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.
The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals on Wednesday denied an appeal by 77-year-old Willard Clifton Land, who was convicted by a Sequatchie County jury in 2017 of second-degree murder in the October 2014 stabbing death of Kerry Summer Angel.
by Ben Benton 3 hours agoThe body of a Chattanooga lawyer, widely known for his involvement in youth and amateur baseball in the region, was recovered Monday from the Tennessee River in Alabama more than 100 miles downriver from Chattanooga at TVA's Guntersville Dam.
by Ben BentonA Hamilton County, Tennessee, man was charged in Rhea County on Monday with 14 criminal counts that include child rape and sexual battery charges stemming from an investigation launched in December 2019.
by Ben BentonA 31-year-old Crossville, Alabama, man is free on bond after being charged by authorities in DeKalb County with the alleged sexual abuse of a child triggered by a report from a student who was attending an abuse presentation at school.
by Ben BentonA Scottsboro, Alabama, man has been identified as the person whose body was recovered from South Sauty Creek in Buck's Pocket State Park on the DeKalb-Jackson county line Sunday.
by Ben BentonJackson County Road 17 south of Skyline, Alabama, took a beating last February when the region was hit with record-setting rains, and February 2020 has been no kinder.
by Ben BentonA $2.7 million bridge replacement project will close part of U.S. Highway 11 in DeKalb County, Alabama, and force through traffic to detour onto Interstate 59 until fall, but the work's start date has been delayed because of weather.
by Ben BentonA South Pittsburg, Tennessee, woman was killed Wednesday in a head-on crash on U.S. Highway 72 near Scottsboro, Alabama.
by Ben BentonBecause of high water and heavy rains, a search for an unidentified person and a vehicle that went missing in Jackson County, Alabama, Feb. 5 after being swept away by high waters on a creek in Buck's Pocket State Park might not resume for days or longer, authorities said Wednesday.
by Ben BentonAuthorities in Meigs and Hamilton counties are looking into an alleged threat made by a Chattanooga man on social media toward a child living in Meigs County.
by Ben BentonThe U.S. Forest Service has finished repairs on an estimated $2.4 million in damage the agency did to the Trail of Tears in Coker Creek, Tennessee, back in 2014 in a misguided attempt to discourage off-roaders and address erosion.
by Ben BentonThe body of U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Thomas H. Cooper, 22, of Chattanooga has been identified after remaining among 94 unidentified soldiers killed in the battle of Tarawa during World War II.
by Ben BentonJurors in the reckless homicide trial of former Grundy County deputy Toby Mike Holmes took about five hours Thursday to reach a verdict, finding him not guilty of reckless homicide but guilty of the lesser included offense of criminally negligent homicide.
by Ben BentonHolmes faces a charge of reckless homicide in Shelby Comer's December 2017 death.
by Ben BentonThe Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has arrested three people accused of stealing funds from the Monroe County 4-H Scholastic Clay Target Program, according to a news release from the state agency.
by Ben BentonA deadly fire that killed eight people, including several members of one family, last week in Scottsboro, Alabama, has put renewed attention on regulations around marina safety.
by Ben BentonThe iconic water tower in Englewood, Tennessee, has been approved by the Tennessee Historical Commission for nomination to the National Register of Historic Places after a commission vote Wednesday in Nashville.
by Ben BentonA Franklin County, Tennessee, woman was on the phone with 911 dispatchers when authorities say she was shot and killed and her teenage sons injured at their home on Sunday.
by Ben BentonAs the morning fog burned away Tuesday, heavy machinery began removing the wreckage of 35 boats that had been destroyed in a deadly blaze early Monday.
by Ben BentonA Polk County, Tennessee, woman has claimed the first-ever Team USA gold in the 2020 Women's World Gliding Championship in Australia and marked the first World Gliding gold for the U.S. in 35 years.
by Ben Benton