alleged theft from the water utility.

State comptroller prosecutor Chad Jackson told the Times-News Monday that trial date has been pushed back to April 30 in Hawkins County Circuit Court at the request of Judge John Dugger due to the court docket for this month being unusually busy.

Cooper, 306 Church St., Surgoinsville, was charged Dec. 9, 2008, with money laundering, theft over $10,000, forgery over $10,000, conspiracy to commit forgery over $10,000, conspiracy to commit theft over $10,000, and two counts of official misconduct.

Hoffman, 44, same address, is a former part-time employee of the water utility and was charged with money laundering, theft over $10,000, forgery over $10,000, conspiracy to commit forgery over $10,000, conspiracy to commit theft over $10,000, and official misconduct.

Norris read Cooper’s resignation letter at the end of Monday’s meeting, after which Cooper said he had property in the water utility office including a couch, which he donated; a filing cabinet, which he wanted; and two desks, which he offered to sell to the SWU for $150 each.

After voting to accept Cooper’s resignation, the board also voted to accept his offer to sell the desks for $300.

He then turned over his keys to office manager Rita Dykes.

In the resignation letter, Cooper stated that if he could be of any further assistance to the utility board they could contact him.

“I’ve been around here 54 years...” Cooper said after his resignation had been accepted. “We started out with 40 meters, and half of them weren’t hooked up. They just done that to sell a bond.”

Norris and board member Don Thurman both said after the meeting they were surprised by Cooper’s resignation. Both have declined to comment regarding the pending charges against Cooper or Hoffman, but they did say after the meeting that Cooper will be hard to replace.

Cooper has worked for the utility district since it was founded, and Norris said his knowledge of the water system is extensive.

Norris told Cooper during Monday’s meeting he might take him up on the offer to advise the board in the future.

“I don’t mind a bit,” Cooper replied. “I want water in the tank. I ain’t gonna leave town. That’s for sure.”

Norris told the Times-News after the meeting that he and Thurman will choose three candidates to replace Cooper by next month’s meeting and submit those names to County Mayor Crockett Lee, who will make the final decision.

Norris said he’s not accepting applications for the position. It’s more of a “don’t call us, we’ll call you” search, he added.

In October 2008, the Tennessee Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury issued a report accusing Cooper and Hoffman of theft and official misconduct. The following December, shortly before being indicted, Cooper was demoted by the SWU board — stripped of the power to oversee the water district’s day-to-day operations.

The board didn’t ask him to resign, however.

The comptroller’s office alleges that between April 1, 1998, and Oct. 31, 2003, Cooper received payments from the SWU “in excess of his lawful compensation” totaling $30,310.

Sometime in late 2003, a customer of the utility district reportedly questioned district personnel regarding Cooper’s compensation. Subsequent to the customer’s inquiries, Cooper allegedly directed that future payments be made to Hoffman.

The comptroller’s office further alleges that between Jan. 1, 2004, and Dec. 31, 2007, Hoffman received payments totaling $35,215.

The comptroller’s office alleges that Cooper and Hoffman combined received a total of $65,525 in excess compensation.

Last month Cooper was involved in an altercation with a family member of an SWU employee outside the SWU main office.

Both charged each other with assault in private prosecutions. In a trial Feb. 1 Cooper was found innocent, and the other man, Miles Hullette, was found guilty.

KINGSPORT — Kingsport City Schools will be accepting zoning and tuition applications for students in grades K-12 now through April 30.

Parents who would like to request their child attend a different city school outside the school zone their student is expected to attend must apply for a zoning exception.

Parents of students who are not legal residents of the city must submit a tuition application to attend a Kingsport public school.

Parents or legal guardians must apply annually for their child’s tuition and zoning status, even if they attended a Kingsport school in 2009-2010.

Applications are available online at the Kingsport City Schools Web site: www.k12k.com. Paper copies will be available at the KCS administrative office at 1701 E. Center St.

The following are excerpts from the Kingsport Board of Education’s policies and procedures for zoning and tuition:

• Parents or legal guardians must apply annually for their child’s tuition and zoning status.

• Students who are not legal residents of the city of Kingsport shall pay tuition charges as approved annually by the Board of Education. Failure to pay tuition will disqualify a student’s application for the next year.

• Tuition students are accepted and zoning exceptions are granted only if current enrollment permits.

• The system does not provide bus transportation to either tuition or zoning-exemption students.

Criteria for zoning exceptions are as follows:

• Documented medical reasons.

• Child care availability.

• An expected move to a different zone.

• Specialized school programs.

• A fifth- or an eighth-grade student with a previous zoning exception.

• A student whose family has moved to a different zone after Nov. 1.

• Documented justifications related to the child’s specific educational experience.

The school system utilizes the following order when placing students:

• Zoning exception reapplications.

• Tuition reapplications for school employees working at the requested school.

• New zoning exception applications.

• Tuition reapplications.

• New tuition applications for school employees working at the requested school,

• New tuition applications for system and city employees.

• New tuition applications for out-of-district residents.

For more information call Tyler Fleming, director of student services, at 378-2155.

BLOUNTVILLE — A judge has appointed a Kingsport double-murder suspect new representation and set a new trial date for later this year.

Leslie Allen Ware Jr., 31, was originally set for trial in Blountville this month on two counts each of premeditated first-degree murder and felony murder, and one count each of especially aggravated robbery and criminal conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery.

The charges stem from the Nov. 18, 2006, robbery and execution-style shooting deaths of Jeffrin Nolan and Terrance Alexander inside the former Solé candle shop on Myrtle Street in Kingsport, owned by Nolan.

According to prosecuting attorney Gene Perrin, the judge has appointed attorneys Don Spurrell and Steve Finney to Ware’s case and set it for trial on Oct. 25.

Ware and Osheene Massey, a co-defendant who has already pleaded guilty to a laundry list of charges, are accused of having the largest role in the crimes that led to the deaths of Nolan and Alexander.

According to several co-defendants, Massey met Nolan in jail and arranged to purchase cocaine from him on a regular basis.

He started up a drug operation in Johnson City, then relocated everyone but his half-brother, Jawaune Massey, to 404 Holly Point, Piney Flats. Jawaune Massey wasn’t allowed to live there because of an alleged cocaine addiction.

According to co-defendant Clyde Green, on the day Nolan and Alexander were shot, Osheene Massey and his co-conspirators had planned to buy some cocaine and then rob them.

Green told prosecutors that Osheene Massey and Ware were discussing the plans about a week before the robbery and agreed “Ebu” (Nolan) should die because he’d been “snitching.”

Ware and Jawaune Massey told the group what they did after leaving the store the day of the shootings, Green alleged. Ware was located and arrested in New York in 2007.

The final suspect accused in the robbery and double-murders, Jawaune Massey, was captured in Maryland last year. His case is set for an announcement on March 12.

KINGSPORT — A Kingsport pizza delivery driver’s pickup hit two parked cars, slid down a mud bank and struck a third parked car before she was arrested on DUI and drug possession charges Friday.

According to a report from the Kingsport Police Department, officers went to 952 Chadwick Drive at 10:03 p.m. to investigate a report of a black Ford Ranger hitting several cars in the parking lot.

Officers talked to the driver, Robin A. Hatcher, 39, 784½ Virgil Ave., Kingsport, and were told she hit the first car when she tried to pull into a parking space the hit the second car when she backed out of the space. Hatcher said the pickup then slid down an embankment and struck the third parked car.

Police said Hatcher had slurred speech and appeared slow in responding to questions during the initial interview. Hatcher told police she’d had two beers about 2 p.m. and taken Excedrin Migraine and another unidentified pill for headaches. Police said she performed poorly on field sobriety tests.

Police said a blue-speckled pill believed to be phentermine, a Schedule IV drug, was found in her possession.

She was then arrested on charges of DUI and possession of Schedule IV drugs.

According to a Kingsport Police incident report, officers were called to investigate reports of someone tossing homemade bombs into the road outside an apartment complex at 3109 Memorial Boulevard about 11:42 p.m.

They found several plastic bottles that had exploded. The people who reported the incident told officers that the suspect was on his way back to Apartment 31. Officers located the man and identified him as Anthony L. McClain, 41, 200 Live Oak Drive.

The report said officers found a straight blade knife in a sling under the suspect's arm and a baggy of six Lortabs and two wads of alumuminum foil his his pants pockets.

Inside the apartment, police found muriatic acid, an empty aluminum foil box and a coke bottle containing paper caps.

McClain was arrested and charged with two counts of unlawful possession of a prohibited weapon and one count of simple possession of schedule IV drugs.

The chance of precipitation Tuesday is 90 percent.

Colder temperatures Tuesday night will cause the precipitation to fall as snow showers - mainly after midnight. The chance of snow is 50 percent.

Wednesday's outlook also calls for snow showers, but no accumulation.

No doubt this is democracy at work, a quintessential part of America.

Will the latest political phenomenon become a society-changing movement influencing elections and beyond?

"We are people who understand something wrong is going on in this country, and we want to change it," says Dan Garner, a married 40-year-old sales representative from Carthage, Tenn., who is new to politics. Like so many others, he has had enough. "The core thing is a loss of individual liberty.

Retirees, stay-at-home moms, small-business owners, corporate executives and everyone in between — many political neophytes who aren't hardcore ideologues — are using the latest technology to come together and vent their frustrations about their country and plot to install a new group in charge of the government.

They formed a loose network of grass-roots groups to speak out against President Barack Obama and the Democratic-controlled Congress. They held their first National Tea Party Convention in Nashville over the weekend. And they're already having some impact on American politics.

The big unknown is whether their power is truly transformative.

What's more certain is, well, the uncertainty.

No one is quite sure what to make of this leaderless collection of people, born not even a year ago in communities from coast to coast.

But everyone seems to want a piece of it.

Republicans are trying to co-opt it. Democrats are
trying to marginalize it.
And people with personal aspirations — whether financial or political — are trying to take advantage of it.

"America is ready for another revolution, and you are a part of this," Sarah Palin, the 2008 GOP vice presidential nominee, told convention attendees Saturday. "You all have the courage to stand up and speak out."

Many Tea Party disciples view the former Alaska governor — also an author, a Fox News analyst and a potential 2012 presidential candidate — as their de facto leader. But she repeatedly dismissed that notion, saying: "The Tea Party movement is not a top-down operation. It's a ground-up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way they're doing business, and that's beautiful."

Nicola Hickman told The Daily Herald of Columbia that her son, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Clayton Hickman, died when a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter went down on Wednesday in a thick patch of woods near the A67 highway.

She did not know if her son was piloting the helicopter when it crashed.

She said after growing up in Tennessee, her son joined the Marines in 1996 and then joined the Army to become a helicopter pilot. He had been stationed in Stuttgart, Germany, since August.

The Army has not yet released the names of the soldiers who were killed.

___

Information from: The Daily Herald, http://www.columbiadailyherald.com

The SBC also appealed to President Barack Obama on Friday to ensure the detainees get medical treatment and spiritual counseling while they are jailed.

The Christians, most of them Southern Baptists, weren't acting under the auspices of the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention when they were arrested Jan. 29 while trying to take 33 children out of Haiti. Even so, Vice President of Convention Relations Roger Oldham said, "Clearly there is a concern that, because of the acts of this one team, our tremendous history of relief over the years would be tainted in some people's minds."

The Southern Baptists' disaster relief ministry is the third-largest relief organization in North America, according to the convention. Oldham said Friday that more than 90,000 trained disaster relief volunteers are ready to assist Haiti with earthquake recovery as soon as they are invited in by the Haitian government.

"We do not know all of the facts of this case, but we are concerned that the continued detainment and possible conviction of these Baptist mission volunteers will distract the world's attention and undermine the relief efforts so desperately needed by the Haitian people," the letter to Obama says.

A copy of the letter signed by SBC President Dr. Johnny Hunt, former President Dr. Frank Page and Executive Committee President and CEO Dr. Morris Chapman was released Friday.

The 10 Baptists from Idaho, Kansas and Texas were charged Thursday with kidnapping and remain jailed pending trial. Their attorney, Edwin Coq, has said the group's leader, Laura Silsby, knew she couldn't take the children into the Dominican Republic without proper paperwork, but he has characterized the other nine volunteers as "naive."

A statement from the detainees' family members released late Thursday said, "We are absolutely convinced that those who were recruited to join this mission traveled to Haiti to help, not hurt, these children."

The Baptist group had said they were rescuing abandoned children and orphans, but at least two-thirds of the children involved in the case have parents. However, several of the parents told The Associated Press they gave their children up willingly because the group promised the children a better life.

Oldham said individual Southern Baptists are working to minister to the jailed volunteers and advocate for them. The letter to Obama also asks for the president's help in providing medical and spiritual care.

NASHVILLE — Gov. Phil Bredesen’s proposed cuts to the state’s expanded Medicaid program would cost state hospitals hundreds of millions of dollars and may force some of them to shut down, health care officials say.

The Democratic governor has said he needs to slash $201 million from TennCare to balance a $28.41 billion state budget. The TennCare reduction is part of $394 million in cuts to recurring spending plans.

Tennessee Hospital Association president Craig Becker estimates the loss to hospitals statewide will be about $540 million.

“There’ll be hospitals that will close over this,” he said. “We’ll lose some of our safety nets if these cuts are allowed to go through.”

One main change is a $10,000 annual cap on inpatient care for adults, which state officials say will save $51 million.

But House Minority Leader Gary Odom, a frequent critic of the administration on health care issues, agrees that “a number of hospitals ... will just not be able to survive.” The Nashville Democrat has asked state officials to provide him with an analysis of how they arrived at the cap and the percentage of admissions that would be covered under it.

“We’re talking about the health care infrastructure of our state,” Odom said. “That’s why I want the administration to give a detailed explanation of what they think is going to happen if this is put in place.”

TennCare spokeswoman Kelly Gunderson estimates about 5,600 enrollees may exceed the $10,000 cap annually, which she said represents less than 1 percent of TennCare’s 1.2 million enrollees.

Gunderson said the cuts are among “difficult decisions in order to live within our means” and that other states are experiencing similar budget difficulties because of the poor economy.

“Based on pre-recession data, 17 states have inpatient hospital limits ... and will likely have to make changes to their Medicaid programs as well,” she said. “This may increase the total number of states that have these types of limits and may in fact impose stricter limits for those with them already in place.”

Nevertheless, Jason E. Boyd, interim CEO of Nashville General Hospital at Meharry, said the proposed cuts would result in a $10.5 million deficit at the hospital.

“Nashville General cannot absorb a $10.5 million cut, but is hopeful the state working in concert with the hospital advocacy groups can find a solution to fund hospitals that provide a high portion of TennCare, charity and unfunded care to the citizens of Tennessee,” Boyd said.

Becker said the administration should use more of the state’s cash reserves to soften the cuts. Between the rainy day fund and TennCare reserves, there’s currently about $900 million available, and Bredesen has said he plans to dip into that to spare some state jobs and key services.

Becker and other health care officials believe there’s nothing more key than providing the best service for TennCare’s enrollees.

“It just doesn’t quite seem fair to us that they wouldn’t use those (reserves) to keep us afloat,” he said. “That’s what they’re there for, they’re rainy day funds, and it’s definitely a rainy day.”

Meanwhile, the Tennessee Hospital Association is considering several revenue options, including a so-called “enhanced coverage fee” that would help the state get federal dollars to mitigate the cuts.

House Speaker Kent Williams said he could see giving the hospitals enough reserve money to float them until they receive the federal funding.

“I think we need to concentrate on finding a long-term solution,” the Elizabethton Republican said.

In 2005, Bredesen cut 170,000 people from TennCare to save the state money. He has said the latest TennCare changes will apply more to institutions than those enrolled in the program.

Tennessee Health Care Campaign director Tony Garr disagrees.

“When those kinds of cuts come down, the patient ultimately is hurt, as well,” said Garr, adding that the state should consider new forms of revenue in addition to dipping into reserves, like closing “corporate loopholes.”