A Knoxville man is sentenced after he crashed into another car head-on on Tazewell Pike after drinking several margaritas in September 2021.
Knox County District Attorney Charme Allen says 68-year-old Dennis Hill drove partially off the right side of Tazewell Pike then into oncoming traffic, where he hit the victim’s car head-on, killing him.
Hill was convicted of vehicular homicide by intoxication and driving under the influence, he was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Game Recap: Women’s Basketball | November 16, 2024 | Eric Trainer
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Redshirt sophomore guard Talaysia Cooper fired in a career-high 33 points, propelling Tennessee past Liberty, 109-93, Saturday afternoon in front of a crowd of 9,109 at Food City Center.
Cooper connected on 12 of 20 field goal attempts, sinking all seven free-throw tries and netting two of four three-point shots to pace the Lady Vols (4-0). She finished a rebound shy of her second straight double-double and added three assists and a pair of steals. Also in double figures for the Big Orange were Ruby Whitehorn, Sara Puckett and Jewel Spear, who tossed in 13, 12 and 10 points, respectively, as their team drained 14 three-pointers on 36.8-percent accuracy.
The Lady Flames (2-2), who are picked to finish second in Conference USA, got 27 points from 6-foot-6 center Bella Smuda as well as 19 from Avery Mills, 11 from Emma Hess and 10 from Emily Howard. LU finished the game at 51.5 percent from the field, including 50 percent (11 of 22) from beyond the three-point arc.
The Lady Vols came out firing on all cylinders, racing to an 8-0 lead by the 7:43 mark. UT connected on 75-percent accuracy over the first five minutes of the game, with Cooper, Puckett, Spear and Tess Darby knocking down threes in a 4-for-5 shooting flurry from beyond the arc to build a 17-3 cushion by the 4:59 media timeout. UT pushed a scoring run to 11-0 with a Jillian Hollingshead layup and upped the gap to 16, 19-3, with 4:54 to go before Liberty began to find its range. Buckets by Cooper and Whitehorn in the final 11 seconds of the period, though, enabled the Big Orange to close out the opening frame with a 34-15 advantage.
Liberty whittled Tennessee’s advantage to 15 at 38-23 on a three-pointer by Hess with 8:45 to go in the second stanza before the Lady Vols stretched the lead back to 19 and forced the Lady Flames to take a timeout trailing 42-23 with 7:26 remaining. UT expanded the margin further midway through the second period, getting buckets by Whitehorn, Avery Strickland and Alyssa Latham just before back-to-back three-balls by Spear and Hollingshead made it a 25-point game, 50-25, with five minutes to go. LU kept fighting back, getting a 10-0 run to cut the gap to 60-39 with 1:58 left. A pair of Cooper buckets before the half, though, sent Tennessee into the intermission with a 64-43 edge.
The Lady Vols scored first to open the second half on a Zee Spearman three-pointer to make it 67-43, but Liberty followed a 63-percent second-quarter shooting effort by connecting on 60 percent (6-10) at the outset of the third period to trim the deficit to 12, 69-57, with 5:33 to go and force a UT timeout. The Big Orange responded out of the break, getting pairs of free throws from Kaniya Boyd and Cooper and a three from Cooper to build the lead back to 22, 79-57, with 4:05 remaining. The Lady Flames refused to go away, however, getting a bucket before the buzzer to head to the fourth trailing by 18, 89-71.
The teams exchanged baskets in the first five minutes of the fourth quarter, with a Whitehorn three putting Tennessee back up by 19, 99-80, with 6:18 remaining. Liberty, however, had closed the gap to 15, 99-84, by the 4:43 media timeout. The Lady Flames, who outscored the hosts in the final two quarters by a 50-45 count, whittled the deficit to 12 again at 105-93 with 1:54 to go, but Cooper sank four free throws over the final 1:07 to close out the scoring and keep her squad unbeaten.
NEXT UP: The Lady Vols will have a 10-day break from action before resuming competition on Nov. 26, as they welcome Western Carolina to Food City Center. That contest is slated for 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on SEC Network.
PILING UP POINTS: UT has scored 20 or more points in 14 of 16 quarters thus far. The only periods the Big Orange failed to reach that total were when it tallied 19 in the second quarter vs. UT Martin on Nov. 7 and 18 in the second stanza vs. Middle Tennessee on Nov. 12. It scored 20 plus points in all four quarters against Liberty and Samford, while also adding three such quarters vs. UT Martin and Middle Tennessee. Tennessee’s best 2024-25 offensive quarter of 34 came Saturday in the opening stanza vs. Liberty, which tied for the seventh-most points scored in any quarter and tied for second-most in a first quarter in program history.
CAREER-HIGH COOP: Redshirt sophomore Talaysia Cooper produced a career-high 33 points against the Flames. Cooper also added nine rebounds, three assists and a pair of steals to her Saturday afternoon resume. The guard struck early, draining 11 points from sinking all five of her field goal attempts in the opening quarter of action. Cooper’s 33-point total is the most points scored in a single game by a Lady Vol during the 2024-25 season. Cooper topped Zee Spearman’s 25 points against Samford on Nov. 5, 2024. Cooper leads the team in points with 76, averaging 19.0 per game. She is shooting 92.3 percent from the charity stripe and is connecting on 57-percent of her field goal tries.
BIG ORANGE, BIG HALF: The Lady Vols posted their third-highest point total in a half in program history with 64 points. That effort stands as the most since Tennessee dropped 63 total points in the opening half vs. Central Arkansas on Nov. 15, 2015. UT topped its previous 2024-25 first-half best of 49 points that it tallied vs. Samford on Nov. 5. Talaysia Cooper (20) and Ruby Whitehorn (10) combined for 30 of their team’s points over the opening 20 minutes vs. Liberty.
S(T)EALING THE DEAL: Tennessee has concluded three of four contests with 15 or more steals so far this season. The Lady Vols recorded 27 against Samford, 18 versus UT Martin and 17 against Liberty. It marks the first time since the 2018-19 season that Tennessee has recorded 15 or more steals three times in a year. UT finished with three total that season. Talaysia Cooper paces the squad with 15 steals, while Kaniya Boyd follows with 12 on the young season. In total, the Lady Vols have captured 75 steals thus far and are averaging 18.8 per game.
SOARIN’ AND SCORIN’: For the first time in program history Tennessee has scored 89 or more points in each of its first four games of a season. It has now accomplished a four-game run of 89+ games for only the fifth time ever at any point during a schedule.
SAM SHARES THE ROCK: Senior Samara Spencer leads the squad with 21 assists, finishing with a season-best six during Saturday’s matchup. Spencer has tallied five or more dimes in every game so far and is averaging 5.3 steals per contest.
Game Recap: Football | November 16, 2024
ATHENS, Ga. – The seventh-ranked Vols battled but were unable to overcome No. 12 Georgia, falling 31-17 Saturday night at Sanford Stadium after jumping out to a 10-0 lead.
Running back Dylan Sampson led the offense on the ground, rushing 19 times for 101 yards and a touchdown. The score, his 21st of the season, moved the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native into a tie with Gene McEver for the single-season program record for total touchdowns scored.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 20 of 33 passes for 167 yards. Wide receiver Squirrel White caught a team-leading six passes for 45 yards, giving him 128 career receptions and moving him into seventh place on Tennessee’s all-time list.
On defense, the Vols batted down a season-high-tying six passes, with six different players recording a pass breakup. Defensive back Will Brooks led the team with seven tackles.
Tennessee’s (8-2, 5-2 SEC) defense started strong, forcing a quick three-and-out on Georgia’s first possession. The Vols then marched 78 yards on their opening drive, capped by a one-yard touchdown run from tight end Miles Kitselman—his first career rushing score.
Tennessee went up 10-0 late in the first quarter when redshirt freshman kicker Max Gilbert connected on a 52-yard field goal—the longest of his career.
Georgia (8-2, 6-2 SEC) responded with touchdowns on consecutive drives to take a 14-10 lead in the second quarter. The Vols answered UGA’s scoring outburst with a 10-play, 75-yard drive, ending in a 27-yard touchdown run by Sampson to move back in front.
UGA kicker Peyton Woodring tied the game with a 36-yard field goal with five seconds left in the first half, making it 17-17 at the break.
The Bulldogs regained the lead with a 12-play, 87-yard drive in the third quarter, capped by a 10-yard touchdown scramble from quarterback Carson Beck.
Georgia added to the lead with a two-yard touchdown run with 2:26 remaining in the game.
UP NEXT
Tennessee will return home to Neyland Stadium next Saturday, Nov. 23, to take on UTEP on Senior Day. The game is set to kickoff at 1 p.m. ET.
FootballNovember 15, 2024
ATHENS, Ga. – No. 7 Tennessee and No. 12 Georgia will square off between the hedges on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium in a game that will have major implications in the SEC standings as well as the College Football Playoff race.
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The Vols enter the game with the longest current win streak in the SEC, having won four straight, but will be playing their first road contest since a 19-14 loss at Arkansas on Oct. 5, while the Bulldogs will be playing at home for the first time since a victory over Mississippi State on Oct. 12.
Saturday’s game will feature a national broadcast on ABC with Chris Fowler (PxP), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Laura Rutledge (sideline reporter) and Holly Rowe (sideline reporter) on the call. Coverage is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.
Fans can listen to Tennessee’s official radio broadcast on the Vol Network (Local: WIVK-FM 107.7/WNML-FM 99.1) over 65 stations across the state of Tennessee and the southeast, SiriusXM (Ch. 82) and the SiriusXM app (Ch. 82), as well as the Varsity App. A live audio stream of the broadcast will also be available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics App. Fans attending the game are encouraged to listen to the radio broadcast via the Vol Network Stadiumcast on 89.9 FM.
Bob Kesling (PxP), VFL Pat Ryan (analyst) and Brent Hubbs (analyst) will call the action, with VFL Jayson Swain handling sideline duties for the Vol Network radio broadcast. The Big Orange Countdown pregame show begins two hours prior to kickoff at 5:30 p.m. The pregame show is hosted by John Wilkerson, Brent Hubbs, VFL Jayson Swain and a rotating VFL special guest each week. Vol Network celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024.
The Spanish broadcast is available locally on WNML-AM 990 with Carlos Lopez (play-by-play) and VFL Fuad Reveiz on the call. That version is also available on UTSports.com and the Tennessee Athletics app.
All gameday information for this Saturday’s contest in Athens can be found HERE.
College GameDay on Site
For the second time this season, ESPN College GameDay will be on site for a Tennessee road game. Saturday will mark the Vols’ 26th all-time appearance on the show, as well. In the previous four College GameDay appearances for the Big Orange under head coach Josh Heupel, they have posted a 3-1 record, with victories over Oklahoma (2024), Alabama (2022) and Florida (2022).
Super Sampson
Superstar running back Dylan Sampson is coming off a career-high 149 rushing yards and scored his 20th touchdown of the season in last weekend’s victory over Mississippi State. His 20 rushing scores on the year are a single-season program record and lead the SEC while ranking third in the country.
Sampson has surpassed the 100-yard mark on the ground eight times this season, which leads the FBS. He also ranks No. 1 in the SEC in total rushing yards (1,129) and rushing yards per game (125.4). Both of those marks rank in the top-10 nationally, as well. Sampson’s eight 100-yard games are the second most in a single season in program history behind Jay Graham’s 11 in 1995.
Defense Holding Strong
Tennessee’s defense has been among the nation’s best all season and has yet to allow an opponent to reach the 20-point mark this year. In fact, the Vols have held their last 10 opponents under 20 points dating back to last season’s 35-0 Citrus Bowl victory over Iowa.
UT has held opponents to under 20 points in the first nine games of a season for the first time since 1966. The Vols are the fifth SEC team to achieve that feat since 2000, joining 2003 LSU, 2011 Alabama, 2012 Alabama and 2021 Georgia. All four of those previous teams went on to win the national title.
Clutch Vols
In what is expected to be another tightly contested game this Saturday down in Athens, the Vols should take plenty of confidence in the fact that they have been one of the nation’s best in one-score games. Tennessee is 7-1 in one-touchdown games (decided by 8 points or less) since the start of the 2022 season, and added to that total in back-to-back weeks with a 23-17 overtime victory over Florida on Oct. 12 and a 24-17 comeback win over No. 7 Alabama on Oct. 19. The 87.5-win percentage for UT in one-score games since the start of the 2022 season is the best in the SEC and second-best in the FBS behind Coastal Carolina (10-1, 90.9).
Georgia leads series, 28-23-2
This is the 33rd consecutive season that the Vols and Bulldogs are meeting, dating back to 1992. Tennessee will be looking to snap a seven-game losing streak in the series with its last victory coming in 2016 when Joshua Dobbs connected with Jauan Jennings on a Hail Mary on the game’s final play to pull out a 34-31 win.
Saturday will mark the 18th game overall in the series, including the third straight, in which both teams are ranked in the AP Poll. The Vols have posted a 10-7 record in those previous contests.
Kirby Smart has built the Bulldogs into one of the elite programs in college football and has led them to a pair of National Championships (2021 & 2022) during his nine-year tenure as head coach in Athens. Georgia has won 28 consecutive games at home, which is the longest streak in the nation, and once again has one of the SEC’s top defensive units, ranking sixth in scoring defense (18.4 ppg) and fifth in total defense (306.4 ypg).
Sophomore linebacker CJ Allen and junior defensive back Malaki Starks are tied for the team lead with 49 tackles apiece. Defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins leads the Dawgs with eight tackles for loss while linebacker Jalon Walker paces the team in sacks with 4.5 on the year. Walker has also racked up 40 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, six quarterback hurries and two fumble recoveries.
Offensively, veteran quarterback Carson Beck leads the attack with 2,488 passing yards and 17 touchdown passes on the year, both marks that rank among the top four in the SEC. However, Beck has also thrown 12 interceptions this season. Beck spreads the ball around to a group of talented pass catchers as UGA boasts four players with 200-plus receiving yards and five with two or more touchdown receptions. Dominic Lovett leads the team with 42 catches while Arian Smith’s 535 receiving yards are tops on the squad. Dillon Bell leads the team with four touchdown catches. Florida transfer running back Trevor Etienne is the Bulldogs No. 1 option on the ground with 95 carries for 477 yards and seven touchdowns.
Sevierville, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Friday issued a Silver Alert for a man last seen in Sevierville.
According to the agency, 58-year-old Hank Brackins was last seen on Thursday near Arch Rock Drive.
TBI says Brackins also has a medical condition that could put him in danger and that he could be driving a 2000 Toyota 4Runner with license plate 26325PD.
Those with information are being asked to call 865-453-4668 or 1-800-TBI-FIND.
Jefferson County, TN (WOKI) A Jefferson County Schools bus driver has been charged with sex crimes.
Officials with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Friday announcing 56-year-old James Robert Smith was arrested and charged with 14 counts of sexual contact by an authority figure.
The arrest comes after the Department of Child Services reached out to the school system informing them of a complaint.
JCSO adds that investigators reviewed bus camera footage before taking Smith into custody and charging him.
He is being held on a $100,000 bond and has since been terminated from the school system.
Crossville, TN (WOKI) A high school teacher in Crossville is arrested Thursday after threatening a student in a classroom.
According to an affidavit from Cumberland County’s circuit court, Stone Memorial High School teacher, 56-year-old James Green, threatened the student with a knife after becoming upset with him for not following directions. The document indicates Green “retrieved the knife that he used to prepare his lunch from his desk area and made a threat toward the student.”
Green was arrested, charged with reckless endangerment and booked on a $40,000 bond.
He was also suspended from work and banned by school officials from entering all school system properties.
Rocky Hill, TN (WOKI) The co-owners of Rocky Hill Pharmacy are set to face trial in January after pleading not guilty in a case regarding a health care fraud conspiracy.
Tiffany Haney and Anne Warren, both licensed pharmacists, were indicted on multiple charges earlier this month amid accusations they were part of a health care fraud conspiracy that involved altering and forging prescriptions to get money from drug plan and pharmacy benefit managers.
According to court documents, a jury trial has been set for January 21, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. at the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville.
According to federal indictment documents, both women are accused of conspiring to commit health care fraud, making false statements relating to health care matters and aggravated identity theft.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has lowered the age recommendation for people who should get vaccinated for pneumonia from age 65 to 50.
This as pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses surge in East Tennessee and across the country.
The CDC says lower the recommended age will better protect adults who are in that age range where the risk of respiratory illness significantly increases. The updated age-based recommendation could improve pneumococcal vaccination coverage among adults 50 through 64 years old with a risk condition. Risk conditions include chronic conditions, immunocompromising conditions, and other factors that can increase someone’s risk for pneumococcal disease.
Pneumococcal bacteria can cause serious illnesses, including pneumonia, meningitis, and bloodstream infections.
For more information, please go to https://www.cdc.gov/ncird/whats-new/cdc-updates-vaccine-recommendations.html#:~:text=CDC%20also%20lowered%20the%20age,way%20to%20prevent%20pneumococcal%20disease.
A Maryville man is convicted of assaulting police, among other felony and misdemeanor charges, during 2021’s January 6th breach of the U.S. Capitol.
The FBI says 35-year-old Edward Kelley was found guilty of three felonies, destruction of government property and assaulting, resisting or impeding officers.
Kelley joined a growing list of people who stormed the Capitol after the 2020 election, upset with election results.
The FBI pointed to several videos which showed Kelley entering the building and assaulting officers.
So far, more than 1,500 people have been charged for crimes related to January 6th.
