The Jefferson Avenue widening project is still in its property acquisition phase, but remains on track for bidding in March 2021. T-DOT Community Relations Officer Jennifer Flynn said a total of 103 parcels are needed along the stretch from Interstate 40 to Highway 111. Flynn said the pandemic has slowed down acquiring properties. However, she could not say for sure ... Read More »

Dekalb County Schools will be fully virtual this week, after staffing shortages forced the school system to extend past the original December 11 return date. School Director Patrick Cripps said schools were already short on substitute teachers when Dekalb County High School was the only school going fully virtual last week. Cripps said the system tried shifting staff to other ... Read More »

Dekalb County has set money aside to start funding a fire station in Wolf Creek, but the county needs volunteer firefighters before committing to construction. Fire Chief Donny Green said they’ve started a training program in the area along the Putnam-Dekalb County line. Green said the minimum number of volunteers to staff the station would be six, but having up ... Read More »

The Overton County Sheriff’s Department said they are getting weekly and sometimes daily reports from residents getting scam calls. Sheriff John Garrett said most people are aware of scam calls, until a new trend started. Garrett said a majority of the reports right now are from scammers pretending to be from the social security office, and they’re going after everyone. ... Read More »

Pickett County Schools will use a hybrid learning model for all students until school starts back January 4. Currently, Preschool through 4th grade is learning in-person and 5th through 12th grade are fully remote. Pickett County School Director Diane Elder said staffing forced this decision, and she currently has nine COVID positive employees. Elder said there is not much the ... Read More »

White County Schools hope to stay open through the end of the fall semester, but are also preparing for a COVID case spike in January. At Thursday night’s school board meeting, Director of Schools Kurt Dronebarger said staying prepared has been essential to schools staying open. Dronebarger said cases were rising before Thanksgiving break but feels confident they will be ... Read More »

The first Assistant Director in the history of Putnam County 911 was given a plaque for 40 years of service Thursday. Former Assistant Director Mike Thompson started as EMT and worked his way through the department into an administrative role. The Current Putnam County 911 Assistant Director Brandon Smith said Thompson was a mentor, and helped implement systems the department ... Read More »

The McMinnville Nativity Festival will be celebrating the true meaning of Christmas this year, while still trying to keep the community safe. Festival Coordinator Miriam Crawford said people were reaching out and wondering if things would be canceled. However, Crawford said creating an outdoor drive-thru was a labor of love, to keep the Christmas Spirit alive. She said events like ... Read More »

Baxter is one of nine cities in the state to get a $750,000 BlueCross Blue Shield of Tennessee Foundation grant. Mayor John Martin said it is unbelievable to have this grant for the Seminary Park Project, after the time and money spent on the city’s parks. Martin said plans are already set for Seminary Park, and it will become one ... Read More »

Putnam County Schools will not apply to be a part of a state pilot program providing rapid COVID tests to schools. Director of Schools Corby King said there are community partners like the Putnam County Health Department and clinics filling the void on testing. King said the nursing staff already has more responsibility than usual. “We don’t have the staff ... Read More »