Latest News

Putnam County’s recently conducted salary study revealed that the county is generally behind on paying county employees for many positions. That’s according to Commission Budget Chair Ben Rodgers. He said the report compared the county to similar-sized counties and to jobs in the private sector. Rodgers said while both are issues, he is more concerned with how the county shapes ... Read More »

Governor Bill Lee gave advice to the participants of Boys State Thursday morning. Lee said programs like Boys State are important because they teach the next generation about leadership. He said it is important to keep young people engaged with politics and civics in a democracy. “You do understand and you learn that we are a government of the people,” ... Read More »

The Trial Court Vacancy Commission has set a June 12th deadline for applications for the new Criminal Court Judgeship in the 13th Judicial District. The new judicial positions were enacted by Tennessee legislators in May. The 13th Judicial District experienced a more than seven percent increase in population between 2010 and 2020. The three most recent Weighted Caseload Studies conducted by the ... Read More »

Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris and Senator Bill Hagerty discussed school safety and law enforcement needs during the senator’s visit Tuesday. Farris said they touched base on the new school safety bill and SRO funding recently approved by the state. In addition, Farris said he got an update on work Hagerty is doing at the federal level to try to increase ... Read More »

Eight new scoreboards will be installed in the next couple of weeks at Cookeville’s Cane Creek Sportsplex. Leisure Services Director Rick Woods said the city received the scoreboards. He said they have to get additional equipment and find the right time to schedule the employees to put the boards up. “Some of the scoreboards were original to the facility when ... Read More »

Highlands Economic Partnership saw a successful turnout and meaningful discussion at its Tuesday industry roundtable. Economic Development Coordinator Matt Billings said the roundtable centered on advanced manufacturing. He said that is one of the driving economic forces for the Upper Cumberland region. “A lot of the conversations we had were kind of focused on workforce retention, the role of automation, ... Read More »

Cookeville officials holding preliminary discussions about moving the North Oak Avenue Gas Department. City Manager James Mills said over the last few years, the topic of the use of that property has been brought up “The Gas Department could basically be located anywhere, we’ve seen a resurgence in our downtown over the last decade or so, and lots of things ... Read More »

Monterey’s Black Bottom Field project estimates have come in higher than the town has funding. Building and Grounds Committee Chair Alex Garcia said to complete every component of the project is an estimated $440,000. He said the Board of Aldermen will consider putting the work out to bid at its next meeting to get a better idea of the cost ... Read More »

A Sparta Beekeeper called on this week to evict a swarm of bees from the Queen of Bluegrass, Rhonda Vincent’s home. Vincent was recording at her home on Monday when she discovered honeybees had established a colony in the overhang of her front porch. Vincent asked a friend for help and that eventually led to Jeffrey Herel . “The front ... Read More »

Celina Mayor Luke Collins said the hopes of reopening Cumberland River Hospital are now gone. Collins said after working for a year and a half, he had originally hoped to see the hospital open on July 1st. He said they wanted to bring a new emergency helicopter that would help with responses as well. Collins said that the owners of ... Read More »