Latest News

Putnam County Commissioners will consider approving the new fiscal year budget next week. The highlights of the 2018-2019 fiscal year budget include funding for six new school resource officers and a cost of living raise for county employees. County Executive Randy Porter said regular employees will receive $1,800 and public safety employees will get an additional $2,000. “That is intentional ... Read More »

Cookeville City Council will consider re-approving an ordinance that would pave the way for a hotel and convention center in the downtown area. The ordinance, which has been approved twice before, will close and abandon alleys along South Oak Avenue and Depot Street for the proposed ‘Auxin Project.’ Planning Department Director James Mills said the ordinance would help move the ... Read More »

The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports that two people died after a pickup truck crashed in DeKalb County this morning. The crash happened on Old Mill Hill Road. The THP identified the deceased as 56-year-old Michael Murphy of Liberty and 50-year-old Angelia Burke of Crossville. According to DeKalb County authorities, a motorcycle rider came upon Murphy lying in the roadway about ... Read More »

Two Putnam County residents died in a fatal accident on I-75 Sunday near Marietta, Georgia. 58-year-old Donald Walker, of Cookeville, and 57-year-old Angela Joy Huddleston, of Baxter, were travelling southbound at the time of the accident. According to the Cobb County Police Department, the 2015 Cadillac Escalade drove into the center median, down an embankment, and struck two trees. Huddleston ... Read More »

Country Farm and Home Center opened it’s second Upper Cumberland store Monday The newest family-operated farm, home, building, and garden center is located on Highway 111 in Rickman. “I think it will be a really good location because it’s close enough to Cookeville and the interstate to where we can get a big draw from Putnam County,” owner John Scott ... Read More »

The State of Tennessee recently awarded Van Buren County an approximately 296 thousand dollar Community Development Block Grant for Fire Protection Improvements. County Executive Greg Wilson said the grant will pay for new fire department equipment. “This grant is for self-contained breathing apparatuses for our fire departments, which is badly needed because a lot of those we have in our ... Read More »

The issue of sexual harassment among higher education faculty and students. Whether it’s a verbal exchange or a physical encounter, sexual harassment of students pursuing higher education is a larger issue than publicly acknowledged. Tennessee Tech Professor Lindsey Upton works to understand these instances of sexual harassment that can occur and their impact on students and faculty. Today In The ... Read More »

The city of Baxter plans to pave a few roads recently damaged from water and sewer line repairs. Mayor John Martin said several citizens have complained about the road conditions on 1st Avenue and 4th Avenue North. “We are going to bring a paving machine down and do it right. There’s quite a few dips and holes,” Martin said. “It’s ... Read More »

A Cookeville woman was charged after she brought a knife into the Putnam County Justice Center Thursday. According to a press release, 43-year-old Tina Sweat was taken into custody by Sheriff’s Deputies after she brought the weapon inside the courtroom. Sweat was charged with one count of weapons carry during judicial proceedings. Her bond was set at $200,000. Weapons are ... Read More »