Oct. 10– Police responding to a report of a face stabbing at Savannah Motel arrested a man on drug and domestic assault charges Saturday.
According to Savannah police, officers arrived at the scene where Alsento T. Price, 34, of Whiteville, said he had been walking on Cherry Street when an unidentified person stabbed him.
While officers were interviewing Price, a woman ran over and told police to arrest Price, claiming he hit her in the head with a brick.
The woman, Jackson resident Akikia A. Williams, 27, said when Price hit her, she hit back and "her fingernail went through his lip," the police report states.
Oct. 5– A Savannah man died Tuesday morning in a two-vehicle collision on Interstate 40 near Nashville.
Raleigh Flint, 77, was killed when the Saturn he was driving was struck in the rear by a Nissan Frontier, causing it to hit four other vehicles, WSMV-TV reported.
A passenger in Flint’s vehicle, Yuna Afakawa, 14, a foreign exchange student, was in stable condition at Vanderbilt. She was the only person injured in the six-vehicle crash.
Flint was a maintenance and work supervisor at Harbert Hills Academy in Hardin County. He had previously taught physics at the school, Harbert Hills Principal Joe Simpson said.
Afakawa had traveled from Japan to attend Harbert Hills and had just been picked up at the airport by Flint, whose duties included transportation.
"Raleigh was such a blessing to all of us. He had such an intimate relationship with both students and staff," Simpson said.
According to the principal, Flint’s vehicle flipped multiple times after it was rear-ended and Flint was pronounced dead at the scene.
Oct. 4– The Savannah Main Street Program and its director Judy Flanagan were honored Monday at the International Festivals and Events Association awards ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Savannah Main Street program earned a bronze award in the category of Best Organizational Website in the IFEA/Haas & Wilkerson Pinnacle Awards competition. Flanagan was nominated for the International Festivals and Events Association Hall of Fame.
Sponsored by Haas & Wilkerson Insurance, the professional competition draws entries from among the world’s top festivals and events.
Winning entries came from organizations as diverse as the 500 Festival in Indianapolis, Ind., to the Ludwig Van Beethoven Easter Festival in Poland.
"IFEA has the best reputation in the events and festival industry, so receiving a Pinnacle Award is very prestigious," said Flanagan.
Flanagan began her career at Walt Disney World in Florida from 1972-1981 where her roles included working as an entertainment supervisor, focusing on parades and special events.
Sept. 29– A third generation Tennessee state trooper is recovering today after being shot in the chest by a passenger in a vehicle during a traffic stop Wednesday evening on Interstate-40 in Henderson County, the Tennessee Department of Safety said.
The injured officer, Dwayne Stanford, has Hardin County connections.
He is the grandson of retired trooper Leon Stanford and wife Pat Stanford, who recently retired after serving many years as a dispatcher for Hardin County E-911.
According to the Safety Department, Trooper Dwayne Stanford was returning to Jackson from training in Nashville when he pulled over a vehicle for traffic-related violations at approximately 5:20 p.m. in the westbound lane of I-40 near mile 115.
Stanford took the female driver, Christi Pepper, 47, of Cadiz, Ky., into custody for an outstanding criminal warrant and placed Pepper in his patrol car.
While returning to the stopped vehicle, a male passenger, Robert Cunningham, Jr., 50, also of Cadiz, stepped out and fired a weapon at Stanford.
Stanford returned fire, and shot and killed Cunningham.
Stanford, who was wearing a bullet-proof vest, was shot once in the chest during the incident.
He was transported to Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.
"Trooper Stanford is one of our best and brightest troopers on the road. He is well respected by his peers and the command staff. His training and experience helped save his life," said Tennessee Highway Patrol Col. Tracy Trott.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting.
