Eggner's Ferry Bridge inspection complete
Inspectors who went below water to look at the piers holding up the remainder of the Eggner’s Ferry Bridge say they found no significant damage.
A news release from the Highway Department says the four-person dive team used high-resolution acoustic imaging equipment to check for impact damage and also to map the channel bottom around each pier.
The lengthy inspection turned up nothing which would prevent the state with going forward with drilling a new temporary pier and replacing the missing section with a temporary span.
Officials acknowledge it will take several months and some say over a year to get that job done, but it is the quickest option to get traffic across Kentucky Lake on a bridge.
The very early stages of work to build two new bridges is underway, but is several years away from completion.
Governor Steve Beshear announced the state’s intention to use some type of ferry service in his visit to the site earlier in the week, though that would only take a small portion of the vehicles that normally travel U.S. 68-80 on an average day at that point across the water.
Local state legislators addressed the topic on this week’s legislative program, with State Senator Joey Pendleton saying he’d rather see the state expedite the process of building the new bridges as soon as possible and using a ferry or two ferries in the meantime.
Representative John Tilley says the bridge outage is causing some severe problems for commuters who used the structure to get to and from work and school.
Representative Myron Dossett serves on the House Tourism Committee and says the outage will have its ill-effects on Land Between the Lakes.
You can hear the entire Legislative Program Sunday morning at 9 on Lite 98.7.
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02/18/2012/am
Alleged burglar indicted by grand jury
A Hopkinsville man was indicted on buglary charges by the Christian County Grand Jury today.
Facing one count of 2nd degree burglary is 52-year old Gregory Gee of Parklawn Court, with Gee accused of breaking into a home on that same street on December 1st.
Two men accused of bringing drugs into the Christian County Jail—26-year old James Batterton of Rockcastle and 21-year old Paris Thomas of Paducah—were indicted on promoting contraband charges.
Batterton is accused of bringing in cocaine and Thomas allegedly brought in the synthetic marijuana known as K4.
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02/17/2012/am
Clarksville wreck sends man to Vanderbilt
A vehicle versus tree wreck in Tiny Town Road in Clarksville early this morning sent the driver to a Nashville Hospital.
The incident happened around 4:45, according to a news release from Clarksville Police, which says a man identified only as Dylan Duncan was westbound and lost control of his vehicle.
Duncan went over a curb, into the grass and struck a tree. He was not wearing a seatbelt and had to be taken by helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he is listed in stable condition.
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02/17/2012/am
Clarksville men charged with murder
The body of a missing Clarksville man has been recovered following a month long investigation into his disappearance.
Clarksville Police say the body of Brandon Davone Rushing was found yesterday in a burnt out Chevy Suburban in a field off McAdoo Creek in Clarksville.
Three local men, Verchaunt Joshua Williams, Ojawaine Joemese Marbury and Jeffery Mac Jackson were arrested and booked into the Montgomery County Jail for their roles in the murder.
Williams is charged with criminal homicide and is being held without bond, Jackson and Marbury both have a million dollar bond and are charged with accessory after the fact.
According to police, Williams shot and killed Rushing in a Clarksville apartment on January 23rd and called Rushing before shooting him in the head.
Meanwhile, Marbury and Jackson admitted to police during questioning that they helped Williams dispose of Rushing’s body and vehicle.
Police say the victim knew the suspects for several years an the motivation behind the homicide is still under investigation.
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Mother extradited back to TN for murder
A mother has reportedly been indicted for murder in the brutal death of her son.
24-year old Caitlyn Leanore Metz of Williams Highway, Oregon was extradited back to Montgomery County, Tennessee yesterday for the 2009 death of her son.
According to Clarksville Police, Metz was picked up in Josephine, Oregon on Saturday, February 11th and is being held in the Montgomery County Jail on a $100,000 bond.
Metz was indicted on two counts of 1st degree felony murder, two counts of aggravated child abuse and aggravated rape of a child.
Metz’s ex-husband, 23-year old Joshua Ryan Starner, remains lodged in the Montgomery County Jail on a $1.4 million bond and was originally charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated rape of a child and felony murder, but was re-indicted this month for two counts of aggravated child abuse and felony murder.
At the time of his arrest, Starner was listed as a Specialist and was stationed at Fort Campbell.
According to Starner’s arrest warrant, Caitlyn Metz left the 23-month old boy, named Keegan Andrew Metz, at home for a couple of hours with Starner and when she returned, her son was found unresponsive, and was taken to Vanderbilt University Children’s Hospital, where he later died from his injuries.
Medical staffers reported the child had severe trauma to his forehead, serious tears in his rectum and bruises all over his body.
It’s unclear at this time, what role Caitlyn Metz played in her son’s death and why she was arrested 3 years after her son’s murder.
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