A White County Commission committee voted to create a County Corrections Partnership group to help with issues at the county jail. Wednesday, the White County Jail had 221 inmates, but only enough space for 165. “We don’t have the facility to hold that many. The state prisoners is not our problem, it’s the county prisoners and it’s not getting any ... Read More »

The murder trial of Edward Walsh began Tuesday in Clay County. Walsh faces charges of first degree murder and abuse of a corpse in connection to the death of his girlfriend Melisha K. Mosier Ludwick in the summer of 2015. Ludwick’s disappearance was reported by her sister, Sonya Scott, who was an inmate at the Robertson County Jail at the ... Read More »

A Virginia law firm will file a federal civil rights lawsuit against White County over a discontinued birth control program. In a written statement, Nexus Caridades Attorneys said they intend to file the suit at the federal courthouse in Nashville. The suit will name White County, Sheriff Oddie Shoupe and county personnel who were involved in the program. The law ... Read More »

The state Department of Education welcomed a number of new districts to the Read to be Ready program, including several in the Upper Cumberland. Smith, Pickett, Jackson, and Clay county schools all joined the program at the beginning of the school year. Pickett County Director of Schools Diane Elder said joining the program was an easy decision. “Reading is the ... Read More »

Two Upper Cumberland state parks will get new visitors centers in the next year. Brock Hill is TDEC’s Deputy Commissioner for Parks and Conservation. He said Fall Creek Falls and Cummins Falls will see improvements in 2018. “Cummins Falls is getting a visitors center, it’s in design now also, it’s a little ahead of the one at Fall Creek Falls, ... Read More »

Van Buren County students won’t be in school Monday for the eclipse. Director of Schools Cheryl Cole said transportation and liability went into the decision. “We were worried for one thing about the bus transportation issue because they said they were expecting about a half million people in the area and the park’s been booked for months and so buses ... Read More »

Tennessee Tech’s Board of Trustees will discuss evaluations for the president at its meeting Thursday. The full board’s agenda includes setting board evaluations for the university’s president, and developing a contract for the president. At it’s last meeting the board approved a 3 percent raise for President Phil Oldham. Other items on the agenda include approving capital outlay requests and ... Read More »

Rain and traffic accidents made for a messy morning commute in Cookeville Wednesday. The first accident took place about 5 a.m. on Highway 111 when a Chevy Equinox entered the northbound lanes traveling south. One person was flown to Vanderbilt for advanced treatment following that accident. Cookeville Police Major Carl Sells said the department assisted the THP with that accident ... Read More »

A Cumberland County sex offender has been charged with four counts of theft. Jerry Lynn Davenport, 55, a registered sex offender, was arrested and is in jail on a $2,000 bond. A statement from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department said Davenport had obtained money from victims by fraudulent means. Investigators learned of the alleged incidents through social media. The sheriff’s ... Read More »

Cumberland County native Larry Woody was inducted into the Tennessee Journalism Hall of Fame Tuesday. He was one of three inductees. Woody retired as a sportswriter from The Tennesseean. He started at the Crossville Chronicle. He also served as a combat reporter in Vietnam. Woody was named Tennessee Sportswriter of the Year three times and authored several books. Read More »