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Gainesboro Board of Aldermen voted to accept the resignation of Alderman Eric Bartholomew Thursday night effective immediately. Bartholomew was elected to the position in August. Mayor Lloyd Williams said he believes the job was not exactly what Bartholomew had expected, and thanked him for serving. He said the next step will be to find someone to fill the vacancy. “We’re ... Read More »

The Putnam County School Board officially accepted two electric buses Thursday night, the result of a $790,000 grant award from the EPA. The delivery date remains unclear, but Cumberland International Bus Account Manager Ashley Scurlock said the system has already designed the two routes to be covered by the buses. “The reliable range on a bus is 135 miles, the ... Read More »

Upper Cumberland Development District continuing to offer support and housing assistance to relative caregivers. Program Director Vickie Durham said a relative caregiver is any family member entrusted with the care of children to keep them out of the system. “What we hear from them is that without that relative caregiver they would’ve had to send the child back to state ... Read More »

The Crossville City Council will consider soliciting proposals from general contractors to lead its indoor recreation facility project. Uplands Design Architect Kim Chamberlain said instead of bidding out the entire project, he recommended seeking qualifications to find a general contractor. “Once they’re on board, they become a member of the team and work along with us to go through and ... Read More »

One local childcare facility says parents are putting their child on the waitlist as soon as they find out they’re pregnant. Danielle Preston is the Co-Director of Little Sprouts Mother’s Day Out in Cookeville. She said the long waitlist is in response to working parents struggling to find childcare facilities. A recent state report revealed that more than 80 percent ... Read More »

42nd District State Representative Ryan Williams says he has several priorities for the upcoming general assembly. Williams said one topic he expects to be discussed is the recently-formed Flood Ready Tennessee coalition. He said Governor Bill Lee had started to lead this movement with discussions on funding for schools built in existing flood plains. “So his staff, as well as ... Read More »

City of Cookeville starting the process to conduct a $40,000 salary study before the next budget season. City Manager James Mills said even after historic raises for its city employees, there is more to be done. “But with the rate of inflation and the difficulty we were having filling some of our positions we felt like a salary study was ... Read More »

The Rickman community has joined together forming a new non-profit to revitalize its recreation center. Clint Melton is the President of the Rickman Recreation Corporation. Melton said the goal is to provide recreational and athletic opportunities to future generations. “There’s really a whole lot that we want to do out there that we want to accomplish,” Melton said. “Eventually, we ... Read More »

White County will begin handling building permits and inspections in-house on February 1st. The county decided to transition away from the state’s services to increase availability. Building Inspector Brett Nash said he has scheduled an informative meeting Tuesday to address any concerns from local contractors. “Every jurisdiction is different,” Nash said. “We may do something different from Sparta or from ... Read More »

With the majority of underground and foundation work complete, building erection for the Putnam County Jail addition has begun. Sheriff Eddie Farris said prefabricated walls and jail cells will now be placed via crane. “Before we started this project, we flew and went to several locations and looked at how some of the newer facilities were being built,” Farris said. ... Read More »