Latest News

The Jackson County Board of Education approved a resolution during its Monday meeting opposing Governor Bill Lee’s proposed Education Freedom Scholarship Act. The so-called Vouchers Bill would provide public tax money for up to 20,000 children statewide to pursue private schooling. Chairman Mark Brown said the act would have a negative effect on everyone in the county regardless of if ... Read More »

The Fentress County Highway Department presented an updated county road list to Commissioners Monday night. Road Superintendent Ryan Reed said the list includes 714 roads with a total of 570 miles. “If you notice, that’s considerably lesser amount of miles than last year,” Reed said. “But we’ve done a major overhaul on our road list. We started in September. I ... Read More »

The Jackson County Commission Monday night approved the purchase of a new backhoe to replace one that was totaled. Road Superintendent Daniel Garrison said the old backhoe declared a total loss because of an accident. Garrison said the lowest bid he received for a replacement of the same horsepower would cost just over $132,000. “Went through the insurance process,” Garrison ... Read More »

Putnam County Commissioners voted Monday night to purchase kitchen equipment for its senior centers that cannot afford to spend reimbursable grant money. Mayor Randy Porter said the state awarded $30,000 reimbursable grants to every senior citizen center across the state. He said the centers in Baxter, Algood, and Monterey have let him know that they can not afford to spend ... Read More »

The White County Board of Commissioners voted Monday night to allow County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson to negotiate the sale of the County Landfill with bidder Waste Management. The board voted 10-1 to allow Robinson to move forward with negotiations. Commissioner Chris Brewington was the only dissenting vote with three Commissioners absent. Robinson said he was looking forward to taking ... Read More »

A lot of snow melted across the Upper Cumberland Monday but many schools are still closed. Pickett County Director of Schools Diane Elder said schools are closed Tuesday to ensure conditions completely clear up before putting buses back on the road. She said she plans for Pickett schools to open back up on Wednesday after students being out of school ... Read More »

The Tennessee Department of Economic And Community Development is celebrating Pall Mall’s Forbus General Store as a Tennessee business serving the community for over 100 years. General Manager Clint Hayes said the store began serving the community in 1882 as Pall Mall’s pharmacy, restaurant, and clothing store. Hayes said the recognition has been awesome. He said keeping a business thriving ... Read More »

The Algood City Council spending time this month examining the changes to a new employee handbook. The council asked for the handbook to be revised last year. They wanted to change how sick time was paid as well as changing back to full at-will employment. City Administrator Keith Morrison said the old employee handbook was over ten years old. “It’s ... Read More »

Livingston Mayor Curtis Hayes satisfied with Monday’s bid for the paving of South Church Street. The city received bids from Rogers Group and Copeland DRP for the project, with Rogers Group turning in the lowest bid. Hayes said he will take the Rogers Group bid to the Board of Aldermen for a vote at its February meeting. Hayes said the ... Read More »

The Upper Cumberland Development District has promoted Rosa Smith to Assistant Director of Economic Development. Smith originally joined the UCDD as an Economic Development Planner focused on addressing the Upper Cumberland’s childcare shortage. She has focused on spreading awareness about childcare challenges in the region. Smith has also sought to find ways to make childcare more accessible and affordable. “The ... Read More »