Vandals Trash Tennessee Technology Center In Hawkins County

A branch of the Tennessee Technology Center in Hawkins County, Tennessee sustained heavy damage at the hand of vandals early Tuesday, the school’s director said.

“When staff arrived this morning, the front lobby and offices were on fire,“ said Lynn Elkins, director of the Tennessee Technology Center Morristown / Hawkins County.  “The front area is destroyed, papers were dumped from filing cabinets, there’s glass everywhere, and lots of the computers have been damaged,“ said Elkins.

The Tennessee State Fire Marshall’s Office sent an arson and bomb investigator to the school in the Phipps-Bend Industrial Park in Hawkins County, Tennessee, a branch of the school based in Morristown which trains students for quick entry into the local workforce.

Vandals apparently entered the machine shop in the back of the building and damaged most of the building with the exception of the welding department, Elkins said.

“It is heartbreaking,“ he said.  “This is a 12-year-old building, and it’s beautiful. The school has been very successful, and we’re very proud of it.  We’ve done a lot for the community.“

“The most devastating thing about this is that because of the state’s financial condition, the deductible on the insurance has gone up,“ said Elkins.  “That’s $25,000, and that’s going to have to come out of our general fund.  I hate to spend $25,000 out of the general fund at a time when we really need it.“

A clean-up crew plans to come to the building after the arson investigation is finished, and school leaders plan to re-open the building for students by July 5.

We’ll have video of the damage later today.