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McMinnville Closes Lobbies, COVID Uptick

Due to growing COVID-9 cases in McMinnville, City Administrator Nolan Ming has closed facility lobbies effective Monday. “The threshold is an average of less than 10 new cases per 100,000 over the last 14 days,” Ming said. “This threshold for acceptable disease transmission within the community may be adjusted in the future as we learn more. As of today, we ... Read More »

Cookeville Man Charged With Rape Of Child

A Cookeville man faces two counts of rape of a child under 13. The Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Investigation Division arrested 34-year-old Derek Lee Hargis of Cookeville Friday. The investigation centered on allegations made by two minors against Hargis. Hargis is being held on a total bond of $200,000. Read More »

Early Voting Starts Friday, Continues Through August 1

Tennessee early voting starts Friday with guidelines never seen before in an election year. Putnam County Election Commission Administrator Michele Honeycutt said social distancing, mask wearing and sanitizing will be practiced. “Once they come into our building, we have blue tape on the floor every six feet, so they will just process through,” Honeycutt said. “We have four stations open ... Read More »

Van Buren Recycling Program Will Continue

The recycling program will continue in Van Buren County. Despite a manufacturing company exploring the use of Van Buren County’s recycling center as a factory, Mayor Greg Wilson said it was never his intent to eliminate the program. “It will stay there, yes,” Wilson said. “We were going to make adjustments if need be. We said we’d make adjustments to ... Read More »

Cookeville Personnel Policy Updated

Cookeville City Council approved additions to the city’s personnel manual prohibiting any insignia or decal on city owned-property. The unanimous vote Thursday amended chapter five of the policy. It identifies the only exceptions as city badges and logos as well as the flags of the state and nation. The change came after Council Member Mark Miller proposed a resolution last ... Read More »

TDOT Releases Repavement Priority List For 2021

Twenty-seven T-DOT paving projects in the Upper Cumberland have been approved and prioritized for 2021. Region 2 Community Relations Officer Jennifer Flynn said T-DOT pavement managers are strategic in their priority selection. “The purpose is to preserve our transportation system while maximizing our dollars,” Flynn said. “So that’s what our pavement managers do, they look at all these things, they ... Read More »

Cookeville OKs Bond For Police Station, Fire Trucks

Cookeville City Council authorized the issuance of $19 million in bonds to pay for the Cookeville Police Department construction and the purchase of two fire trucks. “This resolution before you represents the first step in the process to issue general obligation bonds,” Finance Director Brenda Imel said. The next step in the bond process will be publishing notices about the ... Read More »

Man Drowns At Meadow Creek Lake

A father drowned at Monterey’s Meadow Creek Lake Thursday afternoon trying to save his son. The Putnam County Sheriffs Department identified the man as 41-year-old Derek Lee Wilson. Monterey Police Chief Bill Randolph said Wilson and his son were fishing. “The father and son were in a kayak,” Randolph said. “The son had on a life jacket. The kayak capsized ... Read More »

UCDD Offering Revolving Loans For Struggling Businesses

The Upper Cumberland Development District is offering revolving loans for businesses struggling from the pandemic. The UCDD has offered this program before, but Executive Director Mark Farley said they’re receiving double the amount of federal funding, some $5 million. “When we get this new money in, we’ll be making that at a very low interest rate,” Farley said. “About one ... Read More »

35 UC Medical Professionals Recommend Mask Wearing

Thirty-five members of the Upper Cumberland Medical Society have signed a resolution encouraging residents to wear masks. Medical society member Dr. Jim Batson said high infection rates and available hospital space is the society’s biggest fear. “Our numbers are rising just like everybody else in the country,” Batson said. “We are a regional hub of the entire 14 counties of ... Read More »