The UCHRA will look at launching an on-demand transportation program. Executive Director Mark Farley said the microtransit system would be similar to Uber and Lyft. “It’s not that we’re wanting to compete with them, but obviously, some of the clientele that we deal with, it’s hard to serve them when you’re looking at that 48-hour notice,” Farley said. “We’ve got ... Read More »

A two-vehicle crash killed a 71-year-old Cookeville man Wednesday afternoon. The accident happened on Highway 111 in Overton County. The Tennessee Highway Patrol said Bob Allen expired from injuries at the crash scene. Allen was traveling South in a 1952 Chevy when the crash occurred. A preliminary crash report said the vehicle was rear-ended by a 2007 Volvo XC7, driven ... Read More »

Contractors hope to begin some paving preparation work along North Washington Avenue in Cookeville this week. Jennifer Flynn is the community relations coordinator for the Tennessee Department of Transportation. She said additional milling and paving work could begin as early as Friday night. “They have a few nights worth of placing the binder mix, which is what helps the pavement ... Read More »

Putnam County residents have an easier option for showing proof of address during the voter registration process. Election Administrator Debbie Steidl said her office will now accept at least one record stored on cell phones. “Some people have come in and haven’t had a second one, but they wanted to know if they could should proof on their cell phone ... Read More »

All five Van Buren County volunteer fire departments will soon have extended fire protection. County Mayor Greg Wilson said the state funded nearly $289,000 for new equipment. “We’re going to be using that for AED’s, so we’ll be able to put one on each truck that responds to a fire,” Wilson said. “We’re also getting some equipment for search and ... Read More »

Monterey Police arrested two wanted individuals following a high-speed chase Tuesday night. The incident began when Officer Andrew Phillips attempted to stop a Nissan Sentra for speeding on Interstate 40. A records check of the license plate showed a hit for a male wanted by the US Marshals Service for weapons possession. Officer Phillips engaged in a pursuit with speeds ... Read More »

Putnam County authorities have asked the public for help in identifying two suspects accused of installing a camera inside a female restroom. The sheriff’s office began the investigation last month after receiving a report about a covert camera found inside the restroom of a convenience store in Western Putnam County. The camera showed several photos of the suspects inside their ... Read More »

A superseding indictment unsealed Tuesday charges a Cookeville man with four additional counts of healthcare fraud. Indictments handed down earlier this year charged 37-year-old Brian Richey with one count of healthcare fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud. The alleged crimes occurred between 2010 and 2018 when Richey worked as a nurse practitioner at a Franklin, Tennessee-based ... Read More »

The state has declined Overton County’s $325,000 Community Development Block Grant application. County Executive Ben Danner said the funding would have purchased three new ambulances. “I was really hoping we got that. I would have thought that we would have qualified well because every county around us, except Putnam County, doesn’t have a hospital or closed it,” Danner said. “We’re ... Read More »

A $50 increase could be coming to Putnam County’s Property Tax Relief Program. County Commissioner Cindy Adams said the program currently offers up to $100 a year to eligible property owners. “We were proposing an extra $50. We came to that amount for a couple of reasons,” Adams said. “If a person has a $100,000 home, the tax increase that ... Read More »