Longtime Cleveland resident receives free roof

Local roofing company, Facebook community behind the gift

CLEVELAND, Tenn. (WDEF) — Clevelanders helping Clevelanders could be seen as one of the city’s local companies came to the aid of one of its longest-tenured residents. Rivco Owner Alex Rivera and his men got to work early installing a brand-new roof on the home of 90-year-old Margaret Leamon — a member of the Cleveland community for more than 70…

Recent Spike in Chattanooga Overdose Deaths Alarms Police and Local Rehabs

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Overdose deaths are on the rise all over the country and the startling trend is hitting Chattanooga hard. “Chattanooga is no different, we’ve seen quite a spike the last week and a half,” says Sergeant Jeremy Eames with the Chattanooga Police Department. The Chattanooga Police Department says there have been ten overdose deaths since the first of…

McMinn Central’s Karina Bystry Inspires the Chargerettes

Englewood, TN-(WDEF-TV) The McMinn Central girls basketball team has already secured the district title. The Chargerettes have had an inspired season, but they have an even more inspiring story on their roster. News 12’s Angela Moryan has this special Chargerettes story. Said teammate Molly Masingale: “I think it’s amazing what she does. I mean, she helps our team so much,…

20 Years Ago Today: Tri-State Crematory Scandal

WALKER COUNTY, Ga. — On the afternoon of February 15, 2002, the Walker County Sheriff’s Department was called to Tri-State Cemetery in Noble, Georgia. What they found was shocking. “Throughout the next six weeks, approximately 339 bodies were located and discovered there on the property of the Tri-State Crematory,” said Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson. The bodies found on the…

Woman indicted for having sex with students at McMinn Central High

Sheriff says there were nine male victims at the school

ATHENS, Tennessee (WDEF) – Officials in McMinn County are announcing indictments in a sex offense investigation involving students at McMinn Central High School. The victims, so far, are nine male teenagers from the schools. Seven are under 18 years of age. A grand jury has indicted 38 year old Melissa Blair for having sex with them. The 18 counts include…

Police warn of a string of overdose deaths in Chattanooga

They believe fentanyl is the culprit for the rise in ODs this month

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Chattanooga Police are issuing a warning about a rash of overdose deaths in our area that they blame on fentanyl. They say the city has seen 10 overdose deaths since the first of the month. Police say: “If you are struggling with a substance abuse problem, please reach out to the Hamilton County Coalition / M. L….

Benjamin Brown gets ‘big win;’ is eligible for immediate probation despite conviction

Criminally negligent homicide is a Class E felony, with a sentencing range of 1-2 years with probation immediately available

The case that’s captured the Tennessee Valley’s attention since 2018: a two-year-old girl dead; her babysitter’s boyfriend charged with killing her. On Monday, a jury found Benjamin Brown of Soddy-Daisy guilty, but not for the felony murder charge prosecutors wanted. Brown was convicted of lesser charges: criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment. Those lesser charges could have a major impact…

McCallie Downs Bradley Central 73-50

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) McCallie hit 58 percent of their shots on Monday in beating Bradley Central 73-50. The Bears had a hard time with Big Blue big man David Craig. The 7’1 Craig was 6 of 8 from the floor in scoring 15 points. Kollin Claridy pumped in a career high 25 points for McCallie.  Aide n McClary led the Bears with…

Memphis Drive resident grateful for pump station’s closure

Said streets would flood with sewage, manholes would overflow

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Chattanooga retiree Ronnie McGill described it as if a battle had been won. For the first time in more than three decades, he and the fellow residents of Memphis Drive here in Chattanooga won’t have to worry about rampant sewage flooding their neighborhood. “Our prayers answered out here,” McGill said. “That’s for sure.” For years, residents of…

Family of Annie Shell Disappointed Following Benjamin Brown Verdict

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – “I don’t understand what the jury was thinking,” says Annie Shell’s father David Shell. A jury took two days to decide Benjamin Brown of Soddy-Daisy is guilty of criminally negligent homicide and reckless endangerment in the 2018 death of two-year-old Annie Shell. He was initially charged with felony murder and aggravated child abuse. The jury’s verdict was…

More To The Story: The Tree Team

Chattanooga is counting the trees in their care

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Rich Sulley knows trees better than most. Fact of the matter is, Rich is in Chattanooga for one reason: look at our trees. Rich is an inventory arborist. He travels all across the country. For the past three years, he’s made his living, working alone, checking everything there is to know about trees. Big ones, tall ones,…

What’s Right With Our Schools: Brown Middle School Wow Notebook

HARRISON, TN (WDEF) – The early teenage years are a challenging time in most of our lives.  A well-timed compliment can put pep in your step and change your entire outlook. That’s the reason a student at Brown Middle came up with the Wow Notebook. Whitney Whitaker is an English Language teacher at Brown Middle. She remembers, “Karina came to…

TECH BYTE: Tech for Ditching Opioids

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Some doctors are using tech to help their patients avoid pain pills. “I wanted to get off opioids as quickly as I could, obviously. But also I didn’t want to have a lot of pain,” said Bob Main, a knee replacement patient. That’s why Main decided to use a different method to recover from surgery. Orthopedic…

Mocs women second half rally not enough against Bucs

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC Athletics) — The Chattanooga Mocs fought a hard second half Saturday afternoon at The McKenzie Arena before falling 65-62 to East Tennessee State in Southern Conference women’s basketball action. Chattanooga moves to 6-19 on the year and 4-6 in league play while the Bucs improve to 3-19 overall and 3-7 against the SoCon. The Mocs trailed 40-24…

Benjamin Brown takes stand in his own defense, and admits to lying

Defendant in 2018 death of 2-year-old admits to lying to a detective; prosecution seizes on inconsistent testimony

It’s time for the defense to present its case. Just a day after the jury heard from the Medical Examiner, saying a toddler was shaken so hard, blood got on her brain. Benjamin Brown took the stand in his own defense of the felony murder charge from the 2018 death of Annie Shell. After three forensic pathologists testified about the…

Mocs Face “NCAA Tournament Situation” in Showdown With Furman

(gomocs.com) CHATTANOOGA — After earning a thrilling 71-69 victory on national television the first time around, the Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball team is set for its highly anticipated rematch with second-place Furman for a key Southern Conference tilt on Saturday afternoon inside Timmons Arena in Greenville, S.C. Chattanooga (21-5, 11-2 SoCon) is coming off a 65-47 victory over Western Carolina…