CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — It has been more than 80 years since Larry Ponder’s Father and Uncle were wrongfully dishonorably discharged from the U.S. Navy. John and James Ponder were two of 15 sailors from the USS. Philadelphia, known as the Philadelphia 15. But they were native to the Chattanooga area. Their family lives in the Chattanooga area to this day….
RINGGOLD, Ga. (WDEF) — Country music artist Ben Chapman is returning to North Georgia this weekend to put on a benefit concert. Since moving to Nashville, the LaFayette native has been staying busy writing new songs, and playing shows in the Music City and across the country. News 12 caught up with Ben at CMA Fest to see what he’s…
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) — Southeast Tennessee now has a local veterans home. The state officially opened their new facility in Cleveland on Thursday. The home has 108 beds. This means many local veterans will now be able to stay in the area instead of going to other facilities across the state. This project has been 20 years in the making….
RED BANK, Tenn. (WDEF) – One man is dead after a house fire in Red Bank Thursday morning. The Red Bank Fire Department says that the fatal fire on Charlotte Avenue Thursday morning began around 5 a.m. That’s when they say they received a phone call about the fire and rushed to the scene. When firefighters arrived, they found the…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Senators Marsha Blackburn and Jon Ossoff are teaming up to introduce new bipartisan legislation. They have introduced legislation that would provide a one-time emergency boost in funding for first responders. This includes funding for police departments, sheriff’s offices, and fire departments. Senator Blackburn says after discussions with leaders across the state, federal help is necessary…
OCOEE, Tenn. (WDEF) — A groundbreaking took place on Thursday for two new Food City store locations in Polk and Bradley Counties. Those locations are in both Ocoee and Cleveland, Tennessee. Company officials expect both locations to open early in 2024. The Ocoee groundbreaking took place Thursday morning and the Cleveland one took place Thursday evening. Cleveland’s new Food City…
UPDATE: Red Bank fire officials say they found the resident of the home in the rear of the house. He was prounced dead at the scene. _____________ RED BANK, Tennessee (WDEF) – Officials report that a man died in an early morning house fire in Red Bank. A neighbor reported the fire at a home on Charlotte Avenue around 5…
LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Tenn. (WDEF) — Sometimes gift giving can be a challenge, but Divine Goods in Lookout Mountain, Tennessee wants to make it easier on you. The website has plenty of gift boxes to choose from to find that perfect present for birthdays or other special occasions. Let’s see how Divine Goods is driving our economy forward. “Divine Goods is…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Hamilton County Commission unanimously passed next year’s fiscal budget. However, controversy exists over a change to a long time gentleman’s agreement. For many years, Hamilton County has funded the Chattanooga Tourism Company, formerly known as the Chattanooga Visitors Bureau, through all revenue generated by the county’s lodging tax. Wednesday, the Commission voted to overrule this…
WHITFIELD COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) — Whitfield County Emergency Management gave away 300 weather radios Wednesday morning. Whitfield County received a grant to purchase these radios. Only Whitfield County residents were eligible to receive one. Weather radios can be life savers, especially during power and internet outages from storms. David Metcalf is the Director of the Whitfield County Emergency Management. “We just…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Three Hamilton County judges spoke about the state of our court system Wednesday morning. It was at the monthly Friends of Hixson meeting at the Valleybrook Golf Course Clubhouse. Judges Boyd Patterson, Mike Dumitru, and Amanda Dunn spoke and answered questions about our court system. The judges said that there is an increasing backlog of cases, as…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — It’s the first day of summer, and that means a lot of things. One of those things is heat, especially here in our area. “Beating the heat” is always a challenge. But technology is helping the cause. It gets mighty hot here in our neck of the woods. At times, dangerously hot. Consider this: heat stroke…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — For the first time this century, Chattanooga City Council is taking a look at a park plan. This could lead to more green space in the city. Chattanooga currently has a park rating of C+. With the new park plan presented, that presents a hope for change. “This is fixable, doable stuff. We are really optimistic we…
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) — A police dog made headlines when he underwent surgery in 2021 for life threatening injuries he had suffered. Joker was shot multiple times while working on a burglary call with his handler, Deputy Eduardo Choate. “He took a bullet for me, and things didn’t look good that first few weeks. And we didn’t think that he…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A Nashville-based nonprofit organization is providing mobile showers and personal care this weekend to those in need. ShowerUp is establishing a full-time permanent mobile shower outreach in Chattanooga. The nonprofit will work with other nonprofits and churches to serve the unhoused community. Each person who would like a shower will be provided with clean toiletry items….
MARION COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has identified the people involved in last week’s murder-suicide. Authorities gave the names and ages of the six people who died in the shooting. The TBI identified the suspected shooter, who also died, as 48-year-old Gary Don Barnett. They say he also shot two adults: 52-year-old Regina Ann Barnett…
Surveillance images (Dalton Police Dept.) DALTON, Ga. (WDEF) — The Dalton Police Department is asking for the public’s help in finding a skid steer stolen from a park. The police department said the heavy machinery was stolen on June 14 at around 1:30 a.m. They are searching for a yellow Caterpillar skid steer, 201 model 259D. It had an auger…
NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WDEF) – Governor Bill Lee says now is the time for local school districts and law enforcement to apply for new state funds to improve school security. The legislature this year provided funding to put an SRO in every school plus to make physical changes to a school to make it more secure from outside attacks. “Nothing is…
Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) The Chattanooga Red Wolves fired head coach Ziggy Korytoski. Assistant Jimmy Weekley will take over on an interim basis. Chattanooga is next to last in the USL League One standings. They have just three wins against seven losses and two ties. Korytoski took over the team this season after the Red Wolves made the league championship game last year….
Cleveland, TN-(WDEF-TV) Bradley Central’s Boo Carter just wrapped up his recruitment over the weekend…annoucing he’s headed to play for the Vols. Carter was listed as one of the top recruits in the country. Many of the nation’s elite college teams wanted Carter’s talents, as well as one of the nation’s premiere entertainers. Boo Carter’s recruiting process kicked off before his…
Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) The Chattanooga Lookouts have been putting up runs in bunches but, no one is hitting the ball better than Rece HInds. He hit at least one homer in 6 straight games most of which were over 400 feet and news 12s Brian Armstrong caught up with man with the hot bat. Said Hinds:Honestly, I don’t even know if I…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Last Thursday, six people died in a murder-suicide in Marion County. Marion County Sheriff Bo Burnett said Gary Barnett is suspected of killing his ex-wife and other members of her family. In an affidavit we obtained from Marion County, Regina Barnett, one of the victims, said, “I am afraid that my husband is going to get…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – A new proposal in the Hamilton County budget has the Chattanooga Tourism Company alarmed. They say that in this year’s proposed Fiscal Budget, they are losing roughly two million dollars a year to fund their operation. This is roughly 18% of their funding. This funding comes from the county’s lodging tax. However, the county is…
WALKER COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) – In a meeting with laughter and excited patrons there was a hope for the finish of the connector trail. “This is a great program to really attract people from outside the community but also people locally who will probably use it even more so,” said Shannon Whitfield. One of the main talking points during the…
