'Teen, 17, dies after accident' and other Chattanooga region news

Friday, January 1, 1904

Teen, 17, dies after accident

RINGGOLD, Ga. - A Ringgold teenager died after a Saturday night car crash, according to the Georgia State Patrol.

Jessie Tyler Clark, 17, was driving a pickup truck south on Georgia Highway 151 when he tried to pass another vehicle in a no-passing zone, authorities said. The vehicle left the road and Clark overcorrected, causing the truck to overturn and hit a tree.

Officials do not suspect alcohol was involved.


DNA confirms name of victim

NASHVILLE - More than a year after the man convicted of killing her completed his prison term, police finally have a name for the woman whose remains were found 16 years ago.

Nashville police said Monday that the remains were found by a fisherman on March 10, 1997, on the banks of Percy Priest Lake. Police said DNA testing confirmed the remains were those of 22-year-old Jennifer Cole, who had come to Nashville from the Dallas area.

Police said Cole's mother tried to report her missing in Texas in 1996 but later found out nothing had been filed. A missing person report was taken in 2005.

Police said Luther Nelson Lynch was arrested in 2000 and convicted of voluntary manslaughter in 2001 and sentenced to 15 years, then released in 2011.


Graves won't run for U.S. Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, said in a statement Monday that he will not run for the U.S. Senate from Georgia in 2014.

"I am confident that we would run a very competitive campaign," he said in the news release, adding, "I have concluded that the right path for now is to forgo this Senate race and continue serving in my current role."

Graves said it is "important for my supporters to know that I intend to continue preparing for future opportunities to serve Georgia."


County receives budget award

BRADLEY COUNTY, Tenn. - The Government Finance Officers Association again has presented Bradley County with its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award, according to a news release.

The county's finance department, represented by finance director Lynn Burns, was recognized by Mayor D. Gary Davis at Monday's County Commission meeting.

The award recognizes government accounting and financial reporting.

Stephen Gauthier, the association's director, said each certificate must meet the highest standards of transparency, including a constructive "spirit of full disclosure."