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Top Stories of 2007

Submitted by Gene Patterson on December 20, 2007 - 10:47pm

Coming up next weekend on Tennessee This Week, we'll look back over the past year at the stories that made headlines.

Our panel of pundits - George Korda, Frank Cagle and Mike Cohen - will breakdown the 5 biggest stories of the year and how they impacted our lives and will also look to the future and predict which stories will impact us most in 2008.

My list - not in any particular order - of the biggest stories of the year includes:

*the sunshine lawsuit and the continuing vacancies in 12 county elected positions,
*the spending scandal in the Mayor's office,
*the murders of Channon Christian and Chris Newsome,
*the McClung Warehouse fire,
*the drought,
*the arrest in the Johnnia Berry murder,
*changes in the BEP,
*the forced resignation of school superintendent Charles Lindsey,
*the ban on public smoking,
*the increase in the cigarette tax.

What about you? What do you think was the top story of the year? And why?

Comments

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Comments

THE UNEXPECTED EFFECTIVENESS

Submitted by Bayard J. Donahoo (not verified) on December 22, 2007 - 4:12pm.

THE UNEXPECTED EFFECTIVENESS OF TERM LIMITS

Term limits eliminate the possibility of politicians building powerful empires of personal influence. The sunshine law fight exposed the tawdry abuse these empires spawn. When term limits took power from Knox County's governmental families, it let the rest of us have a substantially larger and more personal say in what affects our everyday lives.

Bayard J. Donahoo

everyone who was involved in

Submitted by julia lane (not verified) on December 23, 2007 - 9:48pm.

everyone who was involved in the murders of channon christian and christopher newsom should be put to death.these animals have no place in society.I read in the old testament of the bible that human killing animals must be put to death.these people are no better than dogs.

my name is Emily and i think

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on September 4, 2009 - 11:45am.
my name is Emily and i think that you are right these people are dogs and they deserve to be chained for the rest of their lives, im so skitish too beacause i live 10 minutes away from where the murder occured and it makes me think that what if somebody is looking right now and i just waiting for you to make a move so that they can make theirs, thats why i always want to be prepared in situations like that i carry my moms stun gun around now***but what im tryin to say is that i think that letavis Cobbins and lemarcis Davison should have the death peanalty and should be made somebodys bitch in jail!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The verdict!!!!

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on August 26, 2009 - 9:14pm.
I feel like the whole of Knoxville was let down. A question to ponder on, Why was this not classified as a hate crime? The brutal murders of these two people should be classified as hate. If the shoe was on the other foot, Rev. Sharpton and Jesse would have been here with cameras galore. The NAACP would have been in full force. Maybe we would have even got a call from Obama himself. But no this is a white couple. I am not a prejudiced person but I am a person who sees the world going to hell because of the laws we have made and then not enforced. What would it take to get the death penalty ? Everything they did pointed to the death penalty. I agree whole hearted with Channons father about the prison system. It is a good warm bed, medical treatments, sports, etc. We might as well take the death penalty off the books. We don't have enough gutsy people to enforce it. Mad as Hell in Harriman!!!!

sad

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on September 4, 2009 - 11:38am.
i think that the brutal murder was so unnessary and i dont neccisarly think that it was a racist act but that the victims were an easy target!!!! i dont thank that those men should have been able to see another day just like they made channon christian and christopher Newsom suffer and i think that they should have the death sentence for what they did to the young couple!!!!! If i was on jury i would have give them the death penalty!! But what the scary part is that i live so close to where the murder happended and it really is scary if you think about it. Im sure that if it was my child maybe i could say for sure how i feel and really it was soo sad that it made me cry and i will always pray for the family and i will be glad when this is all over for the christian family and the Newsom Family. Im sorry for what happended and i will always have your family in my dreams, forever and always,,,Emily knoxville tn 17 years old Carter High School

GUILTY

Submitted by JOYCE JONES (not verified) on November 11, 2009 - 11:33am.

 

FIRST OF ALL ALLOW ME TO TYPE

Submitted by JOYCE JONES (not verified) on November 11, 2009 - 11:47am.

FIRST OF ALL ALLOW ME TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS. THIS IS A CASE THAT I FEEL IS ONE HUNDRED SERIOUS AND UTMOST SAD. WHAT HAPPEN TO THOSE YOUNG PEOPLE ARE NOT HUMAN LIKE, NOT EVEN ANIMAL LIKE. AT LEAST AN ANIMAL WOULD ONLY KILL YOU AND THEN GO ON THEIR WAY. THE PARENTS OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE HAVE MY SPECIAL PRAYERS. NOW TO THE CASE ITSELF, WHERE ON EARTH CAN I CAN. THESE THINGS (AS I REFER THEM) TAKE LIFE AS WE HUMANS KNOW IT AS IF IT IS A PIECE OF CAKE. THESE DECISIONS THAT THEY MADE SHOW ONLY GET ONE VERDICT: DEATH. PUT THE FLUID AND LET THEM TAKE THEIR LAST BREATH. WHAT I DONT UNDERSTAND IS WHY THE UNITED STATES HAVE COURT FOR ANIMALS LIKE THIS FOR IS BEYOND ME. LETS GO BACK TO BARBARIC WAYS AND KILL ON SIGHT. THE PUNISHMENT SHOULD FIT THE CRIME. IF YOU RAPE AND KILL, THEN LETS RAPE AND KILL YOU. CHANNON CHRISTIAN WAS RAPED AND MURDERED BRUTALLY, WELL BY MY LOGIC DO THE SAME THING TO THESE THINGS THAT DECIDED TO TAKE LIFE IN THEIR OWN HANDS AND PLAY GOD. YOUNG NEWSOME WAS ALSO RAPED AND MURDERED BRUTALLY THEN AGAIN THE SAME WOULD BE DONE FOR THE ONES THAT DID THAT TO HIM. AND ALLOW THE PARENTS OF THESE CHILDREN WATCH. AND THEN ONCE THEY TAKE THEIR LAST BREATHS GIVE EACH PARENT A GUN AND ALLOW THEM TO PUT A BULLET ON THEIR HEADS. HOW CAN THIS CASE BE BE CALLED A RACE CRIME? I AM AN AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMAN AND I DONT CARE IF THE PERSON BEING ACCUSED IS POLKA DOT WITH ORANGE STRIPES, THEN FRY THEM. I AM SO TIRED WHEN A PERSON DOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS THATS THE FIRST THING THAT THEY WANT TO POINT TO. DO THE CRIME AND YOU NEED TO DO THE TIME. MURDER IS MURDER NO MATTER WHAT COLOR THAT THE PERSON ACCUSED HAPPENS TO BE.