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The Livingston Board of Aldermen approved final reading of a city charter change granting a city mayor more hiring power. The ordinance did not receive any public comment Monday night and Alderman David Langford was the only member to vote against the ordinance. The change allows a Livingston Mayor to hire and suspend employees without board approval. Department heads would ... Read More »

Cookeville City Council will explore the possibility of adding a third phase to the East Spring Street sidewalk project. City Manager James Mills said the original project was submitted for grant in 2014 and received approval in 2015, when the city’s grant match would be some $196,000. Mills said as of today that match has been projected to increase to ... Read More »

The Putnam County Fire Department responded to an accidental barn fire around 12:28 p.m. Tuesday near Southfork Road in Baxter. Chief Tom Brown said the barn was being demolished and had a small fire next to it that led to the barn itself catching fire. Brown said that although there was a small grass fire around the area, there was ... Read More »

Warren County Animal Control and Adoption Center reopened Tuesday after closing because of parvo cases. According to the American Kennel Club, parvo is a highly contagious virus that dogs can be exposed to anytime they sniff or consume infected feces. Director Sherri Bradley said that the facility closed for two weeks to ensure the safety of animals both in and ... Read More »

State grant funding equaling $110,000 coming down to multiple Upper Cumberland law enforcement agencies for highway safety. Monterey Police Chief Bill Randolph said the $15,000 his department received will help with impaired driving enforcement. “We’ve been getting that grant for several years, and we use it for overtime during saturation to work DUI stops,” Randolph said. “The other part can ... Read More »

COVID hospitalizations at Cookeville Regional have dropped to 96 patients after a full week of over 100 cases housed. Eighty percent of admissions have not been vaccinated. Numbers in the Intensive Care Unit remain steady with 29 patients. Read More »

Putnam County will receive some $11.3 million dollars from TDEC for water expansion projects. Mayor Randy Porter said the funding comes from the state’s portion of the American Rescue Plan. “What they are going to do is ask the county’s to work with the city’s and water utility districts to come up with projects that will either extend water lines, ... Read More »

Camp Hope in Columbia, Tennessee gives young burn victims the chance to live beyond the burn. The camp runs off of donations, and the Harrington for Hope event helps with the cause. Cookeville Police Lieutenant Mitch Harrington started the fundraiser after responding to a 2016 house fire that resulted in injury. “I spent a month at Vanderbilt Burn Unit, and ... Read More »

Overton County Commission approved an additional 4-H employee for its UT Extension Office at its Monday meeting. Co-Director Christina Swallows said that the opportunity for an additional employee was rare. Swallows said that Governor Bill Lee recently made the allowance for additional employees for smaller counties. She said that the extra help will allow current Overton 4-H Agent Nicole Marrero ... Read More »

The Putnam County Redistricting Committee will not consider a nine district option for the county commission. CTAS Consultant Ben Rodgers said that the committee believes a nine district committee was not feasible for the commission. “Basically the nine district plan brought the Monterey district all the way to the Cookeville city limits,” Rodgers said. “It was going to cause some ... Read More »