Wind gusts in excess of 40mph Sunday morning have produced power outages across the Upper Cumberland. Just after 6am, Volunteer Energy reported nearly 600 residents without power, the majority in Fentress County. About 60 homes in Pickett County are also without power. Scattered outages are also occurring along the Cumberland-White County border. Upper Cumberland Electric has outages from Alpine to ... Read More »

Putnam County has reported 258 new COVID cases this week, but the county’s positivity rate remains lower than most other Upper Cumberland communities. According to data from the State Department of Health, the county reported 50 new cases Thursday. The positivity rate, or the percentage of new tests that register a COVID-positive result, stands at 10 percent. Cookeville Regional Medical ... Read More »

Algood City Council Tuesday night authorized application for $600,000 in parks and rec grant money from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The money would help fund the city’s planned amphitheater. If approved for the grant, the city must provide a 50 percent match. City Administrator Keith Morrison said the process includes finalization of the city’s long-term recreation plan. ... Read More »

The Upper Cumberland Regional Airport Board approved a one-time Christmas/COVID-19 bonus to be distributed in December. The board approved some $3,800 in money for the bonuses for airport staff. It will be paid for through state COVID relief money provided to the airport. Airport Manager Dean Selby said the team worked through the pandemic without missing any time. “Bonuses for ... Read More »

State senators from across the Upper Cumberland issued a letter to Tennessee voters supporting efforts by President Trump to contest the presidential election. State Senators Paul Bailey, Janice Bowling, Mark Pody, and Ken Yager signed the letter from the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus. It says the election process is far from over. The senators wrote there is no reason to ... Read More »

The timing and the order of the things. That was the focus Monday night as Putnam County Commissioners held a work session on the sale of the fairgrounds and the possible sale of the Highway Department and School Bus Garage. Commissioners are considering a possible spring sale for the fairgrounds property. Appraisers valued the 35.5 acre fairground space last year ... Read More »

Putnam County Commissioners Fiscal Review Committee approved the issuance of $2.155 million bond to pay for land purchased around the justice center. County Mayor Randy Porter said the county got a 1.54 percent interest rate to pay for parcels purchased. It is a three-year note that will be rolled into a new bond when the county begins the construction of ... Read More »

Two Gainesboro children were critically injured Sunday afternoon when a driver hit a disabled ATV the two were trying to help move. The accident happened around 1:30pm Sunday along Stacy Cemetery Road. According to a preliminary report from the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the two children were helping their father move the ATV from the roadway. 70-year-old Danny Murray of Gainesboro ... Read More »

A Crossville man sent to UT Medical Center via Lifestar Friday night after an accident along Bear Creek Road. 46-year-old Michael Hammons was traveling west on Bear Creek Road when he failed to negotiate a curve. The motorcycle fell to its right side, continued down the highway to a grass shoulder where the cycle struck a fence and pole. The ... Read More »

Putnam County School Board members said they do not want to see the schools having to close because of a lack of substitute teachers or bus drivers. But both are in short supply right now. Director Of Schools Corby King said the school system runs several people short in both areas daily. “It doesn’t appear as though this problem is ... Read More »