Loudon County News

A Loudon County man has been federally indicted on drug and weapon charges. Deputies executed a search warrant on Justin Lynna s Spring Street home in Philadelphia on May 27th, 2009.

The state has approved limited ash disposal test runs from the TVA ash spill site in Roane County to four Class I Tennessee landfills. The TDEC approval goes into effect July 15. Matlock Bend landfill in Loudon County is one of the approved sites.

Loudon County Mayor Doyle Arp says he had no idea the operator of Matlock Bend Municipal Landfill had agreed to accept TVA fly ash on a trial basis.

That's not what the Solid Waste Commission members wanted done and I'm sure it's not what our county commissioners would have wanted done.”

The approval for test runs came as a shock to some landfill neighbors and county officials. Arp says he'll fight to keep the ash out of this county, and at least one neighbor of the Loudon landfill feels the same way.

Local resident Mark Moore says:

I know they have to put it somewhere, but I'm not crazy about it being next door to me."

Loudon resident Wendy Baustian, in a letter to county officials and state legislators, wrote:

We have no idea of the lasting impact that the fly ash will impose upon the residents in terms of health....TVA tells people not to drink or play in the water near the spill because of the fly ash and it's unknown health hazards, yet we are going to bring it here. There is no amount of money that is acceptable to take, in exchange for the health and well-being of the members of this community.”

A Loudon County man has been indicted on federal drug and weapon charges.

Deputies executed a search warrant on Justin Lynn’s Spring Street home in Philadelphia on May 27th, 2009. They found prescription pain killers, muscle relaxers, more than an ounce of marijuana and $5,000 in cash. In Lynn’s bedroom they also found a loaded shotgun, ammunition, digital scales and multiple crack pipes.

The indictment, handed down June 18th, was sought by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

By Joe Webb

I have been following the story of the tragic death of Savannah Cass McMahan and the subsequent re-victimization of her family by a lazy, distracted, certainly incompetent, and probably ethically-compromised District Attorney General's office. My emotions have swung from excruciating sorrow for the young woman's family, to an almost blind fury at the notion of allowing her alleged killer to walk free. This infuriates me (fathers of daughters reading this will understand).

As I read the coverage of this tragedy and the compounding epic farse that is the criminal justice system in the 9th Judicial District under Russell Johnson, something caught my eye and it added a new dimension. Maybe this is a teachable moment in our lives. Maybe there is something important to be learned in this horror. Maybe something good can come from something so terribly bad.

The thought came reading Hugh Willet's excellent coverage of this story for the Knoxville News-Sentinel. In his story "Family critical of plea deal in shooting", Mr. Willet writes of John McMahan, the victim's father "McMahan said he witnessed the couple's frequent arguments and what he called "bullying" by Harvey." Willet goes on to quote Mr. McMahan "She said she was going to leave him several times before the shooting," he said. "I know that's why he shot her, because she said she was going to leave."

Did you catch it? Did you see the teachable moment? I'll give you a hint: The key word is "bullying" suggesting domestic violence that just didn't get addressed in time. Tragically, many don't and maybe that lesson is the silver lining here. This tragedy may have given us an opportunity to think deeply and critically about domestic violence, and our response as a community to domestic violence.

(Click the headline to view the full article)

A Vonore teen is charged with raping a 12-year-old Loudon County girl he was acquainted with more than once at her home.

The suspect is Spencer Lee Wells, 18.

Judy Fenton as been chosen to take the reins as the new director of United Way of Loudon County.

Gil Luttrell has announced his retirement from the Loudon County School System effective July 31. He currently serves in two capacities at the Central Office — assistant director and transportation director.

This afternoon authorities found the body of a North Carolina man who had been missing since approximately 2:15 AM, after a boating accident on Watts Bar Reservoir in Loudon.

Two men and a minor child were fishing when their 20-foot Alumacraft jon boat was struck by a barge. They were anchored in approximately 25 feet of water. All three were thrown into the water after the collision. One man and the minor were able to swim to shore but the body of the other man was not found.

Rescue squads from several counties converged on Loudon to help look for the missing man. Police have not released the name of the victim pending notification of family.

Justice was not served when prosecutors in Loudon County agreed to five years' probation for a man who shot his girlfriend to death.

John Kenneth Harvey, 26, was originally charged with second-degree murder in the February 2008 death of Savannah Cass McMahan, 21.

Harvey admits he was arguing with McMahan when he picked up a loaded .22 from a nearby table. The two argued often, according to McMahan's father, who said Harvey bullied his daughter, and "she said she was going to leave him several times before the shooting."

The gun was a single-action revolver, and the detective in the case said it had to be cocked before it could be fired. The powder burns he found showed McMahan was shot at close range.......

If prosecutors could not do better than a no-jail-time deal in that case, they should have gone to trial and let 12 citizens decide who had the best ballistics expert.

This plea bargain simply undermines faith in the judicial process.

(The full editorial is longer than Topix allows on the news board. To read it in its entirety, visit the accompanying link.)

A former Loudon County Sheriff's deputy was found guilty of theft of services in Blount County Circuit Court.

David Dewayne Drinnen, 44, Maryville, was convicted of theft of electric service from Fort Loudoun Electric Cooperative.

Following a closed-door executive meeting Monday of Lenoir City Council, its members voted to return the city court clerk's responsibilities to the recorder/treasurer, as the city's charter requires.

Gil Luttrell has announced his retirement from the Loudon County School System effective July 31.

After extensive pressure from citizens, Loudon County Public Television's advisory board voted unanimously Thursday to include public comments in broadcasts of public meetings.

Local residents had petitioned the board to modify the station's policy of not recording public comments.

The parents of a Lenoir City woman shot and killed by her boyfriend are speaking out against a plea bargain that sentenced their daughter's killer to five years on probation.

The plea-deal was granted by the office of Russell Johnson, District Attorney General for Roane, Loudon, Meigs, and Morgan counties.

"I want justice for my daughter," said Sarah Berry, mother of Savannah Cass McMahan, 21, who was shot by John Kenneth Harvey, 26, in February 2008.

Harvey was originally charged with second-degree murder, and admits he shot the woman during an argument but claims it was an accident. The charge was reduced to reckless homicide.

The victim’s mother, Sarah Berry, said she met several times with the district attorney general's office. She says the office wanted to avoid a trial from the beginning,

The victim's father, John McMahan, said he witnessed the couple's frequent arguments and what he called "bullying" by Harvey. McMahan says his daughter was going to leave Harvey. He says:

I know that's why he shot her, because she said she was going to leave"

Assistant Attorney General Bill Reedy says one critical factor in not pursuing a murder charge was a "dying declaration" made by the victim that the shooting was accidental. The witness was said to be Nathan Lane, who called the ambulance that night.

Lane says that he never heard a dying declaration and never agreed to testify to hearing such a thing:

By the time I saw her she was already going into convulsions. She didn't say a thing to me."

For more details, see the full story.

A fatal accident occurred on Interstate-75 North between exits 72 and 76 Thursday before 3 p.m. The name of the victim and the circumstances leading to the incident were not available Thursday afternoon.

Hedrick Rodeo Company made its return to the city of Loudon Friday and Saturday nights for the second annual Loudon County Farm Bureau Young Farmers and Ranchers Pro Rodeo.

A Lenoir City man who admitted shooting and killing his girlfriend during an argument last year will receive five years' probation for the crime.

John Kenneth Harvey, 26, was arrested in February 2008 and charged with second-degree murder in the death of Savannah Kathy McMahan, 21.

Prosecutors said they reduced the charge to reckless homicide and agreed to five years' supervised probation after reviewing the evidence in the case.

The county school board meeting Thursday night began with a request from the design firm Weeks, Ambrose and McDonald to spend $1,995 to update the 2006 survey of the shared campus of Fort Loudoun Middle School and Loudon Elementary - schools that will be consolidated under the building plan - and ended up with board members questioning their choice ...

Loudon County Sheriff's Deputies arrested a man in connected with a string of "high dollar trailer and industrial mower thefts" in Loudon County, according to a LCSD release.

After several residents of Loudon County reported the theft of trailers and high-end lawnmowers, the sheriff's office has arrested two suspects and recovered about $30,000 in equipment.