Officials said the center opened as a result of flooding throughout the county and is currently operating at a “Level 2.” (Courtesy: WVLT)
Sevier County, TN (WOKI) Officials in Sevier County have opened the Emergency Operations Center as several roads are shut down throughout the county.
Officials say the center opened as a result of flooding throughout the county and is currently operating at a “Level 2.”
Additionally, almost two dozen roads are now closed due to flooding, see the complete list below:
Butler Branch Road / E. Parkway
River Divide Road
Maples Branch Road between Laura’s Lane and Richardson Cove
Webb Creek / E. Parkway
Red Bank Road
Greystone Heights Road Bridge, which is located at the intersection with Parkway
Hemlock Street
The 500 block of Baskins Creek Road in the direction of Pebble Creek Road
River Road from its intersection of Parkway to its intersection with Maples Lane
Snapp Road
Chapman Hwy / Ogle Road
Red Bank Rd / Red Bank Cir.
Bruce St / E Parkway
E Kings Ridge Road
1645 Cardinal Rd., Gatlinburg
Topside Road / Loop Road
Hidden Hills Road / E Parkway
Chamberlain Lane / Knights Lane
Dunkin’s Road / E Union Valley
1220 Upper Alpine Way
Lower Alpine, Gatlinburg
W Cummings Chapel / Jones Cove Road
Also, severe flooding has prompted officials in Gatlinburg to open an emergency shelter at the Gatlinburg Community Center located at 157 Mills Park Road.
A Tennessee lawmaker is proposing legislation that would make convicted child rapists eligible for the death penalty.
House Bill 1663, introduced by House Majority Leader William Lamberth, proposes changing the existing sentencing guidelines for convicted child rapists from 25 to 40 years in prison to 40 to 60 years and would also authorize the use of the death penalty for such crimes.
The second session of the 113th Tennessee General Assembly is scheduled to convene today at one.
There will be new House rules to follow after three Tennessee lawmakers protested on the House floor ahead of the start of today’s General Assembly.
Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis and Knox Co. Rep. Gloria Johnson were involved in the protest advocating for more gun laws after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville last year.
Rep. Jeremy Faison, R-Cocke County, works on the Tennessee Rules and Selection Committee and says one of the new rules includes if a person has been ruled ‘out-of-order’ three times in a day, they will not be allowed to speak on the House floor the rest of the day and the day after that.
Knox County Rep. Sam McKenzie says this will cause more harm than good.
Governor Bill Lee’s private school voucher program will be one of the main discussions this session.
Lee wants to give 20,000 students a $7,000 scholarship to private schools. Republicans say the plan offers parents more options for school. Democrats say that money should be used for public schools, and most families who take advantage of this program already attend private schools.
The City of Knoxville has asked the Downtown Knoxville Alliance to survey downtown businesses, local residents and visitors to obtain feedback about the pilot project to open up a portion of S. Gay Street.
It would open up the 400 block of S. Gay Street to pedestrians, creating a temporary community space that is similar to Market Square. The city has noted the increased popularity of the area and aims for the pilot project to create a safe space, reduce traffic noise and add enjoyment to downtown.
Former WOKI news and traffic reporter and host Dave Foulk has died just days after announcing he was ending his dialysis and entering hospice care.
Dave took to Facebook to announce his decision on January 4th. He died last night at the age of 72 surround by his family including his wife Dena and their three children. Dave described himself as Saved by Grace, a Husband, father, grandfather, Three-time cancer survivor and Noticer of stuff.
He retired from Cumulus in 2015 from a career which spanned decades and included his time as senior news editor at WSB Radio in Atlanta before coming to Knoxville where he held jobs as a reporter, anchor, helicopter reporter and assistant news director. He worked for WNOX, WOKI, WIVK and WBIR.
He was a graduate of the University of Tennessee and Farragut High School. He received many awards during his career including Multiple Edward R. Murrow Awards and Multiple honors by the Associated Press Tennessee and Georgia with citations for excellence in Investigative, In-Depth, and Spot News reporting and American Cancer Society National Award for radio medical reporting.
Funeral arrangements are pending. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends. He will be missed. Rest in Peace dear friend.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) Remote Area Medical is bringing its free, three-day pop-up clinic to Knoxville this weekend.
RAM is a major nonprofit provider of pop-up clinics delivering free, quality dental, vision and medical care to those in need.
The Knoxville Clinic will be held Friday, January 12, 2024 through Sunday, January 14 2024 at the Jacob Building at Chilhowee Park; clinic doors open at 6:00 a.m.
All services are free, and no ID is required. Free dental, vision and medical services will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
A 2-year-old died in a mobile home fire on White’s Mill Road Sunday morning, according to the Blount County Sheriff’s Office.
Blount County, TN (WOKI) An investigation is underway after a 2-year-old dies in a mobile home fire in Blount County.
Crews were called to White’s Mill Road around 8:30 Sunday morning.
The Blount County Sheriff’s Office says there was a woman and other children in the home when the fire broke out, and three people were taken to the hospital.
Two were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.
Additionally, one BCSO deputy was injured while trying to break glass to get into the house and was treated at the hospital.
Update: The victim from a fatal hit-and-run crash on Chapman Highway has been identified.
Knoxville Police say 61 year-old Arthur Harvey was killed January 2nd. KPD has spoken to the driver who left the scene of the crash and remains in contact with the Knox County District Attorney’s Office, who will make the decision regarding prosecution.
Original Press Releases from KPD: KPD Investigating Fatal Hit-and-Run Pedestrian Crash on Chapman Highway (January 2, 2024) Following comprehensive investigation, and with the assistance of Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Tennessee Highway Patrol troopers, the suspect from Tuesday night’s fatal hit-and-run collision on Chapman Highway was identified and located earlier this evening. The involved vehicle was also recovered. KPD detectives and fatal accident investigators are in discussions with the Knox County District Attorney’s Office concerning charges.
A hit-and-run crash investigation is underway after a pedestrian was hit and killed by a vehicle on Chapman Highway on Tuesday evening.
At around 6:10 p.m. on Tuesday, January 2, 2024, Knoxville Police Department officers responded to a crash involving a pedestrian on Chapman Highway near E. Moody Avenue. Officers arrived on scene, where an unidentified man had been struck by an unknown vehicle. The victim was pronounced dead at the scene.
Based on evidence at the scene and witness statements, it is believed that a pickup truck driving south on Chapman Highway struck the victim as he was attempting to cross from in front of the Walgreens. The truck, possibly a dark red Ford F-150, then continued south on Chapman Highway following the collision.
Efforts remain ongoing to identify the involved vehicle and driver. The victim from the crash was transported to the Regional Forensic Center for further examination and attempts to identify.
The crash remains under active investigation by KPD crash reconstruction investigators. Anyone with information that could assist with that investigation is urged to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165. Tipsters can remain anonymous.
The Knoxville Fire Department is investigating a fire at Atria Weston Place on Lakebrook Blvd.
The fire was reported earlier today but is now out. The fire was limited to one room and its contents.
Residents were evacuated and taken to the Red Cross building on Middlebrook Pike for temporary shelter. One staff member was taken to the hospital for evaluation.
Box ScoreKNOXVILLE, TENN. – Tennessee outscored Kentucky 48-20 in the second half to overcome a 17-point second-quarter deficit and take an 87-69 victory against the Wildcats in front of a season-high crowd of 8,823 in Food City Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Lady Vols, who won their fifth-straight contest and ended UK’s four-game streak, hit 32 of 60 attempts for a season-best field goal percentage of 53.3 on the day. The Big Orange, meanwhile, held Kentucky to 38.2 percent, including an icy 23.5-percent rate (8-34) in the second half.
Fifth-year senior Rickea Jackson led UT (9-5, 2-0 SEC) with 27 points, and senior Jewel Spear poured in a season-high 21 points. Fifth-year senior Jasmine Powell also had a productive outing, racking up nine points, seven rebounds and nine assists.
Kentucky (8-8, 1-1 SEC) was led by Eniya Russell, who finished with 16 points and Ajae Petty who posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Maddie Scherr and Saniah Tyler were also in double figures with 13 and 10, respectively.
Tennessee won the jump and wasted no time getting on the board, with Powell finding Karoline Striplin wide open under the basket for an easy layup 10 seconds into play. Scherr responded with a long-range jumper for UK, and Brooklynn Miles followed it up with a steal and a layup on the inbound play, putting Kentucky on top by the 8:50 mark. Sara Puckett tied it up at four on the next possession, but the Wildcats scrapped back to lead 14-8 with 6:13 to go in the first. UK maintained that advantage until Striplin drained a jumper two minutes later to inch UT within four at 18-14. That score would hold through the buzzer as both teams remained scoreless for the final four minutes of the first.
Tess Darby came up with the steal and found Jackson on the fast break to start the second period, and Kaiya Wynn narrowed the gap to one with a free throw, but back-to-back treys had UK ahead by five with 8:06 to go in the half. Jackson responded with a three for UT on the other end, but a 16-2 UK run pushed the Wildcats on top by a 40-24 count by the 4:47 mark. Jillian Hollingshead hit a short jumper to end the skid for Tennessee, and with 4:02 to play, Spear hit a jumper to tally the first of her 11 second-quarter points as UT outscored UK 13-7 over the closing minutes to set the halftime score at 49-39.
Kentucky notched the first bucket of the third quarter in the form of a Petty layup, but UT whittled the deficit down to single digits by the 9:21 mark. Kentucky went up by 11 twice more before Tennessee rattled off eight straight points to pull within three by the 6:19 mark at 55-52. A Darby 3-pointer 90 seconds later extended it to an 11-0 UT run and tied the game at 55-all. Scherr ended the UK drought with a jumper with 4:22 to go in the third, but free throws by Jackson and Spear had UT leading 59-57 two minutes later. Kentucky took the lead once more off an old-fashioned three-point play by Russell, but the Lady Vols closed out the quarter with seven unanswered points to take a 66-60 lead into the final stanza.
Russell opened the scoring in the fourth to pull the Wildcats within four, but UT responded with an 8-0 run to lead 74-62 with 8:09 to play. A Scherr three pulled UK within single digits on the next play, and the teams swapped buckets until the 4:01 mark when consecutive layups by Spear kicked off a 9-0 Tennessee run to close out the game for the 87-69 victory.
UP NEXT: Tennessee welcomes Florida to Food City Center on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The contest will be televised by SEC Network, while the radio broadcast will be available via the Lady Vol Network and on UTSports.com.
FLIPPING THE SCRIPT: Tennessee trailed by 17, 45-28, with 2:43 remaining in the first half before outscoring Kentucky the rest of the way, 59-24. The erasure of the 17-point lead tied as the biggest comeback win of the Kellie Harper era, matching last year’s 17-point come-from-behind victory to defeat LSU in the SEC Tournament semifinal round, 69-67.
LADY VOLS, HARPER IN SEC OPENERS: Tennessee improved to 37-5 all-time in its first SEC home game of a season, winning seven of its last eight such contests. Kellie Harper is now 5-0 in the first SEC of a campaign on The Summitt as Tennessee’s head coach, defeating Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Alabama and Kentucky in her five seasons on Rocky Top.
TWENTY 20s FOR JACKSON:Rickea Jackson has tallied four efforts of 20 points or more in 2023-24 (FSU, Liberty, Auburn, Kentucky) and now is tied with Meighan Simmons for seventh place on UT’s career list of 20+ performances with 20 in her two years on Rocky Top. The top nine are Chamique Holdsclaw (83), Bridgette Gordon (58), Candace Parker (48), Tamika Catchings (27), Rennia Davis (23), Diamond DeShields (21), Rickea Jackson and Meighan Simmons (20), and Jordan Horston (16).
TWO LADY VOLS BOAST 20+ POINTS: Rickea Jackson and Jewel Spear posted 20+ points apiece against the Wildcats, scoring 27 and 21 points, respectively. The last time two Lady Vols scored 20+ points in the same game also was against Kentucky (3/3/23), during the 2023 SEC Tournament, with Rickea Jackson and Jordan Horston putting up 34 and 21 points, respectively.
FEAR DA SPEAR: For Jewel Spear, her season-best 21 points marked her second 20-plus point effort of the campaign. The Wake Forest transfer had opened the campaign with 20 vs. Florida A&M. Sunday’s effort was her eighth double-figure effort of the season, elevating her scoring average to 11.4 ppg. for the season and 14.0 ppg. during SEC play.
TK’S BLOCK PARTY:Tamari Key blocked a season-high six shot attempts by Kentucky on Sunday, marking her most since swatting six vs. Mississippi State on Feb. 24, 2022. UT’s career leader in blocked shots now has 314 during her UT career and stands just seven from moving into a tie with LSU’s Sylvia Fowles (321, 2004-08) for eighth on the SEC career list. Key was honored before the game as the only Lady Vol to record 300 blocks or more during a career.
OFFENSE HAS BEEN CLICKING: Tennessee has shot 50+ percent from the field in back-to-back SEC games for the first time since the 2019-20 season. The Lady Vols hit 50.0 percent vs. Auburn last game and season-best 53.3 vs. Kentucky on Sunday. The last time UT did that, it knocked down 51.9 percent vs. Georgia on Jan. 12, 2020, and followed with 53.3 percent at Florida on Jan. 17, 2020. These efforts have pushed UT to a 51.9 rate in league play and a 43.3 clip in all games. UT also shot better than 50 percent in three different quarters vs. UK, hitting 50 in the first and second and a sizzling 69.2 in the final stanza. The Lady Vols also had three 50-percent quarters vs. Auburn (Q1: 50%, Q3: 60%, Q4: 50%) and Troy (Q1: 56.3%, Q2: 50%, Q3: 55.6%) this season.
COMING UP BIG IN THE FOURTH QUARTER: Tennessee shot an impressive 69.2 percent from the field in the fourth quarter to secure its win over Kentucky, notching its second-best field goal percentage in a frame this season. The Lady Vols made shots at a 71.4 percent clip in the third quarter of the 2023-24 opener vs. Florida A&M (11/7/2023).
JP DISHING THE ROCK: Jasmine Powell posted nine assists vs. Kentucky, recording her seventh game this season with three or more assists and coming up just shy of her recently-recorded career high of 10 against Wofford (12/29/23). The guard has led the Lady Vols in assists in four contests in 2023-24 and paces UT with 46 for the season (3.5 apg.) and 11 in SEC play (5.5 apg.).
HOLDING FOES UNDER 40 PERCENT: For the fifth straight game, Tennessee held an opponent under 40-percent field goal percentage. Kentucky managed just 38.2 percent on Sunday and hit just 14.3 percent of its shots in the third (4-17) and fourth quarters (4-17). UT is holding opponents to 38.2 percent in all games and 35.7 percent in SEC contests.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The University of Tennessee men’s basketball team turned in a dominant performance Saturday evening, defeating No. 22/19 Ole Miss, 90-64, at a sold-out, over-capacity Food City Center.
Junior forward Jonas Aidoo and junior guard Zakai Zeigler both posted double-doubles in the victory for fifth-ranked Tennessee (11-3, 1-0 SEC) in its SEC opener against one of the final two undefeated Division I teams in the nation.
The Volunteers held Ole Miss (13-1, 0-1 SEC) scoreless for a span of 5:15 early in the first half and posted a 12-0 burst in 4:20 during that, turning a tie score into an 18-6 advantage. The Rebels followed their 2-of-14 start by making four of their next five shots, tallying nine straight points in 2:31 to trim the deficit right back to three, 18-15, with 7:44 to go in the frame.
Tennessee, buoyed by two 3-pointers from junior guard Jahmai Mashack in the final 25 seconds of the half, took a nine-point edge, 40-31, into the locker room. The Volunteers made their last four long-range shots of the session after a 1-of-12 start through 16-and-a-half minutes.
The home team scored 11 of the first 14 points after the intermission, including hitting two 3-pointers to extend its streak to six in a row, and went ahead by 17 points, 51-34, with 17:10 to go. The Volunteers pushed the margin all the way to 25, 63-38, with 13:51 on the clock after scoring five points from the free-throw line in just two seconds.
Tennessee stretched its cushion as high as 29 in the final minute and claimed the 26-point decision. It marked the program’s largest win over a ranked foe under ninth-year head coach Rick Barnes and its biggest such win since Feb. 2013. The decision was also the second-largest of the season for any team against a ranked foe.
The Volunteers, who trailed for a total of 49 seconds, led by 20-plus points for the final 14:56 of the contest. The triumph was their fifth this season by over 20 points and their third, including the second in as many games, by 25-plus.
Aidoo paced all players in both points (24) and rebounds (10), notching his third double-double of the season. The Durham, N.C., native shot 10-of-19 from the field to tie a carer high in makes, plus added two assists with zero turnovers.
Zeigler finished with 17 points to go along with a season- and game-best 10 assists and a season-high five rebounds. He committed only two turnovers in 37 minutes and went 4-of-11 from 3-point range. Fifth-year guard Santiago Vescovi totaled 11 points, four assists and just one giveaway, while Mashack scored 10 points and tied a season best with four assists.
Senior forward Jaemyn Brakefield led Ole Miss with 22 points, shooting 7-of-8 from the floor, hitting both his 3-point attempts and going 6-of-7 from the line. Junior guard Jaylen Murray had 11 points and a team-leading eight rebounds, all of which were in the first half, while senior guard Allen Flanigan added 10 points.
Following its 1-of-12 start from beyond the arc, Tennessee went 10-of-18 the rest of the way to finish 11-of-30 (36.7 percent). The Volunteers, who had 25 assists, also controlled play on the interior, posting a commanding 19-4 edge in offensive rebounds, leading to a 22-5 mark in second-chance points and a 42-30 advantage in paint points.
The Volunteers now head to Starkville, Miss., where they take on Mississippi State in their SEC road opener Wednesday at 7 p.m., live on SEC Network from Humphrey Coliseum.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS POSTGAME NOTES • Barnes now owns 790 victories in his career, 11 behind John Calipari—the lone active DI coach above him—for No. 14 on the all-time wins list (min. 10 years at a Division I school). • Along with moving to 9-1 in its last 10 matchups with Ole Miss, Tennessee also improved to 17-2 in its last 19 home games versus the Rebels, dating back to Feb. 19, 1992. • This Ole Miss team, which was one of the final two unbeaten schools in Division I, is the second in program history to win 13 straight games, joining the 2007-08 group that also opened 13-0 before heading to Knoxville ranked top-20 for the SEC opener and losing to a top-10 Tennessee squad. • The Volunteers improved to 27-7 (.794) while ranked in the AP top five during Barnes’ tenure, across four different seasons. • Tennessee is now 16-6 (.727) at home against AP top-25 teams in Barnes’ tenure, including 13-3 (.813) with both teams ranked. • The Volunteers extended their home winning streak against AP top-25 teams to 11 in a row, a stretch that dates back to Jan. 30, 2021, versus Kansas. • Tennessee upped its record in top-25 matchups, regardless of location, to 23-20 (.535) under Barnes’ direction. • The Volunteers now own a seven-game winning streak that is tied for the ninth-longest in the country, per KenPom. • The crowd of 21,932 not only served as a sellout, but was actually 254 over the ticketed capacity of the arena. • Food City Center last had a listed crowd over capacity on Dec. 14, 2019, when 21,868 fans watched the Volunteers’ game against Memphis. • Saturday’s affair marked the second of five confirmed sellouts—a number that already ties the single-season program record—this year and the 29th time in Barnes’ tenure 20,000-plus fans have been in attendance at Food City Center. • The last time Tennessee defeated an AP-ranked opponent by greater than 20 points was Feb. 16, 2013, when it topped No. 25 Kentucky, 88-58, at Food City Center. • The only team to beat an AP-ranked foe by more points this season is Colorado, which topped No. 15 Miami by 27 points, 90-63, on a neutral-site affair in Brooklyn, N.Y. • Tennessee is the first team since the 2021-22 season to defeat an AP-ranked team by 25-plus points in league play, regardless of conference. • The last time Tennessee had one player log a points/rebounds double-double and another notch a points/assists double-double in the same game was Feb. 2, 2019, at Texas A&M, when Jordan Bone (18 points, 10 assists) and Grant Williams (22 points, 10 rebounds) did so. • Saturday marked the 21st time in Barnes’ nine-year tenure, including the second this season and seventh time in SEC play, the Volunteers had 25-plus assists in a contest. • Tennessee’s 22 second-chance points and plus-17 margin in the category were both season highs. • The Volunteers were one rebound shy of doubling up the Rebels, grabbing 47 and allowing a season-low 24. • Four different Volunteers had four-plus assists, while only one Rebel reached that number. • Ole Miss utilized 10 players and the nine besides Brakefield combined to shoot 16-of-46 (34.5 percent) from the field, 4-of-14 (28.6 percent) on 3-pointers and 6-of-10 (60.0 percent) at the line. • The Volunteers had more assists (13) in the first half than Ole Miss had made field goals (12), as Tennessee went 16-of-34 (47.1 percent) and the Rebels shot 12-of-29 (41.4 percent). • Tennessee then repeated that feat in the second half, posting 12 assists on an 18-of-37 (48.6 percent) clip, while the Rebels went 11-of-25 (44.0 percent). • Aidoo scored a game-best 12 points in the first half alone, already matching his seventh-highest total as a Volunteer in even a full game. • Aidoo, whose 24 points marked the second-highest mark of his career, has scored 17-plus points in three of the last seven games after never previously surpassing 15 in the first 61 outings of his career. • Three of Aidoo’s four-career double-doubles have come in the last 11 games, dating back to Nov. 20, 2023, versus Syracuse at the Maui Invitational in Honolulu. • Aidoo’s 10 made field goals matched the career high he set on Dec. 12, 2023, against Georgia Southern. • Zeigler is the first player ever to record six points/assists double-doubles for the Volunteers, breaking a tie with Rodney Woods (1972-75) atop the career leaderboard. • Saturday marked the sixth time Zeigler has posted double-digit assists in his career—he scored 11-plus points in all of them—and the first since Feb. 25, 2023, against South Carolina. • Zeigler has connected on four-plus 3-pointers in three of the last four games—he is 13-of-34 (42.4 percent) from deep during that stretch—after previously doing so twice in his first 75 appearances. • Vescovi passed C.J. Watson (2002-06) and Ron Windby (1964-67) to move from No. 21 up to No. 19 on Tennessee’s all-time scoring list, now possessing 1,433 points. • With his 128th appearance as a Volunteer, Vescovi tied Armani Moore (2012-16), Chris Lofton (2004-08) and Allan Houston (1989-93) for the No. 10 spot on the program’s all-time leaderboard. • Mashack, who eclipsed 1,000 minutes played in his collegiate career, made two 3-pointers for the second game in row after doing so just once in his first 75 outings. • Fifth-year guard Josiah-Jordan James stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals, while committing no turnovers.
