Wednesday afternoon thunderstorms brought down several trees in Jackson County. Jackson County Sheriff Marty Hinson said some of the trees fell across telephone lines in the eastern part of the county on Highway 85. “They’ve done been removed, but other than that, that’s pretty much it,” Hinson said. “Our dispatch did say they received some calls about power being out ... Read More »

Crossville City Council members will consider lowering the water level at Holiday Lake. City Manager Greg Wood said the move would give lakefront property owners the ability to do maintenance on docks and shorelines. “We looked at Lake Tansi and they routinely drop their lake levels every four years to allow maintenance,” Wood said. “We have not dropped it (Lake ... Read More »

A man died early Wednesday morning after being shot by a Carthage police officer outside Smith County Hospital. Officials have identified the deceased suspect as 25-year-old Joseph Robbins. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the incident occurred at 4:30 a.m. after a hospital security guard called authorities to report a suspicious vehicle in the hospital’s parking lot. Preliminary information ... Read More »

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director David Rausch’s choice for the agency’s next deputy director has ties to an Upper Cumberland law enforcement agency. Rausch on Tuesday appointed TBI special agent Brad Nealon to the deputy director position. Prior to joining the TBI in 2004, Nealon served as chief deputy for the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office. Nealon has a total of ... Read More »

Work to expand Monterey’s rail trail will get underway this week, according to Monterey grant writer Dawn Kupferer. “The surveyor is coming this week to survey everything and to get the plans together for the bid packet,” Kupferer said. “Once we have all that together we can bid it out, accept bids, and look at the lowest bid to bring ... Read More »

New county commission members across the state will be required to undergo eight hours of training as part of a new state law. Putnam County Executive Randy Porter said he believes the new training requirement will be beneficial to the new members. “I think the more education that the commissioners can get when it comes to what their jobs are ... Read More »

Monterey Aldermen voted last night to earmark alcoholic beverage sales for an enterprise fund that will pay for sidewalk and road projects. Alderman Rebecca Iaquinta made the motion to earmark the funds during Monday night’s board of mayor and aldermen meeting. “In all the years I have been in office, streets has always operated either on zero or negative. This ... Read More »

A smoking ban at public housing units across the nation had little impact on the Highlands Residential Services. HRS Executive Director Dow Harris said the agency implemented a smoke-free policy in September of 2016. “We had actually considered implementing the no smoking policy in late 2014 and early 2015 when we had experienced several fires,” Harris said. “One in particular ... Read More »

Algood City Council candidate Ruby Hawkins is contesting last week’s election that ended in a tie. “She also wants to ask for a recount and I’m not exactly sure what that means in the courts eyes, but we will find that out,” Putnam County Election Administrator Debbie Steidl said. “We’ve touched base with the state and we will see if ... Read More »

A Putnam County inmate escaped from custody Friday morning after walking away from a work crew assignment at the county animal shelter. 24-year-old Shunton Cortez Reed was last seen in a dark blue Jeep Compass, driven by 38-year-old Dawn Rodriguez. Reed is a 5’6″ black male with a mustache and a tattoo on his left forearm. Rodriguez described as a ... Read More »