UC Athletic Directors Making Final Football Preparations
High School Athletic Directors putting the finishing touches on football’s returns to the Upper Cumberland Friday night. Stone Memorial hosts York in Friday’s opener. Athletic Director Nathan Brown said some of the challenges this week were water for the new field and preparing a new game clock operator to ensure perfect execution under the lights. […]
School Enrollment Trends Varying Around UC To Start ’26
Putnam County Schools seeing a slight decrease in students two weeks into the school year. Attendance and Enrollment Management Supervisor Chris Pierce said some 11,518 students currently enrolled. Pierce said enrollment down some 310 students district wide a year ago. “Those could be as simple as normal movement from county to county looking for housing,” […]
Child Support Month Reminds Parents Of DA Help
Child support payments are critical to the children dealing with separation, according to 8th District Attorney Jared Effler. August is Child Support Awareness Month. Effler said child support establishes support for custodial families across the state. Effler said his district is one of many with a child support division, which operate in addition to the […]
WCTE Hosting Telethon To Raise Money, Boost Membership
Just weeks after learning it will lose some $1 million in federal funding, local PBS affiliate WCTE will ask local residents to join the station and support its work. WCTE President and CEO Avery Hutchins said the station will remind residents Wednesday to “Support Local, Watch Local.” Hutchins said there will be conversations about the […]
Whooping Cough Cases Up, Vaccination Hesitancy A Factor
Some 339 cases of Whooping Cough have been reported in Tennessee through the first six months of this year, 25 in the Upper Cumberland. Dr. Don Grisham is the Tennessee Department of Health’s Regional Medical Director for the Upper Cumberland. Grisham said whooping cough is a bacterial respiratory infection most common in infants. Grisham said […]
Back To School Push Different For Homeschool Families
Most Upper Cumberland students are settling back in to school, but for families who homeschool, the back to school push is far less strenuous. Homeschool Parent Kelly Rich educates her three children at home because of the flexibility to meet each child’s unique needs. Rich said she teaches on the school calendar, but her kids […]
Lice Risk Increases With School Resuming, Easy To Spread
Students and parents alike should be prepared for lice as school resumes across the Upper Cumberland. Overton County Health Department’s Nursing Supervisor Megan Reeder said lice are small bugs that live on the hair. Reeder said there is a stigma around lice, but it does not need to be there because its spread is based […]
UCHRA, State Discuss Food Program Change, System Concerns
UCHRA Representatives met with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture and state food banks this week to discuss the commodity program transition. UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley said the conversations were frank and productive. He said he remains unsure why the meeting was not held earlier. Farley said the biggest concerns center on how the food […]
UC Habitat For Humanity Merges With DeKalb Habitat
The DeKalb County Habitat for Humanity has officially merged with the Upper Cumberland Habitat in Cookeville after several years of discussion. Executive Director Jeremy Byrd said the conversations between the two affiliates began while trying to determine more effective methods to address the housing crisis. Byrd said those conversations led both sides to agree that […]
Honey Production Up Nationwide, Varying In Upper Cumberland
Geography and precipitation have impacted honey production in the Upper Cumberland this year despite a positive trend nationwide. Beekeeper Ken Beck said his hives in Warren County have seen a decrease in production, and other area beekeepers said they have only produced a 50 percent crop this year. Beck said the rain patterns may be […]
