Latest news with #TNHouse
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Roane County woman still searching for missing sister after father's murder
KINGSTON, Tenn. (WATE) – A Roane County woman is still searching for answers five years after her sister was reported missing and nearly three years after their father was killed. Jessica Groover, who goes by Brooke, was last seen in October of 2019. Weeks later Beverly Groover, Brooke's sister, reported her missing. 'We knew when she didn't show up for Thanksgiving or Christmas that she would never not come and see dad. Dad and her were very close. We were daddy's girls,' Beverly Groover said. The two sisters were 5 years apart. Beverly Groover was the oldest. Savannah Grace Copeland Act to increase funds for child advocacy passes TN House, Senate 'We had the best childhood, riding our bikes, going to the lake with our mom, our dad traveled a lot, he was a truck driver, but we had great times,' Beverly Groover said. Their father, Steve Groover, hired a private investigator in the beginning. He was determined to find his daughter, however, that search was cut short. Steve Groover and Cindy Scruggs were killed in 2022. Brooke Groover's ex-boyfriend Lonnie Wright was convicted in their deaths and is serving a 33-year sentence. Chief Deputy Tim Phillips with the Roane County Sheriff's Office called Wright a person of interest in Brooke's missing person case. 'He's a person of interest, he's not the easiest person he's really familiar with the criminal justice system and he's hard to deal with,' Phillips said. Now, years after her sister's disappearance and her father's death, Beverly Groover's goal remains the same: to find her younger sister. 'I don't know if it's harder to not know or to know that she's gone,' Beverly Groover said. 'I feel like she's gone and it's a matter of finding her.' Six Sevier County restaurants named among top family friendly restaurants in U.S. The Roane County Sheriff's Office shares that same goal. Phillips told 6 News Brooke Groover's Missing Person File sits on the detective's desk as they continue to vet tips. 'It's personal. Somebody's loved one, like in this case, is a missing persons we want to know the details,' Phillips said. 'We want to know what happened.' Beverly Groover said she believes someone out there knows something that could be the missing piece. 'I'm begging you, please, if you do know something please reach out,' Beverly said. 'My family needs closure. We really really would like to find her and know what happened.' Lonely Bones: Stories of the Forgotten Dead Anyone who has any information that could help the Roane County Sheriff's Office in Brooke Groover's missing person case is asked to call 865-717-4700. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
New robotic surgery system at Farragut hospital allows surgeons to feel instrument
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — One of the potential drawbacks of robotic surgery is that a surgeon has to rely on visual information to determine how much force to use with their instruments, but a new robotic surgery system at Turkey Creek Medical Center will allow surgeons to feel the push and pull of their instruments while completing robotic surgeries. Tennova Healthcare announced on Tuesday that Turkey Creek Medical Center had acquired a new, sophisticated robotic system. The new system will offer more than 150 enhancements over previous versions, including improved accuracy and precision with force-sensing technology, enhanced 3D imaging, and surgical viewing. Savannah Grace Copeland Act to increase funds for child advocacy passes TN House, Senate One of the improvements Tennova Healthcare specifically pointed out was how the new robotic surgery system has new feedback technology which allows surgeons to feel the push and pull of forces at their instrument tip. This specifically is helpful while working with delicate tissue, in a process where previously surgeons had to rely on their sight to evaluate how much force to use. The new system also has an improved high-definition, 3D vision system, that gives surgeons a clearer and more magnified view of the surgical site. The improvement, along with more true color representation, also helps with depth perception and giving surgeons a view of anatomical detail. 'This technology offers enhanced precision, dexterity, and visualization which improves accuracy and minimizes trauma to surrounding tissue for quicker recovery and better patient outcomes,' said Dr. Marc Campbell, D.O., Chair of Surgery at Tennova Surgical Associates. 'Turkey Creek Medical Center is the first hospital in Knoxville to use this new surgical system, which can be used for general, gynecological, bariatric, colorectal, and urological surgery. ' The Golden Roast to close all locations Thursday Robotic surgery has allowed for minimally invasive surgeries that have better outcomes and decreased recovery time for patients, Tennova Healthcare said. It also can offer surgeries with less pain and scarring and a lower risk of infections. During a robotic surgery, a surgeon remotely manipulates surgical instruments that are attached to robotic arms by using a console in the operating room. The surgeon is in complete control of the robotic-assisted system which translates their hand movements into smaller, more precise movements of tiny instruments inside the patient's body. Some of the procedures that surgeons utilize robotic technology for at the Turkey Creek Medical Center include hysterectomies, tonsillectomies, knee replacements, and prostatectomies, which is a treatment for prostate cancer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Crypto mine regs move to JC commission — more work to do on noise
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Zoning updates to regulate noise and other impacts from cryptocurrency mines and data centers are headed to the Johnson City Commission after planning commissioners approved them Tuesday, though the work is not yet complete. 'We are at least putting a Band-Aid on a risk that we're taking by not having any regulations on these,' planning staffer Brice McNamer told commissioners. A more complete fix, he said, will require more research into how the city can best set requirements to limit noise impacts, which have created the most complaints about such facilities around the country. Staff spent months studying data centers and cryptocurrency mining before trying to determine where the centers should be permitted, what concerns or nuisances they cause and what mitigation efforts local governments can require to limit the negative effects. Undocumented student bill passes 8-7 in TN House committee What's currently heading to the full commission limits the centers to the I-2 (heavy industry) zones and requires the operations to be enclosed inside buildings. It also requires that any center be at least 200 feet from the nearest residence and include visual screening. But planning commissioners and McNamer acknowledged the regulations don't yet adequately address noise and vibrations — the most common negative impacts data centers, and particularly crypto mines, have caused. Most of the noise tends to come from cooling units needed to keep the advanced computers that 'mine' cryptocurrency or perform other data functions from overheating. 'Within the noise ordinance, we are currently looking at different amendments that can specifically address the humming and the consistency of the vibration,' McNamer said. The city's current noise ordinance allows 24-7 decibel levels up to the limit within the various zones, from residential to commercial to industrial. That means 'quasi-steady sounds' can be constant up to 50 decibels. It was those types of quasi-steady sounds that drew sharp criticism from neighbors of a Bitcoin mine in Limestone and eventually a related lawsuit. (Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are verified and 'mined' by high-powered computers performing complex algorithms.) 'What we are currently looking into and working with administration and the legal department is implementing a section within the noise ordinance that would require a noise study to be performed for each data center,' McNamer said. He said the process would be similar to traffic impact analyses that the city often requires from developers when their projects are likely to add significant traffic to an area. The city is now requesting qualifications from acoustic engineers who could help the city hone its regulation strategies even further. Asked by commissioner Bob Cooper whether he'd found any difference in noise levels between 'a vanilla data center' and a cryptocurrency mine, McNamer said he hadn't. He said the majority of community complaints have surrounded crypto mines mostly because data center operators tend to be big companies like Google and Amazon that can afford to locate further away from communities and provide any necessary mitigation. BrightRidge offered Bitcoin mine operator $100,000 incentive, said noise wouldn't be issue 'Probably when these started coming around they had a lot of issues because they were, one, not regulated, and two, they did not know exactly how to build them in compatibility to the surrounding area,' McNamer said. 'But between data center without cryptocurrency and with cryptocurrency, the noise is no different … they essentially do the same thing on the inside.' Cooper said he hoped city staff would pursue what he called the 'acoustic angle' as soon as possible. 'Sooner or later, I think we've got to get some pretty good teeth in our codes related to that,' Cooper said. 'Six inches above the equipment (for buffering) doesn't necessarily solve much of the acoustic problem, especially if the facility is a lower piece of property and the residents are up the hill.' The Johnson City Regional Planning Commission voted unanimously to move the proposed changes forward. The City Commission would need to pass the changes on three readings to approve them. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
