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.
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by Ben Benton, Allison Shirk Collins and Patrick Filbin 3 hours agoAs the Nov. 3 general election approaches, Alabama officials are taking steps to meet health challenges presented by the coronavirus pandemic.
by Ben Benton 3 hours agoA Pensacola, Florida, man is behind bars on a $1 million bond after his arrest in last week's shooting incident involving an exchange of gunfire with a sheriff's deputy on Interstate 59 in DeKalb County, Alabama, according to a sheriff's office spokesman.
by Ben BentonA report from the National Transportation Safety Board says the Jackson County (Alabama) Park Marina boat dock's "limited fire safety practices" contributed to the tragic Jan. 27 fire that trapped 17 people on Dock B, seriously injuring one and killing eight, four among them children ages 7 to 16.
by Ben BentonAlabama's State Bureau of Investigation is probing an incident involving a shot fired Wednesday night by a DeKalb County Sheriff's Office deputy during an incident on Interstate 59 between Fort Payne and Collinsville.
by Ben BentonA Rhea County, Tennessee, man described by authorities as a suspect in a Bradley County woman's death is in custody in Kansas awaiting extradition on a fugitive-from-justice warrant.
by Ben BentonSeven Southeast Tennessee communities got a portion of more than $27.6 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for infrastructure updates that include new water lines and system updates, sewer system improvements, housing rehabilitation and fire protection.
by Ben BentonThe circa-1887 First Avenue Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Dayton, Tennessee, now called Trinity Chapel, has been nominated for a designation on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the Tennessee State Review Board.
by Ben BentonBradley County Schools got a portion of almost $1.4 million in federal funding for school safety measures in and around schools and school grounds.
by Ben BentonA body found last week in Rhea County, Tennessee, has been identified as a 34-year-old Bradley County woman who was last seen Aug. 14 in the Cherokee Boulevard and Stringer Street areas of Chattanooga, authorities said.
by Ben BentonThe interim police chief in Scottsboro, Alabama, was arrested Saturday on Lake Guntersville on allegations that he was operating a boat while under the influence.
by Ben BentonIn a couple of years, travelers headed east on U.S. Highway 64 in Polk County, Tennessee, will get their first glimpse of the world-renowned Ocoee River from a new $12.6 million "signature bridge" that will create an official entry into all the Cherokee National Forest and Ocoee River Gorge have to offer.
by Ben BentonThe new $40.4 million Lodge Fall Creek Falls State Park is taking shape along the Bledsoe-Van Buren county line, and state officials say the project remains on track for completion next year.
by Ben BentonA Rhea County, Tennessee, man charged in June with attempted criminal homicide in the alleged shooting of a deputy contends he never fired a shot, is wrongly charged and his reputation is ruined.
by Ben BentonThe Alabama Law Enforcement Agency arrested a Jackson County woman just before noon on Tuesday.
by Ben BentonA century ago this month, a 24-year-old McMinn County lawmaker cast a vote that changed the world, a moment in history that will be recognized this weekend in his hometown of Niota, Tennessee.
by Ben BentonDeKalb County, Alabama, authorities issued a statement Thursday on a shooting last weekend that left a woman with a bullet wound to her face and a Valley Head man behind bars.
by Ben BentonA groundswell of support for a Marion County, Tennessee, principal who ended up in hot water over a social media post about the Democratic presidential ticket will culminate in a support parade on Sunday in his hometown of Whitwell.
by Ben BentonAs Hurricane Laura prepared to make landfall as a powerful Category 4 storm Wednesday night with what could be an "unsurvivable" storm surge and high winds, forecasters predicted the storm could take a northerly track through the South and parts of Tennessee as a tropical depression.
by Ben BentonDisciplinary action has been taken against two area judges stemming from complaints filed with the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct that contained allegations of an extramarital affair, judge shopping, judicial impropriety and ethical lapses.
by Ben Benton