Tag Archives: Bill Lee

State Representative Ryan Williams said he is taking a “wait and see” approach to Governor Bill Lee’s proposed private school voucher expansion. The Education Freedom Scholarship Act would provide up to 20,000 students $7,075 yearly in tax dollars to attend a private or home school. Williams said he is waiting to make a full assessment until the full bill is ... Read More »

Jackson County Mayor Randy Heady back from last week’s Rural Opportunity Summit where he said ideas were exchanged and these ideas will benefit the county. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee hosted the summit with at-risk and distressed county leaders to discuss problems and potential solutions. Heady said there were several panels and discussions held at the event. He said his biggest ... Read More »

A Cookeville shelving company will be expanding, investing nearly $1 million in the local community, Governor Bill Lee announced Thursday. US Pillars is expanding its manufacturing efforts at its headquarters stationed in Cookeville. The company will invest $981,000 and create 56 new jobs after entering a business partnership with a German garage door company based in Sparta. The announcement of ... Read More »

The state announced Tuesday that just eight counties — including Clay County — are considered economically distressed, the lowest number in the state’s history. Clay County is the only middle Tennessee county included. Grundy and Morgan Counties both advanced off the list Tuesday. A total of 15 counties were designated distressed in 2019. The Appalachian Regional Commission ranks counties based ... Read More »

Governor Bill Lee paid a visit to York Insititute Thursday morning celebrating the school’s strong CTE and agriculture programs. Department of Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn called the school a “national model” for all the programs they offer. Lee said that he couldn’t agree more. “There are so many things happening there,” Lee said. “You see kids developing a beef cattle ... Read More »

The state’s new $3.3 billion Transportation Modernization Act should speed up the widening of Highway 127 between Crossville and Jamestown. Local and state leaders took a tour of State Route 127 construction as part of Governor Bill Lee’s “Build With Us Tour.” The tour kicked off in Clarkrange Thursday. Senator Ken Yager said the funding will help expedite a project ... Read More »

State legislators will step back to consider how to move forward with potential firearm legislation and public safety. Governor Bill Lee announced two weeks ago that the General Assembly would meet in a special session to discuss those topics. He said there is broad agreement that dangerous, unstable individuals who intend to harm themselves or others should not have access ... Read More »

Governor Bill Lee has launched the $100 million Violent Crime Intervention Fund where local law enforcement can apply for grant funding. Tennessee Sheriff’s Association President Eddie Farris said the work has been some two years in the making. As the Putnam County Sheriff, Farris said they will likely put their funding towards more license plate readers. “Bad people come into ... Read More »

Governor Bill Lee continued his tour of the state’s counties in celebration of 225 years of statehood. Lee spent part of Wednesday visiting with workers of the state’s Department of Human Services and Children Services in downtown Celina. “I wanted to touch base with our folks in our department that work for the state just to talk about how we ... Read More »

Tennessee Tech President Phil Oldham called the Governor’s proposals for Tennessee Higher Education, “Historic.” In his state of the state address Monday night, Governor Bill Lee proposed $1.1 billion for capital improvements. The Governor also proposed a four percent salary pool increase for higher education employees. The plan also includes $90 million to fund a tuition formula based on student ... Read More »