Jeffrey Lansdown, 68, was taken into custody for Carrying a Weapon on School Property. (Courtesy: KCSO)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A Jefferson County man is facing charges after police say he brought a gun to Neyland Stadium ahead of Saturday’s Tennessee vs Georgia game.
Court records indicate officers discovered 68-year-old Jeffrey Lansdown of Dandridge just before 11:30 a.m. on November 18 outside of Gate 21 with a loaded 9 millimeter handgun in his waistband.
Lansdown was taken into custody for Carrying a Weapon on School Property because the University of Tennessee owns Neyland Stadium.
After Lansdown’s arrest, he was issued a criminal warning from all UT-owned property; he is scheduled for Arraignment on November 29 in a Knox County Court.
“Employee and visitor safety is our only priority,” said Superintendent Cassius Cash. “We understand these closures are an inconvenience, but we are trying to eliminate as much risk as possible during this dangerous weather event.”
The campground closures go into effect immediately. Park rangers will notify campers already in the campgrounds of the closure.
Park rangers will start closing roads by early afternoon and encourage visitors currently in the park to leave as soon as possible. Newfound Gap (Highway 441 from Sugarlands Visitor Center to Smokemont Campground) will close around 1 p.m. today. The following roads are already closed or will close later this afternoon:
Clingmans Dome Road.
Cherokee Orchard Road and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail.
Foothills Parkway between Walland and Wears Valley.
Little River Road between the Townsend Wye to Sugarlands Visitor Center.
Laurel Creek Road and Cades Cove Loop Road.
Cataloochee Road.
Lakeview Drive.
Gatlinburg Bypass, Foothills Parkway West (from Look Rock to Highway 129), and other park roads will remain open as long as safely possible. The Spur will remain open as long as safe vehicle passage exists.
Winds will grow stronger this afternoon and overnight with sustained winds at 40 mph and hurricane-force gusts. A red flag warning is in effect for the Smokies, which means very low humidity’s and stronger winds are expected to combine to produce an increased risk of fire danger. A burn ban is currently in place in the park, which prohibits all campfires and charcoal use until further notice.
Visitors should exercise extreme caution, check the park website for alerts and heed warnings from the National Weather Service and local emergency managers when making travel plans. Hikers should avoid hiking during the high wind warning.
Campgrounds, facilities and roads will remain closed until the high wind and red flag warnings have expired and park rangers can assess roads and facilities. The National Park Service will issue an afternoon update on Tuesday, November 21 on the status of campgrounds and roads in the park.
Knoxville Police are investigating a fatal pedestrian-involved crash on Western Avenue.
It happened this morning (Monday) near Middlebrook Pike and early investigation shows a SUV was going west on Western Avenue when it hit a man who was walking across Western Avenue, he was pronounced dead at the hospital.
The driver of the SUV remained on scene.
This is an active investigation so no word if any charges will be filed at this time.
Thanksgiving travelers will not be delayed by construction on Tennessee roads during this holiday. TDOT will halt all lane closure activity on interstates and state highways in anticipation of higher traffic volumes across the state. All construction-related lane closures will be stopped beginning at noon on Wednesday, November 22, through 6:30 a.m. on Monday, November 27.
“Thanksgiving is typically the most traveled holiday of the year,” said Deputy Governor & TDOT Commissioner Butch Eley. “Halting road work during this time will provide maximum capacity on our highways and help alleviate congestion, especially during the predicted peak travel days of Wednesday and Sunday. TDOT’s regional HELP Trucks will also be working throughout the holiday weekend to assist with incidents that may occur along the interstates. Watch out for them – move over, slow down. It’s the law.”
While all lane closure activity will be stopped, workers may be on-site in some construction zones. Long-term lane closures will also remain in place on some construction projects for motorists’ safety. Motorists are reminded to drive safely and obey the posted speeds, especially in work zones. Drivers convicted of speeding in work zones where workers are present face a fine of up to $500, plus court fees and possibly increased insurance premiums.
An arrest is made and a man is charged with a felony after reportedly admitting he started a brush fire behind Lynnhurst Cemetery.
Officials with the Knoxville Fire Department say 41-year-old Damon True was taken into custody shortly after setting a fire on the ridge of the cemetery on Adair Drive.
True reportedly walked into a Dollar General store on Tazewell Pike on Friday and told an employee he had set the fire and was going to set another.
Knoxville Fire Investigators and Knoxville Police officers found him near a business on Old Broadway and he was taken into custody after reportedly admitting to setting the fire.
He is charged with setting fire to personal property or land.
Sylva, NC (WOKI) The hunt for a man who escaped police custody last month, wanted on numerous sex charges including rape of a child, is now centered in Western North Carolina.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announcing on social media Friday afternoon that Sean Williams is ““believed to be in the Sylva, NC area.”
Williams, a former Johnson City businessman, escaped while being transported to the Greeneville courthouse from Kentucky for a hearing on October 18.
Williams has three tattoos, all on his left arm and hand, according to officials.
(Courtesy: TBI)
A combined reward of $7,500 for information leading to Williams’ arrest has been offered by the U.S. Marshals and TBI.
The TBI asks anyone who sees Williams or may have knowledge of his whereabouts to call 911 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Structure threatened as Knoxville Fire Department responds to wildfire in Fountain City (Courtesy: KFD)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE: A now 3-acre brush fire near the Lynnhurst Cemetery in North Knoxville is said to be “human-caused.”
Knoxville Fire Department officials upgrading the size of the fire late Friday afternoon, adding that the blaze on the ridge behind Lynnhurst Cemetery was man-made.
No structures have been damaged by the fire, and no injuries have been reported.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Knoxville Fire Department is currently on the scene of a two-acre wildfire in Fountain City.
KFD officials say the fire is located on the ridge behind Lynnhurst Cemetery.
According to officials, as of 2:00 o’clock Friday afternoon, one structure was threatened but not on fire, adding that a hand crew, a team of firefighters tasked with constructing firelines, was on the scene.
Crews fighting 130 acre Windrock wildfire in Anderson County (Courtesy: Anderson County)
Windrock, TN (WOKI) Nearly half a dozen fire crews along with the Tennessee Division of Forestry are battling a wildfire in the Windrock area of Anderson County.
Anderson County officials say the fire broke out Thursday night near Windrock Road, Bottom Road and Stoney Flat Lane, growing to about 130 acres in size.
“Forestry plans to implement some fire lines while still utilizing the natural fire breaks of the trails,” Anderson County EMA Director Brice Kidwell said. “They do plan on back-burning at some point today, if the weather permits, so there could be an uptick in smoke.”
As of Friday afternoon, officials say the fire is 40% contained.
No structures have been in danger, and no injuries have been reported.
Brush and Wildfires are burning across East Tennessee.
As of Friday at 12:30 p.m., the largest is in Scott County on Smokey Creek Road. This fire is 60% contained and affecting almost 2,700 acres.
A brush fire in Union County destroys one building near Satterfield Road.
Rural Metro called to the scene yesterday (Thursday) to assist Union County in battling that blaze.
The Cherokee National Forest initiates Forest Wide Fire Restrictions prohibiting building, maintaining, attending or using a fire or campfire outside of developed recreation areas.
There are three active fires in the forest, the Tweed Fire in Cocke County which is 60% contained affecting over 500 acres and the Buck Bald fire in Polk County is also 60 percent contained and affecting almost 600 acres. These fires are being investigated as possible arson.
The Bullet fire in Monroe County near Etowah remains at 103 acres and 20 percent contained. The cause of this fire remains under investigation.
Dollywood is open after the Pigeon Forge Fire Department and the Tennessee Department of Forestry continue to battle a wildfire that sparked near the park closing it briefly yesterday (Thursday) afternoon.
Officials say the fire is burning in a heavily-wooded area near Veterans Boulevard and say structures were threatened by the blaze but that bulldozers established a perimeter around the fire protecting those structures. The theme park is about a 10-minute drive from the site of the fire.
The National Weather Service says drought conditions have worsened for all of East Tennessee.
The Exceptional Drought category, which is the highest intensity, has expanded into a most of East Tennessee which includes parts of Knox, Anderson, Roane, Loudon, McMinn and Monroe Counties.
NWS says the last time East Tennessee was in this category was in late September 2016 and the last time for Knox County was November 22, 2016, right before the Gatlinburg Wildfires.
From September 1st of this year through November 15th, McGee Tyson Airport recorded just over one inch of rain.
