Today's News

LaFOLLETTE—For those looking to make a difference in the lives of children, becoming a foster parent provides a rewarding opportunity to help a child in need. Youth Villages is currently in need of caring adults in the LaFollette area to open their hearts and homes to children who have suffered abuse, neglect or abandonment. These children need families who will care for them until they can return to their birth families or an adoptive family is found for them.

 CAMPBELL COUNTY—Tiffany Bargy threatened to sue before the defamatory post about her was eventually removed.

“That site is nothing but trash and lies. It should be taken down. It does nothing but cause drama,” Bargy told the LaFollette Press on Facebook, about the site www.topix.com. “I emailed them and threatened them to either take the post down, or I would be contacting an attorney for defamation and slander. They took down the post a couple hours later.”

PIONEER—Wednesday afternoon, A Tennessee Highway Patrol Helicopter found 500 marijuana plants—about $500,000 worth—in the Lick Fork area.

The LaFollette Police Department and Governor’s Marijuana Eradication Task Force (ERAD), cut and seized the plants.

“We’re just glad we can get the drugs off the street,” LaFollette Police Chief Jimmy Jeffries said.

The LPD has been working with ERAD this week to find and seize marijuana. Monday, more than 600 pot plants and one meth lab were found.

JELLICO—The Jellico Police Department and the FBI are still searching for the man responsible for robbing First State Financial Bank on July 1. While the FBI is following up on several leads, no arrests have been made, according to Marshall Stone, supervisory agent at Knoxville’s FBI field office.
Just before 11 a.m., a man in a camouflage hoodie walked into First State Financial Bank and handed the teller a note demanding money. The suspect is a white male, approximately 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8 and 130 to 145 pounds. He is estimated to be in his early to mid 20s.