Joshua Aaron Owens, 31, 433 W. Poplar St., Johnson City, and William Delbert Shamblin Jr., 26, 515 Wilson Ave., Johnson City, were each charged with aggravated burglary and theft over $500. Owens also was served with an outstanding warrant charging him failure to appear on previous charges.

The sheriff’s department was notified of a burglary in progress at 1613 Broad St. Ext., Apt. 4, at 8:20 p.m. Tuesday by a neighbor who said he saw two men carrying items out of the apartment and placing them in a tan Buick. The witness said the car, driven by a woman, then left, heading in an unknown direction. Lt. Dean Jones and Deputy Larry Vaughn were dispatched to the scene and other law enforcement officers were told by 911 to be on the lookout for the car.

Two minutes later, Elizabethton Police Department Capt. Jason Shaw saw a vehicle matching the witnesses’ description going west in the 1100 block of Broad Street. Shaw, assisted by Sgt. Mike Sproviero and Officers Jordan Ensor and James Sexton, stopped the car in the parking lot of Regions Bank on Broad Street.

Two men and a woman were taken from the car at gunpoint. Shaw said all three were compliant with officer instructions. The three were detained at the scene of the traffic stop until deputies arrived and took them into custody.

While the EPD was stopping the vehicle, Jones and Vaughn proceeded to the scene of the burglary. When they arrived, Vaughn said the front door was closed but unlocked and was not shut completely. After knocking on the door several times, the officers went inside to check the residence.

Vaughn said the window next to the front door was open and there was no window screen. Furniture in the apartment appeared to have been moved around and the mattress on one of the beds had been flipped onto the floor.

The deputies spoke with the witness, who said he had spoken with the two men. They had inquired about where the tenant had gone. The witness said they identified themselves as the tenant’s cousins and needed to retrieve some property that they had left.

After checking the apartment, Jones and Vaughn left to question the suspects.

CCSD Sgt. Kenny Cornett was already on the scene and he reported the car contained a 42-inch Insignia flat screen television, a Samsung portable 115-volt air conditioner, a pair of red Nike size 10.5 high-top tennis shoes, and a Remington hair trimmer.

The car’s owner was identified as Hollie Campbell, Maple Street, Johnson City. She said Owens and Shamblin had called her and asked for a ride to Elizabethton, promising to buy her gas and cigarettes.

The deputies reported Shamblin denied any knowledge of the crime. He told officers he was walking on U.S. Highway 19E and Campbell and Owens had picked him up. He said the property was already in the car.

After hearing the statements, the deputies arrested Shamblin and Owens. The two men are scheduled to answer the charges in Sessions Court on June 26. Shaw said Campbell was released after she was interviewed.

At 1:20 a.m. Vaughn spoke by phone with the tenant of the burglarized apartment. She said she knew both Shamblin and Owens and had sold the air conditioner to them, but she said they did not have permission to go inside her residence or remove any other items.

Shamblin and Williams were charged by Johnson City police in connection with a stolen car in April.

In this incident police said they spotted the vehicle that was reported stolen by Candy Porter, 1705 E. Fairview Ave., traveling west on East Main Street and attempted to stop the vehicle when it turned left onto Mary Key Street April 26. In the car were Shamblin and Owens.

The pair turned right onto Pardee Street and at the Bert Street intersection, Shamblin exited the vehicle and sent it crashing into a chain-link fence. Police pulled Owens out of the vehicle and placed him under arrest. Shamblin was arrested after a short foot chase.

Shamblin was charged with evading arrest, driving on a suspended license, leaving the scene of accident and theft of motor vehicle.

Owens was charged with theft of a motor vehicle.

For a story on this project and how it was done, check out Wednesday's Johnson City Press article by Press Tempo Editor Jan Hearne.

Subscribers to either the print or online version of Johnson City Press have full access to our electronic edition. The complete text of this article starts on page 1B of the Wednesday, May 16, 2012, edition.

The Honeycutts were two of 23 inmates to be awarded their GEDs during the ceremony.

“I never thought I’d graduate honestly. I grew up wild. ... Doing it together makes me happy. Makes it worth it,” Honeycutt Jr. said.

And what did Honeycutt Sr., 48, think about being able to graduate alongside his son?

In short, he was thrilled.

“I’m very proud today. Big time. I’m tickled to death. It’s been a long time,” he said. “It felt good. Real good. I’m so proud of him.”

The elder Honeycutt joined the program shortly after the younger Honeycutt began working his way toward his GED.

Honeycutt Jr. said being in jail made him think hard about his future – a future that includes going to college.

“This place opened my eyes. I’m still young and this is the first step. I want to go to college when I get out. I want to go to Tennessee Tech. ... To do that, I had to do this and do it for my family and friends,” he said. “I’m going straight to college when I get out. The minute I do, I’m going to college. My younger brother is in college, my mom went to college and now it’s my turn to go to college.”

That’s exactly the kind of motivation officials hope each inmate takes away from the program.

“It’s very important for us to include these individuals, because without a change for them statistics show they end up right back here after they’re released, so we’ve made a concerted effort to increase our support for inmates,” Adult Education Supervisor David Egbert said.

Egbert said the program, which has been in existence since the mid-1980s, has grown with the support of funding from Washington County.

Over the last four or five years, about 200 inmates have received their GEDs through the program.

Once they are released from jail with diplomas in hand, Egbert said each inmate has greater opportunities to find jobs, learn a trade, further their education and fulfill their dreams.

“We now know that we have several that are attending colleges, several that have gone through community colleges or the tech school and have completed work there and have actually found reputable employment and made life-changing situations in their life and help them personally and their families,” he said.

The town will hold its annual Wayne Scott Strawberry Festival this Saturday beginning at 10 a.m on the field next to the Unicoi Elementary School. In 2009, the festival was renamed in honor of the late Scott, founder of the Unicoi-based Scott’s Strawberry & Tomato Farms.

For the third straight year, the festival will kickoff with a parade beginning at 9 a.m. The parade will begin near the Unicoi Funeral Home, located on Unicoi Drive, and will travel down Unicoi Drive before veering onto Massachusetts Avenue to get to the school field.

The parade will again showcase a number of area organizations, including the Jericho Temple Shriners and Rolling Thunder. It will also feature the town’s unofficial mascot, Mary the cow, with heifer Annabell. David Browning, who portrays the Mayberry Deputy, will once again make his way to Unicoi to serve as the parade’s marshal.

The opening ceremonies for the festival will begin at 10 a.m., and musical entertainment, which will take place throughout the day, will begin shortly thereafter. Acts this year include the Red Barn Band, Jessica Nixon and River Run, Daisi Rain and The Dandy Lines line dancing group.

The event will also feature a number of arts and crafts and food vendors. These vendors are primarily made up of local non-profit groups and organizations, such as the Clinchfield Senior Adult Center, the Town of Unicoi History Committee, Unicoi United Methodist Church and the Unicoi Ruritan Club. The festival, Lynch said, acts as a fundraiser for many of these organizations.

This year’s Strawberry Festival will also once again feature other attractions, such as rides and inflatables for children, a dunking booth, a pie-throwing event, and a hit and miss engine show throughout the day.

“So there will be something for everyone,” Unicoi Mayor Johnny Lynch said. “And, like I say, we try to keep the hometown, country festival-type theme down there and try to keep it as low-key as we can, just a laid-back, enjoyable event that you can go to, not have any pressure on you, and just enjoy everything.”

The main attraction of the festival is, of course, the strawberries. Vendors will be selling a number of strawberry-related desserts, and festival attendees will have the opportunity to purchase freshly-pcked Scott’s Farm strawberries. From all indications, there will be plenty of strawberries available at this year’s festival, Lynch said.

“The last update I got from the Scotts came yesterday,” Lynch said Tuesday. “They talked to Danny, our maintenance man, and they told him they’ve already picked more berries this year than they picked last year altogether. So evidently, they’re having a real good season.”

Admission to the Wayne Scott Strawberry Festival is free, and Lynch said all are encouraged to attend.

“It’s just a good, old-fashioned festival,” Lynch said. “We’re just glad to be doing it. It’s just a good community event, and we hope that everyone can come out and enjoy it.”

The Unicoi Elementary School is located at 404 Massachusetts Ave. in the town of Unicoi. For more information on the festival, contact Unicoi Town Hall at 743-7162.

Local certified public accountants and bankers met Tuesday night at the Johnson City Country Club for an annual meeting, where Greg Gonzales, Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions commissioner, gave an overview of what’s happening in financial institutions, discussed the consumer protection-financial protection bureau, the environment and Gov. Bill Haslam’s TNForward Top to Bottom Review of recommendations from the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions and how banks would be impacted.

In the 2012 Financial Institutions Top to Bottom Review, some recommendations included providing for a safe and sound system of financial institutions, to work with state and federal regulators to determine what burdens could be reduced for community based depository institutions and how to make department processes more efficient and effective.

Gonzales said the goal at the state level is to make sure community banks are put in a position to be successful.

“The state of Tennessee is made up of over a 150 community banks. They all do a great job in serving their communities and it’s important that regulators do what we can do to put those institutions in as good of a position as possible to continue serving,” he said. “We’re coming out of a slow recovery, we’ve got more regulations coming out of Washington, so we’ve got to find balance in all of this to make sure that those institutions are still able to not just survive, but thrive.”

“One of our main recommendations to the governor is in effect by us and others to try to find ways to reduce unnecessary burden on community banks,” Gonzales said. “I think it’s important that we do that, particularly because of the regulatory environment in Washington. There’s a lot of new regulations and that is focused on the largest banks. We just want to make sure that it doesn’t trickle down in a way that impacts the smallest banks.”

Don Royston, a CPA with Dent K. Burk Associates, P.C., said community banks in our area are already seeing the costs of enforced regulations.

“From the accounting standpoint, the local banks, particularly the community banks in this area, have been hit with an unbelievable amount of dollars in costs from regulations, and in my opinion, a lot of times over regulations,” Royston said. “Community banks in this area, other than making bad loans or getting pulled into a bad investment, they’ve done a really good job. The costs are phenomenal that they’re having to encourage just to stay in business.”

Gonzales said he hopes to find a way to regulate, but do it in a equal way where it won’t be overly aggressive to institutions that don’t deserve the tougher restrictions.

“We don’t want to put healthy, well managed institutions in a difficult position,” he said. “Depository institutions certainly are going to be regulated and the question is are we going to do it in a balanced way so we can put them in a position to be successful. That’s what it comes down to.”

Johnson City Assistant Fire Chief Mark Finucane said there are still witnesses to interview before investigators reach a final conclusion.

Investigators on Monday determined there was no indication anyone was inside the building as it burned. There was some initial concern someone might have perished in the fire because it’s an area known as a haven for many of the homeless in Johnson City.

“The investigation at the fire scene is complete, however the investigation will continue,” he said Tuesday afternoon following a survey at the 1010 W. Main St. scene.

Part of that investigation includes the fact that there was no electricity to the building.

“We eliminated utilities as a cause,” Finucane said. “There are some interviews that still need to be conducted ... hopefully from those interviews we can glean some more specific information about where the fire may have started.”

Firefighters responded to the blaze around 12:15 p.m. Sunday to find the 100,000 square foot building about 50 percent involved in the fire.

The on-duty commander immediately recognized the magnitude of the fire and called for additional manpower.

“On the first alarm there were four engines, two truck companies and an incident commander. On the second alarm there were two additional engines,” Finucane said.

Those last two engines were positioned in the parking lots of businesses to the rear of the warehouse “specifically to bolster the protection of businesses on West Market Street,” Finucane said.

Firefighters had the blaze under control by around 3 p.m. on Sunday, but spent hours fully extinguishing it.

Finucane said several factors led to the fire moving so fast – the tar roof, the wood and timber frame and a damaged roof from last year’s tornado that helped feed oxygen to it.

Thick, black smoke billowed high above the fire and wind scattered it, as well as debris, across a wide area.

“There was ash and debris reported as far as five miles away,” Finucane said.

And while no one was injured during the incident, Finucane said “several of the units on the front took a beating,” referring to firefighters and apparatus.

The fire’s high radiant heat caused one window to break in a ladder truck, and some of the decal lettering bubbled up, he said.

“It was a very hot fire,” he said, likely due to the same factors that caused it to spread so quickly.

Finucane said the investigation is a joint effort by the JCFD Fire Marshal’s Office and the state fire marshal’s office.

He also said the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation assessed the scene for any environmental hazards, but he didn’t have any information of that department’s conclusions.

Finucane said there had been some concern about runoff going into a small creek that runs behind the building, but “that didn’t happen.”

According to the Washington County Assessor’s Office, the property is owned by 1017 West Market Partners.

According to the Tennessee Secretary of State, that partnership’s business license expired April 4. The mailing address associated with the license is that of Mitch Cox Realtor Inc.

The building was once a hub of activity during tobacco season when it housed one of the city’s several tobacco warehouse, and was apparently the last standing tobacco facility in the city until Sunday’s fire took it down.

The fire department would like to have access to anyone’s photos or videos taken during the fire. Finucane said it could help investigators make final determinations.

Photos and videos can be sent to Assistant Fire Marshal Lori Ratliff at lratliff@johnsoncitytn.org.

Local certified public accountants and bankers met Tuesday night at the Johnson City Country Club for an annual meeting, where Greg Gonzales, Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions commissioner, gave an overview of what’s happening in financial institutions, discussed the consumer protection-financial protection bureau, the environment and Gov. Bill Haslam’s TNForward Top to Bottom Review of recommendations from the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions and how banks would be impacted.

In the 2012 Financial Institutions Top to Bottom Review, some recommendations included providing for a safe and sound system of financial institutions, to work with state and federal regulators to determine what burdens could be reduced for community based depository institutions and how to make department processes more efficient and effective.

Gonzales said the goal at the state level is to make sure community banks are put in a position to be successful.

“The state of Tennessee is made up of over a 150 community banks. They all do a great job in serving their communities and it’s important that regulators do what we can do to put those institutions in as good of a position as possible to continue serving,” he said. “We’re coming out of a slow recovery, we’ve got more regulations coming out of Washington, so we’ve got to find balance in all of this to make sure that those institutions are still able to not just survive, but thrive.”

“One of our main recommendations to the governor is in effect by us and others to try to find ways to reduce unnecessary burden on community banks,” Gonzales said. “I think it’s important that we do that, particularly because of the regulatory environment in Washington. There’s a lot of new regulations and that is focused on the largest banks. We just want to make sure that it doesn’t trickle down in a way that impacts the smallest banks.”

Don Royston, a CPA with Dent K. Burk Associates, P.C., said community banks in our area are already seeing the costs of enforced regulations.

“From the accounting standpoint, the local banks, particularly the community banks in this area, have been hit with an unbelievable amount of dollars in costs from regulations, and in my opinion, a lot of times over regulations,” Royston said. “Community banks in this area, other than making bad loans or getting pulled into a bad investment, they’ve done a really good job. The costs are phenomenal that they’re having to encourage just to stay in business.”

Gonzales said he hopes to find a way to regulate, but do it in a equal way where it won’t be overly aggressive to institutions that don’t deserve the tougher restrictions.

“We don’t want to put healthy, well managed institutions in a difficult position,” he said. “Depository institutions certainly are going to be regulated and the question is are we going to do it in a balanced way so we can put them in a position to be successful. That’s what it comes down to.”

According to police, officers were sent to the John Sevier Center, 141 E. Market St., on a robbery report. The victim told officers he was on a bench at the intersection of North Roan and King streets when the suspect approached him and asked him how he was doing. The victim told the suspect to mind his own business and the suspect told him that he had a gun pointed at his head.

The release said the suspect allegedly demanded the victim give him the gold ring on his finger and any money he had on him, or he would kill him.

The victim gave him the items and the suspect ran away.

According to the release, the evacuation was because of a fire in one of the apartments on the lower level of the 30-unit complex, located at 1112 Kings Springs Road.

Four engine companies, two truck companies, a shift commander and Washington County EMS responded to the fire. They were able to contain the fire within 30 minutes and none of the tenants or firefighters were injured, the release said.

The occupant of the apartment that caught on fire has been displaced.

The JCFD said the cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Johnson City Fire Marshal’s Division.

Lynn A. Siebert, 45 yrs., 233 Morrison Rd., Chuckey, was charged with theft over $500 and theft under $500.

In a report, police said Siebert had cared for victim Martha Collins, whose current caregiver reported May 3 that several items had been stolen from Collins' Sioux Drive residence.

Collins also had reported April 24 that several items had been stolen, including an iPad valued at $700 and a purse containing $60, a checkbook and a credit card. Siebert previously had been charged with using Collins' credit card.

Police said Siebert's boyfriend, Danny Hubbard, found the stolen items at the residence he shared with Siebert.

Siebert was jailed at the Washington County Detention Center on $6,000 bond and arraigned Tuesday in Sessions Court.

Mark Cole, 37, 189 Riverview Dr., Johnson City, is charged with aggravated assault and an unrelated contempt of court from juvenile court. The outstanding contempt warrant was served on Cole when he was arrested on the assault charge.

The victim, Arthur Livingston, Limestone, told police that Cole approached him on the street and punched him, which knocked him to the ground and dislocated his shoulder. According to police press release, Livingston was hospitalized for three days following the assault with “extensive injuries.”

According to the report, Livingston said he and Cole had an argument over the phone “and the suspect told him he would kick his ass the next time he saw him and this was the next time.”

Cole was jailed on a $50,000 bond and was scheduled for arraignment Tuesday.

Sgt. Michael Bean was the first deputy on the scene. When he arrived he noticed two outbuildings on fire next to a mobile home. Bean went to the mobile home to make sure everyone was outside.

After he was sure everyone was safely evacuated, Bean began interviewing Hopson’s wife, Samantha Joy Hopson. She said her husband had gone outside their home after midnight. She said she heard a loud noise around 1:20 a.m. She went outside to see what happened and noticed the outbuilding was on fire and her husband was burned.

Mrs. Hopson contacted her mother-in-law and father-in-law, who live nearby. She said her husband left for the hospital with his mother, Helen Hopson. Bean reported that she contacted the Carter County Rescue Squad, who told her to turn around and meet them at their residence because the ambulance had already arrived there.

When Mrs. Hopson returned, Bean said he noticed that her son had third-degree burns on his hands and forearms. He noticed burns to Hopson’s face, ears, chest and around his ankles. He was unable to speak with Hopson because of the intense pain he was suffering.

Hopson was transported to the Johnson City Medical Center and later evacuated to Wake Forest.

Bean said he asked further questions of the family, but reported they were not able to tell him how the fire started.

After the volunteer firefighters extinguished the fire, Deputy Nick Hughes of the Unicoi County Sheriff’s Department found evidence of a shake and bake methamphetamine laboratory. In a small trailer behind the burned-out building they found a 20-ounce Mountain Dew bottle with what appeared to be methamphetamine inside.

Bean also discovered lithium strips and empty boxes of cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine.

Bean secured the scene and notified Capt. Thomas Smith and the Carter County Special Operations Unit.

At Monday’s regular meeting of the Erwin Board of Mayor and Aldermen, the board voted 4-0 to enter into an agreement with the hospital that would see the hospital receive $800,000 in temporary funding that would be used for operational expenses. Alderman Gary Edwards, whose wife is employed by the hospital, abstained from the vote.

The measure approved by the board authorizes Town Recorder Randy Trivette and City Attorney Thomas Seeley III to work out an agreement with hospital CEO Jim Pate and begin work on it “as soon as possible.”

Trivette said Tennessee Code Annotated 68-11-50 allows municipalities to make contributions to not-for-profit hospitals, which would apply to Unicoi County Memorial Hospital.

Erwin officials were previously approached by hospital officials, who were seeking an $800,000 contribution from the town to supplement some of the hospital’s operating expenses, Trivette said. Trivette said he feels the hospital is important in the area’s economic development, as prospective businesses looking to locate locally may view the hospital as an asset. He also said the approximately 200 people employed by the hospital would be out of a job if anything were to happen to it.

“So I think it’s very vital and important for the town to try to assist in helping the hospital,” Trivette said.

Trivette also said the town has the funds available to provide the $800,000. This money, he said, was previously set aside in a money market account that is currently drawing 0.6 percent interest.

“One of the things we want to do is be good stewards of the taxpayers’ money,” Trivette said. “We want to make sure we’re following through with that and watching it. I think this entire board has been very diligent in watching the taxpayers’ money and has been very frugal in how we spend that money and how we put that money to use for the taxpayers. They’ve done a very good job, and that’s how come we’re sitting in the position that we’re in that we’re financially stable right now.”

According to Pate, a combination of the current economic climate, under-utilization of the hospital, consistently decreasing reimbursements from insurance providers and a government-mandated update to an electronic medical records system has led to the hospital’s financial crunch. When the hospital had to go to new financial and clinical software, it delayed the hospital’s billing for around 30 days, Pate said. However, Pate said once the hospital’s electronic medical records system is “up and running,” the federal government will provide the hospital with a payment that will absolve the debt associated with the upgrade.

The hospital has enacted a plan to address cutting expenditures and increasing revenues. Following Monday’s meeting, Pate said this plan includes cutting expenses however this can be accomplished, which included layoffs several weeks ago, and looking at other expenses. This plan also includes increasing revenue coming into the hospital by increasing patient volumes.

“I don’t want to wish anybody sick enough to have to go into the hospital, but I’d like to do your CTs and MRIs,” he said.

Trivette said the hospital’s plan should save it around $80,000 per month.

The town’s agreement with the hospital would come with three stipulations. The first is that the town would receive the hospital’s deed of trust for the real property at the hospital. The second is Trivette would meet with Pate and the hospital’s financial officer “as much as needed” throughout the month and update the board of mayor and aldermen on how well the hospital is adhering to its plan. The third stipulation is that a consultant specializing in hospitals and medical care would be hired to conduct a survey and audit of the hospital and would offer suggestions on how the hospital could improve its stability and recover from the economic downturn.

With these stipulations in place, Trivette said he is confident that the town’s financial contribution to the hospital will be no more than a “temporary loan.”

“One of the things I want to assure the board on is that I feel very confident about our money,” Trivette said. “That’s one of the things that concerns me and that I lose sleep over all the time is taking care of the city and the taxpayers’ money and reporting that to you.

“I feel confident with these things in place, the deed of trust especially, that the risk of losing our money is very slim. If we have the deed of trust, if something happened to the hospital, we’ve got the property that would get us our money back. If the hospital is sold, we would get our money back through the sale of the hospital. If the hospital turns around and recovers, we’re going to have a repayment plan put into this agreement that we would get our money paid back.”

Former Erwin mayor Russell Brackins, who serves on the hospital’s board of control, said the town was the appropriate governmental entity with which to enter into the agreement. He also said the town’s contribution would possibly prevent cost-cutting actions and would help preserve what he referred to as an “asset to the community.”

“We’ve got a good asset there that does provide quality care to our community,” Brackins said.

Trivette agreed that the hospital, which was constructed in 1953, is an asset to the community and said it must be promoted locally.

“I would hate as a citizen and as a representative of the town, an employee of the town, to just sit back and not do anything and see us lose that great asset and see us lose that ability to serve our citizens that way,” Trivette said.

After the meeting, Pate expressed confidence that the hospital would be able to return to more solid financial footing.

“I feel very confident that we’re going to be able to work out this thing,” he said. “It’s something that it’s not going to be an instant success. This doesn’t take care of all of our problems. We’re still going to have to continue to work at it, but I think if we can stay focused and we keep working at it, we can work out of this hole and we can get back on our feet.”

In other business, the board:

n Approved the first reading of an ordinance to rezone certain property along South Street from R-2 medium-density residential to R-3 low-density residential.

n Approved a resolution authorizing the issuance, sale and payments of capital outlay notes not to exceed $800,000 for various public works projects.

n Approved a resolution authorizing the application for a $255,000 Local Parks and Recreation Funds grant for the planned downtown skate plaza and playground.

n Approved a $265,272 bid from Summers-Taylor to complete road, curb and sidewalk improvements on First, Second and Third Streets. This is contingent on the bid meeting the required specifications of the work.

n Approved an operations and service agreement with the Unicoi County YMCA for the summer 2012 swimming season at the Fishery Pool. The pool is set to open May 26.

With the current lower interest rates and the town’s improved credit standing, the agreement is expected to both decrease the amount of payments on three existing Rural Development loans and to shorten the term over which the loans will be repaid by six years.

The new agreement will reduce the interest rate on the debt from between 4 3/8 and 5 1/8 percent to an average of 3 1/3 percent over the next 27 years while reducing the town’s payments from more than $311,000 annually to between $302,833 and $307,298 a year.

On the recommendation of town attorney James Wheeler and town Recorder Abbey Miller, the board approved the agreement in a vote of 3 to 0 with alderman Terry Countermine absent.

In other business on a busy monthly meeting agenda, the board likewise approved in consecutive votes of 3 to 0 resolutions to:

n Install Countermine as vice major of Jonesborough, a new appointed office Mayor Kelly Wolfe said is stipulated by recent changes in the town’s charter.

n Approve on final reading an ordinance that will allow beer consumption at town-sponsored events under specific conditions, including limiting beer consumption to a restricted area in order to maintain a family atmosphere for festivals and special events beginning with this year’s Jonesborough Days celebration.

n To pursue the sale of a tract of land located at the northern end of Boone Street and Andrew Jackson Boulevard to Mountain Empire Oil in order to allow the company to demolish and rebuild the neighboring Shell station to include a new Dunkin Donuts shop.

n To enter an agreement with developer Brian King to extend water and sewer lines to undeveloped areas of The Meadows subdivision on the north side of Andrew Jackson Boulevard at New Boones Creek Road in exchange for King’s transfer of open spaces in the subdivision to the town needed for development of a walking trail and to provide a 75-foot right of way for future development of the northern connector road to US Highway 11E.

The committee heard from the Carter County School Board, which is asking for an increase of $839,619 for next year, and from County Finance Director Ingrid Deloach, who strongly recommended some of the cuts made in the debt service fund last year should be restored.

School administrators, principals and teachers nearly filled the Main Courtroom as the committee heard from the school board about the difficult steps taken to cut the school system’s budget request by $1.3 million so far.

Deloach told the committee there were several reasons for the school budget problems, but the biggest was the system’s loss of students. The system’s average daily membership has declined by 100 this year.

This decline has had several drastic impacts on revenue sources. At the state level, it has meant the loss of $204,000 in state Basic Education Program funds. Deloach said another $469,782 is being lost at the local level because the county schools’ share of local revenue slipped by 1 percent to the Elizabethton City School System. In addition, because the new ratio is determined next April, she said the county should plan for the loss of another 1 percent rather than going back and trying to reconfigure nearly a year’s worth of anticipated revenue.

There were several smaller cuts in revenue.

At the same time the county school system expects to receive less revenue, it will have to face increased costs. The biggest cost is $714,400 from the state’s underfunded mandate for a 2.5 percent pay increase for teachers. The state funds the raise only for the basic minimum. Any additional personnel or pay for seniority or higher credentials must be funded locally.

Deloach said another $395,000 increase is expected for the school system’s medical insurance provider. The school board also wants to give its other employees a 2.5 percent raise to match the raise given to teachers. That must be done with local funds.

The increases include one additional teaching position to meet mandates for the English as a second language program.

Director of Schools Shirley Ellis said she realized the nearly $840,000 request was a huge number in the current economic climate, but “I think you can see that a lot of work has gone into it.”

That work included several meetings with her staff, then several more budget workshop meetings with the school board.

During those meetings, more than $700,000 in recurring cuts were made and $500,000 in one-time cuts were made. These include cuts of eight teaching positions by attrition, one-time cuts of $300,000 in textbook purchases and $100,000 in bus purchases. Even with those cuts, the projected expenditures for next year is $39,275,315, while revenues are only expected to be $38,435,696. That leaves a gap of more than $800,000.

Budget Committee member Thomas “Yogi” Bowers asked how many teachers the system will be over Basic Education Program funding. After the attrition, there would be 51 teachers above BEP.

“The whole point of my question is economics,” Bowers said. We have 50 teachers above the state-recommended level. That is a quarter million dollars right there.”

Assistant Director of Schools Kevin Ward said 50 teachers sounds like a lot, but when filling the state-mandated class sizes and the needs of mandated English, math and science courses throughout the system, “you don’t have 50 teachers out there you can pull from without stepping on some mandates.”

Bowers asked what would happen if the county didn’t meet some of the state unfunded mandates. He said there was a fear of the “state boogeyman.”

“The state has been giving money to the schools for many years. There will be a cutoff date sooner or later, but we spend like it will never be over,” Bowers said.

He said if the committee funded every item requested in the new budget it would cost the county property taxpayers about 37 to 38 cents per $100 of assessed value.

“The taxpayers can’t stand that,” Bowers said.

He said another state mandate to increase funding by $307,000 for the local 911 office “is another smoke and mirrors thing by the state boogeyman.”

Bowers’ criticism of the state even went toward money the state has recently designated to the county, specifically a $1.2 million grant to restore the nearly 200-year old Sabine Hill House.

“The state wants to spend $1.5 million to fix up an old house. I can walk out in my front yard and see a lot of old houses that need fixing up,” Bowers said.

There was no boogeyman involved in the debt service problem. The debt service fund is set up to pay the obligations of money the county has borrowed over the year for the construction of schools and the new jail. The fund has built up a healthy surplus over the past few years, and last year the County Commission cut some of the funding for debt service to siphon off some of those reserves in order to lessen the size of the property tax increase this year.

Deloach said the result was the debt service reserves declined by $2.1 million this year, going from $8.4 million to $6.4 million. She said the annual payout on the county’s obligations is $3.2 million. If some additional revenue were not returned this year, the fund will drop to $4.1 million.

“Can you survive? Yes,” Deloach said. But she recommended returning at least 5 cents of the property tax rate to debt service.

The massive fire that destroyed the 100,000 square-foot building – which was the last tobacco warehouse left in the city – started around 12:15 p.m. Sunday.

“We’re mopping up hotspots until it’s safe to do a walk through,” said Johnson City Assistant Fire Marshal Mike Hill.

Officials were not completely sure that no one was inside the building at the time of the fire, but could not conduct a search until the rubble cooled down.

The building was apparently a haven for some of the homeless in Johnson City.

Even a day later, onlookers drove by to get a glimpse of what was left of the large structure.

Hill said the building had a “heavy fire load,” which means there was a lot inside that fueled the flames.

The walls of the building were metal, but the framework apparently consisted of large wooden beams. Hill said the wood, and a tar roof kept the fire going several hours, but the light rain that began to fall about the same time as the fire was reported helped in the fight.

Hill said he could not confirm what contents, if any, were stored at the warehouse, but a fire official on Sunday said there were rolls of grass, seed and fertilizer used in landscaping along road projects inside.

Firefighters had the blaze under control by 3 p.m., but still had a lot of work to do to stamp out the remaining fire. As they worked to douse the flames and protect surrounding structures, locals flocked to the area to watch the scene.

Many people came after seeing the large plume of thick, black smoke rise over the city. There were reports the black column was seen from the Bristol Highway as well as Elizabethton.

One unidentified woman said she thought it was a tornado when she first saw it.

Many onlookers holed up at Krispy Kreme across the street while others parked and walked as close to the fire as police would allow.

Firefighters also evacuated AutoZone.

Photos and videos of the fire popped up quickly on social media websites as onlookers snapped shots with their cell phones.

Hill said a crew of firefighters remained on the scene overnight Sunday to ensure the rubble didn’t blaze up again.

The fire department could not confirm who owns the property, but according to the Washington County Assessor’s Office, it’s owned by 1017 West Market Partners.

According to the Tennessee Secretary of State, that partnership’s business license expired April 4. The mailing address associated with the license is that of Mitch Cox Realtor Inc.

A message left on Cox’s voice mail at his business was not returned.

Lt. Dean Jones of the Carter County Sheriff’s Department reported he was dispatched to 227 Jenkins Hollow Road to investigate the property damage. He spoke with Lisa Ray, who said she and her family were in the living room when she heard a loud crash and then saw tree limbs coming through the ceiling.

Ray said she grabbed her children and ran outside, where she found a large tree lying on the house and crushing her 1996 GMC Yukon. Ray reported that a worker named Robbie Reece said he was cutting trees for neighbor Steve Melton and the tree fell the wrong way.

Ray was renting the house from Albert Harrald. Jones interviewed Harrald, who said he thought the tree was on his property rather than on Melton’s and that Melton “had no business cutting the tree so close to the home.”

Jones said the fallen tree had caused damage to the roof and ceiling of the house. He said the top of Ray’s vehicle had been caved in.

Jones went to speak to Melton. He reported Melton told him he and Harrald “did not get along with each other because of years of property disputes.” Jones said Melton told him he would have Reece speak with Harrald and Ray to try to resolve the damages.

With its title sponsor, Blue Moon, providing biodegradable festival cups, the Blue Plum Festival has taken another positive environmental step forward by encouraging those attending the festivities to break out their bicycles and pedal downtown this year.

David Pennington, Friends of Olde Downtown executive director, said while they are trying to get back to the grassroots of festivals and hope to make people more environmentally conscious, biking to the event does have its perks for willing participants.

“You get a free T-shirt if you ride in on your bike,” Pennington said. “The JC Bike Party, which is one of our organizations with Friends of the Olde Downtown ... they’re involved in helping organize it.”

The Blue Plum staff has set up a tent area strictly for bike parking behind the Main Street Stage near the intersection of Tipton and Buffalo streets.

If you’re worried about how safe it is to park your bike at the festival, Pennington said the bikes will be looked after. “We’ve designated a secure area within the festival,” he said. “There will be eyes on that area all the time.”

For those coming from out of town, there’s still an opportunity for them to participate in the biking festivities.

Pennington said the Johnson City-Washington County-Jonesborough Chamber of Commerce gave the festival organizers permission to use the General Mills Building on West Walnut Street as a parking lot for festival-goers who would like to ride their bikes into the festival, but live too far away to ride in.

The newly built State of Franklin Bikeway/Greenway is now available for those interested in riding their bikes from General Mills on to the festival.

Pennington said they are expecting around 100 people to be rolling into the Plum festivities on their bikes, and said he feels as though people are embracing the idea of using alternative transportation this year.

“Everybody that I’ve talked to has had nothing but positive remarks about it,” Pennington said.

For more information about the “My Blue Plum is Green” initiative or about the festival, visit www.blueplum.org.

Reported about 12:15 p.m., the blaze was 1010 W. Main St. sent thick, black plumes of smoke pouring into the west Johnson City sky.

As some crews worked to protect neighboring businesses, others worked to contain the the fire, Johnson City Fire Department Lt. Jason Powell said. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 3 p.m., but officials expected to stay on the scene through the night given the size of the structure and remaining embers.

"It looks like it's going to be a campaign," Powell said.

Powell said the fire's cause remained under investigation, but the building's contents likely played a role in how quickly the fire got so large. Stored inside were rolled grass, seed and fertilizer used in landscaping along road projects.

The warehouse was constructed largely of tin-covered wood, which also burned quickly and collapsed as firefighters worked.

Surrounding buildings were evacuated. West Market Street from North State of Franklin Road to University was closed, and firefighters took measures to protect several neighboring businesses, including a gas station, Auto Zone, Jim's Motorcycle Sales and Jane's Lunch Box, all of which are on West Market.

Powell said 911 records last listed the building's address as that of Growers Co Op Warehouse, but it was his understanding the building was under new ownership.

Keep checking JohnsonCityPress.com for more information as it becomes available.

Also in Sunday's paper, Press Staff Writer Jennifer Sprouse looked into efforts to get electronic payment options available at the Johnson City Farmers Market. Currently, the only way to buy fresh vegetables and fruits at the twice-weekly market is to carry cash. Read her story to find out what it would take to use credit, debit and EBT cards at the market.

Both stories begin on the front page of the Sunday, May 13, 2012, edition of the Johnson City Press, which can be purchased at newsstands or online.

According to Hensley, Ray English, 30, Autumn McKinney, 25 and Joseph Banner, 33, were all charged after a search of their property revealed 35 methamphetamine sites, 10 of which were still active.

The Unicoi County Sheriff’s Department also found precursors to make methamphetamine, including liquid fire, cold packs and lithium batteries while searching the property Saturday.

“It’s probably going to be the largest shake and bake methamphetamine labs in Unicoi County history,” Hensley said.

English was charged with conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, McKinney was charged with promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine and Banner was charged with selling controlled schedule II drugs.

English, McKinney and Banner were taken to the Unicoi County Jail and were held without bond.

The three are scheduled to be arraigned in Sessions Court on Monday at 9:30 a.m.

Hensley said the investigation was ongoing.

According to police, Raliegh Meeks, 24, 1147 W. Mountainview Road, was pulled over for improper passing and police found that his license had been revoked because of a DUI.

It was during the traffic stop that Meeks was discovered with more than 15 grams of marijuana.

He was arrested and taken to the Washington County Detention Center and charged with possession of schedule VI for resale and driving on a revoked license, the release said.

Meeks was being held on $23,000 bond and will appear in Sessions Court on Monday at 1:30 p.m.

According to Mathes, Jeremiah Hopson, 31, 213 Sciota Road, was the victim in the explosion.

At 1:30 a.m., Hopson’s wife, Samantha, called 911 in regard to an explosion, Mathes said.

Hopson had 50 percent of his body burned and was taken to the Johnson City Medical Center where he was then airlifted to Wake Forest University Medical Center in Raleigh/Durham, N.C.

Mathes said an 11-year-old child also lives at the residence, but was not there during the explosion. A referral will be sent to follow up with Child Protective Services.

Hopson’s charges for manufacturing methamphetamine are pending.

Stacy G. Black, 41, 420 Walnut St., Erwin, was charged with initiating the process of methamphetamine manufacture. Brittany Nicole Conley, 23, 505 Lindsey Road, Unicoi, was charged with promotion of the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Unicoi County Sheriff Mike Hensley said he received information Wednesday night that Black, who had been arrested recently on meth-related charges, was again manufacturing methamphetamine.

“We were able to look at some information and found that he had received precursors to make methamphetamine,” Hensley said.

Black, who was residing at a motel in Unicoi County, was stopped by Hensley and Erwin Police Department Detective Tony Buchanan because officials had probable cause to believe he was in possession of methamphetamine, Hensley said.

Hensley said as he approached the vehicle, which was stopped on Mill Creek Road in Erwin, Conley, the vehicle’s driver, told him ingredients used in the manufacture of methamphetamine as well as a lab were in the vehicle. Hensley said Unicoi County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Frank Rogers arrived on the scene and opened the vehicle’s trunk. There, officials observed items used in the methamphetamine manufacture process, Hensley said.

As officials attempted to take Black into custody, UCSD Administrative Assistant Craig Masters observed a pistol in Black’s possession, Hensley said. Masters grabbed the gun and took it out of Black’s belt, Hensley said. This pistol was then found to be a BB gun, according to the sheriff.

Erwin Police Chief Regan Tilson also assisted at the scene, and the Tennessee Methamphetamine Task Force truck was called out. Hensley said further investigation revealed that a methamphetamine lab had been disposed of in the dumpster of an area motel. Tilson and his officers were able to locate this lab and methamphetamine precursors were found in the motel room where Black was staying after a search was conducted, Hensley said.

Black and Conley were arraigned Friday in Unicoi County Sessions Court. A $30,000 corporate bond was set for Conley, and a $75,000 corporate bond was set for Black. Both are scheduled to appear back in Sessions Court on Thursday.

Wednesday’s arrests mark the fifth methamphetamine investigation by area officials that have resulted in charges since Hensley took office in late March. He said combating narcotics in Unicoi County was a priority when he took office and said his department will continue to attack drugs “vigorously.”

“We’re going to continue to work on the methamphetamine problem,” Hensley said. “It’s one of the most dangerous and addictive drugs out there. Our efforts continuing to work closely with the Erwin Police Department are paying off.”

Hensley said those with information on methamphetamine and other drugs may anonymously report these activities to the sheriff’s department’s tips line at 743-1855.

Thursday’s roughly hour-long workshop aimed at getting the City Commission on the same page with Johnson City Schools about the coming 2013 budget was a friendly refresher on the numbers – and they didn’t look good.

Goals and objectives were outlined, revenues and expenses compared and immediate needs identified in the $62 million budget, which includes a list of needs totaling more than $5 million.

But it was when talk turned to state mandates that not only school officials but commissioners as well got a bit riled. There was no name calling or finger pointing – nothing personal. But the tone was not mellow by any means.

“The legislators keep pushing a mounting number of problems down to the local level,” said Vice Mayor Phil Carriger. “When’s the last time the city has brought them in to see the reality of the situation?” he asked City Manager Pete Peterson.

Peterson said he could not remember, but he did call the state’s current school funding system “broke.”

That spurred more talk about how legislators needed a reminder of who put them in office and who pays their salaries.

“I think the state legislature needs to come up with fewer rules, not more,” Superintendent Richard Bales responded when asked what could be done about the increasing amount of unfunded state mandates. “The school system is at the point where the next cuts will affect student achievement.”

The Tennessee Department of Education’s 2011 State Report Card showed that, once again, Johnson City Schools showed its progressive side by shining in virtually every category despite higher state standards. The school system also surpassed state goals at all grade levels on all non-academic indicators of success including attendance, promotion and graduation rate. In addition, the system’s graduation rate was 93.5 percent – well above the state goal of 90 percent.

Johnson City Schools continue to make positive progress even with the increased rigor and standards. But achieving some of these goals absolutely requires additional funding.

“One of the biggest mandates is the new teacher evaluation model,” said Kathy Hall, Board of Education chairwoman. “They must be evaluated at least four times a year, six if the teacher is non-tenured. So we’ve had to bring in retired administrators to help with the evaluations. It also is an extra load for principals who have to fill out the required paperwork.”

Another partially funded requirement is state mandated raises. The 2013 budget calls for a 2.5 percent raise at a total cost of $1 million. The state makes the requirement but pays in less than half, leaving school systems with the task of finding money to pay the rest.

On the heels of this expense comes state mandated “step” increases, which next fiscal year will cost $395,000.

It should be noted that Bales and the Board of Education have a track record of making every effort to pay teachers the highest salary possible. Administrators say this not only promotes a teachers’ stability but also draws more quality teachers to the system.

Meanwhile, much of the chatter at the workshop centered on how local officials believe legislators don’t understand that a statewide, blanket approach for standards, mandates and funding just does not work, especially if lawmakers’ focus is more on the heavily populated areas of the state.

“Johnson City is doing just fine,” Bales said.