Amber Alert issued for 12-year-old Cookeville boy
The search continues Thursday morning for a missing 12-year-old Cookeville boy.
An Amber Alert was issued late Wednesday night to locate Steven Merriman, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Merriman was last seen Wednesday with his noncustodial mother Sheila D. Randolph, according to authorities. She took the child from school in Cookeville about 3:15 p.m., according to the TBI.
The TBI believes Randolph is accompanied by a 39-year-old man who is about 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 lbs. The 39-year-old man has brown hair and hazel eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Cookeville Police Department at 931-526-2126 or TBI at 1-800-TBI-FIND.
KPD officer among eight charged in alleged drug ring
Eight people including a Knoxville Police Department patrolman honored for his past work face drug charges for taking part in a distribution operation that started in the city and spread through East Tennessee, according to the TBI.
The officer was identified as Joshua Hurst, 38, who twice had been recognized by the department for good work. Hurst, a 13-year department veteran, resigned Wednesday, according to KPD spokesman Darrell DeBusk.
The state investigative agency announced the charges at a Wednesday afternoon press conference.
The drug ring allegedly included sales in a drug-free school zone, according to the TBI.
Bearden Middle School honoring Jajuan Latham
Thursday is a day to celebrate, remember and honor the memory of a 12-year-old Bearden Middle School student taken too soon.
Jajuan Latham was killed Saturday when a stray bullet from a gang-related shooting hit him in the back seat of his father's car.
Services for Latham are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Overcoming Believers Church in Knoxville.
TDOT meeting scheduled for Chapman Highway
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is looking for input on safety issues that have plagued Chapman Highway for years.
Several crashes have occurred on the highway, including one in February that killed three people.
The meeting runs from 5-7 p.m. Thursday at the Valley Grove Baptist Church on Sevierville Pike.
Smoky Mountain Air Show special to air Thursday night
The Smoky Mountain Air Show took over the skies last weekend over McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base.
The two-day event featured amazing aerobatic acts and live entertainment.
WBIR is running a one-hour special at 7 p.m. Thursday if you missed any of the action.
Warm and breezy for Thursday, with rain by Friday
Today: Scattered showers are expected to develop during the afternoon hours ahead of a frontal boundary arriving from the west. Winds may become breezy with gusts out of the south/southwest as high as 20-25 mph. High temperatures should reach the upper 70s and lower 80s.
Tonight: Hit or miss showers with light to moderate rain should continue overnight with southwest winds at 5-10 mph. Lows in the upper 50s.