Power of Putnam will celebrate National Overdose Awareness Day through two events Friday afternoon. Executive Director Bill Gibson said the first event will begin at 5:00 p.m. on the quad at Tennessee Tech. The second event starts at 7:00 p.m. at the Putnam County Courthouse. “Families have been through unspeakable tragedy, and this is in the nature of a candle ... Read More »

The Upperman High School addition will move forward after the Putnam County School Board awarded a bid for the project Thursday night. Architect Kim Chamberlin said the approved bid came in about $700,000 under budget. “We also have to get a testing company on board to be a part of the process to make sure everything is getting down according ... Read More »

Putnam County Sheriff Eddie Farris said he has no complaints as to the response to a perceived threat at Cookeville High School Wednesday. Farris said the his office is always the lead response when it comes to school threats. ‘We’re the ones that have the school resource officers in the school, so the sheriff is in charge of that,” Farris ... Read More »

Sparta Police Chief Doug Goff said a new police department is a need in the next three to five years. Goff told the Board of Aldermen about the cramped facility during a work session after Alderman Jim Floyd asked about the department’s long-term plan. Goff said the department has outgrown the current facility. “I would like to see at some ... Read More »

The Upper Cumberland Habitat for Humanity will soon add DeKalb County to its service area. Executive Director Pam Ealey said the DeKalb chapter was volunteer-ran for several years. Ealey said the affiliate has faced challenges keeping the mission going under that model. “At DeKalb many of them have been involved for the whole 20 years, and they all want to ... Read More »

The Sparta Board of Aldermen will vote on a pay adjustment plan Thursday night that would impact 67 employees. The plan would increase pay by $2.32 for employees in pay grades two through seven. Mayor Jerry Lowery said the city needs to take action after losing nine workers over the past year. “I think it is something that we probably ... Read More »

A new crowd-sourced, pilot initiative that would compile the best views of the region has launched in four counties. Scenic Tennessee’s newest project is called Tennessee Vistas. President Marge Davis said residents of Jackson, Overton, Putnam and White County will help create a database for others to view. “One of our founding members was Mack Prichard who died a couple ... Read More »

Algood received the required state permits to move forward with its second Walmart entrance project. City Administrator Keith Morrison said this allows the city to move forward with bidding and finding a funding mechanism. “We had to apply for permits and make sure we weren’t causing any problems with wetlands, so we cleared all that,” Morrison said. “We’ve got the ... Read More »

Paving to begin next week for TDOT’s intersection improvement project in Baxter. Community Relations Officer Rae-Anne Bradley said the final project would improve the safety of the Highway 70 and State Route 56 intersection. “The only remaining work once the paving is complete is to install the signal, some final striping and permanent stabilization of the dirt,” Bradley said. “The ... Read More »

Sparta City Administrator Brad Hennessee said the Board of Aldermen needs to be prepared for the county to sell its landfill. Hennessee told the Board Tuesday night in a work session that the city has a backup plan prepared. Hennessee said the city needs concrete information from the county before making a decision though. “It appears to me, and I’m ... Read More »