LOCAL FOCUS

Macon County Public Library and Red Boiling Springs Branch Library, librarian Dana Richardson said.

MADISON COUNTY: The Madison County Sheriff’s Office has issued a warning for residents to be on alert for scam calls targeting people within Madison County. Scammers impersonate officers from MCSO and falsely inform the recipient that they have failed to appear for jury duty in one of our local courts.

MARION COUNTY: Several roads at Prentice Cooper State Forest will be closed from Dec. 20 to March 15 due to wintry weather: Tower Drive past Pot Point Gate, Haley Road and all side roads. Access to Davis Pond campsite and Snooper’s Rock is still available.

MARSHALL COUNTY: The Marshall County High School Economic Development Growth Engine Club visited Marelli in Lewisburg to learn about careers in manufacturing, reports Lewisburg, Tennessee news.

MAURY COUNTY: The Columbia City Council voted to name Ridley Park’s Championship Field to honor former Mayor Dean Dickey’s public service, reports The Daily Herald.

MCMINN COUNTY: Mcminn County High School boys basketball coach Randy Casey was relieved of his duties, according to Local 3 News. He was let go from the team after allegedly sending a player an illustration of two gingerbread people performing sexual acts.

MCNAIRY COUNTY: The Selmer and Mulberry Solar Farms have brought together a skilled workforce of over 300 electricians, metal fabricators and assemblers to install two solar farms across 300 acres, according to the Mcnairy County Economic Development office.

MEIGS COUNTY: A bald eagle was shot near the Blue Springs Marina in Ten Mile. The eagle was recovered by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. A $10,000 reward is offered for information about the shooting. The eagle is recovering.

MONROE COUNTY: Ground has been broken at the Genera’s expansion in Vonore, Tennessee, of its Sustainable Biomaterials Campus. The expansion will cost $350 million and will create 230 jobs in the area.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY: Clarksville mom of two Candace Moyer, 37, vows to rebuild her newborn daughter’s pink and green nursery destroyed by the EF3 tornado that ripped through her home on Copperfield Court on Dec. 9, the Leaf Chronicle reports.

MORGAN COUNTY: A fight broke out at the Oakdale and Greenback boys basketball game Dec. 15, according to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association. Both teams were given a postseason ban, placed on probation and given a $2,250 fine for both programs. Oakdale, in Morgan County, was the home team.

MOORE COUNTY: 2,201 volunteers participated in 154 cleanups, collecting 4,303 bags of litter across 37 of the 95 counties in Tennessee, including Moore County, in the third annual No Trash November initiative, the Tennessee Department of Transportation reports.

OBION COUNTY: Jiffy Steamer has been selected for the Manufacturer Spotlight for the University of Tennessee Center for Industrial Services, according to the Obion County Chamber of Commerce.

OVERTON COUNTY: Livingston Academy broke ground in December on a LEAD (Leadership, Exploration and Discovery) Center, a technical education building that will provide students real world training in four different labs.

PERRY COUNTY: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee recently granted a pardon to Amanda Vaughn of Perry County. In total throughout the state, the governor granted 22 pardons, which is considered an official statement of forgiveness for those who have already served their time and have been released from incarceration.

PICKETT COUNTY: Kim Turpin, agency manager of Farm Bureau Insurance in Byrdstown, has sponsored free admission to all remaining regular season Pickett County High home basketball games for students in the district. The sponsorship is valued at $2,500 and started in mid-december.

POLK COUNTY: Polk County has been granted $1.26 million from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development for community revitalization and sewer projects. Copperhill received $630,000 for wastewater treatment plant repairs and another $630,000 goes toward the development of a Boys and Girls Club project in Copper Basin.

PUTNAM COUNTY: Jere Whitson Elementary School Principal Tina Francis-hodge was named the state’s 2023-24 Principal of the Year by the Tennessee Department of Education.

RHEA COUNTY: Baltimore Aircoil Company (BAC) will invest $16.5 million to expand operations at its Manufacturers Road location in Dayton. The project will create 63 new jobs. BAC is a global manufacturer for HVAC industries.

ROANE COUNTY: Families and county officials gathered at the Roane County Courthouse Dec. 22 to honor cleanup workers for the 15th anniversary of TVA’S Kingston coal ash spill. The Roane County Commission proclaimed Dec. 22 an annual day of remembrance and earlier this month set aside money for a historical marker.

ROBERTSON COUNTY: Robertson County Schools welcomed its new director, Danny Weeks, in December for a four-year term, The Tennessean reports. Weeks joined the district after serving more than a decade as director for Dickson County Schools.

RUTHERFORD COUNTY: Rutherford County Fire Marshal Joshua Sanders was sworn in as a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives task force officer. He is the first in the department’s history to be selected to serve as a federal task force member.

SCOTT COUNTY: The county’s firstever primary election scheduled for March is off to a slow start, according to The Independent Herald. The county’s Democrats and Republicans both filed for the county to offer the primary but nearly every candidate has registered as independent, allowing them to skip straight to the general election in August.

SEQUATCHIE COUNTY: Cumberland Trail State Park is hosting its New Year’s hike on Black Mountain. Ranger Seth Webster is leading participants on the 1.5 mile hike that goes around the northern rim of Sequatchie Valley.

SEVIER COUNTY: The state of Tennessee has earmarked some $300 million for the long awaited I-40 exit 408 and an extension to Veterans Boulevard, Knox News reports. The state has set aside $188.9 million for the exit and another $116.2 million for two projects related to the extension.

SHELBY COUNTY: Collierville Schools Board of Education has selected Russell Dyer, 49, director of Cleveland City Schools in Tennessee, as its next district leader. In a unanimous decision, the board approved making an offer to Dyer, who has been chief of schools in Cleveland since 2016.

SMITH COUNTY: Tara Greene of Gordonsville has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder for the shooting death of Wendell Bennett in February 2021, according to the district attorney’s office. Greene was given a 30-year sentence. The shooting occurred on Thompson Hollow Road, authorities said.

STEWART COUNTY: 1,717 wreaths were placed on all grave markers at Fort Donelson National Cemetery on

National Wreaths Across America Day by the American Legion Dover Post 72 and other volunteers. The wreaths will remain until Jan. 16, the Stewart County Standard reports.

SUMNER COUNTY: Animal protection groups say scores of Middle Tennessee family pets were separated from their owners in the aftermath of the tornadoes on Dec. 9, including a dog rescued by a Hendersonville Police Officer after an EF2 tornado tore through the city, The Tennessean reports.

SULLIVAN COUNTY: The Sullivan County Public Library has been selected as a participant for a national grant worth $10,000, reports the Johnson City Press. The Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities initiative provides community engagement and accessibility resources to small and rural libraries.

TIPTON COUNTY: Gov. Bill Lee recently granted a pardon to Melissa Whitehead-gregory of Tipton County. In total throughout the state, the governor granted 22 pardons, which is considered an official statement of forgiveness for those who have already served their time and have been released from incarceration. It is Lee’s third year in a row to grant a swath of December clemency decisions.

TROUSDALE COUNTY: Trousdale County High School will open a new $2 million greenhouse in the new year for horticulture and agribusiness classes, district Superintendent Clint Satterfield said. The school’s National FFA Organization plans a plant sale later in the spring.

UNICOI COUNTY: The Unicoi County Family YMCA has selected Lesley Franklin as its new CEO, reports The Erwin Record. Franklin is the former executive director of the Sage YMCA in Crystal Lake, Illinois. She took over for interim CEO Becky Lewis, who held the position since August 2023.

UNION COUNTY: Amenities at the Union County Splashpad in Maynardville will be expanding thanks to a $652,000 state grant. An art wall, drop-off area, pickleball courts, stage, statue garden and walking trail are all being proposed. Construction should begin in the spring or summer, according to the city of Maynardville.

VAN BUREN COUNTY: Fall Creek Falls State Park is kicking off the new year with a hike to the bottom of Fall Creek Falls. The hike is said to be just under a mile but very strenuous. Participants must register ahead of time.

WASHINGTON COUNTY: Rumors that Burleson Hall would be demolished on East State Tennessee University’s campus are false, ETSU spokesperson Melissa Nipper said, reports the Johnson City Press. The building is being renovated starting in January.

WAYNE COUNTY: 524 children in Wayne County woke up to gifts on Christmas Day after community members joined to donate money and toys, adopt and shop for kids through the Angel Tree program and purchase items from independent fundraisers benefiting the program, the Wayne County News reports.

WARREN COUNTY: Warren County executive Terry Bell received the Middle Tennessee Elected Official Aging Championship award for his excellence in providing services for the aging population in Warren County, the Southern Standard reports.

WEAKLEY COUNTY: Weakley County has been listed at the Level 3 severe drought category by the National Weather Service in its latest drought information report for the Mid-south.

WHITE COUNTY: White County High School recently hosted its first Science and FFA Expo with the goal of providing opportunities for students to engage in scientific research, study areas of personal interest, synthesize science and engineering concepts, and incorporate soft skills into the world of science.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY: Wyelea, a 600-acre, 68-lot community, is being built on the West Harpeth River and will feature a variety of experiences that complement the landscape, developers say.

WILSON COUNTY: Green Hill High School in Mt. Juliet won the Nashville Superspeedway’s Pack the Pace Car toy drive contest. The school, with nearly 1,700 students, amassed more than 1,300 toys in support of the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.