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Just hours after telling a Cookeville City Council Work Session that he was not “for the removal of monuments at all,” Council Member Mark Miller posted to social media Monday questioning whether the confederate monument at Cookeville City Cemetery should be removed. Miller removed the post several hours later. “There is an apparent violation with one of the subsections (of ... Read More »

The high school football and soccer seasons will not start on time. TSSAA Executive Director Bernard Childress said in a memo to all member schools Tuesday that competitions and scrimmages are prohibited under the guidelines issued by Governor Bill Lee Monday. “Based on the extension of the Governor’s order, football and girls’ soccer cannot begin their seasons as originally scheduled,” ... Read More »

Overton County will continue operating with this year’s budget after County Commissioners approved a continuing budget resolution Monday. County Executive Ben Danner said the school system continues to tweak its budget based on last-minute federal and state changes. “Right now, we are waiting on the schools to get their budget approved,” Danner said. “We hope on July 14th they have ... Read More »

The Cookeville City Council will not consider resolutions about confederate symbols on city property or monuments at the city cemetery. Both issues will likely be pursued through administrative means based on council directives to the City Manager. At Monday’s council work session, City Manager James Mills said he could enforce a policy that only a Tennessee state flag, an American ... Read More »

Putnam County should save some $1.8 million in interest costs by refinancing the bonds on Monterey and Upperman schools. County Commissioners gave Mayor Randy Porter the authorization to move forward with the plan Monday night. “It depends on the market the day that we do the refinancing but $120,000 to $140,000 a year in just interest costs,” Porter said. The ... Read More »

Putnam County Commissioners voted to write off some $627,000 in noncollectable debt from Putnam County EMS Monday night. The amount represents about 8 percent of the ambulance service’s revenues. County Mayor Randy Porter said the county has a debt collection service that tries to collect the money and has been successful at doing so. He said many medical providers report ... Read More »

The City of Livingston passed its new fiscal year budget with a 20-cent property tax increase Monday night. When the budget was initially read, the proposed tax increase stood at 25-cents. In the weeks following that meeting, the tax increase decreased 5-cents. Mayor Curtis Hayes said it felt good to get the budget passed with extra revenue to help fix ... Read More »

A Cookeville man died Monday afternoon in a crash at Sparta’s West Bockman Way and Highway 111. 88-year-old John Davis died when he attempted to make a left turn from Highway 111 onto Bockman Way. According to the Tennessee Highway Patrol, Davis was struck by 62-year-old Glyn England. England was traveling westbound on Bockman Way. England’s vehicle struck Davis’ vehicle ... Read More »

Mediation for felony, misdemeanor and juvenile cases will get a boost thanks to a grant for a Crossville-Center. VORP of Crossville brings victims and offenders together through mediation. VORP Community Mediation Center Executive Director Rita Young said without this grant, access to justice through mediation would not be possible. “Even though our services are free, it is not really free to ... Read More »

Three Rickman Elementary School teachers were selected by the Tennessee Department of Education to create ELA video lessons. The videos will be used by the state as a tool for teaching for situations like the coronavirus shut down. Overton County Director of Schools Mark Winningham said the district picked the teachers due to their experience and quality. “We are extremely ... Read More »