White Co Commission Chair Disappointed With COVID Bonus Situation
White County Commission Chair Stanley Neal said he is disappointed with the way the COVID bonus situation has evolved among county employees and the commission. Neal said he feels that all commissioners want to give a bonus but comments by some employees have caused a division. “Things have been said between employees and county commissioners, […]
COVID Bonuses For White Co Employees Fails In Split Vote
White County Commissioners for now will not provide a COVID bonus to all county employees after a 5-5 split decision vote Monday night. County Commissioner Cain Rogers said the budget committee approved the one-time bonus. “I like the idea of taking care of the folks right now,” Rogers said. “Inflation is rampant, and we’re still […]
CRMC Seeing Lower COVID Numbers, Hoping For Downward Trend
Cookeville Regional seeing some of the lowest COVID patient numbers in weeks. As of Tuesday morning, the hospital had some 31 patients in its facility. CEO Paul Korth said that he attributes this to the omicron variant running its course. “We’re hoping that we’re starting to trend down,” Korth said. “I’ve been in contact with […]
CRMC Not Requesting Shipment Of Antiviral COVID Pills For Now
Cookeville Regional Medical Center will not order shipments of antiviral COVID treatment pills for now. The State Department of Health said in a Tuesday release that bi-weekly drug allocations have increased. Cookeville Regional Pharmacy Director Casey White said the medical center may ask for a shipment if needed. “We have the ability now to request […]
Overton COVID Numbers On Downhill Slope
Overton County COVID numbers may still seem high, but Health Department officials say that might not be the true picture. At Thursday afternoon’s COVID-19 Press Conference in Livingston, Nursing Director Megan Reeder said that positivity rates sit at about 30 percent currently. She said that rate might keep restrictions in place at nursing homes and […]
Pickett Schools Recovering From Staff Shortage After COVID Spike
Staffing in the Pickett County Schools is returning to normal after seeing its highest COVID number since the pandemic began. Director of Schools Diane Elder said the school system shut down for two days last month due to COVID cases among the staff. “Our numbers are a little bit closer to normal,” Elder said. “Not […]
COVID Positivity Rates Top 50 Percent In UC; State Cases Dropping
COVID positivity rates across the Upper Cumberland reached 50.8 percent for the final week of January. The CDC early in the COVID pandemic set 10 percent as a goal for the positivity rate. According to state data for the last week of January, Pickett County had a positivity rate over 75 percent. Statewide, COVID cases […]
TTU Seeing Highest COVID Numbers, Majority Off-Campus Students
Tennessee Tech has reported over 200 active COVID cases among students for seven days straight. The university currently has 267 active cases with the majority being off-campus students. Chief Communication Officer Karen Lykins said the numbers follow state trends. “We realized that we returned to campus one to two weeks earlier than most schools,” Lykins […]
State Grant Opportunity Could Bring New Health Dept To White Co
The State Health Department has approached White County with a grant opportunity that could bring the community a new health department. County Executive Denny Wayne Robinson said the state evaluated the current department. Robinson said the county met the criteria for a grant up to $5 million. “They went around and just determined what the […]
Livingston Middle School Closes Due To Sickness Among Staff
Sickness taking a toll on the staff of Livingston Middle School closing the Overton County School for two days. Director of Schools Donnie Holman said a mixture of COVID, flu and other illnesses has 13 or 14 of the 21 teachers unable to work. “Another problem in that is sometimes we can use an educational […]
