Channel 3- A fire at a Cleveland apartment complex left five families without a roof over their heads Tuesday night. It happened around 7:45 p.m. at
Channel 3- A fire at a Cleveland apartment complex left five families without a roof over their heads Tuesday night. It happened around 7:45 p.m. at 563 Central Avenue. Cleveland police spokeswoman Evie West says the fire started in vacant apartment number 3. Several reports of entrapment came in to the 911 center. West says firefighters safely evacuated the families from the other five apartments. Heavy smoke caused damage throughout the building, leaving all of the families homeless. West says arson investigator Ben Atchley will conduct an investigation into the cause. Stay with us for updates to this story. Cleveland Daily Banner- Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson is denying any wrongdoing in response to allegations concerning his purchase and sale of used cars. His comments come in light of a regional media report alleging he broke state statutes when he purchased several cars on a government-bidding website. The sheriff admits he purchased the 18 cars in question, but said he has done everything to make sure his actions were in accordance with state regulations. Both Watson and his family’s business, Best Buy Auto and Leasing, have been sent letters from the Tennessee Motor Vehicle Commission asking for a written response to recent allegations included in a media outlet report. In an interview with the Cleveland Daily Banner Tuesday morning, Watson claimed the allegations have no substance. “I have not even received any letter from the state yet,” he said. “Anyone in Bradley County knows me and my family have been in the tire and car business for many years,” Watson said. “The fact I dabble in used cars with my family should be no surprise.” Watson also said there is no connection to the vehicle purchases and sales to the business of the BCSO. “Just as I, as a law enforcement officer, am sworn to protect the public, so are they,” Watson said. “I will respond to their questions and firmly believe, in the end, this was just some bureaucratic confusion.” The Cleveland Daily Banner- The proposed Candy’s Creek Cherokee Elementary School on Georgetown Road (State Highway 60) was a major topic at the Cleveland City Council meeting Monday. The Council approved a motion to pay $138,000 for its part in the schematics for the new school, briefly reviewed a tentative timeline for the construction, discussed possible traffic problems, the state’s widening of Highway 60 in front of the school, and the biggest challenge of all — funding. It was pointed out that the city is expected to receive around $6 million from Bradley County’s bond issue for construction of a new educational building and upgrades at Lake Forest Middle School. Last week, the Bradley County Board of Education approved a $17,245,000 bid from Tri-Con Inc. of Cleveland for the Lake Forest project. City Manager Joe Fivas and Finance Director Shawn McKay told the Council this means the city will still have to raise $8 to $9 million to build the new elementary school. Channel 3- Two people in Rhea County are charged separately with TennCare fraud in cases involving prescription drugs. The Office of Inspector General (OIG), with the assistance of the Rhea County Sheriff’s Office, on Tuesday announced the arrests of Dana Trantham, 34, of Spring City and Troy Jones, 37, of Dayton. Trantham is charged with TennCare fraud and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud in an indictment accusing him of altering a valid prescription for the narcotic Norco, which is a form of the painkiller Hydrocodone, by changing the quantity of pills prescribed, using TennCare benefits to pay for the pills. Jones is charged with three counts of fraudulently using TennCare to obtain the painkillers Hydrocodone and Oxycodone by doctor shopping, which involves going to multiple doctors in a short period of time to obtain the same or similar prescription drugs.
