Local News

Daniel Phillip Thompson was sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case that involved the severe beating of his girlfriend.

The July 2013 incident landed Thompson, who lived South of the River at the time, in jail on charges of aggravated assault, especially aggravated kidnapping and attempted first-degree murder.

The especially aggravated kidnapping charge was amended to aggravated kidnapping, and Thompson pleaded guilty to the count in Roane County Criminal Court on Wednesday. The other two charges were dismissed as part of his plea deal.

Hopes remain high for Tennessee’s famous strawberry crop, but cool wet weather has postponed the start date for the state’s strawberry season.

Strawberries require consistent warm sunshine to ripen and sweeten, and in Tennessee, it is not unusual for some farmers to have ripe berries by mid-April.

This year, however, a brief burst of sun and high temperatures was quickly replaced with persistent rain.

Tennessee growers will have some berries by the end of the month, but yields will be light until the first week of May.

Michael Pennington was recognized for his service to the Roane County Ambulance Service on Monday.

Pennington has worked for the department for 42 years and recently decided to step down from full time to part time.

“It’s not health, because I’m still in good shape, considering how stressful this job is,” Pennington said. “I’ve just been looking at it for a while.”