Latest news with #Swaney
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
Sheriff speaks about finding dead dogs at Madison County home
LONDON, Ohio (WCMH) — For the first time since deputies raided a home and found more than half a dozen dogs dead, the Madison County sheriff speaking out, saying the scene was the worst he's seen in his career. Stephen Gossmeyer was arrested and charged with animal cruelty. He was being paid to train some of the dogs that died; court records show he is accused of forging documents and faking his credentials to board and train the dogs. Marion man shot by police after firing at officers 'I've been on a lot of animal calls throughout my career here at Madison County and by far, this was probably the worst location I've been at when it comes to the, to the, you know, the living conditions of these animals,' Madison County Sheriff John Swaney said. Swaney said officials were tipped off about potential deceased animals at the home by several people including a woman in North Carolina who had entrusted her dog to Gossmeyer for training. The rural home is where the sheriff's office found the bodies of nine dogs. 'The house was just, it was just, it's horrible living conditions,' Swaney said. 'I'm kind of heartbroken to see the conditions that some of these dogs were living in. They would just leave them lay or put them in a bag and leave them blind.' The house has signs of dogs everywhere – empty cages lie on the ground next to piles of trash bags. Swaney brought in a forensic veterinarian to help determine how all the dogs died and whether it was humane. 'We were able to determine on some of the deaths that, that we feel that starvation was, was the cause of the death of the animal,' Swaney said. Annual Buckeye pinwheel planting celebrates, brings awareness to organ donations He added that some of the animals had been dead for a while when they were found. 'Some of them had been, since they were petrified,' Swaney said. 'You know, they've been deceased for some time, you know? When you look at some of the animal cages that these animals were, were kept in, you know, you can see that the cages were, were ate and chewed on, you know? That's not normally common, you know, to see in dogs that are hungry.' Gossmeyer was initially arrested for a probation violation in another dog-related conviction. He pleaded guilty to theft by deception of two dogs he was supposed to train for a client. Those two dogs, valued at $10,000 each, were never seen again. Deputies also found seven dogs that were barely alive; some of the dogs were microchipped, so authorities have notified their owners. 'They're hungry, you know?' Swaney said. 'They're obviously malnourished. Living conditions they were living in were, were, were horrible, and we were able to take those animals and get them placed in our humane society.' Once rehabilitated, those dogs may be up for adoption if the owners can't be tracked down. Athens County school district placed in fiscal emergency after $3M deficit Along with the dogs, deputies found a dead bearded dragon and another lizard that was alive but did not survive. 'We did not find any evidence of, like, you know, dogfighting or anything,' Swaney said. Madison County deputies do not wear body cameras, so footage from inside the home is not available. Gossmeyer is being held on $25,000 bond; he is due in court on April 28. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
How Carsyn Swaney led Heritage to first TSSAA girls basketball state tournament win in 28 years
MURFREESBORO ― Heritage senior Carsyn Swaney spent the bus ride from Maryville to Murfreesboro Wednesday watching film on Portland ahead of Heritage's TSSAA girls basketball state tournament quarterfinal. But Swaney's thoughts weren't too far away from her future home court she'll be playing on. On the same iPad she used to break down's Portland's defense, she watched Middle Tennessee State crush Kennesaw State in the quarterfinals of the Conference USA women's tournament. Swaney broke into a smile when thinking about what's to come. "That part of my life is coming," the 3A Miss Basketball finalist said after leading Heritage to a dominant 60-36 win over Portland in the TSSAA Class 3A quarterfinals Thursday at Murphy Center. "Right now I'm focused on my time here at Heritage and finishing that right." HOW TO WATCH TSSAA girls basketball state tournament "I watch almost every single (MTSU) game on ESPN Plus," Swaney said. "I'm just ready. I like their style of play." Swaney had 22 points, three rebounds and four assists. Chloe Heath added 21 points as Heritage (33-2) advanced to the semifinals and will play South Gibson at 4 p.m. Friday. It's the first state semifinal appearance for the Lady Mountaineers since 1997. It's the second straight trip to the Glass House for Swaney and Heritage. The Lady Mountaineers lost to Cocke County in last year's quarterfinals, 55-53. She had 21 points in that game, so she's grown comfortable on the Blue Raiders' campus. "I'm always going to want to play well here," Swaney said. "And if I want to play (at MTSU) I have to envision myself out there, on the court, and think about 'what can I do to help?'" Swaney will play for a Tennessee coaching legend in Rick Insell, who has led MTSU's program since 2005. Insell is also a legendary high school coach in Middle Tennessee, having led Shelbyville to 15 state championship games and a TSSAA-record 10 titles in 28 seasons. TSSAA BASKETBALL How Gatlinburg-Pittman's Maliyah Glasper impressed brother Ty in TSSAA basketball state tournament win TSSAA TOURNAMENT TSSAA girls basketball state tournament brackets, schedule, scores for 2025 championships "Carsyn is one of those program changers," Heritage coach Rick Howard said. "You only get so many of those in your coaching career. She's been a joy to coach and I'm going to miss her. Rick's getting a really good player." Swaney has been an anchor for Howard's program for the past four years. The Mountaineers won 50 games during her freshman and sophomore seasons, but failed to make the state tournament losing to Bearden in the region semifinals in 2022 and the sectional to Sevier County in 2023. Last year it advanced to state for the first time since 2000, before the quarterfinal heartbreaker against Cocke County. "That's why my focus right now is still with Heritage," said Swaney, who eclipsed 2,000 career points and is the school's second-leading scorer all time. "We have to be ready to play (Friday) because it's going to be a much tougher game. I'm excited about playing at MTSU, but we have more games to play this week." Cecil Joyce covers high school sports and MTSU athletics for The Daily News Journal. Contact him at cjoyce@ and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, @Cecil_Joyce. This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: TSSAA basketball state tournament 2025: Carsyn Swaney leads Heritage
