KINGSPORT — Former Kingsport Board of Education member and retired teacher Verna Ruth Abbott has died.

Abbott, 83, died Wednesday evening at Wexford House.

She would have turned 84 on Saturday. She was born July 4, 1925, in Shawnee, Okla., but had lived in Kingsport since 1950. She served eight years on the BOE, including four as vice president, and taught for 27 years at Dobyns-Bennett High School.

“Being on the board and teaching for 27 years — outside of my family — has been the joy of my life and the pride of my profession,” Abbott said at a June 7, 2001, reception to honor her and another outgoing BOE member.

Abbott taught at D-B from 1966, the year she graduated with a teaching degree from East Tennessee State University, to 1993. She was elected to the BOE in 1993 and left when she did not seek re-election in 2001.

“She really believed in public education, and she really believed in Kingsport City Schools,” said just-retired Kingsport BOE member Pat Turner, who was elected in 2001.

Abbott was named Outstanding Teacher of the Year by the Long Island Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution for 1986-87, named Outstanding School Board Member by the Tennessee Congress of Parents and Teachers in 1996-97, and recognized in Who’s Who in American Women in 2000.

BOE President Susan Lodal said Abbott was a mentor to her. Lodal said when she was a PTA president and before she was on the BOE, she accompanied Abbott to Memphis to accept the parents and teachers award.

“She was a mentor to me as a member of the school board and a good friend,” Lodal said.

The BOE had a moment of silence at its meeting Thursday night for Abbott and D-B social studies teacher Jerry Adams, who recently died.

Abbott taught BOE member Wally Boyd in television speech while he was at D-B, and he went on to work in radio during college.

Abbott’s first assignment at D-B was to start that radio and television program. She developed the first television/speech program in the state of Tennessee. She taught radio and television for 10 years, until the course became a vocational class, and then taught history and government.

Her first job, at 18, was as a disc jockey in Oklahoma. She was a pioneer woman broadcaster at KGFF in Shawnee during World War II and a radio broadcaster in education at the University of Oklahoma.

“I had a women’s show. I played records, did the news. I learned about communicating and writing, and I haven’t stopped talking since,” she said in 2001.

Abbott served as co-president of the Kingsport Retired Teachers Association, was Domestic Exchange Sponsor at D-B, and was president of the Kingsport Education Association.

During her time on the BOE she served on the Safety Advisory Committee and said she considered the board’s greatest accomplishments during her tenure the renovations and the school system being able to keep its fund balance.

“The D-B renovation has been very close to my heart,” she said.

The family will receive friends from 4 to 7 p.m. Sunday at Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. Monday at First Baptist Church.

Memorials may be given to the Scholarship Fund of the Kingsport Retired Teachers Association, Wellmont Holston Valley Medical Center Foundation or the Dobyns-Bennett Alumni Foundation.

WISE — Virginia Association of Counties (VACo) President Donald Hart was a little late to Thursday’s Wise County Board of Supervisors workshop session. But after a nearly 10-hour road trip from Accomack County — Virginia’s easternmost point across the Chesapeake Bay — his presence was well-received.

“I want you to know one thing right off the bat,” said a nearly breathless Hart as he addressed the board, as if he ran part of the many miles across Virginia. “It’s an honor to be standing in Wise County. I believe that it’s very, very important for me to be here.”

Hart has set a personal goal of visiting all 95 counties in Virginia to reinforce the importance of an organization that lobbies on behalf of counties before the Virginia General Assembly. Hart is also a 29-year member of the Accomack County Board of Supervisors.

“I want you to know that Wise County is very, very important to the state of Virginia and very, very important to VACo,” he said. “I wanted you to hear it from me because that is a true, true statement.”

With another rugged budget year poised for the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly, Hart said it is important for the 95 counties to “stand together,” particularly rural counties, because “in years past they try to divide us. Rural (versus urban) and east against west. One of my goals this year is to be very accessible to every county in this state because when I became VACo president, I learned some counties have never seen their VACo president.”

Hart promised renewed efforts to fight unfunded mandates in Richmond, and also reserved special praise for Wise Supervisor Robert Adkins. Hart said Adkins, who serves on the VACo board, is a man who “keeps his word, who wraps himself in the Wise County flag and fights for this county. He stands up for this county.”

“It took a long time for you to get here,” said Big Stone Gap Supervisor Virginia Meador, “but it was worth it.”

Adkins reluctantly abandoned the mutual admiration by addressing critics in St. Paul over high school consolidation. He took to task a St. Paul newspaper editorial and other individuals who he said unfairly accused him of inviting St. Paul residents to send their children to Castlewood High School in Russell County if they couldn’t get with the consolidation program.

Adkins said the accusations aren’t true and felt a charter school would be a good move for St. Paul “if they could afford it.”

Adkins said he delivered his response to St. Paul critics because “a lot of people on this end of the county felt it needed to be said.”

Next week’s action agenda will be light, with items such as a request for proposals for a food bank distribution organization and approval of a contract for Wise County Health Department heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades.

In a recessed session preceding the workshop meeting, supervisors also granted approval for Wise engineering and architectural firm Thompson & Litton to proceed with the permitting process for the county’s plans to expand the county landfill by another cell. The county hopes to have the new area operational by the end of next year.

KINGSPORT — Students living in areas of Rock Springs the city plans to annex by Jan. 1 will receive free tuition this fall, but only if they attend John Adams Elementary School, Robinson Middle School or Dobyns-Bennett High School.

In addition, the Kingsport Board of Education Thursday night decided those tuition waiver students — along with tuition students living in other Rock Springs areas to be annexed between Jan. 1 and July 2011 — will receive free bus transportation to one of those three schools — if Superintendent Richard Kitzmiller deems it feasible.

Normally, tuition and out-of-zone students do not receive transportation.

The board voted 4-0 with one abstaining on both proposals.

A third motion, also by BOE member Randy Montgomery, would have guaranteed placement in one of the three schools for tuition students in the 2011 group but failed 0-4 with one abstaining.

“I’m not against it. I’m not for it. I don’t know where it leads,” BOE Vice President Wally Boyd said.

The BOE addressed the tuition issue after the Board of Mayor and Aldermen in June approved a resolution saying it would not oppose waiving tuition for any students to be annexed in the Adams area by July 2011.

Montgomery and Boyd said they had problems giving a two-year tuition waiver to an area the city has not formally annexed or started proceedings to annex, although city leaders at the June 16 meeting said they intend to annex the entire area of almost 1.5 square miles by July 2011.

“We’ve seen through the years a lot of intent to annex,” said Montgomery of annexations that did not come to fruition or were delayed by lawsuits.

City Manager John Campbell has suggested the waiver as a way to increase the population at Adams — a school designed for about 500 but with an expected population of between 200 and 240 this fall — as well as a way to make it easier for families to keep their children in the same school system K-12. All lawsuits challenging the Rock Springs annexations to date were dismissed.

Sullivan County residents outside Kingsport must pay $1,200 annual tuition for a student to attend city schools; $6,700 in Sullivan County and Tennessee funding follows the student.

Tyler Fleming, director of student services, said there are about 38 elementary students, 18 middle school students and 29 high school students among a population of 550 people in an area to be annexed from July 11 of this year through Jan. 1, 2010.

That includes most of Hidden Acres, Pepper Tree and Vantage Pointe subdivisions and some other sections.

In the second area, he said about 26 elementary, 12 middle and 20 high school students live among an overall population of 350.

That includes the Stone Creek subdivision and other areas.

In the entire area in question, Fleming said 13 students pay tuition at a Kingsport school outside of what would be their assigned school zone.

Those students would continue paying tuition and getting no city-provided transportation. After annexation, the tuition would end, but they still would not get transportation and would have to apply each year as out-of-zone, in-city students.

Sullivan County’s school choice policy is that students annexed since April 2006 can continue in the county school system, meaning that annexed Rock Springs parents can send their children to the county or city systems.

New board member Cheryl Harvey, wife of county school system’s Rock Springs Elementary School Principal Kim Harvey, abstained from the tuition votes. The other members are President Susan Lodal and newly elected member Carrie Upshaw.

Independence Day, popularly referred to as the Fourth of July, or even just “the Fourth.”

Cookouts. Parades. The flag.

Fireworks!

Injuries!

Terrorized dogs !

Wait ... want to prevent the latter two?

Here are some tips aimed at giving you and your family a safe and sane holiday and your dogs freedom from fear.

State Fire Marshal Leslie A. Newman wants to remind Tennesseans that, while fireworks are a traditional part of Fourth of July celebrations, many people are seriously injured each year by their careless use.

“We would encourage you to enjoy the holiday at a public display presented by trained professionals, where compliance with state-of-the-art fire codes offers a safer way to celebrate our nation’s independence,” Newman said.

Newman said if consumer fireworks are legal where you live and you decide to set them off on your own, be sure to follow these important safety tips:

• Never allow children to handle or ignite fireworks (including sparklers, which can reach temperatures as high as 1,200° F).

• Read and follow all warnings and instructions.

• Be sure other people are out of range before lighting fireworks.

• Only light fireworks on a smooth, flat surface away from homes, dry leaves and flammable materials.

• Never try to re-light fireworks that have not fully functioned.

• Keep a bucket of water and a garden hose nearby in case of a malfunction or fire.

The noisy explosions and flashes of light produced by fireworks can create anxiety for household pets. An animal exhibiting signs of fireworks phobia may cower in a corner or closet, or even jump through a window screen in an attempt to flee the noise and sound.

Tips to keep pets safe include:

• Do not use fireworks around pets. While exposure to lit fireworks can potentially result in severe burns and/or trauma to the face and paws of curious pets, even unused fireworks can pose a danger. Many types contain potentially toxic substances, including potassium nitrate, arsenic and other heavy metals.

• Loud, crowded fireworks displays are no fun for pets, so resist the urge to take them to July 4th festivities. Instead, keep pets safe from the noise in a quiet, sheltered and escape-proof area at home.

• Keep your doors closed. Constant foot traffic in and out of the room where your pets are staying increases the chances that they will escape. Only have one person who is in charge or periodically checking on the pets.

• Properly ID your pets. As a responsible pet owner, your pets should have ID tags and be micro-chipped. This will help recover your pet should they escape.

• Accidents happen. Don’t punish your pet if an accident occurs in the home during this time. The stress and fear produced from loud noises can often cause house trained pets to urinate in the home. Instead, plan ahead. Cover the floor with newspaper and remove any expensive rugs that could be damaged.

ELIZABETHTON — A 63-year-old man was thrown through the sunroof of his vehicle and killed during an accident near the intersection of State Line Road and U.S. Highway 19-E shortly before 10 p.m. Wednesday.

The man was identified as Fred L. Shouse, 115 Independence Lane.

Volunteer firefighter Amos Halava of the Hampton/Valley Forge Volunteer Fire Department was one of the first responders on the scene and checked Shouse but could not find a pulse.

Trooper Brad Proffitt of the Tennessee Highway Patrol said Shouse was driving a Honda southbound on State Line Road and was not wearing his seat belt. He said two Carter County deputies had been in pursuit of Shouse prior to the fatal crash.

Sgt. Kenny Cornett and Deputy Mike Townsend had been patrolling northbound on State Line Road about 9:50 p.m when they noticed an oncoming vehicle cross the center of the road and almost strike them.

The deputies turned around at the Carter County School Bus Garage road and caught up with the vehicle at the back entrance of the Betsy Towne Shopping Center. They said the vehicle then crossed over into the oncoming lane, so the deputies activated their overhead lights, but the vehicle would not pull over. They then sounded their siren, but the vehicle continued traveling at approximately 30 mph.

Cornett said he called for backup, asking any officer with spike strips to set up a roadblock. But he said the nearest available officer with the spike strips was in Roan Mountain.

As the vehicle approached the top of the hill at the intersection of Old State Line Road and State Line Road, he said the vehicle did not make the turn but continued going straight, plunging down a grassy bank, then clipped the end of a guardrail.

Proffitt said the vehicle then overturned three times, ejecting the driver through the sunroof.

Cornett said he ran to the wrecked vehicle, but he could not find the driver in the dark. Deputy Mike Little arrived and joined the search for the driver. Shouse’s body was found a short time later by Townsend and Little. The body was lying in a concrete culvert.

Cornett said the incident was captured by his patrol car’s video camera. Lt. Tom Smith secured the video.

Shouse was the third person to die in a traffic accident in Carter County during the past two weeks.

MOUNT CARMEL — A Surgoinsville man who was already scheduled to begin a jail sentence next week on traffic charges got an early start to his incarceration after allegedly snorting crushed pills and losing consciousness in a police car Thursday morning.

Shortly before 9 a.m Thursday, Mount Carmel Police Department Assistant Chief Mike Campbell responded to a complaint of a man staggering in and out of traffic along Main Street in the downtown area. By the time Campbell arrived on the scene the man, later identified Joe Edward Goodson, 33, 570 Stoney Point Road, Surgoinsville, was “staggering” along Highway 11-W near the Englewood Avenue intersection.

Goodson was carrying a white plastic bag that contained two 2-liter bottles of generic soda. Campbell said Goodson’s speech was slurred and his pupils were dilated, and Campbell suspected that he was on medication.

“When I stopped to ask what he was doing, he said he and a friend had run out of gas, and his friend was driving and was still in the car,” Campbell said. “Sure enough I could see the car, a blue Chevy Cavalier, on the shoulder of the eastbound lane. He’d walked to a nearby filling station to get gas, but they didn’t have a gas can to lend him, so he decided to buy two generic 2-liter drinks and use the bottles to put gas in.

“He was so high, he’d walked nearly all the way back to the car and realized he’d forgotten to pour the soda out and put gas in. He said ‘I’m going to have to walk all the way back up there.’”

Campbell said he agreed to take Goodson to get gas, and he stopped at the MCPD station to get an extra gas can that the department keeps to assist motorists.

Campbell said he left Goodson in the front passenger seat while he retrieved the gas can, and when he returned to the patrol car Goodson was unconscious with a large quantity of white powder around his nose, face and the back of his hand.

“He was out of it, and I couldn’t get him awake and it scared me. So I took him to the Church Hill EMS station, which is right next door and said, ‘Check this guy out,’” Campbell said. “Finally they got him awake. Crushed pill residue was all around his nose. He’d been sitting in my patrol car snorting pills.”

After he was revived Goodson was searched but didn’t have anything illegal in his possession.

Campbell called for Officer Ken Lunsford to check out the driver in the car on Highway 11-W. When Lunsford arrived the driver, Powell Nathaniel Smith, 32, 3745 Highway 11-W, Rogersville, was reportedly unconscious behind the wheel. Police said a search of the car revealed a pill crusher as well as a nearly empty prescription bottle of the pain medication Percocet, which was legitimate and belonged to Goodson.

“Apparently they’d been snorting their pain pills this morning and ran out of gas, and probably didn’t even realize the car was low on gas until it stopped on them,” Campbell said. “After we made the arrests I found a pill bottle in the car belonging to Mr. Goodson that was filled on June 30 for 90 7.5 milligram Percocets, and this morning it had three and a half pills in it. The bottle said take one or two per day, so it’s likely that Mr. Goodson and his friend exceeded the recommended dosage.”

Smith was charged with DUI and driving on revoked. Goodson was charged with public intoxication, but he was ordered held without bond due to his being sentenced to serve a jail sentence by Hawkins County Sessions Judge David Brand on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, Goodson pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident with injury, driving on a revoked license third offense, and failure to yield in connection with a motorcycle accident that occurred on June 24 at the intersection of Highway 11-W and Stoney Point Road.

Goodson was sentenced to 120 days in jail, but Brand allowed him to report to jail on Monday and approved work release. Goodson is listed in court documents as being employed at Aladdin Plastics.

Goodson is scheduled for arraignment on the public intoxication charge on July 13.

KINGSPORT — Fun Fest 2009 kicks off with a host of block parties this holiday weekend, and several of them are open to the public. In addition, many of those are holding food drives to benefit Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee.

This is the perfect time to get ready for Fun Fest, get in the community unity spirit and help those in need. Second Harvest Food Bank of Northeast Tennessee distributes food to agencies throughout the region that feed the hungry on a daily basis.

Today’s block parties that are open to the public are: Stone Drive neighborhood, hosted by First Bank & Trust, 1108 E. Stone Drive, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., food drive; Wellington Place, 5 to 7 p.m., at Wellington Place, 400 Professional Park, food drive; and Fox Run neighborhood, beginning at 6 p.m., at Arrowhead Trail and Fox Lair, food drive.

Saturday’s block parties that are open to the public are: Brian Center, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Brian Center, 377 Clonce St., Weber City; Borden community, hosted by Calvary Baptist Church, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Borden Park, food drive; Sevier Terrace pool, noon to 8 p.m., 917 Fairmont Ave.; Indian Springs community, 2 to 6 p.m., at Indian Springs Christian Church; and Downtown Kingsport neighborhood, hosted by Downtown Kingsport Association, 5 to 10 p.m., Broad Street, food drive.

Sunday’s block parties that are open to the public are: Riverview community, hosted by Clinch Mountain Lodge, 4 to 7 p.m., 1018 Martin Luther King Drive; Oak Grove Baptist Church, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., at the church, food drive; and East Kingsport community, hosted by Kingsport Community Church, Bethel Presbyterian Church, Litz Manor Baptist and other east Kingsport churches, beginning at 6 p.m., at Kingsport Community Church, 2316 Memorial Blvd., food drive.

Other open block parties that will happen later this month are: Kingsport Senior Center, 3 to 9 p.m., July 7, at Kingsport Renaissance Center; Cooks Valley and Indian Springs neighborhoods, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., July 8, hosted by Sunnyside Baptist Church, at 406 Cooks Valley Road; Dogwood Terrace community, 1 to 4 p.m., July 10, 1921 Bowater Drive; Holston Terrace Apartments, beginning at 5 p.m., July 10, 1924 Bowater Drive; Cloud Apartments, noon to 3 p.m., July 17, 1022 Reedy Place; Lee Family Learning, noon to 2 p.m., July 25, 551 Dale St.; and Lee Apartments, noon to 4 p.m., July 25, at Lee Courtyard.

GREENEVILLE — Sullivan County has reached a settlement with a county man who was allegedly beaten into unconsciousness while detained at the Sullivan County Detention Center.

Nathaniel Robinson filed a $1 million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Greeneville in May 2007. The lawsuit named Sullivan County and the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Department as the defendants.

Robinson claimed he was beaten into unconsciousness while detained at the Sullivan County Detention Center in 2006.

According to court documents, both parties entered into settlement negotiations in February and resolved the dispute. Under the terms of the mediation agreement, Sullivan County paid Robinson $150,000 to settle the case without admitting any wrongdoing or liability.

The agreement states Robinson would satisfy all outstanding medical bills and claims related to his injury and provide Sullivan County signed releases from all medical care providers releasing the defendants from those medical bills.

Sullivan County Attorney Dan Street said he had no comment to make on the case.

According to the original lawsuit, Robinson began serving an 18-month sentence in March 2006 on a probation violation and a failure-to-appear charge. In August 2006, Robinson was placed in a cell with 35 to 40 other inmates, with him being one of two African-Americans in the cell.

Robinson claimed the other inmates in the cell were of a “skinhead faction” and that deputies placed him in the cell “to bestow some sort of prison justice” onto him.

The lawsuit stated shortly after being placed in the cell, the other African-American inmate was removed, and one of the Caucasian inmates began spouting racial slurs to Robinson. Other inmates soon joined in on the racial slurs and threats to Robinson, the lawsuit stated.

Robinson said he attempted to alleviate his “ever increasing” fear by telling the other inmates he did not want any trouble. However, the harassment grew stronger, and eventually Robinson said he was struck in the back of the head by one of the inmates and beaten.

“When Robinson came to, he was lying on the floor of the cell, unaware of what had just taken place,” the lawsuit stated.

Sheriff’s deputies removed Robinson from the cell and placed him in a holding cell with another inmate. At that time Robinson said he began feeling dizzy and nauseous, and his head was in excruciating pain.

The lawsuit stated Robinson blacked out and lay on the cell floor for approximately three hours without receiving any medical attention from deputies or medical personnel.

Eventually, Robinson was transported to Indian Path Medical Center, where he woke up six weeks later, unaware of exactly what had taken place. On Aug. 11, 2006, Judge Jerry Beck granted a furlough order for Robinson because he was expected to remain in the hospital for two to six months.

Robinson claimed the sheriff’s department failed to properly train and supervise its law enforcement personnel, deliberately placed him into a harmful and threatening situation, and neglected his injuries following the attack.

Sullivan County and the sheriff’s department have a well-documented history of violating the civil rights of inmates, the lawsuit alleged.

“This history can only be attributed to either a severe lack of training, supervision and understanding of the law or a blatant disregard of the law and the rights of inmates,” the lawsuit stated.

ELIZABETHTON — Two prisoners of the Carter County Jail face new charges after they allegedly tattooed an image of a male organ on the back of another prisoner’s neck.

Sammy Jackson Green, 20, 202 Old Lacy Hollow Road, and Robert Shaun Hicks, 27, 2134 Gap Creek Road, were each charged July 1 with tattooing without a license. In addition to the charges, the cell block in which they resided had its television, telephone and radio privileges revoked for a week.

Jailers discovered the tattoo June 6 when they noticed inmate Johnny Calhoun had a fresh tattoo on the back of his neck. When the jailers asked Calhoun about the tattoo, he told them a couple of his fellow inmates had done the work.

At that point, the jailers ordered Calhoun to gather his possessions and move to a different cell block for his safety. Once he had been settled into a different cell block, the jailers questioned Calhoun again about the tattoo on the back of his neck.

Calhoun said Hicks and Green had placed the tattoo on his neck. Calhoun was then asked if he knew what had been drawn on his neck. He told them he was not aware of what they had drawn.

When he was told the tattoo resembled a male organ, with the name “Lee” below it, he became highly upset and he told the jailers Green and Hicks had forced him to submit to the tattooing. He said he told them if he had to get a tattoo, he wanted them to put “Sheila” on his neck, which was the name of his girlfriend.

Following the interrogation, Calhoun was taken to the medical station to examine the fresh tattoo for signs of infection. He was then cleared to go back to his cell block.

Green and Hicks were both placed in lockdown in a different cell block, while their old cell block lost many of its privileges.

Green and Hicks are scheduled to answer the charges against them Tuesday.

KINGSPORT — The year was 1955. A vaccine for polio was developed, the “Mickey Mouse Club” and “The $64,000 Question” premiered on TV, and General Motors became the first American company to reach $1 billion in profits.

Times have changed, but a tradition begun that year on July 4 by Kingsport American Legion member and former vaudeville comedian Mack Riddle continues.

Saturday marks the 56th Mack Riddle American Legion Fourth of July Parade in Kingsport, a celebration that earned Riddle a permanent place in the parade’s title following his death in 1999.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. in front of the Kingsport Renaissance Center on Center Street and rolls down Fort Henry Drive before ending on Eastman Road.

Riddle had been known as “Mr. Fourth of July” around Kingsport after organizing the annual event, but he was also known as part of a local comedy duo called “Frank and Mack” consisting of Riddle and Dobyns-Bennett High School classmate Frank Taylor.

The two appeared at several local stops around the Tri-Cities during the 1930s and 1940s, according to information posted last week on the Archives of the City of Kingsport blog by city archivist Brianne Wright. The duo’s first publicist and booking agent was another former classmate, the late congressman Jimmy Quillen.

The grand marshal for this year’s edition is former Kingsport auto dealer and 64-year American Legion member Raymond “Wendy” Heck.

Heck, 94, was the owner of a dealership on Center Street during the 1950s that sold International Scout, Rambler and Datsun brand vehicles and later became a restoration expert on late-model Ford Mustangs.

He also worked as a truck driver for the Mason-Dixon Co. and served in the U.S. Navy for five years.

Saturday’s festivities continue downtown during the Downtown Kingsport Association’s fifth annual Fourth of July Celebration, which is also an official Fun Fest Block Party.

Concession vendors will line Broad Street to form a food court for visitors, who can also take in an evening of music on the festival’s Main Stage, which is sponsored by Eastman Chemical Co., Mark Freeman and Associates, and Eastman Credit Union.

The DKA is asking visitors to the celebration to bring nonperishable food items to help benefit a food drive for Second Harvest Food Bank. Donations can be deposited into food collection bins that will line Broad Street.

The evening concludes with a fireworks display shot from atop Domtar’s Cement Hill beginning at 9:50 p.m.

That event, presented by Dynamic Effects Fireworks, is being sponsored by Christ Fellowship Church, Wellmont/Holston Valley Medical Center and Paul Bellamy Furniture.

A musical soundtrack to the display will be broadcast on 98.5 WTFM.

Information on the festivities can be found at www.downtownkingsport.org.

Tennessee Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey’s early fund raising for his 2010 gubernatorial bid is “well clear of $1 million” despite having only four weeks to raise a big chunk of money, his campaign announced Wednesday.

The Blountville Republican said he raised $1.3 million during June “with the bulk of that being in the last 12 days.”

Ramsey emphasized he’s been on the road since mid-June trying to solicit money in seeking the GOP nomination against three other Republicans.

“I want to keep moving on like I am right now,” Ramsey said. “This shows the support I have. It’s been very humbling when I call people and practically to a tee everyone wants to help me out. ... We’ll take this a day at a time. I’m excited that I passed two of my competitors and raised money at a faster clip than the other competitors. I think it does show the support I’m going to have.”

Ramsey was not able to solicit campaign contributions until June 1 because of a law that bars state lawmakers from raising money while the General Assembly is in session.

He had announced his intentions to join the race earlier this year because contributions were pouring into the campaign account of Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam, who wasn’t barred from raising campaign funds by law.

A bill to allow lawmakers to raise campaign funds during session failed in the waning days of this year’s legislative session.

“That’s a handicap. We do have an antiquated campaign finance law. ... It’s a hurdle I will have to turn into my advantage,” said Ramsey.

In contrast, an Associated Press report indicated Haslam has raised more money.

Haslam’s campaign said it will report raising $3.8 million, with none of that money coming from personal funds. Haslam’s family owns and operates Knoxville-based Pilot Travel Centers.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp of Chattanooga reported raising more than $1.2 million for his campaign.

Wamp’s finance committee is led by Knoxville business executive and former TVA chairman Bill Baxter.

“I have really felt the momentum begin to shift our way, especially in the last few weeks, in counties all across the state,” Wamp said in a prepared release. “At the end of the day, this race is going to be decided by the people and not by the big money crowd.”

The fourth competitor for the GOP nomination is Shelby County District Attorney General Bill Gibbons.

Candidates for the Democratic nomination include businessmen Ward Cammack and Mike McWherter, son of former Gov. Ned McWherter, plus state Sen. Roy Herron and former House Majority Leader Kim McMillan.

ROGERSVILLE — Summer Dawn Good, 255 Horton Road, Surgoinsville, was charged with promotion of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia as a result of police allegedly finding meth lab components in her vehicle during a traffic stop Monday evening.

It also happened to be Good’s 25th birthday.

The Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office stopped her 1995 Mercury Monday shortly before 7 p.m. at 1600 E. Main St., just outside the Rogersville city limits.

Good reportedly consented to a search of the vehicle, at which time officers allegedly found items associated with meth manufacturing including muriatic acid, crushed pseudoephedrine pills, starting fluid, drain cleaner, ammonia nitrate, rubber tubing, two glass pans, lithium batteries, aluminum foil, a funnel, brake fluid and several mason jars.

Deputies also allegedly found two syringes with seven needles and a spoon in a passenger door panel.

Good remained lodged in the Hawkins County Jail Wednesday without bond due to a pending failure-to-appear warrant. Arraignment was set for Monday.

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County commissioners are considering a resolution “to endorse the initiative for establishment of a medical school at King College” in Bristol, Tenn.

The resolution made its public debut Wednesday when it came up for discussion by the Sullivan County Commission’s Executive Committee.

That group voted to defer action on the proposal.

Some members cited support for the concept of a new medical school, but some also voiced concern a thumbs-up on the resolution could be interpreted as an expectation county funding for the school would follow.

King College officials made a presentation to the full commission a couple of months ago regarding the potential new medical school.

In that and similar presentations made to other local governments, speakers laid out King College’s vision of creating a $150 million school of medicine in Kingsport and Bristol by 2012 — with officials saying the economic impact of the endeavor would be transformational for the region.

King College initially announced its desire to create a new medical university, near the medical facilities of either Kingsport or Bristol, late last year.

In May, King officials made presentations on the project — and its estimated economic impact on the region — to the County Commission and the Kingsport Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Greg Jordan, president of King College, said the new medical school would have two aspects — medical education and research — and integrate the university’s nursing programs, which are already located in downtown Kingsport. Wellmont Health System has agreed to be King’s clinical partner in the endeavor.

Jordan said King envisions the two campuses having approximately 360,000 square feet of facility space, with 100,000 square feet being dedicated for research. The program would include 150 students with degrees being M.D., nursing and health care practitioner.

Jordan said the enhanced vision for the project would be for the creation of a medical corridor from the Tri-Cities to Chattanooga focusing on research, bio-medicine and medical manufacturing.

Jordan estimated the project’s cost at $150 million — $100 million for the construction of and equipment for the two campuses, and another $50 million going toward the operation of the university for the first five years.

Jordan told the BMA he sees $50 million coming from Kingsport, Bristol and Sullivan County; $50 million coming from the state of Tennessee; and $50 million in private donations.

A consultant hired by King said the medical school would have an initial economic impact of $60 million and increase to $100 million by 2015, $212 million by 2020, and $365 million by 2035. He said the university would initially create 536 medical professional jobs, and that by 2035 the five-state area would have 20,000 direct and support jobs from the full implementation of the program.

The resolution seeking the County Commission’s “endorsement” of the “King College Medical School initiative” is sponsored by Commissioners Eddie Williams and Buddy King.

The resolution “pledges” the county’s “commitment to work with Kingsport, Bristol and King College to advance this important project.”

Commissioner Moe Brotherton said that “pledge” could in some people’s minds indicate county funding for the project will be forthcoming.

“When they come back and ask for money, that’s what that means,” Brotherton said.

County Attorney Dan Street said the resolution, as written and presented Wednesday, in no way obligates the county to provide any monetary support to the new school.

“But if you want to say ‘good luck,’ say ‘good luck,’” Street said.

The resolution could be discussed next week by the County Commission’s Administrative Committee and Budget Committee.

Times-News staff writer Matthew Lane contributed to this report.

WISE — In 24 months, a significant economic asset for Southwest Virginia will be the site of a grand opening ceremony. But on Wednesday the groundbreaking bash for an asset yet to be built was plenty of reason for grins and congratulations for all concerned.

Dignitaries — particularly Southwest Virginia’s legislative delegation — gathered at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise to hail the official start of construction of the college’s Convocation Center, a facility to be unmatched in the region for indoor athletic events, concerts and conventions.

The $30 million center will seat 3,000 for sporting events such as basketball and volleyball and 4,000 for concerts or convocation activities.

Besides the home site of the college’s men’s and women’s basketball games and women’s volleyball, UVa-Wise Chancellor David J. Prior said lobbying is already under way to offer the facility as a site for regional and state high school tournaments.

“We’re looking forward to all sorts of programming” at a facility Prior said “will be the largest event center in Southwest Virginia.”

State Sen. William Wampler Jr., R-Bristol, said the facility will be a “critical part of the economic engine of Southwest Virginia” and one that “I thought, truly, I would never see.”

But once completed, Wampler said the Convocation Center will be the “crowning jewel” not just for the college but as an economic asset for the region.

Southwest Virginia’s legislators teamed up to make sure the center remained in a state bond package approved by the General Assembly in 2007 for college and university projects across the commonwealth.

By all accounts the task to keep the project in the overall legislation required tireless efforts by Southwest Virginia legislators. UVa-Wise Board Chairman Jim Gott said only the legislators “know the horse trading that went on,” but the region owes its legislative delegation a great deal of thanks.

University of Virginia Board of Visitors member Don Pippin read a message from UVA President John Casteen praising the new facility at UVA’s only branch campus. Casteen said UVa-Wise is becoming “an essential piece of Southwest Virginia’s infrastructure” that will soon have “a great new Convocation Center, the gathering place for all of Southwest Virginia. The name says it all. It is the place to come together.”

Delegate Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, spearheaded the financing legislation in Richmond and called Wednesday “a day we have been working toward for quite some time. This is going to be the centerpiece for the region.”

Delegate Bud Phillips, D-Clintwood, said Virginia had long considered Southwest Virginia a “frontier” unworthy of consideration for such projects, but Wednesday marks the “new frontier” for opportunities across the region in areas such as economic growth, technology, education and quality of life.

SURGOINSVILLE — The main office hasn’t been rebuilt yet, but the cleanup from last week’s arson and vandalism at the Tennessee Technology Center in Hawkins County was completed Wednesday, and classes will resume on time Monday.

As anticipated, however, there will be one less program offered at the TTC facility located at the Phipps Bend Industrial Park.

Morristown/Hawkins County TTC Director Lynn Elkins said Wednesday that the position vacated by retiring machine shop instructor Henry Cook won’t be filled as a cost savings measure.

Although the damage from the June 23 break-in has been estimated at around $250,000, Elkins said Wednesday she doesn’t know yet exactly how much the insurance deductible for cleanup and repairs will cost. The reduction of one teacher position will create savings to pay that cost, she said.

“The machine shop will not reopen, but it did not have enough students to justify keeping it open anyway,” Elkins said. “We have so many machinists in the area laid off that enrollment for that program was down.

“The program won’t be closed permanently. I’m inactivating the program, and if the demand should ever come back for machinists it will be relatively simple to reopen.”

Elkins said there are about three machine shop students who haven’t completed the program, and other instructors at the facility will fill in until those students receive their certificates.

It happened to be retiring machine shop instructor Cook who discovered the fire and vandalism and called 911 as he was arriving for work at TTC the morning of June 23.

The Church Hill Fire Department responded to the scene and extinguished the fire, which was contained within the main front office. Fire Chief David Wood said the culprits apparently lit a pile of folders and papers from filing cabinets to start the fire, which gutted the office.

Not one room in the facility was untouched. Computers were tipped over and smashed onto the floor in classrooms, and the break room was completely trashed.

Apparently the only thing stolen was change from the gumball machines, as well as chips and candy bars from the snack machines. Every drink, change and snack machine was damaged in attempts to get at their change.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office and Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office are still investigating the incident.

“We’re still digging into it, and a few leads keep streaming every now and then,” Sheriff Roger Christian said. “I don’t know if it’s going to amount to anything or not, but we’re still looking.”

Elkins praised the state-contracted cleanup crew, ServPro, for getting the facility ready for classes on Monday. ServPro deployed workers from both its Greeneville and Knoxville offices and worked around the clock through Wednesday to get the facility clean.

“The cleanup crew was there the next morning, worked all day and all night, and they have just gone the extra mile to get that facility back in shape,” Elkins said. “It could have been a lot worse. Aside from the office, it’s just smoke damage.

“But the difference between the way the building looked last week compared to now is phenomenal.”

ServPro workers were wrapping up the cleanup Wednesday afternoon. Aside from removing the charred remains of the main office, they also scrubbed the smoke damage from the walls, and cleaned and deodorized every inch of the facility.

Cleanup crew leader Kim Menefee joked Wednesday that she and her staff looked like they’d been working in a coal mine the first few days of the cleanup. Aside from ServPro employees, there were several volunteers and students who came in to help with the cleanup.

“We had a lot of people who were not our employees, and they were not afraid of the dirt,” Menefee said. “We all got black, and they all worked hard. We had in excess of 100 people in here washing walls, washing ceilings, up on scaffolds, up on ladders.

“Everything in this place was hand scrubbed.”

Among the programs available when classes resume Monday are welding, industrial maintenance/electricity, computer operations, business systems technology, a basic skills program, and certified nursing assistant.

Seventh in a series

Tennessee state Rep. Dale Ford rose in the House pecking order this year but wasn’t a legislative machine.

The Jonesborough Republican, a farmer and former Major League Baseball umpire, became vice chair of the House Agriculture Committee and House Health Care Facilities Subcommittee.

Ford was also a member of the General Assembly’s Joint Select Committee on Corrections Oversight and Joint Veterans Affairs Committee.

He sponsored six pieces of legislation — including two highway sign bills to honor constituents in his district.

Ford said he wanted to introduce legislation to force welfare recipients to be randomly drug tested but was told that was unconstitutional.

He filed legislation prohibiting elected officials from acting as professional bail bondsmen, but he took that bill off notice in the House Judiciary Committee.

Ford also introduced a bill increasing in-service training requirements for constables, but action on the legislation was deferred until next year.

He voted for a $29.4 billion budget that utilized federal stimulus funds.

“It was a tough year money-wise that will get tougher next year,” Ford predicted. “The budget was not perfect, but it was the most acceptable one we could come up with.”

Ford indicated he remains focused on bringing water projects to his district.

“It’s ridiculous for anyone not to have access to utility water,” he said.

He also said two Interstate 26 interchanges, at Gray and at Boones Creek, are on track to be redone.

“The traffic is unbelievable (at both interchanges) twice a day, especially during the school year. ... Later in the summer (construction) will start on the Gray exit,” Ford said.

Ford was also a staunch backer of Republican House Speaker Kent Williams of Elizabethton after Williams took a surprise victory in January in the House speaker election over House GOP Leader Jason Mumpower of Bristol.

Williams divided committees evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

“I think Kent Williams did a super job,” Ford said. “He mixed the committees up, and that’s the reason we got things through, like the gun bills. ... When (former Democratic House Speaker) Jimmy Naifeh was over that thing, those bills wouldn’t even get out of committee.”

Ford’s 6th House District includes parts of Washington and Hawkins counties.

For more information go to www.capitol.tn.gov.

GATE CITY — For the second time since December, the Scott County Board of Supervisors approved a multimillion dollar line of credit to help the county school system deal with funding delays from the state.

The board voted unanimously Tuesday to let the Scott County school system pursue a $4 million line of credit to cover staff salaries, fringe benefits and monthly statements until its preapproved funding is disbursed by the state.

“The school system gets their money ultimately from the state through us, and there’s many times recently that money has been coming down slower from the state,” Board of Supervisors Chairman David Redwine said. “So allowing them to set up a line of credit lets them fund the expenses that they need ... without having to worry about where the funding comes from.”

School Superintendent Jim Scott said the credit was also needed because of funds the school system received from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“With the stimulus money ... we’ll get it back from them as soon as we send in for it. It might be as soon as one week or each week if we ask for it,” Scott said. “But we have to spend it first and be able to show them where it was spent before we can get it back, and that even makes it tougher.”

County Treasurer Kevin Helms will be responsible for securing the loan — which will be obtained through a bidding process — and drawing down funds.

The school system would only draw the funds as needed and would only be responsible for paying back the amount borrowed, plus interest.

Scott said the system would be able to pay the line of credit off once enough of its state funding is received, which should be sometime in the spring.

In December, Helms was able to secure the school board a $3 million line of credit at 3 percent interest from Powell Valley Bank.

Only $1.8 million of those funds were used by the school board, and that amount was paid off in April.

Redwine said the Board of Supervisors was willing to approve the request because of the school board’s past record handling lines of credit and because funding has already been approved by the state.

“In the past, the school system has been very diligent in paying those loans back and keeping the interest they have to pay at the lowest level,” Redwine said. “And I think they’ll do that again with this one.”

In addition to the school board’s request, supervisors voted to pursue a $1 million line of credit to supplement the county’s finances until tax revenues begin arriving in October and November.

“This is a bridge to the gap which would then be paid off as soon as that tax money comes in and only used if needed and only the amount that is needed,” Redwine said. “So it’s very little cost in terms of interest, but it’s kind of a nice security to have on board in case you get a major expense, like an emergency or a catastrophe.”

The board originally thought it would need $2 million to get by, but Vice Chairman Chad Hood said the amount was lowered after the school board requested less money than usual.

“The school board normally requests the majority of their funding the county gives them early on — last year we gave them $3 million for the first quarter,” Hood said. “So this year (Scott) said he’s just going to ask us for $1.2 million in the first quarter. So that’s going to free up some money that we can use for the county’s expenses.”

BRISTOL, Tenn. — A cool breeze drifting across South Holston Lake Wednesday at Lake View Dock Marina didn’t reveal the frustrations dive rescuers felt after a ninth day of searching for a Johnson City woman thought to have fallen in while putting on her boat cover.

After about six hours of using cameras to search the depths around Alice Bachman’s boat slip and diving the area again, rescuers from the Kingsport Lifesaving Crew and the Sullivan County Emergency Management Agency packed up their gear and headed home.

The search for Bachman, 54, who has been missing since June 23, ceased Wednesday because of the upcoming July Fourth holiday, but officials said it will resume Monday.

“We put divers in the water and checked the boat slips, and we’ve been under all the boats on that side,” said Jim Carter, a rescue diver with the Kingsport Lifesaving Crew.

There were cadaver K-9s at the scene again on Wednesday, Carter said, and the dogs “hit” on areas near where Bachman may have fallen into the lake.

Rescuers also used three different underwater video cameras Wednesday that were rated for different depths — 50 feet, 100 feet and 200 feet.

They hope to have a camera next week that will reach to 300 feet, which will allow them to search more of the lake bottom.

Carter said the limitations of the cameras are determined by the length of the cable they have and the pressure they can withstand.

“They’re on a cable, and we set the camera down on the bottom and just drag it around. One of them has a switch that will rotate the camera 360 degrees,” he said.

The cameras are equipped with LED lights and have visibility of about 5 feet.

In addition to divers searching to a depth of about 40 feet, Carter said two divers went to 170 feet to unhook a guide line that was in place for the technical divers.

“If we deep dive again, they’ll have to have another line in place,” he said.

KINGSPORT — Police stopped an SUV for speeding on Tuesday then seized the vehicle and $153,000 worth of prescription painkillers and an unidentified white powder substance after a police dog alerted to an odor of drugs.

Kingsport Police Chief Gale Osborne called it the largest pill seizure the Model City has seen in quite awhile.

Officers are constantly working the interstate “enforcing the traffic laws and looking beyond the traffic stop,” Osborne said, adding that sometimes — as was the case Tuesday — the officers spot a violation and “hit pay dirt.”

“What you’ve got to ask yourself is — you’re looking at over 1,800 OxyContin pills — how many people does it take to consume, not sell, but consume the pills?” said KPD Vice Cpl. Tim Horne.

The seizure of this large an amount of prescription pills, he said, is an indicator of just how many substance abusers there are in the Tri-Cities area.

“Sometimes you can develop addictions from legitimate usage,” Horne added. “Once that addiction starts, then they begin to seek out the criminal ways to obtain the narcotic, and they legitimize in their own mind that they’re not doing anything their doctor didn’t tell them to do six months ago.”

The pills were discovered during a traffic stop he and K-9 Officer Mike Burnett and his dog Macho conducted on a Chevrolet Tahoe. The stop occurred about 7:15 p.m. near mile marker 57 on Interstate 81 after radar clocked the SUV at 76 mph, said Horne.

Horne asked the driver, Jonathan Trenton Leonard, 34, 110 Oak Road, Bristol, Tenn., to step out so he could issue a citation. While writing out the speeding ticket, Horne noticed Leonard appeared nervous.

Horne went to the passenger side of the Tahoe to ask April Shannon Hutson, 207 Old Weaver Pike, No. 9, Bluff City, for the registration papers. He talked with her while she looked for the papers and noticed she appeared nervous as well.

After issuing Leonard a citation, Horne asked if he was responsible for anything in the SUV. He claimed a Cracker Barrel bag in the back seat and gave Horne consent to search it and anything else in the car that belonged to him.

While Horne returned the vehicle’s registration papers to Hutson, Burnett and Macho walked around the car. That’s when Macho alerted to the presence of drugs, according to Burnett.

As Burnett and Macho went around the car, Hutson asked why they were doing that. Horne first explained that the dog was being used to detect the presence of drugs, then asked Hutson to step out of the SUV after Burnett advised him that the dog had hit on something.

The officers searched the SUV and found 1,827 oxycodone pills and 1,333 hydrocodone pills in baggies inside a blue canvas bag, police said. The oxycodone’s worth on the street is estimated at $140,000, while the hydrocodone’s estimated value is $13,000, Horne said.

In addition to the pills, police seized the vehicle and $7,280 in cash.

As for the police dog’s alert on a drug odor, there was a white powder mixed in with the cash. It will be sent to a lab for positive identification.

Horne noted that the canine may also have detected the lingering scent of a drug that was no longer inside the SUV.

Both Leonard and Hutson were charged with possession of Schedule II and Schedule III drugs for resale.

Police declined to provide any further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

Osborne praised Horne’s efforts, saying it’s clear from his track record of drug arrests that he has a “love for getting illicit drugs off the street and the bad guys in jail.”