SPRING CITY, Tenn. - With Rhea, Meigs and McMinn counties all sitting within a 10-mile radius of TVA's Watts Bar nuclear facility, county officials say they have a responsibility to protect residents in the event of an emergency at the plant.

Rhea County Emergency Management Director Billy Cranfield said his county will have drills later this year as an updated precautionary measure. He spoke at a recent meeting in which county officials met to review evacuation plans after the earthquake-related nuclear plant accident in Japan.

One revision to the Rhea plan, Cranfield said, would change the evacuation route for students to Harriman, Tenn., rather than up the two-lane highway toward Crossville, Tenn.

For complete details, see tomorrow's Chattanooga Times Free Press.