KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – The Knox County Board of Education appears united across the aisle in pushing back against a bill Gov. Bill Lee signed last month creating a pathway to arming teachers and staff inside Tennessee schools.

Two resolutions in the board’s May 9 meeting agenda call for rejecting the notion of arming teachers in schools— one requested by democrat Katherine Bike and one by Republican Kristi Kristy.

Ultimately, the resolutions say the same thing: Knox County Schools is satisfied with law enforcement officers inside schools handling the security of its students. The wording is different, however.

Bike’s resolution calls into question whether or not armed teachers and staff will actually create a safer learning environment. In fact, it claims the opposite.

“The introduction of firearms into educational environments poses significant risks to the overall safety and security of students, faculty, and staff,” Bike’s resolution reads. “Allowing individuals, even with enhanced handgun carry permits, to carry concealed firearms on school premises increases the potential for accidents, escalations of conflicts, and unintended harm to students and staff.”

Beyond safety, the resolution says even the idea of a teacher carrying a gun will detract from a schools’ learning environment, distracting students.

“The presence of firearms in schools may create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation, especially considering that parents and students will not be notified of which specific individuals will have firearms, thus detracting from the positive learning environment that schools should strive to maintain,” the resolutions states.

Kristy’s resolution is worded differently, but the sentiment is the same: let trained officers, who openly carry, handle securing schools.

“Knox County Schools is blessed with competent, highly-trained certified School Security Officers and School Resource Officers,” Kristy’s resolution says. “The Knox County Board of Education hereby affirms that certified law enforcement personnel are equipped to manage the safety and security of Knox County Schools.”

Ultimately, the resolutions cover both sides of the guns-in-schools issue. Bike’s resolution states outright that teachers and staff won’t be allowed to carry in classrooms, while Kristy’s resolution affirms that uniformed officers and SSOs will continue to handle school safety in the county.

If the resolutions pass, Knox County Schools will be the third district to declare it won’t let teachers carry guns in East Tennessee. It’ll follow Oak Ridge Schools and Anderson County Schools.

The board is set to discuss the resolutions on May 9.

Nashville, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is ramping up its pavement repair efforts to address those lingering potholes from January’s record winter storm. The department is investing an additional $15 million in a total of 121 various projects statewide over and above our annual work program. We accelerated Transportation Modernization Act dollars to supplement our state of good repair/maintenance budget. Without the extra funds, we could not afford to do this more permanent work. Media is welcome to use new b-roll of repaving with a TDOT courtesy.

• Region 1:  28 Projects = $3.3M
• Region 2:  43 projects = $2.85M
• Region 3:  33 Projects = $4.8M
• Region 4:  17 Projects = $4.05M

Warmer temperatures in the spring and early summer months mean asphalt plants are regularly producing the hot mix needed for more permanent repairs. Most of the projects will involve milling which is the removal of the top layer and paving with a layer of fresh asphalt. There are two locations in east Tennessee in which we will be performing concrete rehabilitation of two bridges. 

In some cases, motorists should be prepared for short-term traffic delays during these operations. While every effort will be made to perform repairs during off-peak travel times (9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. weekdays), some lane closures may extend into the late afternoon, evening, and weekends. We ask drivers to be patient and to watch out for TDOT crews on interstates and state highways. Work with Us – move over, slow down.

Please note – inclement weather, emergency repairs or incidents may disrupt daily schedules. Drivers can report potholes by calling the TDOTFIX Hotline at 833-TDOTFIX or by submitting an online maintenance request form.

TWRA Wildlife Officer Justin Pinkston has been honored with the Shikar–Safari Club International 2023 Tennessee Wildlife Law Enforcement Officer of the Year Award.  Pinkston is assigned to Jefferson County in TWRA’s District 42.

The annual award from the conservation-based organization honors the officer whose efforts during the year display outstanding performance and achievement among TWRA law enforcement personnel.  Pinkston is among a distinguished group of officers to receive the honor from among all 50 states and 10 Canadian provinces.  Along with his duties as a wildlife officer, Pinkston is very active in his community, representing the Agency at events and by teaching and assisting in educational programs. His work in Boater and Hunter Education courses resulted in more than 300 students graduating in 2023.  He also was a representative at the Agency’s popular Appalachian Fair display and at the Operation Dry Water media event.

Pinkston actively patrolled Cherokee and Douglas Lakes in Jefferson County, both of which are well known for fishing and recreation. He also patrolled the other District 42 counties’ lakes, rivers, streams, and access areas as well as adjacent wildlife management areas. He served as the lead investigator on eight boating incidents and arrested ten impaired operators for Boating Under the Influence (BUI). Pinkston also understands the importance of training, as he was selected and completed Advanced BUI, Boat Investigation Level 2, Firearms Instructor, and Advanced Interview and Interrogation Technique classes within the last year.  Shikar-Safari Club has been a great partner to the Agency by donating funds for TWRA’s elk program along with funding to acquire mounted wildlife to be utilized in law enforcement efforts. Shikar-Safari Club International was founded in 1952 for the purpose of advancing knowledge concerning wildlife of the world.