Join the Darwin Dash on Memorial Day to preserve Cookeville’s Historic West End
Cookeville’s West End Connection will hold its first Darwin Dash on Memorial Day. The race will raise funds for West End preservation including the records and memories of the Darwin School, the only African American school during segregated education in Cookeville. West End Connection’s Lori Strode said it’s important to preserve Darwin’s history. “I feel […]
PCSS Pleased With New Custodial Service Contract So Far
Putnam County School System pleased with the new custodial services after it was implemented last semester. Director of Schools Corby King said they ended the contract with their last company because expectations were not being met. He said the response from administrators has been positive across the board, but there have been some growing pains. […]
Student Athletes Could Be Reclassified as Employees
A complaint filed by the National Labor Relations Board could lead to student-athletes being considered employees of their schools. The board will hear from the NCAA, the PAC 12, and Southern Cal, citing unfair labor practices. Tennessee Tech Assistant Professor of History Arthur Banton said he is concerned that this could only benefit athletes who […]
Overton Schools Urging Parents To Register Students Sooner Than Later
Overton County Schools urging parents to register their students for school early via their online portal. Director of Schools Donnie Holman said it is crucial to get all students registered now. He said that will affect the amount of funding the system gets through the new student-based TISA funding model.” “We can’t be reluctant or […]
Walker: Splash Pads More Realistic For Cookeville Than Aquatics Facility
Cookeville City Council Member Eric Walker proposing the idea of multiple small splash pads around the city rather than one large aquatics facility. Walker said that there are so many infrastructure needs and other priorities for city spending. He said smaller splash pads would be more realistic than a $30 million aquatics facility. “They don’t […]
Warren TCAP Scores Indicate 66 Percent Of Third Graders Did Not ELA Proficiency
66 percent of Warren County third graders did not meet proficiency expectations on their English Language Arts TCAP testing. Director of Schools Grant Swallows said they are trying to work with that 66 percent on the avenues they can take to fix it. He said his frustration with the third-grade retention law is that the […]
Rodgers: Putnam Salaries Across The Board Compared To Other Public, Private Employers
Putnam County’s recently conducted salary study revealed that the county is generally behind on paying county employees for many positions. That’s according to Commission Budget Chair Ben Rodgers. He said the report compared the county to similar-sized counties and to jobs in the private sector. Rodgers said while both are issues, he is more concerned […]
Governor Bill Lee Speaks to American Legion Boys State
Governor Bill Lee gave advice to the participants of Boys State Thursday morning. Lee said programs like Boys State are important because they teach the next generation about leadership. He said it is important to keep young people engaged with politics and civics in a democracy. “You do understand and you learn that we are […]
Applications For New 13th District Criminal Court Judge Due June 12th
The Trial Court Vacancy Commission has set a June 12th deadline for applications for the new Criminal Court Judgeship in the 13th Judicial District. The new judicial positions were enacted by Tennessee legislators in May. The 13th Judicial District experienced a more than seven percent increase in population between 2010 and 2020. The three most recent Weighted […]
Farris And Hagerty Discuss School Safety Funding, Local Law Enforcement Needs
Putnam Sheriff Eddie Farris and Senator Bill Hagerty discussed school safety and law enforcement needs during the senator’s visit Tuesday. Farris said they touched base on the new school safety bill and SRO funding recently approved by the state. In addition, Farris said he got an update on work Hagerty is doing at the federal […]
