Be sure to look around and find out what's happen in
Copperhill, Tennessee and surrounding areas.
Here you'll find clips about the Copper mines. The
flood, and lot's more local news & history.
Polk Co. - Worker shot at water plant
The Polk County Sheriff's Office is searching for a suspect
after a shootout at the Intertrade Holdings, Inc., facility near
Copperhill Sunday evening.
Polk county investigators are looking for a suspect from a shooting
overnight. It happened at the
Inter-Trade Holding company in Copperhill.
Three workers at the site noticed a man
walking in a restricted area of the old mining property. The
plant has had trouble with thefts over the last few weeks. When
they challenged him.. He produced a gun and started firing at
them. They had a shotgun in a shed and returned fire.
One of the employees suffered a neck wound
that wasn't very serious. He is back on the job today. The
gunman got away on a four wheeler.
Deputies searched the property for six hours..
But couldn't find him in the dark. Detectives with the Polk
County Sheriff's Office are looking for a gunman who got into a
shootout with workers at the water treatment plant in Cantrell Flats
area at a Intertrade Holdings Facility. Detective Joe Price says
the workers saw a man walking nearby around
10:30 last night. When they challenged the man, Det. Price says
the
suspect pulled a gun, ducked and opened fire. One of the employees,
60-year-old Sid Arp of McCayesville, Ga., used
a shotgun kept on site against the suspect. The shotgun is there
at
the treatment plant for protection against coyotes and other predators.
During the gunfire, another Intertrade employee, 57-year-old Larry
Breeden of Cherry Log, Ga., was wounded in the neck. Breeden went
from
Copper Basin Medical Center to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga
last night. Det. Price says he was released this morning and back
to
work this afternoon. The two other employees involved in the gunfight,
Arp and 37-year-old Shawn Taylor, of Turtletown, were not hurt. The
three employees told investigators when the shooting stopped,
the gunman jumped on a four-wheeler and fled the area. Polk
County
Sheriff's Deputies, helped by TVA Police, Copperhill Police and East
Polk Fire and Rescue spent six hours searching Intertrade Property for
the gunman but were not successful. Det. Price says searchers did
find
tracks from the four-wheeler, they couldn't find where he left the
grounds on the large chemical plant. There have been several reported
trespassing incidents on Intertrade
Property in recent weeks, including the theft of a tractor and
four-wheeler. Det. Price says they do not know why the gunman was
on
the property or if it is related to the recent thefts.
From Russia
with Love is no longer there. Copperhill
Rock and Mineral has closed due to a rent increase
from the landlord that owns the El Rio Restuarant.
Will the train tourist decrease or be
dissappointed next year?
Sept. 14, 2009 Former
Copperhill City Supervisor Paul Hunter, who was fired July 31 by Mayor
Cecil Arp, filed suit against the city of Copperhill and Arp in the
U.S. District Court in Chattanooga Sept. 9. Hunter, 58, who
had
been employed by the city 25 years, filed the lawsuit on six counts,
according to the complaint. Hunter is asking the city and Arp for back
pay, to be reinstated in his former job, or for front pay in lieu of
reinstatement, among other things. In
the document, Hunter
alleges that the city discriminated against him due to his age and to
his hearing disability, which dates back to his military service in the
Vietnam War. The suit charges that
Hunter and other city
employees “were routinely permitted to work in excess of 40 hours per
week” and were not paid overtime for the work, a violation of the Fair
Labor Standards Act. The city and Arp
are charged with breach of
contract in the suit because of the “manner and reason” of Hunter’s
termination. The suit alleges that Hunter received no written or verbal
warning prior to termination. “The
decision to force Hunter to
retire or draw disability benefits was disputed by the city council,
which criticized Arp’s decision and the manner in which it was carried
out,” the complaint states. The suit
alleges that in 2007, prior
to when Arp was mayor and was in charge of the city’s water and sewer
system, that “Arp announced in a council meeting that Hunter was going
to retire,” despite the fact that Hunter said he did not wish to
retire. The
suit further charges Arp with retaliating against Hunter by issuing a
restraining order the day after Hunter’s attorney sent the mayor and
council a letter asserting Hunter’s rights Aug. 11. According to
the complaint, the restraining order “prevents Hunter from
communicating with fellow employees regarding illegal pay
issues.” The final charge cites
discrimination and unlawful pay practices against Hunter in 1983.
The
lawsuit asks that Hunter be given “the value of all employee benefits,
liquidated and/or punitive damages; damages for humiliation; attorneys
fees; prejudgment interest and additional damages.” The suit
asks that a jury try the issues and the cause, and that Hunter be
allowed to proceed on behalf of other present and past employees of the
city “for purposes of relief sought under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” Benjamin
Lauderback, the city’s attorney who is based in Knoxville, said Monday
Morning, Sept. 14, he had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit. Copperhill Mayor
Cecil Arp said Monday at noon, Sept. 14, he had just received the
lawsuit.
4,856 People with Health Care
for One Year OR
