Tennessee
Lottery ticket wins $1 million; Tennessee police say clerk tried to steal it
MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — A man who won $1 million in the Tennessee lottery almost never saw his winnings.
That’s because a clerk at the store where he bought the ticket attempted to steal it without the the purchaser ever knowing he actually won, authorities say. Now Meet Patel, 23, is being held in jail on a $100,000 bond in Rutherford County on a charge of theft, CNN reports.
The Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office tells WSMV Channel 4 the victim purchased two $20 Diamond and Gold lottery tickets at a Shell gas station where Patel worked. The victim, whose identity has not been released, only scratched off the front bar codes on the tickets then asked Patel to check they were winners, WTVF Channel 5 reports.
Patel is accused of giving the man the $40 winner, but then tossing the $1 million winner in the trash. Authorities say store video shows Patel later remove the ticket from the trash and put it in his pocket.
“Mr. Patel is then seen later in the video celebrating in the store after scratching off the front of the ticket and learning it was a $1 million winner,” Det. Dennis Ward said, according to CNN.
Reports say Patel tried to claim the prize at the lottery headquarters in Nashville, but lottery officials immediately became suspicious. Ward said a normal line of questioning set off “red flags.” Lottery officials held onto the ticket and told Patel to “get his affairs in order.” Patel was later arrested and charged.
“The feel-good side of this story is the (the father) never knew he was the winner until we made contact with him,” Detective Lt. Steve Craig tells WSMV. “That is absolutely life-changing money.”
The Tennessee Volunteers are in the middle of a bye-week, after last weekend’s loss to Oklahoma.
The playoffs are out of the picture, but there is still plenty of work left to do. The Vols will use this week to work on getting some guys healthy as they prepare for New Mexico State on November 15.
It will be interesting to see if there are any changes for the New Mexico State in terms of players. Will the Vols decide to go a bit younger and work in some younger guys as a way to jumpstart some guys who may battle for playing time and/or a starting position next season.
Josh Heupel met with reporters earlier today to discuss a few things as the team prepares to move forward.
Josh Heupel’s Opening Statement
“How’s everybody doing? Uh, good work today. Um, got another day tomorrow and then some of the coaches will hit the ground recruiting this week. Big focuses again on us during the bye and how we get better. So, open it up,” Heupel said.
Balancing Act
“Yeah, I think wherever your feet are and what’s important at that moment is what you got to be doing. So, uh the development of our current players, our preparation of the opponent that we’re playing, you know, for me, at times the projection of the following year in all departments you’re looking at. So, it’s a combination of all those things. December has changed a little bit on the calendar as well. That gives you a little bit more time potentially in December as well,” Heupel said.
Rotating Young Guys
“Guys that prove that they’re ready to play and play at a really high level, championship level. They earn the right to play and compete and that’s ongoing throughout the course of this season. These guys have worked really hard, disappointed in the results Saturday and a couple other during the course of the year, for sure. But man, it’s constant and consistent growth from everybody,” Heupel explained.
Click HERE to watch and listen to everything Tennessee Football head coach Josh Heupel said during his Wednesday media availability during the bye-week.
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Tennessee
Tennessee provides $5 million emergency food funding during government shutdown affecting SNAP benefits
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Tennessee is providing $5 million in emergency funding to food banks as the government shutdown continues to block federal food assistance for low-income families across the state.
The funding comes from TennCare reserve funds and will go to Second Harvest Food Bank, which will distribute the money to food banks statewide based on the number of SNAP recipients in each community.
“It’s an initial response to an immediate need,” Gov. Bill Lee said.
The emergency measure comes as food pantries report overwhelming demand. The Well’s food pantry in Spring Hill served as many families in one hour as they typically see in an entire day.
“It’s hard to see hungry families, senior citizens who have no other alternatives except to wait in the long line at a food pantry,” said Shelly Sassen, CEO of The Well.
SNAP benefits, the federal program that helps low-income families buy groceries, stopped during the shutdown, creating a food emergency across Tennessee.
“They ought to open the government now,” Gov. Lee said.
Even if the Trump administration follows a judge’s order to unlock emergency funds that could provide at least half the normal SNAP amount, Gov. Lee warns the process won’t be immediate.
“But if they release partial funding, the complexity of loading cards with a different formula than before is going to be difficult,” Gov. Lee explained.
The state’s emergency funding represents “the sort of most streamlined way to get dollars to people out, even in rural areas,” Gov. Lee added.
Food pantry volunteers describe the emotional toll of seeing increased need firsthand.
“We’re telling some folks to come back later in the day,” said one volunteer at The Well.
“When you’re here looking people in the eyes and see that they are hungry, that they need some help. That’s what really hits,” another volunteer said.
You are invited to make monetary donations, but Second Harvest Food Bank would also greatly appreciate food donations. Here is a list of suggested items:
- Peanut Butter
- Canned Meat (Chicken or Tuna)
- Canned Vegetables
- Canned Fruit
- Canned Meals (Entree or Soup)
- Pasta
- Pasta Sauce
- Cereal
- Rice
- Beans (Canned or Dry)
You can drop off food donations at the following locations:
- Second Harvest Nashville — 331 Great Circle Road Nashville, TN
- Second Harvest Symrna — 1958 Almaville Road Smyrna, TN
- Second Harvest Camden — 69 Benton Industrial Road Camden, TN
- Any Middle Tennessee Kroger location
You can find your nearest Kroger location by clicking here.
Are you someone being affected by not receiving SNAP benefits? You can email me at Patsy.Montesinos@Newschannel5.com
Vandy’s band of misfits turns heads with 7-1 start
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys – young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team’s success has stolen the spotlight – what I love about Steve Layman’s story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, “we all have scuff marks.” This team proves perseverance pays off!
– Carrie Sharp
Wide receiver Chimere Dike is the first Tennessee Titans player to find the end zone on a punt return since Darius Reynaud back in 2012.
Dike returned a punt 67 yards in the first quarter to give the Titans a 14-3 lead in the first quarter of the team’s Week 9 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers. Dike spoke about what it felt like to get his first touchdown on a punt return.
“Oh, it’s good. I mean, I think that — I’m more happy for our unit. We talk about it all the time. So, those guys work their tail off for me every Sunday. Finally do my job and finish off the run and get into the endzone,” Dike said postgame.
Dike nearly scored a touchdown earlier in the season, but it was called back after a penalty from linebacker Cedric Gray. This time, the special teams unit prevailed as Dike got his score.
“Yeah, in a meeting him and KB (Kendell Brooks), we talked about it as a unit, we’ve been increasing teams and having explosive returns, but you know we wanted to have a spark for the offense and the rest of the team and put it in a box, so to be able to do that it felt good,” Dike said of the special teams unit.
Dike has been getting snaps at wide receiver and special teams and it has led to him leading the league in all-purpose yards over the course of the first half of the season. He has a knack for getting strong returns.
“I caught it, I saw the gunners were both split, both of the zeros did a really good job. It was a one-on-one with their net, then he got missed and then popped out to the right. And I saw about three rip by and then a bunch of blue jerseys. I knew it was a touchdown,” Dike said of his scoring play.
Despite Dike’s efforts, the Titans lost the game to fall to 1-8 on the season. They now advance to the bye week, where they will have a chance to correct some errors.
“Yeah, I mean, I think the penalties in first half were really big,” Dike said. “I think just the negative plays, right? We’re running the football really well, but getting behind the sticks is tough. And I’m sure we’re going to look back and there’s other things. But I think that comes to mind.”
Make sure you bookmark Tennessee Titans on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!
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