Welcome home Wes Kean
CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee (WDEF) - Several hundred people lined up to welcome home Wes Kean from the hospital. A moment tough for his family and friends to describe. "It’s huge. He got burned bad 11 1/2 weeks ago.…
Video of suspected Ridgeland High vandal
ROSSVILLE, Georgia (WDEF) - The Walker County Sheriff's Office needs your help tracking down the person who vandalized Ridgeland High School. The schools has had two incidents in the last few months. The Sheriff posted video of the suspect on…
Dade County Nursing Home Owner Charged With Cruelty
(TRENTON, Ga.) - A charge of Cruelty to Person 65 Years of Age or Older has been brought against 55-year-old Kent Allen Womack of Lafayette, owner of Woodhaven Senior Living in Trenton. Dade County Sheriff's deputies were…
EPB, Hamilton County schools hope to "bridge the digital divide"
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) - Thanks to a partnership between EPB and Hamilton County Schools, lower income students will have access to free broadband internet. Through EdConnect, students who qualify for free or reduced lunch can qualify for…
Southern Baptist Convention opens
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Southern Baptist Convention is holding its largest gathering in decades amid debates over race and sexual abuse and a concerted effort to push the conservative denomination even further to the right. The nation's largest Protestant…
Chattanooga Tourism Co. Accepting Applications for New Grant Program
Chattanooga Tourism Company is launching their first ever grant program. This will support projects that are designed to bring visitors into the city. "Why do we want a grant and why do you guys deserve a grant?…
Firefighters rescue driver in overturned truck hanging on Missionary Ridge
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - A truck flipped on the top of Missionary Ridge this afternoon, hanging in a precarious situation. It happened after 1PM on South Crest Road at the Shadowlawn Drive intersection. The 28 foot box truck…
Hamilton County Fair postponed again
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tennessee (WDEF) - Hamilton County is once again postponing the County Fair to the fall of 2022. This will be the second year that the fair will not happen because of Covid. "The limited availability of vendors, volunteers,…
Judge increases sentence to life for kidnapping and rape of a woman
DALTON, Georgia (WDEF) - A judge on Tuesday increased the sentence against Richard Marvin Smith in the trailer rape and kidnapping case from 2019. A woman who admitted she was a meth addict at the time, said she was lured…
Elder Abuse Awareness Day
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) - Tennessee’s older adults often become the targets or scammers, financial con artists and abusers. That's why June 15th is recognized as World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. The main signs of elder abuse include the…
Delinquent Youth in Custody now have options for learning and career development programs
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) - Tennessee youth placed into the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services for delinquent behavior will now have new options for learning and career development that will help prepare them for a successful next…
McKamey Animal Center Flies 64 Kittens to New Homes
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Sixty four kittens from McKamey Animal Center were shipped out this morning to their new homes. McKamey and the ASPCA partnered to find adoptive homes for the kittens. The felines flew out of the…
TN Education Commissioner Visits Local Schools
Tennessee-Tennessee's Education Commissioner will be visiting several local schools on Thursday.Penny Schwinn will visit schools in Etowah, Polk, Bradley, and Hamilton County. She will also visit Cleveland City schools.this is part of her "Accelerating Tennessee Bus Tour".Commissioner Schwinn will be…
Owner of nursing home arrested for not providing A/C for two years
DADE COUNTY (WDEF) - "This is pitiful. I'm distraught about it. When I told my wife when I left she was in tears and it’s heartbreaking to see the elderly people treated this way," said Dade County…
WRWOS: Ivy Academy is adding an elementary school
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Ivy Academy started with only one grade. Now, after years of growth, they're adding a K through 5 school to go with the existing 6th through 12th grades they have now. This is all…
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene apologizes after visit to Holocaust Museum
WASHINGTON D.C. (WDEF) - The normally fiery northwest Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was subdued in an afternoon press conference in Washington on Monday. She stood outside the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum where she had just taken…
Hamilton County Drug Courts Offer Second Chance Despite Pandemic
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Over 81,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in 2020, according to the CDC. This is the highest number ever recorded. "The opioid epidemic, we've been hearing a lot about that over the years," Hamilton County…
Despite 250k jobs, Tennessee employers struggle to find workers
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) - Tennessee is reporting around 250,000 jobs available right now, with about 500 new postings being added every day. The problem is, not enough people are taking them. "Jobs that we had before COVID…
Republican Greg Vital announces bid for Mike Carter's seat in legislature
GEORGETOWN, Tennessee (WDEF) - Republican activist and businessman Greg Vital announces he will run to follow Mike Carter in the Tennessee House. Carter died from cancer this year and his wife has been named to replace him on an interim…
Southern Baptists quash expanded sex abuse probe, for now
By TRAVIS LOLLER Associated Press NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Southern Baptist governing panel has quashed for now a push to expand an investigation of its handling of sex abuse cases. But the issue is almost certain to surface again…
Flag Day Ceremony at Veteran's Bridge
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - "Today is not just about a flag, it's not just about an individual, it's about a spirit of love and sacrifice to keep this country protected and keeps it free," says Chattanooga Police Chief…
Prisoner who killed administrator pleads guilty
RIPLEY, Tenn. (AP) - A convicted felon has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in a deal with prosecutors in the rape and killing of a Tennessee prison administrator during a 2019 escape. Curtis Ray Watson pleaded no…
Local Chef wins Food Network's hit TV show "Chopped"
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn (WDEF) - Local Chef and Owner of Neutral Ground, Kenyatta Ashford, was the top winner on food networks hit tv show “Chopped” - after he stunned the judges with his ”Afro-creole” style of cuisine. "It was…
Motorcyclist killed in Hixson Pike crash Sunday night
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) - Chattanooga Police release information on a fatal crash last night on Hixson Pike. It happened around 9:30 in the 3900 block near the Ashland Terrace intersection. A Chevy Tahoe was heading south trying to turn into a…