Greene County, TN (WOKI) The Greene County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a four-day-old baby died after being bitten by a dog.
GCSO officials say the baby was bitten by the dog at a Greene County home and taken to Greeneville Community Hospital around 10:30 Monday morning.
The baby was then flown to UT Medical Center and died from its injuries.
The infant has been taken to the Knoxville Regional Forensic Center for an autopsy.
Additional information has not been released.
For the third year, Tennessee State Parks and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) are joining the Tennessee chapter of the American Canoe Association (ACA) to offer low-cost kayaking instruction Saturday, May 18.
The event is part of National Safe Boating Week. Last year, the event trained 279 students across North Carolina and Tennessee in 24 simultaneous Kayaking 101 classes led by nationally certified ACA instructor volunteers. The National Safe Boating Council recognized this effort with the Communications Community Impact Award.
As a result of the success realized in Tennessee and North Carolina last year, seven states are participating in the event this year with 43 simultaneous Kayaking 101 classes planned in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Texas, Missouri, and Florida.
“Doubling the number of classes and involving more states for more boaters is great,” said Greer Tidwell, deputy commissioner for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. “We are happy to host these classes at Tennessee State Parks and grateful to the phenomenal volunteer instructors and our partners at TWRA and the ACA.”
“We want all Tennesseans to be safe while enjoying the state’s beautiful waterways,” said TWRA Executive Director Jason Maxedon. “We are excited to be part of this great partnership to highlight outdoor recreation opportunities and paddling safety skills.”
“Our instructor volunteers are so excited to share their love of the sport with newcomers and experienced paddlers alike,” said ACA Southeastern Chair Andrea White. “Just one day of training can make the difference between setting yourself up for a bad experience that ruins the sport for you versus setting yourself up for a whole lifetime of paddling fun.”
Participating Tennessee State Parks for the event are:
Big Ridge State Park
Booker T. Washington State Park
Cove Lake State Park
David Crockett Birthplace State Park
Harpeth River State Park
Harrison Bay State Park
Hiwassee/Ocoee Scenic River State Park
Long Hunter State Park
Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park
Seven Islands State Birding Park
Warriors’ Path State Park
Classes cost $15 per person including a free kayak rental for training that often costs $75-$150.
All instructors are Tennessee volunteers who are nationally certified to give paddling and rescue training and are supported by experienced safety teams. TWRA wildlife officers will be present at various locations to emphasize and encourage paddlecraft safety on Tennessee waters.
Each park’s event will be limited to 15 people. A limited number of kayaks, paddles, and life jackets will be available. For the second year, the partnership is adding an Adaptive Kayaking 101 event at Booker T. Washington State Park. This event will have specialized adaptive paddling equipment available for paddlers with physical disabilities.
The classes are made available by certified instructor volunteers, safety boaters and equipment donations from many organizations, including Tennessee State Parks. These organizations include: Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts; Blues City Kayaks; Bluff City Canoe Club; Catalyst Sports; Chattanooga Therapeutic Recreation Services; Chota Canoe Club; East Tennessee Whitewater Club; Knoxville Kayaking Clinic; Nolichucky Outdoor Learning Institute; Sunseeker Outfitters; Team River Runner-Atlanta; Tennessee Scenic Rivers Association; Tennessee Valley Canoe Club; and Tennessee RiverLine.
Interested parties can register at this link. In-person spaces are limited. A free online class is also available; however, in-person training with a certified instructor is strongly encouraged.
More information is available at the American Canoe Association website.
The ACA is the national accrediting body for paddlesports education.
Kayaking at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park in 2023.
Photo by ANDe Demetriou
Roane County, TN (WOKI) A Roane County couple will spend the rest of their lives in prison without the possibility of parole.
Michael Gray, Sr. and Shirley Gray both waived their right to a trial and pleaded guilty to child abuse and felony murder charges in a Roane County courtroom Tuesday, May 14. The two had been involved in a years long abuse and murder case involving their four adopted children.
Authorities say the couple severely abused two of their children. They also discovered the bodies of the Gray’s eleven year old adopted daughter buried in their backyard and the body of their other adopted child, a six year old, buried behind their biological son’s Knox County home.
The Grays were sentenced to life in prison without parole.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Knoxville Police arrested a Knox County student at West High School Tuesday, May 14. The student is facing charges for having a stolen handgun on campus.
Following the student being taken into custody, KPD said West High received a call about a possible threat and out of an abundance of caution, the school was put on hard lockdown.
KPD officers and School Security Officers investigated the threat, finding no evidence to suggest the threat was credible. The lockdown was lifted around 2:15 p.m.
Another Knox County school, Vine Middle, was also placed on lockdown Tuesday for a potential threat.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A West Knoxville strip mall is evacuated and remains closed Wednesday morning following a fire Tuesday, May 14 at a Dollar General.
Knoxville Fire Department crews were dispatched to the fire at the Dollar General located at 9129 Executive Park Drive just after 3:00 p.m.
KFD says when crews arrived on the scene, there was heavy smoke and flames at the ceiling.
The fire was extinguished shortly before 5:30 p.m. No injuries have been reported.
Nashville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) Tennessee’s Attorney General is leading 18 states in a lawsuit against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) over new sexual harassment guidance.
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed the suit on Monday against the EEOC’s new guidance that he says “unlawfully extends Title VII’s protections against sex-based discrimination to cover gender identity.”
Skrmetti alleges that under the new guidelines, an employer may be liable under Title VII if they or another employee uses a name or pronoun that doesn’t coincide with an employee’s preferred gender identity among other stipulations.
“Additionally, under the EEOC’s guidance, an employer can be liable if it limits access to a bathroom or other sex-segregated facility, such as a shower or locker room, based on biological sex and not on gender identity. Employers also may be liable if a customer or other non-employee fails to use an employee’s preferred pronouns or refuses to share a restroom with someone of the opposite sex,” the AG said.
Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia, are also involved in the suit.
McMinn County, TN (WOKI) A McMinn County man has been convicted in connection to a September 2021 quadruple murder.
In 2021, Curtis Smith and Jazzmine Hall went to a home in Riceville with a gun where Hall’s husband and son lived.
After taking the child, they shot and killed the husband and three others.
Smith set the home on fire after they left.
Smith plead guilty on May 10 to four counts of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of murder, one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated arson and one county of possession of a weapon by a convicted felon.
Both Smith and Hall will serve multiple life sentences for their crimes.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI / WVLT) American Medical Response presented its first progress report to the Knox County Commission Monday night.
The report comes after a new contract promised to fix serious problems with the ambulance service.
The company’s regional manager said since the new contract was awarded in November, the company has added 62 new employees and increased wages.
“That contract was awarded in November, so that really gave us the opportunity to start ramping up staffing as quickly as possible. Now that process takes about two months to get them through the entire process,” said AMR Regional Manager Josh Spencer.
Spencer says the move has also helped with response times, but not everyone sees it that way. One Knox County father told commissioners during the meeting his son was having seizures, and he had to drive his son to the hospital when an ambulance didn’t show up.
“My son could’ve died, and to me that’s unacceptable. What happens the next time I call for an ambulance?” he said.
The commission said it was a miscommunication and that it has been handled.
AMR said it is responding to calls on time at least 72% of the time, and that that number continues to climb each month.
Monroe County, TN (WOKI) The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office is asking for help finding a man last seen in October.
MCSO officials say 48-year-old James Jefferson Hughes was last seen by a family member in October 2023 and was reported missing to the sheriff’s office in January.
Hughes is described as a white male who is 5′10″ tall and 185 pounds with gray hair and blue eyes.
Anyone with information regarding Hughes’ disappearance is asked to contact MCSO Captain Detective Conway Mason by email or at 423-442-3911.
Kingston, TN (WOKI) A man is facing numerous charges after a string of car burglaries earlier this month in Kingston.
Kingston Police Department officials say 20-year-old Jeremiah Noah has been arrested in connection to burglarizing eight different cars on May 3 in the area of First Street, Roane Street, and Spencer Street.
KPD says several items were taken from the cars, including money and firearms.
According to KPD, Noah was arrested on May 9 by the Lenoir City Police Department on several unrelated charges, and after further investigation, was charged with eight counts of burglary and eight counts of theft of property for the burglaries of the vehicles.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, and KPD is asking anyone with information to contact the department at 865-354-8045.
