LOCAL FOCUS

The Tennessee county-by-county report brings you news from each of the Volunteer State’s 95 counties every Sunday. Items are compiled by reporters and editors from across the USA TODAY NETWORK - Tennessee.

ANDERSON COUNTY: Replacing Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool could cost an estimated $21.9 to $28.9 million, the Oak Ridger reports. With the 80-year-old Oak Ridge Outdoor Pool having structural problems and losing an estimated 110,000 gallons of water a day, city officials are looking at replacing the leaking pool shell and other changes.

BEDFORD COUNTY: The Bedford County Board of Education voted recently to join other school systems across the state and country in a classaction lawsuit against social media companies like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram. The case opposes abuse toward children, the Shelbyville Times-gazette reports.

BENTON COUNTY: A man was arrested for firing shots at another vehicle while driving on the interstate in Benton County on Feb. 12, according to the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.

BLEDSOE COUNTY: Career, Technology, Education students competed at Skills USA Regionals in Red Boling Springs, reports the Bledsonian Banner. Jacob Bush, a junior at BCHS, placed third in welding. Senior Jimmy Wyatt represented BCHS in carpentry competition. Both students competed against more than 100 students from across the Upper Cumberland.

BLOUNT COUNTY: Mcghee Tyson added flights to four destinations through Frontier Airlines and Allegiant Air, Knox News reports. Frontier will service the Philadelphia International Airport-knoxville route, while Allegiant will serve Mcghee Tyson and Midamerica St. Louis Airport, Jacksonville International Airport and South Bend International Airport.

BRADLEY COUNTY: The Cleveland/ Bradley Chamber of Commerce announced the grand opening of Hillcrest Landing. The development is the newest subdivision of D.R. Horton’s residential homes in Bradley County. The establishment has available lots for new builds, featuring open-concept floor plans and designer finishes.

CAMPBELL COUNTY: The Campbell County Chamber of Commerce honors the Campbell County Children’s Center as its February Business of the Month. The Campbell County Children’s Center is a children’s advocacy center that provides a safe haven for sexually and physically abused children.

CANNON COUNTY: The Cannon County general election on March 5, will include a referendum item proposal for raising the Cannon County sales tax, according to the Cannon County government website.

CARROLL COUNTY: School bus drivers are in short supply, both locally and nationally. Carroll County is facing the same issues of trained drivers as others throughout the state and nation, said John Mcadams, director of schools for the County of Carroll.

CARTER COUNTY: Elizabethton/carter County Chamber and Main Street Elizabethton celebrate Brumit Sports

Shop’s new ownership and downtown relocation, the Elizabethton Star reports.

CHEATHAM COUNTY: Cheatham County Central High School Junior Ryley Knox and English and Creative Writing Teacher Siobhan Delaney recently joined forces to co-author “Code of Silence”, the first installment of a planned trilogy, the Cheatham County Exchange reports.

CHESTER COUNTY: Neo Products and Hare Financial will present Tennessee Championship Wrestling in Henderson on March 8. The event serves as a fundraiser and annual benefit for the Carl Perkins Child Abuse Center of Chester County. The event will be at Chester County High School, 552 East Main St.

CLAIBORNE COUNTY: Lincoln Memorial University student researchers, from the inaugural class of the Doctor of Occupational Therapy Program were recently published in the peer-reviewed journal “The Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools & Early Intervention.”

CLAY COUNTY: Clay County’s 2023 sports Hall of Fame class: Sydney (Roach) Birdwell, girls basketball, volleyball at Clay County High 2009-12; Theresa (Niemann) Franklin, girls basketball at Celina High, 1979-81; Trent Bole, boys basketball at Clay County High, 2008-11; Mike Strong, basketball and baseball at Celina High, 1978-81.

COCKE COUNTY: The GO PLACES Project helps young people in Cocke County to navigate searching for employment or vocational training, the Newport Plain Talk reports. The pilot program is helping young people ages 18-24 to take the next step in establishing themselves in a career and preparing them to enter the workforce.

COFFEE COUNTY: Manchester Mayor Marilyn Howard will not seek reelection after serving the city since October 2020, the Manchester Times reports. She was appointed to the seat following the death of Mayor Lonnie Norman and won reelection in 2022 after running unopposed.

CROCKETT COUNTY: Authorities are investigating a house fire that led to a woman’s death in Gadsden. The Alamo, Bells, Friendship and Gadsden fire departments, Gadsden Police Department, Crockett County Sheriff’s Office and the Crockett County Ambulance Service responded to the scene shortly before noon Feb. 7.

CUMBERLAND COUNTY: Upper Cumberland Diversity Advocates invites the public to a free concert in the Art Circle Library’s Cumberland Room at noon Feb. 28, the Crossville Chronical reports. The Nightcap, featuring vocalist Alicia Michelle and saxophonist Rick Thomas, will perform jazz, blues and soul musical styles.

DAVIDSON COUNTY: Harvard and Stanford universities ranked Metro Nashville Public Schools third for math growth and sixth for reading, out of 100 districts nationwide, in post-pandemic academic recovery.

DECATUR COUNTY: The Riverside High School Band has started a winter guard, headed by assistant director Alissa Gulledge, color guard instructor Alayna Crume and choreographer Georgia Stulz. This year is the first year in school history that the winter guard was created.

DEKALB COUNTY: Dekalb County Schools have offered discussions about math curriculum at local schools in February. The final discussion is set for 5:30-6:30 p.m. on Feb. 26 at Dekalb West School, 101 Bulldog Lane, Liberty.

DICKSON COUNTY: Dickson residents who spoke at the Feb. 5 council meeting are opposing the creation of a three-way stop at the intersection of West Walnut Street and Dickson Avenue, the Dickson Post reports. One resident argued the challenges buses and vehicles would have stopping at a steep hill at the intersection.

DYER COUNTY: Dyer County remains No. 1 in final regular season poll of the Jackson-area boys basketball rankings.

FAYETTE COUNTY: The principal at Southwest Elementary School was arrested for allegedly withholding evidence regarding a physical assault between a teacher and student. Fabre Ford is charged with tampering with or fabricating evidence for her refusal to cooperate. A student was taken to a teacher’s room because he had been “acting out.”

FENTRESS COUNTY: Forbus General Store in Pall Mall was recognized by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development as a company open for 100 years or more. Forbus opened in 1892. Merchandise includes old-fashioned candy items, homemade fudge, milkshakes, food specials and some hardware items, mechanical accessories and groceries.

FRANKLIN COUNTY: San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Jauan Jennings, who grew up in the city of Cowan, played in the Super Bowl against the

Kansas City Chiefs. His mother, Angela Holman-winton, said she and more than a dozen family members made the trip to Las Vegas on Feb. 11, reports the Herald Chronicle.

GIBSON COUNTY: A Humboldt superstar basketball player reached another milestone in her successful basketball career. Former Humboldt Lady Viking and Murray State Lady Racer, Ashley Hayes, had her Murray State No. 23 basketball jersey number retired.

GILES COUNTY: The boards of directors of the South Giles Utility District and Tarpley Shop Utility District voted Feb. 7 to consolidate at a joint meeting, reports the Pulaski Citizen.

GRAINGER COUNTY: A rockslide caused a five-hour traffic detour in Thorn Hill, the Grainger Today reports. Several large boulders and rocks fell from the cliff face, blocking both lanes of traffic. The Grainger County Highway Department cleared boulders and rocks on Bullen Valley Road near its intersection with Highway 25E.

GREENE COUNTY: Ballad Health Early Learning Center is now open in Greene County, the Greeneville Sun reports. The center is located in the former Shulman Art Center building near Pioneer Park on the campus of Tusculum University. The center is open to the general public.

GRUNDY COUNTY: Gilliam Logging in Grundy County was one of 18 organizations granted a portion of $13.35 million by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture for stabilizing and strengthening the agriculture and forestry supply chain.

HAMBLEN COUNTY: A Powerball ticket for $100,000 was sold in Morristown, the Citizen Tribune reports. The unidentified Powerball player purchased the ticket at the Food City on West Andrew Johnson Highway. The player turned a $50,000 prize into a $100,000 prize via the Powerball Power Play option, according to the Tennessee Lottery.

HAMILTON COUNTY: Hamilton Place, owned by CBL Properties, is partnering with a technology company to serve as a test location for a product website, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reports. The mall’s website, Inventory Insider, will offer shoppers online access to all the products carried by more than 100 retailers at the mall.

HANCOCK COUNTY: Hancock County High School’s Jade Combs was overall winner in the 4-H Regional Public Speaking Contest. Sneedville FFA Members Sarah Antrican, Hailey Brooks, Brooklyn Gibson and Shiane Gibson finished first in various public speaking categories at the Smoky Mountain Sectionals.

HARDEMAN COUNTY: Local elected officials and state economic leaders participated in the “West Tennessee Ford Fly-in” to Detroit/dearborn. Southwest Tennessee Development District Executive Director Joe Barker planned the fly-in as an opportunity to thank Ford Motor Company’s leadership.

HARDIN COUNTY: Danny and Margaret Seaton are Hardin County’s 2024 Sweetheart Couple, Courier Editor Ron Schaming announced. The couple was selected from more than 25 official essay entries submitted by newspaper readers. The Seatons’ nomination was voted as the choice for this year’s sweetheart couple by the newspaper’s staff.

HAWKINS COUNTY: An employee died from injuries from a January accident at HDK Industries, the Rogersville Review reports. Cheryl Anne Davidson was struck by a forklift truck and fell onto the floor, striking her head inside the HDK Industries plant at Rogersville. Davidson was employed at HDK Industries for 30 years.

HAYWOOD COUNTY: One new county government position and a new committee were on the agenda of the Haywood County Local Government Rules Committee when it met Feb. 13. Leaders seek to hire a human resources director who would manage policies, procedures and assist with worker issues and the county is required to establish a records committee.

HENDERSON COUNTY: Family and volunteers have been searching for a Henderson County man who went missing Feb. 6 near the Perry/decatur County Line. James Wray, 38, was last seen around 11 a.m. near Fat Man’s Market in Linden. His car reportedly struck a guardrail, and he was picked up by a passerby and given a ride to the gas station.

HENRY COUNTY: Doug Sikes, president of Acclaim Press of Sikeston, Missouri, presented Carl Holder of the Paris-henry County Bicentennial Committee with the company’s 2023 Book of the Year award in the local history category for the book of family histories produced during the bicentennial.

HICKMAN COUNTY: As early voting wraps up in Tennessee, Hickman County precincts will open at 8 a.m. March 5 for the presidential primary, the Hickman County Times reports. Precincts throughout the county will remain open until 7 p.m.

HOUSTON COUNTY: Hunters have until Feb. 28 to submit their applications for a drawing to participate in an annual elk hunt on the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area in East Tennessee later this fall, the Houston County Herald reports.

HUMPHREYS COUNTY: An old building has been given a new life after a Child Advocacy Center recently opened in Waverly to provide a safe place for victims of child abuse in the 23rd Judicial District including Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys and Stewart Counties, the News Democrat reports.

JACKSON COUNTY: Youth ages 7-17 who play bluegrass music can play with an experienced band Saturday evenings through May 18, as part of the Sutton Ole Time Music Hour in Historic Granville. Performers are also invited to play at the Heritage Celebration the last weekend of May. For information call 931-510-7770.

JEFFERSON COUNTY: 100+ Women Who Care, a philanthropy group organized last August, presented its first donation of almost $13,000 to Safespace, which provides a secure shelter for women who have endured domestic violence. 100+ Women emphasizes giving to vetted entities that are already doing good work in the county, the Standard Banner reports.

JOHNSON COUNTY: The Johnson County Airport is acquiring land to begin construction on a new parallel taxi runway to keep nonflying aircraft off the working runway. “It’s a safety issue” because mountains block the view of the runway, airport manager Dave Garris told The Tomahawk’s Jinifer Rae.

KNOX COUNTY: East Tennessee Children’s Hospital will use a $20,000 donation from Oak Ridge National Laboratory to purchase an advanced robotic premature-infant simulator for education and training. ORNL used unique internal fundraising initiatives, like bake sales and voluntary payroll deductions, with most donations coming in $20 increments.

LAKE COUNTY: Two small earthquakes