Columbus
The Daily Times
Maryville High School students encouraged to 'Be Pro Be Proud' with trades tour
Maryville High Schools students had opportunities this week to try welding, driving an 18-wheeler, moving dirt with an excavator, working from a lineman’s bucket truck and more, all safely with simulators and virtual reality. The Be Pro Be Proud tour brought a 53-foot trailer to MHS with all the equipment for students to check out high-demand and high-paying jobs on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 9 and 10. “We’re out here...
Blount County Schools recognizes aspiring administrators
The Blount County Board of Education on April 4 recognized its latest class of aspiring administrators. Back row, from left: Jason Sweeton, Joel Jackson, Logan Elliott and James Gann. Front row, from left: Kristin Stringer, James Douglas and Saundra Pitt.
Good to be green: Master gardeners ready to help at annual plant sale
As master gardeners, it’s their job to encourage more digging in the dirt by offering their expert advice to others whenever asked. Master gardeners like Mary Smith and Ellen Green said they enjoy that interaction with gardeners new and old who may need a few planting pointers. Green said a lot of the conversations start with “We just moved here ...” and most are sure to bring up East Tennessee’s red clay soil. ...
Alcoa landfill plans expansion to meet demand
Since the 1970s, the Alcoa/Maryville/Blount County Sanitary Landfill has sat off Long Powers Road in Friendsville. The facility takes a range of materials from household garbage to wreckage from demolition, sorting waste into categories and sending it to the appropriate site to be stowed and buried. Now, after years of operating above capacity, landfill staff have plans to expand. A proposed adjustment to the footprint of one of the facility’s lower-safety cells for storing waste would add more than a decade of life to the...
Park Rangers search for missing man
Park rangers are searching for a missing man near near the Townsend Wye, Tremont and Cades Cove areas of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Jacob Riggs was last seen April 7 in Maynardsville, TN and his vehicle was found in the park April 8. According to the release "Riggs is a white male, with black hair and a dark beard, and brown eyes. He is 6’2” tall and weighs 185 pounds." Anyone who has seen Riggs or has information should contact National Park Service: Call: NPS Tip Line 888-653-0009Online: go.nps.gov/SubmitATipEmail: nps_isb@nps.govEmergency: dial 9-1-1
Alcoa Police Department looking for vandalism suspects
Alcoa Police Department are searching for suspects related to significant vandalism that was discovered by construction workers at Topside 333 Apartments on Monday. The vandalism included "destruction of appliances, light fixtures, hardwood flooring, walls and plumbing fixtures," the report stated. Officers believe the vandalism may have taken place sometime after 7 p.m. Saturday, April 6 and before 7 a.m. Monday, April 8. A monetary loss has yet to be determined, the release stated. Detectives believe this incident may be related to a recent vandalism incident that occurred at Ardmore Apartments. Investigators are asking anyone with information to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers "by calling**TIPS or dialing 865-215-7165, using the P3TIPS mobile app, or submitting a tip online at www.EastTNValleyCrimeStoppers.org"
Adriel McCord receiving Leadership Blount's 2024 Community Leadership Award
Adriel McCord will receive the 2024 Community Leadership Award on April 16. Leadership Blount created the award in 2000 to recognize individuals for sustained actions and leadership that reflect a commitment to lifelong service. McCord will be recognized at a Community Leadership Award Dinner on April 16 at the Clayton Center for the Arts for all Leadership Blount dues-paying alumni and special guests. ...
Flagging on Cusick Road through April
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has informed the Alcoa Development Services Department that it will be conducting intermittent flagging operations on Cusick Road for the duration of April. Workers will flag the area of Cusick Road between Singleton Station and Northpark Boulevard from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This is part of the Alcoa Highway Relocation Project. Expect lane closures and delays in the area. Alcoa is warning motorists to use caution when driving through the area, as workers will be present. Allow for additional travel time when using this route. For more information or to ask questions, contact the Development Services Department at 865-380-4800.
Gas prices likely to vary as oil cost rises
Gas prices once again moved more expensive over last week, rising 5 cents, on average. The Tennessee gas price average is now $3.20 which is 12 cents more expensive than one month ago but 10 cents less than one year ago. In Blount County, the average price per gallon was $3.07 on Monday, April 8, according to data from AAA — The Auto Club Group. “The roller coaster at the...
Walking for a cause: Alzheimer's Tennessee Foothills Walk
Folks looking to raise money and awareness for Alzheimer’s disease gathered at Alcoa High School on Saturday, April 6, for Alzheimer’s Tennessee’s Foothills Walk. The event kicked off with live music, games and tables filled with coffee and snacks. Cotton candy and popcorn machines were also available for the kids and the young at heart. Businesses in attendance included Shannondale of Maryville, Brookdale, Blount Memorial Hospital, Home Instead and Asbury...
Early voting options shrink to four locations as Foothills Mall bows out
Early voters in the Maryville area may need to rearrange plans to cast their ballots ahead of the Aug. 1 and Nov. 5 races. Previously one of the most visited early voting locations in Blount County, Foothills Mall will not open its doors to voters again in 2024. Foothills Mall management opted against continuing to lease space to the Blount County Election Commission earlier this year. Instead, the space used by the elections office will be rented to Spirit Halloween, a seasonal specialty store. ...
VFW Post 5154 celebrates their reopening
In August 2022, a violent storm swept through Blount County, ripping the roof off of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5154. For 20 months, members of the VFW have been working to rebuild their home. On April 5, they rang in their official reopening with live music, food, drinks and smiles. The road has been long to get the building back into order and not without difficulties. ...
K-9s in the community: Sgt. Russell & Sadie
Sadie, a two-year-old Bloodhound, is one of Blount County Sheriff’s Office’s newest K-9s. She has been training for weeks with BCSO K-9 Unit Supervisor Sgt. Allen Russell to learn the art of tracking. On a warm, sunny Thursday, Sadie, Russell, and a team of officers, deputies and their K-9s were working together to train. Sadie was about to demonstrate the tracking skills she had been learning. Deputy Justin Summers was...
Blount County looking at tight budget for 2024-25
As the Blount County Budget Committee wrapped up meetings on requests for 2024-25 spending last week, Mayor Ed Mitchell warned of tough decisions ahead. “We’ve got millions of dollars that are being asked for,” Mitchell said Friday, April 5, referring then to low estimates for new sales and property tax revenue in the fiscal year that starts July 1. “I will not vote to raise taxes,” the mayor vowed. In...
Blount County Sheriff James L. Berrong, Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp to be honored as Good Scouts
Blount County Sheriff James L. Berrong and Maryville Police Chief Tony Crisp are this year’s Blount County Good Scout Award recipients. They are being honored by the Cades Cove District of the Great Smoky Mountain Council on at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 25, at Alcoa High School. An RSVP is required. Lifelong friends and longtime cohorts, Chief Crisp and Sheriff Berrong have been a model on how a police department and sheriff’s agency support each other, said a press release from the Great Smoky Mountain...
TDOT work will disrupt traffic this week along Alcoa Highway, I-40
TDOT announced Friday a series of road work projects for this week that could impact area traffic and commuters to Knoxville. The schedule is contingent on favorable weather conditions. Motorists are advised to expect delays and use extreme caution. • Crews will alternately close Pellissippi Parkway ramps to Alcoa Highway both North and South from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting tonight, April 8, and continuing through Thursday night as crews perform roadway surface treatment activities. TDOT suggests using an alternate route to Pellissippi during...
Thirteen indicted following methamphetamine investigation
Thirteen people have been indicted in an ongoing investigation of the distribution of methamphetamine. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the investigation is a part of the 313 Initiative which is “focused on those trafficking illicit drugs into Blount and Knox Counties from Detroit, Michigan.” During the undercover investigation agents seized “approximately five pounds of methamphetamine, more than a pound of fentanyl, and cocaine,” the release said. Agents also...
The Daily Times
3K+
Posts
10M+
Views
The Daily Times, an award-winning daily newspaper in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, has served Blount County, Tennessee, readers since 1883. The Daily Times is a family-owned newspaper based in Maryville, Tennessee, near Knoxville, providing quality news and information to the communities it serves, with an emphasis on local news in the Blount County area.
It’s essential to note our commitment to transparency:
Our Terms of Use acknowledge that our services may not always be error-free, and our Community Standards emphasize our discretion in enforcing policies. As a platform hosting over 100,000 pieces of content published daily, we cannot pre-vet content, but we strive to foster a dynamic environment for free expression and robust discourse through safety guardrails of human and AI moderation.