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The Kingsport Civic Auditorium is temporarily adjusting its hours of availability in order to accommodate the physical education classes at Dobyns-Bennett High School.
The classes are typically held in the Buck Van Huss Dome. However, the dome was closed earlier this month following an inspection for a campus-wide roofing project. Inspectors had concerns about the dome’s structure and in response school officials closed dome until further notice.
Starting this week, physical education classes and activities will be held at the civic auditorium Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. During these hours, the civic auditorium will not be open to the public.
The facility will open to the public after 4 p.m. each day and remain open until 8 p.m.
“After the kids are gone from the school, we’ll open the civic back up to the public,” said Robin DiMona, assistant manager of parks and recreation. “So if you need to meet in a side room or in the main auditorium at night, we’ll have it open until 8 p.m.”
If you need to make a reservation, you can call 423-229-9457 or come to the civic auditorium and call the number posted on the front doors. A staff member will come out and escort you to the office.
For more information visit www.kingsportparksandrecreation.org.
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To ensure your garbage and trash is collected every week, the City of Kingsport is offering the following suggestions to residents when setting your cart and items on the curb for collection.
Garbage (or household refuse) is collected on a weekly basis Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Trash (yard waste, furniture, appliances) is collected every other week.
Carts can be placed curbside 24 hours before your pickup day and must be removed 24 hours after your pickup day. All items should be out by 7 a.m. on the pickup day.
“To make sure your garbage and trash is collected every time, your best bet would be to place it on the curb by 7 a.m.,” said Sanitation Manager Rodney Deel. “You could even get in the habit of setting it out the night before just to be safe.”
Here are a few other things to remember when setting your cart by the curb:
- No items outside the cart(s) will be collected.
- If you have multiple carts, please place them at least 3 feet apart.
- Place cart(s) 4 feet from all objects like mailboxes, cars, trees and utility poles.
To find out when your garbage and trash pick-up days are, visit www.kingsporttn.gov and click on the “My City Services” icon and enter your address.
The Kingsport Splash Pad (1101 Martin Luther King Boulevard) will be closed today and Tuesday (August 16) in order to make repairs to the drain in the pump room. The city anticipates reopening the splash pad on August 17.
The City of Kingsport apologizes for any inconvenience and recommends visiting Kingsport Centennial Park on Main Street to enjoy the water jets.
The splash pad is active from 10:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m. every day during the summer. The splash pad can be turned on during these hours by rubbing the silver activator pad located on the wall between the restrooms.
The splash pad is a zero-depth aquatic play structure that allows children to experience different types of water environments. Because the splash pad is a zero-depth facility, it does not have a lifeguard on duty, so all children must be supervised during their visit.
Features of the splash pad include surface water jets, a snake head water spray, run-through loops with water jets, rotating water cannons, water buckets and a palm tree with water jets.
For more information about the splash pad visit www.kingsportparksandrecreation.org.
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Kingsport Police Department
Dale Phipps, Chief of Police 200 Shelby Street • Kingsport, TN 37660 http://KingsportTN.gov/City-Services/Police-Department • www.KingsportPDBlog.com |
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| NEWS RELEASE | ||||
| SUBJECT: | Multijurisdictional Motor Vehicle Theft and Auto Burglary Investigation Recovers over Half Million Dollars in Stolen Property, Identifies 8 Suspects (Nearly All Juveniles), Felony Charges Pending (Update) | |||
| DATE: | August 15, 2022 | |||
| CASE #: | Multiple | |||
| GENERAL NARRATIVE | ||||
| Update: The Kingsport Police Department has received several citizen inquiries regarding unclaimed property recovered during the recent motor vehicle theft and auto burglary investigation. Please be advised that all previously stolen vehicles and other properties that have been recovered during this investigation to date have been returned to their rightful owners.
As previously released: Over the past month, the Kingsport Police Department Criminal Investigations Division has been investigating a series of coordinated motor vehicle thefts and auto burglaries occurring throughout the City of Kingsport and surrounding jurisdictions. From July 1, 2022 to the present, nearly 50 motor vehicle thefts and over 120 auto burglaries have been reported. The massive scope of this investigation has necessitated a large-scale multi-jurisdictional cooperative effort, involving hundreds of man-hours, in partnership with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Johnson City Police Department, the Mount Carmel Police Department, the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, and other area law enforcement agencies. Detectives discovered that two rings of criminals, operating completely independent of one another, were responsible for the vast majority of these crimes. In all, eight total suspects have been identified, seven of whom are juveniles between the ages of 13 and 15. The sole adult suspect just turned 18 year of age. Extensive criminal charges are pending and will include such offenses as multiple counts of Motor Vehicle Theft, Auto Burglary, Vandalism, and Possession of Stolen Firearms. Just as significant, Investigators have cleared over 100 cases, and recovered over a half million dollars ($527,500) in stolen property, which includes 33 of the stolen vehicles and 5 of the stolen firearms. “While several agencies and individuals played significant roles in this investigation, I want to specifically recognize Detective Robbie Mills and Detective Jason Powers of the K.P.D. Criminal Investigations Division for their personal contributions to this case,” said K.P.D. Chief of Police Dale Phipps. “Their hard work and tireless dedication is noticed and appreciated.” It is extremely important to point out that every single vehicle that was stolen had been left unlocked, with the key either in the actual vehicle or easily accessible nearby. And every single vehicle that was burglarized was also unlocked. None of the vehicles were forcibly entered. The criminals did not use any specialized tools, skills, or high-tech gadgetry to access these vehicle. They simply opened unlocked doors. Not only was this obvious by the lack of any sign of forced entry, but it was also corroborated by statements made by the suspects, and confirmed by surveillance video footage. The suspects walked from vehicle to vehicle, lifting door handles. If the vehicle was locked, they walked away. If the vehicle was unlocked, they burglarized it. If the unlocked vehicle also had the key in it, they stole it. This common criminal technique of actively searching for, and only targeting, unlocked vehicles is known as “car hopping,” a term promulgated on social media and actually uttered by the suspects themselves during interviews with Detectives. As such, the Kingsport Police Department continues to stress the importance of utilizing simple, common-sense, crime prevention measures to help prevent these types of crimes from occurring. · Never leave your vehicle unlocked while unattended. · Never leave the key (or electronic key fob) inside your parked and unoccupied vehicle. · Never leave your car key (or electronic key fob) in an unsecure location. · Never leave your vehicle running unless you are actually in it. · Never leave items of real or perceived value in plain sight inside your vehicle. “By imploring citizens to practice these basic strategies, we are absolutely not blaming the victims of these crimes,” stressed K.P.D. Public Information Officer Tom Patton. “These crimes are the responsibility of the criminals and the criminals alone; however, it is incumbent upon all law abiding citizens to do their part in helping prevent these crimes of opportunity from happening, especially if it is something as simple as locking a door.” Due to the active nature of this investigation, the pending charges, and the involvement of juvenile suspects, no further details can or will be released at this time. |
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| RELEASING OFFICER | ||
| Thomas M. Patton, Public Information Officer
Kingsport Police Department Professional Standards Unit 423-229-9433 (Desk) • 423-343-9749 (FAX) ThomasMPatton |
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