Tag Archives: Covid-19

The local chapter of the NAACP supports a federal lawsuit that would allow expanded balloting in the remaining 2020 Tennessee elections. Executive Board Member Anne Austin said the action to expand absentee balloting benefits all voters. “The NAACP strongly supports access to the ballot to everyone,” Austin said. “It’s an American right, and it’s democracy. Without everyone having a full ... Read More »

Cumberland Medical Center will receive a $136,000 grant from the state to deal with the financial strains of COVID-19. Governor Bill Lee said smaller and more rural hospitals stepped up to serve patients during the pandemic, while losing revenue due to the cancellation of elective procedures. This third and final group of hospitals included 29 hospitals in 28 counties across ... Read More »

Cumberland County’s sales tax revenues are still up over last year even with a slow month of collections in April. Director of Finance Nathan Brock said despite being down by almost $11,000 dollars last month, the county is still ahead of expectations. “Through April, we were at $58,000 dollars ahead of budget,” Brock said. “So, we hope that those numbers ... Read More »

The Cookeville Planning Commission wants to be better prepare for emergencies that delay commission business. Planning Director Jon Ward said the commission did not have a way to extend development approvals that might be missed because of a cancelled meeting. “Due to the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the planning department recognizes a need relative to development approvement deadlines,” Ward said. “The ... Read More »

The number of Upper Cumberland COVID-19 cases stands at 571 as of Monday’s reporting from the Tennessee Department of Health. That’s about 0.16 percent of the region’s population. Slight increases noted across the region including two additional cases in Van Buren County. Putnam County’s total increased by 26 over the last four days. Macon County’s number also rose by 16 ... Read More »

Tennessee Driver Services Centers across the Upper Cumberland reopened Monday with online options to help consumers. The state website at TN.Gov now shows wait times at offices across the region. At mid-afternoon Monday, there was no wait at the McMinnville office, while the wait time at Cookeville stood at 75 minutes, and 15 minutes at Crossville. The state also launched ... Read More »

With so many people staying home during the pandemic, Upper Cumberland internet usage has increased. Twin Lakes CEO Jonathan West said bandwidth usage has grown 39 percent over the past few weeks. “Every month, the trend is the usage of the internet, and the background technology that are being used, there’s more and more devices being connected every day,” West ... Read More »

Cookeville Regional reported its first COVID-19 death Friday night. “We want to express our sincere condolences to the family of this patient,” Cookeville Regional CEO Paul Korth said. According to CRMC officials, an elderly Nashville patient with multiple chronic diseases or conditions. The death is the first among the 31 people hospitalized at Cookeville Regional with COVID-19. Korth said the ... Read More »

A Cookeville Regional doctor said parents should be aware of but not frightened by a new illness affecting children, potentially connected to COVID-19. Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome has shown up in 19 states and Washington DC over the last several weeks. Dr. Apryl Hall is a hospitalist in pediatrics at CRMC. She said the medical community has seen similar viral illnesses ... Read More »

The director of Community Options said she welcomes the state expanding COVID testing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Jeanette Preece said the order will help better serve that community. “I think the expansion, in itself, will make sure that those we support do not have the COVID virus,” Preece said, “If they do, we can take extra precautions ... Read More »