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.
Mountain View ‘underground home’ listed for sale
ROBBINS | One of Scott County’s most unique homes is on the market.
Known locally as “the underground house,” the bunker-style home on Mountain View Road is listed for $224,900 by East Tennessee Realtors.
The home is being marketed as a “rare earth-sheltered, bunker-style home.” It is a two-bedroom, two-bath home totaling 1,449 square feet. It is situated on 8.2 acres and includes a detached two-car garage.
The home, located at 1803 Mountain View Road in Robbins, was originally built in 1977. It is currently owned by Victor Martin, of Wildwood, Fla., according to property tax records. The realtor’s listing indicates that the home was designed and built by the seller’s father.
While the home is covered by earth, it features concrete block walls and a steel-reinforced concrete ceiling.
The home has been listed for nearly two months. According to the listing, it needs repairs and updating.
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TSSAA enrollment numbers show declining student bodies
The numbers that will be used to separate Tennessee’s high schools into sports classifications for the next two years confirm what was already apparent: enrollments are shrinking.
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association this week released enrollment numbers that have been reported by each of the state’s 457 public or private high schools. Those numbers will be used for reclassification purposes.
Oneida reported an enrollment of 322, while Scott High reported an enrollment of 630.
Both of those numbers are down substantially from two years ago. At that time, Oneida’s enrollment was 370 and Scott High’s was 701. Oneida’s enrollment has dropped 13.0% since then, and Scott High’s has dropped 10.1%.
Currently, Oneida participates in Class 2A in football, Class 1A in basketball, baseball and softball, and Class A in soccer.
Scott High participates in Class 3A for football, basketball, baseball and softball, and Class AA for soccer.
Although both schools have experienced decreased enrollment, it’s not clear that sports classifications will change, due most other schools also seeing decreased enrollment. That’s particularly true for Scott High, which is firmly in the middle of Class 3A. Oneida, on the other hand, is currently one of the smallest schools in the state in Class 2A for football, and one of the largest schools in the state in Class 1A for basketball, baseball and softball.
For example, Oneida’s current region opponents in football include Tellico Plains, Eagleton Academy, and Polk County. Those schools’ numbers in 2024 were 416, 451, and 435, respectively. This year, their enrollments are 386, 460, and 369. Eagleton is an exception to the rule, with a slightly increased enrollment.
Scott High’s current region opponents in football include Meigs County, McMinn Central, Austin-East, Kingston, and Sweetwater. Their new enrollments are 479, 530, 591, 612, and 572. Their old enrollments were 536, 607, 662, 618, and 570.
Under the current classification, there are 51 teams in Class 1A for football, 49 in Class 2A, 50 in Class 3A, 51 in Class 4A, 49 in Class 5A, and 50 in Class 6A.
The enrollment cutoff for Class 1A under the current system was 351. Teams smaller than Oneida in Class 2A include Houston County, Mitchell, Gordonsville, and Halls. Meanwhile, the cutoff for Class 2A under the current system was 528, and the cutoff for Class 3A was 743.
Based on the new numbers, Oneida is the 132nd-largest school in the state, while Scott High is the 272nd-largest. However, many of the schools beneath both of them in terms of enrollment do not participate in some sports.
In basketball, Oneida’s current district opponents are Coalfield, Jellico, Oliver Springs, Sunbright, and Wartburg. Scott High’s district opponents are Anderson County, Clinton, Gibbs, and Union County.
Under the current classification, there are 89 schools in Class 1A for basketball, baseball and softball, with 85 in Class 2A, 86 in Class 3A, and 86 in Class 4A.
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Scott County’s Emma Carroll performs at Colts’ halftime show
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. | Scott County native Emma Carroll and her Ball State dance teammates performed — along with other dance teams from the state of Indiana — at the Indianapolis Colts’ Lucas Oil Stadium during Sunday’s NFL season-opener.
Ball State’s Code Red dance team was invited to perform with the Indianapolis Colts’ cheerleading squad during halftime of the Colts’ game against Baltimore on Sunday. The Ravens won the game, 41-23.
A 2025 graduate of Scott High School, Carroll is a sophomore at Ball State. She trained at Gotta Dance Studio in Oneida prior to receiving a scholarship at Ball State University, which is located in Muncie, Ind.
Sunday’s performance was the second big stage of the early season for the Code Red team, which previously performed at Ohio State’s Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, during the college football season-opener earlier this month.
Ball State’s home opener was on Saturday, a 41-17 win over Stony Brook.
Ball State’s remaining home games are against Toledo on Oct. 3, Sacramento State on Oct. 24, Buffalo on Nov. 11, and Central Michigan on Nov. 28.
The Weekend
🌥️ Weather: It’s going to be hot. Which isn’t really news anymore. But hopefully this will be our last 90-degree weekend of 2026. Temperatures will push into the low 90s Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a very slight chance of a stray afternoon thunderstorm each day. Nighttime lows will be in the upper 60s. 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
Big Ridge Road
Denomination: Baptist (Missionary)
Pastor: Devin Rose
Address: 237 Big Ridge Road, Oneida
Services
Sunday School: 10 a.m.
Sunday Morning: 11 a.m.
Sunday Evening: 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 at home. Oneida will host Tellico Plains (7:30 p.m.) and Scott High will host McMinn Central (7:30 p.m.). The Sevenly Construction Pregame Show will begin at 6:30 p.m. on the IH Sports Network.
• Saturday: The Scott County Farmers & Crafters Market will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Scott High Drive in Huntsville.
• Saturday: Big South Fork Brewing (Main Street, Oneida) will host its one-year birthday bash, opening at 12 p.m. At 6 p.m., the first keg of custom craft beer ever brewed in Scott County will be tapped.
• Saturday: Third Saturday night worship services will be held at Lone Mountain Baptist Church (6 p.m.), Capital Hill Missionary Baptist Church (6:30 p.m.), Black Creek Crossroads Missionary Baptist Church (7 p.m.), High Point United Baptist Church (7 p.m.), and House of the Lord (7 p.m.). For more information, see the Church Directory at www.independentherald.net.
• 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.
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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)