Rep. Ryan Williams hasn’t decided if he will run for any other office. Williams’ spokesman Doug Kufner said Williams and his wife are praying about their lives. Kufner said Williams hasn’t said no to potential opportunities, but he’s focused on representing the people of Tennessee’s House District 42 and fulfilling his duties as House Caucus Chairman. Last week, state Speaker ... Read More »

Congressman Diane Black announced Wednesday she would enter the race for Tennessee governor. Black’s announcement was relatively low-key. She posted a video on her campaign website, votedianeblack.com. As the 6th district congressman, Black represents much of the Upper Cumberland. She is currently chairman of the House Budget Committee and said she doesn’t intend to step down from that position during ... Read More »

Putnam County Fair Board President John Allen said a lot of people did a lot of work to make the fair happen “62 people that have some piece of the fair, that help deliver the fair, in addition to 447 volunteers,” Allen said. The fair opens Thursday and continues through Saturday, Aug. 12. The fair board and volunteers will continue ... Read More »

Putnam Director of Schools Jerry Boyd hopes some environmental testing will come back sooner than predicted. At the end of June, the Board of Education told Boyd to move forward on geological testing on a 45-acre property on Lee Seminary Road, near the Highlands Business Park. “We are in the process of getting geotesting to decide if it’s suitable for ... Read More »

It may be August but the Cookeville Rescue Mission planning for December. Director Kim England said the mission is already accepting volunteers for its annual bell-ringing campaign. “That is our biggest fundraiser of the year and it takes a massive amount of volunteers to ring bells for 15-17 days during the holiday season and it makes up for about half ... Read More »

Tennessee Highway Patrol will be watching as students head back to class. THP Lt. Jimmy Neal said troopers will be patrolling in and near school zones and may even ride school buses to make sure students are safe. “We just want to reiterate leave early, leave early, watch for the school buses, don’t drive distracted, don’t drive impaired, and wear ... Read More »

A Crossville Police dog is recovering at a local clinic after sustaining multiple stab wounds to the chest. Crossville Police officers were investigating a tractor trailer reported stolen at about 4:20 a.m. Wednesday. At some point, the suspect ran and the K-9 officer pursued. The K-9 was stabbed in the chest several times during the pursuit. The K-9 officer was ... Read More »

The utility work on Willow Avenue may be complete, but there’s a whole lot of work left to be done. TDOT spokesman Jennifer Flynn said the road will be paved before Halloween. On August 21, Nashville’s Rogers Group will begin nighttime construction to make the sidewalks compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. They’ll also repair storm drains. Milling and ... Read More »

The Roaring River Dam will soon be a memory. Crews started removing the dam Tuesday morning. TWRA spokesman Mime Barnes said last week the decision to remove the aging dam became pretty easy. “Knowing that there was a time that it was thought it was a good thing and that we didn’t really need it at this point in time ... Read More »

DeKalb County Coalition Animal Shelter will get a boost from a few fundraisers organized by volunteers. One of those volunteers is Debbie Rowe. Rowe started a “Friends of DeKalb County Animals” Facebook group. So far, the group has events planned in August, September and October. Saturday’s canoe and kayak poker run will start the fundraisers off. The seven-mile float begins ... Read More »