NEWPORT-Kathy Cody, 911 director and an employee of the 911 board of directors, is being investigated for allegedly accessing restricted information from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's TIES database for personal use, Cocke County Sheriff's Department Sheriff Armando Fontes said Wednesday, Oct. 3.

When contacted by phone on Wednesday, Cody stated she had "no comment" on the case.

Newport Police Department Police Chief Maurice Shults is the chairman of the 911 board of directors.

The 911 board of directors met for a special called meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 2, with Cody, ostensibly to investigate the accusation from a TBI auditor.

Police Chief Shults said Cody's attorney, Andrew Farmer, sent him a notice saying he felt the 911 board didn't give adequate public notice in advance about Tuesday's meeting - which state law requires. Shults said he believed Farmer was correct in his assessment, so the meeting was rescheduled for Nov. 13, at 3:30 p.m.

For more details, please see the latest edition of the Newport Plain Talk.