Overton County Commissioners have appointed Gail McCowan to fill the vacant District 3 seat. County Executive Ben Danner said McCowan will be replacing her husband Harley, who passed away late last year. “Gail was the closest we could get. The voters elected Harley and she was out with Harley all during the election,” Danner says. “She was part of Harley ... Read More »

A recent movement known as ‘Dry January’ has people abstaining from alcohol for the beginning portion of 2019. Keshia Abbott is a Nurse Practitioner with the Cookeville Regional Medical Group’s Pulmonary Office. She says the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to abstaining from alcohol for a month. “We do know that alcohol, even though it makes you sleepy after ... Read More »

Van Buren and Fentress Counties are both set to host employment and education resource fairs within the next week. Sky Arnold is the Press Secretary for the State Department of Human Services. He says the resource fairs could lead to opportunities for those struggling to find employment. “Really the main reason that we’re focusing on these specific counties… is we’ve ... Read More »

The Cookeville City Council could potentially delay the second reading of an ordinance rezoning property along East 10th Street. City Manager Mike Davidson says officials are still in talks with Titan Development to finalize plans for the rezoning, but want to have things ready before Council makes a decision. “One of the conditions placed on the rezoning was an acceptable ... Read More »

A Cumberland County Grand Jury has indicted a 74-year-old Crossville man on murder charges stemming from a September shooting. Warren Nostrom will appear in court this Friday for an arraignment hearing at the Cumberland County Justice Center, according to District Attorney Bryant Dunaway. Nostrom faces two counts of first-degree murder after driving to the Cumberland County Bus Garage in September ... Read More »

The Cookeville Shoney’s has laid-off all 24 employees as the restaurant prepares for upcoming renovations. Kimberly Thompson was a server at the restaurant for 30 years prior to Sunday’s layoffs. She said the layoff didn’t come as a surprise to her. “In my heart I was kind of expecting it because our general manager didn’t have a clue,” Thompson said. ... Read More »

A wetter-than-normal winter season in the Upper Cumberland isn’t effecting the current 2019 crop outlook for area farmers just yet. Putnam County Agriculture Extension Agent Wayne Keys said previous rainfall won’t effect spring planting unless weather patterns continue over the next several weeks. “We could have some dry weather in the next six to eight weeks causing our spring planting ... Read More »

Averitt Express in Cookeville looks to address potential safety issues with new hires and current truck drivers. Averitt Spokesperson Brad Brown says the company begins addressing the topic of safety during the hiring process. “We are very particular with how we hire our drivers. About 2-3 percent of the people who apply for driving positions end up being hired,” Brown ... Read More »

A Smithville woman facing 10 counts of forgery will appear in court Thursday. The DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department reports 25-year-old Josie Culwell passed checks at area businesses on the same victims within a week in December. According to the report, Culwell used the forged checks on ten separate occasions between December 15th and 21st, seven of which occurred at Walmart. ... Read More »