'Survivor' relative dies in crash
KNOXVILLE - The son and brother, respectively, of Knoxville natives Tina Wesson and Katie Collins, the mother and daughter duo competing on the current season of "Survivor: Blood vs. Water," has died in a car accident in Chattanooga.
Taylor Lee Collins, 25, was a passenger in a car that went off the road Tuesday and struck the wall of a garage on Germantown Road. Collins was riding in the front seat and was thrown from the vehicle. He died from his injuries at a local hospital.
The driver of the vehicle, who was not named, also was taken to the hospital for minor injuries.
The Chattanooga Police Department said the accident involved a single vehicle and that an investigation is ongoing.
Crystal meth seized during traffic stop
DALTON, Ga. - On Sunday night Dalton Police Department detectives led a meth bust that resulted in two arrests and the seizure of about $190,000 worth of crystal methamphetamine.
Evidence in the case also led investigators in Cherokee County to more drugs.
After more than a month of tracking methamphetamine trafficking in the Dalton and Murray County area, Dalton investigators received information that Angela Elezan Lovain, 36, of Chatsworth, was planning to travel from Cherokee County to Dalton with methamphetamine.
The vehicle was pulled over by a Georgia State Patrol trooper and investigators found about 4.3 pounds of crystal meth hidden in an appliance box. The street value of the drugs is estimated by investigators to be $190,000.
Dalton investigators arrested Angela Lovain and also passenger Richard Lee Long, 51, of Chatsworth. Lovain was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, trafficking in methamphetamine, and possession of methamphetamine. Long was charged with possession of methamphetamine and trafficking in methamphetamine.
Information developed in this investigation also led investigators with the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office to execute a search warrant Monday that led to the seizure of more than 2 pounds of meth and approximately $30,000 in cash.
Shelby County Schools missing $48 million
MEMPHIS - An outside audit ordered by the Shelby County Schools board shows that $48.4 million in school equipment is missing or unaccounted for in the district.
The Commercial Appeal reports that the auditor, Maryland-based ProBar, was unable to account for more than 54,270 pieces of equipment, including laptop computers, hard drives, tools and driver training cars.
More than 44,000 pieces of equipment from a total of 189,000 pieces, or 23 percent, were missing from legacy Memphis City Schools, while 10,200 pieces from a total of 56,290 pieces -- 18 percent -- were missing from the former Shelby County Schools system.
The two districts merged July 1, forming a district with 150,000 students.
Board member David Pickler said the equipment was accounted for on June 30 by the district's internal auditing department.
ProBar associate Courtney Jennings said many large districts have a 20 percent loss rate.