Area News

Bledsoe County Schools will remain closed Thursday, August 26 and Friday, August 27 due to high COVID cases among students and staff, according to Director of Schools James Ellis. School was already cancelled Monday through Wednesday due to illness within the system.  Ellis noted 76 students and staff were tested for COVID on Wednesday at…

An officer sorting through mail at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex discovered something off about books mailed to an offender at the facility. According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, Officer Brianne Breeding noticed something “off” about the package containing books allegedly from Books-A-Million. For more see the August 26 issue of The Bledsonian Banner.

The Bledsoe County Commission’s Reapportionment Committee met Monday, August 16, in its first session after redistricting data from the 2020 Census was released. The Census (see separate article) put the County’s population at 14,913, including 2,284 offenders being housed at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex. Districts are redrawn every decade to reflect shifts in population throughout…

Well folks, the rumors are true, and Taco Bell will begin construction on their Pikeville location on August 23, according to CEO Scott Donathan of Taco Falls Properties, Inc. of Kingston. For more see the August 19 issue of The Bledsonian Banner.

Bledsoe County shooter Ian Fife, a fifth grader at Pikeville Elementary School, emerged as a top five finisher in three different events and was a top ten contestant on the high overall points list in the annual Academics, Integrity, Marksmanship (AIM) Grand National Trapshooting Championship held in Sparta, Illinois from July 30-August 3. For more…

The Bledsoe County Board of Education voted in a special called meeting Monday, August 16, to implement a temporary mask mandate for staff and students for the remainder of the month. However, an announcement by Governor Bill Lee on Monday gives parents the option on whether their child wears a mask or not. Director of…

Selina Sparkman, the number two candidate for the Bledsoe County Board of Education’s search for a Director of Schools last year, interviewed last Friday for the job. The director’s position became available last month as Director James Ellis announced his resignation effective September 1. The Board voted Monday night, August 16, to enter into contract…

A Pikeville man, indicted on charges of attempted first degree murder and more for an incident in June 2019, pled guilty to attempted second degree murder and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon before a scheduled jury trial began this month. He was sentenced to a total of 10 years in prison for the attempted…

Another Bledsoe County resident has died from COVID-19, according to data released Friday, August 6 from the Tennessee Department of Health. This brings the total deaths in the county to 13, with one of those being an inmate at Bledsoe County Correctional Complex (BCCX).  The new data also shows active cases of the virus in…

Robert Joe Whittenburg, 47, was found guilty of two First Degree Murder charges by a jury in Winchester on Thursday afternoon, August 5, according to Bledsoe County Circuit Court Clerk Michael Walker.  Whittenburg was found guilty of killing his girlfriend and her mother with a fireman’s ax in late 2017. Closing arguments were held Thursday…