Area News

POLICE NAB BANK ROBBERS Four Face Charges In Case Four people face charges in connection with the armed robbery of Citizens Bank’s Highway 25/Dixon Springs Highway office. Those charged include three adults (two males and one female) and one male juvenile. All suspects are from Gallatin but some have lived in other counties surrounding Davidson…

WILLIAM WALTON FESTIVAL SATURDAY Pioneer days will be celebrated Saturday with the annual William Walton Harvest Festival. The event takes place beginning at 10 a.m. in downtown Carthage and includes demonstrations, various activities for youth and adults, live entertainment and food vendors. Some of the activities include renactors/demonstrators, dunking booth, a kids area featuring bungee…

YEAR’S FIFTH FATAL WRECK OCCURS A man died from injuries sustained in a traffic accident in the Hiwassee community, marking the county’s fifth fatal wreck in 2019. The incident involved a lawnmower and a vehicle. Rickey Baines, 64, Lebanon, died from injuries sustained after being struck by a vehicle while on a lawnmower on Hiwassee…

TRAFFIC ALERT: TEMPORARY HWY CLOSING There will be a temporary road closing along Highway 141/Lancaster Highway next week. The road closing will mainly affect those looking to travel east of the Lancaster community. The state highway will temporarily be closed to through traffic only from Highway 53 in Gordonsville to Center Hill Dam on Tuesday,…

OFFICIALS BAN BURNING THROUGHOUT COUNTY Unusually dry conditions have resulted in open air burn bans throughout the county. Earlier bans were implemented by officials in South Carthage and Gordonsville. The town of Carthage doesn’t allow outdoor burning. There has been little rainfall in most areas of the county during the past few weeks. The absence…

PITT HOPKINS AWARENESS DAY SET FOR SATURDAY The second annual Pitt Hopkins Awareness Day is Saturday (September 21). The event is set for 5 p.m. at the Smith County Agricultural Center in South Carthage. In September of last year, for the first time, Smith County joined the world in celebrating Pitt Hopkins Awareness Day. Igniting…

OUTSIDE AGENCY LOOKS TO DEVELOP INDUSTRIAL PARK An outside government agency may be taking over the development of a proposed industrial park off Interstate 40 in Gordonsville. Smith County owns approximately 119 acres near the interstate which was purchased last year. Plans are to develop the land for an industrial park. Because of the county’s…

COMMISSION EYES TWO REFERENDUMS Residents are expected to vote in two wheel tax referendums come March of next year. A resolution calling for a $25 dollar wheel tax referendum which would help fund the county’s general fund and a second resolution calling for a $25 wheel tax referendum which would fund “highway capital projects” were…

STORM STIKES – TWO INJURED At least two people were injured when a fierce storm with high winds and heavy rainfall struck the northern section of the county, Tuesday afternoon. Two people were transported by ambulance, non-emergency to Riverview Regional Medical Center from the campground at the Defeated Creek Recreational Area where much of the…

ASST. POLICE CHIEF RETIRES For more than four decades his title has been Carthage Assistant Police Chief Carl Brown. As of August 31, it became former assistant police chief Carl Brown, after officially retiring. Brown’s career in law enforcement wasn’t planned, rather developed with his desire to simply have a steady job. At the age…