ABINGDON — For the second time in over a month, an officer with the Pennington Gap Police Department was indicted by a federal grand jury on drug distribution charges.

John Charles Kelly, 38, of Pennington Gap, was indicted in Abingdon Wednesday on a single count of distributing Percocet between March and June 2012 and one count of distributing Lortab between July and September 2012.

Lee County Sheriff Gary Parsons said the charges resulted from incidents that happened while Kelly was on duty. Parsons declined to offer further details on the case due to the ongoing nature of the investigation.

“I can say that it was related to instances that occurred in the town of Pennington and they were duty related,” Parsons said. “It is my understanding that the investigation does continue. I know they are still interviewing people, but I can’t say what will develop out of that.”

Kelly was arraigned Thursday morning in U.S. District Court in Abingdon and released on bond, subject to the condition that he not be employed by the Pennington Gap Police Department, federal authorities said.

Parsons said town officials have taken immediate action to formally suspend Kelly from duty.

If convicted, Kelly faces up to 10 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $500,000 on the distribution of Lortab charge and 20 years in prison and/or a fine of $1 million on the distribution of Percocet charge.

The charges against Kelly come just over a month after former Pennington Gap Police Chief William Bryan Young was arrested on drug and robbery charges following a two-year investigation by local, state and federal authorities.

Authorities did not say if Kelly’s arrest was linked to the allegations against Young. Calls to a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Virginia seeking further information were not immediately returned.

Young has been held without bond in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail in Abingdon since he was taken into custody Oct. 19 by federal authorities.

Young and three other individuals — including his brother Kevin Andrew Young — were indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 31 for allegedly engaging in drug activity and for their alleged roles in the Sept. 28 burglary of the Rite Aid Pharmacy in Pennington Gap. More than 5,400 prescription pills were reportedly stolen during the break-in.

Because of Young’s arrest, the Pennington Gap Town Council voted Nov. 19 to turn over total control of the town’s police to Parsons on a temporary basis. That arrangement went into effect this Monday.

Parsons said he was made aware of the pending indictments prior to taking control of the department.

“I knew that this was coming,” Parsons said. “I had discussed it with them when I took over the department to make sure they felt comfortable with me allowing (Kelly) to continue to work until the indictment was returned.”

Kelly’s arrest resulted from a joint investigation carried out by the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Virginia State Police, the Southwest Virginia Drug Task Force, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

The Kingsport Fire Department responded to the blaze at Short Ridge apartments on Short Ridge Place off Ft. Henry Drive near Wal-Mart shortly before 10 a.m. Thursday morning after neighbors reported smoke coming from one of the apartments.

According Kingsport fire officials no one was at home at the time of the blaze and there were no injuries. One dog was rescued from the apartment.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Kingsport Fire Department.

See Friday's Kingsport Times News for more details

NORTON -- An 18-year-old Norton woman has died from a gunshot wound to her head resulting in a new charge being filed against a former University of Virginia-Wise football player already facing two charges in the incident.

On Thursday, Norton Police Chief James Lane confirmed the death of Jahnae Foster on Wednesday. Foster was being treated for the gunshot wound at Johnson City Medical Center since the evening before Thanksgiving.

Melquan Shabazz Huntley, 21, was arrested Monday on charges of unlawful discharge of a firearm and unlawful shooting of a person in the commission of a felony. Lane said Shabazz was taken into custody once again on Wednesday night following Foster's death and charged with involuntary manslaughter.

"Once we learned (Foster) had passed away, we did obtain an additional charge on the young man who had already been charged in the shooting," Lane said. Huntley was taken into custody, processed and booked and currently held at the regional jail facility in Duffield, he said.

At 10:35 p.m. on Nov. 21, Norton police responded to a report of a shooting at Green's Mobile Home Park. Officers found Foster in a back room of the trailer with a bullet wound to the head.

Huntley was one of three other individuals in the mobile home at the time of the shooting. The resulting investigation identified him as the shooter, leading to the charges that were originally.

Foster's body has been taken to Roanoke for autopsy. Lane said the case "still remains active and under investigation, and the current charges could be changed" depending on the results of the ongoing investigation and findings by the medical examiner in Roanoke.

BLOUNTVILLE — A man convicted of murder in the 2005 execution-style shooting of two at a Kingsport shop was sentenced Thursday, receiving what effectively amounts to a pair of consecutive life sentences.

Jawaune Massey, 36, was sentenced in Sullivan County Circuit Court by Judge Jerry Beck. On Aug. 24 a jury convicted Massey of premeditated murder, felony first-degree murder and robbery, along with drug charges for his involvement in a cocaine distribution ring. His sentence on the robbery and drug convictions will run concurrent with that of the killings.

On Nov. 18, 2005, Jeffrin Nolan, 27, and Terrance Alexander, 21, were each shot in the back of the head at Solé candle shop, 828 Myrtle St. in Kingsport. Massey and co-defendant Leslie Ware reportedly made the men lie face down on the floor of a back room when the fatal shots were fired.

Sullivan County District Attorney General Barry Staubus and Assistant D.A. Gene Perrin contend Nolan was a drug dealer, selling narcotics cheaper than the ring involving Massey and Ware.

“There’s no question (Massey) went in there with the intent to kill,” said Judge Beck near the conclusion of sentencing, adding Massey was “knocking off the competition.”

In an attempt to present mitigating factors for consideration in a sentence, defense attorney Douglas Payne called two witnesses.

Daniel James Reschly, a professor of education and psychology at Vanderbilt University, testified that Massey has exhibited signs of intellectual disabilities since childhood. He painted Massey as a gullible man easily exploited by others, who doesn’t understand the consequences of his actions. Reschly also said Massey has deficiencies in grasping the handling of money.

When asked by Assistant District Attorney Perrin if Massey’s admitted habitual drug use could contribute to his alleged intellectual deficiencies, Reschly said he’s not an expert on the effects of narcotics and was not qualified to answer.

Perrin also noted Massey is convicted of felony drug distribution, a trade which revolves around the transfer of cash.

A defense mitigation specialist from Knoxville, Tenn., was also called to the stand. He relayed to the court his interviews with Massey’s friends and family in Baltimore and New York, where Massey was abused as a child, abandoned by his mother and had no strong male role models.

Despite those issues, according to the defense witness, the individuals interviewed presented Massey as positively involved in his communities and a primary caregiver for some of his 12 children.

Ultimately, the approximately three hours of testimony from defense witnesses proved unsuccessful in having the murder convictions served concurrently. Judge Beck’s decision effectively amounts to a pair of consecutive life sentences, with Massey eligible for parole in 51 years.

At the conclusion of sentencing defense attorney Payne requested a motion for a new trial. A hearing on that motion was tentatively set for March 8.

Meanwhile, Massey’s co-defendant, Ware, has had his trial delayed multiple times due to changes of counsel. That trial is now set to begin early next year.

KINGSPORT — The Kingsport Area Transit Service has renamed and re-branded its ADA/Paratransit service to “Dial-A-Ride,” complete with a new logo and marketing effort to help spur interest in the service and to better reflect the broader nature of the program.

KATS operates six fixed bus routes throughout the Model City, Monday through Friday, along with the ADA/Paratransit service, which is an origin-to-destination, next-day transportation service for residents with a disability or health-related condition that prevents them from independently boarding a regular, fixed-route bus.

For the majority of Kingsport citizens, the cost of the service is $2 per one-way trip.

Last week, Kingsport announced the ADA/Paratransit service would be renamed “Dial-A-Ride” and a new marketing effort would be undertaken to help inform the public of this change and what it means to them.

“We believe the re-branding effort better reflects the service we offer, providing excellent curb-to-curb service for any individual with mobility challenges,” said Transit Coordinator Jack Qualls. “KATS hopes this new name and logo will be more recognizable to the community and spark interest for those in need of mobility assistance.”

Two to three years ago, Kingsport re-branded the fixed route service of KATS with a new logo, marketing effort and made all the buses the same style. Chris McCartt, assistant to the city manager, said residents were able to better identify and access the service, and as a result, ridership has hit record levels the past two years.

However, ADA/Paratransit usage has been declining since 2008 with only 12,661 riders in 2012.

“While we were not looking at (the ADA/Paratransit service) much then, we recognized internally we needed to re-brand it as well,” McCartt said.

“We saw that we had the capacity with the existing fleet and had the ability to add additional riders to the service.”

All KATS “Dial-A-Ride” customers must be certified by the city’s transit agency before scheduling a ride, and as McCartt points out, the service is available not only for residents with a permanent medical condition, but people with temporary ones as well.

“In talking with the public and existing riders of the service, the problem we identified is there’s an impression out there that in order to qualify you have to be wheelchair-bound, blind or unable to obtain a driver’s license,” McCartt said.

While all of the above would qualify riders, the “Dial-A-Ride” service is also available to people who have temporary medical conditions, such as those who are rehabilitating a leg or hip injury or being restricted from driving an automobile.

“We will be having conversations with the medical community about this service and helping them better understand what we provide in the hopes of directing folks to utilize the service,” McCartt said.

“A big part of our strategy is we want to make sure folks who have a temporary disability understand the service.”

The re-branding is currently under way; new logos have been placed on the lift-equipped vans and McCartt said commercials are expected to be aired on Channel 16 and other cable networks in the near future.

“Over the course of the next six months to a year, we hope to see the same results of the fixed route system come to fruition for the “Dial-A-Ride” service,” McCartt said.

“Dial-A-Ride” operates Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. until 5:30 p.m., excluding major holidays. To qualify for the service, a completed application must be submitted to KATS.

Applications can be picked up from the KATS office at 201 W. Market St., downloaded online at www.kingsporttransit.org, or simply call and request one to be mailed to your address.

For assistance completing the Dial-A-Ride application or to schedule service, call KATS at (423) 224-2613.

East Tennessee State University’s postal services manager was fired Tuesday for earlier this month opening a package addressed to a student.

Harvey Byerley, the postmaster at ETSU’s campus post office, was notified Tuesday by a letter from ETSU Vice President for Finance and Administration David Collins he was terminated effective Dec. 27, though he need not report to work again.

According to documents obtained from the university by the Johnson City Press through an open records request, around Nov. 12 Byerley was notified that two ETSU students had been receiving suspicious express mail packages for a few weeks.

On Nov. 19, a similar package addressed to one of the students arrived at the campus post office.

Read more at the Johnson City Press.

he blotter is derived from recent central dispatch records and incident reports of area police agencies.

Sullivan County Sheriff's Office

Nov. 26

A 3-year-old called 911 from Haga Road, advising he wanted someone, "took to jail." His grandfather then picked up the phone to tell dispatch everything was OK, with an officer responding to confirm it was 10-4.

Nov. 28

A county man reportedly pulled a BB gun on his wife and pointed it at her face, mad because she was "hooking up" with his cousin. He was arrested and charged with aggravated assault.

Hawkins County Sheriff's Office

Nov. 27

A Surgoinsville woman claimed a neighbor sometimes opens his curtains while her children are getting on the bus, exposing himself in the nude. And at approximately 1:30 a.m. two weeks ago, according to the woman, the man was found outside her daughters' bedroom window, "naked on the ground"A Surgoinsville woman claimed a neighbor sometimes opens his curtains while her children are getting on the bus, exposing himself in the nude. And at approximately 1:30 a.m. two weeks ago, according to the woman, the man was found outside her daughters' bedroom window, "naked on the ground"

For the complete blotter listings read each Tuesday and Friday's print edition of the Times-News.

A motorist who crossed the center line this past June on Highway 75 in Blountville, striking another vehicle head-on and killing a retired Tennessee Highway Patrolman, was allegedly high on marijuana and in possession of pills.

Jaime Nicole Marissa McClain, 20, of 249 Hawley Road, Blountville, was indicted Tuesday by a Sullivan County grand jury on multiple charges, including vehicular homicide and reckless aggravated assault. She turned herself in Thursday at the Sullivan County jail in Blountville, posted $67,500 bond and was released.

The crash occurred June 25 at approximately 6:40 p.m. Retired THP Trooper Barry Myers, 62, was a passenger in a 1999 GMC truck traveling westbound on Highway 75.

The Tennessee Department of Safety reported an eastbound 1996 Pontiac Grand Am, driven by McClain, crossed the center line and collided head-on with the truck. Myers was transported to Holston Valley Medical Center where he died the next day.

The driver of the vehicle he occupied, Brian M Myers, 23, of Blountville, incurred minor injuries, leading to a charge of reckless aggravated assault against McClain.

According to the presentment records, she was under the influence of marijuana when the crash occurred, depriving her of the, "clearness of mind and control of herself which she would otherwise have possessed." That prompted grand jury indictments for DUI and possession of marijuana. She was also charged with possession of drug paraphernalia.

The grand jury also found McClain to be in unlawful possession of three types of pills — alprazolam, temazepam and dihydrocodeinone — prompting additional charges of drug possession. A count of failure to drive on the right side of the roadway was also placed against her.

ROGERSVILLE — Rogersville leaders tentatively agreed Thursday that there should only be two liquor stores in the city, and if there are more than two qualified applicants the permits will be distributed through a lottery.

During a workshop session Thursday the Rogersville Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved some of the liquor store guidelines to be included in an ordinance that comes up for first reading at the Dec. 11 meeting.

Both liquor stores and liquor by the drink (LBD) were approved by Rogersville voters during a Nov. 6 referendum, albeit by a narrow margin.

There’s not much the BMA has to say about regulating LBD which is governed by the state.

Rogersville City Attorney Bill Phillips presented the BMA with sample ordinances using language from other cities. The LBD ordinance is only two pages while the liquor store ordinance is 11 pages.

The BMA didn’t make any changes to the LBD proposed ordinance during Thursday’s workshop.

LBD permits can only go to businesses that serve food with a minimum 75-seat capacity, and new businesses can only be located in proper city business zones.

The city has more to say about liquor stores including how many liquor store permits are issued and where they can go. In setting the number, board members agreed that competition would eventually set the number of stores in the city.

“If we said have all you want, you’d be down to two in about three years at best,” said City Recorder Bill Lyons.

The BMA also agreed that there would only be one liquor store permitted east of Depot Street and one west of Depot Street, which is at the approximate center of the city.

Building inspector Steve Nelson told the BMA there are some available stores on Route 66 that wouldn’t meet the sample ordinance space requirement of 1,500 square feet, and the BMA agreed to reduce the minimum display space to 1,200 square feet.

The ordinance calls for a $500 investigative fee for liquor license applicants, and the state also sets out a $300 application fee and a $800 fee for the actual license.

The city will also receive 8 percent of the proceeds of liquor sold to the retailer from the wholesaler.

One question still to be resolved is the city’s requirements of applicants for a liquor store license. Phillips noted that the state already has stringent requirements for liquor license applicants, but the city can also impose requirements such as requiring applicants to prove financial responsibility, experience in the liquor business, and suitable location.

Phillips said he will provide the BMA with a list of proposed local requirements when it meets Dec. 11.Phillips noted that the BMA must approve three readings of the ordinances before they take effect, so board members have until the February meeting to make changes.

Phillips will also present the BMA with a separate ordinance Dec. 11 changing the name of the Beer Board to the Alcoholic Beverage Board so that one board will govern both beer and liquor.

GREENEVILLE — Two Washington County men and a Unicoi woman have been indicted on federal charges stemming from a scheme to submit more than $178,000 in false crop insurance claims to the U.S. government.

Glenn Martin Jr., of Limestone, his ex-wife Janet Garland of Unicoi and her brother Joseph Matchett of Washington County were indicted earlier this month in U.S. District Court in Greeneville. The three-count indictment charges the three with conspiracy and submitting false crop insurance claims; Martin also faces a charge of concealing assets during bankruptcy.

According to the indictment, Martin arranged for Garland and Matchett to become tobacco producers in 2009 and agreed to finance all of the farm’s expenses, including obtaining crop loss insurance through the Rural Community Insurance Service. Crop loss insurance is provided for under federal law and is meant to cover crop losses due to drought, flood or other natural disaster.

From December 2008 through January 2012, the three defendants made false statements and reports to the RCIS for losses that were not eligible for crop insurance.

In March 2009, under the direction of Martin and Garland, Matchett applied for and received crop loss insurance on 73 acres of land in Washington County, falsely claiming he was the tobacco farmer on the property.

Four months later, Matchett submitted a report with the RCIS claiming he had planted tobacco at the Tipton, Clinic, Gary Stout and Mitchell farms, when in fact he had not. In October 2009, Matchett filed paperwork claiming his entire tobacco crop was destroyed by severe weather.

In March 2010, the RCIS approved the claim and paid Matchett just over $164,000. Over the course of a month, Martin and Garland paid Matchett $15,000 for his role in the scheme, in three increments of $5,000 each.

Martin filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2008 and prosecutors say Martin procured crop loss insurance in the names of others to defeat collection by the U.S. government of a civil judgment exceeding $30 million.

That judgment was the result of Martin concealing his ownership of and participation in tobacco production in an attempt to evade federal income taxes.

Court records state Martin was deposed in an adversary proceeding in his bankruptcy case and falsely denied the scheme to defraud the U.S. government with the false crop loss insurance.

KINGSPORT — Kingsport police report a recent surge in auto and home burglaries, prompting them to issue a reminder for residents to always lock their doors.

KPD Community Relations Officer Thomas Patton said that — in the majority of cases — victims have left their doors unlocked, creating easy access.

He reminds people to never leave their valuables in plain view, and that items such as satellite radios, radar detectors, laptops, tablets, purses, pharmacy bags and shopping bags draw the attention of thieves.

Patton said the chances of thieves being caught in the act are slim, making the role of citizens in identifying the suspects all the more crucial.

Police are encouraging residents to be on the lookout for any suspicious persons and activities, and promptly call law enforcement if they witness something that merits investigation.

On a note of caution, however, officials warn you should never approach anyone you suspect of committing a crime.

After an extremely mild flu season last year, confirmed cases of influenza infection are climbing rapidly nationwide and expected to reach the epidemic level well in advance of the peak of flu season that typically occurs in January or February.

In North Carolina, 77 confirmed cases of flu and two flu-related deaths since October have public health officials in that state expressing concern as to whether the early and rapid climb of influenza infection is an indication of a particularly harsh flu season to come or merely an early peak.

In Tennessee, where flu data is not collected comprehensively but at “sentinel” health care offices dispersed across the state, the flu has been confirmed in more than 2 percent of patients tested in West Tennessee and in the Knoxville area, although “not a lot” in Northeast Tennessee, said Dr. David Kirschke, medical director of the Northeast Regional Health Office in Johnson City.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

Sandy Driver and Desmond Johnson have a healthy full-term baby girl, whose birth Friday morning was enough to give them both a good scare.

No doctor, no nurses, no epidural and not even blankets or hot water. Just Driver, Johnson and his big red Lincoln going about 85 mph from Elizabethton to Johnson City in morning traffic.

The couple and daughter, Kiera, were resting at Franklin Woods Community Hospital Friday afternoon, but Johnson said he still hadn’t calmed down.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

BLOUNTVILLE — Sullivan County schools early next year may have the first approved memorandum of understanding in Tennessee from the new collaborative conferencing process.

The subject of the MOU was grievance procedures for employees and saw no major changes except a final appeal to a neutral third party.

However, it drew some spirited discussions and also could be seen as a warm-up of the collaboration process for addressing pay and insurance issues early next year.

Tennessee Education Association UniServ coordinator Harry Farthing said the Sullivan County MOU would likely be the first to be approved statewide.

He said only two other Tennessee school systems — Union and Rutherford counties — are actively in the process of reaching MOUs and none so far have a tentative one to be approved.

Those two systems and Sullivan are among 18 that have opted for collaborative conferencing, which under state law replaces no-longer-allowed collective bargaining. Others, like Hawkins County, are still bound by negotiated contracts not yet expired, and teachers there will decide on collaborative conferencing after the contracts expire.

Representatives of teachers, the Sullivan County Education Association and Professional Educators of Sullivan County, and representatives of the Board of Education hashed out most of the details of the MOU Tuesday afternoon and evening. Their next meeting will be sometime in February to address pay and benefits.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff to talk about then,” Director of Schools Jubal Yennie said. He said it was simply too early to talk about pay, insurance and other benefits until his staff had a clearer picture of the potential 2013-14 budget.

In a nutshell, the collaboration team streamlined things by taking language from the old contract, which was negotiated between the SCEA and BOE representatives, merging it with administrative procedures for the employee grievance process, taking out the last-step appeal of a neutral third party and adding some language to clarify other things.

Yennie and Farthing said since the Sullivan MOU is plowing new ground, parts of it could be replicated across the state. Yennie had planned to have the sessions videoed as an example for other systems but gave up that idea when he couldn’t find the resources to do so.

The MOU addresses how teachers can be disciplined for things such as habitual tardiness as well as defines the process for principals and other administrators to handle things such as bus duty that go beyond the prescribed seven-hour, 15-minute teacher day.

SCEA President-elect Lloyd “Sport” Putney and Farthing recalled that Putney put in a grievance three years ago at Sullivan Central High School because the schedule put teachers over the seven-hour, 15-minute day, and he prevailed after the matter was appealed beyond the principal to the director of schools.

For things like being tardy, teachers can receive a verbal reprimand, written reprimand, written warnings and in theory a termination of employment, although Yennie emphasized that state law prescribes a whole set of other safeguards and procedures for more serious civil or criminal activities, such as trying to sell a school iPad for personal profit on eBay or inappropriate relationships with students.

A new state law allows a director or superintendent to suspend a teacher up to three days without an appeal to the school board, which Yennie said grew out of a Williamson County case where appeal of a one-day suspension without pay cost more than $25,000 for mediation.

Still, SCEA member Teddi Adler said she’d like an impartial third party to be an appeal option after the principal, director of schools and school board chain of decision making, which was in the old contract. However, Yennie said that in more serious civil or criminal cases, such safeguards already are in place.

The group, in amending the draft, also decided that appeals could be withdrawn at any time without malice and agreed to add language that retaliation for filing a grievance was not allowed, although Yennie said that was covered elsewhere. Also, the grievance records are to be kept separate from personnel files and not shared with prospective future employers.

The team decided to take the rough draft from Tuesday and have it go back and forth between the two groups until there is absolute agreement on the final language. Then, the plan is for the BOE to vote on it at its January meeting.

Under the collaborative conferencing law, SCEA and PESC members do not ratify the MOUs. Teachers who voted on whether to have collaborative conferencing or not last year authorized the groups to represent their interests.

The collaborative group, which has nine BOE representatives, seven from SCEA and two from PESC, may address other allowed issues in the future. The group decided that although the grievance MOU would last for three years, it could be reopened and modified with agreement of the group.

“This is not a speak now or forever hold your peace situation,” Yennie said.

JOHNSON CITY — Cynthia Gulbrandson, who has been staying at the Salvation Army shelter in Johnson City for the past 45 days, says her faith in God is what keeps her going.

“Plain and simple,” she said.

Gulbrandson, 56, is one of the 40 men, women and children currently staying at the shelter this holiday season. Originally from Wisconsin, Gulbrandson previously lived and worked in Washington state, but back in April she dropped everything and moved to Johnson City to help her niece, who was battling cancer.

“I’m a four-time cancer survivor, so I know what she was facing. When you have no family around, it makes it that much more difficult,” Gulbrandson said. “It’s a lot warmer here, so I’m looking to stay. I like it here better.”

But the move has not been all that easy for Gulbrandson; right now her only job is ringing the kettle bell for the Salvation Army, and for the past 45 days she has lived in the shelter. In early November, she was very close to moving out into an apartment, but an unfortunate incident hit and she lost part of her deposit.

“That took me back even further. It’s too difficult to save up on a limited income, approximately $800 for the first and last month’s rent and the deposit for the electric. In the meantime, you’re trying to live,” she said. “You just keep getting slammed, over and over again and you end up here.”

Gulbrandson broke her back and her neck about six years ago and has been on disability; she has a college education and is an ordained minister, but still the job search these past eight months has been challenging.

“The jobs are few and far between. Even for part-time work at McDonald’s there’s a line ahead of you,” she said. “I’ve got a college education and I can’t get a job. Some kids out here have no schooling or are illiterate and trying to get a job. Pretty soon it comes to a point where they give up and start breaking the law, the only thing that does is make their situation worse.”

Capt. Nick Garrison of the Johnson City Salvation Army, called the situation a vicious cycle.

“If you don’t have an apartment, you don’t have an address to get a job and you can’t get an apartment without the job,” Garrison said.

Gulbrandson called the situation a Catch-22, but added the service organizations, such as the Salvation Army, have been really helpful to her. Garrison said Gulbrandson is in the nonprofit’s transitional program where they will work with her for up to two years, to help get her on her feet and into more permanent housing.

“The service organizations help, if you’re willing to get out there and do your own work. They’ll give you the tools, but it’s up to the individual to pick that tool up and use it,” she said. “If you don’t use that tool, whose fault is it that you’re still on the streets?”

Gulbrandson said she is working to move into an apartment and hopes to be in one “very soon.” She tries to be an inspiration to other people in the shelter, by talking to them when they’re down and out or offering a helping hand if need be. Gulbrandson said despite her struggles, she is optimistic about her future and says her faith in God is what keeps her going from day to day.

“I know God has brought me here to this time, to this place to do something. Whatever God wants me to do, I’ll do,” she said. “If someone puts a stumbling block in front of you, you can either jump over it, walk around it, tunnel under it or kick it out of the way.”

The Times-News Rescue Fund provides people like Cynthia Gulbrandson a chance to celebrate the Christmas holiday with a special meal.

Tax-deductible donations may be sent to: Times-News Rescue Fund, P.O. Box 479, Kingsport, TN 37662.

ROGERSVILLE — Holiday revelers will have an opportunity Dec. 15 to tour Hawkins County’s oldest building while at the same time helping raise money to preserve a dam that was erected on Big Creek 234 years ago.

Guided historical tours of the Thomas Amis House and Ebbing and Flowing Spring United Methodist Church will be offered Saturday, Dec. 15.

The properties will be decorated for Christmas in Colonial fashion with natural fir garlands, cedar, magnolia, berries, nuts, greenery and fruit.

The event is sponsored by The Thomas Amis Foundation Inc., a not-for-profit foundation formed by Amis’ descendants for the sole purpose of preserving and maintaining historically significant properties.

The funds from this event are dedicated to preserving the historic stone dam built in 1778 on Big Creek which is in sore need of repair. The dam is part of “the view” for patrons of the Amis Mill Eatery near Rogersville on Ebbing and Flowing Springs Road.

Thomas Amis House, 677 Burem Road, Rogersville, is perched high atop a hill overlooking Big Creek, about two miles from historic Rogersville.

The main feature of the property is a stone house that has survived fires, Native American assaults, thieves, bushwhackers and the elements for more than 230 years.

Built in 1781 by American Revolutionary War Patriot Capt. Thomas Amis, the story-and-a-half structure with its 18-inch thick limestone walls formerly had rifle ports instead of windows. To keep it out of harm’s way Amis erected a palisade around the property that included a guard tower. It would serve both as the family home and as an inn.

Overnight guests, including Andrew Jackson, Gov. John Sevier, Bishop Francis Asbury, Sen. Daniel Smith, land surveyor Dr. Thomas Walker, Moravian Martin Schneider, botanist Francois Andre Michaux and a host of other 18th century notables, wrote of their stay at the Amis house.

A full second story with roofed balcony and a back wing was added in 1846 by Haynes Amis, the captain’s son.

Thomas Amis operated a lucrative business with both whites and natives. He opened a trading post, blacksmith shop, tavern and distillery, while operating saw and grist mills. The little community of “Amis” became the principal settlement of that part of what was then Sullivan County.

Amis died at the age of 53 on Dec. 4, 1797, and is buried in the Amis family cemetery near his home.

In 2007, Jake and Wendy Jacobs learned the Amis farm was up for sale and in danger of being subdivided and developed. Wendy Jacobs is a descendant of Amis. Having already visited the farm in 1998, they made the 1,600-mile trip to see it again, and decided to buy it.

Today the Jacobses operate the Amis Mill Eatery and continue to preserve the historical property.

The congregants of Ebbing and Flowing Spring United Methodist Church, organized in 1820, met in the nearby school until James Amis, grandson of Thomas Amis, donated land between the school and the cemetery to build a church. There was one stipulation — it had to face the grave of his mother, Matilda Lee Amis. The church was built in 1898 and still meets regularly.

Dec. 15 tour times are 1 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Tickets are $10 and may be purchased at Amis Mill Eatery, Mountain Star Mall, Rogersville/Hawkins Chamber of Commerce, Morristown Chamber of Commerce, Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, and the Rogersville Heritage Association, or by calling (423) 272-7040.

Cancer research is being conducted all around the country, but in our own backyard discoveries related to the termination of prostate cancer cells are in the works.

Christopher McGoldrick, a doctoral candidate in East Tennessee State University’s Department of Biomedical Sciences at the James H. Quillen College of Medicine and graduate research assistant under the faculty supervision of Dr. William Stone, has been working since he was an undergraduate in 2007 to research a prodrug that would be used in chemotherapy to help treat prostate cancer.

McGoldrick said the initial approach to this project, “Identification of Oxidized Protein Hydrolase as a Prodrug Target in Prostate Cancer,” was to look for a universal treatment option.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

Turning 18 is a true right of passage for some teenagers, but for others it can be just the opposite, especially if they’re in foster care or still live with relatives and simply have no guidance or support as they journey into adulthood.

Such is the case for three young women who say it’s unlikely they would be succeeding on that journey if it weren’t for a program that keeps them accountable, but independent.

Youth Villages is a private, nonprofit organization with a mission to help emotionally and behaviorally troubled children and their families through intensive in-home treatment plans, residential programs, mentoring, adoption and foster care and specialized crisis services.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

ELIZABETHTON — Elizabethton Chief of Police Matt Bailey has announced he will be stepping down from his post on Dec. 30. He will continue as a member of the department, serving as a shift captain.

In a news release issued Saturday, Bailey said “first, I want to say it has been a distinct honor and privilege to have served the citizens of Elizabethton as chief of police. However, after much thought and consideration, I have asked the city manager for a voluntary reassignment to the patrol division as patrol captain, which he has granted.”

The police department has made several advances under Bailey’s leadership. He has been especially active in the past year, culminating with the department undergoing its first ever accreditation inspection.

Read the full story on the Johnson City Press website.

NASHVILLE — The top two Republicans in the Tennessee General Assembly support allowing the sale of wine in supermarkets, and the influx of new GOP lawmakers is giving them the opportunity to reshape key committees where efforts to make that change have long been blocked by opponents.

Under the state’s restrictive three-tiered beverage control system, every drop of alcohol is supposed to flow from the manufacturer to a wholesale distributor and then to the retailers. And any bottle stronger than beer can only be bought at one of 501 liquor stores around the state.

The latest proposed overhaul would give counties that currently allow liquor sales to hold a referendum on whether to remove liquor stores’ exclusive right to sell wine.

“It’s one of those issues we’ve battled forever,” Senate Speaker Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, told The Associated Press. “And I think the opponents have held it off for about as long as they can hold it off.”

Fellow Republican House Speaker Beth Harwell of Nashville agreed.

“This has been coming for a long time,” she said. “It’s certain that the public would like to see that, and hopefully we can work out something that is a win-win for everybody.”

Republicans added to their already substantial advantages in both the Senate and House this year, gaining supermajorities in both chambers. Both Ramsey and Harwell are working on new committee assignments, including in the state and local government panels that have torpedoed the measure in the past.

“That will be a consideration that I will be thinking of when I’m making my committee appointments,” said Ramsey. He’s a teetotaler but considers the wine-in-groceries issue a matter of encouraging free-market principles.

David McMahan, a lobbyist for the state liquor stores association, said the proposal could undermine the state’s efforts to combat underage drinking and would unfairly hurt existing businesses established with the understanding they would have exclusive rights to sell wine.

“This whole thing is much more complicated than the convenience of somebody saying, ‘Hey I’d like get my bottle of wine where I buy my pork chop,’” he said. “It’s really not that inconvenient.”

McMahan said liquor stores have rejected suggestions that they be allowed to sell beer and other items as part of the proposed law change regarding wine. Most liquor stores don’t have the space or expensive coolers to suddenly sell beer, and he argues offering other goods could give minors a pretense to enter the business in search of liquor.

“We don’t want to sell candy and soft drinks and things that would let them in the store,” he said.

A Vanderbilt University poll conducted last year found at least 60 percent of Tennesseans support allowing wine in supermarkets — even when the survey question noted arguments that the change would hurt small businesses.

Republican Gov. Bill Haslam has expressed reservations, but acknowledged the move would be popular among many Tennesseans.

“If it came to a vote in Tennessee, it would probably pass,” the governor said.

The governor said he hasn’t been approached about what the local referendum element would entail and that he wasn’t yet ready to say whether he would oppose such a move.

While liquor lobbyists are confident that the bill will gain no more traction than in previous years, an AP analysis of campaign finance data shows political action committees run by liquor wholesalers and retailers have significantly boosted spending over the past decade as part of their efforts to support of the status quo.

With final campaign finance reports still pending for the 2012 election cycle, the Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers PAC had given more than $128,000 to state candidates and committees, a 46 percent increase over the previous two-year cycle and eight times as much as it gave in the 2003-2004 cycle.

Meanwhile, the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of Tennessee gave more than $205,800 in the recently completed election cycle, tripling the amount it spent in the 2004 cycle.

The change is favored by large supermarket chains such as Kroger, Publix and Costco, each of which has its own lobbying presence at the Capitol, as does the Tennessee Grocers and Convenience Store Association, which has overseen a statewide campaign called Red, White and Food to promote the change.

State Rep. Jon Lundberg, R-Bristol and a main sponsor of the wine-in-supermarkets bill, said he expects economic arguments to win.

“It’s not a liquor bill, it’s a jobs bill,” he said. “Right now the state is mandating a monopoly, and I don’t think citizens want that anymore.”