Ben Benton

Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee’s Bledsoe, Bradley, Franklin, Grundy, Marion, McMinn, Meigs, Rhea and Sequatchie counties. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005. Ben was born and raised in Cleveland, Tennessee, a graduate of Bradley Central High School. He has a bachelor's degree in communications from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Contact Southeast Tennessee reporter Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569.

Major Alabama transportation project to snag I-59 traffic from Reece City to Collinsville

by Ben Benton ·February 28, 2022

Contractor starts $44 million project Monday to replace 11 miles of northbound lanes

Staff photo by Robin Rudd / Interstate 59 is seen in DeKalb County, Ala., from the Hammondville exit bridge on Jan. 25. A project started Monday to replace 11 miles of the northbound side of I-59 is expected to be complete by summer 2024, according to the Alabama Department of Transportation.

Meigs County’s Trail of Tears roadbed segment nominated to National Register of Historic Places

by Ben Benton ·February 25, 2022

A few hundred yards from the intersection of Tennessee State routes 58 and 60 in Meigs County lies the original roadbed of a portion of the Cherokee Trail of Tears, a segment state historians believe deserves a national place of honor and distinction.

Staff photo by Ben Benton / The Tennessee Historical Commission voted in January to nominate a segment of the Cherokee Trail of Tears in Meigs County to the National Register of Historic Places for its role in the story of the removal of the Cherokee from their homeland in Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina. The site lies a little east of the intersection of Tennessee State routes 58 and 60 and contains the original roadbed of a portion of the Trail of Tears known as the Georgetown Road.

Chattanooga’s heavy rain and flooding highlight Severe Weather Awareness Week

by Ben Benton ·February 24, 2022

Consecutive storm systems that dumped rain on the Chattanooga region over the past several days arrived during Severe Weather Awareness Week.

Staff Photo by Robin Rudd / A dock is surrounded by the flood waters of South Chickamauga Creek in the Tennessee Riverpark. In the background, traffic crosses a bridge on Amnicola Highway. The weather for Severe Weather Awareness Week has been an almost total washout as consecutive storm systems dumped rain on the Chattanooga region over the last several days. During the 48 hours from Feb. 21-23, Hamilton County got between 3.15 and 4.36 inches of rain.

TBI, Grundy County authorities tracking new leads in 1999 cold case disappearance of Tim White

by Ben Benton ·February 22, 2022

New leads in a 23-year-old missing person cold case have Grundy County, Tennessee, authorities and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation probing for answers in what happened to a local man who vanished in September 1999.

Contributed photo by Grundy County Sheriff's Office / Timothy Dale White was 38 years old when he was last seen Sept. 15, 1999, in Palmer, Tenn. Authorities are tracking new leads in the case.

One wounded, one jailed in Sunday shooting in Bledsoe County

by Ben Benton ·February 22, 2022

One man was shot Sunday and another jailed following what was initially reported as an accidental shooting on H.B. Green Road in Bledsoe County in an incident that also led to the discovery of a suspected methamphetamine lab, authorities said.

Cleveland, Tennessee, multimillionare Allan Jones announces run for city school board

by Ben Benton ·February 21, 2022

Cleveland, Tennessee, multi-millionaire Allan Jones has announced his candidacy as a Republican for Cleveland City school board.

New sand mine in Grundy County draws fire from residents who say there’s a rule against it

by Ben Benton ·February 18, 2022

The neighbors of a new, recently-permitted sand mine on the Cumberland Plateau in Grundy County, Tennessee, are roiling over what they say is a surprise operation local residents never knew was coming.

Contributed map by Grundy County, Tennessee, resident Jeff Stewart / This map shows the Clause Hill Sand Quarry, owned by Tinsley Sand and Gravel LLC, and its approximate proximity to nearby residential areas that lie within 5,000 feet of the operation, a distance county officials and others say violates a county powers act passed in 2019.

Court documents show youngest victim was 14 in statutory rape case against McMinn County woman

by Ben Benton ·February 16, 2022

Court documents shed some light on the alleged victims' ages - one as young as 14 - in the case against a McMinn County, Tennessee, woman accused of having sexual contact with at least nine minor boys between spring 2020 and late December 2021.

Cumberland Trail State Park now almost 300 miles with acquisition in Rhea County

by Ben Benton ·February 11, 2022

Trail now to trace continuous path through 11 Tennesse counties

Contributed photo by Alan Cressler / Piney River in Justin P. Wilson Cumberland Trail State Park is shown in Rhea County, Tenn., where 358 acres of newly-acquired land known as Piney River Bluffs now extends the trail continuously through 11 Tennessee counties.

McMinn County school board holds line on vote to remove ‘Maus’ from eighth-grade curriculum

by Ben Benton ·February 10, 2022

Board attorney says board members are the decision-makers and cannot 'violate their own policy'