Local News

It is the 10th anniversary of Vol State classes at the Springfield campus.  The new president of Volunteer State Community College, Orinthia Montague met with school officials and others during an open house last week. It was also an opportunity to introduce the community to the new Vol State at Springfield site director, Destinee Duff.  They both began their positions this fall.

There are over 19-hundred new coronavirus cases in Tennessee.  The Tennessee Department of Health reported the new cases yesterday, bringing the total since the outbreak began to over one-million-269-thousand.  Nearly 80 additional COVID-19-related deaths were also reported, with the total number standing at over 16-thousand.  There are about 14-hundred COVID-19 hospitalizations in Tennessee.

The Portland Fall Festival will be held on Saturdayfrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be food and craft vendors, some local area farms will also be set up selling products, an thee will be free live music during the event on Market Street.  Parking will be available in the city lot off E. McGlothlin Street, First Baptist Church parking lot and other downtown Portland parking areas. For more information regarding the Portland Fall Festival contact the Portland Chamber of Commerce.

A dispute within the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention is going to court.  The leader of a conservative movement within the SBC is suing the former president of the denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission.  The suit filed by Georgia pastor Mike Stone against Russell Moore accuses Moore of defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.  The suit filed on Monday focuses on letters written by Moore and eventually leaked to the press, one of which claimed the SBC’s Executive Committee exonerated a church that covered up sex abuse.  Stone was referred to in the letter by his former role as chair of the Executive Committee. 

Republican legislators in Nashville are proposing a bill that would make it easier for people who quit their jobs over vaccine mandates.  The bill would allow unemployment benefits to those who choose to leave their employment rather than be vaccinated against COVID-19.  Workers generally do not receive unemployment benefits when they quit their jobs.