Thursday Jul 2
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WATE-TV Knoxville
EPA approves TVA taking coal ash to Alabama
The EPA has approved TVA's plan to transfer ash from its spill site in Roane County to the Arrowhead Landfill in Perry County, Ala.
Related Topix:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Kingston, TN
Wed Jul 01, 2009
The Knoxville News-Sentinel
Judge to release opinion on Roane County constable
After two days of testimony, the fate of a Roane County constable accused of intimidating and harassing law enforcement officers, elected officials and residents now rests with a judge.
Related Topix:
Kingston, TN,
Opinion,
US Politics,
US News
Tue Jun 30, 2009
www.knoxnews.com
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David Divelbiss
Roane officials, police testify against constable
Elected Roane County officials and police officers testified Monday that they've been harassed, intimidated and frightened by a constable with a penchant for making obscene gestures.
According to testimony, Constable Mark Patton has: doused three young men with pepper spray; made improper traffic stops; frightened a would-be opponent into dropping out of the constable's race; made repeated threats toward police and local elected officials, often accompanied by gestures made with his middle finger.
Patton, 49, is fighting to stay in his nonpaying job as a Kingston-area constable.
www.vanshaver.com
|
David Divelbiss
A Lesson In Tragedy
Editorial, 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)
Sun Jun 28, 2009
WATE-TV Knoxville
Ash spill town hall meeting attracts protestors from Ala.
A joint public meeting on the TVA ash spill recovery effort was held at Roane State Community College Tuesday night, but it wasn't just local residents who expressed their concerns.
Related Topix:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Thu Jun 25, 2009
www.knoxnews.com
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David Divelbiss
Ninth Judicial Watch: KNS Editorial Says Justice Not Served; Critical of Plea-Bargain in Shooting
Knoxville News-Sentinel editorial, June 26, 2009:
Justice was not served when prosecutors in the Ninth Judicial District agreed to five years' probation for a Lenoir City 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. The Ninth Judicial District includes Loudon, Roane, Morgan, and Meigs counties.)
Wed Jun 24, 2009
WVLT-TV Knoxville
TVA prepares to move spilled fly ash from Roane County
The Tennessee Valley Authority's waiting for approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to move millions of tons of spilled fly ash from Roane County.
Related Topix:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tue Jun 23, 2009
Sun Jun 21, 2009
www.imperialvalleynews.com
|
David Divelbiss
Stealing and Selling Uranium Enrichment Equipment Nets Six Years
On Thursday, June 18th, in Knoxville, U.S. District Judge Thomas A. Varlan, Jr. sentenced Roy Lynn Oakley, 67, of Harriman, to six years in prison for trying to sell parts of uranium enrichment equipment that he had stolen from a U.S. Department of Energy facility in Oak Ridge.
When Oakley pled guilty in January, he admitted that he had tried to sell these materials for $200,000 to a person he believed was an agent of a foreign power.
Sat Jun 20, 2009
www.knoxnews.com
|
David Divelbiss
Ninth Judicial Watch: Family critical of plea deal in shooting
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.
Fri Jun 19, 2009
The Knoxville News Sentinel
Roane official doesn't want his kids swimming in Emory
Roane County Attorney Tom McFarland has filed a restraining order in Roane County Chancery Court against his ex-wife to keep her from taking their two children swimming again in the Emory River near the scene of TVA's coal ash spill.
Related Topix:
Kids,
Family,
Sports
Thu Jun 18, 2009
WATE-TV Knoxville
Roane Co. executive backs proposed TVA nuclear reactor
TVA could become the first utility company in the nation to try out a new type of nuclear reactor and it's getting support from Roane County Executive Mike Farmer.
Related Topix:
Nuclear Energy
Wed Jun 17, 2009
www.knoxnews.com
|
David Divelbiss
DAG Johnson’s Office Gives Man 5-Years' Probation in Fatal Shooting
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.
Tue Jun 16, 2009
WBIR-TV Knoxville
Rockwood gas station destroyed in fire
According to the Rockwood Fire Department, an early morning fire consumed the gas station and convenience store that was known as both Super Stop and the House of Tobacco in Rockwood on Tuesday.
Related Topix:
Fire,
Rockwood, TN
Mon Jun 15, 2009
www.knoxnews.com
|
David Divelbiss
Roane official doesn't want his kids swimming in Emory River
Roane County Attorney Tom McFarland has filed a restraining order in Roane County Chancery Court against his ex-wife to keep her from taking their two children swimming again in the Emory River near the scene of TVA's coal ash spill.
Joan McFarland said Monday that both TVA and public officials have given assurances that there are no safety concerns.
McFarland said there have been conflicting reports about "what's in that water".
Roane County News
Brown applied for park job weeks before election post dismissal
Some people didn't like the way Tony Brown lost his job as Roane County administrator of elections.
Related Topix:
Kingston, TN,
US News
Sat Jun 13, 2009
Wed Jun 10, 2009
Roane County News
Two indicted on murder charges
The Roane County grand jury has indicted two people in two separate murder cases.
Ralph Oneal, 33, of Harriman was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Ronnie Dean Cofer in August 2007.
Lonnie Lee White, 46, who was originally charged with reckless homicide, has now been charged with second-degree murder in the death of Misty Dawn Wilmeth on March 10.
Related Topix:
Violent Crime,
Harriman, TN,
Criminal Defense Law,
Law,
Drugs
Mon Jun 08, 2009
The Tennessean
Police investigating shooting by Roane County deputy
Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton says one of his deputies is on leave after fatally shooting a Harriman man over the weekend.
Related Topix:
Harriman, TN,
Knoxville, TN,
Knoxville Metro,
US Politics,
US News
Fri Jun 05, 2009
Crossville Chronicle
'Sharpie Pen' bandit pleads to robbery attempt
The woman who walked into a Westel convenience store and held a Sharpie pen in her pocket to make the clerk think she had a handgun has gone to prison after accepting a sentencing agreement in Cumberland County Criminal Court.
Related Topix:
Cumberland County, TN,
Rockwood, TN,
Drugs