Flood clean-up continues in East Tennessee after Helene and unfortunately another death is confirmed in the state.
TEMA says there has been 17 weather-related deaths in Tennessee and officials are still searching for 6 missing people.
Governor Bill Lee says the state is extending the tax filing date for businesses in certain disaster areas to May of next year.
Also, people who lost their homes can also qualify for a sales tax refund on appliances and furniture.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT / WOKI) – Six Tennessee counties are seeing election updates after devastating floods brought by Hurricane Helene.
Secretary of State Tre Hargett made the announcement Wednesday, saying the state and local election officials are working to make sure voters can cast a ballot this election, whether it be in-person or absentee.
“The devastation experienced in northeast Tennessee is heartbreaking and unimaginable,” said Secretary Hargett. “However, I continue to be amazed at the planning and resiliency of our local election officials. We have been working with our local elections administrators — Josh Blanchard, Sarah Fain, Tracy Harris, Dana Jones, Cheri Lipford, and Justin Reaves — throughout the entirety of this disaster, and their unwavering leadership and commitment will ensure this election proceeds as planned, so registered voters have the opportunity to vote.”
Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington Counties have all been affected. Below is the latest information from Hargett’s office:
Carter County:
Two Election Day polling places have temporarily been changed and voters in the impacted areas will vote at their temporary location on Election Day. Notices are being sent to local media and letters are being mailed to the impacted voters.
Hampton High School (Tiger Valley Precinct) will vote at Hampton Elementary
Elk Mill VFD (Elk Mills Precinct) will vote at Little Milligan Elementary
Early Voting:
Carter County Election Commission, 116 Holston Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643
Monday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon)
Cocke County:
The Election Commission has moved to 157 Western Plaza Drive, Newport, TN 37821
The new mailing address is PO Box 459, Newport, TN 37822.
Early Voting:
Western Plaza Shopping Center, 157 Western Plaza Drive, Newport, TN 37821
Monday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon) with extended hours October 30 and 31 (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Greene County:
All locations are expected to be open by Election Day. Voters are encouraged to monitor road conditions for possible closures.
Early Voting:
Greene County Election Commission, 311 CCU Boulevard, Suite 1, Greeneville, TN 37745
Monday, Wednesday, Friday (8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Tuesday and Thursday (8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), Saturday (8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
Johnson County:
Access to the Trade Community Center polling place is limited. Election officials are monitoring repairs to HWY 421 to determine if additional adjustments are needed. The Trade Community Center polling location is expected to be open. If this changes, notice will be widely distributed.
Early Voting:
National Guard Armory, 1923 S Shady Street, Mountain City, TN 37683
Monday (8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), Tuesday through Friday (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon)
Unicoi County:
Election Day Voting at the Temple Hill Elementary School will now occur in the library. Voters can gain access at the left rear of the building.
Early Voting:
106 Nolichucky Avenue, Erwin, TN 37650
Oct. 16-18 and 28-30 (8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.), Oct. 21-25 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon); Thursday, Oct. 31 (8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Washington County:
Early Voting:
Johnson City Fire Station #8, 106 Gray Commons Circle, Gray, TN 37615
Freedom Hall, 1320 Pactolas Road, Johnson City, TN 37604
Old Jonesborough Middle School, 308 Forest Drive, Jonesborough, TN 37659
Monday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon), Extended hours October 29th (9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.)
Washington College Academy, 116 Doak Lane, Limestone, TN 37681
October 22-26, Tuesday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon)
There have also been updates to who can and cannot request an absentee ballot. According to Hargett, those affected by the flooding can qualify.
That means anyone who has been displaced outside their county or relief workers who have moved in from other parts of the state can request to vote by mail.
For those who have lost a photo ID, the state has set up several existing and temporary locations to get replacements:
Elizabethton Driver Services Center
1741 HWY 19 E Bypass
Elizabethton, TN 37643
Newport Grammar School
301 College Street
Newport, TN 37821
Unicoi Police Department
3600 Unicoi Drive
Unicoi, TN 37692
Greeneville Driver Services and Reinstatement Center
1210 Hal Henard Road
Greeneville, TN 37743
Johnson County Clerk (Duplicates and Renewals of Non-CDL Only)
222 West Main Street
Mountain City, TN 37683
Johnson City Driver Services Center
4717 Lake Park Drive
Johnson City, TN 37615
Story courtesy of WVLT
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has a page set up for anyone needing information on interstate detour routes, road closures, traffic impacts and other traffic information.
Please go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/hurricane-helene-recovery.html for updates on East Tennessee Roadway Closures.
HAMBLEN COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – Farmers in Hamblen County are now having to lean on each other after devastating flooding from Helene wiped out much of what they’ve worked generations for.
Connie Holdway said her husband has lived along Enka Highway for 77 years.
“I said ‘Well, we have to leave our properties, so what do you want to take?’ He said ‘Well, nothing. Everything will be safe; nobody will bother it. We will be back in the morning.’ So, I said okay and grabbed a few things,’” Connie said.
Water from the Nolichucky River never touched their home until flood waters from Helene ravaged East Tennessee.
Connie said when they returned, not only were their homes flooded but their lives were too.
“We had cows floating down the river because we assumed they would be fine with the houses. We were trying to call our cows out of the river, and we were fortunate to get a few of them to come to us, but it was so pitiful,” Connie said. “I know that cows are not the most important thing because I know we lost lives during this flood all along the Nolichucky, so I have to praise God that we’re alive.”
Other farmers living along the Nolichucky in the Lowland community lost their homes and farms as well, including Eddie Gilbert.
“At 69 years, I am ready to retire, but I don’t want to go down and sit down. But this makes you want to go home and sit down. I got a lot of neighbors that feel the same way, but I am not a quitter. The good Lord will see me through.”
Gilbert said generations of hard work at Gilbert Farms is now completely destroyed. He said his dad started farming on the land in 1948.
“Crops wise, we’ve lost close to half a million dollars between the hay, the corn and the soybeans. The grass, we’re having to feed the cattle hay now because it is so muddy they can’t eat it,” Gilbert said. “It’s going to take another generation. At my age, I will never see it recover completely. It will take another generation for it to recover.”
“You know people are so gracious and kind, and how could you not love the world that we live in when we have people like that?” Holdway said.
Story courtesy of WVLT
The Knoxville Police Department has been awarded a $700,000 grant to enhance its ability to quickly identify individuals who are engaged in violent crime, the guns used in those crimes, and their sources.
Last week, it was announced that the KPD had received the maximum $700,000 award through the Bureau of Justice Assistance’s 2024 Local Law Enforcement Crime Gun Integration Initiative. The grant award is designated for the implementation of a new crime gun intelligence center (CGIC) in collaboration with the ATF.
“We have made significant strides in preventing violence and identifying those driving violent crime in Knoxville, and this grant will only help us build on that work,” Chief of Police Paul Noel said. “Crime gun intelligence centers have an established track record of successfully identifying the small number of the most violent individuals in cities all across the country. This grant will greatly expand our investigative resources and position our department to positively impact gun violence all across the region.”
“Stopping gun violence in our community requires partnership, intentionality, and focus,” said Mayor Indya Kincannon. “This grant will bolster our efforts to get violent criminals off our streets.”
Crime gun intelligence centers are defined as an “interagency collaboration focused on the immediate collection, management, and analysis of crime gun evidence, such as shell casings, in real time, in an effort to identify shooters, disrupt criminal activity, and to prevent future violence. CGICs rely on an ongoing collaboration between the ATF, local police department, the local crime laboratory, probation and parole, local police gang units, prosecuting attorneys, U.S. Attorney’s Office, crime analysts, community groups, and academic organizations.”
Multiple area law enforcement agencies and partners submitted letters of support that were included in the grant application, including the ATF, District Attorney General Charme Allen, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Knox County Sheriff’s Office and University of Tennessee Police Department.
The grant funding will allow the KPD to expand on its already robust firearms and ballistics examination capabilities. The department’s Forensics Unit currently has a three-person team dedicated solely to firearms examination. That team analyzes recovered cartridge casings and firearms in an effort to expediently develop solid investigative leads, potentially connect guns and individuals to crimes through various sources, including the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), and assist in the successful prosecution of violent offenders.
KPD serves as the lead agency for firearms and ballistics examinations in the region, regularly conducting detailed examinations to support investigations into violent crimes that occurred in neighboring jurisdictions.
Knoxville was one of three cities to receive the maximum grant award amount for the implementation of a CGIC. The three-year grant will fund current and additional firearms examination salaries, upgraded equipment and supplies, and travel and training to visit other existing CGIC sites.
More information about the National Crime Gun Intelligence Center Initiative can be found here https://crimegunintelcenters.org/?.
Gatlinburg, TN (WOKI) US 441 / Newfound Gap Road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is now open 24 hours a day.
The park is lifting the overnight road closure with the help of Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Government and police agencies in Sevier County and the Sevier County Government who will assist the park in turning around commercial vehicles at checkpoints on both sides of US 441 overnight.
The park continues to see an influx of illegal, large commercial vehicles attempting to travel the road; the park has turned away 173 commercial vehicles over five days.
Commercial vehicles are prohibited and will be stopped and turned around at checkpoints. They may be subject to a federal misdemeanor violation notice and fine.
(Story courtesy of WVLT/WSMV News)
Nashville, TN (WSMV) – We are now hearing from law firms representing Impact Plastics workers and their families. One of them, Litson PLLC, is based in Nashville.
Alex Little with Litson is a former federal prosecutor. He said he is looking into several things, like whether the plant had a working surveillance system that day, to get to the bottom of what happened.
Johnny Peterson, 55, was a longtime supervisor at Impact Plastics who did not make it out alive.
“Look, it should have never happened,” Little said.
Little is now representing Peterson’s family and several surviving employees. They allege workers were not allowed to leave work in time to escape flooding from Hurricane Helene.
“The Peterson family wants to know what happened and who ultimately is responsible to make sure this never happens again,” Little said.
Impact Plastics said last week that ‘there was still time to escape’, but still, Impact Plastics said two employees were killed. Little said that number is now five.
“I think one was found yesterday,” Little said.
Bertha Mendoza, 56, was also among those who lost her life. The class action law firm, Milberg, is now representing the Mendoza family.
“My heart is broken,” Mendoza’s son said. “My father lost his wife of 38 years. We are not okay.”
Both firms agree this was a senseless tragedy for workers. The firm representing the factory’s founder, Gerald O’Connor, told us that he is also grieving those who were lost.
“Our focus is on our employees,” O’Connor said in a video statement last week. “Thank you for your hard work, as we all try to recover from this tragedy.”
Unicoi County, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Department of Health confirms there has been another “weather-related” fatality in East Tennessee.
TEMA says 16 have died in the state as a result of Helene. There are now eight dead in Unicoi County as well as one death each reported in Knox, Johnson and Greene Counties, two in Cocke County and three in Washington County.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says there are still nine people missing in areas impacted by flooding; that is down from a peak that exceeded 100.
As of Friday, there was one person missing each in Carter, Hawkins and Knox counties, seven in Greene, three in Union, six people in Unicoi County and three people in Washington County.
Newport, TN (WOKI) In the wake of Hurricane Helene comes a bit of good news Tuesday for folks in Newport.
Officials with Newport Utilities report that the boil water advisory has been lifted for all customers.
The utility company, taking to Facebook with the announcement, says that tap water is now safe for consumption and household activities.
In their post Newport Utilities stated it has “thoroughly tested and evaluated the water samples taken throughout our service area and concluded that all water within our system meets all safety standards set by health authorities.”
Newport Utilities adds that for customer awareness:
To learn more and for additional updates, visit the Newport Utilities website here.
A suspect in a stand-off in Karns is arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated kidnapping.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office says 46 year-old Russell Kline was arrested after deputies responded to the 7900 block of Oak Ridge Highway yesterday (Monday) and found Kline inside the home with at least two children.
SWAT and KCSO’s Negotiation Team got Kline to release the children unharmed into deputy’s custody, he was then taken into custody.
