A Kentucky man faces drug charges after being arrested in Putnam County last week. 20-year-old Ryan Williamson of Lexington, Kentucky was traveling south on Highway 111 when he was pulled over by Cookeville Police for a light violation. A K-9 search found 2.3 grams of cocaine, over an ounce of marijuana, and nearly 8 grams magic mushrooms. Scales were also ... Read More »

Part of the Highway 56 improvement project from McMinnville to DeKalb County should begin next year. TDOT Civil Engineer Robert Rodgers said bids for two of the three phases of the project should be awarded in December of this year. “I would say that people in the area would actually see heavy duty construction road work start when the spring ... Read More »

Work will begin today for the new Cookeville Police station. Public Works Director Greg Brown said Old Walton Road between Neal Street and South Maple Avenue will be closed until further notice. “The initial phase will be installing utilities that will go to the proposed police department,” Brown said. “The developer is actually installing these utilities. The city is not ... Read More »

Two juveniles from Jackson County received medical treatment following a rear-end collision in Putnam County Sunday afternoon. According to a Tennessee Highway Patrol crash report, the accident occurred just before noon at the intersection of Highway 56 South and Buffalo Valley Road. The report said traffic had backed up on Highway 56 South when 53-year-old Marvin Lancaster, of Moss, crashed ... Read More »

The UCHRA is facing several lawsuits as the organization looks into a merger with the UCDD. UCHRA Attorney Danny Rader said one potential lawsuit could come from former executive director, Luke Collins. “Mr. Collins has indicated a willingness to institute a suit based on his termination,” Rader said. Collins was terminated from UCHRA last month after multiple allegations of mismanaging ... Read More »

Crossville officials will be voting on a measure next week to expand the number of city council members from 5 to 7. Crossville Mayor James Mayberry said the city council requested state lawmakers to allow the move to happen earlier this year. Lawmakers approved the request during legislative session. “In the past, we’ve had times where we ended up with ... Read More »

The first ever Jackson County mayor debate will be held today at the Jackson County Fairgrounds. The five candidates have been asked to attend the event, which will be moderated by Cookeville City Councilman Dwight Henry. “We’ve went back to folks in their 90’s and they don’t remember one ever being here,” candidate Truman Stearnes said. “There is such a ... Read More »

Putnam County authorities arrested a fifth and final suspect Thursday in connection with a May 30th armed robbery in Baxter. According to a press release, the arrest of Demario Sumlar happened Thursday when deputies spotted him walking down Jefferson Avenue. Putnam County Sheriff’s Office officials said Sumlar and four others broke into a home on Elmore Town Road and stole ... Read More »

The UCDD and UCHRA are currently in talks for a potential merger. The UCHRA search committee placed the search for a new executive director on hold Friday morning while the potential merger is being discussed. Livingston Mayor Curtis Hayes is a member of the search committee. He said discussions with interim director Mark Farley about a merger have been promising. ... Read More »