A snowstorm has repeatedly impacted Neal Street in recent weeks and Cookeville city officials want your help to stop it. “At least a half dozen times, (someone) dumped what we think are wipes along Neal Street and in the vicinity of Neal Street,” City Manager James Mills. “And when I say dumped wipes, it’s hundreds and hundreds of them. And ... Read More »

COVID positivity rates stand at 17 percent or higher in all the counties of the Upper Cumberland Monday. The State Department of Health showed the highest positivity rate in Fentress County with 32 percent of tests coming back positive. 145 tests reported Monday with 47 testing positive. Smith County reported a 30 percent positivity rate. Six additional counties reported positivity ... Read More »

Monterey Aldermen will consider adding land to Meadow Creek Park at its Monday night meeting. Roughly seven acres of land in an adjacent subdivision could be added to the park. One part of the land includes a scenic waterfall for hiking. It would also give the community a parking area to keep hikers off private land. The meeting begins Monday ... Read More »

Cookeville Police investigating the Friday night stabbing of a Cookeville man. Police called to 1495 Autumn Avenue around 11pm where they found 40-year Brandon Lee Threet of Cookeville with a stab wound to his chest. Officers performed measures to try to save Threet’s life, before transporting him to Cookeville Regional Medical Center. Threet was pronounced dead at the Medical Center. ... Read More »

The Putnam County Schools will move forward with the hiring of a communications director. The School board unanimously approved the move Thursday night. Director of Schools Corby King said the addition will allow the system to be more responsive to its families. “Families will better know what’s going on in our district,” King said. King said the position will not ... Read More »

Two people airlifted from highway 111 in Putnam County Thursday afternoon after a two-vehicle accident. A vehicle driven by 48-year-old Dawn Callihan of Cookeville tried to cross the northbound lanes from a private drive. Callihan pulled into the path of 28-year-old Avery Morgan of Livingston. Morgan’s vehicle struck Callihan’s vehicle in the drivers side. Callihan’s vehicle came to rest in ... Read More »

The Putnam County School Board voted unanimously Thursday to extend Corby King’s contract and give the director of school a pay raise. King’s new annual salary moves to $125,000. Board Member Celeste Gammon said the board needed to get the director’s payrate closer to similar school systems across the state. “We really felt like it was time to move the ... Read More »

Cookeville Regional CEO Paul Korth said his team has set plans in place to vaccinate medical workers inside the facility when the COVID vaccine becomes available. When that will be, Korth said remains a question mark. “We don’t know a definite day, we hope it will be coming very, very shortly,” Korth said. Tier one of the CDC’s vaccination plans ... Read More »

The Putnam County Schools will not make any changes to its remote learning plan for the spring. That means students cannot change from in-person to virtual learning. Any of the 1,230 students currently working virtually have one chance to go back to in-person learning. After that decision, they will remain in-school for the rest of the school year. Putnam County ... Read More »

The Cookeville Regional Finance Committee approved the purchase of the Upper Cumberland Physicians Surgery Center at its Tuesday meeting. An outside firm assessed the building and the operation at $3.835 million. Cookeville Regional will pay $1.9 million or 50 percent of the fair market evaluation. Cookeville Regional already owns 50 percent of the practice. “It fits very well into one ... Read More »