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Illness spreading through Jackson County Schools this week, especially among faculty and staff. Director of Schools Jason Hardy said he considered closing schools for a day. Hardy said he spoke with other district directors and everyone is closely monitoring the situation. “Our numbers aren’t to that level yet, but we’re going to keep an eye on it,” Hardy said. ” ... Read More »

The Cumberland County School Board will consider the Director of Schools request to renegotiate his contract, following a Thursday night discussion. Billy Stepp asked the board to consider his agreement after receiving a positive evaluation. Stepp said many school systems consider raises and extensions annually based on such an evaluation. Board Member Nicholas Davis said having the discussions make sense. ... Read More »

Designs presented to the Jackson County School Board Thursday night for a new CTE building at Jackson County High School. Maintenance Lead Josh Morgan said the cosmetology lab and HVAC shop have been approved by teachers and are likely represented in the design exactly as they will be constructed. He said the building trades shop could be tweaked before the ... Read More »

Livingston Fire and EMS traveled to Kentucky this week for a helicopter evacuation training course. Livingston Fire Chief Rocky Dial said the department takes the course every two years to maintain awareness of the air evacuation procedures. He said firefighters learned how to create a safe landing zone for helicopters, free of powerlines, trees, and road signs. “They have to ... Read More »

The Algood Park project is moving forward as fast as the city can afford to work on it despite concerns from some local citizens. Mayor Lisa Chapman-Fowler said she understands that some people in the community are unhappy with a supposed lack of progress on the park. Chapman-Fowler said the park was planned from the start to have multiple phases ... Read More »

Could a solar flare reported early Thursday have caused an outage that affected some 70,000 AT&T cell phone customers? Tennessee Tech Associate Physics Professor Mary Kidd said if a flare directed at Earth is strong enough, it can affect satellites and cause blackouts to communication systems and GPS. However, Kidd said it is unlikely that a flare would have affected ... Read More »

160 years later, the Battle of Dug Hill that left some 40 Yankee soldiers dead in the Calfkiller Valley remains one of the bloodiest skirmishes in the Upper Cumberland’s history. The battle happened February 22, 1864 near the White/Putnam County line. Putnam County Historian Dale Welch said Yankee soldiers marched from Sparta to Putnam County looking to stop local “bushwhackers” ... Read More »

Upper Cumberland representatives from Alzheimer’s Tennessee went to the capital Wednesday to request legislative support on three key bills. Plateau Regional Director Melanie Hendricks said a bill that would elevate the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disability to the cabinet level was a priority. She said this would give advocates a seat at the table and a more powerful voice. ... Read More »

New security cameras will help monitor more blind spots across the Overton County School System. Overton County Schools Supervisor of Technology Brent Thrasher said School Resource Officers have pointed out the blind spots in larger spaces of multiple schools. He said the new cameras will monitor monitor both outdoor and indoor spaces, depending on the need at each campus. “Schools ... Read More »

The Tennessee Tech College of Education scored in the “meets expectations” category on this year’s State Educator Preparation Report Card. 10 of the 42 Teacher Preparation Programs included in the state study received an “exceeds expectations” classification. Dean of the College of Education Lisa Zagumny said it is harder for a program as large as Tech’s to reach that distinction ... Read More »