Mom charged in child's death and other news from areas around Chattanooga

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Mom charged in child's death

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - The mother of a disabled 12-year-old girl who died of gangrene and bedsores in 2012 has been jailed in Shelby County after being indicted on first-degree murder charges.

The Tennessean reported that 36-year-old Raven Ruth had been indicted by a grand jury in February, though she could not be charged in the case until she was extradited from a New Orleans jail on Thursday and booked into Shelby County Jail on Friday.

Department of Children's Services records showed that 12-year-old Andrea Ruth of Millington died of sepsis in November 2012. The records indicated that the girl's medical problems were ignored and doctors advised amputating both of her legs.

The girl's father, 42-year-old Errol Johnson, 42, and health care worker Chasara Jones, 41, also were indicted on first-degree murder charges.


Learn to build a rain barrel

FORT PAYNE, Ala. - A class set for June 10 will teach people how and to build a rain barrel.

People use the barrels to collect clean rainwater that runs off structures. It can be used for watering gardens or other needs.

The class is sponsored by the Clean Water Network and Jacksonville State University Field Schools. It is set for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Little River Canyon Center on Alabama Highway 35.

The class is limited to 20 participants. The $25 cost includes materials. Wear "play clothes" and bring your own lunch.

To register, email rmorrison@jsu.edu or call 256-782-8010 by June 5.


Church holds final service

ATLANTA - A large congregation gathered at Friendship Baptist Church for the final service in a building being torn down to make room for the new Atlanta Falcons stadium.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday the theme of Rev. William Guy's sermon was that change is inevitable and the church is made of the people who attend it, not the building it occupies.

Friendship Baptist Church agreed last year to sell its building for $19.5 million to make room for the Falcons' new retractable roof stadium. The nearby Mount Vernon Baptist Church also agreed to sell its building for $14.5 million to make room for the new stadium.


Teen dies in lake stunt

CARTERSVILLE, Ga. - Georgia Department of Natural Resources officials say a teen has died after being tied to a shopping cart and pushed into Lake Allatoona.

Department spokeswoman Melissa Cummings said 18-year-old Chance Werner, of Cartersville, was playing a game with friends where participants sat in a shopping cart that was tied to a pole. Participants pushed the cart to the end of the dock and the person sitting in it would be flung into the water.

Cummings said the cart was tied to Werner instead of a pole and pulled him under. The teen's body was found early Sunday morning in about 30 feet of water, still tied to the cart.

Werner graduated from high school Saturday and the incident is under investigation, she said.