Good Monday morning! Welcome to a brand new week. This is The Daybreaker, the first of several newsletters that will be published this week by the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday morning) 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) this or any of our other newsletters, please do so here. If you need to subscribe, it’s as simple as entering your email address:
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Oneida, Scott High learn district, region pairings for high school sports
The wondering is over. TSSAA has made it official — at least preliminarily, though major changes are unexpected — which teams Oneida and Scott High will be competing against for at least the next two years.
The state’s sanctioning body for high school athletics has been undergoing a reclassification process that will see Oneida move from Class 2A to Class 1A in football while remaining in Class 1A for most other sports, and Scott High remain in Class 3A for football while moving from Class 3A to Class 2A in most other sports.
Football
Oneida will share Region 2-1A with Morgan County teams, along with Jellico and Oliver Springs. Joining those three teams in the six-team region will be Coalfield, Sunbright, and Wartburg. Oakdale will be the only Morgan County team not part of the region, instead shifting to Region 3-1A.
There had been speculation that TSSAA might place as many as nine teams in Region 2. The six-team makeup will provide teams with more leeway for scheduling non-region opponents.
When the postseason arrives, teams from Oneida’s region will compete in the first round against Region 1-1A, which includes Cloudland, Cosby, Hampton, Hancock County, North Greene, and Unaka.
Scott, meanwhile, will be in Region 2-3A, which includes Austin-East, Carter, Kingston, and Sweetwater. The new region is the same as the current region for the Highlanders, except for Carter replacing Meigs County, which is dropping to Class 2A, and the move of McMinn Central to Region 3-2A.
In the postseason, teams from Scott’s region will compete in the first round against teams from Region 1-3A, which includes Chuckey-Doak, Claiborne, Gatlinburg-Pittman, Johnson County, Pigeon Forge, and Unicoi County.
There had been speculation that Claiborne might land in Scott’s region instead of Sweetwater. Instead, TSSAA opted to shift the Bulldogs to upper East Tennessee and separate Sweetwater from the Chattanooga-area schools.
Basketball
For basketball, baseball and softball, things are rather simple for Oneida: the Indians’ District 3-1A will look exactly like Region 2-1A in football: Oneida, Coalfield, Jellico, Oliver Springs, Sunbright, and Wartburg. As for region pairings, the Indians will be competing against District 4-1A, which includes Greenback, Harriman, Midway, Oakdale, and Rockwood. The substate teams from Region 2 will compete against Region 1, which includes Cloudland, Hampton, North Greene, Unaka, University, Clinch, Cosby, Hancock County, Tennessee School for the Deaf, and Washburn.
Scott High, meanwhile, was delivered a massive curve ball, as TSSAA will shift the Highlanders west into the Central Time Zone and pair them with York Institute, Jackson County and Smith County in District 5-2A. Teams from that district will compete in a region that includes Cannon County, Cascade, Community and Forrest in District 6-2A, which is going to mean significant drive times for the Highlanders once region tournament play arrives. In substate, Region 3 teams will compete against Region 4, which includes Pearl Cohn, Stratford, Trousdale County, Westmoreland, White House Heritage, Independence Academy, KIPP Antioch, KIPP Nashville, LEAD Academy, RePublic, and STEM Prep.
Teams have until Nov. 16 to appeal their region placements.
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Words of Wisdom
Each week, Preacher Johnny Polk and the Oneida Church of Christ present Words of Wisdom, short devotionals that are archived on our website. Here is the current Words of Wisdom. (Sponsored content.)
The Week Ahead
☀️ Weather: Perfect weather to start the week — lots of sun, only a light breeze, and high temperatures in the mid 60s. Big changes are coming, though. Rain will become likely Wednesday night and Thursday, followed by temperatures that top out only in the mid 40s Friday and Saturday. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot — or always available at indherald.com.
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📅 Community Calendar
Monday: The Scott Appalachian Industries Senior Center (Monticello Pike, Huntsville) offers a walking program, puzzles and games, and massage chairs every week day (Monday-Friday) from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Additionally, Golden Grooves Exercise will be offered today at 1 p.m.
Monday: Ridgeview Behavioral Health Services’ Mobile Health Clinic will be in the Walmart parking lot in Oneida from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering integrated primary care and behavioral health. No insurance is not a problem. Call (866) 599-0466 for more information.
Monday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out. Phone: (423) 569-5972.
Monday: The Scott County Finance Committee will meet at the Scott County Mayor’s Office in Huntsville, beginning at 5 p.m.
Monday: The Winfield Board of Mayor & Aldermen will meet at the Winfield Municipal Building, beginning at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Tuesday: Pinnacle Resource Center’s food pantry (1513 Jeffers Road, Huntsville) will be open beginning at 10 a.m. There are no income guidelines; however, a photo ID and a piece of mail with a Scott County address are required.
Tuesday: Boy Scout Troop #333 will meet at the Oneida War Memorial Building on Alberta Street in Oneida beginning at 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Wall Builders will meet from 7 p.m. until 9 p.m. at Trinity Baptist Church (1611 Glass House Road, Helenwood) for those struggling with addiction or striving to keep off drugs. There will be preaching, teaching, food, fellowship and personal counseling.
Tuesday: Alcoholics Anonymous will meet at 7 p.m. at the Highway 27 Unity Club (17737 S. Alberta Street, Oneida).
Wednesday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will serve lunch from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. The cost is $7 for dine-in or carry-out.
Wednesday: The American Legion’s annual Veterans Day service will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the War Memorial Building on Main Street in Oneida. A meal of hot dogs and chili will follow the service.
Thursday: The Gerry McDonald Mission House, located on Church Avenue, directly behind First United Methodist Church, is open from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. You are eligible to receive food once per month. 569-8828.
Thursday: The Scott County Senior Citizens Center (Main Street, Oneida) will host exercise from 10 a.m. until 11 a.m.
Thursday: The Scott County Board of Education will meet at the Central Office in Huntsville, beginning at 4:30 p.m.
Friday: Oneida football will travel to Marion County for the second round of the Class 2A playoffs. Kickoff will be at 8 p.m. Eastern.
The Community Calendar is presented weekly by Citizens Gas Utility District. Citizens Gas Utility District pipelines are generally safe. They can be damaged by things such as excavation, natural forces, and automobile accidents. These can potentially cause a leak.Visit citizensgastn.com.
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Echoes From the Past tomorrow. 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)