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.

Report: Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum employee fell through skylight 37 feet to his death

by Ben Benton ·June 7, 2023

State agency details accident, issues $12,000 fine

Staff Photo / A 2-8-2 Mikado steam locomotive is seen May 10, 2013, at the Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum's Soule Shops, where train engines are repaired and maintained. Longtime museum employee George Walker died Jan. 4, 2023, when he fell through one of the building's skylights while doing maintenance on the roof of the restoration shop.

Grand jury indicts Rhea County man on charge of first-degree murder in fatal February shooting

by Ben Benton ·June 6, 2023

A Rhea County, Tennessee, man charged in the Feb. 24 shooting of another man to death with an SKS rifle at a home on the Rhea-Bledsoe county line was indicted Monday by a grand jury.

Rhea County Sheriff's Office / Jackie Lee Goss, 29, is charged with criminal homicide in Rhea County General Sessions Court.

Cemetery Road in East Ridge to shut down for nine days

by Ben Benton ·June 5, 2023

Ongoing storm drainage surprises push completion date to November

Staff File Photo by Ben Benton / In the distance, a Talley Construction excavator drops its load into a dump truck in the middle of the 1.2-mile improvement project underway in East Ridge in June 2022.

What to know about young male black bears on the move in the Chattanooga area

by Ben Benton ·June 2, 2023

After sightings of black bears across the region — including Collegedale and Athens, Tennessee, near the Cherokee National Forest — state wildlife officials are warning Tennesseans to be watchful for wandering young male bears.

A black bear eats trash after knocking over a trash bin in east Anchorage, Alaska, in 2021. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen)

Man convicted of dumping tires, muffler, car frame in North Chickamauga Creek

by Ben Benton ·June 2, 2023

An investigation by state wildlife officers led to a conviction on charges of aggravated criminal littering, according to a news release from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency / The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency on Friday announced the conviction of a Hamilton County man linked to this trash found in March in the North Chickamauga Creek Wildlife Management Area.

Bipartisan U.S. House bill seeks National Scenic Trail designation for Benton MacKaye Trail

by Ben Benton ·May 31, 2023

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House seeks to designate the Benton MacKaye Trail, which winds through the the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee, Georgia and North Carolina, as a National Scenic Trail.

Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / A sign marks an entry point to the Benton MacKaye Trail in Polk County, Tenn., in 2022.

TDOT says I-24/South Broad project is on budget, headed for Aug. 31 finish

by Ben Benton ·May 30, 2023

Repaving of interstate in project zone underway

Staff Photo by Olivia Ross / Work continues Friday at the interchange reconstruction project at Interstate 24 and South Broad Street.

Veteran drowns in Tennessee’s Percy Priest Lake over Memorial Day weekend

by Ben Benton ·May 30, 2023

State wildlife officials said a man lost his life over the three-day Memorial Day weekend in an incident on Percy Priest Lake.

TBI investigating inmate death after two men at Bradley County jail found unresponsive

by Ben Benton ·May 30, 2023

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating after two inmates at the Bradley County Justice Center were found unresponsive, according to authorities.

Staff File Photo by Ben Benton / The Bradley County Sheriff's Office is seen Jan. 5, 2023.

Boating fatalities ahead of 2022 pace as Safe Boating Week rolls into Memorial Day holiday

by Ben Benton ·May 28, 2023

At nine, Tennessee's boating-related fatalities so far in 2023 are outpacing deaths in 2022. The end of National Safe Boating Week, May 20-26, coincided with the start of the Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kickoff to summer.