Workshop held to address capital project priorities in Elizabethton

ELIZABETHTON — The Elizabethton City Council and the Elizabethton City School Board met in a two-hour workshop session Friday night in an effort to address concerns over the school system’s capital project priorities of building a new athletic complex and music room at Elizabethton High School and to get the council to release the proceeds of a $5 million bond issue to begin work on two of the three top projects. The third project, to build classrooms and make other improvements at T.A. Dugger Jr. High School, were not included in the School Board’s funding proposal, and that lack of funding has drawn concern from council members.

Because it was a workshop session, no actions were taken Friday, but Mayor Curt Alexander summed up the results of the meeting as he was preparing to adjourn it. “A lot of misconceptions were cleared up tonight.” He said of the City Council’s position: “We were not against the athletic complex, we just wanted to see a plan for T.A. Dugger.

Alexander said the action taken in December’s council meeting to defer a vote on transferring the $5 million was better than a defeat for the transfer.

Several misunderstandings were addressed that went back to last spring’s Council budget meetings, and to earlier times during the past four years as the School Board developed its capital projects plan.

School Board Chairwoman Rita Booher said the three projects all had top priority and it had been hoped that all three could be built with the funding available from the half-cent of the city’s sales tax that has been dedicated to school capital projects. 

Alexander said no one could argue that all three projects were worthy, but he said from the earliest days of the discussions between the council and the board there had been a lot of talk about the need for improvements at T.A. Dugger. “When we started talking in 2011, the main driver was T.A. Dugger. That was when we (City Council) got to work for T.A. Dugger. 

Board member Grover May said “there was never any intent to deceive,” by putting up T.A. Dugger and then removing it from the list of funded projects. He said the School Board thought all three projects could be funded with the bond issue.

May discussed his feelings as he saw the funding available for the three projects decline. At first, it was thought $9 million would be available to construct all three projects. When the financial people started examining the amount of sales tax revenue that would be available to pay the premiums, the numbers began to decline, reaching $6.6 million during the budget discussions. When it was finally revealed only $5 million would be available, May was very unhappy. At that time, the stadium alone was projected to cost $5 million. 

By redrawing the plans and taking out the track, the school staff decided the stadium could be built for a bit more than $4 million. It was decided to dedicate $3.5 million to the stadium and $1.5 million to the music room.

Booher said T.A. Dugger would not have been a good alternative to the music room because it had the most variables.

Board member Phil Isaacs asked if more money might be available to refinance an earlier bond issue for capital projects, so that money would be available for T.A. Dugger. Mayor Alexander said the finance market is getting more difficult, with interest rates expected to rise in a year or so, making it impossible for the city to get more than $1 million more from a refinance.

City Councilman Jeff Treadway asked board members about the process used to obtain the three top priority capital projects. Booher said there was no formal procedure, but there were only a few school buildings in the system and the administration was very familiar with them and their needs.

May said one attraction to making a football stadium a top priority is that it is a very visible investment and helps make both the school system and the city more attractive for investment by outsiders.

Treadway said he would feel more comfortable if the board could be more substantive in their commitment to future improvements to T.A. Dugger.

Councilman Richard Tester said it should be remembered that the music room project will include four additional classrooms for the high school. He said that was important as more county students are attracted to the school.

In drawing the discussion to a close, Alexander once again said he and other council members saw the need for a new stadium. He said his job was to bring the decision makers together and to be the best steward he could be of the city’s resources.

Treadway followed him by saying “donors, get your checkbooks out.”

May said “we should be proud we are making an investment in our youth.”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1i0IYcV

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iWE2tb

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Walmart gift to meet needs for meals

A gift of $50,000 from the Walmart Foundation to the First Tennessee Human Resource Agency Nutrition Program is providing home delivered meals 30 of 1,500 seniors and disabled adults in the eight-county region on FTHRA’s Meals on Wheels waiting list.

“That’s approximately 1,000 hot meals for a year for 30 of the most needy citizens in our community,” FTHRA’s Executive Director Jason Cody said.

“It’s more than meal. Really, it’s a person’s independence and capability to stay at home.

“By working in partnership with Kathy (Whitaker)  and the (Area Agency on Aging and Disability) we are able to take these meals to 30 citizens with the highest priority needs,” or the most physical disability and greatest lack family support to prepare meals.

Walmart managers David Stout and Chuck Bartlett joined Cody, Whitaker, who serves as executive director of the regional AAAD office, and FTHRA Nutrition Program Director Wayne Carter for a ceremonial check presentation held Friday to announced the $50,000 grant from Walmart Foundation’s State Giving Program.

Cody said the foundation awards the grants based on community needs and since the federal sequestration cuts that reduced funding for Meals on Wheels early last year the number of people receiving Meals on Wheels program has decreased while the waiting list has grown.

The underlying purpose of Meals On Wheels and other personal support services provided FTHRA, Cody said, is to avoid the cost of nursing home care by helping seniors and disabled adults remain in their own homes as long as possible.

Prior to the $85 billion in across the board sequestration cuts to federal programs implemented in March 2013, the FTHRA Nutrition program provided approximately 1,000 home delivered and congregate feeding site meals daily to elderly and disabled adults in Washington, Carter, Unicoi, Johnson, Green, Sullivan, Hawkins and Hancock counties.

After the sequestration, the number was reduced through attrition by 20 percent, dropping to approximately 800 meals provided daily by the FTHRA Nutrition Program in September.

Carter said Friday the Walmart grant funds have already been put to work and the program is now an providing about of 850 meals per day to people in need. “We are so grateful for the Walmart Foundation’s support for our program” he said.

“With the most recent sequester the waiting list has increased,” Cody said. “That’s why grants like this one from Walmart are important.”

For area seniors and disabled adults at risk of having to leave their homes because of their need for assistance, Whitaker said, “We have seen that with just a little bit help, a meal or a homemaker (service provider), they area able to stay in their own homes.”

Walmart Manager Keith Davidson said Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are “committed to helping those in need in the communities we serve.”

“Through this grant we are hopeful that residents of Northeast Tennessee will have greater access to food assistance,” he said.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1gzhkah

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iiDGKD

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Keselowski figures he drove better than last season’s results

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Brad Keselowski’s claim sounds outrageous when you look at the numbers.Keselowski said at the recent NASCAR Sprint Media Tour he actually drove better last season than his championship year of 2012. The numbers tell another story with only one win and a 14th-place finish in the series points. In fact, he was the first driver since Tony Stewart in 2006 to miss the Chase one year after winning the championship.But, auto racing isn’t like other sports. There aren’t big lists of statistics to differeniate individual performance from team success. The majority of credit goes to the driver when a team wins races, and the majority of the blame goes to him when a team fails to do so. All you have is Keselowski’s words when it comes to his behind-the-wheel performance.“I felt like I ran some of the best races of my life last year,” the 28-year-old driver said. “Quite honestly in a lot of ways, I felt I was a better driver last year than in 2012. But, this is not an individual sport. “You can argue the team side carried me a little in 2012, and I could argue the vice versa side of that in 2013. It’s a team sport and it’s collective of all of us to get it done, and we didn’t last year.”Still, there was a lot of soul searching for Keselowski and the whole No. 2 Penske Racing Ford team during this offseason. There had to be an honest assessment of where they met expectations and where they fell short. As a driver, Keselowski felt many of last season’s problems came from pushing too hard at times.“You have to compare your success to your failures and try to understand the difference,” he said. “Like I said, there was a series (of failures) across the board with us. That’s our job to reticify that.”He still has the full support of teammate Joey Logano, who Keselowski praised for bringing the No. 22 team back to the level it was with former champion Kurt Busch. More importantly, Keselowski still has the support of team owner Roger Penske, whose history of drivers reads like a Hall of Fame roster with names like Mark Donohue, Al Unser, Bobby Allison and Rusty Wallace.He sees Keselowski as that same kind of driver.“He has to show people it wasn’t a fluke in 2012,” Penske said. “When I look back, he won seven races running in the Nationwide Series. He won a (Cup) race and not everybody won a race. To me, he’s an elite driver. He certainly had a lot of success for our team last year.”Keselowski, a 10-time winner in the Cup Series, credits his legendary car owner for making him better both on and off the race track.“As a driver, growing a lot has come from Roger Penske as a car owner,” he said. “That’s personal and professional, understanding his approach to things and why he’s successful. I’ve made a lot of growth in that way.”Still he jokes while he’s gotten better as a race car driver over the last five years, in some ways, maybe worse as a person. Perhaps, it’s not a fair assessment for someone who is simply wanting to live in the moment.“I’m trying to enjoy the ride as a person and do some great things,” he said. “It’s a privilege to be a race car driver, and there are some great privileges that go with that, whether it’s tv shows, finances. You have to enjoy that while you can, and give back when you can in those senses.”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1kotbpR

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iiDHxU

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Unusual goal tops Gordon’s wish list

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ask Jeff Gordon the race he most wants to win this season and it’s not the answer most fans would expect.It’s not the Daytona 500, the Brickyard 400, the Coca-Cola 600 or the Bristol night race. While Gordon would still love to win one of those elite events, he starts his wish list with a newer race on the Sprint Cup Series schedule.“I’d like to win at Kentucky, and I’d like to be more of a threat to win a championship,” the four-time champion said recently at the NASCAR Sprint Media Tour about what he wants to accomplish this season.“That’s my biggest list. I go out every weekend trying to win the race. That’s on everybody’s checklist, but to me, it’s being in contention to go to Homestead with a shot at it. I like being competitive. My checklist is whatever it takes to be competitive.”Kentucky might be a surprise answer for the race Gordon wants to win the most, but the reasoning behind it is simple. It’s the only track on the Sprint Cup Series where Gordon is yet to score a victory. It would be something he would love to check off after 88 career wins, third on NASCAR’s all-time list.“It’s definitely a big focus,” said Gordon, driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet. “It would be a big accomplishment before they add another race to say that we had won at every track. It’s a goal to win everywhere, but when there is only one where you haven’t won at, it’s an attainable goal.”He could see teammate Jimmie Johnson as another driver who could finish his career with wins at every track which NASCAR races on. For Gordon, last season produced just one victory at Martinsville. It is a season which was good in the fact he was a championship contender late in the season.But, he also sees places where the No. 24 team fell short. A lot of the blame he puts on himself.“We look at things that we could have done better and things we could have improved on,” Gordon said. “We look at the missed opportunities, if it’s a restart or it’s a set-up, whatever it may be. As a driver, I’m looking at what I could have done better. That’s one thing I’m really focused on this year is trying to improve my restarts. My restarts have been terrible and I don’t want to be known for bad restarts.”Gordon said a positive is the working relationship between he and crew chief Alan Gustafson. The 42-year-old driver believes he’s still one of the best at getting information to the team on how to adjust the car and he describes Gustafson as fantastic at setting up the race car.It wasn’t any major area where Gordon fell his team fell short during the 2013 season. In fact, they had a great stretch of races in the Chase until Texas where he finished 38th.Other occasions were even more frustrating to the driver, especially when teammate Kasey Kahne beat him on a restart at Pocono. Gordon felt aggravated with himself after that race. However, he’s been good over his two-decade-plus NASCAR career at moving on after such disappointment.He explains with 38 race weekends, a driver has to refocus and get ready for the next race.“I don’t care who it is, you beat yourself up if you feel you made a mistake and you didn’t get everything out of your performance that day,” he said. “One of the things I’ve been good at is I will beat myself up a day and a half or two days, then you try not to make the same mistake the next weekend.”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bfADAI

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iWE2cs

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

If Super Bowl weather cooperates, Gibbs says he’s going with Broncos

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  In his 12 years as coach of the Washington Redskins, Joe Gibbs studied all the factors that could affect a football game.Calling upon that experience, the three-time Super Bowl winning coach likes the Denver Broncos in Sunday’s big game, that is provided the weather cooperates.“My Super Bowl pick is Denver as long as there is not a big wind,” Gibbs said at the annual NASCAR Sprint Media Tour. “If there is a big wind, I’m switching my deal. I going to go to the window and try to get my money back.”Gibbs, who had a career record of 171-101 in two different stints with the Redskins, calls the Broncos’ scheme one of the best ever in offensive football. He credits its success to Denver quarterback Peyton Manning.“You’ve got a guy that is that experienced, that accurate and that knowledgable,” Gibbs said. “He’s calling everything pretty much at the line. When we call it from the sideline, you’re guessing (about the defense). Most teams obviously have audibles because you trying to put it back in the quarterback’s hands because he’s going to see things. You’re not sure what (defense) they’re going to play.”The former Redskins coach explained Manning, however, has more control of the play-calling than the typical NFL quarterback. It allows him to make more adjustments to get the defense out of position.“If you see him go to the line of scrimmage and you see him quick snap it, then you’ve got to get into whatever you’re going to be playing,” Gibbs explained. “Then, he goes to the line of scrimmage and he backs out of there. Now, he’s looking at what you’re doing and he’s making the call. Obviously, that scheme is hard to stop.”Gibbs, who was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1996, wouldn’t call Manning the greatest quarterback ever. He’s hesitant to call anyone the greatest, adding that three great quarterbacks played for him. “You look through history and there have been some great quarterbacks,” Gibbs said. “Certainly, I think he is special, but I’m always leary to call anyone the best ever.”He didn’t even compare his three Super Bowl winning quarterbacks — Joe Theismann, Doug Williams and Mark Rypien. Before coming to Washington, Gibbs served as a coordinator for the San Diego Chargers during the days of the famed “Air Coryell” offense. The 1980 Chargers, led by Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts, averaged more than 400 yards of offense per game.Offered the head coaching job by Redskins owner Jack Kent Cooke in 1981, Gibbs led the Redskins to their first Super Bowl win the following year.He recounted one of his gutsiest calls ever in the 27-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins.“We came out of nowhere to go to the Super Bowl in only our second year of coaching in the NFL,” he remembered. “It was like a dream deal. You’ve got John Riggins fourth-and-one, going off tackle 44 yards. I was down on my knees because I knew if we didn’t make it, I was going to get scalded.”It wasn’t nearly as close in Washington’s second Super Bowl win. Down 10-0 early to the John Elway-led Broncos, the Redskins scored 42 unanswered points in a blowout victory.“In ‘87 with Doug Williams, that was a whole different story with the first black quarterback that had a chance to play great in a Super Bowl,” Gibbs said. “He ends up being the MVP which was a great story. The second quarter, we score 35 points and that was a wild experience.”The third Super Bowl victory saw Washington deny the Buffalo Bills in a 37-24 decision. They weren’t known for the great skill players, with three linemen and the kicker being the only Pro Bowlers that season. However, that 1991 team pulled together like no other squad he ever had.“That team probably achieved more than any other,” Gibbs said. “It was a great team feeling. But, all of the Super Bowls were different experiences with different memories. I’ve got so many.”Not all the memories are good. To this day, it’s hard for the now 73-year-old owner of three NASCAR Sprint Cup teams to find any positives from Super Bowl XVIII. The Redskins went 14-2 during the regular season and beat the Los Angeles Rams 51-7 in the first round of the playoffs. They beat the 49ers in the NFC Championship game before being blown out 38-9 by the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl.“What I learned from that, I thought if you got to the Super Bowl, you were going to feel pretty good about yourself,” he said. “I never felt worse than going back on that plane ride. That was the worst feeling and I don’t think I will ever get over that. “That team was really the most talented team I coached, one of the best ever. To show you how smart that team was, we were plus-42  in the give-away, take-away ratio. That may be a record nobody will ever beat.”Many athletes and coaches try to adhere to a 24-hour rule. They won’t celebrate a win more than 24 hours, or they won’t dwell on a loss more than 24 hours.Gibbs, known for being a workaholic when he was an NFL coach, admitted he wasn’t able to put losses behind him that easily. He laughs, however, when thinking about a similar rule he did enforce.“I always felt like the losses were harder to get over,” he said. “It was a terrible feeling. We did have a 10-second rule for field goal kickers. We told (Mark) Moseley, ‘If you miss a field goal, don’t be looking over here for 10 seconds because we will be calling you every name you can think of.’ After that, it was OK.”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bfAAFc

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iiDGtZ

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Butler still under boil alert

The Carderview Utility District was placed under boil alert 3 weeks ago and the safety precaution is still in effect. “We continue to be there because of our crucial water level. We didn’t want to use our water to flush lines. We have to completely flush the lines out and take tests to send to the state and then test it before we can lift the boil alert,” said Carderview Commissioner David Markland.With 15 miles of water pipe lines, Markland said it will take another week to get the water bac…



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1hZYkhA

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1a8YXWE

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

King University president addresses complaints

King University has undergone some major changes over the last year in an effort to grow online learning, and some students, faculty, and staff are not thrilled with the changes. Some of those students, faculty, and staff are speaking out about the changes, by writing on the university’s Facebook page, and starting a blog of their own to detail the issues as they see them. Many of those folks who have been voicing their concerns in these online forums blame the problems on President Greg Jor…



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1nxqJjh

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1a8YVhn

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Investigation into adult abuse sparks legislation aimed at tougher penalties

A Community Watchdog investigation into the high number of adult abuse cases in the Tri-Cities, specifically in Washington and Greene counties, is prompting legislation aimed at creating stiffer punishment for convicted abusers. Senate Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Sen. Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) filed the legislation earlier this month. “When you investigated this last year and brought it to our attention, it really began rolling from there,” Sen. Crowe said. “Ever since you ran th…



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1knq3KC

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1a8YUKA

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Chase ends in arrest after Washington County deputy narrowly escapes serious injury

A patch of ice and a Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s quick movement likely saved him from serious injury when a motorist sped away from a traffic stop Friday, according to news release from Sheriff Ed Graybeal.

Joe Timothy Hankal, 47, 1741 Old State Route 34, Telford, was charged with aggravated assault on an officer, felony evading arrest, resisting arrest, violation of habitual motor offender restriction, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony.

It all started with a traffic stop when a deputy pulled Hankal over for two traffic violations, including not wearing a seatbelt, in an area where investigators were monitoring traffic due to recent thefts and burglaries, Investigator Lt. Doug Gregg said.

Hankal — a habitual motor offender who has other prior convictions — also attempted to  cover his face with his hand as he drove by officers.

Deputy Richard Cox made the traffic stop, Gregg said. When Hankal gave the deputy a false name, Cox questioned him further.

“Hankal put his vehicle in drive and took off. The deputy would have been seriously hurt if not for Hankal’s vehicle spinning on ice prior to gaining traction on the pavement, allowing the deputy to get away from the vehicle,” Gregg said. He said Cox had to jump out of the way to avoid getting hit.

Investigators driving an unmarked vehicle continued to follow Hankal who slowed down to 30mph after speeding away from the deputy’s vehicle. 

He drove down McCarty Hollow Road to Highway 11E, where other investigators had stopped traffic in order to deploy spike strips, Gregg said.

Hankal was boxed in prior to reaching the strips and bailed out of his car and ran. Officers chased Hankal down, used a Taser on him and took him to the ground, according to Gregg.

He continued to struggle and was tased a second time. Hankal was able to get his hand on the investigator’s Taser prior to a drive stun being applied. “Following this Taser application Hankal became compliant and was handcuffed,” Gregg said.

In Hankal’s vehicle officers found a loaded .25 automatic handgun. Hankal is a convicted felon, banned from possessing a firearm. A check of Hankal’s driver’s license revealed him to be a habitual motor offender since 2004.

Hankal’s bond was set at $61,000. He’s being held in the Washington County Detention Center and has an arraignment scheduled for Monday.

Cox was examined and treated at the Johnson City Medical Center for a minor injury from the incident.





from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bdS9SO

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1df5PNh

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Jonesborough man arrested following vehicular assault of WCSO deputy

A Jonesborough man was arrested Friday following a vehicular assault on a Washington County Sheriff’s Office deputy.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1a8t0Og

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1df5MRz

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Man charged with attempted first degree murder after stabbing friend in head, chest multiple times

A man was arrested Friday after he reportedly stabbed a Kingsport man multiple times in the head and chest with a knife.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bIWhdt

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1df5OsH

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Jellico High School evacuated after threat found on bathroom wall

Officials have given the all clear after Jellico High School was evacuated Friday morning for a bomb threat was discovered written on a restroom wall.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jTPuWr

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1a8YTWT

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

CDC: Norovirus caused cruise ship outbreak

Federal health investigators say lab tests have confirmed that norovirus was to blame for an outbreak on a cruise ship that sickened nearly 700.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bIWgWX

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1a8YTGs

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

10 Super Bowl Ads to Watch for

Actress Scarlett Johansson gives SodaStream some sex appeal. Kia revives actor Laurence Fishburne’s “Matrix” character Morpheus. And cute puppies and kids abound in ads this Sunday.





from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jTPuGa

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1a8YTpS

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Pet of the Week 1-31-14

Preston is an adult male retriever. He is kennel trained and good with the other dogs at the shelter. He is a victim of Black Dog Syndrome. Black dogs have a harder time being adopted at shelters. He has been at the shelter since September. For more information about Preston or any of the other animals ready for adoption contact the Washington County/Johnson City Animal Shelter at 926-8769 from 12-5 seven days a weekRon Campbell/Johnson City Press



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1nwWhG2

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1a8YVOo

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

FBI investigates white powder mailed to hotels near Super Bowl stadium

CARLSTADT, N.J. — The FBI and other law enforcement are investigating a suspicious white powder that was mailed to at least five New Jersey hotels near the site of Sunday’s Super Bowl.Carlstadt Police Det. John Cleary says someone at an Econo Lodge found the substance in an envelope on Friday.Cleary says similar mailings arrived at the Homestead Inn in East Rutherford and a Renaissance Inn in Rutherford. He says investigators intercepted additional envelopes from a mail truck before it reached a Holiday Inn Express and Hampton Inn in Carlstadt.Hazardous materials teams are checking out the substance. The FBI says it is investigating and no injuries have been reported.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1kmfGqp

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bIKewJ

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Southwest Virginia man sentenced to life in prison for murder of 2-year-old girl

Juwan Moore pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder and two counts of felony child abuse Thursday in Wise County.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1betnFd

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bIKbkG

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Tax season opens today

People who have been waiting to file their taxes can now get online and send in the paperwork or drop off their forms in the mailbox.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1km3KoL

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bIKaNI

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

ETSU invites fans to Feb. 5 football signing day event

On Wednesday, ETSU Athletics will announce its inaugural recruiting class as part of college football’s National Signing Day



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1km3KVG

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1jTELvc

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Fall Branch man charged after sticking pistol in wife's mouth

Deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office arrested a Fall Branch man Thursday after he allegedly got into a physical domestic dispute with his wife and stuck the barrel of his pistol inside her mouth.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1km3K8j

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bIKcFb

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Report shines light on prostitution on Twitter

TheStreet is calling attention to one particular aspect of that connection: the prostitution and escort services advertised on Twitter (TWTR).



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1km3JRP

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bIK6NV

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Support Make-A-Wish at Kingsport Chocolate Festival

This weekend, you can help The Make-a-Wish Foundation make dreams come true for children diagnosed with life-threatening diseases.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bethxA

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1jTEJDF

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

ETSU to announce first recruits for new football team

The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will be celebrating a momentous day in the history of ETSU football on Wednesday, Feb. 5th, and the public is invited to be part of the festivities.



Scheduled for 5:30 p.m. at the Millennium Centre in Johnson City, ETSU athletics will announce its inaugural recruiting class as part of college football’s national signing day. The event will begin with a casual “meet and greet” at 5 p.m., where fans and supporters will be able to mingle with ETSU’s coaches and administrators.

Following the meet and greet, ETSU head coach Carl Torbush along with assistants Billy Taylor and Teddy Gaines, will talk about the future of Buccaneer football and give more information about the team’s new commitments.

For more on ETSU football, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the football link.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1iUnEt4

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1jTEHeY

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

San Francisco 49ers lineman Daniel Kilgore arrested for public intoxication

Kingsport police arrested an NFL offensive lineman Sunday for public intoxication.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jSQMB9

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1jTEGrB

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

N.C. man faces charges for selling crack cocaine to undercover detective

A Greensboro, N.C. man was arrested Thursday after he reportedly sold crack cocaine to an undercover detective.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1dSEfVV

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bIK4FH

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Sheriff says Fall Branch man stuck pistol in wife's mouth; kids were there

A Fall Branch man stuck a gun barrel into his wife’s mouth during a fight with their children present after firing a bullet into the air Thursday night, resulting in his arrest, Sheriff Ed Graybeal said in a news release.

Jackie Wexler, 27, 176 Highway 93, Fall Branch, was arrested after the incident was reported about 9 p.m. Thursday.

The sheriff said Wexler had been in a fight with his wife, who ran outside to escape the attack. Wexler fired a .22 caliber pistol in the air trying to get her to go back inside. He then stuck the pistol’s barrel into her mouth.

Graybeal reported that the incident took place with the couple’s two minor children present.

Wexler was charged with aggravated domestic assault and two counts of reckless endangerment. He was jailed in the Washington County Detention Center on $70,000 bond.

Keep visiting JohnsonCityPress.com for more details on this developing story as they become available.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1kleBiL

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1jTEF6T

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Catholic diocese files bankruptcy in wake of lawsuits claiming 362 cases of child abuse

HELENA, Mont. — The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, Mont., is filing for bankruptcy protection amid lawsuits that claim clergy members abused 362 children over decades.Diocese spokesman Dan Bartleson said in a statement Friday the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization case will help resolve the abuse claims.The diocese covers western Montana and employs about 200 people.The two lawsuits filed in 2011 claim clergy members abused the children from the 1930s to the 1970s. They claim the diocese shielded the offenders and knew or should have known the threat they posed.The plaintiffs, the diocese and the Ursuline Sisters of the Western Province held three mediation sessions, but the talks faltered with challenges by the church’s insurers over the claims they must cover.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jSArfP

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVPHT

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

NFL player arrested in Kingsport

A National Football League player was arrested in Kingsport last weekend for public intoxication. Daniel Kilgore, 26, 241 Bent St., Kingsport was arrested and charged with public intoxication. Kilgore is an offensive lineman for the San Franciso 49ers. The incident happened in the early morning hours of Jan. 26. According to a police report, Kingsport officer Greg Lane observed two males staggering on the side walk. Lane stopped to speak with both males and he stated in his report he could smell a strong odor of alcohol. He stated both men also had red eyes and dilated pupils. Read more at TimesNews.net.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jSAqZp

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bHDVcV

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Reader Photo: Greyhound fun in the snow

My greyhound Manny playing & loving the snow!!

You, too, can see your pictures on JohnsonCityPress.com. We might even use some of them in print. Upload your galleries using our Share feature or email them to Assistant News & Features Editor Kristen Swing.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1fhHb0W

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVO70

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Tennessee dropping adidas in favor of Nike

Tennessee’s athletics department announced via Twitter today that the Vols and Lady Vols are moving to Nike as their athletic gear provider, ending a long deal with adidas.UT’s deal with adidas began in 1995 according to various reports.Tennessee becomes the second high-profile school to leave adidas in the last few weeks, after Notre Dame also ended its relationship with the company.Read more at the Knoxville News Sentinel.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1hXEZ0y

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVNQl

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Cat saved from Sevier Co. house fire

Crews saved a cat from a house fire in Sevier County early Friday morning.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bcUXzN

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVNji

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Low temps, high power bills: cold heats up system’s demand

The biting cold temperatures of January are coming to an end, and early February is expected to bring much milder weather to the area. January will end much in the same way it began. High temperatures are expected to reach the mid-40s today. The high Jan. 1 in the Tri-Cities area was around 50 degrees. High temperatures for Saturday and Sunday are projected to be in or hover around the 50-degree mark. Lows are expected to be around freezing this weekend. While some relief from frigid temperatures is in sight, January’s cold is expected to have a big impact on the bills of Johnson City Power customers. Johnson City Power Board CEO Jeff Dykes said the utility’s rates have not changed — the higher bills are strictly a result of higher power usage. “When it’s that cold and your unit is running to heat your home, whether it be electric, gas or whatever, if it’s running, it’s not going to back off. Because it’s so cold, that unit is going to continue to run,” Dykes said. And January was cold. While it is still a little too early to determine how January sits in the race for coldest month on record, the month saw its share of record-setting days. The National Weather Service’s office in Morristown said record-low temperatures were recorded at the NWS’ Tri-Cities Airport location Jan. 7, Jan. 8 and Wednesday. The low temperature Jan. 7 was 2 degrees, which breaks the 3-degree mark set in 1959. The low on Jan. 8 was minus-2 degrees, breaking the record of 5 degrees set in 1970 and the low temperature Wednesday was also minus-2 degrees, slightly less than the record of zero set in 1977. NWS data said there were 19 days in the Tri-Cities during January in which temperatures had a negative departure from normal temperatures, meaning temperatures on these days were lower than the norm. Of these 19 days, nine days saw a double-digit negative departure from normal temperatures. NWS Morristown office Meteorologist Derek Eisentrout said January’s colder-than-usual weather was caused by a high-pressure system covering the western half of the country, a low-pressure system covering the eastern half and a strong jet stream. He said the jet stream moved cold arctic air masses across the Southeast. But he said this weather pattern is now changing, and systems will be moving to the area from the Southwest. This, Eisentrout said, should lead to temperatures returning to a more normal state. The Tennessee Valley Authority has seen record power demand during the month, and Dykes said the TVA not only saw peak demand Jan. 7, but both the TVA and Johnson City Power Board saw a peak Thursday. But these peaks don’t also equate to increased revenue, as Dykes said utilities will not see the revenues many expect when “peak” days are followed by days of expected or normal temperatures, as was the case in January. “When the peak demand hits, we have to pay TVA for that peak demand that we’re purchasing,” he said. “When the temperatures go above normal the rest of the month, although customers’ bills will be higher, we don’t get the normal revenue. I say ‘normal’ because you budget based on what a normal year is, what a normal January is — the temperatures that you expect in January — you budget based on those.”Still, the peak days will impact customer bills. Dykes said depending on a customer’s billing cycle, some of the charges for these peak days will be included on their January statement and some on their February bill. “We expect customers to see higher bills,” Dykes said. Dykes said the Johnson City Power Board takes steps to keep these peaks down, including voltage reduction on its system to reduce bills from the TVA. The board also disseminates information to its customers from the TVA whenever the TVA requests conservation. The Johnson City Power Board has also seen more people seeking help through its Hand Up program. Through the program, funds donated by customers are provided to local organizations such as Good Samaritan Ministries and the Salvation Army to provide assistance to those needing financial help with their energy bills. “I know in talking to (the organization that distributes the funding), their request for aid has really shot up,” Dykes said. “That’s kind of a sign of the really cold weather and the spikes in the weather, and it’s also a sign of the economy. There’s still some recovery to be made for a lot of folks.”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1kkdcsN

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVKEi

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Wine bill flows past senators

A bill to allow wine sales in Tennessee’s grocery, convenience and big box stores easily vaulted another hurdle Thursday in its sprint to being signed into law during this session of the General Assembly.The state Senate approved the so-called wine-in-grocery-stores legislation by a 23-8 vote, leaving the bill in the hands of the House.Similar bills, aiming to allow supermarkets to sell wine, have been proposed for more than a dozen years in the legislature but has yet to succeed, a laborious trial alluded to by the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Bill Ketron.“For seven years, three weeks and four days, in some form or another, I have had this bill before this body,” Ketron, R-Murfreesboro, said Thursday, advocating a final amendment from the Senate floor. “There has been a lot of discussion from people coming from inside and outside the state. … We have had all of those parties around the table affected by this bill, and Amendment 9 is the compromise that’s come out of this.”In the form passed by the body, counties that currently allow either liquor by the drink or retail liquor sales can be petitioned to hold a referendum deciding whether to allow retail food stores to sell wine.The bill defines those stores as those with retail floor space of 1,200 square feet or more that derives at least 20 percent of its taxable sales from food and food ingredients.That definition has been confirmed to include traditional supermarkets, convenience stores and big box retailers with grocery components.As concessions for the potential for lost sales, liquor stores were granted concessions in the bill, and starting in July will be allowed to sell a litany of new items if the bill passes, regardless of whether a community holds a wine referendum.If the referendum does pass, properly licensed food stores can begin selling wine in July 2016, unless that store is within 500 feet of a liquor store.The nearby liquor store can grant the food store permission to begin selling wine, but if it doesn’t, neither store can begin selling the new product lines until July 2017.In Johnson City, one notable location will have to seek the special permission if it intends to sell wine: the Earth Fare supermarket on West State of Franklin Road, which shares a wall with One Stop Wines and Spirits.A few subtle differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill will have to be reconciled before it becomes law.The House version defines retail food store as having 2,000 square feet, 800 square feet larger than the Senate’s, and the House bill also sets up a $2,000 fee for the new wine license, more expensive than the Senate’s $850.Both bills propose changes to Tennessee’s wholesaler law, which could bring new business into the Tri-Cities.By current law, businesses wishing to sell or deal in alcoholic spirituous beverages at wholesale, selling exclusively to restaurants and package stores, can only be located in cities in the state with populations more than 100,000.Under that law, the closest wine and liquor wholesaler to the Tri-Cities is limited to being based in Knoxville, but the bill passed Thursday would allow liquor and wine wholesalers to be licensed in counties with a population higher than 120,000, which adds five new locations, including Sullivan and Washington counties.Beer wholesalers, which are governed by a different set of laws, already have distribution centers in all three of the Tri-Cities.If the new statute remains in the bill and is signed into law, Washington and Sullivan counties could see wholesalers expand into the area, bringing with them new jobs and investment.If wine in food stores is to be a reality in the Tri-Cities, the House bill must first be approved by the Finance Committee then pass a full floor vote.Only then could a referendum be held locally, and if passed, bring wine to the first new retailers in 2016.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1nvrw4j

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bHDQ98

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Towing costs in Johnson City

I am an owner of a local towing company based here in Johnson City. I understand having an accident can be frustrating on its own, however, you must understand a few things before you go to making accusations caused by incorrect answers by an assistant within the police department.  The Johnson City Police Department does set our fees when we are called by dispatch to an accident. The fee for a wreck is $110 plus $25 for each day a vehicle sits in our lot. If the vehicle owner chooses to have it taken to their home or repair shop, then it will only cost the $110 as long as it is inside the Johnson City limits. Also the fee must be paid on the spot and in cash, as most services do not take a personal check in case it is bad.  You must have the correct insurance to operate a wrecker/rollback, which is very costly. It’s around $2,000 a year on one truck alone. Diesel fuel is certainly not cheap and these large trucks are not exactly fuel-efficient, even more so when there is a vehicle on the back of it. We must pay our drivers. Nobody is going to work for free, especially in this economy, as a tow truck driver, which isn’t an easy job. Like everyone in this town, we must earn money to live. The cost to run any business is expensive, and as we all know, it takes money to make money. We are all out here just trying to get by.What this all boils down to is if you are in an accident, it will cost you. Having full coverage insurance will save you in the end because it will pay the tow bill. ERIN “LUCY” WARDSJohnson City



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1kkddwQ

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bHDSxz

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

County-Owned Property Committee should know the budget process

Regarding the Jan. 28 article concerning the County-Owned Property Committee:I know when all committees meet. I get my information from the Press on Mondays, or I look at the Washington County website. I’m assuming the members of the County-Owned Property Committee could do the same and attend meetings without an invitation from the county mayor. I attend a lot of Budget Committee and County Commission meetings because I want to be informed. I would expect commissioners would want and we should expect them to be informed.County Commissioner Phyllis Corso (the chairwoman of the County-Owned Property Committee) never fails to bring up at a Commission meeting the term “transparency” in county government as it refers to the county mayor. I would definitely like to see transparency from the County-Owned Property Committee when a request for funds goes from the allocated $40,000 to complete the second floor of the Jonesborough Courthouse to $150,000. This comes after much of the material has already been ordered, delivered and paid for. There has been no representative from this committee at two Budget Committee meetings.Perhaps the County-Owned Property Committee doesn’t understand the budget process. It seems they think $150,000 doesn’t need any justification. As citizens of Washington County, we should expect our commissioners to be fiscally responsible with our dollars. One way to conserve would be to go from 25 commissioners to 11. That alone would go a long way in cutting expenditures. LOIS RASNAKEJohnson City



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1nvrw49

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVIMu

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

General Assembly wants to take away local decision

Johnson City commissioners voted in 2009 to continue a ban on guns in city parks. Their action followed a deal reached in the state General Assembly to allow local cities and towns to opt out of a new law allowing Tennesseans with a conceal-carry gun permit to tote their weapons into local parks.Now, lawmakers in Nashville want to renege on that deal. For all their talk about keeping state government out of local business, some legislators are intent on meddling in such matters.State Sen. Stacey Campfield, R-Knoxville, is pushing passage of a bill to repeal all local ordinances that prohibit guns in city or town parks. The legislation will be moved soon to the Senate floor for a vote.Municipal officials from many towns and cities (including Johnson City Mayor Ralph Van Brocklin) have sent the following message to those legislators: Guns have no place in our parks.Gov. Bill Haslam does not like the idea of voiding decisions made by Johnson City and other cities to ban guns in local parks. Haslam was mayor of Knoxville in 2009 when the City Council voted to ban guns from being carried in some parks there.Johnson City commissioners acted prudently when it first passed an ordinance in 2001 to prohibit guns in city parks. Since that time, Johnson City has not seen any outbreaks of violence as a result of residents not being able to carry their firearms into city parks.As we’ve said in this space before, if citizens truly believe they must carry a gun to protect themselves in a municipal park, then city leaders have a much more serious public safety problem to address.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1kkdbVO

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bHDP4Z

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Hill’s bill seeks teacher license policy reversal

Teachers believe a bill filed Thursday by Jonesborough state Rep. Matthew Hill seeking to reverse a recent State Board of Education policy change will be passed easily by the legislature.The bill, titled the Educator Respect and Accountability Act of 2014, would do away with the state board’s not-yet-implemented policy to tie the granting and renewal of professional teaching licenses to in-class assessments and growth scores calculated using student’s standardized testing scores.Upon its passage in August, board members said the teacher licensure policy would likely be reconsidered before the 2015 implementation deadline, but teachers and school administrators have vehemently opposed the new policy, saying the statistical score does not accurately represent student learning.“If we have a teacher that’s not performing well, it’s the principal’s ability to evaluate that teacher and to make a recommendation to me whether they’re going to be hired or not,” Unicoi County Director of Schools Denise Brown said Thursday, shortly before a rally in Johnson City against the state’s expanding use of the Tennessee Value-Added Assessment System, or TVAAS.“The law is already in place, so why do we need to tie it to a statistical estimate that we don’t know where it comes from?” she asked.TVAAS is a statistical analysis model that seeks to map students’ educational progress over time using standardized test scores.Educators say the system was originally intended to be a tool to help determine which teaching practices were most effective, but Tennessee Education Commissioner Kevin Huffman has tried to force it into uses where it doesn’t fit.“We don’t want to say that TVAAS doesn’t have its place, it does have its place. It gives me a range to look at,” Gray Elementary math teacher Jenee’ Peters said. “But to use that with a large margin of error to make the decision of whether I can provide for my family, that’s just extreme.”Upon the passage of the Board of Education policy, several local legislators, including Hill and state Sen. Rusty Crowe, called for its repeal and said the board had overstepped its bounds.In August, Hill promised he would be the prime sponsor of a bill reversing the policy, and called a news conference earlier this month to renew the vow.The House bill also establishes an electronic complaint form on the Department of Education’s website where individuals can report concerns with any of the state’s teachers.The bill already had 60 co-sponsors out of the body’s 99 total members when filed Thursday.Teachers believe that’s a sign indicating its easy passage.“The legislators are not pleased,” Indian Trail Intermediate School teacher and Johnson City Education Association President Joe Crabtree said. “From the several I have spoken with, none of them are pleased. You mention the state board and a grimace comes over their face.”But unless the representatives can garner a veto-proof majority, the bill will have to be signed by Gov. Bill Haslam, a fervent supporter of Huffman’s reform initiatives.“I think (Haslam) has said ‘Huffman is the man I chose’ and if he goes back on that now, it will undo everything that has been done under the past four years under Huffman,” Crabree said. “I don’t think Haslam wants that as his legacy.”Hill was originally scheduled to announce the Educator Respect Act at an event today at David Crockett High School, but cancellation of classes forced that event to be postponed to 9 a.m. Monday.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1igDDPm

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVHs6

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Watching for gold

When East Tennessee State University professor Dr. Brad DeWeese sits down to watch the Winter Olympics on TV next month, he’ll have a little more invested in the games than most of us.DeWeese, described by some as one of the nation’s premier sports performance coaches and scientists, will be watching for glimpses of nine particular athletes for whom he’s played a significant role in their training for the games, which take place Feb. 7-23 in Sochi, Russia.Before he arrived at ETSU as an assistant professor of exercise and sport science in ETSU’s Claudius G. Clemmer College of Education, DeWeese was head of sports physiology for the United States Olympic Committee’s Winter Division at Lake Placid, overseeing all aspects of the physical preparation and training for nearly two dozen athletes.“Of those, nine actually made the (USA) team,” DeWeese said Thursday. “I was happy to have one make it,” but having nine — including five-time world champion and gold medalist Steve Holcomb, three-time Olympian Lolo Jones, former Green Bay Packers player Johnny Quinn, Dallas Robinson, Nick Cunningham, Cory Butner and Steve Langton on the bobsled team; Kyle Tress on the skeleton team; and Chris Mazdzer on the luge team — thrilled him, he said.There are also two alternate athletes selected from those DeWeese trained. They are bobsledders Chris Langston and Katie Eberling.“In bobsled, luge and skeleton, they each have their sliding coach,” DeWeese said. The sports-specific coach teaches them sliding techniques, where to run their sled and how to maneuver during their run, he said.“My job is to teach them strength, speed, nutrition and recovery; I prepare the athlete, and their sport coach takes the athlete and turns them into a slider,” he said.U.S. athletes arrived in Sochi on Thursday, but have been overseas since December to compete in the World Cup games.There have been terrorist acts in Russia leading up to the games, but that doesn’t worry DeWeese.“Most (of the athletes) are in the Olympic Village now, so they are safe. … I’m very confident they’re going to be OK,” he said.DeWeese won’t be traveling to Sochi, but will continue training the Olympians. He’s been using phone, texts, email, Skype and social media to communicate with his athletes about their strength training, nutrition and recovery and will continue that when the Olympics begin.“My schedule is I’m going to be up really early talking to them if necessary during competition (but) during the evening I’m going to be glued to the TV,” he said.Having his trainees in the world sporting competition is special, DeWeese said.“I cant even explain the feeling you get to know you’re helping them compete and win a medal. It’s awe-inspiring. … It means so much,” he said.Even though they’re only 4 and 2 years old, DeWeese’s two children will also be watching the games because they’ve grown up seeing these athletes at their birthday parties or having dinner with their family.When his 4-year-old daughter sees the American flag, she says it’s “Daddy’s flag,” DeWeese said.“She knows it’s a big deal when she sees these athletes on TV. I’m going to be a nervous coach but I’m going to be a proud Dad at the same time,” he said.To date, DeWeese’s athletes have achieved five world championships, 12 national championships and 90 medals in international track and field, karate, canoe/kayak, luge and freestyle ski competitions.“I am now into my second complete year of training with Brad and I have seen phenomenal results,” said Quinn, who is competing in the Olympics for the first time.Tress, also a first-time Olympian, said, “Training with Brad over the past four years has been one of the highlights of my athletic career. He changed my entire outlook on training. Prior to working with Brad, I was frustrated with my progress and doubting my future in sport. I lacked intensity and motivation.“Brad’s knowledge, his scientific approach, and his incredible dedication to his athletes’ success was invigorating. I had concrete goals and expectations, and I started to enjoy training again. The best results of my career followed shortly after.”DeWeese holds a B.S. degree in sport management and a master’s degree in nutrition and dietetics from Western Carolina University and an Ed.D. degree in education and leadership with a focus on elite athlete/coach development and program design from North Carolina State University.He is certified as a USA Track and Field level-two coach in sprints, hurdles and relays and as an instructor; a USA Weightlifting sport-performance coach and club coach; and a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.“I always have a great relationship with my coaches,” Robinson said. “Dr. DeWeese is different than most coaches, though, as he encourages intelligent feedback, questions and discussions. I personally have found that athletes perform best if they know why they are doing something, and Dr. DeWeese definitely takes the approach that an educated athlete is a better athlete. I have learned so much from him and I am also honored to call him a friend.”Jones said her training with DeWeese “has been interesting because I was so used to doing track-specific workouts and being successful with those that I had to really step out on faith to work with a new coach. Immediately Brad broke me down to basics and began to fix my bad habits that I had formed over the years. He also had to break me down and retrain my mind that I was no longer training to be the best 100-meter sprinter but I was training to be the best 50-meter sprinter.“He did this over time, and when I complained I wasn’t running enough, he would modify workouts to make me feel like I was running more like a track athlete, but they were still bobsled-specific workouts.”ETSU has previous Olympic connections. In 2012, the university earned a designation as an official Olympic training site in weightlifting.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1igDETf

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1nvVHbw

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Storm Team 11 Weather: Warming UP

Warming Trend Continues



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1cSTqOl

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1jSEVTC

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Storm Team 11 Weather: Warming UP

Warming Trend Continues



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1cSTqOl

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1jSEVTC

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Pacifiers recalled due to choking risk

Fred & Friends is recalling 200,000 pacifiers because of a risk that a baby using one could choke.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1hWlkOu

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1hWypHQ

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Strollers recalled due to amputation risk

Britax recalls strollers for amputation risk.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1cC8kxo

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1aMjNf3

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Toyota tells dealers to stop selling 6 models

Toyota told North American dealers to stop selling six popular models because the seat fabric doesn’t meet flammability standards.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1cC8kxl

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1hWyrPK

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Southwest Virginia lawmakers challenging President Obama, defending coal.

Southwest Virginia lawmakers headed up a group of 85 members Virginia representatives in a letter to President Obama, defending coal.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1hVXxOI

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1hWyrzo

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Power outage leaves critically ill infant in crisis

A damaged transformer cut electricity to almost 2,000 homes and businesses Thursday night in Sullivan, Washington, and Hawkins Counties.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1ki3wz5

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bc8W90

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

John Adams Elementary student is 1 of 12 finalists in national competition

Ashley Roberts from John Adams Elementary School in Kingsport, TN is one of 12 finalists in a national environmental competition that could win her school a grand prize of $10,000.



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1ki3uam

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1fsk4mB

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Cyclones avenge earlier defeat to Sullivan East

ELIZABETHTON — There’s nothing Elizabethton can do about losing to Sullivan East earlier in the season.Thursday night at Treadway Gym, the Cyclones made sure it didn’t happen again.Getting standout efforts from Tyler Nichols and Zeke Clark, the Cyclones pulled away for a 49-34 victory over the Patriots in a Three Rivers Conference basketball contest.Elizabethton improved to 7-2 in league play and 17-6 overall while the Patriots fell to 3-7, 10-15.Nichols had 19 points and eight rebounds. Clark added 11 points, six rebounds and six assists.Those totals were important as the Cyclones wanted to erase a December loss that currently keeps them out of a first-place tie in the league.“We wanted to get them back,” said Clark. “We didn’t feel like they should have beaten us the first time. They put us in a bad spot in the conference. We wanted to get back to where we should be.”Nichols scored quite a few of his points at or near the rim.“He gets buckets from places most kids can’t score them from,” said Elizabethton head coach Lucas Honeycutt.It didn’t look like it was going to be easy as both teams struggled to get into an offensive groove in the first half. The Cyclones took a 24-14 lead into the locker room.Nichols helped keep the Patriots an arm’s length away in the third quarter, and then really put them in a bad spot in the fourth quarter with a head-of-the-key three to make it 39-26 with six minutes remaining.The feed on that shot came from Clark, who was in the middle of the lane under the basket. Clark has been helping the Cyclones get better as a team by finding ways to make his teammates better.“As the season has gone on we’re getting better at scoring as a team,” said Clark. “Bo (Pless) has stepped up as a scorer, and that has made things easier.”Honeycutt said the coaches challenged Clark to get better on the defensive end of the court.“He has improved his defense every game,” said Honeycutt. “Sometimes he finds himself pressing on the offensive end, but tonight he backed off, got under control, and got some good looks.”Conley Bowers also had a big impact on the game, totaling six blocked shots. Austin Cornett added four assists.East didn’t have a player reach double figures in scoring. Hunter Owens and Hunter Davis led the way with eight points apiece.Now the Cyclones turn their attention to a treacherous three-game stretch. They play at Johnson County tonight, at Unicoi County on Monday, and then play host to Sullivan South on Tuesday.“Everybody has to play everybody at the top of the league,” said Honeycutt. “Everybody is sitting there waiting to see what will happen. It will be intense.”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1frU3UG

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1bc8TtF

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Elizabethton girls throttle Sullivan East

ELIZABETHTON — Catching fire in the third quarter, Elizabethton’s girls had plenty of hunger in their games.The Lady Cyclones scored the first 16 points of the second half and never looked back in a 53-29 whipping of Sullivan East on Thursday night at Treadway Gymnasium.Elizabethton (9-0, 18-3) clinched a tie for the Three Rivers Conference title. East fell to 7-3 in league play and 21-6 overall.Leading 23-14 at halftime, Elizabethton took care of business at both ends of the court in the third quarter. Head coach Len Dugger said his halftime message was fairly simple.“I just said, ‘For 16 minutes, let’s see how hard we can play on the defensive end,’ ” said Dugger. “I told them to slow down on offense and let the game come to us a little bit.“I was bragging on them after the game. They really responded to the challenge.”Kelci Marosites, who struggled in the first half, hit a trey ball to jump start the second half. Sister Kayla Marosites responded with a pair of buckets, and then Kelci dropped home another special delivery from trey country.Then Kayla scored again, and Kelci followed with another bucket. When Sarah Robinson finished off the run, it was 39-14 and the game was basically over.Kayla Marosites finished with a superb all-around game, totaling 25 points, five rebounds and seven steals. The sophomore guard said the thefts usually just happen in the flow.“I just read the offense, and it just comes naturally to me,” she said. “And when I play good defense, that’s when my offense usually comes.”Dugger said Kayla Marosites impacted the game in multiple ways.“I told her the things she did tonight away from scoring buckets were very huge,” said Dugger. “She kept the ball alive on the offensive glass, had deflections, tough rebounds. She worked very hard tonight.”Kelci Marosites finished with 12 points and three assists. Robinson added five points, but dominated in the paint with 14 rebounds.“She’s a quick jumper and has a knack for getting rebounds in traffic,” said Dugger. “We need to get her back to the level she was playing at in Spartanburg (S.C.). She was unbelievable.”Megan Pietrowski chipped in with five points, six rebounds and three assists.It was a tough night overall for the Lady Patriots. Nobody reached double figures in scoring with Megan Addison leading the way with eight points.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1aLCuj7

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1ifuVRl

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Waltrip team trying to move on

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —  The key figures at Michael Waltrip Racing are banking that performance will put the most publicized cheating scandal in NASCAR history behind them.Fined $300,000 for trying to manipulate the finish of last September’s race at Richmond, it turned from bad to worse for organization.Driver Martin Truex Jr. lost his spot in the Chase for the Championship after audio indicated Bowyer followed team orders and spun out his Toyota with just seven laps to go.Ty Norris, the team’s general manager, ordered another teammate, Brian Vickers, to pull in the pits. For his actions, Norris was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR before finally getting reinstated a week ago. He still remains under probation, although within the organization he is still the go-to guy.“He is the key interface of MWR with sponsors,” Waltrip said about Norris. He also does a lot of the recruiting of people in the garage area. Having him in the garage is important.”Bowyer explained that although Norris no longer serves as a spotter at the race track, he is the man who runs the organization on a day-to-day basis.“Just because he hasn’t been at the race track, he has always been there,” Bowyer said. “Every time I go to MWR, I go to Ty’s office to talk business, to talk sponsorships, what we need to do. Then, you go talk to competition. As far I’m concerned, Ty’s always been the one to see.”Still, there was plenty of uncertainty at MWR when Truex’s sponsor, NAPA, left the organziation and MWR had to scale back to two teams. It forced the workforce of 220 people to be reduced by about 15 percent. Since then, many of the team’s resources have been shifted to the engineering and research in hopes of compensating for the loss of manpower.“The most important part of performance is engineering,” Norris said. “We didn’t cut engineering. We added in engineering and our budget went up seven figures. It’s up 15 percent year over year, and that’s because of (team co-owner) Rob Kauffman. He was like this is where we’re going to put our money and focus because that is the most important element.”Winning a race early is one of the team’s biggest goals. All of the organization’s testing resources are being spent the first third of the season. Jeff Burton, a 21-year veteran of the Cup Series, has spent much of the offseason with MWR’s research and development team.Kauffman insisted the team remains as strong as ever despite the loss of so many people.“I think the emphasis is more on winning given the structure of things,” Kauffman said. “What we did in the reorganization is we had three cars worth of stuff, now we’re focused on putting two of them on the track. That means more resources for fewer cars.” There are still challenges. Vickers, who missed much of the 2010 season with blood clots, was sidelined again for the final five races of 2013. He said he’s excited about getting back in the race car and is scheduled to do testing today.Bowyer, who ended up seventh in the final point standings, sees this season as his most important ever. He insists, however, it isn’t about rebuilding his reputation. Instead, he talked about falling to seventh in the points last season after being series runner-up the previous year. There is also the matter of this being a contract year.“I’ve got to perform because there is a lot of competition out there every year,” he said. “People are trying to protect their rides and look for other ones. It’s a nerve-racking time and I hate this time every three years or so.”As for the team owners, it’s all about looking ahead.“The past is the past. I can’t change what I had for breakfast,” Kauffman said. “All we can focus on is what we can do next. The whole point of this is to win races and compete for the championship.” Waltrip added, “We’ve closed the book (on last year). Only a fool would trip over something behind them.”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bbjfx8

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iRQGJU

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Conflict erupts at Hawkins County Humane Society meeting

The Hawkins County Humane Society is under fire from some members after allegations of animal abuse and failure to follow state and federal guidelines for non-profits. The Humane Society held its annual election meeting this morning, while many people – claiming to be members – stood outside in the cold, waiting to have their voices heard. The people were upset that the meeting was moved from Holston electric, where it’s been held in the past, to the Humane Society’s small office on Lee High…



from WJHL - Home

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1cAVsrq

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1ifuUNs

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Kenseth looks to build on career year

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Matt Kenseth came up short of his ultimate goal in 2013, but in many ways, it was still the best year of his racing career.The 41-year-old veteran led the Sprint Cup Series with a career-best seven wins. He also scored a career-best three poles in his first year behind the wheel of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota.He led 1,783 laps, another career high, and for the first time ever, his average starting spot (8.7) was in the single digits. The only goal he missed was the series title, finishing 19 points behind six-time champion Jimmie Johnson.“Certainly, I was a little disappointed at the end of the year because we didn’t win the championship,” he said Thursday at the 32nd annual NASCAR Sprint Media Tour. “I didn’t figure out how out get it done and win it. Two races to go and we’re tied in the points, so I feel like in a way, I let some people down. I feel disappointed about that, but on the other hand, I don’t know if the year could have been much better. I’m proud of what we did and accomplished.”Kenseth drove car owner Jack Roush’s Fords the first 13 years of his career and the combination produced two Daytona 500 wins and the 2003 NASCAR championship. Still, five wins were his previous best numbers for a season prior to last year’s move to Gibbs.He realized early on there was something special with the new combination.“When we went to our first test in Charlotte, about my third run, I knew it was going to be good,” Kenseth said. “That night, I spent a lot of time with (crew chief) Jason (Ratcliffe). I knew right then. I couldn’t have predicted how we would run or how we would finish, but driving those cars for the first time, working with Jason and the engineering group, seeing how they went about things, I knew it right away.”Kenseth now has 31 victories in what will certainly be a Hall of Fame career. He has nine appearances in the 10 years of NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship, trailing only Johnson who has made the playoffs all 10 years.The consistency has been a mark of Kenseth’s career.Last year, he added the big wins with four of them came on the intermediate tracks where the Toyotas seemed to have a clear advantage over the Fords and Chevrolets. Kenseth pointed out, however, the Gibbs team was strong at other places as well with 12 Cup Series wins as an organization.“We felt like we were well-rounded,” he said. “We won a couple of short-track races and Kyle (Busch) won on a road course. We didn’t win at a superspeedway, but we led a lot of laps and were in position to win a couple of times.”Included in last season’s bounty was a win in Bristol’s night race. It was Kenseth’s third career win in the world’s most prestigious short-track race.After getting behind on a pit stop, his crew chief made the decision to leave Kenseth on the track with old tires when others pitted with 60 laps to go. The strategy worked as Kenseth held off Kasey Kahne over the final 15 laps for the victory.“It is always a big race,” he said. “I made a dumb mistake on pit road, but Jason did a good job, making a crazy call. We just barely had enough to hang on and win that thing, so it was an exciting night. It’s always fun to race at Bristol. It’s always a fun, exciting atmosphere, a great race to win.” 



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jPSQd1

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iRQDxC

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

NASCAR overhauls Chase format

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR unveiled changes to its playoff system on Thursday, and the Chase to the Sprint Cup field has been expanded from 12 to 16 drivers and puts a greater emphasis on winning throughout the season.It implements a round-by-round advancement which goes from 16 down to four drivers for a winner-take-all championship at the final race of the season. “We wanted to change the proportion more for winning,” NASCAR chairman Brian France said. “It’s going to make winning the most important thing by a wide margin. Everything is focused around winning, and that’s what our fans want.”“The new Chase will be thrilling, easy to understand. It will drive our sport’s competition to a new level.”A victory in one of the first 26 races all but guarantees a berth in the 10-race Chase, which is good news for tracks like Bristol Motor Speedway which doesn’t host a Chase event.“It was previously a risk-reward balance which you understood,” said Jerry Caldwell, Bristol Motor Speedway executive vice president. “Now they’ve got to win, so you get up on the wheel and you go after the win. In March for the Food City 500, I believe you will see drivers trying to establish an early season win to lock themselves into the Chase. In August, fans will see a sense of desperation from the drivers who have not managed to qualify for one of the Chase spots. It should be exciting.” Like the current system, the Chase grid will be set at Richmond, at the end of a 26-race regular season. The field of 16 will be determined by the drivers with the greatest number of wins after the first 26 races. The rest of the grid will consist of points leaders without a victory.A driver must be in the top 30 of points and have attempted to qualify for all the first 26 races to qualify for the Chase.“The avid fans like it because they don’t particularly care for points racing,” France said. “The biggest risk would be not to do it. If the fans don’t like what we do, then nothing matters. Everything is designed about what you love about NASCAR, the tight racing, the close competition.”The field will be whittled from 16 to 12 after the first three races in the Chase, called the Challenger Round. A win automatically advances a driver to the next round.Points are then reset for the Contender Round where eight drivers advance with winning again an automatic qualifier. Those eight will face off in the Eliminator Round for the next three races before four drivers advance to the “Sprint Cup Championship.”The highest finisher among the four remaining drivers will win the NASCAR Sprint Cup title.The overhaul to the system was met with rave reviews by track promoters.“With NASCAR’s changes to the point system, I think we can safely say points racing is dead,” Charlotte Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith said. “When it comes to race day, winning is the only thing that matters — period. That makes every single race critical. I think the changes are probably the best thing to happen in NASCAR in the last 10 years and I’m looking forward to seeing how the increased incentive to win plays out.”It is the second major change for NASCAR’s top three series in recent days. It came just one week after the sanctioning body revamped its qualifying for all Sprint Cup races with the exception of the Daytona 500.Officials announced a group qualifying format, which includes three rounds at the larger tracks and two rounds at the short tracks, to replace the single-car laps previously used.Some have worried if the changes are too much, too soon. It is the fourth change to the Chase in the last 10 years. “We have some loud and passionate fans, especially when we change anything,” France said. “Most of the fans we’ve communicated with, they like this. Things evolve. If you look at other leagues, the BCS has evolved. “We have arrived at a format that makes every race matter more, diminishes points racing and puts a premium on winning races,  which is exactly what fans want”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1bEdULx

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1ifuSFb

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

NASCAR overhauls Chase format

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — NASCAR unveiled changes to its playoff system on Thursday, and the Chase to the Sprint Cup field has been expanded from 12 to 16 drivers and puts a greater emphasis on winning throughout the season.It implements a round-by-round advancement which goes from 16 down to four drivers for a winner-take-all championship at the final race of the season. “We wanted to change the proportion more for winning,” NASCAR chairman Brian France said. “It’s going to make winning the most important thing by a wide margin. Everything is focused around winning, and that’s what our fans want.”“The new Chase will be thrilling, easy to understand. It will drive our sport’s competition to a new level.”A victory in one of the first 26 races all but guarantees a berth in the 10-race Chase, which is good news for tracks like Bristol Motor Speedway which doesn’t host a Chase event.“It was previously a risk-reward balance which you understood,” said Jerry Caldwell, Bristol Motor Speedway executive vice president. “Now they’ve got to win, so you get up on the wheel and you go after the win. In March for the Food City 500, I believe you will see drivers trying to establish an early season win to lock themselves into the Chase. In August, fans will see a sense of desperation from the drivers who have not managed to qualify for one of the Chase spots. It should be exciting.” Like the current system, the Chase grid will be set at Richmond, at the end of a 26-race regular season. The field of 16 will be determined by the drivers with the greatest number of wins after the first 26 races. The rest of the grid will consist of points leaders without a victory.A driver must be in the top 30 of points and have attempted to qualify for all the first 26 races to qualify for the Chase.“The avid fans like it because they don’t particularly care for points racing,” France said. “The biggest risk would be not to do it. If the fans don’t like what we do, then nothing matters. Everything is designed about what you love about NASCAR, the tight racing, the close competition.”The field will be whittled from 16 to 12 after the first three races in the Chase, called the Challenger Round. A win automatically advances a driver to the next round.Points are then reset for the Contender Round where eight drivers advance with winning again an automatic qualifier. Those eight will face off in the Eliminator Round for the next three races before four drivers advance to the “Sprint Cup Championship.”The highest finisher among the four remaining drivers will win the NASCAR Sprint Cup title.The overhaul to the system was met with rave reviews by track promoters.“With NASCAR’s changes to the point system, I think we can safely say points racing is dead,” Charlotte Motor Speedway President Marcus Smith said. “When it comes to race day, winning is the only thing that matters — period. That makes every single race critical. I think the changes are probably the best thing to happen in NASCAR in the last 10 years and I’m looking forward to seeing how the increased incentive to win plays out.”It is the second major change for NASCAR’s top three series in recent days. It came just one week after the sanctioning body revamped its qualifying for all Sprint Cup races with the exception of the Daytona 500.Officials announced a group qualifying format, which includes three rounds at the larger tracks and two rounds at the short tracks, to replace the single-car laps previously used.Some have worried if the changes are too much, too soon. It is the fourth change to the Chase in the last 10 years. “We have some loud and passionate fans, especially when we change anything,” France said. “Most of the fans we’ve communicated with, they like this. Things evolve. If you look at other leagues, the BCS has evolved. “We have arrived at a format that makes every race matter more, diminishes points racing and puts a premium on winning races,  which is exactly what fans want”



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jPSPWF

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1iRQF8H

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

Mercer bringing complete package to town

Good luck to anyone in the Atlantic Sun Conference looking for a statistical chink in the Mercer armor. There isn’t one.The front-running Bears bring a seven-game win streak to the Dome tonight to face East Tennessee State in a matchup delayed a day by weather troubles in Georgia. And they bring a lot more than that — experience combined with superior offense, defense and rebounding are all part of the winning mix.What it adds up to in late January is a 17-5 overall record, 8-1 in conference. Just putting the brakes on the Bears, much less beating them, will be a major challenge for the Bucs (11-10, 4-4).“They’ve been building this team for four years,” said ETSU coach Murry Bartow. “Of their top seven players, six are seniors. It seems like they’ve been around forever.“Offensively they’re really solid, defensively they’re really solid … they’re just on a good roll right now.”Coach Bob Hoffman’s team was 1-1 in the league the first time it faced the Bucs this season, coming off a loss to North Florida and a two-point win at home over USC Upstate. The Bucs promptly raced out to a 15-1 lead in Macon, Ga., but ended up losing 73-63.It’s been lights out ever since.The Bears’ closest call in the last three weeks was 13 points, and that was against defending champion Florida Gulf Coast. They just crushed Stetson 87-49 last Saturday, boosting their average margin of victory this season to over 15 points a game.Bartow hopes the Bucs can replicate tonight some of the good things they did early in the first matchup on Jan. 6.“We got off to a really good start,” he said, “but they played well the last 12 minutes of the first half and got the lead. It was nip and tuck in the second half, and they just played a little better than we did.“You’re going to have to play a complete game to beat them.”Statistically, the Bears are a bad matchup for anyone in the A-Sun. They lead the league in scoring (81.4), scoring defense (66.2), rebound margin (+7.1), field-goal percentage (.488) and free-throw percentage (.730).Opponents are shooting just 39 percent against them.“They’re just a textbook team,” said Hunter Harris, the Bucs’ senior forward. “They do everything by the book, and when things break down, they just stay with their game. The biggest difference is they’ve been together so long and have a great chemistry.”The man who makes it all work is point guard Langston Hall. The 6-4 senior averages a team-high 14.3 points per game, tops the conference in assists (6.0) and is an 86 percent foul shooter.Inside, Daniel Coursey averages 10.9 points and  7.1 rebounds a game and is shooting 60 percent from the field.The Bears are in the process of building a healthy lead as the second half of the A-Sun schedule begins.Florida Gulf Coast is 7-2 and has already lost to them. Everyone else in the conference has at least four losses, including ETSU.The Bucs have won the first two games of a five-game homestand. They pulled out a 76-75 victory over Jacksonville last Saturday when Kinard Gadsden-Gilliard banked in the winning basket on a drive with eight seconds left.The 6-6, 250-pound senior, named the A-Sun player of the week on Monday, is becoming a go-to guy. He has scored in double figures in four of the last five games to boost his season average to 11.7 points. He’s also getting 4.8 rebounds and almost three assists a game.“His focus is really good right now. His mindset is good,” said Bartow. “It’s pretty obvious Kinard is an important guy for us because of his versatility. He can play a number of positions, inside or out, and has a high basketball I.Q.“He doesn’t mind having the ball in his hands in key situations.”A.J. Merriweather led the Bucs in Macon with 20 points and nine rebounds. The freshman has lost some of the steam in his game lately, scoring in double figures only once in the last six contests.He’s still averaging 10.7 points and 6.2 rebounds.ETSU leads Mercer 12-6 in the all-time series but has lost four in a row.



from Johnson City Press Latest News Feed

To read more visit: http://bit.ly/1jPSSli

This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City

from Tumblr http://bit.ly/1ifuTZU

via This share sponsored by East Coast Wings Johnson City