Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer have announced nearly $820,000 in two transportation alternative grants for Monteagle and Tracy City to connect downtown districts to trails and make other enhancements. The town of Monteagle was awarded a $216,320 grant for the Pedestrian Corridor Extension Project. The project will install approximately 2,000 feet of 5-foot sidewalks on the east side of Highway 64 beginning at Dubose Street heading south to Elgin Drive. The sidewalk will extend access to the multiuse trail and park in downtown Monteagle. A new pedestrian crosswalk will also be created across...

A constitutional amendment giving Congress and states control of political campaign spending is moving toward a vote on the U.S. Senate floor, after winning approval Thursday in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The goal of Senate Joint Resolution 19, said Jonah Minkoff-Zern, campaign co-director for the group Public Citizen, is to help reverse the effect that big money has had on elections following U.S. Supreme Court rulings in cases such as Citizens United and McCutcheon that increased campaign spending limits. “Across political lines,” he said, “people are saying that they want a constitutional amendment, that they want big money out...

The City of Tullahoma is pleased to announce the Fire Station One Open House. The firefighters will host an open house on Saturday, July 19 from 11am-3pm at Station One, 613 South Jackson Street. “This event is will increase community awareness of the Fire Department services and awareness of fire safety,” said Chief Richard Shasteen. The public is invited to this special event to commission the new pumper truck. You are invited to bring your family and friends to visit with firefighters, take a tour of the fire station, get an up-close look at a fire engine, enjoy refreshments,...

Two Franklin County residents have been charged with murder in the alcohol related death of a teenager there last February. Anthony Peavyhouse, 33, of Estill Springs and Jessica Bohanan, 27, of Winchester have been charged with reckless homicide and three counts of providing or purchasing alcohol for person under 21 years of age and for the death of Michael Gates Jr., 18, of Winchester. Last February a Winchester police officer observed a vehicle pull into a Winchester motel and after checking the occupants inside he found Gates unconscious and not breathing. The officer then requested an ambulance be sent...

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare, but it happens every summer: kids suffer heatstroke and, in some cases, die after being left in hot cars. Registered nurse Phyllis Larimore points out that children left inside a vehicle can suffer fatal hyperthermia in just minutes, even when the outside temperature is mild. She says a change in routine is often behind these tragedies. “Children have stopped going to school, and so there’s something new, or someone else is taking them to the daycare,” says Larimore. “These things happen across all socioeconomic strata, all types of parents.” According to the website KidsAndCars.org,...