Good Thursday evening! This is The Weekender, a final look at this week’s news from the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday) and The Weekender (Thursday evening) are our two news-first newsletters. We publish several other newsletters throughout the week, as well as our regular E-Edition on Thursday and our Varsity E-Edition on Sunday (during sports season). If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) any of these newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so!
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Buckeye Home Medical Equipment. Serving Scott County and several other communities in the Upper Cumberland region, Buckeye is a full-line DME providing home health equipment to its patients.
New County Commission appointments unveiled
HUNTSVILLE | Committee assignments for the new term of Scott County Commission were unveiled when commissioners met here Tuesday night for an organizational session.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first for five new commissioners — Allen “Ladd” Phillips in the 1st District, Mike Keeton and Dacy Williams in the 3rd District, Zach Strunk in the 5th District, and Jason Perry in the 6th District. It was also the first meeting for County Mayor Dennis Jeffers as chairman of the commission.
As mayor, Jeffers is responsible for appointing committees, which are then approved by the commissioners themselves. Fourth District Commissioner Kenny Chadwell will continue to chair the Finance Committee and the Budget Committee, while 4th District Commissioner Shonda Gray will continue to chair the Emergency Services Committee and 5th District Commissioner Kelly Posey-Chitwood will continue to chair the Community Development Committee.
The Buildings & Grounds Committee will now be chaired by 6th District Commissioner Colby Burke. It was previously chaired by Robyn McBroom, who did not seek re-election in the 5th District. And the Intergovernmental Committee is now chaired by 7th District Commissioner Jared Burke.
Second District Commissioner Taylor Buttram Stephens is now chairing the Parks & Recreation Committee, while newly-elected 3rd District Commissioner Mike Keeton will chair the Beer Board and Posey-Chitwood will chair the Ethics Committee.
Joining Posey-Chitwood on the Ethics Committee are Joyce Keeton from the 2nd District, Perry from the 6th District, and Mike Keeton from the 3rd District. Rena Erwin, Scott County Trustee, will also sit on the committee.
Joining Mike Keeton on the Beer Board will be Strunk and Perry.
Joining Stephens on the Parks & Recreation Committee are 1st District Commissioner David “Blue” Day and 7th District Commissioner Tom Payne, along with Perry and Williams. Community-at-large members of the committee will include Nick Botts and Diane Smith.
The Finance Committee includes Mayor Jeffers, Road Superintendent Kelvin King, and Scott County Director of Schools Marc Taylor by default. Joining Chadwell on the committee from County Commission are Jared Burke, Posey-Chitwood, and Payne.
Joining Chadwell on the Budget Committee are Mike Keeton, Payne, Colby Burke, Jared Burke, and Gray.
Joining Colby Burke on the Building & Grounds Committee are Day, Gray, Stephens, Joyce Keeton, Phillips, and Mike Keeton.
Joining Posey-Chitwood on the Community Development Committee are Strunk, Gray, Mike Keeton, Joyce Keeton, Phillips, and Perry.
Joining Gray on the Emergency Services Committee are Stephens, Day, Perry, Strunk, Colby Burke, and Williams.
Joining Jared Burke on the Intergovernmental Committee are Joyce Keeton, Phillips, Chadwell, Posey-Chitwood, Colby Burke, and Williams.
County Commission meets on the 3rd Monday of each month at 5 p.m., with committee meetings held on the 1st Monday at 5 p.m. The Finance Committee meets on the 2nd Monday at 5 p.m. The Beer Board and Ethics Committee meet only when they have business to consider. All meetings take place at the Scott County Office Building in Huntsville.
Huntsville Post-Acute & Rehabilitation Center offers short-term or long-term care … on your terms. Learn more. (Sponsored content.)
Rain chances grow for parched region
It has been an exceptionally dry end to summer, but some rain may be in store for the region over the next couple of days.
The National Weather Service has a 50% chance of thunderstorms in the forecast for Friday, followed by a 90% chance of rain on Saturday. Meteorologists say that a cold front that was once expected to create rain chances today and tomorrow will stay north of the region. However, a piece of shortwave energy is expected to fuel better rain chances going into the weekend.
Significant rainfall is not expected, which means the very dry start to fall will continue. Scott County has recorded less than a quarter of an inch of rain since Aug. 19. That has pushed streamflows to very low levels, with the Clear Fork River flowing at less than six cubic feet per second as of Thursday. Less than 25 percent of the time do streams flow at their current levels in early to mid September.
After a brief and weak reprieve from the heat, temperatures near 90 degrees are expected again next week. A pattern change, with milder temperatures, is expected around Sept. 20.
Mountain People’s Health Councils offers general practice dentistry for all ages, using the latest technology for dental imagery and digital scanning. Sliding scale fees apply! Learn more. (Sponsored.)
ICYMI
Threads of Life: This week’s Threads of Life newsletter is in remembrance of Buddy Blevins, Brad Chambers, Bibi Drinnon, James Patterson, Hurstle Terry, and Kay White. » Read It
Echoes in Time: This week’s Echoes in Time newsletter takes a look at the Black Oak community along Leatherwood Road west of Oneida. » Read It
The Weekend
⛈️ Weather: Rain is likely to start the weekend, with rain a near certainty on Saturday. However, coverage is expected to be isolated to scattered on Friday, and spotty on Saturday. Temperatures will be in the mid 80s. Drier weather returns for Sunday. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page— published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot.
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⛪︎ Featured Church
Norma Missionary Baptist Church
Denomination: Baptist (Missionary)
Pastor: James C. Pennington Sr.
Address: 127 Norma Church Road, Huntsville
Services
Sunday Morning: 11 a.m.
Sunday Evening: 6 p.m.
1st Saturday: 6 p.m.
» See the complete Church Directory, and thank you to our sponsors of the Church Directory.
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📅 Community Calendar
• Friday: High school football finds both teams on the road, with Oneida playing at CAK (7 p.m.) and Scott High at Austin-East (7 p.m.). Both games will be broadcast live on the IH Sports Network, with the Sevenly Construction Pre-Game Report beginning at 6 p.m.
• Saturday: The Scott County Farmers & Crafters Market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday at 600 Scott High Drive in Huntsville (rain or shine).
• Saturday: The U.S.S. Tennessee Battleship Memorial Museum will be open on Saturday, September 12, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. The focus area is occupation. Admission is free. The museum is located on the campus of Scott High School.
• Saturday: Second Saturday night service will be held at Jake’s Branch United Baptist Church at 6 p.m. For more information, see our Church Directory at indherald.com.
• Saturday: Narcotics Anonymous will meet at 7 p.m. at the Highway 27 Unity Club (17737 S. Alberta Street, Oneida).
• Sunday: Celebrate Recovery, a 12-step program designed to help with addiction, co-dependency and domestic abuse, will be hosted by Fire & Purpose Ministries from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 27192 Scott Highway in Winfield. There will be food, fellowship, praise and worship. Childcare is provided.
The Community Calendar is presented weekly by Citizens Gas Utility District. You can help prevent pipeline damage and leaks by calling 811 before doing any excavating or demolition and submitting a utility locate request. Visit citizensgastn.com.
Scenic Sale!
This week’s sale items at Scenic Foods in Huntsville! The sale continues through Tuesday. Sponsored content.
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Friday Features. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!
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Our Newsletters:
• Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
• Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
• Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
• Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
• Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
• Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)