News Around the Region from TRN...

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Top Ten Fugitive, Now Behind Bars
A tip from the public led to the apprehension of one of the T-B-I's latest Top Ten Most Wanted fugitives late Sunday night. Mathew Welker was wanted by the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office for perjury and falsification of the Sex Offender Registry Form for providing an incorrect address.

Prices Dropping
More sticker shock at the pump for Tennessee motorists...shock that the price per gallon continues to go down. Triple-A reports yesterday's average in the state is 3-82 - down three cents from Sunday.

More Chances To Go To The Opry
The Grand Ole Opry plans to add a Thursday night show next March that'll bring both old and new artists together. The Opry insists the show will feature some of the Opry's legendary stars each week and hopes the new show will build a newer, younger audience while keeping their old audience.

Highway Bridge Program is 'First Rate'
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation officials have released a report finding one in four bridges in the U-S needs to be modernized or repaired. State Transportation Commissioner Gerald Nicely says Tennessee has the 6th lowest percentage of structurally deficient bridges in America. Nicely says the state's bridge program is 1st rate, and the department is continuing to improve it.



TBI Study Shows Homicides Have Dropped
A TBI Crime Statistic Unit concluded the 1st state-wide homicide study showing a steady drop in the number of reported homicides between 2005 and 2007. The Study shows that a handgun was the most frequently used weapon in homicides, during the same period. The results of the first ever state-wide homicide study by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Crime Statistics Unit shows a steady drop in the number of reported homicides between 2005 and 2007 throughout Tennessee. There were a total of 436 reported homicides across the state in 2005, 421 in 2006, and 394 in 2007, according to TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm. That equals an approximate 9.5 percent drop in the overall number of homicides in the state. The TBI Homicide study also shows that a handgun was the most frequently reported weapon used in homicides between 2005 and 2007, accounting for 603 out of the 1,251 homicide offenses over that three year period, according to Helm. Victim to offender relationship was unknown almost 57 percent of the time. For Murfreesboro, a gun was also the most frequently used weapon reportedly used in homicides.

State Quietly Bids To Bring In New Business
Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation, a unit of Dow Corning, is looking at sites to expand production and one of them is the TVA's megasite in Clarksville. Sources say the total employment for such a plant cold reach 4,000 jobs. Michigan is bidding aggressively to keep Dow's expansion plans in the Great Lake State. HSC is the world's largest maker of polycrystalline silicon, an ultra-pure rock-like material used in solar panels and semiconductor chips. Dow Corning had 5-billion in sales last year.

IN SPORTS....

THE CARDINALS PLAY AT TURNER FIELD THIS WEEK IN A FOUR GAME SERIES.  GAME TWO STARTS TONIGHT AT 5:32 ON OLDIES 1450 AM AND 101.7 FM (WTRO).

TITANS RADIO AND THE JEFF FISHER SHOW RETURNS TO THE AIR TUESDAY NIGHTS AT SIX, BEGINNING TONIGHT.  CATCH THE COACH AND TITANS VOICE MIKE KEITH, TONIGHT ON SISTER STATION SL-100 (WASL-FM).

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