Tag Archives: Upper Cumberland

The state tested 164 residents in Van Buren County Saturday and 149 people in Pickett County Sunday. The drive-thru testing was part of a targeted-state approach to increase COVID-19 testing across the state. Both sessions last three hours. Results will take several days. Van Buren County had one positive case as of Sunday’s report. Pickett County is one of just ... Read More »

A total of 4,052 new unemployment claims were filed by Upper Cumberland residents last week. That brings the COVID-19 region total to more than 13,116 claims across the region. That’s just over 8.5 percent unemployment for the region. The state total decreased last week from the 116,000 high during the week of April 4. A total of 74,772 claims were ... Read More »

Pickett and Van Buren Counties will be home to drive-thru COVID-19 testing sites this weekend. The state will ramp up COVID-19 testing across the weekend in an effort to get more Tennesseans checked. A total of 33 testing sites will be open over the weekend to get anyone checked who wants to be tested. In Van Buren County, testing will ... Read More »

Upper Cumberland COVID-19 cases rose to 233 cases Wednesday with a third COVID-19 death in Macon County. Putnam County’s total stands at 93. Cumberland County reports 53 positive cases. Macon County has a total of 29 confirmed cases. Smith stands at 11 with Dekalb County at 10. Cannon and Overton Counties each have seven positive reports while Jackson County reports ... Read More »

The Upper Cumberland’s 10 state parks will remain closed until further notice. The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation announced the extension Tuesday. All 56 parks statewide are included in the order. “We want to make sure that when we do reopen, visitors and our park staff can feel confident in their safety,” Deputy Commissioner Jim Bryson said. “With health ... Read More »

Van Buren County’s first confirmed COVID-19 case case Monday brought the Upper Cumberland total to 213. Six counties across the region now report double-digit positive cases led by Putnam County’s 87 and Cumberland County’s 43. Macon, Cannon, Dekalb and Smith Counties each have at least ten cases. Van Buren’s first case leaves only Pickett County without a case among Upper ... Read More »

Despite the pandemic, a local honor guard has found safe ways to honor fallen veterans. Cookeville’s Veterans Honor Guard has postponed casket guards and escorting next of kin from their vehicle to the grave site. But Commander Jim McAfee said the guard has paid their respects at more than a dozen services since COVID-19 struck. “We all understand the patriotism, ... Read More »

“Wow, what a day. I never thought in all my life we’d share Easter apart.” An emotional Cookeville First Baptist Church Pastor Scott McKinney began his Easter Sermon Sunday morning in front of an empty sanctuary. “I really miss the church coming together,” McKinney said. A 2018 national survey found more than half of Americans planned to attend Easter services. ... Read More »

Strong winds that began just after 4:00pm Sunday afternoon produced some scattered power issues across the Upper Cumberland. Volunteer Energy reports a growing number of outages in Fentress County near Jamestown. The number increased to over 400 around 6:40pm Sunday. Jackson County reported power outages along Highway 85 just before 7:00pm. Trees reported down along South Grundy Quarles Highway. Multiple ... Read More »

Cumberland County’s number of positive COVID-19 cases increased to 40 Saturday while Dekalb County’s number went to nine. The Tennessee Department of Health reported Saturday the number of deaths from the virus topped 100 statewide, with 101 people dying from COVID-19. Statewide, 5,114 cases have been reported among the 66,000 people tested. Upper Cumberland Statistics Putnam (85) Cumberland (40) Macon ... Read More »