News in brief from across Tennessee

Former LaFollette officer indicted LAFOLLETTE (AP) — A former LaFollette city police officer has surrendered to face sex and misconduct charges. The Knoxville News Sentinel reported Jeremy Cross turned himself in Tuesday following his indictment by a Campbell County grand jury on charges of aggravated rape, official repression and official misconduct. Police Chief Ben Baird said the woman who Cross is charged with assaulting was stopped and found to be driving on a revoked license. Cross is accused of raping her behind some warehouses on July 5, threatening to arrest her if she refused. Baird said he called in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on July 7 — the same day the woman filed her complaint against Cross. ——— Knoxville says traffic cam company’s bid too late KNOXVILLE (AP) — Knoxville won’t consider a bid from its current traffic light camera vendor because it arrived too late. RedFlex Traffic Systems, based in Phoenix, operates automated traffic signal enforcement cameras at 15 intersections under a three-year contract. The Knoxville News Sentinel quoted city purchasing agent Boyce Evans as saying RedFlex’s bid for a new contract arrived at mid-morning on Aug. 1, about 24 hours after the 11 a.m. July 31 deadline. RedFlex provided a letter from FedEx, acknowledging the parcel carrier didn’t get the paperwork to Knoxville on time because one of its trucks missed a connection with a flight. Evans said the cause is unimportant because the deadline protects the bidding process. The current contract ends Nov. 8. Evans said RedFlex made about $3 million dollars under its current contract. ——— Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, http://www.knoxnews.com Published in The Messenger 9.5.08

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