Ben Benton is a news reporter at the Chattanooga Times Free Press. He covers Southeast Tennessee, North Georgia and Northeast Alabama. Ben has worked at the Times Free Press since November 2005, first covering Bledsoe and Sequatchie counties. Ben was born and raised in Cleveland, Tenn., a graduate of Bradley Central High School. He has a bachelor's degree in communications from the the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. In 2014, he placed third in the Green Eyeshade Awards for Disaster Coverage- All Dailies for his story on the South Pittsburg flood, and third place in the Specialized Site category for the newspaper's Civil War 150th anniversary online special section. Ben previously worked at The Daily Post-Athenian in Athens, Tenn., The Herald-News, in Dayton, Tenn., and at the Knoxville Journal, in Knoxville, Tenn. Ben, a lifelong UT fan, lives in Chattanooga with his wife, Lisa, and has been a Chattanooga resident since 1988. Ben has one son, Benjy, who works in town as a web developer. When he's not working, Ben likes to cook and hit the backroads in search of barbecue and the region's natural beauty. Contact Ben at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or twitter.com/BenBenton or www.facebook.com/ben.benton1 or 423-757-6569.
Rural communities across Tennessee's southeast corner have an investment in locally owned businesses, not the least among them eateries that supply food, jobs and draw visitors that help form the tax base for schools and local government.
by Ben BentonSocial distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic is a tall order for rural jails across the Chattanooga region, but sheriffs in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama are taking steps where they can - under court order in some cases - though some admit it might not be enough.
by Ben BentonA 13-year-old Alabama girl was taken into custody Friday in Chattanooga after she allegedly stole a car Thursday in Powell and took her 3-year-old neighbor with her, the DeKalb County (Alabama) Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
by Ben BentonA juvenile in Cherokee County, Alabama, on Friday was charged with murder in the shooting death of a woman found dead at a resident with an apparent gunshot wound.
by Ben BentonThe driver in a single-vehicle crash early Sunday was killed and his passenger charged on federal warrants after he fled the scene in Sequatchie County, Tennessee, into neighboring Grundy County, according to state and local officials.
by Ben BentonSeven Jackson County, Alabama, sheriff's office deputies returned to work Friday after concerns they possibly had been exposed over the weekend to COVID-19 while taking a suspect in a Marion County, Tennessee, slaying into custody.
by Ben BentonDeKalb County, Alabama, officials announced its first confirmed case of COVID-19 as the pandemic spreads across the region.
by Ben BentonCardboard boxes packed to the brim were lined up on more than a dozen lunchroom tables in the cafeteria at Dade Elementary School.
by Ben Benton, Meghan Mangrum and Patrick FilbinSchool systems across Southeast Tennessee and Northeast Alabama are providing meals to students and young children through bus route deliveries and drive-through pickup stations.
by Ben BentonAn Alabama man was charged Wednesday in the Sunday slaying of a 25-year-old Jasper, Tennessee, man, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
by Ben BentonAs COVID-19 spreads, one of the lessons learned from the 2011 tornado outbreak in Northeast Alabama — when more than three dozen people lost their lives — could come into play.
by Ben BentonOfficials in Bradley County, Tennessee, said Friday that the county's first case of COVID-19 has been confirmed.
by Ben BentonFort Payne, Alabama, police are seeking information related to a family dog believed to have been tied to railroad tracks by two teens and run over by a train on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to a statement posted on the police department's social media page.
by Ben BentonGrundy County, Tennessee, Mayor Michael Brady announced late Thursday that two cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in an older couple who live both in Grundy and Davidson counties.
by Ben BentonToilet paper in the COVID-19 pandemic has become a rare commodity as panic buying leaves shelves bare in grocery store aisles across the region and U.S. and a tissue factory in Calhoun, Tennessee, is working hard to keep up.
by Ben BentonPresident Donald Trump this week announced that he will award unrecognized members of the 30th Infantry Division — called the "Old Hickory Division" for namesake President Andrew Jackson of Tennessee — the Presidential Unit Citation for their heroism in action in Mortain, France, during World War II in August 1944.
by Ben BentonA former DeKalb County, Alabama, attorney was arrested Tuesday on theft charges, according to a press release from the DeKalb County Sheriff's Office.
by Ben BentonAlabama officials in DeKalb and Jackson counties have joined the growing list of Chattanooga region counties that are shutting down public offices, schools and nonessential operations in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
by Ben BentonCherokee County, Alabama, authorities say a husband and wife are being treated for gunshot wounds after what was described as an accidental shooting Monday followed by a reportedly self-inflicted gunshot outside of a medical facility in the town of Centre.
by Ben BentonAs Gov. Bill Lee on Monday ordered all Tennessee school districts to close by Friday in response to the coronavirus, many school systems across rural Southeast Tennessee had already responded to the outbreak by canceling activities and closing schools for as long as two weeks, while others planned to use spring break to monitor the situation as it develops.
by Ben Benton