Local News

State Rep. Kent Calfee, R-Kingston, was among the 46 legislators who won a total of $8,300 in donations for charities in their communities during the Tennessee Health Care Association’s annual “Partnering for Charity” event.
Calfee won $150 for The Michael Dunn Center.
The lawmakers took turns spinning a giant wheel to earn contributions to charities of their choice throughout the state, including schools, churches, senior centers and other organizations.

Harriman taxpayers won’t have the city dipping into their pockets for more money for city coffers.
Harriman City Council approved first reading of a budget last week that includes keeping the tax rate at $1.20 per $100 valuation.
Council members will likely discuss the budget in a June 25 workshop before considering final reading at the first meeting of July.
“This makes about 12 years in a row we haven’t raised them,” said Harriman Mayor Chris Mason recently.

A federal magistrate is recommending that Leon Houston’s suppression motions be denied.
Houston is charged in U.S. District Court with possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of a controlled substance and using a telephone to threaten to kill attorney James Logan.
He allegedly admitted to “getting high” and smoking “wacky tobacco” when he was questioned by law enforcement agents on Jan. 11.
Houston claimed the agents had no right to be on his property and that his alleged statements should be suppressed.

The 20 award-winning photomicrographs and a wide variety of artistic visual concepts and scientific disciplines are revealed in Nikon Small World on view through Sept. 15 at the American Museum of Science and Energy in Oak Ridge.
Art and science are intertwined in Nikon Small World as the photomicrographs showcase the delicate balance between outstanding scientific technique and exquisite artistic quality.