Tag Archives: County Mayor Randy Porter

A parcel of land identified and set to be purchased for a new Gentry Fire Station, between Baxter and the Putnam County line. Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter said it has been challenging to find suitable land along Highway 70 given the steep terrain in the area. Porter said the county will purchase the one-acre plot for some $20,000. Putnam ... Read More »

This week the Putnam County Commission will ratify County Mayor Randy Porter’s appointment of a new fire chief for the county. Fire Chief Tom Brown is retiring from the role after over 25 years with the department and 37 years in fire service. The board will also consider the approval of the new interlocal agreement with the Upper Cumberland Regional ... Read More »

The Senior Vice President for the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture told local residents Tuesday agriculture is more than a rural thing. Keith Carver spoke as part of Farm City Week, hosted by the Cookeville Rotary Club and Putnam County UT Extension Service. Carver said there is an important relationship between agriculture, the suburbs and the inner city. “We’ve ... Read More »

After two down months, Putnam County building permits again surpassed 2022 numbers in August. Excluding the four municipalities, the county issued a total of 38 permits in August, tallying some $7.6 million in construction money. A total of 19 of the 38 permits were for single-family homes. That’s up some $900,000 from 2022 numbers. The average price of the new ... Read More »

Cookeville’s Food City has officially opened. The company held a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday night leading up to Wednesday’s grand opening. Food City CEO and President Steve Smith said the some 54,000 square foot store has 220 employees ready to serve. “We are so glad to be part of Cookeville, part of Putnam County” Smith said. “We are going to ... Read More »

Putnam County’s private acts will not allow for a seven district school board- So what is a private act? County Attorney Jeff Jones said most counties have them. “Private Act in Tennessee is like a state law,” Jones said. “It is an action by the Tennessee State Legislator that really has applicability to a particular county.” Jones said Putnam County ... Read More »

The city of Cookeville and Putnam County have proclaimed Tuesday, September 28th as, “Sprinkle Kindness Day.” County Mayor Randy Porter said the decree honors the life of 17-year-old Leigh Anne Eldridge. A life taken too soon by a car accident in 2019. “There was some of her friends and family that wanted to do something to honor her memory, and ... Read More »

Bids for Putnam County’s Archives and Veterans Building construction came in much higher than expected. County Mayor Randy Porter said construction costs have gone up since they originally placed out bids. “When the tornado destroyed the building last year, we started looking at estimates of what it would cost to replace it,” Porter said. “They were tremendously lower than what ... Read More »

Putnam County considering a potential $11 million in capital projects for next year’s budget. County Mayor Randy Porter told the commissioner’s budget committee meeting last night, $2 million to replace the school bus garage and county highway building among the priorities. “We know that we’ve got to build the building first down on Tennessee Avenue,” Porter said. “Once we get ... Read More »

Putnam County will open up COVID vaccinations to anyone age 16 and above starting Wednesday. Mayor Randy Porter said the county wants to open up vaccinations to everyone who wants to take it after moving quickly through the 55 and up age group and the 2a-b phase. Porter said the county is receiving larger amounts of the vaccine and want ... Read More »