CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – Wildfires continue to smoke the Tennessee Valley as an extreme drought continues. Firefighters in Rhea County say they had some scary moments Monday morning when a wildfire jumped a fire line. The Grandview Fire Department says that the Three Mile Fire on Walden’s Ridge, which was 100% contained, jumped a line causing an immediate response by…
FORT OGLETHORPE, Ga. (WDEF) — Fort Oglethorpe had their annual Veterans Day Parade along Lafayette road to honor those who served our country. The parade stretched down Lafayette road and ended at the Fort Oglethorpe market for Veterans. It finished with the popular farmers market at Stable 41. Tourism Coordinator for the city of Fort Oglethorpe, Bobby Daniels, said, “Our…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Saturday at Warner Park, the Junior League of Chattanooga held their annual Touch A Truck festival. The event featured all types of different trucks for kids to explore emergency response vehicles and heavy equipment. President of the Junior League, Mikaya Knight, said, “This is our fifth year doing Touch A Truck and one of our favorite…
SALE CREEK, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Hamilton County Fair’s new location at Old McDonald Farm was a success as people flooded in from all over the area to enjoy concerts, carnival rides, and the world’s largest oatmeal cream pie from Little Debbie. Little Debbie originated in Chattanooga and was a huge sponsor for the new and improved Hamilton County Fair….
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Volkswagen of Chattanooga made history as they hosted the biggest active shooter exercise in Tennessee on Sunday. Twenty-seven local, state, and federal agencies were involved in an active shooter drill. Spokesperson for Volkswagen, Chris Guin said, “Volkswagen safety is our top priority. Whether it’s the safety of our employees or of the community at large. This…
SALE CREEK, Tenn. (WDEF) — Two country music artists returned to their hometown Saturday evening for a concert at the Hamilton County Fair. Brandon Davis from Hamilton County and Lauren Alaina from Rossville, Ga., took on the Dr. Pepper stage at the McDonald Farm on November 11. Davis dedicated his song, “21 Guns” in honor of veterans on the national…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Veterans across the country are honored on November 11 for their service and sacrifice. Local Chattanooga veterans were commemorated on Saturday at the Chattanooga National Guard Armory. State and city officials attended the event in observance of the holiday. Chattanooga historian Linda Moss Mines received the rank of Colonel from Governor Bill Lee for her work…
COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. (WDEF) — Collegedale veterans were honored Friday afternoon at the Veterans Memorial Park in observance of Veterans Day on Saturday. This celebration has been going on for over 20 years. The park has added different military structures throughout the years, with the newest addition being unveiled on Friday– a military grade tank. A local military sergeant explained the significance…
South Pittsburg, TN-(WDEF-TV) South Pittsburg football is living up to the high standards South Pittsburg has come to expect. The team is still unbeaten and are lead by quarterback Kamden Wellington who is a back to back Mr Football nomination. You can’t put a value on, you know, how, how much we value those guys and how important they are…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Daylight Saving might be out of the way, but many of us are still having trouble adjusting to the time change. The good news is we can use tech to help us get some better sleep. The sun rises earlier in the morning, and sets earlier at night – wreaking havoc on our sleep cycle. Most…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Salvation Army Kicked off their Christmas season on Thursday night. Major Douglas McClure the Area Commander for The Salvation Army said, “Today is the kickoff for all of our Salvation Army programs here for Christmas time. A chance for us to tell us about our Angel tree program, about the lives of all the children…
The front of the former Unique Fabricating plant in LaFayette, which shut down on Wednesday. LAFAYETTE, Ga. (WDEF)- Former employees and labor officials say they were blindsided by a Walker County plant’s decision to suddenly close on Wednesday. Unique Fabricating employees like Terry Heard were hard at work on Wednesday in LaFayette when they received a stunning order. Heard said,…
HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WDEF) — The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office is working to implement new license plate reader cameras around the county. Sheriff Austin Garrett says these cameras will help identify vehicles that have been involved in a crime. Garrett says they plan to add 121 new cameras. Sheriff Garrett also says the cameras will be running 24/7. But they haven’t…
COLLEGEDALE, Tenn. (WDEF) — There is a new furry addition to the Collegedale Police Department, an 81-pound Belgian Malinois from Hungary. His name is Maxim, and he turns two years old in January. The police K-9’s partner is Officer Shawn Lewis. Maxim, badge number 335, is certified in narcotics detection and tracking. The Malinois is historically a herding dog and protector…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Nearly $2 million will be put into repairing Mountain Creek in Hamilton County. Erosion is causing pollution there. Pipes and wires are becoming visible along the bank. They’re not supposed to be visible, and this causes a risk to property owners. The soil runoff is causing the creek to become polluted. This cloudy creek is one of…
CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) – The Catoosa County Chamber of Commerce hosted their annual Catoosa Business Expo on Thursday morning. For several decades, the business expo has taken place every fall. More than 80 businesses were represented this year. The Catoosa Chamber believes events like this are great for networking. “It is so important to our businesses and nonprofits to…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Earlier on Thursday, the Mayor’s Office announced a change in application for the 12th Street CARTA building, which the city is examining as a potential site for an emergency shelter. The city met with neighbors of the 12th street CARTA building recently to get their input on what should be the future of the building. They…
(press release) CHATTANOOGA, TN- On Wednesday, November 8, three Notre Dame High School student-athletes made commitments to continue their athletic careers in college. The fall college signing day event was held immediately after school so that most of the student body and faculty could attend. Cole McCormick will play basketball for John Shulman at the University of Alabama at Huntsville next season. Coach Shulman…
Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Baylor had 13 athletes sign college scholarships on Wednesday on National Signing Day. Jada Cooper, soccer, East Tennessee State University Theo Desroches, golf, Lynn University Matt Hart, wrestling, Indiana University Drew Hitchcock, swimming, The University of Georgia Holly Merritt, softball, Miami University (Ohio) Sophia Mize, soccer, UTC Riley Oleksik, softball, Eastern Kentucky University Avery Shamblin, softball, The University of…
CATOOSA COUNTY, Ga. (WDEF) — Catoosa county is one of four counties under an extreme drought. The effect the drought has had on farmers is high. Sandy Brown the Co-Owner of Brown’s Produce said, “It has an effect on us because some things we can not irrigate and some things we can. But like the turnip greens and stuff out…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — From wallets to knife covers – Chattanooga Leather Works has everything your average executive and outdoorsman could possibly want. Let’s see how Chattanooga Leather Works is driving our economy forward. “I was looking to move back from Texas to Chattanooga. This is home. And reached out to some old family friends who owned a knife company….
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Plan Chattanooga held an open house on Wednesday for Hamilton County residents to talk about their future development plans. Chattanooga could be seeing more new businesses, living areas and outdoor activities in the upcoming years. “We want to hear from people in the community. We want to get an idea of how and where they want…
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – The Chatt Foundation is hosting a job fair on Friday. The job fair will be open to the public, as well as those that are a part of the homeless population. RHG logistics, Riverdale Health Group and Labor Finders are among the vendors. On Thursday from 10 a.m. to noon, volunteers from Project Hire are helping…
Katy Dieckhaus, the mother of Covenant School Shooting victim Evelyn Dieckhaus, speaking about gun safety at The Church of the Good Shepherd on Lookout Mountain. LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN, Tenn. (WDEF)- It has been over seven months since six people, including three children, were murdered in a mass shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville. The mother of one of the shooting’s…