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Reporter Confronts Smokers in Grundy County

1,282 views · Published 30 April 2013 · 2:28 · Indexed 6 November 2026

Channel: WTVC NewsChannel 9 · 2013 · News & Politics

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by John Madewell  When does the media cross the line in relation to privacy? An incident in Grundy County illustrates it's a gray area.But A group of parents there are calling foul on a local television station.A reporter at GCTV pursued parents who were smoking in the parking lot of Tracy City Elementary yesterday while waiting to pick up their children.The reporter/videographer Paul Klekotta was telling them their behavior was illegal while recording with his camera. Tennessee's Clean Indoor Air Act states smoking is not allowed on school grounds.The law states 'School grounds' means any building, structure, and surrounding outdoor grounds contained within a public or private preschool, nursery school, kindergarten, elementary or secondary school's legally defined property boundaries as registered in a county register's office...The law allows for adult staff members to smoke outside of 50 feet of any entrance to the building, but not in the presence of children attending the school. One other provision of the law permits adults to smoke on the property surrounding the institution. But it has to be after school hours.In yesterday's incident, the children hadn't been dismissed from school. However, parent Hollie Layne, who was smoking in her car, was 120 feet from the closest door.Layne and other parents who were smoking felt Klekotta was invasive with his camera. Layne said, What got me was when he leaned over in my car with a camera and me being a girl sitting here by myself. She continued, His head was right here, motioning with her hand about eight inches inside the car indicating where his head was as he told her of her violation.But the video doesn't show that. Klekotta turned the video over to the Grundy Sheriff's Office and they released it to us. In that portion of video, the camera is seen approaching cars and coming right up to the windows. It isn't clear if he inserted his head into the vehicles with drivers seated in them.Under Tennessee Criminal Trespass law, enter means intrusion of the entire body. Tennessee privacy law states, an individual has to be in a place where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.A public school parking lot wouldn't fall under that definition.Meanwhile, the Grundy Sheriff's Office is investigating but they do not feel charges are likely. However, the parents or the school board could choose to take out a warrant.NewsChannel 9 made several phone calls to GCTV for their side of the story but the phone was never answered. After this story was published, Klekotta contacted us. He said he wasn't acting as a reporter/videographer but as a concerned parent. He has a child who attends Tracy City Elementary and he was concerned about her walking through secondhand smoke. Klekotta owns his own camera and said he was using it to document the incidents of smoking and to later share with law enforcement. He said in no way did he feel he invaded the privacy of the smoking parents. He will further share his side on NewsChannel 9 Weekend.Meanwhile, the confrontation between Klekotta and parents remains under investigation.

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