Kingsport Times-News from Kingsport, Tennessee • 3

fc V' 1 Some local prisoners going home for holiday tody said Hawkins County Deputy Jerry Mowl tences for the 11 range from 45 days to nearly a year ing misdemeanor sentences were released just for Christmas Day Just no place to release many of them he noted By MARY LEIDIG Tlmes-News Staff Writer Eleven happy prisoners walked out of the Carter County Jail Christmas Eve and are expected back tomorrow Another four left the Unicoi? County Jail after breakfast today ordered back by 8 tonight let any prisoners go home for Christmas that we could trust But if not back by tonight go looking for said Unicoi County Sheriff Paul White About four of the 20 county prisoners serv- down special orders so the jail cell doors stayed shut judges would have to do that If they had we would have let them said Washington County Sheriff Ron England earlier this week Sessions Judge Kiener on the other hand said had England initiated any temporary releases he would have made no objection "But I want to be careful when I release anyone What if he doesn't come said Kiener Moreover many would have no place to go if releases were allowed he said Visitation at most area jails normally falls on weekends so there be any extra visitation for the remaining 250 prisoners Prisoners may get a special meal a jail church service and maybe a visit from the Salvation Army Wise 38 prisoners can see their families and friends today but only because Christmas fell on the regular visiting day deputies there said In Washington and Sullivan Counties no judges handed The early Christmas gift was unique to Carter and Unicoi Counties Except for one Washington County prisoner Judge John Kiener released for Christmas the rest are eating ham or turkey in their cells Further the Hawkins and Washington county jails are the only Upper East Tennessee or Southwest Virginia ones to reverse policy and allow prisoners to have visitors today not normally the day for visitors But Christmas and doing it" for the 35 in cus- 4 i VM id Part of Route 23 gets interstate label From Staff Reports US Route 23 from Johnson City to Kingsport has been designated Interstate 181 State and local officials say the designation should help economic growth is the first time in Tennessee history that an existing state or US highway has been designated as part of the interstate Gov Lamar Alexander said Tuesday new designation will be a tremendous economic asset because interstate highways are so important in recruiting new he said The designation applies to 24 miles of US 23 from State Route 67 (University Parkway and Milligan Highway) in Johnson City to State Route 1 (also better known as US 11W and Stone Drive) in Kingsport The state Department of Transportation requested interstate designation in October Three-digit interstate numbers such as 181 are assigned to local bypass or connector routes The limited-access highway crosses 1-81 in Sullivan County 23 is already built to interstate standards and the Federal Highway Administration viewed the route as a logical ad- Holiday feast for all Capt DM Thompson of and serving 40 pounds of fit the oven available and the Kingsport Salvation Army was looking forward to carving turkey for the needy this Christmas The three birds had to be cooked at a restaurant I Rogersville salary cut off after abuse conviction FBI help may be asked in tracking child porn And if one prisoner show up tonight? resentence him and add days to his sentence if he come said the judge For the remaining prisoners Christmas is little different than any other Wednesday And except for Washington County prisoners are eating ham or turkey Washington 55 prisoners make up their minds so they get both Holiday blooms v' in mine By KEN CROWDER Southwest Virginia Bureau You probably had an office Christmas tree you? Well then why should the 350 workers in Clinchfield Coal McClure No 1 mine be any different? far as I can find out this is the first Christmas tree anyone has ever seen says Clinchfield spokesman Robby Skeens imagine how it brighten up a day to be riding that mantrip down into the face and come up on a lit Christmas Skeens said the company got the go-ahead from safety inspectors to put the tree underground men look at it like if they worked in a normal working environment be able to put up their Christmas Skeens said they work underground it mean they be able to celebrate Skeens said the tree with blinking lights powered by a mine electrical hookup was placed in a belt entryway everybody can see it on the way to Behind the tree is a banner that reads Christmas and Think Safety for Seven Southwest Virginians died there in 1983 in the worst mining disaster in 20 years lot of the men frankly have grown tired of hearing about Skeens said Christmas tree thing is very positive and the other the mention of the disaster is a negative one But the one that always gets Accident kills three MOUND La (UPI) A speeding drunken driver smashed into the rear of a small car that exploded in flames Tuesday state police said killing three members of a Texas family traveling to Florida for Christmas The fourth member of the family was in very serious condition in a Mississippi hospital Tuesday afternooon with third-degree burns over 80 percent of her body officials said Troopers said a 1978 Chevrolet Camero driven by Richard House slammed into the back of a 1974 Datsun about 1:55 am on Interstate 20 near Mound about eight miles west of the Mississippi line House 24 fled on foot from the accident troopers said and law enforcement officials spent more than three hours searching the north Louisiana woods for him He surrendered about 5:30 am when he became cold officials said House was charged with three counts of vehicular homicide one count of negligent injury driving while intoxicated hit and run reckless operation of a vehicle and failure to maintain control troopers said and was held at the Madison Parish Jail House who suffered minor chest injuries was moving from Austin Texas to Mount Airy NC when the accident occurred troopers said His car was filled with personal belongings officials said He had been arrested in 1979 in Texas on a DWI charge troopers said The car rear-ended by vehicle immediately "burst into flames and spun out of control officials said not common practice in Upper East Tennessee to release prisoners during holidays but Carter County Sessions Judge Jerry Weaver did it anyway this year Other area judges say too risky because prisoners just might not come back In an unusual judicial maneuver Weaver last week handed down the Yule court order temporarily releasing his prisoners who are serving sentences for misdemeanor charges Sen- dition to interstate said state Transportation Commissioner Dale Kelley The road was built as part of the Appalachian Regional developmental highway network The first section three miles at Gray was built in 1968 The limited-access portion now extends from just south of Johnson City to just north of Kingsport Eddie Williams III chairman of the Johnson City Washington County Chamber of task force on transportation said Tuesday the project was initially pushed to boost economic development here to people (businesses) want to locate at an interstate connector and this put us all on the interstate Williams said He said the next step should be an express connection to Asheville NC The state has plans to widen US 23 to four lanes from Johnson City almost to the North Carolina border US 23 is four-lane but not entirely of limited-access design across Southwest Virginia and in parts of Kentucky and North Carolina The new designation has no effect on federal funding relationship with Mr Hughes Pinkelton said Police are still busy breaking into the computer files Because pf Christmas the investigation will not resume until Thursday Pinkerton said The detective said neighbors described Hughes as a nice person who seemed to like kids was just a quiet person who did a lot for others easy to assume that someone is a nice person if you have to complain about him having wild parties or being a bad is a guy that worked regularly and kept to himself and people just assumed he was all Pinkelton said The detective said police have received numerous calls from all over the country from concerned parents believe that their kids might have been involved in some way with this Pinkelton said authorities do not know yet just how far-reaching activities were know we have this guy who has already been charged with rape and will probably be indicted on several more charges but the extent of this situation will take a long time to Pinkelton said Resort Area Advisory Commission to eliminate the resort reputation Virginia Beach officials launched television and print ads in Washington and New York this year The number of tourists from the Washington area climbed 73 percent at the beach while New York visitors increased 29 percent During the heart of the tour- ist season June July and August visitors spent $483 million on hotel and motel accommodations 211 percent more than in 1984 the year the revenue figures are very said Ricketts By MIKE DYE Hawkins County Bureau ROGERSVILLE Following four months of suspension with pay Rogersville Middle School teacher and coach Jerry Davis had his salary cut off following his Dec 13 conviction for 10 counts of child abuse and assault against students Hawkins County School Superintendent Robert Cooper said the status was changed to suspension without pay following the conviction based on advice from County Attorney Larry Boyd Cooper has informed school board members that he plans to initiate dismissal proceedings Rising country music singer has something to fall back on NASHVILLE (UPI) The FBI may be asked to investigate a Madison man suspected of being part of a nationwide child pornography distribution organization police said Tuesday Metro Police Youth Guidance' Maj George Currey said the FBI may join a probe into the activities of accused sex offender Jerry Hughes 44 because of evidence linking Hughes with a child pornography distribution network we find evidence of a network then we will certainly bring the FBI into the Currey said Hughes was arrested Friday night and charged with aggravated rape of a 14-year-old boy who was in the apartment at the time of the arrest Metro Youth Guidance detective Jerry Pinkelton said during a search of the apartment police found a computer which appeared to have records of other children who may have had sexual contact with Hughes we have here is a lot of first names or their nicknames so we are going to have to track all(of them down and find out exactly what their Ttmet-Niwi Photo eon Conor child abuse of which he was convicted is not a He was charged with aggravated assault in eight of the 10 counts but convicted of a less serious offense on those counts Davis's father Joe Davis who is still acting principal at the school is scheduled for trial in February on two counts of failure to report child abuse The teacher and coach was convicted of assaults against students that included choking a girl and slinging her across the basketball court hitting a boy in the face with his fist and holding a girl upside down by her legs while hitting her head on concrete steps Response was so good to "1-40 a spinoff was soon added in the all-music at the he said been in Nashville now three Cartwright said been a very enlightening experience and helped me learn about areas of performing instead of just doing a radio show the visual Not that getting itchy to move on Cartwright said he still wants to explore other aspects of the business really getting into song writing putting a tape together that hopefully can interest some record label Writing (for other artists) thought about he said just supposing if somebody wanted to do one of my songs I have any problems with Cartwright maintains a hectic schedule taping the shows 10-12 hours a day as many as five days a week His wife Cindy Ellis 25 eases the burden and is an extra on the show think probably one of the most exciting times in its (country Cartwright said so much available from hard-core country and some real good pop (country) not saying not bad stuff out there but I think with the CMA (Country Music Association) awards this year it1 really showed that with The Judds Ricky Skaggs and George Strait the business is very against Davis but the teacher has indicated he will resign rather than go through a dismissal hearing Boyd initially had advised Cooper in August to suspend Davis with pay because courts have ruled that a teacher cannot be suspended without pay unless he is opportunity for some kind of Davis was sentenced to two years in the Hawkins County Jail for the 10 convictions and will be eligible for probation after serving six months Defense attorneys have indicated they will appeal the verdicts on the basis of insufficient evidence They also will contend that wide by WWVA Radio After meeting Jamboree regular Doc Williams in Columbus and playing with his band on a semi-regular basis Cartwright then 18 got his first shot at the Jamboree stage Jamboree asked me to be a staff piano player I played there and set aside singing and entertaining and thought I could work my way Cartwright did just that and by February of 1982 he had headlined the show twice and was anxious for other experiences Cartwright however knew his chances for success were marginal at best and took out an insurance policy based on advice from country old-timers had been told by many of the stars that would come through to get an education something to fall back he said Fortified with a business administration degree from Wheeling College Cartwright made his bold move just decided to move to Nashville I suppose rather common (among aspiring country music But for Cartwright fate carried him several steps up the ladder almost immediately and he landed one of the starrng roles in the cable sitcom was just shocked I expected to put in a few years hard years and I began as the male singer on the show and the leader of the he said Virginia Beach tourism increasing after slump By COLIN McNICKLE United Press International MORGANTOWN WVa What does a rising young country music singer have in the way of insurance in case his ascending career runs out of steam? He falls back on the education old-timers in the business told him to secure Lionel Cartwright 25 has rapidly risen from the ranks of playing country bars in Columbus Ohio and Charleston WVa to being one of the stars of a situation comedy and music show on cable television Cartwright a native of Mason County WVa appears without fail as the leader of the band in and at the on The Nashville Network Cartwright moved to Wheeling WVa when he was 10 after his father an American Electric Power Co employee was transferred With no prior musical interests young Cartwright soon took up the piano and a variety of stringed instruments really had never played anything up until he said in a recent telephone interview from Knoxville Tenn where his shows are taped pretty much a natural inclination I never studied for it at Cartwright was influenced early on in Wheeling by Jamboree USA the weekly country music show broadcast world VIRGINIA BEACH Va (UPI) Good weather and an aggressive advertising campaign boosted business for Tidewater hotels and restaurants this year reversing a 1984 decline in tourism officials said From January to October Virginia Beach motels reported $801 million in sales a 20 percent increase in business over $667 million in sales said James Ricketts tourism director Restaurants reported a 13 percent increase in business with sales climbing from $1834 million to $2074 million Officials attribute the increase in tourist traffic to efforts by the Virginia Beach.