White County School Board approved the hiring of an additional 11 positions to add to staff next school year. Those positions include a computer science teacher, special education aides, a counselor, and a new assistant principal for Findlay Elementary. Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said these positions were made possible by the funds from the new school funding model estimated ... Read More »

Overton County Sheriff’s Department to replace a jail HVAC unit using new grant funding dollars. Chief Deputy Tim Poore said the jail has about 15 HVAC units that cover individual areas of the facility. He said that includes booking, records, the administrative side, and the jail. “This jail’s 21 or 22 years old now,” Poore said. “And a lot of ... Read More »

Cookeville Leisures Services ushering in the warmer months with the start up of the Dogwood Park Fountain. Director Rick Woods said the fountain turns on each year around the beginning of April. He said despite the fact that the water is still cold and the temperatures not that warm, the fountain has seen many visitors so far. “Still have some ... Read More »

Putnam County Schools looking to implement new audio enhancement equipment in classrooms across the district. Deputy Director Tim Martin said a teacher would wear a mic on a lanyard and have speakers throughout the classroom. “We’ve been looking at some research for classrooms that show us the more clearly you can be heard, the better kids learn,” Martin said. “So ... Read More »

Algood will explore other options for a proposed Wall Street closure to make sure all alternatives are explored. City Manager Keith Morrison said the closure was postponed by the city council. He said the council wanted to gather more data and provide time for additional study. “Council asked that we get traffic counts on Pinnock Street as well as that ... Read More »

Fire Departments responding to five different vegetation fires in the area serve as a reminder that conditions are drier than you think right now. Putnam County Fire Captain Coty Nash said with warmer temperatures and not a lot of rain, the environment is deceivingly dry. He said they typically have windier days this time of the year, which can increase ... Read More »

T-DOT has approved funding for Cookeville’s North Willow Avenue widening project. City Manager James Mills said the work would include adding a center turn lane between Broad Street and 12th Street. He said the project was approved for funding and the acquisition of right-of-way planned for 2025. “Major need for North Willow is traffic accidents,” Mills said. “Most of the ... Read More »

UCDD and UCHRA gave leadership high marks on their annual performance evaluations. Chair Randy Heady said the evaluations committee met this week to discuss the performances of Finance Director Ginger Stout and Executive Director Mark Farley. “I think that they’re doing a fine job we’re really fortunate to have the leadership we have in our area and that’s all the ... Read More »

Algood City Council postponed the approval of Walt Bradshaw as its new Public Works Director at its meeting Tuesday night. Bradshaw was one of the final two candidates. The other candidate dropped out of consideration. Council Member Ron Graves said he feels the city had not pursued filling the position to the extent that he would like. “I don’t know ... Read More »

UCHRA working to get more people into the in-home healthcare service field through a new partnership. Community Services Director LaNelle Godsey said there has been a widespread trend of finding individuals to go provide in-home services to clients. She said partnering with the Tennessee Board of Regents to provide training and education opportunities will aid in getting individuals interested in ... Read More »