Author: CNN Newsource

By Leah Bolling

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    COHUTTA, Georgia (WRCB) — The City of Cohutta mayor tells Local 3 News that he has fired the entire Cohutta Police Department in the wake of a recent controversy between the force and city leaders.

The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office is handling public safety until the matter is resolved.

The news comes after last week’s meeting between Mayor Ron Shinnick and the department in an effort to resolve an issue where the town’s former clerk, Pam Shinnick, who is Mayor Ron Shinnick’s wife, continued to have access to town information after her termination.

The Cohutta mayor told Cohutta Police Chief Greg Fowler on Wednesday morning that the police department will be shutting down. He is currently informing officers and clearing equipment from the building.

Some city officials were not notified and are still learning of the news.

Fowler is no longer employed by the department.

The Whitfield County Sheriff’s Office says Town of Cohutta residents will not be affected by the loss of the police department, and that response times will not change.

Bryan Rayburn, the town’s attorney, declined to comment on the situation when asked by Local 3 News.

PREVIOUS STORY: Tensions between town leaders and the Cohutta Police Department appear to have eased following a dispute over a former town clerk’s role and access to sensitive systems.

The issue surfaced after several police officers submitted complaint letters raising concerns that former clerk Pam Shinnick, who is Mayor Ron Shinnick’s wife, continued to have access to town information after her termination. Officers also reported delays in receiving their paychecks during that period.

On Thursday morning, Mayor Shinnick and members of the police department met at City Hall to publicly address the situation and outline a resolution.

“Through open dialogue and good faith mediation, we were able to come together, resolve concerns and reaffirm our shared commitment to serving the citizens of Cohutta with integrity and respect,” Police Chief Greg Fowler said.

Mayor Shinnick echoed that sentiment, saying the town worked through the issue with support from the community, police department and legal counsel.

Officers who had signed the complaint letters were present at the meeting and have since rescinded their complaints.

Town attorney Bryan Rayburn said the intent was never to escalate the situation but to ensure concerns were addressed and operations continued smoothly.

“It was never the goal to get caught up in litigation or to create a huge mess for the town,” Rayburn said. “It was to get the process rolling on getting someone else involved in this position so that their complaints and their concerns were timely addressed.”

Rayburn said the town faced a temporary challenge after Shinnick’s termination because no one else was qualified to manage payroll. During that time, she was briefly brought back under supervision to complete essential financial tasks.

“The mini solution for a period of time was to bring Mrs. Shinnick back under supervision so that the business of the town could be completed,” he said.

Rayburn said he could not specify exactly when Shinnick fully left her role but added he does not believe she received special treatment due to her relationship with the mayor.

“I think if it had been anyone, we probably would have been in a situation where we would have had to hold on to them for a little bit,” he said. “She was fired. She couldn’t give a two-week notice. We were just in an impossible situation.”

Town officials said Shinnick no longer has access to any municipal systems. An outside payroll company has been hired to handle employee pay, and multiple staff members will be trained to perform clerk duties moving forward.

Lt. Ryan Fowler said the police department is satisfied with the outcome.

“We’re satisfied. Everything that we had requested seems to be coming to fruition,” he said, noting that some details remain confidential due to personnel laws.

The next Cohutta Town Council meeting is scheduled for May 12, and any concessions that officers had will be addressed at that time.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By GeNienne Samuels

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    RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — At Feed More outside of Richmond, Virginia, meals are packed with purpose and volunteers move with intention.

But on one recent day, a team of high school seniors rolled in to join the Meals on Wheels delivery route.

The students, all with developmental disabilities, are building real-world life skills through a work-based learning program supported by the Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services, known as DARS.

Diane Snead Herson, a transition teacher at Richmond High School for the Arts, told our GeNienne Samuels that hands-on experience is the most effective way to prepare her students.

“The best way for my students, because they’re visual learners, is to actually put them out in the work field so they can see what working is all about,” Snead Herson said. “They might have a disability, but… they still are able to perform and still be able to learn and communicate with people, we just got to give them an opportunity,” Snead Herson said.

Stop after stop along the route, a different student steps up to place a warm meal in waiting hands.

Meals on Wheels customer Samuel Simmons reflected on what the students bring to those they serve.

“Their strength helps us with our strength. Where we are weak at, you know, they have the strength. And so watching them get stronger, you know, helps us get stronger,” Simmons said.

For the final stop, the group goes together.

Meals on Wheels customer Linda Gill said the students are making more than a delivery.

“It’s been very important to me… it’s a lifesaver,” Gill said. “My son became blind 13 years ago. It was devastating for me, but him and I work together. He is my lifeline.”

Gill said anything she can do for the students, she’ll do for them.

“I’m not going to turn my back,” Gill said. “I don’t want them to go back home and think that nobody cares about them, because there are people in this world that do care about them.”

For Snead Herson, the work is personal.

“I have a child that’s special needs myself. But not only do I have a child that is special needs… my heart is here,” she said. “We are in hard times and we need to support each other. Whether they have a disability or not. We need to be there to help each other out. Make this a better world.”

Snead Herson told Samuels that it truly takes a team effort to make programs like this work.

She said her team, instructional assistants Shayla Pair and Jacqueline Redwood, along with Sherry Strokes, the bus driver, take pride in helping each student discover their strengths and build confidence through the work-based learning program.

This Meals on Wheels trip ended with a birthday celebration for one of the students (Viki) and a monetary donation from Marc Herson in support of Feed More’s mission.

In addition to volunteering with Meals on Wheels weekly during the school year, these students: Viki Monzon, Zandra Johnson, Jennifer Sanchez-Guillermo, Malik Ellison, Joshua Jones, Jonathan Leon-Olivera, and Mikell Bowman, also work at different job locations each day of the week, including Virginia State University, Burger King, Save A lot, Burlington Coat Factory, McGuire VA Hospital, Publix, McGuire VA Hospital, Southampton Rehabilitation Center and Sunrise Senior Living Center.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Caroline Coleburn

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    NEW KENT COUNTY, Virginia (WTVR) — Mother nature is forcing some Virginia wineries to make tough choices.

Joe Dombroski and his wife, who have owned and operated New Kent Winery for the last 12 years, said before this year they’ve only had one bad crop season due to frost in 2020.

In 2026, they’ve lost about 90 percent of their grapes due to a late Virginia frost, but still have to spend money to keep the vines alive.

“They’re perennials, and they’ll come back and produce fruit, so we’ll have to fertilize them,” Dombroski explained. “We’ll have to spray them, do all the things that we would normally do during a growing season, except we’re going to reap no benefit.

Fortunately, the estate winery keeps about 12 to 18 months of wine in stock in their production facility either in bottle or barrel, so they will still have wine for sale.

“The price might be a little bit higher in different varietals depending on what has happened out here this year with the cost that’s going to come to the farming, but we’ll be okay,” he noted. “The smaller growers, the smaller wineries in Virginia, many of them will be in trouble to even make it through the year because they go from harvest to harvest.”

Dombroski adds the drought hasn’t impacted their crops, but he and his team are encouraging Virginians and visitors to support your local wineries if you want to see them thrive and survive.

“We need you,” he explained. “We need you to buy Virginia wine. Look for it in the grocery store so that we can keep everybody afloat, basically to keep the industry. It’s a $3 billion a year agricultural industry in the state of Virginia. It is a big part of the agriculture industry here in the state and the tourism industry. So, we really need to keep promoting it, not just look for tourists on the highway. We need our local folks to come out and support their local wineries.”

Dombroski says some of their Vidal and Cab Franc grapes survived the frost, so they will have to evaluate if there are enough to actually harvest.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kelsey Jones

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    RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — Thousands of Spirit Airlines employees are out of work after the budget carrier ceased operations Saturday, but for Chesterfield native Dante Taylor, the fallout goes far beyond a paycheck.

Taylor, 33, spent seven years as a Spirit flight attendant — a job he describes as more than just work.

“I’ve been doing it for seven years, so just for it to be stripped, basically stripped from me, like, my wings have been clipped, you know?” Taylor said.

Taylor, who worked out of Orlando, was asleep when he received an email around 12:30 a.m. Saturday notifying him that Spirit Airlines would be shutting down at 3 a.m.

“The first line of that email was, ‘We regret to inform you.’ I didn’t even read the rest. It wasn’t a long email. I couldn’t even read the rest. I just broke out crying, and I just, I didn’t want to accept it,” Taylor said.

The shutdown came after years of financial struggles for the airline, including soaring jet fuel costs sparked by the war with Iran and a second bankruptcy filing.

“We absolutely weren’t given enough time. I mean, honestly, I should have saw the signs coming once we entered the second bankruptcy,” Taylor said.

Taylor received no severance pay and no advance warning. The timing is especially difficult — he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and relied on his employer-provided health insurance to cover the cost of cancer treatments. That coverage is now in limbo.

“Hopefully the insurance still works,” Taylor said. “I was able to meet my deductible pretty quick, which is taking care of the medicine, but now it’s like, I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to cover that.”

Options like COBRA or marketplace insurance could take weeks to take effect — time Taylor says he does not have.

“So what are we going to do for this month?” Taylor said.

Beyond his health battle, Taylor is also facing mounting financial pressure. He is dealing with medical bills, breaking his lease, moving back home, and searching for new employment.

“This is something that I figured that I would retire from,” Taylor said.

Taylor said he had no idea his final trip on April 29 would be his last when he worked it. Despite everything, he says he is focused on what matters most — his health — even if it means putting his career on hold.

“I will always have my wings, you know, I’ll always feel like a fellow flight attendant. But right now, I’m going to put that on pause.” Taylor said.

As he works to rebuild, Taylor says he is holding onto hope and looking forward to reconnecting with former coworkers he traveled across the country with.

“May we all meet again one day in the sky,” Taylor said.

An online fundraiser has raised more than $2,000 for Dante to help with cancer treatment.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kelsey Jones

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    RICHMOND, Virginia (WTVR) — Every Tuesday and Thursday, Dave Whitlow walks into the neonatal intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital of Richmond at VCU with a simple mission: comfort the tiniest patients fighting their biggest battles.

The 73-year-old is not a doctor or a nurse. He is a volunteer cuddler — and he has been doing it for eight years.

“It’s the best gig I’ve ever had. It just feels right,” Whitlow said.

On a typical visit, Whitlow holds five or six babies. On busy days, that number can climb to eight — some weighing under 2 pounds.

Before every cuddle, there is caution. Whitlow gowns and gloves up before approaching any infant. He leaves his phone outside the unit.

“I pretty much just want to be with them,” Whitlow said.

Once he is holding a baby, his attention goes straight to the monitors surrounding the child.

“I watch the monitors first to see whether positionally there’s anything to do to improve, but he looks pretty good,” Whitlow said. “His sats are at 100%, so that’s, that’s what we’re looking for.”

Whitlow also makes a point to speak with the nurses caring for each child before he begins.

“I ask the nurse, ‘Tell me. Tell me what this child is receiving. What kind of treatment? Is there anything special I need to know about it,'” Whitlow said.

It is a far cry from how he felt when he first started.

“I was scared to death because, you know, I’d held — we have two children,” Whitlow said. “They’re grown now and I could hold babies.”

A retired local government manager with more than 40 years of experience, a father of 2 and grandfather of 3, Whitlow said the work in the NICU goes beyond the clinical.

“But also the support and spiritual needs of the family and the staff, and so it all kind of gets tied together here,” Whitlow said.

Before he leaves each child, Whitlow whispers the same words: grow strong, grow smart, grow kind.

“It’s important to me to think that this is what I want from people in general,” Whitlow said.

It is a family he never expected — and now cannot imagine leaving.’

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTVR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Austin Pollack

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — On Monday nights, the Backbar at Verna Cafe in Midtown hosts a coloring night for adults, giving people a chance to slow down, socialize and tap into a little nostalgia.

“It’s something that has just been really catching on,” said Nick Dolan, the bar’s manager. “It’s super fun.”

The concept is simple: show up, grab a coloring page and settle in — just like at a restaurant as a kid, minus the meltdown over a diagonally cut sandwich.

“Oh no, literally me every night on my couch while I’m watching TV, is doing my coloring,” one participant said.

For many, the event is less about the art and more about carving out time with people they care about.

The crowd skews toward those who remember the crayon-and-kids’-menu era firsthand.

“Lot of 90s and late 80s kids coming through that I think remember that, too,” Dolan said.

And while the coloring pages may look familiar, the drink menu has grown up considerably. Verna Cafe offers mocktails alongside its other beverages, something regulars appreciate.

The event also doubles as a low-stakes way to meet new people.

Coloring night at the Backbar at Verna Cafe takes place on Monday nights from 5 p.m. to midnight.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Chris Davis

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    NASHVILLE (WTVF) — Tennessee Republicans advanced a proposed congressional redistricting map out of committee after an overnight impasse, setting the stage for a full floor debate in both chambers.

The Republican-backed map carves Shelby County into three different congressional districts and keeps Nashville divided among three districts as well. The Democratic version of the map, which would have kept Memphis and Nashville whole, failed in committee.

In the House, the new congressional map passed in the House Congressional Redistricting Committee and the House Finance Ways and Means Committee. In the Senate, the map passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.

Several companion bills also cleared their required committees. A bill that would change the candidate filing deadline passed in both the necessary House and Senate committees. A bill that repeals a previous Tennessee law banning redistricting between federal censuses also passed the required committees.

Public opposition to the map was swift and vocal. Audience members broke chamber rules and began chanting in protest during the proceedings. A similar scene played out in the House. It took several minutes for state troopers to clear the committee room, and once that happened, legislative leadership decided not to allow members of the public back in for the rest of the day. Only journalists were permitted to remain.

State Sen. John Stevens (R-Huntington) defended the Republican approach. “Tennessee is a conservative state and our congressional representation in Washington should reflect that,” Stevens said.

Stevens was direct about the map’s political purpose. “We are attempting to maximize the chances that the congressional delegation of Tennessee will maintain a Republican majority of the U.S. House of Representatives. That is our intent,” Stevens said.

Democrats brought in Congressman Steve Cohen of Memphis, who could lose his longtime seat if the map passes, to speak against the proposal. “The people of Tennessee will lose. This is a loser for the people of Tennessee,” Cohen said.

“If you don’t have a Democratic congressman, you’re gonna be up a creek without a paddle. And I was the paddle,” Cohen said about being able to fight for local priorities during the Biden administration.

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams also testified in opposition. “This body is being asked to dismantle the protections that helped bury the abomination that was Jim Crow,” Abrams said.

The Republican-proposed map advanced out of Senate Judiciary Committee with 9 ayes and 2 noes. The Democratic version failed, receiving 2 ayes and 9 noes.

If the Republican bills advance as anticipated, it sets the stage for a floor debate in both the House and Senate Thursday over whether the congressional map should be redrawn, with a primary election months away.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Kristi Harper

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    BALTIMORE (WMAR) — Marion Durfee is 4 years old, and she is learning to swim — kicking, reaching, rolling over to save herself, and blowing bubbles with the best of them. She does it all with one arm.

Marion was born with amniotic band syndrome, a condition in which fiber-like bands wrap around a developing limb, preventing blood flow and growth.

Her mother, Ally Durfee, said the diagnosis came before Marion was even born.

“We found out while I was pregnant and so not really sure like why it was caused or what to do, so it was, it was a shock and then worry if she was going to be OK.” Ally said.

Ally and her husband, Liam Durfee, were first-time parents with no personal experience with a differently abled person. But once Marion arrived, their perspective shifted.

“Once we, you know, met her, a lot of those concerns went away. We realized that it wasn’t going to hold her back,” Ally said.

The family found their way to the Kennedy Krieger Bennett Blazers Adaptive Sports program, where Marion is working on motor development — building the balance, strength, and confidence that will carry her through life.

Gwena Herman, founder and co-director of Bennett Blazers Adaptive Sports, said the program’s philosophy starts early and runs deep.

“Like any other child, um, they need to be able to participate and be active, so our program starts at motor development which Marion is in — that point you’re just working on building confidence, um, because confidence will carry them through all of life,” Herman said.

Herman said the program’s guiding principle is simple but powerful.

“Our motto is to teach kids they can before somebody tells them that they can’t. So when the earlier on that you teach them that, um, the better off they’re gonna be all around — for the child and the the parents,” Herman said.

For Ally and Liam, the experience has shaped them as much as it has shaped Marion.

“There’s like no one way to do things and so it might be different than how myself or other people might do it, but that doesn’t mean she can’t,” Ally said.

Liam said the journey has made him a better listener.

“Just being able to listen to her better, listen to um the challenges that she’s going through, trying to empathize with them,” Liam said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WMAR verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

By Eileen Buckley

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    NIAGARA FALLS, New York (WKBW) — Three Niagara Falls High School students are being recognized for going above and beyond for their math teacher — showing up after school to clean up a mess left by her former neighbors, delivering a special act of kindness.

Kabraun Miller, Ramir Matthews and Asa Allen-Collins heard their math teacher, Patti Gabriele, expressing frustration about trash that had been dumped outside her home after neighbors moved out.

Without being asked, the students organized themselves and got to work. Niagara Falls High School shared a photo of the students on Facebook with the caption: “This is what character looks like.”

“We love our teacher so much,” Allen-Collins said.

The students said they created a group chat, got the address from Gabriele and showed up ready to work.

“We made a group chat. She wrote down the street on a piece of paper, and we just showed up at the time that she told us to; we got straight to work,” Allen-Collins said.

Gabriele said she was surprised by how quickly — and efficiently — the students responded.

“They actually overheard me complaining about the neighbors moving out and leaving it a mess,” Gabriele said.

She told the students to arrive by 5 p.m. and said she was caught off guard when they were right on time.

“I told them, be there by five. And I was a little shocked that at five o’clock, here they come, and they showed up and jumped right into it, and they took care of things in like half an hour. What would have taken me hours,” Gabriele said.

Matthews tells me the motivation was simple.

“I wanted to help her out, because she’s, you know, she’s a lady. She shouldn’t be doing that by herself,” Matthews said.

When I asked what compelled him to help, Matthews said it came down to character.

“Just being a kind student and a kind young man, trying to build myself to be a better young man,” Matthews said.

Miller said his faith guided his decision to act.

“I stay in my Bible. I pray a lot. You know, it talks about giving back and helping out. So when I hear, first of all, a lady, a woman, a teacher that I respect, I hold dear, and I was willing to jump into action,” Miller said.

Allen-Collins said Gabriele’s consistent kindness in the classroom made the decision easy.

“Ms. Gabriel, she’s just been a great teacher, like throughout every day in the classroom, just always kind, respectful. She gives the same respect to us that we give back to her,” Allen-Collins said.

Gabriele said the outpouring of attention that followed has been unexpected.

“They’re good kids, and, you know, I see them every day, so it’s like, we laugh and we joke about it. Nobody ever thought it would take off like this,” Gabriele said. “This meant a lot to me.”

The students said they hope their actions inspire other teens to step up for the people around them.

“I feel like it’s something that we should be doing regardless,” Allen-Collins said.

“You should do this for any teacher that you respect; they will respect you back,” Matthews said.

Miller said the reward is not the point.

“You shouldn’t have to feel like you need a reward. It should be within you…like out of the kindness of your heart,” Miller said.

This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WKBW verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.