Former Troy University athlete charged in death - and more Chattanooga region news

Former Troy University athlete charged in death

TROY, Ala. - Authorities say a former Troy University football player from LaFayette, Ga., is facing a murder charge in connection with a shooting in Troy.

Police say 21-year-old Dimitri Miles was apprehended late Sunday afternoon after the shooting early that morning in an apartment on South Brundidge Street. He was being held on a $100,000 bond in the Pike County Jail. It wasn't known Monday whether he has an attorney.

The Troy Messenger reports the charge stems from the death of 26-year-old Marquise Jermaine McLendon, of Troy. Police say McLendon was not a resident of the apartment, and its tenants were out of town at the time of the shooting.


State protecting forest acreage

Arkansas-Memphis Live Blog

GRUNDY COUNTY, Tenn. - The Tennessee Department of Agriculture Division of Forestry on Monday announced it has acquired a conservation easement on 3,282 acres bordering South Cumberland State Park in Grundy County, a development that will allow the land to remain privately owned and managed as a working forest.

The land is near the 17-mile Fiery Gizzard Trail.

U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who "grew up hiking in the mountains of East Tennessee," said he welcomed the announcement "to ensure the same opportunities will be available in the future for Tennesseans and visitors."


Official says noto drug testing

ROGERSVILLE, Tenn. - A county official in East Tennessee is refusing to participate in a drug-testing program even though it could end up costing the municipality $17,541.

Hawkins County Property Assessor Jeff Thacker told the Kingsport Times-News that he's not sure the county program complies with state law and thinks it violates the rights of employees.

The policy, approved earlier this year, says all employees are subject to post-accident drug screenings, while those in "safety sensitive" positions are screened before being hired and subject to random screenings.

Becky Brock of the Local Government Insurance Pool told a Hawkins County Commission panel that the county gets a 5 percent discount on workman's comp insurance premiums only if all departments comply with the policy.

If any department does not comply, "the whole county is going to suffer because of it," she said.

The panel approved sending a letter to all officeholders saying they must comply with the policy.


Judge denies bond in preschool killing

DECATUR, Ga. - A judge has denied bond for a woman convicted of lying in the investigation of her husband's killing outside a suburban Atlanta preschool.

Lawyer Brian Steel had asked that Andrea Sneiderman be allowed to be free on bond pending her appeal. Prosecutor Anna Cross objected, arguing Sneiderman might flee.

DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Gregory Adams on Monday morning denied bond for Sneiderman.

Her husband, Rusty Sneiderman, was gunned down in November 2010 outside a preschool where he had just dropped off their son in Atlanta's northern suburbs. Andrea Sneiderman's boss, Hemy Neuman, was convicted in the killing but found to be mentally ill.

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