Midtown News

Roane County Mayor Mike Farmer and Sheriff Jack Stockton have already said they will seek second terms. The following offices up are for election next Year:

* County Executive (or Mayor);

* Sheriff

* All 15 county commission seats;

* County attorney

* Circuit court clerk

Harriman firefighters responded to a fire at the United Grocery Outlet at 508 Ruritan Road around 5:45 on Christmas morning. It took about 30 minutes to fully extinguish the fire.

The building wasn't a total loss, but did suffer some minor damage mainly at the front of the store. No one was in the building at the time of the blaze.

Authorities believe an electrical shortage caused the fire.

On December 22nd, 2008, 1.2 billion gallons of toxic coal ash sludge burst out of a landfill, poisoning the land and water in its path and causing untold hardship for families whose lives were turned upside down. A year later, the underlying cause of this massive environmental disaster is still unregulated.

Despite some rumblings and tentative first steps, the EPA has a long way to go before adopting rules that require safer storage of this dangerous muck.

About 30 residents from Harriman's Swan Pond community met Saturday to protest what has happened to their community since the Dec. 22 Kingston coal ash spill - almost one year ago.

"The community that was the first affected by the ash spill....(is) the same community that to this date has been overlooked and forgotten not only by the TVA but also the state of Tennessee and Roane County," said Randy Ellis, a member of the Roane County Long-term Recovery Committee and vice chairman of the Roane County Advisory Committee.

Commit incest/statutory rape with a teenage stepdaughter, father a child, then get out of jail after only nine months.

For details, contact the offices of District Attorney General Lawrence Russell Johnson and/or Ninth Judicial District Criminal Court Judge Elmer Eugene Eblen.

After living most of their lives in confinement, many of the 23 dogs seized from a suspected Roane County puppy mill got some coddling Tuesday morning.

The remaining animals at a suspected puppy mill in Roane County will soon leave the property.

As the end of 2009 nears, The Tennessean is again preparing to select its Tennessean of the Year, and we want your help in choosing the person or group that has made the most exceptional contribution to the people of this state.

The decision by the Roane County Board of Zoning Appeals to deny a Midtown man a special-use permit to sell firearms out of his home stands.

Area residents hard-hit by the coal fly ash spill calamity at TVA's Kingston Fossil Plant said Tuesday they're still grappling with its persistent effects, from health woes to real estate worries.

The sad faces of sick dogs hardly tell where they've come from. More than two dozen dogs are under veterinary care at the Roane County Animal Shelter after being seized from alleged puppy mill in Midtown.

Roane County's Animal Shelter is at full capacity, following the seizure of nearly 30 dogs from a suspected puppy mill this week.

UNIFICATION: The move is on to make the Downtown Medical Center more cohesive, especially the part surrounding Poplar Avenue.

If any place deserves to become a business hub for turning fly ash into useful products, Roane County Executive Mike Farmer said that place should be Roane County.

One Memphis neighborhood stays scary all year long - not just the week of Halloween.

Barros Luco brings Chilean-style big bites to Midtown. For Midtowners, Barros Luco feeds a previously unsatisfied craving for Chilean-style sandwiches like the Chacarero Completo .

Before we look at this week's shows I've got an important question to ask... So who doesn't have a Halloween costume yet? On Saturday, October 23 from 9-6 Playhouse on the Square will be hosting its annual costume rental at Circuit Playhouse on Poplar Ave.

Not a single failing restaurant this week, so let's celebrate The Big Tip ! THIS WEEK'S BIG TIP: The Cupboard Restaurant, 1400 Union Avenue, Midtown Memphis, 276-8015, http://thecupboardrestaurant.com Look out, Mom.

After mediation between Harriman and Prestige Land Co. - the developers of the Pinnacle Pointe development in Midtown - ended in failure last week, one city official said Prestige owes far more than the $230,000 or so a state audit indicated.

With the release of their new album, 1372 Overton Park , onetime alt-country quartet Lucero have concluded what might be the most prolific and productive past decade of any Memphis musicians.