TOP PHOTO: Beloved minister Ronnie Arnold retired from Cedar Hill Baptist Church. The story is further down this page.

CAMPBELL COUNTY, TN. (WLAF)- With few days in left in 2021, it is time to look back on the stories that captured the attention of WLAF viewers and readers. Today, we look at some of the stories of January, February and March.

JANUARY

Firefighters with the Caryville Fire Department were paged out 4:38 am facing the challenge of buildings on fire on Main Street in weather in the teens. CFD Chief Eddie Hatmaker said, “We’re gonna be here a while. It’s the old post office across the street from Owens Shoe Store.” Click here for the story.

County commissioners held a special called meeting regarding an Opioid lawsuit against Big Pharma that was filed by the district attorney. After a lengthy discussion, Commissioners decided to postpone the issue again in order to get more information.  Click here for the full story.

Miss Anna Smith has seen over a century of life in these mountains. Smith is from Bear Wallow and has spent most of her life in the area.  She got her nickname, “The Queen of Bear Wallow” from Jehu Parks, who was the pastor at Bear Wallow Church years ago. Click here for the story.

Former athlete and well known community member Howard St. John died. Click here for the story.

Beloved minister Ronnie Arnold retired from Cedar Hill Baptist Church. Click here for the story.

Campbell County Schools returned to in person learning. Click here for the story.

FEBRUARY

The Tennessee College of Applied Technology was presented a $5,000 check to go towards local scholarships. The donation was made by UT-Battelle, which is the company that runs Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Click here for the story.

The LaFollette City Council approved the allocation of funds from the Capital Outlay Note totaling $1,072,300. Some of the items to be purchased with the funds are a new recreation building, two tractors for the street department, three police cars, 22 chairs for the conference room and council chambers. Click here for the story.

Six people were located in a small barn apartment. More than 100 used needles. Cash, heroin and meth. That was the scene earlier today at the home of 34-year old Jessica Halcomb at 647 Sudenny Lane, according to a report from the Campbell County Sheriff’s Office. Click here for the story.

It wasn’t long after midnight on a Sunday morning when road crews hit the streets around La Follette and Campbell County. “The most I’ve seen, so far, is six-inches of snow. That was at Flat Hollow,” said Campbell County Road Superintendent Ron Dilbeck. Click here for the story.

After years of bouncing between various courts, Eighth Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler’s lawsuit against Big Pharma has been dismissed. Eight Judicial District Circuit Court Judge John McAfee dismissed the suit after ruling that Effler lacked the legal standing to file suit against Purdue Pharma. The case had moved between local and state court before landing back in circuit court. Click here for the story.

The price of gasoline was up 39 cents to $2.24 compared to late 2020 year. That means a 20 gallon fill-up costs nearly $8 more than it did in December. In one day, the price jumped from $2.17 to $2.24. Click here for the story.

MARCH

Terry’s Pharmacy began aiding in the COVID-19 vaccinations for school teachers and administrators. Click here for the story.

One of Campbell County’s busiest roads was temporarily closed. Emergency bridge repair forced the closure of a section of Towe String Road. The closure was from Memorial Drive to River Road. Click here for the story.

The Bosch Community Fund awarded Postmark LaFollette Arts, Culture and History Center funds to present a STEM project within the Campbell County area.  The project, “We Are the Future”, included five STEM teachers working with teams of three to five students in the 4th through 8th grades of the Campbell County School system, including one group of homeschooled students. Click here for the story.

An 18-wheeler overturned just after 5 am in the median at the exit and entrance ramps to I-75 at Exit 134. Click here for the story.

A resident on Davis Road reported to police that a neighbor was naked from the waist down along their property line. Campbell County Sheriff’s Deputy Cody Douglas was told that 34-year- old Adam Nelson had been in the road, driveways and yards twitching, jerking, yelling and crawling around. Douglas was familiar with Nelson from recent complaints about his causing public annoyance and alarm by similar actions. Click here for the story.

Rock wall climbing, archery, campfire cooking and more was part of the Boy Scout event held at Cedar Hill Baptist Church. The “youth fun” day was hosted by the Mount Cammerer District-Campbell County Boy scouts and provided an opportunity for area youth to check out what the Boy Scout Program is all about. A rock climbing wall was provided by the Great Smoky Mountain Council, as was the archery equipment. Click here for the story. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED 12/28/2021- 6AM)