Tennessee

Tom Humphrey

NASHVILLE - Under newly unveiled legislation, owners of all-terrain vehicles willing to pay a $11.25 state fee and perhaps more to local governments would have access to a network of "adventure tourism" trails and nearby highways where they are now forbidden to roam.

State Reps. Les Winningham, D-Huntsville, and Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport, said the plan was developed by a group of interested parties, ranging from ATV enthusiasts to government officials, with the goal of generating tourism spending in rural Tennessee.

Hank Hayes

Locally sponsored legislation in the Tennessee General Assembly that would authorize all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) to use designated highways with certain restrictions has been taken off notice.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Tony Shipley, said he decided not to advance the legislation because of time constraints and to lend support to an “adventure tourism” bill sponsored by state Rep. Les Winningham, D-Huntsville.

Stanley Dunlap

Several years ago, a father spent two months in the hospital after having an accident while illegally riding an ATV with his child on Horace Simmons' farm in Madison County.

Another recent incident has Simmons concerned about the safety of trespassers and the destruction caused to the land by them riding four-wheelers on his property.

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. -- The city of Clarksville is upset because someone keeps vandalizing its golf greens.For the second time this month, someone took an ATV for a joy ride on Hole 11 at the Swan Lake Golf Course and left doughnut marks on the green. The damage is estimated at $10,000.The golf course was forced to close the hole until repairs can be made.

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Source: http://www.wsmv.com/news/21353972/detail.html

Bill Poovey

An East Tennessee teenager's weekend death in an all terrain vehicle accident brought the state's 2009 death toll in ATV wrecks to eight, and a national consumer safety spokeswoman said the national death toll from the machines is "staggering.''

More than 7,000 people in the U.S. have died in ATV-related accidents since 1993, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

TUESDAY

Tanner Headrick remains in critical condition at T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital.

Steven Wright's family will receive friends at the Ralph Buckner Funeral Home in Cleveland Wednesday from 5 p.m. until 8 p.m.

Randy Moomaw

PLEASANT VIEW — Town Attorney Jennifer Noe updated the Pleasant View Board of Mayor and Aldermen last week on state statues that address noise, dust and behavior issues regarding the use of off-road vehicles in residential areas.

Some residents and town leaders have voiced concerns in recent months about noise pollution and reckless use of four-wheelers and dirt bikes in various neighborhoods.

A Cumberland County man who taunted police for several months while remaining on the run was apprehended this week by U.S. Marshals, the Tennessee Highway Patrol and Cookeville Police Department. The agencies teamed up to capture a fugitive wanted for committing crimes in a four-county area.

An elusive Charles Eugene Henry, age 44, was captured at 204 Wilson Rd., in Cumberland County by members of the U.S. Marshals Middle Tennessee Joint Fugitive Task Force. Henry had eluded capture several times while running from Marshals and local law enforcement in the Upper Cumberland area during the last several months.

Stanley Dunlap

A Rutherford police officer has been indicted by a Gibson County grand jury after he shot a man accused of stealing an all-terrain vehicle in September, authorities said.

Officer William "Bill" Wetherell has been indicted on one count of aggravated assault and one count of reckless endangerment in the Sept. 6 incident, said John Mehr, special agent in charge with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in Jackson.