Rep. Ron Travis on Monday recognized three academic institutions in District 31 for earning Reward School status from the Tennessee Department of Education. The status is the top distinction a school can achieve in Tennessee. Recipients include approximately 318 schools in 85 districts — 20 percent of the state’s schools — who have demonstrated improvement in overall student ... (click for more)

Dr. Debbie Murray, vice president for academic affairs at Lee University, was invited to participate in a meeting between the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and members of the U.S. Department of Education.  “I was honored to be included in this very interesting meeting,” said Dr. Murray.  The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss issues of ... (click for more)

A pedestrian was struck and killed on Lee Highway on Monday night. After the incident, police closed both lanes in the 7300 block of Lee Highway. They had reopened by 11 p.m. (click for more)

A man police said struck and killed a motorcyclist and then went back into a bar is back in custody after the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled against his appeal of his sentence. The Appeals Court upheld a nine-year sentence handed down by Criminal Court Judge Don Poole against Henry Cofrancesco III. He had pleaded guilty to one  count of vehicular homicide (by Impairment) ... (click for more)

For much of my life, the commitment to the Democratic Party has puzzled me. I was raised to analyze both sides of issues and to make an intelligent decision based upon that information. The values of self-reliance, hard work, and individual liberty that I grew up with were the same American values that have made this country exceptional. As I have grown older, I have witnessed ... (click for more)

If all goes as (very carefully) planned, the most dynamic president to be hired at the University of Tennessee since the legendary Andy Holt retired in 1970, will be ushered into office today by the university’s board of trustees. The selection of Randy Boyd to take over his ala mater is a genius stroke and certainly seems to solidify two of life’s greatest truths. The first ... (click for more)