Emily Ann Roberts, runner-up season 9 of The Voice. (Courtesy: WVLT/Emily Ann Roberts)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI/WVLT) Country star and Knoxville native Emily Ann Roberts is headed home to host an album release show at the Bijou Theatre.
Roberts is releasing her full-length LP “Can’t Hide Country” on Friday, Sept. 22, but fans can get a sneak peek a day early at the Knoxville show.
“I can’t wait to celebrate the release of ‘Can’t Hide Country’ in my hometown! These people and this place made me who I am, and I just want to make them proud,” said Roberts.
The album is dedicated to Roberts’s crafting of country music just like what she heard growing up in East Tennessee. It features 13 tracks, 12 of which Roberts wrote.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A rare EF2 tornado is to blame for severe damage Monday in West Knox County.
The National Weather Service confirming an EF2 tornado did touch down in West Knox County from the Yarnell Road to Lovell Road areas. NWS officials say the tornado is the first of that magnitude to touch down in the month of August since 1950.
The EF2 twister was part of severe storms yesterday that caused extreme damage especially in the Cedar Bluff, Lovell Road, and Karns areas.
Officials said windspeeds reached up to 130 miles per hour. The damage from the storm displaced at least 15 people from an apartment complex in Knoxville.
People are still experiencing power outages as well, with the Knoxville Utilities Board reporting nearly 6,000 customers still without power as of 1:00 Tuesday afternoon.
Lovel Crossing Apartments on Lovell Road in Knoxville suffered significant damage after the severe storms on Monday, causing over a dozen people to be displaced.
The Lovell Crossing Apartments complex houses close to 400 people, but more than a dozen of them will be unable to return home due to the extensive damage caused by severe weather. No injuries have been reported, but many residents had to make last minute plans to find a place to stay after the storm tore through the apartment complex.
For the 15 people without a place to stay, the county is using First Baptist Church of Knoxville as a shelter for the time being. Red Cross is also going to take part in assisting those in need who choose to stay at the church.
According to the Knoxville Fire Department, it will likely take weeks, and maybe even months, before anyone is allowed to move back into the apartment complex.
Knox County Engineering and Public Works crews worked through the night to clear more than 200 down trees as several areas in Knox County suffered significant damage after yesterday’s storms. Reports show that Karns, Cedar Bluff, and Lovell Road may have been the hardest hit.
Additionally, residents were forced to clear more than 300 units in an apartment complex off Yarnell Road. KAT buses are helping lead evacuation efforts.
Countywide, few injuries have been reported.
“Quick, hard-hitting storms like this can be scary,” said Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs. “Thankfully, our crews and personnel are always prepared for emergencies, and we are able to respond quickly.”
Crews hope to work with utility companies to have all roads open by the end of the day, though the following were still closed this morning:
Bob Kirby Road
Bob Grey Road
Essex Drive
Whitlock Lane
Pleasant Ridge Road
Norfolk Drive.
Clearing roads for emergency access is the top priority. Roadside debris will be picked up in the coming weeks.
“Anyone whose house or apartment was hard hit should call their insurance company right away,” urged Mayor Jacobs. “Together with local government, they will be leading immediate needs assessment and support efforts.”
Knox County, along with other municipalities, has already formed an emergency response team to begin assessing damage, but FEMA could take weeks to approve financial aid, and it could take years for those in need to actually receive any money.
In an event of this size, personal insurance (homeowner, rental, car, etc.) will be the best avenue for reporting and/or recovering any loses or damages. It is highly unlikely there will be an opportunity for individual claims to be filed for federal aid.
Knox County has already begun assembling an emergency response team that will assess damage to submit a request for federal reimbursement of public sector and governmental costs to include things like EPW overtime, debris management, utility work, road repairs, etc. However, it’s more complex than that as FEMA typically won’t reimburse the county for the ordinary costs of business (like road crews doing road work or debris removal during regular working hours).
Reimbursement, if approved, is typically a multi-year process and the county is following the standard reporting processes regularly required by FEMA.
Please call the EPW office at 865-215-5800 to report any trees or debris blocking any road.
Alcoa, TN (WOKI) An undercover operation in Alcoa results in the arrest of seven men for sex trafficking.
Officials with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation say the two-day operation focused on hunting down traffickers who prey on victims on websites known to be linked to prostitution or commercial sex cases with minors.
All seven men are accused of seeking sex from minors. They were arrested on charges of trafficking for a commercial sex act and have been booked into the Blount County Jail.
Rene Gonzalez, 44, of Sevierville
Hardkkumar Patel, 31, of Knoxville
Jorge Pickens, 21, of Knoxville
Bradford Hartman, 34, of Maryville
Kenneth Price, 60, of Rogersville
Jeremiah Williams, 23, of Knoxville
Chethan Ranganatha, 40, of Knoxville
The investigation also helped identify two women victims of human trafficking, and they were offered housing and counseling through Grow Free Tennessee, a program of the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
Loudon High School closes amid storm damage (Courtesy: WVLT/Bob Lewis)
Loudon County, TN (WOKI) The school year barely underway, students at one Loudon County school will get a day off tomorrow, Tuesday, August 8 thanks to Mother Nature.
Though they are “still assessing [the] damage,” Loudon County School system officials say Loudon High School will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, August 8 due to damage associated with Monday’s storm.
Loudon High School closes amid storm damage (Courtesy: WVLT/Bob Lewis)
Photos supplied to our news partner WVLT appear to show large portions of the high school’s exterior stripped away due to the storm that ripped through much of east Tennessee Monday afternoon.
School system officials say all other Loudon County Schools will remain open. Lenoir City Schools will be open Tuesday after dismissing early on Monday.
Knoxville Police investigating a fatal crash on I-275 near Heiskell Avenue have identified the teen killed.
KPD says 19 year-old Kanye Harris died at the hospital following Saturday’s crash.
Preliminary investigation shows his SUV was going south on I-275 when he lost control of the vehicle and it flipped numerous times. Harris was ejected from the vehicle. After he left the road, he hit another car on the interstate. The driver of that vehicle was not injured.
Knoxville Police investigating a fatal crash on I-275 near Heiskell Avenue have identified the teen killed.
KPD says 19 year-old Kanye Harris died at the hospital following Saturday’s crash.
Preliminary investigation shows his SUV was going south on I-275 when he lost control of the vehicle and it flipped numerous times. Harris was ejected from the vehicle. After he left the road, he hit another car on the interstate. The driver of that vehicle was not injured.
Knoxville Police have charged a woman with vehicular homicide following an early morning accident on I-40 East near Papermill Road.
KPD says 36-year-old Shannon Glasper is facing several charges as a result of that fatal crash which preliminary investigation reveals her car and a Pick-up truck pulling a fifth-wheel camper were traveling east on I-40 when she lost control and hit the pick-up which flipped over the wall and came to rest on its top on the ramp to Papermill Drive.
A female passenger of the pick-up was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver and another passenger were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Glasper fled the scene but stopped a short time later due to disabling damage sustained in the crash.
Glasper showed signs of intoxication and was driving on a suspended license.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Spraying for mosquitos will occur after West Nile Virus is detected in West Knoxville.
Knox County Health Department officials say roads in the West Hills neighborhood will be treated next week after the presence of West Nile Virus was detected.
Spraying will take place on Tuesday, August 8, weather permitting, from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. to reduce the Culex mosquito population and the risk of WNV spreading to humans.
A map of the affected area and the specific roads to be treated can be found below.
(Courtesy: Knox County Health Department)
The following roads are slated to be treated:
Bennington Dr. Buckingham Dr. Chesterfield Dr. Churchill Rd. Clubhouse Way Corteland Dr. Garden Villa Way Manderly Way North Winston Rd. Portsmouth Rd. Shadycrest Dr. Sheffield Dr. Somerset Rd Vanosdale Rd. Westbridge Dr. Westdale Dr.
Signs will be posted in the affected neighborhoods to alert residents, who are asked to stay inside during spraying and keep pets inside or in the backyard. Beekeepers and others who do not want their yard to be sprayed should call KCHD’s environmental health program at 865-215-5200.
Adair Park and part of the Inskip neighborhood in North Knoxville were treated in July after lab testing confirmed the presence of the virus in the area.
