Traco Closes

After having recently celebrated its 10 year anniversary, Traco has announced that its Johnson City plant will be closing. The windows and doors manufacturer will be moving about 200 jobs to Pittsburg.

National Parks Series on PBS

Beginning this week, PBS will be airing a six part documentary on our national parks. The program is created by Ken Burns and is titled The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. It airs for two hours each night at 8pm beginning Sunday, September 27.

The Jay Leno Show Premiers

The former “Tonight Show” host Jay Leno has begun his new show, “The Jay Leno Show”. The program premiered on Sept. 14. The Jay Leno Show airs weeknights at 10pm on NBC.

Deadly Crash

After crossing the center line of a SR 67, Brenda Buchanan hit an ambulance from the Johnson County Rescue Squad. The driver, Joseph Barlow, and the patient, Alicia McCoy, died from the crash. The medic, Kevin Colson, was injured.

Economy Hits K-mart

Beginning in November, the K-marts in Johnson City and Kingsport will be making big changes. They will not be having a grocery section and won’t be open for 24 hours. As of this time K-mart does not know how many jobs will be lost.

Sycamore Shoals Celtic Festival

Yesterday was the opening ceremony of the Sycamore Shoals Celtic Festival. In the ceremony, each of the clan groups lit a candle on a fixture and then a bagpiper played “Amazing Grace”. They had some trouble with the candles due to rain.

President Gives Speech to Schools

President Obama gave a speech on Tuesday to America’s schoolchildren on the importance of education. The program was viewable live on our website, wkidnews.com. Here is an excerpt from the speech. “…I’ve talked about responsibility a lot. I’ve talked about teachers’ responsibility for inspiring students and pushing you to learn. I’ve talked about parents’ responsibility for making sure you stay on track…and don’t spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with the Xbox. I’ve talked a lot about your government’s responsibility…But at the end of the day…none of that will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities…” To watch the speech and read a full transcript, please visit our website at wkidnews.com, and look for “President Obama’s Speech to Schoolchildren”.