Letter claiming to be from Animal Control threatens dog owner

  by Christian Grantham - November 30th, 2007 - 6:48 am| Animals, City Government, Crime, EXCLUSIVE, Public Safety | no comments

The letter appeared to be legitimate to Patricia Russell, but the threats made in the unstamped letter left in her mailbox were fake.

Judy Ladebauche of Metro Animal Services said, “We need to get this stopped.  No one has the right to do this.  This is harassment.”

Russell’s dogs are treated very well according to Metro Animal Control officer Billy Biggs who visited the home.

Biggs said, “I don’t see anything wrong with your setup.”
[Fake Letter Threatens, Worries Dog Owner - WKRN - 11-29-07]

LEARN MORE: Animal Control notices are often placed on your door or arrive as metered mail.

LEARN MORE: It is against federal postal rules to leave any items in or on mailboxes or the mailbox support structure including coupons, solicitations from the self-employed, flyers inviting you to church and any unstamped letter. Companies or individuals that violate postal rules are first warned by the Post Master and placed on a warning list, then fined for future incidents. This rule is in place to protect you from people using the opportunity as cover to commit mail fraud or identity theft.

Viewer generated content on WKRN

  by Christian Grantham - November 29th, 2007 - 6:14 am| New Media, WKRN | one comment

This is one of our first on-air promos for our user generated content site NashFlix.com. The promo introduces a simple step to get viewer generated content to WKRN directly from cell phones. Viewers on the scene of breaking news can now report what they see by capturing pictures or video and sending it from their cell phone to pix@wkrn.com.

Our first on air use of viewer generated content through NashFlix was from a viewer who shared this video of hail. The hail fell at the home of a viewer near Percy Preist Dam in Woodland Pointe a couple of weeks ago. The video came in right before our first newscast that afternoon. You can see how the online content was integrated into our on-air broadcast here.

Examples of content viewers can capture on their cell phones:

• video of severe weather events
• major traffic events
• high school sports
• public meetings
• celebrity sightings
• your thoughts on some of our top stories

Correction to program notice

  by Michelle - November 28th, 2007 - 6:16 pm| Programming | one comment

Just a few corrections to Christian’s post regarding “Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Santa is Coming To Town.”

A Charlie Brown Christmas will air on Sunday, 12/2/07 at 4pm and ABC will repeat this program on Monday, 12/3/07 at 7pm.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town has been moved by ABC and will air on Wednesday, 12/5/07 at 7pm.   ABC is airing America’s Funniest Home Videos on Tuesday, 12/4/07 at 7pm, however, due to Titans on 2 With Jeff Fisher, America’s Funniest Home Videos will air on Sunday, 12/9/07 at 4pm.

Are you listening?

  by Christian Grantham - November 28th, 2007 - 11:41 am| Public Safety, WKRN | no comments

WKRN-TV is looking for individuals who listen to scanner radios. We’re searching for volunteers who listen at home, at work or as a hobby. Someone who spends a lot of time at home or indoors is needed. No equipment will be provided. If you are from the following counties (Cheatham, Davidson, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson), and you might be interested in assisting us, please contact Mike Wright at mwright@wkrn.com or call 615-369-7229.

BREAKING: Hunters Lane student brings gun to school

  by Christian Grantham - November 28th, 2007 - 10:00 am| Campus, Crime, Education, Public Safety | no comments

WKRN received a news tip from a viewer just minutes ago that a student at Hunters Lane was arrested for bringing a gun to school. Metro Police Spokesperson Don Aaron told New 2 there was “an incident” at the school but wouldn’t say more than that. Metro Schools tells News 2 a 10th grade student brought a .25 semi-automatic weapon (similar to the one pictured here) to school with the intent to sell the gun. They also confirm there was no ammunition. The student was reported by other students.

Three weeks ago, WKRN aired a 911 tape from a caller at Hunters Lane describing violence that erupted between students.

WKRN Christmas program changes due to Titans

  by Christian Grantham - November 28th, 2007 - 9:42 am| Programming, WKRN | 3 comments

• A Charlie Brown Christmas, which was preempted last night by Titans on 2 with Jeff Fisher and the Titans Game, will air Sunday December 2nd at 4:00p.m.
     
• Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town will now air Sunday December 9 at 4p.m. due to Titans on 2 with Jeff Fisher airing December 4 at 7p.m.

“That’s a damn noose!”

  by Christian Grantham - November 27th, 2007 - 6:28 am| Race Relations | no comments

A noose in Murfreesboro. Local police notified the F.B.I to the incident as a possible hate crime.

“My wife and I were in the kitchen having breakfast, and I looked up and I noticed something hanging from my tree, and I was like, you know, what’s that? And I came out here and my mouth dropped. That’s a damn noose!” said the man, who did not want to be identified.

The 28-year-old African American decided to leave the noose in his yard for a little while so people would know.

“If it had been back in the day, we would have handled it a different way, but as I’ve grown to be a man there’s no right to doing wrong to other people because of their ignorance,” he said. “As my parents told me, if you let one person bring you down you are as weak as they are.”
[Murfreesboro Man Discovers Noose In Yard - WKRN - 11-26-07]

Sorry, there are no polls available at the moment.

Franklin County residents kill roaming elk

  by Christian Grantham - November 26th, 2007 - 6:30 am| Animals, Environment, Farm | one comment

Some Franklin County residents are upset with the way the owner of wandering elk dealt with his animals on the loose. The elk were found wandering through the county a couple of weeks ago. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture began looking for the owner hoping to avoid having to euthanize the elk. The owner was identified. Instead of the owner placing his elk back on his property, he told people they could shoot them. Elk were reintroduced to Tennessee last year for the first time in 150 years.

Shannon Medley may not see the roaming elk again now that most are dead. The owners of the elk gave Franklin County farmers the ok to shoot them.

Medley said, “Some of these guys, they are not farmers.  To call in a bunch of guys and just start shooting, it’s not right.  I was told if they shot one time, they shot 100 times.”
[Franklin Co. Elk Killed, Residents Upset - WKRN - 11-25-07]

Biscuit throwdown at the Loveless Cafe

  by Christian Grantham - November 20th, 2007 - 6:27 am| EXCLUSIVE, Food | one comment

Here is some exclusive behind the scenes video from yesterday’s taping of the Food Network’s Throwdown with Chef Bobby Flay.

The Food Network was at the Loveless Cafe taping a biscuit bake-off against Biscuit Lady Carol Fay.

Country Music star Eric Church was on hand to be the final judge. Flay brought his “A” game, but you’ll have to tune in to see who wins!

Titans’ game will delay ABC programming

  by Heather - November 19th, 2007 - 11:06 am| Programming, WKRN | 44 comments

The Titans’ game will be broadcast live on News 2 Monday night, delaying regularly scheduled programming on ABC

The following will air Tuesday morning:
12:35 a.m. –Dancing with the Stars
2:05 a.m. – Samantha Who
2:35 a.m. – The Bachelor

Coverage of the game on News 2 will begin on with a special edition of “Titans on 2 with Jeff Fisher” at 7 p.m. 

The game will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Watch News 2 at 10 p.m., after the game, for complete highlights.

UPDATE 11-20-07 6:01am - Nashville viewers can still vote online by clicking here. Voting closes Tuesday at 11a.m. CT. You can also watch Dancing with the Stars online right here (click the ABC SHOWS play button on the right) or on WKRN.com typically 3 hours after the show airs on the Pacific coast.