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…

Notre Dame Coach Charles Fant Proud to See Former Player Kareem Orr Make the Super Bowl

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) Former Notre Dame and Chattanooga Mocs stand-out Kareem Orr will also be at the Super Bowl. He’s a defensive back for the Los Angeles Rams. Orr’s high school coach Charles Fant says it’s pretty surreal to have one of your former players in the Super Bowl. Said Fant:”Couple of days ago I got some pictures of him. He had…

Ridgeland’s Vonn Bell Playing in Super Bowl Sunday For the Bengals

Chattanooga-(WDEF-TV) The Cincinnati Bengals take on the Los Angeles Rams in this Sunday’s Super Bowl. Leading the charge for the Bengals’ defense is Chattanooga’s own Vonn Bell. From Ridgeland to the Big Game, News 12’s Angela Moryan has his amazing story. Said Ridgeland head coach Craig Pritchett: “When he had the interception,(in the AFC Championship game) I started to run…

Pursuit of Happiness campaign next Friday

Organization holding a clothing drive for the homeless

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – A local non-profit will be busy next week doing its part to help our homeless neighbors. Next Friday, local nonprofit Pursuit of Happiness will be putting on its inaugural clothing drive for the homeless community located on 11th street. The clothing drive is intended to provide those living in the tent city with essentials, but organization C-E-O…

Investigators say Daycare worker failed to evacuate kids during fire

James Carpenter faces 27 counts of child neglect, investigators say he admits to drinking on the job

CLEVELAND, Tennessee (WDEF) – Yesterday in Cleveland, Little Lambs Daycare caught fire while children were napping inside. The fire was quickly visible to those in nearby businesses. “Basically, it was a pretty crazy situation that was going down. I heard a bunch of commotion in the gym, and we all ran out and saw a huge fire, so obviously we…

New Steam Logistics building celebrated with ceremony

Developers hope to have new headquarters building complete before 2023

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Steam Logistics held a groundbreaking ceremony this afternoon for its new downtown headquarters at 328 Broad Street. The third-party logistics company is one of the fastest-growing in the nation and expects to hire 400 employees here in Chattanooga over the next five years. The new headquarters building will be completely overhauled after it was boarded off for years…

Food City presents local nonprofit with financial gift

The Happy Shoes Project awarded $52,000 for their service to those fighting cancer

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — The Happy Shoes Project received a generous gift from Food City this afternoon. The nonprofit was presented a check for $50,000, as well as a $2,000 Food City gift card, at the grocery store chain’s location off of Signal Mountain Road. Happy Shoes provides tote bags and backpacks to cancer patients and children battling cancer. The totes…

Chattanooga’s Salvation Army to host Super Bowl party

Event to be held for local homeless and impoverished community

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Chattanooga’s Salvation Army is set to throw a super party for the Super Bowl as part of its Beyond Love Campaign. From 6 to 10 p.m. on Sunday, February 13, the local chapter will host a viewing party of the big game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals for those in the area who…

Shaken Baby trial continues

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – The trial continues for a man accused of shaking a nearly 3 year old girl to death. Benjamin Brown was the boyfriend of a woman who was babysitting Annie Shell in 2018. The babysitter, Brandi Giannunzio, told officials that the little girl died from seizures after falling. She was charged with making a false report and accessory…

More To The Story: Airport Art Display

Dave Staley meets the local artist who picks what you see at the revolving art display at our airport

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Local artist Carrie Pendergrass is at it again!!! Carrie’s done all of the “heavy lifting” on this new exhibit in the main lobby of the Chattanooga Airport. It went up last month. The theme this time around is “A Stilled Life.” Centering around still moments and images that represent everyday things we see and do. There are…

Citizen protest doesn’t move McMinn County School Board to reverse ‘Maus’ action

Concerned citizens believe book removal shows district is not interested in furthering children's education

ATHENS (WDEF) – One month ago, the McMinn County School Board made a decision that put it squarely in the international public eye. The McMinn County School Board says it will not review its decision to remove the graphic novel ‘Maus,’ a book about the Holocaust, from the district’s eighth grade curriculum. It’s been 31 days since the McMinn County…