Hannah SteinerWoman charged in church rape
JACKSON, Tenn. - Authorities say an 18-year-old Jackson woman is charged with raping a 13-year-old boy at a church.
Jackson police said Hannah Steiner was arraigned Monday on rape and statutory rape charges. She was released on $5,000 bond and has a preliminary hearing set for March 7.
Police said Steiner -- a high school student -- and the boy were in a room at Skyline Church of Christ on Sunday when they began touching each other. Police said the boy tried to stop, but Steiner forced him to have sex.
The Jackson Sun reported that Steiner acknowledged having consensual sex with the boy. Police said the alleged rape happened after Sunday school and before the worship service.
Meth lab found at wrong house
ATHENS, Tenn. - A sheriff's deputy who went to the wrong house to settle a domestic dispute made drug arrests instead.
The Daily Post Athenian reported the McMinn County officer answered a domestic call in Englewood but mistakenly went to a home four houses away.
Deputy Guy McGill said he caught a strong chemical smell as he got out of his car Saturday evening. Another deputy was sent to take the domestic report, and McGill searched the house where he went, finding an active methamphetamine lab in a bedroom.
Four adults and a 10-year-old boy were in the house. The adults were charged with manufacturing meth and child endangerment.
College cuts annual tuition
MADISONVILLE, Tenn. - The board of private Hiwassee College in Madisonville has voted to reduce the student tuition by 20 percent, or $6,000 per year. The reduction will save $24,000 on a four-year degree.
Trustees Chairman Karl Jordan said the move will help middle-class families who have too much income aid but not enough to afford private college for their children.
Beginning with the fall semester of 2013, a residential student will be able to attend Hiwassee for under $20,000 per year, including tuition, fees, room and board.
Hiwassee College is a liberal arts school affiliated with the United Methodist Church.
Professor plans gas-free trip
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - A Tennessee professor and researcher who drove across the country last year on just over two gallons of gasoline is set to do it again without petroleum.
The trip planned to begin March 9 will cover the same route but this time the fuel sources will be solar and hydrogen derived from water on the campus of Middle Tennessee State University.
Ricketts and backup driver Terry Young will be driving a 1994 Toyota Tercel and a 2005 Toyota Prius.