Tennessee news in brief

State investigating worker death in East Tennessee

SURGOINSVILLE (AP) — State regulators are investigating the death of a worker at a plastics plant in Surgoinsville (sir-GOYNZ’-vihl).

The Tennessee Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration is visiting Alladin Plastics today after the death around 8:50 p.m. Tuesday night.

WJHL-TV in Johnson City reported that Alladin executive vice president Bob Hickman said the victim was a supervisor who had worked for the plant for more than 30 years. He said the accident happened when the supervisor tried to help another employee fix a machine.

The name of the employee has not been released.

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Cold behind Tenn., more

typical spring weather here

NASHVILLE (AP) — After two cold nights, forecasters say springlike weather has returned to Tennessee.

In Nashville, National Weather Service forecaster John Cohen said a few isolated spots fell into the upper 20s early today. Gallatin dropped to 28 degrees at 1 a.m. and didn’t rise above freezing again until 8 a.m.

Temperatures were generally in the 30s across Tennessee, with the coldest noted at 27 degrees south of Woodbury in Middle Tennessee.

In Morristown, NWS observer Craig Carpenter said the warmup was under way by midmorning today as temperatures rose into the mid-40s, on the way to expected highs in the low to mid-60s.

The 10-day outlook shows a series of fronts with showers and thundershowers and moderate cooldowns, but quickly recovering temperatures.

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Plea to lesser crime

in homeless man’s killing

JOHNSON CITY (AP) — A man has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in the hatchet murder of another man in a homeless camp in Johnson City.

James Garner entered his plea Tuesday to a second-degree murder charge in the June 2007 killing of Scott Babb, whose body was found covered with sleeping bags between two tents.

Autopsy results documented 73 “chop wounds,” including 66 injuries to Babb’s head, face and neck.

The 45-year-old Garner had been charged with first-degree murder. His plea to second-degree murder was in exchange for a 17-year prison term.

Another homeless man, Terry McIntosh, had been arrested during the initial investigation, but charges against him were dropped after a DNA analysis failed to show blood evidence on his clothing.

Published in The Messenger 4.8.09

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