Local Neaws

Trial Delayed Again for School Shooter The court hearing for the alleged Campbell County High School shooter has been delayed again. 14-year-old Kenny Bartley Jr and his father appeared in court this morning, where a judge said that an attorney must file motions in one week to be heard November 6th, when a trial date should be set. Bartley is charged with shooting and killing Campbell County High School’s assistant principal Ken Bruce and shooting two other administrators. Bruce’s widow and two sons appeared frustrated with the delay today. Meanwhile, Kenny Bartley Senior, the suspect’s father, today entered a plea of guilty to possession of a gambling device, a Class B Misdemeanor. Judge Sexton sentenced him to six months of unsupervised probation and more than $5,000 in fines. Union Talks at Boeing Negotiations over job security were again underway yesterday among union workers at Boeing’s Oak Ridge Plant. The workers of Machinists Local 2709 have been on strike for more than two months. The organization’s president says they were on the verge of agreeing to a deal when Boeing added new language to the agreement. The objection unionists have with the new deal is that Boeing wants the right to choose whom to lay off by considering skill levels instead of seniority. Healthcare Workers Make Demands Healthcare workers at Methodist Medical Center in Oak Ridge held a rally on Sunday in front of the hospital. About 1,100 union workers are talking with hospital officials over demands imposed by the union, which include lower health insurance premiums, increased wages and a continued focus on patient care. “Most of these patients are not just people laying in a bed,” said Respiratory Therapist Jeff Massey. “They’re people we get to know and they’re family to us.” Officials with the hospital released a statement saying that the hospital’s goal was to establish a contract that “maintains a priority on patient care and provides a competitive benefit and wage package.” Hospital Officials did not attend the rally. Negotiations will continue next Monday. Family Homeless After Fire A fire in Monroe County has left a woman and her five children homeless. Sunday’s fire burned the house of Kathy Mendiola, who is legally blind, on Cherokee Circle in Madisonville. Mendiola had escaped the house safely when she realized her three-year-old son, Jojo, was missing. She ran back into the house and found him in a closet. The house is beyond repair and smoke damage destroyed most of the family’s possessions. The children range in age from 3-16. The American Red Cross has temporarily put the family up in a motel. Four-year-old Sara Mendiola told reporters, “I’m sad. My mother’s sad, too.”