The Fentress County Commission has appointed Larry Cooper to the county fire chief position. County Executive Jimmy Johnson said Cooper spent the past 25 years serving as chief of the Allardt Fire Department. “He has a lot of experience in the situation and has a good financial background also,” Johnson said. “He knows about several grants because with the City ... Read More »

Be aware of a bump in the road if you drive across the railroad tracks on Highway 111 in White County. An asphalt failure has occurred where the roadway joins the railroad tracks. County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson said a permanent fix to the situation won’t be available until this spring. “So we had to go in and re-work a ... Read More »

A Cumberland County man faces charges for a Monday night vehicle pursuit that reached speeds over 100 mph. Crossville Police charged 19-year-old Matthaeu Flint Dorman with felony evading arrest, resisting arrest, and driving without a license. An arrest report said officers attempted to stop Dorman after radar clocked his vehicle at 102 mph near the intersection of Industrial Boulevard and ... Read More »

Widespread illness has forced the Dekalb County School System to cancel classes for the rest of the week and Monday. School officials reported a 12-percent absenteeism rate on Tuesday. That number included students and teachers suffering from the flu, strep throat, and stomach viruses. Warren County Schools will also close Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday due to illness. The Putnam County ... Read More »

Two inmates will spend more than 10-years behind bars for raping a woman inside the Putnam County Jail in December 2018. Tia Leigh Fabri and Shelby Cheyenne Nunley pleaded guilty on Monday to an aggravated rape charge. A May 2019 indictment accused Fabri, Nunley, and one other defendant of unlawful sexual penetration against a female victim. Fabri received a 15-year ... Read More »

A Byrdstown man faces charges for a 2019 crash that killed an elderly Cookeville resident. Indictments handed down Monday charge 39-year-old Michael Lynn Owens with vehicular homicide by intoxication and vehicular homicide by recklessness. The two-vehicle crash happened October 16 on Highway 111 in Overton County. A Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) crash report said Owens was driving South when his ... Read More »

The Cookeville Planning Commission will soon consider a measure to name a street after Jake Hoot. Upper Cumberland Habitat for Humanity has submitted the request. Planning Director John Ward said the organization wants to honor Hoot for winning the 17th season of NBC’s “The Voice.” “Jake Hoot has done a lot of fundraising for Habitat and they wanted to recognize ... Read More »

A Cookeville Regional Medical Center committee has begun the process of evaluating some parking changes. Chief Operating Officer Scott Williams said the hospital will move forward with plans to restrict certain parking lots with gates. “We’re hoping that through that restriction it’s going to allow us to move employees into those lots and use them more effectively so we can ... Read More »

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office arrested two people Sunday following an intensive drug trafficking investigation. Authorities charged 35-year-old Gregory Livers and 25-year-old Mariah Hearld with sell and delivery of methamphetamine. Officials have set bond amounts for both individuals at $140,000. Deputies took Livers into custody for a probation violation after he left his home on Old Salem Road. A press ... Read More »

A Cookeville brewery has requested an amendment to the city’s zoning code in order to expand. Jig Head Brewing Company has identified property in the city’s Commercial Industrial (CI) District. Planning Director John Ward said the zoning code currently doesn’t allow microbreweries in the CI District. “The CI district was amended to allow distribution centers, so something like Academy is ... Read More »