Bradley County hires deputy reported to have given alcohol to teens
A former Hamilton County Sheriff's Office deputy found to have provided alcohol to minors in a 2013 internal investigation has been hired by the Bradley County…
Stories by Ben Benton
-
-
Woman dies in Marion County fire; man burned in blaze being treated at Vanderbilt
An early morning fire Monday on Martin Gaines Road in Marion County, Tennessee, claimed the life of a woman and left a man with injuries from the blaze requiri…
-
Utilities surprises, stormwater and sewer deterioration delay East Ridge multimodal project
The first phase of a 1.2-mile, $8.6 million-and-counting construction project in East Ridge is 35% complete but some unexpected issues with utilities and deter…
-
Tennessee governor promotes ‘Transportation Modernization Act’ in Chattanooga
Gov. Bill Lee stopped by the Tennessee Department of Transportation's Chattanooga facility Friday to rally support for his infrastructure plans to address $30 …
-
Longtime Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum employee killed in shop accident
A longtime employee of Chattanooga's Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum was killed Wednesday in an accident at a shop where old railroad equipment is restored, a…
-
Pedestrian killed on I-75 Tuesday in Bradley County identified
A pedestrian was killed Tuesday on Interstate 75, Bradley County authorities confirmed Wednesday.
-
Former Rhea County, Tennessee, executive dies in federal prison; lawyer investigating possible assault
Federal prison officials confirmed Tuesday that former Rhea County Executive George Thacker died in custody Monday at a federal prison in South Carolina, where…
-
Apison Pike project delays remain unclear after Collegedale train derailment
Tennessee transportation officials said it's too early to tell what impact the loss of a concrete bridge beam destroyed Tuesday in a collision between a Norfol…
-
Collegedale area train traffic, part of Apison Pike and crossing access restored after derailment
Following Tuesday's train derailment in Collegedale, the priority for local officials Wednesday was to reopen at least one lane on Apison Pike while crews cont…
-
New information sought in Whitwell, Tennessee, woman’s disappearance
Investigators with the Marion County Sheriff's Office are seeking help from the public in the July disappearance of a Whitwell, Tennessee, woman, and a $7,000 …
-
Gun seizures at Chattanooga Airport jump at fastest rate of all major Tennessee airports
The 29 firearms seized at Lovell Field so far in 2022 mark a threefold increase from five years ago, the steepest increase of any of the five major airports in…
-
Change of venue denied for now in McMinn County woman’s underage sex crimes case
A woman accused in McMinn County, Tennessee, of more than 40 counts related to alleged inappropriate sexual contact with at least 18 teenage boys will face tri…
-
Train derails in Collegedale after collision with truck carrying concrete
A collision Tuesday between a semitrailer pulling a concrete bridge beam and a Norfolk Southern train in Collegedale derailed the train, left two people with m…
-
First phase of utility relocation, earth grading on Cleveland’s $54 million Highway 60 project nearing completion
Most of the first phase of grading operations and utility relocation within the Tennessee Department of Transportation's $54 million, 3-mile State Route 60 wid…
-
TDOT’s Apison Pike project 66% complete, on track for 2025 finish
The now-$97.2 million third phase of the Apison Pike widening and realignment project launched more than two years ago in Collegedale is almost two-thirds comp…
-
Alabama man held on $1 million bond in mother’s death
A Collinsville, Alabama, man is being held on a $1 million bond in the death of his mother in DeKalb County following a three-day investigation by out-of-count…
-
TBI charges Franklin County man with false report of sexual assault by Bedford County deputy
A Franklin County man faces charges of filing a false report following a TBI investigation into a sexual assault allegation made against a lieutenant at the Be…
-
Federal lawsuit filed against McMinn County, its sheriff and deputy over fatal shooting of dogs
A federal lawsuit seeking no less than $1 million has been filed against McMinn County, Tennessee, its sheriff and a county deputy stemming from an alleged war…
-
Three Rhea County suspects held in separate child abuse, child rape cases
Three Rhea County child abuse suspects are being held on a total of $4 million in bonds in two separate investigations leading to felony indictments this week,…
-
Construction begins on Marion County’s $33.9 million Jasper Middle School project
Site work is underway at the $33.9 million, 98,000-square-foot Jasper Middle School for 650-700 Marion County fifth through eighth graders as the contractor's …
-
Rains in Chattanooga area through next week could bust ongoing drought
Rainfall over the next few days will determine whether those puddles and flooded local streets are any indication the ongoing drought in Southeast Tennessee ha…
-
Traumatized Dayton, Tennessee, family gets help from Neediest Cases
In the span of 10 days, Olivia Keller experienced the best and worst of life.
-
Weekend DUI arrest lands Marion County, Tennessee, deputy behind bars
A Marion County deputy sergeant is on leave after being jailed Sunday for DUI and associated charges after running deputies off the road and crashing into a gu…
-
Chattanooga-area counties to receive Tennessee grants for new recreation center, fire and rescue equipment
Marion County and South Pittsburg will receive $1 million of $1.7 million being distributed in Southeast Tennessee in state grants, officials announced Thursda…
-
Meigs County resident calls for 911 board to resign over $1 million theft of public funds
A Meigs County, Tennessee, resident angry over the theft of more than $1 million from the county's 911 center plans to ask the center's board to resign in full…
-
$161 million low bid awarded for next phase of Chattanooga's I-75/I-24 ‘split’ project
Work on the long-awaited -- or dreaded -- second phase of the Interstate-24/Interstate 75 "split" project is set to begin in late spring 2023 now that the Tenn…
-
Grundy County man wrongly convicted in 2006 murder case files 12-count federal lawsuit
The Grundy County man wrongly convicted of a 2006 murder he didn't commit and freed after serving 13 years in a Tennessee prison filed a federal lawsuit Wednes…
-
Grundy couple pleads not guilty to charges leveled in Oct. 18 shooting of child
Two Tracy City, Tennessee, residents have been charged on grand jury indictments in the Oct. 18 nonfatal shooting of a 9-year-old boy by another boy, also 9, b…
-
Catoosa, Walker counties home to sites on Georgia’s Places in Peril list for 2023
Two of the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation's 10 Places in Peril for 2023 are in Northwest Georgia near the Tennessee state line.
-
Small Business Saturday in and around Chattanooga pushes local-first holiday shopping
Sandwiched between Black Friday and Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday is the day people are urged to shop local, and keeping money close to home can make a…
-
Son of Whitwell woman identified as cold case victim returns to Tennessee
For the Terry family in Whitwell, Thanksgiving 2022 was bittersweet, a reunion drawing members together in loss as they bring the latest chapter of the "Lady o…
-
Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama transportation departments stop road projects for Thanksgiving weekend
State road construction projects in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama will be halted for the Thanksgiving travel holiday as AAA predicts 54.6 million people will …
-
Franklin County authorities investigating after man found shot at burglary call dies
The investigation of a man found shot Sunday when Franklin County Sheriff's deputies reached a burglary-in-progress call has become a death probe after he died…
-
Episcopal church projects in Chattanooga, Cleveland receive grants for preservation
Federal Historic Preservation Fund grants of $25,000 apiece will help pay for preservation work at two area churches on the National Register of Historic Place…
-
New Athens, Tennessee, council ends contract with longtime city attorney
Two incoming City Council members elected Nov. 8 became the mayor and vice mayor of Athens, Tennessee, on Tuesday night, and in their first official meeting, t…
-
Athens, Tennessee, city manager resigns as new council takes office
After the mayor and vice mayor of Athens, Tennessee, were voted out of office last week, the town's city manager resigned Monday.
-
Delivery driver for Franklin County elementary school arrested with suspected pot, fentanyl, gun and cash
A produce driver making a delivery to Sewanee Elementary School was busted by a Franklin County, Tennessee, school resource officer after he smelled what he be…
-
Tennessee boating fatalities near 26-year high mark
Tennessee is at 27 boating fatalities for 2022 and closing in on 26-year highs of 31 tallied in 1996, 2004 and 2020, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resour…
-
Chattanooga area is home to three sites that tell story of Native Americans
Home to indigenous cultures for thousands of years, three of the seven sites in Tennessee that tell the story of Native Americans are in the Chattanooga area, …
-
Clingman descendants: Cost of renaming peak would be worth it
If the U.S. Board on Geographic Names approves a proposal to change what is now named Clingmans Dome to its Cherokee name, Kuwohi, one of the effects below the…
-
Cleveland man partners with conservation groups to protect 620-acre Custard Hollow on Cumberland Plateau
A Cleveland, Tennessee, man partnered with conservation groups to conserve 620 acres of Cumberland Plateau forest in Franklin County where it will add to work …
-
Tropical depression Nicole brings relief to Chattanooga region but doesn’t break drought
Despite Thursday night and Friday's deluge across the Tennessee Valley, the rain from tropical depression Nicole might not bust the drought gripping Southeast …
-
Longtime mayor, vice mayor defeated in nine-way race for Athens, Tennessee, city council
A nine-way race on Tuesday's ballot in Athens, Tennessee, for three open seats on the City Council ended with the town's mayor and vice mayor defeated as voter…
-
Cherokee Cultural Celebration set this weekend at Red Clay
A cultural celebration is planned for Saturday and Sunday at Red Clay State Historic Park in southern Bradley County, Tennessee, the site where Cherokee leader…
-
Nephew speaks about Whitwell, Tennessee, woman identified in 1974 Massachusetts cold case
Former Whitwell, Tennessee, resident Ruth Marie Terry is nearly as much a mystery to most folks in her home county as she was as an unidentified Jane Doe in a …
-
Chipper Jones to be keynote speaker at 2023 Athens Area Chamber of Commerce banquet
The Athens Area Chamber of Commerce has announced its 2023 annual banquet speaker as former Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones, continuing a string of high-pr…
-
Records requests sent to every Tennessee county seek 2020 election data
Election commissions in all 95 Tennessee counties have been sent at least one public records request related to the 2020 presidential election, according to a …
-
Suck Creek Road slide repairs on track for August 2023 completion
A $9 million project to repair extensive landslide damage on Suck Creek Road, triggered by heavy rain the weekend of the Easter 2020 tornado outbreak, is still…
-
Drought conditions confirmed in Southeast Tennessee; some rain expected this week
Southeast Tennessee is in a moderate to severe drought.
-
Legend of ‘Tall Betsy’ marks 42 years in Cleveland, Tennessee, Halloween folklore
At 7 feet, 6 1/2 inches tall, Tall Betsy -- the local-folklore-based creation of Cleveland, Tennessee's millionaire payday lending czar Allan Jones -- is a lar…