Free Republic

KINGSPORT, Tenn. - Matthew Hawn checked his phone to see if the wait was finally over. It had been five months since he was fired for teaching about White privilege at a high school in rural Tennessee. Two months since he had fought to regain his job at an emotional three-day hearing, becoming a symbol of the acrimonious debate over the way race, racism and history should be taught in America's schools. A lifelong resident of Kingsport, Hawn was well aware his liberal views made him an outlier in his overwhelmingly White, mostly conservative community. But that had never mattered...

My wife just called to report an explosion at the Eastman Chemical Plant, located in Kingsport, Tennessee. She said that the blast shook the building she works in, roughly two miles away. Media just arriving on scene, so no details as of yet.

KINGSPORT — A Greeneville woman has been arrested after allegedly zooming through Interstate 81 traffic at 115 mph while hauling a 16-year-old and toddler as passengers. According to an affidavit filed in Kingsport General Sessions Court, Britanni N. Starnes, 20, is charged with reckless endangerment and speeding. The incident occurred Tuesday at 8:15 p.m. A Kingsport officer near mile marker 56 spotted a 2010 Nissan Versa speeding in the northbound lanes. Radar reportedly confirmed the vehicle was traveling at 115 mph. After being pulled over, Starnes claimed she was rushing to the hospital, where her brother was being treated for...

A Knoxville man allegedly chose the wrong store — Victoria's Secret in the Kingsport Town Center — and the wrong time — as an off-duty cop was shopping with his girlfriend — to steal 59 pairs of panties and 22 yoga pants. The Scott County officer gave chase after witnessing the suspect dash out with a bag full of the items, valued at $1,329, and apprehended him in the parking lot outside the mall.

KINGSPORT, TN (WJHL) - Three women testified against former Mount Carmel Vice-Mayor William Blakely, graphically recounting times he exposed himself while driving. News Channel 11 had the only reporter in court for Thursday's preliminary hearing in Kingsport. "I was scared that I was gonna wreck, he was gonna cause me to wreck," witness Deborah Sturgill said. "It seems that every victim would tell the same story. But I knew all the victims did not know each other," Kingsport Police Detective Terry Christian said. Personal accounts in Thursday's testimonies started the same - Blakely allegedly waving to get the drivers' attention,...

North Knox woman ekes out spare living By Ina Hughs, News-Sentinel staff writer December 1, 2002 Imagine living in a house with no indoor plumbing, no hot water and only a half-hearted coal stove to keep you warm in the winter. Imagine having no income and being too old to work and too young to die. And imagine that it's Christmas, and you're too proud to ask for what you really want but in too much pain to refuse it if offered. Most of us have to stretch to imagine such things, but for one client of the Knoxville-Knox County...