For the second time in five days, the McMinn County School District becomes the center of the news universe again. This time due to a scandal that has rocked the district. McMinn County Sheriff Joe Guy announced this afternoon that 38-year-old Melissa Blair of Englewood has been indicted on several counts of the statutory rape of nine students at McMinn…
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…
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…
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,…
Boyd Buchanan head football coach Jeremy Bosken has resigned. He’s leaving the Bucs to take the head coaching job at Tri Cities Christian Academy. Bosken is scheduled to be introduced as the TCA head coach at a press conference Wednesday morning. It’s an opportunity for Bosken to move closer to home. The Bucs were 0-10 before Bosken arrived, and he…
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…
DALTON, GA (WDEF) – Who says Math class has to be dry as toast? What if you could write the equations right on your desk? How about a comfy couch for when you finish your work? Those are just two of the variables that helped Dalton Academy’s Dinna Spradlin earn the Golden Apple Award. Matthew Mederios is the Principal at…
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…
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….
If you’re having trouble getting your kids to brush their teeth, here’s a way to make it fun and teach them at the same time.
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…
The TSSAA announced last week that they are moving several high school football games from Friday to Thursday next fall. They’re doing it to address a shortage of officials. We spoke with a trio of local coaches who are down with moving one game to Thursday. According to Notre Dame coach Charles Fant, the decision to play Thursday games was…
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…
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – Today a pair of Cleveland firefighters began a nine day walk to the State Capitol in Nashville. They took a pit stop at Wired Coffee in Ooltewah to speak with News 12 about their mission. “What we are doing is raising awareness of PTSD in the fire service, and we are trying to get a bill passed,…
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…
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…
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,…
CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) – A jury on Monday found Benjamin Spencer guilty in the death of two year old Annie Burkett. But it was not on the original charges. In the trial that began last week, prosecutors said the Annie and her sister were in the care of Brandi Giannunzio in August of 2018. But she went to a hair salon…
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…
Physical therapist, Dr. Justine Richmond, describes some of the different benefits of dry needling.
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…
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…
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…
(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…
