Chattanooga Update, June 12, 2013

Hello Chattanooga. Here's a quick look at today's top stories. First of all, At least two churches in the Chattanooga area have decided to drop their sponsorship of Boy Scout troops. The decisions come after the national organization decided in May to allow openly gay members in the Scouts. Boy Scouts have met at Morris Hill Baptist Church since the 1930s, but now the pastor says the Boy Scouts' decision opens the church up to the possibility of a lawsuit. Oakwood Baptist Church of Chickamauga is also dropping its troop. And more churches are considering doing the same. The senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Soddy-Daisy says there's a good chance his church will also no longer sponsor its troop. ___ Next up, 37 elderly or disabled Patten Towers residents have gone missing. And service providers say tracking down the residents is tough - mainly because communication has been lacking from the owner of Patten Towers, PK Management. Even locating residents who were placed in local hotels is proving difficult. There are reportedly three different lists containing the names of everyone who was evacuated from Patten Towers, and we're told the lists don't match up. Plus, the lists DON'T include all the residents who were living in Patten Towers without permission. Officials say missing residents could be in serious trouble without access to medical care or mental health care. And we're told several residents have already gone days without medication. On top of this, service providers are worried they'll have to start tracking down Patten Towers residents all over again if the residents are continually moved to different hotels. Residents won't be able to return to Patten Towers for several more weeks. ___ Also, PK Management has now given slightly more than $20,000 to local organizations that helped house, feed and clothe the building's residents over the last two weeks. But the service organizations say the funds don't even come close to covering costs. PK Management receives more than $2.1 million dollars annually in income from the building. ____ In crime news, Chattanooga police have received reports of car break-ins near the Riverbend Festival. Items are being taken out of unlocked vehicles and, in some cases, locked vehicles have had windows smashed to gain access to valuables. Police are asking that festivalgoers leave valuables at home and give them a call if they see anything suspicious. Now if you're headed to Riverbend tonight, Dierks Bentley is headlining on the Coca Cola stage at 9:30. You can also see Civil Twilight, Psychadelic Furs, The Railers, and the Michael Martin Band among others. ____ Also, a man has been hospitalized after someone shot him outside a bar on Main Street Monday. This marks the second shooting outside the same bar in two months. No one has yet been arrested in the shooting. _____ And a Collegedale man is behind bars after reportedly making threats on Facebook toward a police officer. Colby David Knecht was arrested after detectives said he wrote that he intended to kill a Collegedale Police Officer if the officer came on his property again. The posting seemed to be a threat against an officer who had performed a traffic stop on Knecht's mother, and given her a warning. Knecth's Facebook profile says he is president of the Hamilton County Young Democrats. ___ And across the state line, a Gordon County man has been arrested for allegedly raping a teenage girl. 61-year-old Danny Collins has been charged with the crime, which reportedly happened at a Fairmont home. ____ Also a Chattanooga woman has been charged with stealing handbags from a Coach store. 36-year-old Quenechous Posley was arrested in connection with the theft of 35 hundred dollars in merchandise from an outlet mall in Calhoun, Georgia. ___ In business news, the original Greenlife building in North Chattanooga will soon see new life. Four retail shops are slated to go into the area on Hixson Pike. Plans include space for a women's clothing store and a men's clothing store. Plus, a new restaurant, Farmer's Daughter Cafe, will open in a few weeks in a former gas station across the street. ____ Triple digits. That's what the heat index is expected to reach today. The high should be 95 degrees, and it will feel even hotter than that. If it reaches 95, today is expect to be the hottest day of the year. Expect a little relief tonight though: The low will be around 73.