Thursday, August 17th

From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, here is your news for Thursday, August 17th, on Mix 104-1 and Talk 101-3 The Buzz.

Topping our news today, the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office has released the following statement regarding the death of Deanna O’Daniel: “Our hearts, prayers, and thoughts go out to Patrol Deputy Robert O’Daniel regarding the loss of his wife, Deanna O’Daniel. Our agency will be readily available to offer our assistance in a number of capacities during this extremely difficult time. The announcement of former Correctional Officer Deanna O’Daniel’s death has deeply impacted her colleagues, who shared many memories during her tenure at the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. While we continue to express our deepest condolences, we also want to recognize her years of dedicated service and unwavering commitment as a public servant to this community as a 911 dispatcher and Correctional Officer.”

From the Cleveland Daily Banner…

A fire at a vacant Green Drive apartment late Monday was apparently intentionally set, according to the Cleveland Fire Department.

Fire Marshal Ben Atchley said the apartment and an apartment just above it were heavily damaged by the 11:40 p.m. fire. The apartment is located at 1835 Green Drive, which is just off Georgetown Road, he reported.

“It was a vacant apartment, and there was no power to the apartment,” Atchley said.

He said the fire originated in the downstairs apartment, and spread upstairs to the second one. Atchley said four individuals who were living upstairs were displaced, and were assisted by the Bradley County chapter of the American Red Cross.

Atchley added anyone with any information on the fire should contact the Cleveland Fire Department, or the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017.

Also from The Banner…

Employees at Resolute Forest Products in Calhoun were informed on Tuesday of the permanent closure of paper machines No. 3 and No. 5.

According to an official release from Resolute, 222 employees will feel the impact of this closure, reducing the plant’s workforce from 713 to 491.

Both hourly and salaried positions will be affected in the closure, and they will be notified “as soon as possible” of their employment status. Some will be asked to continue to work with the shutdown of equipment, and others could be offered different positions within the mill or at other company facilities.

The reasons for the closure of the two paper mills were thoroughly detailed in the same release.

In just the first six months of 2017 there has been an 8 percent decline in demand for uncoated groundwood paper in North America, and a 53 percent decrease since 2007. Newsprint has seen a 12 percent decrease in the first six months of 2017 and 66 percent decline in the past 10 years.

The closure of machines 3 and 5 will be completed no later than Sept. 30, and will result in “the reduction of 356,500 metric tons of paper production capacity.” The thermo-mechanical pulp mill, a wood yard and a paper wrap line will also be closed and there will be a reduction in the shipping department. Despite the closure of the two machines, the market pulp production capacity at the mill will increase by more than 10 percent.

The Calhoun plant’s focus has shifted to the “growing tissue market,” which is evident in the $400 million investment Resolute has made over the past three years. Capital improvements have been made at the Calhoun mill, including the construction of a state-of-the-art tissue machine and converting operation and a continuous pulp digester.

This has been your local and state news. You can get news anytime by visiting our website, mymix1041.com, powered by Pioneer Credit. From the Tennova Healthcare Cleveland News Desk, this is Jeremy Gault reporting.