The Tennessee House of Representatives passes a controversial bill that will allow teachers to be armed with a concealed handgun in schools.
The bill, which passed today (Tuesday), is sitting on Governor Bill Lee’s desk. There have been protest from teachers, parents and lawmakers opposed to the bill at the Capital this week and one teacher was asked to leave the gallery for shouting during the debate for the bill.
Knox County Schools Superintendent Dr. Jon Rysewyk says whenever any bill passes into law, that’s when they start getting more direction for what it means and what the school system requirements are and KCS will follow state law.
Knox County schools already have armed school resource officers in the buildings.
The bill stipulates that anyone wanting to carry on school grounds would need permission from a superintendent, principal and chief of police or law enforcement agency and requires those carrying weapons undergo yearly background checks, psychological evaluations and 40 hours of training.
The Knoxville Fire Department is investigating a house fire in East Knoxville.
Crews called to the 2100 block of Hoitt Avenue last night (Tuesday) and found smoke coming from the side of the home which was moving quickly into the house through the attic. They put the fire out in a matter of minutes but the house suffered smoke, fire, and water damage.
There were 3 people living in the house but they weren’t home but are now displaced.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI The driver of a tractor-trailer that overturned in Cocke County this (Tuesday) morning is dead.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol releasing the news in a preliminary report which indicates that the driver was headed east on I-40 around 8:15 a.m. when he moved off the interstate, hitting a cable barrier.
According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the crash closed the right lane of I-40 for several hours.
The identity of the driver has not yet been released.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A third party working at the Gatlinburg Convention Center is now facing thousands in fines following a workplace death in December of last year.
According to a report from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA), Appalachian Staffing Service, LLC was fined $8,200 after 66-year-old Jeffrey Coker fell from the center’s rafters on December 26, 2023.
Investigators say employees were working on rigging equipment to the ceiling when the Coker fell 32 feet onto a concrete floor.
Appalachian Staffing Service is facing four citations, ranging in fines from $1,200 to $1,400 each. The violations mostly cover safety checks-and-balances, claiming the company did not verify that all equipment was working correctly.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: A teen is facing several charges following a brief lockdown Tuesday morning at Fulton High School.
Knoxville Police Department officials say KPD School Resource Officers responded to the school around 11:30 a.m. after a person called the school threatening to hurt a student.
Officers detained a 16-year-old male suspect near the school who police say had two knives on him.
He was charged with aggravated criminal trespass, harassment and carrying weapons on school property.
KPD says no one was hurt, and the suspect is not a student at the school.
ORIGINAL STORY: Fulton High School was placed on a brief lockdown Tuesday morning after a report stated a teen had threatened another student.
Knoxville Police Department officials say no one was hurt in the incident, and one student was detained for investigation.
Rural Metro is investigating an early morning (Tuesday) fire in North Knox County which results in an arrest.
Crews called to the 9100 block of Brock Road near Texas Valley Road and found a module home on fire.
The owner was safely outside and no injures were reported.
Officials say the owner was “using power” via an extension cord from his neighbor and went to jail after an outstanding warrant was found by law enforcement. Rural Metro says the fire appears to have started near a wood stove.
Knox County’s Twenty year Growth Plan is unanimously approved after five hours of debate.
Knox County Commissioners meeting last night (Monday) discussing the plan also known as Advance Knox. It creates an outline for Knox County development and infrastructure future with 70,000 people expected to move into the county over the next 20 years.
The Farragut Board of Alderman and Mayor voted against the plan before ultimately passing it a week later after about 19 amendments and changes were made to the plan.
Mayor Glenn Jacobs says he’s please the plan has finally passed.
County Commission members say you’ll first see rezoning in affected areas then infrastructure changes like expanding roads within that 20 year span. Knox County hopes this plan will save them millions of dollars.
A man whose remains were found in 1993 in Knox County has been identified as a result of a partnership between the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as part of the Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative.
On May 24, 1993, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle along Cedar Bluff Road in Knoxville. The adult male, who had no identification on him, was pronounced deceased at the scene, and his body was sent for an autopsy. Forensic pathologists determined that the man was likely between the ages of 51 and 60 but were unable to identify him. Investigators with the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the Knox County Regional Forensic Center continued to work to determine the identity of the victim using technology available in 1993, but their efforts were not successful. After exhausting all leads, the man was classified as a John Doe.
Efforts to identify the man continued with the University of Tennessee Forensic Anthropology Center submitting a sample of his remains to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A DNA profile was developed and entered into the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) and the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NAMUS) in hopes that the man would eventually be identified, but no developments occurred.
In December 2022, the Knox County Regional Forensic Center (RFC) submitted a sample of the man’s remains to Othram Inc., a private lab in Texas, to create a comprehensive DNA profile. In May 2023, TBI agents partnered with the RFC as part of the TBI Unidentified Human Remains DNA Initiative. From there, Othram scientists used forensic genetic genealogical (FGG) DNA testing to develop information about possible relatives connected to the man. Last month, with assistance from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the York County Sheriff’s Office in South Carolina, TBI agents used the information provided by Othram to locate and make contact with one of the potential family members and obtain a familial DNA standard. That standard was then submitted to Othram for comparison against the DNA of the unidentified man. Based on the DNA and forensic genealogy results, scientists at Othram confirmed that the Knox County John Doe was Elbert Louis Brown (DOB: 07/01/1940), originally from the York, South Carolina area. It was further determined that family members last saw Brown in 1992. He was homeless at the time.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) The Knoxville Police Department has identified the officer involved in last week’s deadly shooting in Fountain City.
Police responded to a disturbance in the 5300 Block of North Broadway at the Exxon gas station where investigators say 41-year-old William Charles McBride Jr. was “allegedly acting erratically and potentially aggressively.” McBride, who was armed with two knives, left the store and confronted Officer Seth Beeler in the parking lot; that confrontation resulted in Beeler firing at McBride, hitting him once.
McBride was taken to the hospital in critical condition, where he died from his injuries. Beeler was placed on routine administrative leave.
