Oak Ridge Today

Kentucky sheriff’s office investigating death of Oak Ridge woman

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office in Kentucky is investigating the death of an Oak Ridge woman, Tearsha Laws, 28, who was found in a wooded area over an embankment on Monday evening, June 26, 2017. Pictured above photographing the scene is Deputy Travis Napier. (Photo by Laurel County Sheriff's Office)

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky is investigating the death of an Oak Ridge woman, Tearsha Laws, 28, who was found in a wooded area over an embankment on Monday evening, June 26, 2017. Pictured above photographing the scene is Deputy Travis Napier. (Photo by Laurel County Sheriff’s Office)

 

The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky is investigating the death of an Oak Ridge woman, authorities said.

Tearsha Laws, 28, was found in a wooded area over an embankment on Monday evening, authorities said. Her body was found about six miles north of London, Kentucky, at 4:58 p.m. Monday, the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office said.

Laws was identified Tuesday morning.

London, Kentucky, is near Interstate 75, north of the Kentucky-Tennessee border and south of Lexington.

More information will be added as it becomes available.

U.S. attorneys, law enforcement target heroin, opioid trafficking, overdoses

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Bill Killian

William C. “Bill” Killian

DETROIT—U.S. attorneys and leaders of federal law enforcement agencies from across six states met in Detroit on August 26, 2015, to share strategies to combat the heroin and prescription pill epidemic across the region.

U.S. Attorney William C. Killian of the Eastern District of Tennessee was among those who attended.

The summit was called in response to the national epidemic of heroin and prescription pill abuse that has hit Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, particularly hard. Heroin overdose deaths in the United States have tripled from 2010 to 2013. Nationally, the number of deaths from all drug overdoses exceeded 43,000 last year, more deaths than from traffic accidents. Heroin use in the United States has doubled from 2007 to 2012.

In the Midwest, opioid deaths have increased 62 percent. The summit seeks to target this national and regional problem by dismantling drug trafficking organizations that distribute heroin and prescription pills and by increasing prevention and educational efforts. [Read more…]

No same-sex marriage licenses issued in Anderson County yet

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Jeff Cole

Jeff Cole

Note: This story was updated at 4:51 p.m.

The Anderson County Clerk received a few inquiries after the U.S. Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage on Friday, but the office hasn’t issued any licenses yet, an official said Saturday.

Tennessee officials had prepared county clerks for the landmark 5-4 decision. An email from the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office advised county clerks that Friday’s ruling made it legal for same-sex couples to marry. County clerks in the state’s 95 counties were advised to comply promptly, and implementing the federal court’s decision began immediately.

Anderson County Clerk Jeff Cole said residents could get same-sex marriage licenses starting at about 1 p.m. Friday (June 26), after county clerks received guidance on the issue.

“We had a few phone calls, but we didn’t issue any licenses yesterday,” Cole said Saturday. [Read more…]

OR, AC players compete in Kentucky-Tennessee Border Bowl

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Brandon Bonds Forced Fumble

Oak Ridge Wildcat Brandon Bonds (81) forces a fumble in the first half of the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday, January 10, 2015. (Photos by Melissa Livesey)

 

Four players from Oak Ridge High School and Anderson County High School participated in the Kentucky-Tennessee National Guard Border Bowl in Williamsburg, Kentucky, on Saturday.

Oak Ridge senior Brandon Bonds—who played safety, wide receiver, and punt returner for the Wildcats—forced a fumble during the first half and recovered a Kentucky fumble in the second, said Melissa Livesey of ORHS Dance Cat Boosters.

Besides Bonds, other players who were picked to play were ORHS senior offensive lineman Isaac Chapman (Chapman also played on the defensive line for the Wildcats, especially toward the end of the season); and senior running back Matt Fox and defensive end Josh Edwards, both of Anderson County High School. [Read more…]

Traffic backed up for miles on I-75 after shutdown for fiery crash

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Lifestar on I-75 Vasper Bridge

This picture by Charlotte Underwood is looking straight at the Vasper Bridge on I-75, near the 132 mile marker. The crash site is a bit north of the bridge on the southbound side of I-75, which is a couple of miles south of Caryville’s exit 134. (Photo and information courtesy Charlotte Underwood/1450 WLAF Radio and WLAF-TV 12)

 

A fiery fatal crash that shut down Interstate 75 in Campbell County on Wednesday afternoon has led to miles of backups heading north out of Knoxville and south from Kentucky.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation reports that traffic coming out of Knoxville on northbound Interstate 75 is backed up more than 7.5 miles from exit 129 at Lake City in Anderson County. Information on detours is available by calling 5-1-1.

Meanwhile, southbound traffic on I-75 coming out of Kentucky is backed up more than five miles from exit 134 at Caryville in Campbell County, TDOT said.

TDOT estimated the highway could be clear by 9 p.m. See TDOT’s Twitter feed here. You can also visit TDOT’s Smartmap for more information. [Read more…]

Kentucky duo arrested after alleged burglary, homeowner confrontation, police chase

Posted at
By 2 Comments

Timothy Shane Petrey

Timothy Shane Petrey

Elizabeth Jane North

Elizabeth Jane North

A Kentucky man and woman were arrested after an alleged confrontation with a homeowner during a burglary on Andersonville Highway on Saturday morning and a short police chase, authorities said.

The alleged burglary at the Andersonville Highway home was discovered by the owner and a friend at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday, according to a press release from Anderson County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Mark Lucas.

“The homeowner confronted the male suspect as he was exiting her home after the female suspect, who was sitting in a truck in the driveway, sounded the horn and yelled to the male,” Lucas said. “The male suspect and the homeowner struggled over some items that were being taken, and then he and the female suspect fled in the truck.” [Read more…]

Tennessee Valley Summit returns to Oak Ridge; energy, manufacturing on agenda

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

U.S. Representative Chuck Fleischmann

Chuck Fleischmann

Third District Rep. Chuck Fleischmann has announced the Tennessee Valley Corridor National Summit will be held the last week of May and return to the site where it started 18 years ago—Oak Ridge. The exact dates are being determined based on the schedules of several anticipated national speakers, including U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor.

Senior decision-makers representing academia, government, and industry from Tennessee, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, and North Carolina will convene in the New Hope Center at Oak Ridge’s Y-12 National Security Complex for the two-day meeting. Fleischmann will serve as host and be joined by of members of the TVC congressional delegation.

[Read more…]

Kentucky earthquake shakes homes in East Tennessee

Posted at
By 15 Comments

Kentucky Earthquake

A 4.3-magnitude earthquake west of Whitesburg, Ky., early Saturday afternoon rattled homes from Cincinnati to Atlanta. There were no initial reports of major injuries or damage. Whitesburg is northwest of Johnson City. (Image courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey)

An earthquake that measured 4.3 on the Richter Scale struck west of Whitesburg, Ky., at 12:08 p.m. Saturday, shaking homes from Cincinnati to Atlanta, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The epicenter was in southeastern Kentucky about 96 miles north-northeast of Knoxville, USGS Geophysicist Paul Caruso said. He wasn’t sure how long it lasted.

Caruso said a 4.3-magnitude earthquake could cause chandeliers to swing and books to fall off shelves near the epicenter, but he wouldn’t expect any major casualties or major damage. They generally occur in quakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or greater, Caruso said.

Caruso said the earthquake was at a shallow depth of about one mile underground.

People in and around Oak Ridge and Knoxville immediately began posting about the quake on social media early Saturday afternoon, but it’s not clear if it caused any damage in East Tennessee.

About an hour after the earthquake, Lt. Ken Sexton of the Whitesburg Fire Department said the department had had no reports of damages or injuries so far. But buildings shook, and people were scared, Sexton said.

The quake was about eight miles west of Whitesburg, which is northwest of Johnson City. It’s mountainous coal mining country, Sexton said.

Caruso said it’s not possible to predict if and when there might be aftershocks, but they are always smaller than the earthquakes themselves. The USGS reported one 2.5-magnitude aftershock at 1:37 p.m. about 10 miles southeast of Hazard, Ky.

The USGS says earthquakes do not occur frequently in most of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, but they are typically felt over a much larger region than they are in the West.

For more information and a map of the epicenter, see the U.S. Geological Survey’s earthquake page at http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usc000dqhx#summary.

Note: This story was last updated at 7:48 p.m.