TDOT is telling employees and contractors to knock off work for Christmas and New Year travel. There will be no temporary lane closures from 6 a.m. Saturday, December 22, through 6 a.m. Wednesday, January 2. The Tennessee Transportation Commissioner said 2 million drivers are expected to be on Tennessee’s roads over the holidays and TDOT wants to minimize delays for them. There could be some long-term construction closures in place and drivers are cautioned to follow reduced speed limits in those instances. AAA predicts holiday travel will increase nearly 2 percent in Tennessee this year over the same period...

Call Center Representatives Needed! • Consideration given to bi-lingual applicants who speak Spanish, Polish or Cantonese • 1+ year call center experience required • Pay rate $10.00 per hour for English speaking; $11.00 for bi-lingual candidates • Ability to handle high volume inbound calls • Exceptional verbal communication skills • Computer literate Staffing Solutions EEOC Apply Online: www.staffingsolutions.com Please send resumes for immediate consideration to:...

Grundy County schools went off lockdown after a scary Tuesday morning for parents. Sheriff Brent Myers says his office took precautions after a statement made by a grandfather. According to Myers, that grandfather was upset about his granddaughter being bullied at Coalmont Elementary. At the time three weeks ago, Myers says he told a school secretary “This is why people bring guns to school.” The grandfather was questioned but was never arrested and was not charged with anything. Myers described the comment as a statement and not a threat. A statement issued by the Grundy County Schools Tuesday afternoon...

The job of running natural gas lines to the newly expanded Nissan powertrain facility in Decherd will soon get underway now that the Elk River Public Utilities has awarded a contract for the installation project. The agency’s board voted to award the contract to Winchester-based LTS Construction. ERPUD Manager of Operations Eddie Moffitt said four companies submitted bids for the project, with LTS coming in as the low bidder at $74,890, which he added was very close to the engineer’s estimate. Moffitt said, the installation of service lines to the new 310,000-square-foot facility was expected to cost in the...

Students in the Franklin County School District will now be able to take a hands-on approach to scientific studies. Thanks to the support of local farmers and America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, Franklin County School District received a $10,000 grant to fund a pilot program with research-based Full Option Science System kits, which will foster a deeper understanding of scientific topics through inquiry-based laboratory experiences. America’s Farmers Grow Rural Education, sponsored by the Monsanto Fund, gives farmers the opportunity to nominate a public school district in their community to compete for a grant of either $10,000 or $25,000 to...

Foreclosures happen. Finally, there’s real help from the government. The independent foreclosure review is a free program monitored by federal bank regulators available to eligible homeowners who went through a foreclosure in 2009 or 2010. Marc Morial, President/CEO of the national urban league says, eligible homeowners can request to have their mortgage file reviewed by a neutral party to see if errors occurred during the foreclosure process. The review is free and if an error is found, homeowners may be eligible for compensation or other remedy such as refunded fees, stopping of a foreclosure, or payments that could range...

Yesterday at Manchester City Hall employees had a little fun by sharing Christmas gifts with each other. Mayor Lonnie Norman joined in on the activities along with someone famous. The mayor had his picture taken with Elvis or at least an image of the King. Mayor Norman said he would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and remind everyone that city hall will be closed Dec....

A man is facing charges after police say he made threats at a school in Shelbyville. Police tell the Times Gazette that they responded to Thomas Magnet School when a man allegedly made threats in front of office staff last week. Tyrone Watts, 43, of Tullahoma is accused of saying that he would to return to the school with a gun. The alleged threat was made after school officials would not allow Watts and his wife to check his stepson out of school early. The request was denied because the child’s biological father had not supplied a letter of...