TENNESSEE NEWS

Wintery weather on the way It doesn’t take much for Sevier County residents to figure out that winter weather is on the way. Cold temperatures hit the area on Sunday, with snow and sleet accompanying the cold. Meteorologists are saying that the temperature could get colder and more snow is forecast for the early part of the week. Sunday evening saw winter storm warnings issued for several counties in the area, including Blount and Sevier. Forecasters say there is a possibility of 1 to 3 inches of snow for the area, maybe more for the higher elevations. Sandra Elpehe came into the area from her home in Gainesville, Florida. She stopped for directions in Seymour and told the Herald, “I’m glad the snow is coming now, we’ve planned this vacation for months and now we’ll be able to ski on the slopes in Ober Gatlinburg, but I sure don’t like to drive in it.” The lines at the local stations were also long for the kerosene pumps. Many homes have additional kerosene heaters in them and the cold weather brings out the gas cans for the fuel. People evacuated at Civic Auditorium Saturday night saw over 1500 people evacuated during the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s annual performance of the Clayton Holiday Special. According to reports a water main broke in the basement of the coliseum and caused the evacuation of the building on Saturday. The water main break also canceled the Sunday night performance but there is no word on the Nativity Pageant that is held at the coliseum. Woman’s caretaker charged with making meth A 77-year-old woman was taken to the hospital on December 5 with exposure to hydrogen chloride, the by-product of someone cooking meth. The police charged one man that was making the drug in the basement of the woman’s home and have now found the other suspect involved. Lisa Charlene Taylor was arrested on Thursday and charged with six counts of felony reckless endangerment and one count of making meth. The woman she was taking care of was taken to the hospital and police believe Taylor and her boyfriend, Timothy Alan Farr, exposed her to the gas when they were making meth in the basement of Mildred Weaver’s home. Taylor’s boyfriend has also been charged in the incident. Army National Guard raising bonuses The Tennessee Army National Guard is boosting its enlistment and retention bonuses after falling behind in recruitment goals. The National Guard is offering a 15 (t) thousand dollar sign-on bonus for prior service soldiers who re-enlist and for active soldiers near the end of their term who re-enlist According to recruiters, they have never seen bonuses as high as this for at least six years. The new bonuses are three time the amount that they usually are. First time enlistee bonuses will also increase from $6,000 to $10,000. National Guard officials announced the increases this month after missing their recruitment goals for the past two months and falling about 30 percent below their overall target. Officials plan closer look at home-schooled children Tennessee state education officials say they plan on taking a more active roll with home-schooled students. According to a report there are currently no single persons, agencies or state department required to keep close tabs on an estimated 30,000 or more home-schooled students statewide. The state requires home-schooled students to register with either public school systems or church related “umbrella” schools. According to the report there are varying degrees of oversight and approximately 5,300 students are registered as of last year. The Deputy education commissioner says they will have internal discussions on whether they want to have a more active roll in the oversight of the program.