Putnam County Schools seeking feedback as the calendar committee plans its next three-year school calendar. Communications Supervisor Hannah Davis said that the online survey is available to those both involved in the school system and those that are simply in the community. “All of them can go and take this survey to give back information as far as what’s important ... Read More »

The Clay County School Board approved its proposed budget Thursday night for the 2022-2023 fiscal year. Director of Schools Diana Monroe said that the main focus during this year’s budget process was increasing teacher salaries. “All of our teacher assistants, cooks, bus drivers, everybody non-certified, they all needed raises as bad as teachers do,” Monroe said. “And we value greatly, ... Read More »

Increasing demand for electric vehicle infrastructure has local leaders wanting to start the conversation about what that looks like locally. East Tennessee Clean Fuel Commission Director Jonathan Overly said that’s why they hosted a Community Charging Planning Workshop to hear about what communities are looking for in the potential for charging stations in the Upper Cumberland. “If you’re thinking about ... Read More »

With multiple reports over the last week of parks across Putnam County being broken into, vandalism at Cookeville city parks is not an uncommon occurrence. Cookeville Leisure Service Director Rick Woods said that they typically see an increase in these instances during the summer months. He said that there is not one park that sees the most vandalism, but park ... Read More »

Tennessee Tech’s summer session is seeing slightly decreased numbers than usual. Karen Lykins is the Interim Vice President for Student Enrollment. She said that despite lower than average numbers, they are offering even more courses for summer sessions than ever before. Lykins said that offering more online courses and has been a big plus for students. “I think the summer ... Read More »

City of Baxter approved the annexation of some 52-acres of land to the East of Gainesboro Highway at its Tuesday night meeting. Codes Official Bob Lane said that the landowners had approached the city about the annexation to help with potential development. He said that annexing territories can sometimes be a huge benefit to the city proper. “The more rooftops ... Read More »

Former Assistant General Manager Ben Newman is taking over as Caney Fork Electric Cooperative’s new General Manager. Newman replaces Bill Rogers who recently retired. Newman said that his goal is to continue providing affordable electricity reliably. “We have some things coming up with new developments in technology,” Newman said. “Hopefully our outage management system will become more updated and we ... Read More »

Putnam County Regional Planning Commission approved the preliminary plat for a new 65-lot subdivision off Buffalo Valley Road. Director Kevin Rush said that the plat proposes single-family homes with lot sizes ranging from 20,000 square feet to a few acres. “We are seeing a lot more interest in doing subdivisions in the western part of the county,” Rush said. “There ... Read More »

TDOT has started the right-of-way acquisition process for the new road towards Portobello. Baxter Mayor John Martin said at a Tuesday night meeting that property acquisition will be going up Baxter Road across where the new Ditty Road will be. “We’ve got quite a few that’s already agreed to donate the property,” Martin said. “And then TDOT highlighted that if ... Read More »

One of the Putnam County Schools’ leads on school safety said Governor Bill Lee’s new executive order is an added resource when it comes to school safety. The order directs accountability measures for school safety and an evaluation of training for Tennessee law enforcement. It also establishes additional resources to support improving school security practices. Putnam County Schools Attendance Supervisor ... Read More »