Former Vol and Knoxville radio personality’s DUI charge and why I don’t drink

There are so many reasons to abstain from drinking. (At the end of this post I will give three more reasons I do not drink.) Below is an excellent reason to avoid drinking because you realize that just after two drinks you may end up facing the legal difficulties that Heather Harrington is now facing.

Many times I have been in Knoxville on business and got to listen to the “Sports Animal” radio shows. I have even called in several times.

Image result for heather harrington mugshot

‘Sports Animal’ personality arrested on DUI charge

  • By News Sentinel staff
  • Knoxville News Sentinel
  • Posted May 7, 2012 at 4:44 p.m., updated May 7, 2012 at 5:48 p.m.

A local sports radio personality and former Lady Vol is facing charges in connection with a drunken-driving arrest last month.

Heather Harrington, 28, co-host for WNML’s Sports Animal morning show, was arrested April 29 for allegedly driving under the influence, according to an arrest warrant.

The former University of Tennessee volleyball player allegedly ran a stop sign while northbound on Morrell Road at the corner of Nubbin Ridge Road in a 2005 Ford just after 1:30 a.m.

When stopped by police, Harrington had a very strong odor of alcohol on her person, bloodshot eyes and slurred speech, according to Knoxville Police Department Officer Jeffery Green’s comments in the warrant.

She was unsteady on her feet when exiting the vehicle and performed poorly in a field sobriety test, the warrant states. She also refused to submit to a blood test.

Harrington told the officer she had consumed two drinks at the Tin Roof on Northshore Drive.

The radio host was charged with first offense DUI, failure to provide proof of insurance, failure to obey a stop sign and violation of the implied consent law.

She later was released on a $500 appearance bond.

According to court records, Harrington previously was arrested in Knoxville for disorderly conduct in March 2004.

__________

This earlier story below was from the Knoxville paper in  July of 2007:

Harrington goes preppy with a polo shirt and cargo pants.

Photo by Saul Young

Harrington goes preppy with a polo shirt and cargo pants.

Harrington goes preppy with a polo shirt and cargo pants.Photo by Saul YoungHarrington goes preppy with a polo shirt and cargo pants.

She’s a brick house in Kenzie cuffed short shorts and a BCBG bell-sleeve floral wrap top. Harrington completes the look with BCBG shoes.Photo by Saul YoungShe’s a brick house in Kenzie cuffed short shorts and a BCBG bell-sleeve floral wrap top. Harrington completes the look with BCBG shoes.

Tailored jeans and a textured tank are what Harrington wears on air at The Sports Animal radio station.Photo by Saul YoungTailored jeans and a textured tank are what Harrington wears on air at The Sports Animal radio station.

HEATHER HARRINGTON’S STYLE PROFILE

  • Celebrity fashion inspiration: Supermodel Heidi Klum
  • Favorite item: Shoes
  • Favorite color: Pink
  • Favorite designer: Dolce & Gabbana
  • Fashion advice: “Wear what makes you feel most comfortable.”
  • Fashion motto: “Only heels after 5.”

She finds a way to transition from sports replays to Knoxville’s need for a Nordstrom on The Sports Animal radio station.

Radio personality Heather Harrington, 23, determinedly hits Nordstrom’s Mecca of a shoe department when in other cities.

Hailing from Houston, where “big style” reigns, the former University of Tennessee volleyball player’s weakness is shoes — BCBG and Manolo Blanhnik labels can be found in her collection of more than 40 pairs.

Not a slave to labels, Harrington shops anywhere that suits her 6-foot-1-inch frame. She lets us into her closet:

What are you currently obsessing about having in your closet? Sunglasses, in every color and print; I just love them because you can put on a pair with no makeup and you still look great.

Name a purchase you charged that you wish you hadn’t? (Laughing) I don’t have buyer’s remorse too often.

What should every woman have her closet? A black dress and high heels.

If you could take only three things from your closet to a desert island, what would they be? A sarong that I got as a gift from Malaysia that can be worn as a skirt or a dress and two bathing suits.

Do you ever wear your pajamas on air? I used to but that didn’t always look so good if I had to meet with someone unexpectedly or if a tour or something was going to be happening at the radio station. I usually wear tailored jeans and some type of white top — a white fitted tee, a white button-down

What could happen in the world of fashion to change the world? It would take something like all the designers refusing to have their clothes made at child labor sweatshops or anywhere with inhumane conditions.

Have you ever been a fashion-don’t? Oh, yeah, when I was younger, in junior high school, I could never find pants long enough for me. So I was definitely wearing a lot of floods.

What does your dream closet look like? It is filled with shoes and is a huge walk-in closet.

What do women not need any more of in their closets? Pantyhose; just go get a spray-on tan and get rid of the pantyhose.

What is it about women’s fashion that you think most men don’t understand? Our obsession with shoes and bags. It’s not meant for them to understand, and they shouldn’t complain about a woman’s collection of shoes.

How often do you shop? And where? Probably three to four times a month. I’ll shop anywhere but especially when I go out of town I am on a mission for places to shop.

The last time you dressed up I wore a brown chiffon BCBG dress and snakeskin high heels to a wedding in D.C.

It’s been said that shopping is euphoria for women. What are your thoughts on this notion? Retail therapy works. When I shop alone, it’s about having “me” time.

______________

A police officer stopped Heather before she had a wreck. Unfortunately there was no officer there to stop Ryan Dunn back on the Sunday night in June of 2011 when he was killed driving drunk.

ryan dunn Jackass dead in crash

Ryan Dunn and his friends moments before they died.

Flickr user Eric Lewis posted the image below with a caption that says the photo shows what’s left of Dunn’s car.

 

Ryan Dunn tweeted a picture of himself drinking from a bar. At 2 am he left the bar and a few minutes later he was killed after running off the road in his car.There are three reasons that I do not drink and here they are.First,alcohol has brought a social plague on our country not matched by anything we have ever seen in the past.  I will never forget the day I heard this statistic in 1975:  “Drunk drivers are responsible for 50% of highway fatalities.”My pastor Adrian Rogers shared that statistic from the pulpit. I was only 14 years old at the time, but I was looking forward to driving. It caused me to realize that I had to abstain from alcohol and try to convince my friends and family to do likewise.Second, the Bible does condemn alcoholic wine. There were three kinds of wine mentioned in the Bible (grapes, grape juice and strong drink). Wine in the cluster which is equal to our grapes. Isaiah 65:8 ” “As the new wine is found in the cluster…”  The point I am making here is very clear. The Bible does refer to nonalcoholic wine which is equal to our grape juice. Don’t take for granted everytime you read the word “wine” in the Bible that it is referring to the kind of wine we are used to today.Next we have the term “strong drink” which is equal to our wine today. Strong drink is condemned. .Proverbs 20:1 states, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise. ”

  • WHAT WAS “STRONG DRINK” IN BIBLE TIMES?

Distillation was not discovered until about 1500 A.D. Strong drink and unmixed wine in Bible times was from 3% to 11% alcohol. Dr. John MacArthur says “…since anybody in biblical times who drank unmixed wine (9-11% alcohol) was definitely considered a barbarian, then we dont even need to discuss whether a Christian should drink hard liquor–that is apparent!”

Since wine has 9 to 11% alcohol and one brand 20% alcohol, you should not drink that. Brandy contains 15 to 20% alcohol, so thats out! Hard liquor has 40 to 50% alcohol (80 to 100 proof), and that is obviously excluded!

For documentation on this subject Google “alcohol” with the name of Adrian Rogers or John MacArthur. These theologians  have covered this subject fully with biblical references.

Third, Romans 14:21 states, “It is better not to eat meat (that had been offered to idols) or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.” If a person rejects all the linguistic arguments, there is still Romans 14:21 concerning not causing a weaker brother to stumble..

It is consistent with the ethic of love for believers and unbelievers alike. Because I am an example to others, I will make certain no one ever walks the road of sorrow called alcoholism because they saw me take a drink and assumed, “if it is alright for Everette Hatcher, it is alright for me.” No, I will choose to set an uncompromising example of abstinence because I love them. The fact is that 1 of every 6 drinkers in the USA are problem drinkers. Maybe if my family of 6 drank, that could be me or one of my children?

 

 

Billy Sunday told a story that illustrates this principle:

I feel like an old fellow in Tennessee who made his living by catching rattlesnakes. He caught one with fourteen rattles and put it in a box with a glass top. One day when he was sawing wood his little five-year old boy,Jim, took the lid off and the rattler wriggled out and struck him in the cheek. He ran to his father and said, “The rattler has bit me.” The father ran and chopped the rattler to pieces, and with his jackknife he cut a chunk from the boy’s cheek and then sucked and sucked at the wound to draw out the poison. -He looked at little Jim, watched the pupils of his eyes dilate and watched him swell to three times his normal size, watched his lips become parched and cracked, and eyes roll, and little Jim gasped and died.

The father took him in his arms, carried him over by the side of the rattler, got on his knees and said, “God, I would not give little Jim for all the rattlers that ever crawled over the Blue Ridge mountains.”

That is the question that must be answered by everyone no matter what their religious beliefs. Is the pleasure of drinking alcohol worth the life of one of your children?

Probably the most telling is the last statistic: 95% of alcoholics die from their disease and die approximately 26 years earlier than their normal life expectancy.

 

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