ROGERSVILLE — The wife of former Hawkins County sessions and juvenile judge James “Jay” Taylor was ordered earlier this month to pay more than $63,000 to the plaintiff in a civil lawsuit filed against the couple last year.

The order, filed in Hawkins County Circuit Court on Nov. 9, was signed by Sevier County Circuit Judge Rex Henry Ogle, who was appointed to hear the case of Doris Colleen Burns versus James Taylor and his wife, Julia North Taylor.

In December of last year, Burns filed a lawsuit against James Taylor alleging that on Nov. 12, 2008, he borrowed $65,000 from Burns, who was his client in pending civil litigation. The note was reportedly cosigned by Julia Taylor.

Ogle’s order states that based on Julia Taylor’s failure to reply to the allegations through counsel, or pro se, the court entered a judgment against her for a total of $63,341, which includes Burns’ attorney fee and court costs.

Kingsport attorney David Darnell is listed as Julia Taylor’s attorney in Ogle’s order.

A message left for Darnell by the Times-News Monday seeking comment about the judgment was not returned.

James Taylor was ordered to pay Burns $50,000 in restitution stemming from the same situation when he pleaded guilty Oct. 12 in Hawkins County Criminal Court to six felony theft charges.

Those theft charges stemmed from money stolen from former clients in Taylor’s private law practice as well as theft of funds he raised under the pretext of hanging historical documents including the Ten Commandments on the wall of the Hawkins County Justice Center.

Morristown attorney Paul Whetstone, who represents Burns in her lawsuit, said the criminal restitution and civil judgment overlap.

“We’re not double dipping, but we now have two courts that have ordered these funds be paid to my client,” Whetstone said. “That’s two courts the defendants will have to answer to if these funds aren’t paid.”

Whetstone noted, however, that Burns isn’t through with the Taylors.

In February, Burns amended her original lawsuit to include an additional $16,000 she claims James Taylor “extorted” from her in 2010. She is also seeking “unspecified damages” in that amended suit.

The amended lawsuit claims that he threatened Burns with a false criminal charge and prison to intimidate her into paying him $16,000, which Taylor allegedly told Burns was to be used as bribe money.

The lawsuit alleges that in his private practice Taylor was representing Burns in an adoption case involving a child.

Taylor allegedly told Burns that the guardian ad litem in that case was going to place criminal charges against her for “selling a baby.” He allegedly threatened that the consequence could be a prison sentence for Burns, who allegedly paid Taylor the $16,000.

Taylor served as Hawkins County juvenile judge from 2006 until August of 2011, when he was appointed sessions judge by the County Commission. He resigned his sessions judge seat in May, shortly before being indicted in Davidson County and later in Hawkins County on theft charges.

In addition to his October guilty pleas, Taylor pleaded guilty in September in Davidson County to another six felony theft charges stemming from fraudulent payment claims he made from the Tennessee Administrative Office of Courts.

James Taylor is currently incarcerated in the Davidson County Jail awaiting an expected early release on a three-year jail sentence, after which he will remain on probation until 2028.

A hearing for East Tennessee State University basketball players facing drug charges was reset Monday in Washington County Sessions Court until Dec. 20 at 1:30 p.m.

Sheldon Cooley and Marcus Dubose were charged last week after the First Judical Drug Task Force was called about a suspicious package delivered to an ETSU post office box.

The package was addressed to Dubose and contained what authorities believed to be a quarter pound of marijuana buds. DTF agents confronted Dubose when he went to the campus post office to pick up the package Nov. 19.

Read more at the Johnson City Press.

A Kingsport pharmacist has been charged in Kansas for allegedly selling misbranded drugs to kidney dialysis patients.

A release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee says Robert Harshbarger Jr., 43, was indicted Nov. 14 in Topeka.

He faces five counts of health care fraud, one count of selling misbranded drugs and one count of mail fraud.

The indictment alleges Harshbarger’s company, American Inhalation Medication Specialists, Inc., of Kingsport, received more than $875,000 from Kansas Dialysis and more than $845,000 from health care benefit programs from 2004 to 2009.

Harshbarger reportedly presented a non-FDA approved drug from China as Venofer, the only iron sucrose drug approved by the FDA.

If convicted, Harshbarger faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000 on the mail fraud count; a maximum penalty of 10 years and a fine up to $250,000 on each of the health care fraud counts; and a maximum penalty of three years and a fine up to $250,000 on the charge of selling a misbranded drug.

A jury heard some of the last attempts of a 2-year-old boy trying to breathe after he accidentally shot himself in the face, sounds that were recorded on the 911 call his father made the night the child died.

Jacob Mitchell’s last breaths sounded like hiccups as he tried to unsuccessfully take in oxygen.

The boy’s father, Christopher Mitchell, 29, faces felony first-degree murder and aggravated child neglect in the case. In an unusual move, he pleaded guilty to two other charges — tampering with evidence and identity theft — as Assistant District Attorney Dennis Brooks read the indictment to the jury just before proof began. The incident happened Jan. 11, 2009, at the Value Place Hotel, where the family was living at the time.

Read more at the Johnson City Press.

A shooting last week that left an 18-year-old woman injured with a gunshot wound to the head remains under investigation by the Norton Police Department.

On Monday Norton police arrested 21-year-old Melquan Shabazz Huntley on two Class 6 felonies, including unlawful discharge of a firearm and unlawful shooting of a person in the commission of a felony.

On Tuesday Norton Police Capt. Roger C. Cook said 18-year-old Jahnae Foster was being treated for her head wound at Johnson City Medical Center Hospital. Cook said he wasn't certain of her condition, while a spokesperson for Mountain States Health Alliance said the information was not available.

At 10:35 p.m. the evening before Thanksgiving, police responded to a shooting at Green's Mobile Home Park in Norton. Officers found Foster in a bedroom with a bullet wound to the head.

Three other individuals were in the mobile home at the time of the shooting and the resulting investigation identified Huntley as the shooter, with the arrest and charges filed against him occurring Monday.

Cook said the matter is still under investigation and details such as the type of firearm, and what investigators believe transpired that resulted in the discharge of a firearm, are not being released at this time.

ROGERSVILLE — An apparent streak of honesty that struck a Virginia man arrested in Hawkins County Friday night added a felony drug charge to his original misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge.

Shortly after 8 p.m. Friday Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office deputy Reba Matthews was dispatched to a family disturbance at 301 Arrowhead Drive in Rogersville.

Upon her arrival Matthews found that Charles Wayne Cowan, 44, 1453 Kinser Hollow Road, Jonesville, Va., was being detained by family members "due to his aggressiveness."

Matthews stated in her report that the parties were separated, at which time Cowan allegedly became irate, began hollering vulgar language, and was uncooperative. When Cowan refused to calm down after several requests he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.

Matthews stated in her report Cowan smelled of alcohol, and family members stated he’d been drinking mixed alcohol throughout the evening.

Around 3:45 a.m. Saturday Hawkins County Jail Officer Marcus Schofield was working the booking area when Cowan yelled for him from his jail cell.

"As I approached the cell Mr. Cowan held up what appeared to be a piece of tin foil," Schofield stated in his report. "Mr. Cowan stated, ‘This is why I am so messed up. My brother gave these Xanax to me’."

Jailers then reportedly entered Cowan’s cell and retrieved the foil which allegedly contained four peach colored pills and four halves of peach colored pills.

Cowan then gave a written statement in which he allegedly said, "My brother gave me six round peach colored pills for my nerves due to mine had been stolen, and I don’t remember coming to Jail."

Cowan was additionally charged with possession of Schedule IV narcotics and felony introduction of drugs into a penal institution.
He was arraigned Monday and released on $2,500 bond.

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. — Grand jurors in Greeneville have indicted state Rep. David Hawk on a felony reckless endangerment count after a March incident involving his estranged wife.

The Greeneville Sun reported the indictment was returned Monday by a Greene County grand jury, which declined to formally charge the Republican lawmaker with domestic assault.

The indictment states Hawk recklessly caused bodily injury to his spouse, Crystal Goan Hawk.

Hawk has maintained he is innocent of the charges. He is scheduled to appear Friday for arraignment in Greene County Criminal Court.

WISE — Virginia authorities have set a Jan. 16 execution date for a triple convicted murderer who asked judges to sentence him to death.

Wise County Circuit Court Chief Judge John C. Kilgore filed an execution decree on Tuesday ordering the death sentence of Robert Charles Gleason Jr. be carried out Jan. 16 “at such a time of day as the Director of the Department of Corrections shall fix.”

Gleason, 42, a.k.a. Charles R. Flynn, was serving a life sentence in Virginia’s prison system for the May 8, 2007, shooting death of a man in Amherst County.

Gleason was incarcerated at Wallens Ridge State Prison in Big Stone Gap when he beat, taunted and strangled to death his 63-year-old cellmate, Harvey Grey Watson Jr., on May 8, 2009.

While being tried for Watson’s murder in Wise County Circuit Court, Gleason provided the court with graphic details of the slaying, declared he had no remorse, vowed to kill again and asked the court for the death penalty.

On July 28, 2010, while incarcerated at another Wise County prison facility — Red Onion State Prison near Pound — Gleason strangled to death another inmate, 26-year-old Aaron Alexander Cooper, after enticing Cooper to come near a wire barrier separating the isolation cages both inmates were occupying at the time.

Again, Gleason provided the Wise County court a graphic description of Cooper’s slaying and vowed to kill again, telling the court the only way to stop him from killing was to execute him.

This summer, the Virginia Supreme Court upheld Gleason’s death sentence handed down by the Wise County Circuit Court, issuing a ruling that included a finding that the local judge bent over backwards to protect Gleason’s rights.

NASHVILLE — Local teachers Klye Loudermilk, Hope Malone and Kelli Seymour are among 15 educators named across Tennessee to share best practices statewide.

Loudermilk, of Sullivan County’s Blountville Elementary, Malone, of Bristol’s Avoca Elementary, and Seymour, of Johnson City’s Southside Elementary, are part of a new program the Tennessee Department of Education announced Monday.

The program enlists highly effective teachers from the state’s top schools to share best practices and help improve student achievement across the state.

The 15 teachers named to the Reward Schools Ambassador Program each come from 2012 Reward Schools — the top 10 percent of schools in Tennessee for performance and progress — and will work with neighboring schools in each region to improve student achievement and reduce achievement gaps.

“There are schools in Tennessee that have shown impressive growth and reached high levels of performance thanks to their effective approaches to instruction and training. We want to make sure that other schools can learn from what’s working for them,” Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman said. “It’s in the best interest of Tennessee students that our schools and districts share this kind of information and knowledge. The department is doing more to facilitate opportunities to learn from each other.”

Reward School Ambassadors — all teachers who earned an overall “5,” the top score on Tennessee’s teacher evaluations — were nominated by their schools and selected for this year-long, paid position through a competitive application and interview process. Reward Schools whose nominees were selected into the ambassador cohort will also receive a $20,000 grant to further their educational programming.

“The goal of the ambassador program is to provide leadership opportunities for highly effective teachers and resources to winning Reward Schools so that they can take their already impressive achievements to new heights and serve as models of success for others across the state,” said Mike Koprowski, who oversees the program in the department’s data division. “Through the program, we aim to leverage the talent of our top teachers, spark the development of robust partnerships between schools, and spread best practices — all of which will help increase student achievement in Tennessee.”

The other 12 teachers named Reward School Ambassadors are:

•Trevor Collins, Washburn School, Grainger County Schools.

•Klaire Davis, Moore Elementary, Franklin Special School District.

•Frankie Harris, Rose Park Middle, Metro Nashville Public Schools.

•Pierre Jackson, Middle College High, Memphis City Schools.

•Renae Martin, Meigs Middle, Meigs County Schools.

•Michelle Phipps, Alvin C. York Institute.

•Danielle Ringold, Kingsbury Middle, Memphis City Schools.

•Kristy Starks-Winn, Powell High School, Knox County Schools.

•Kathleen Turnmire, MLK Magnet, Metro Nashville Public Schools.

•Karri Weathers, Leoma Elementary, Lawrence County Schools.

•Karen Wight, Walnut Grove Elementary, Williamson County Schools.

•Edna Williams, Vollentine Elementary, Memphis City Schools.

MOUNT CARMEL — Before outgoing Mount Carmel Mayor Gary Lawson handed over the baton to his successor, Larry Frost, Lawson was surprised by a heartfelt statement made before the standing-room only crowd by his wife of 41 years, Pauline.

Lawson and outgoing alderman Thomas Wheeler completed old business on Tuesday’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen agenda, which included a few housekeeping items. Before new business was to commence, Frost, along with incoming aldermen Paul Hale, Wanda Worley-Davidson and Carl Wolfe, were to be sworn into office by State Rep. Mike Harrison, R-Rogersville.

First, however, Pauline Lawson wanted to get something off her chest.

“The person sitting here has served as your mayor for the past 12 years and served this community in some capacity for most of the past 37 years that he’s resided in Mount Carmel,” Mrs. Lawson said. “He’s helped the BMA achieve much, especially concentrating on the safety and welfare of the town and its employees. I stand here tonight to say Gary is a good man, loving husband, great father and very devoted to his family. He always goes the extra mile to do what he thinks is best for those he cares about, and believe me, he’s always cared about this town.”

She said Lawson gave his heart and soul to Mount Carmel for a very long time.

Mrs. Lawson added, “I pray that you (new board members) will make the right decisions and not take the town backwards. I for one would like to continue living in a town that puts the safety and welfare of its citizens and its employees first and foremost every day.”

Lawson received a standing ovation as he stepped down.

“That surprised me,” he said. “She hardly says anything at all. It kind of shocked me. ‘You’re going to say something?’ I hope we don’t have to cart her out of here.”

Alderman Kathy Roberts was not in attendance, but she was outgoing from the BMA following old business as well. Roberts and Wheeler opted not to seek re-election.

Upon being sworn in, Frost thanked Wheeler, Roberts and Lawson for their service to the town.

“You’ve been faithful to this city down through the years, and we certainly appreciate it,” Frost told Lawson.

Harrison noted that Lawson has served as Mount Carmel mayor since before he was elected state representative.

“You’ve been good to work with over the last 10 years (that Harrison has been in office),” Harrison told Lawson. “I know you’re going to remain a public servant, maybe not in an official capacity, but I know you want to see what’s best for not only this city but the county as well.”

Following the swearing in ceremonies, the new BMA approved Hale as vice mayor by a vote of 5-2 over Alderman Leann DeBord.

The BMA also voted 5-1 in favor of a resolution designating Larry Frost and City Recorder Marion Sandidge as the town’s designated officials to sign checks and make bank transactions. DeBord voted against the resolution and Worley-Davidson abstained.

A woman whose 2-year-old son accidentally killed himself while playing with a pistol said she thought her husband had gotten rid of the gun, but still wanted to believe in him during the months after their child’s death.

“I wanted to believe he loved Jacob and me and I didn’t want to believe he was a bad person,” Heather Bible, formerly Heather Mitchell, told a jury.

She was the last witness in the state’s case against Christopher Mitchell, 29. He’s charged with felony murder and aggravated child neglect. Police also charged Mitchell with tampering with evidence and identity theft, charges that won’t go to the jury because he pleaded guilty to those as the trial got under way.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

About three months ago, Melanie McCracken, Frank Hayes and their two young children moved into a mobile home on H. Barnett Drive in Bristol, Tenn.

She said that since then, she and her neighbor have shared a single conversation — a one-sided, unpleasant exchange that proved somewhat prophetic on Monday afternoon.

“He said the first time he saw my dog out, he was going to shoot it,” Melanie McCracken told the Times-News. “And he made good on his promise.”

But the round Thomas McCracken, 51, allegedly fired from his 30.06 rifle just grazed Smokey, an 8-month-old pit bull. It then ricocheted off the ground and hit the side of the neighboring trailer, according to a Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office incident report, prompting his arrest on charges of reckless endangerment.

Melanie McCracken, who police report has no relation to the suspect, says the bullet entered an outer wall of a bedroom in her mobile home. If not for a stud believed to have stopped the round, Jayden, 2, or Ricky, 4, could have been struck.

They were allegedly seated on a beanbag chair in the bedroom watching cartoons at 12:15 p.m., when the shot was fired and lodged in the wall.

According to statements contained in the police report, Thomas McCracken was sitting on his back porch when he fired his rifle. He said Smokey came toward his own dog as if it were going to attack, prompting him to fire a round behind the pit bull to “scare it.”

Melanie McCracken says the puppy suffered flesh wounds to the neck and should be OK, adding it was in the side yard of her property when the incident occurred.

She also acknowledged the stigma attached to the pit bull breed. But Smokey, Melanie McCracken said, has been raised in a loving family with small children. She said his gentle nature reflects that environment.

Monday’s incident, Melanie McCracken contends, was an overreaction on her neighbor’s part.

“He could have killed one of my kids,” she said of the shooting.

SCSO deputies and detectives responded to investigate the incident. Thomas Mc-Cracken, of 212 H. Barnett Drive, was arrested at the scene. He’s charged with four counts of reckless endangerment, one count for each occupant of the home he allegedly shot.

Thomas McCracken was booked into the Sullivan County jail, posted bond Tuesday afternoon and was released.

A grand jury has determined the Kingsport Police Department acted appropriately in May's fatal shooting of a Mount Carmel man, accused of threatening to kill his family before pointing a gun at officers during a traffic stop.

"We're obviously saddened for the family that the situation had to be handled the way it did, but we are nonetheless relieved for our officers," said KPD Deputy Chief Dale Phipps. "We know they've had this hanging over their heads and had a lot of sleepless nights."

Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to probe the May 12 incident — as is protocol for any shooting involving an officer — with the findings of that investigation presented Tuesday to a grand jury. They deemed lethal force was justified under the circumstances, which included an approximately 30 minute standoff in a vehicle before a loaded gun was pointed at officers.

Ernest Lynn France, 47, 1607 McCracken Lane, was killed in the incident. He was stopped by Kingsport police following a BOLO from the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office, warning France was armed and a potentially dangerous.

According to a Mount Carmel Police Department report, a combination of alcohol and lack of prescribed medication may have contributed to France’s state of mind. France's wife has told the Times-News that he was bipolar and paranoid schizophrenic, and had experienced recent deaths to friends and family.

He allegedly came home intoxicated shortly after midnight. According to Mount Carmel police France launched into a racial rant about his neighbors — which his wife said came "out of the blue" — then retrieved a pistol and fired a shot into the air.

He's then alleged to have retrieved a shotgun from a closet and threatened to kill his wife and 17-year-old son. Before leaving his residence he fired five shots at a vehicle at the neighbor's home.

France's wife previously told the Times-News that she then called police, as her husband had exhibited suicidal tendencies in the past.

"The police were afraid for him, that he would hurt himself...When it started the police were out to save his life."

A BOLO was issued and the KPD initiated a stop on France's car near Oak and Maple streets at approximately 12:36 a.m. Knowing he was possibly armed officers attempted to make verbal contact with France, who failed to comply their commands.

After 34 minutes officers approached the vehicle. France reportedly pointed a handgun at the officers, prompting their fire and his fatal wounds.

Staff writer Jeff Bobo contributed to this report.

An overturned kerosene heater caused a fire that sent three people to the hospital early this morning in Johnson City.

Smoke was coming from the attic of 702 Edgewood Drive when firefighters arrived just after 5:30 this morning.

The home was filled with smoke when firefighters got inside. A news release stated the fire began in a hallway to a bedroom, which is where the heater was found.

Read more at the Johnson City Press.

A Johnson City man now faces nearly 40 years in prison for the death of his 2-year-old son, who accidentally shot himself in 2009.

Christopher Mitchell, 29, was convicted Wednesday of criminally negligent homicide and felony reckless endangerment, but had originally faced felony murder and aggravated child neglect charges for Jacob Mitchell’s death.

Ironically, Mitchell faces more time for the two charges he pleaded guilty to at the beginning of the trial than for his son’s death. As the trial started Monday, Mitchell pleaded guilty to tampering with evidence and identity theft, which stemmed from him giving a false name to police and hiding the gun involved.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

GREENEVILLE — A 31-year- old Kingsport man, convicted earlier this year on a federal child pornography charge, will spend the next 10 years in prison, a U.S. District judge ruled on Wednesday.

Michael Noble Jr., received the statutory maximum sentence in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on Wednesday. Judge Ronnie Greer also ordered Noble to be on supervised release for 20 years following his prison sentence.

Noble was convicted of possession of child pornography following a 2½-day trial in May.

According to a release, the investigation of Noble began when his spouse discovered pornographic images of young children on his computer and a video tape made by him of young female children at local swimming pools, shopping centers and other public areas. The tapes often focused in on the girls’ buttocks and genital area, according to court records.

The Kingsport Police Department seized a computer and external hard drives from Noble’s apartment, and following a forensic examination, law enforcement found more than 2,300 images and six videos containing child pornography. Noble’s wife told police she had previously seen images and videos of children engaged in sex acts with adults on the computer, that she had deleted them and warned him police would be contacted if the conduct continued, court records state.

A court ordered mental evaluation of Noble diagnosed him as suffering from drug and alcohol abuse and pedophilia. According to a sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors, Noble had been removed from his birth home for chasing his younger sister with a knife and during a juvenile placement, set fires and threatened to kill his mother, house parents and their 7-year-old child.

Noble’s attorneys argued in their sentencing memorandum that Noble was attempting to turn his life around and make better provisions for himself and his family by joining the military. The attorneys further argue that Noble did not continue the behavior from the time of the search by law enforcement in October 2009 until his arrest in May 2010, contrary to claims made by the government.

In fact, Noble had almost completed U.S. Army basic training at the time of his arrest, the attorneys said.

NASHVILLE — Former Hawkins County prosecutor Doug Godbee was officially disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court as of this past Sunday, but he might be eligible to get his law license back in five years.

Godbee, 59, of Rogersville, entered a “no contest” plea on Oct. 1 to a single count of felony official misconduct related to a sex-for-leniency scandal that came to light in 2010.

He was sentenced to two years of supervised probation, 200 hours of community service, must undergo a psycho/sexual mental evaluation and complete the therapy and counseling regime already in place.

Although his law license had already been suspended since August, a Nov. 15 Supreme Court order stated that his official disbarment took effect 10 days later, or Sunday, Nov. 25.

The order also said Godbee will pay court costs in the amount of $5,613 to the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility (BOPR) which prosecuted his disbarment.

When former Hawkins County judge James “Jay” Taylor pleaded guilty to felony theft charges this past September, his plea agreement stated he could not seek to have his disbarment lifted until 2025.

There was no disbarment time limit placed in Godbee’s plea agreement, however.

BOPR senior litigation counsel Sandy Garrett told the Times-News Wednesday that Godbee will be eligible to petition for his law license to be reinstated in five years. Although Godbee became a convicted felon on Oct. 1, Garrett said there is no Tennessee Supreme Court restriction of felons from holding a law license.

“Under the Supreme Court rules, an attorney who is disbarred may petition for reinstatement after five years,” Garrett said. “Then, if he did that, he would have the burden of showing by clear and convincing evidence that he has the moral qualifications, competency, and that his reinstatement wouldn’t be adverse to the public or the administration of justice. He’s got a pretty high burden of proof, but he can petition for reinstatement in five years.”

Garrett couldn’t say if the BOPR would oppose Godbee if he filed for reinstatement in five years. That decision would be made by the BOPR if and when the time came.

Garret did say, however, that one attorney who was disbarred for attempting to bribe a witness recently applied for reinstatement and was approved by a hearing panel. The BOPR appealed that reinstatement, took it all the way to the Supreme Court and won.

“The Supreme Court said even though he had met the burden of proof, some things are just so bad that the court in its own authority over lawyers isn’t going to give him his license back,” Garrett said.

Godbee had held a Tennessee law license since 1978 and served as Rogersville’s chief prosecutor for more than 30 years. He resigned from the attorney general’s office in September 2010 amid allegations he solicited, and in some cases received, sexual favors in exchange for leniency from female drug defendants and/or their mothers.

Attorney General Russell Johnson from Kingston, who served as special prosecutor in the case, said that at last count 14 women had filed civil lawsuits against the state seeking compensation for harm they suffered as a result of Godbee’s conduct.

ROGERSVILLE — A new Hawkins County high school boys soccer program will move forward in spring of 2013, despite some concerns expressed by some administrators that were addressed during a meeting Tuesday evening.

Earlier this month, the Hawkins County Board of Education approved a $40,000 expenditure to cover start-up costs for new boys and girls soccer programs at both Cherokee and Volunteer high schools.

The BOE voted 4-0 with three abstentions in favor of the program. The three board members who abstained weren’t opposed to the program.

They wanted to discuss the new programs during a BOE workshop scheduled for Monday evening so some questions could be answered first.

On Tuesday evening, the BOE’s Athletic Committee met with administrators in hopes of resolving a few of the pending questions about the soccer program.

Some of those questions were posed by Cherokee principal Gloria Silvers in a Nov. 14 letter to the BOE and Central Office, including whether there would be a problem with an imbalance of boys and girls athletic programs for the 2012-13 school year.

The TSSAA requires equal sports programming for boys and girls. Boys soccer is a spring sport, and girls soccer is a fall sport, which means the girls team won’t begin until the 2013-14 school year.

Director of Schools Charlotte Britton said her staff received confirmation from TSSAA that due to the timeline, there would be no problem with starting the boys program in the spring of 2013.

There was also a question of where games and practice will take place.

TSSAA allows soccer games to be played on football fields, although a football field is smaller than a regulation soccer field. Hawkins County would not be eligible, however, to host postseason playoff games, which must be played on a regulation field.

Boys home games will be played on their respective football fields, but there are still potential schedule conflicts between football and girls games in the fall.

There’s also a question of where practices will take place for boys and girls.

Britton appointed a committee Tuesday to resolve those issues. She said there are prospects, potentially off campus, but details haven’t been finalized.

Silvers said in her letter she fully supports implementation of the new soccer programs at Cherokee.

“I sincerely believe that our students need multiple opportunities to be involved in school activities,” Silvers said.

The new soccer programs were proposed by school board member Chris Christian at the Nov. 1 BOE meeting.

Christian polled students and found that 28 boys and 23 girls at Volunteer and 45 boys and 42 girls at Cherokee were interested in playing soccer. A poll of middle school students about playing soccer when they get to high school also revealed substantial interest.

“We as parents, teachers, coaches and administrators have an obligation to create opportunities for our children,” Christian told the Times-News on Wednesday. “That’s what we’re there for. If by creating a soccer program we enable a child who otherwise wouldn’t have this opportunity to play, and maybe get a college education out of it, it’s worth our time and money to make that happen.”

GREENEVILLE — One of the ringleaders of a vast cocaine- and marijuana-trafficking operation in the Tri-Cities area has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison.

Tomas Estrada Sarabia, 38, of Johnson City, received the 40-year prison sentence in U.S. District Court in Greeneville on Tuesday. Sarabia (also known as “Primo”) pleaded guilty in August 2011 to distribution and/or possession of cocaine and/or marijuana and possession of a firearm during a drug-trafficking offense.

Federal prosecutors hit Sarabia, along with 35 other individuals, with a 107-count indictment in October 2011, charging them with engaging in large-scale cocaine and marijuana trafficking from May 2008 through October 2010.

Most of the other defendants have been sentenced for their roles in the operation. Sarabia and the majority of the other individuals involved in this case were in the United States illegally and will be deported after serving their sentences.

Law enforcement agents made more than 100 cocaine buys from various individuals involved in the conspiracy. At this time, 34 of individuals have been sentenced.

According to court records, Sarabia was a primary source of the supply and distribution of cocaine and marijuana in the Tri-Cities area, with a majority of his supply coming from Mexico. The drugs were transported to several main hubs in the United States, including Chicago and Houston, and then distributed throughout the country.

Prosecutors said Sarabia obtained approximately one kilogram of cocaine every two weeks that he redistributed or had others redistribute for him in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

On 25 separate occasions, Sarabia sold cocaine or assisted in the sale of cocaine to an individual working with law enforcement, and during at least two of these transactions he possessed firearms.

Ultimately, law enforcement agents executed 13 search warrants at various locations in Johnson City, Kingsport and Knoxville, during which agents found approximately 3.5 kilograms of cocaine, 200 pounds of marijuana and a significant number of firearms and ammunition. Following a search of Sarabia’s residence, law enforcement located a half kilogram of cocaine, several firearms, ammunition and digital scales.

“Our prosecutors and the federal and state law enforcement agencies working on this case did a tremendous job of obtaining and presenting the evidence,” said U.S. Attorney William C. Killian. “We were able to show the scope of the drug distribution activities of the organization, including the use and threatened use of firearms that often attaches to the illegal distribution of drugs.”

ERWIN — Although the fate of Unicoi County Memorial Hospital has been the subject of numerous meetings and community interest for several months, the UCMH Board of Control quickly decided Wednesday that Mountain States Health Alliance is better suited to acquire the community hospital.

The board voted 5-2 in a brief public meeting held at Erwin Town Hall to accept the revised MSHA acquisition proposal submitted on Oct. 10 over a proposal submitted by Wellmont Health System on the same day.

Read more at the Johnson City Press.