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Chattanooga Update - January 22, 2015

1,006 views · Published 22 January 2015 · 6:01 · Indexed 21 September 2026

Channel: chattanooga times free press · 2015 · News & Politics

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A Whitfield County teacher has been charged with having sex with a student.

32-year-old Elizabeth Scroggs was arrested at Coahuila Creek High School Wednesday morning.

Officials say she had a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male student in one of her language arts classes.

The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office says the sex was consensual and they don’t think any of it happened on school property.

Authorities say the two met for sex at the student’s home and at a motel.

Scroggs could face up to 20 years in prison.
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The Chattanooga Police Department won’t be using pen and paper to write traffic tickets anymore. They’re going digital.

The department has purchased 250 hand-held devices that make writing a ticket much easier.

The machines can scan a driver’s license and automatically fill out basic information.

Then the tickets are automatically and electronically sent to court.

Police spent more than $300,000 dollars to buy the machines, which Chief Fred Fletcher says will save time, reduce errors, and increase efficiency.
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A Jackson County Alabama man has been charged with killing his first wife.

46-year-old Barry Whitton has been arrested in the beating death of 28-year-old Michelle Townson Whitton.

Her body was found in DeKalb County a month after she was reported missing in 1997.

Barry Whitton is also a suspect in the disappearances of his second wife and her 11-year-old daughter.

Kimberly Compton Whitton and Haleigh Culwell were last seen in 2007.

In his first wife’s death, Whitton faces 20 years to life in prison. He’ll appear in court January 27th.
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Ridgeland High School has chosen a new football coach.

33-year-old Wesley Tankersley was chosen from more than 100 applicants.

He replaces Mark Mariakis, who resigned after 11 seasons with the Panthers.

Tankersley is an Ellijay native who graduated from UTC. He coached at Gilmer County and led his last three teams to the playoffs.
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Police are looking for a man they say shot up a 70-year-old woman’s house with an assault rifle.

The woman was home at the time, but was uninjured.

It happened on High Street in Winchester.

Police say 40-year-old Marc Andrew Castle stole weapons from a home and then sprayed multiple houses with bullets.

Authorities say Castle suffers from mental problems. He’s believed to be armed and dangerous. 
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Authorities are investigating a fire that happened at the Walmart on Gunbarrel Road last night.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
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Chattanooga has lost its spot as the #1 most Bible minded city in the U.S.

The Scenic City ranked first on last year’s list from the American Bible Society.

But this year Chattanooga ranks second, behind Birmingham, Alabama.

The Tri-Cities ranked third on the list, and Knoxville came in 11th.

The annual study looks at regular Bible reading and belief in the Bible’s accuracy.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is now the richest politician in America.

Forbes Magazine says he’s the wealthiest elected official in the country.

Haslam's net worth has more than doubled since August to about $2 billion dollars.

Haslam's father founded the Pilot Flying J chain and the governor owns 15 percent of the business.
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Police say a man was stabbed at a Family Dollar store in Cleveland, Tennessee.

Now authorities are on the lookout for 35-year-old Eric Mitchell Raygor.

Police say an employee confronted Raygor about concealing merchandise to shoplift.

That’s when Raygor reportedly stabbed the employee and fled the scene.
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The Chattanooga area’s first smaller Walmart store has opened.

A new Walmart Neighborhood Market opened in Fort Oglethorpe on Wednesday.

The stores are open 24/7 and feature groceries, a pharmacy, and a bakery… but they’re only a fourth the size of the typical superstore.

The next neighborhood market to open will be in Dalton at Bry-Man’s Plaza.

Others are in development in East Ridge, Middle Valley, East Brainerd and North Chattanooga.
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A Chattanooga nonprofit is getting a new home.

ArtsBuild is leaving its rented space on the North Shore and moving to the Dover Building downtown.

The structure was donated to the organization by the Chattanooga Publishing Company.

ArtsBuild plans to spend over a million dollars to renovate the 100-year-old building. Work should be completed by July.
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A treasurer at a volunteer fire department in McMinn County is accused of stealing nearly $5,000 dollars.

Authorities say Donna Hurst stole the money from the Union Grove Fire Department from 2012 to 2013.

Hurst has been charged with theft and 20 counts of forgery.
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Finally, Work has started to dismantle the old Highway 41 bridge in Marion County.

The truss bridge was closed in 2012, and a new bridge opened on the spot in December.

The former bridge was built in 1929.

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