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Local News

  • New baler helps keep trash in check

    Roane County Solid Waste and Recycling Center got a boost last week with the installation of a new baler.

    Recycling balers are used to compact recyclables such as aluminum, cardboard, paper, and plastic into blocks that can easily be stacked and transported for sale.

    “The old baler had been here since 1997,” Roane County Solid Waste Director Ralph Stewart said. “We had just gotten to the point we couldn’t keep up anymore.”

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  • New shoes galore
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  • County pushes TVA on Fuller Park

    Officials see private investment along the waterfront as a way to help Roane County overcome the stigma of the TVA ash spill. One site that’s been identified is Tom Fuller Park in Rockwood.

    Roane County Executive Ron Woody wrote a letter to TVA last month, asking that the land restriction of “use as a municipal park for public recreation” be changed to also include “use for marina/restaurant/hotel.”

    “This change would allow the county/city the opportunity to explore development of a marina/resort,” the letter said.

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  • Roane Gala a hit at home

    Roane County’s biggest fundraising event for the Roane Alliance returned home this year.

    People responded by turning out in record numbers.

    “It is more than double the people than last year,” said Pam May, Roane Alliance marketing and tourism director. “It was exciting.”

    May estimated that more than 500 people attended.

    “So many people over the years have told us if we have it in Roane County they’d come. And they did,” May added.

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  • Fatal wreck could mean charges for local woman

    A Knoxville woman who was injured in a Roane County car accident died Sunday night.

    A Harriman woman could face charges for the wreck, which occurred on Nov. 6 on Hwy. 61 at the intersection of Shady Road.

    According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Debbie L. Johnson of Knoxville was traveling south on the highway in a Toyota Avalon.

    She was waiting to make a left turn when her vehicle was rear-ended by a Kia Sedona minivan driven by 36-year-old Rebecca L. Phillips of Harriman.

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  • Trial may be delayed for suspect in Kingston murder

    Tammy Rosado is scheduled to stand trial on charges of second-degree murder on Nov. 18, but her attorneys are asking that the trial be postponed until next year.

    “Neither the state nor the defense have been dilatory in any way, but despite the best efforts of counsel, the matter is simply not ready for trial this term,” Assistant Public Defenders Harold Balcom and Walter Johnson said in a motion to continue.

    District Attorney General Russell Johnson disagrees with their assessment and wants the case to go to trial as scheduled.

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  • Local police played role in major East Tenn. drug bust

    From STAFF REPORTS

    Two local law enforcement agencies were participants in an investigation that took down an East Tennessee cocaine conspiracy.

    The leader, Baltazar Camacho of Michoacan, Mexico, was sentenced to 470 months in prison last week.

    According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas Varlan determined that at a minimum, Camacho distributed between 150 to 450 kilograms of cocaine, and knew that half of that amount would be turned into crack cocaine.

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  • Reporter's Notebook: Neal beats the odds in spite of Roane’s early voting forecast

    Tim Neal accomplished something that’s not often done in local elections.

    He won the Kingston mayor’s race, despite losing early voting.

    Roane County Administrator of Elections Charles Holiway said the only other time he’s seen that done was in the 2010 District 2 County Commission race.

    Randy Ellis trailed in early voting, but came back to win one of the district’s three commission seats after all the votes were tallied.

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  • County plan developed for image-repair money

    The Roane Alliance has a plan for the county’s ash spill public image repair funds.

    In a Nov. 5 letter to Roane County Executive Ron Woody and county commissioners, Alliance President Wade Creswell proposes a three-phase approach that includes design and creation of award-winning quality websites that emphasize tourism and economic development and interstate signage that highlights Watts Bar Lake. The plan also calls for signage that creates a sense of a welcoming, small-town atmosphere.  

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  • 11 magic number for snow-day misses

    Just like last year, Roane County Schools has 11 snow days built into its calendar.

    None have been used so far, but that could change with the cold weather months approaching.

    “I don’t really have any long-term predictions, but we think we’ll be OK as far as the number of days that we have,” Director of Schools Gary Aytes said.

    “We should be good with 11.”

    A harsh winter caused the school system to use all but one of its inclement weather days last school year.

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