Local News

Middle Tennessee was spared from the worst of Hurricane Helene, but some counties still saw high rain totals and wind gusts. In Tennessee, water flooded roads like Old Glenrose Avenue, where an overflow from Mill Creek gushed through a storm drain onto the street. Traffic on Briley Parkway was delayed on Friday after water flooded several freeway lanes near McGavock Pike. As of Saturday morning, rain gauges from across the region have recorded well over three inches of rain from Helene. Areas near Clarksville saw well over six inches.

Gov. Bill Lee along with state officials including Deputy Gov. and Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner Butch Eley, completed the survey of storm damage in upper East Tennessee. According to TDOT, “historic damage” was done to bridges and roadways in upper East Tennessee. Washington, Unicoi, Carter, Johnson, Greene, and Cocke counties saw the most impact. TDOT crews continue to clean up and survey around the region, TDOT said.

Former Governor Winfield Dunn has died at the age of 97. Dunn passed Saturday afternoon surrounded by his family. Dunn was elected as Governor of Tennessee in 1970 and served from 1971 to 1975, the release said. Before his gubernatorial election, he had never held public office. He also served as chairman of both the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees and the Tennessee State Board of Regents..

September is Deaf Awareness Month, a time to acknowledge and celebrate our neighbors who are deaf or hard of hearing. Communication with the deaf can be difficult. If you don’t know the language, gesturing and understanding gestures are crucial to ASL. Writing with a phone or pen and paper is another option to get a message across. New statistics show that 20% of Tennesseans have hearing loss.