PARIS (December 15) — After 43 years in law enforcement, Lieutenant Gary Vandiver has retired. Sheriff Josh Frey said, “It’s very much a loss for the sheriff’s office. His desire and expertise, especially in working in child abuse cases, is invaluable. But fortunately, he passed that knowledge on to so many others at the sheriff’s office. He’s leaving us in good hands.” more

WASHINGTON, DC — The United States Postal Service announced today that it has delivered more than 270 million COVID-19 test kits to American households as part of President Biden’s plan to distribute free at-home tests to Americans for free. The Postal Service reported over 68 million test kit packages (with four tests per kit) have been shipped to American households across all states, Tribes and territories; each package contains four individual test kits. On average, it takes just 1.2 days for the Postal Service to deliver a test kit package once it has been received from the manufacturer, kitted and entered into the mailstream. On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the Postal Service delivered over 6 million COVID-19 test kit packages — the highest single day volume delivered since shipping began at the end of January. “There are few assignments the Postal Service has received that better exemplify our public service mission than the request of the Biden Administration to deliver America’s COVID-19 test kits,” said Postmaster General and Chief Executive Officer Lou more

McKENZIE (December 14) — McKenzie Mayor and Council appointed a new water superintendent and four members to the McKenzie Industrial Development Corporation Board of Directors. more

GLEASON (December 16) — The Gleason Lady Bulldogs’ 1999 state champions were honored on the 25th anniversary year of the year. The cheerleaders, coaches, and booster club president were also recognized during the event between the Lady Bulldogs’ and Bulldogs’ game versus Bradford. more

Christmas is less than a week away! Christmas and New Year’s fall on Mondays this year. Our normal deadline and press time are on Monday, which means early deadlines for the next two editions. The deadline for the December 26 edition is Friday, December 22 at NOON. Deadline for the January 2 edition is Friday, December 29 at NOON. The Banner office will be closed on Monday, Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Thank you for allowing our staff this time with their families. more

KNOXVILLE (December 12) — From increased agricultural commodity competition to the resumption of wheat and corn exports from Russia and Ukraine, global market forces delivered a hit to Tennessee’s agricultural sector in 2023. Researchers and Extension specialists from the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture provide an analysis of these challenges and their impact in the newly released economic report to the governor. more

NASHVILLE (December 14) — Nearly 190 Soldiers from the Tennessee National Guard’s 730th Composite Supply Company returned to Tennessee after a successful ten-month deployment overseas, December 14. more

GLEASON — Garrett Pinkston, a senior at Gleason High School was presented a basketball by Coach Riggs to commemorate his 100th career point for the high school team. more

This year McKenzie Elementary School celebrated the spirit of giving by creating care packages for local nursing homes. The students made cards and helped to create care packages as a way of learning how to give back to others. more

GLEASON (December 15) — Gleason Lady Bulldogs and Gleason Bulldogs were both victorious over the visiting Bradford teams on Friday, December 15. more

GLEASON (December 12) — It appeared as a clinic on three-pointers as the McKenzie Middle School Lady Rebels tossed in seven three-pointers or 21 of their 46 points in the championship game against Greenfield (25 points) on December 12. Someone once described the Lady Rebels as an anaconda - just play with their opponents and then apply the squeeze. The score was 21 -17 at the half, but the third and fourth quarters wrote the end of the story. more

McKENZIE (December 15) — On Friday night, McKenzie welcomed the cross-county rivals Huntingdon Fillies and Mustangs for their first meeting of the basketball season. The Rebels split the matchup with a loss against the Fillies and a victory against the Mustangs. Both games provided a preview of Rebel strengths as they look forward to district play beginning in January 2024. more

McKENZIE (December 9) — On Saturday, Hometown Health Clinic hosted the free community event “A Very Merry Hometown Christmas” and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony marking the opening of its newly renovated pediatric center. The event provided children with a chance to get their last-minute gift requests into Santa Claus along with a petting zoo, gift shoppe, a food truck and giveaways to Santa’s lucky little ones. more

ATWOOD (December 7) — Students, faculty, and staff of West Carroll now have a medical clinic on campus, thanks to an agreement with Evans Clinic of Huntingdon. The contractual arrangement provides for a medical practitioner to visit the three campuses each Tuesday to serve the people at West Carroll schools. more

McKENZIE (December 5) — Nine teachers in the McKenzie Special School District were granted tenure during the December 5 meeting of the school board. more

McKENZIE (December 7) — A two-car collision at the intersection of State Route 22 and Connie Allen Road sent one of the drivers to the hospital via air ambulance. more

DRESDEN (December 9, 2023) — On Saturday, one day shy of the two-year anniversary of the long track EF-3 tornado that churned through the heart of downtown Dresden, residents found themselves … more

McKENZIE (December 5) — Carroll, Henry, and Benton counties are home to subterranean titanium, according to officials with IperionX. The publicly listed company is betting on the future of titanium mining in the northwest Tennessee communities to provide a lightweight, but strong metal for uses as aircraft, military vehicles, and even metal shields for EV batteries on automobiles. more

NASHVILLE — It was a celebration of service of Frank Gibson, a Gleason native, who graduated from his hometown high school in 1965, went to Nashville, and a highly successful career at The Tennessean newspaper and as an advocate for open records. more

A sincere “Thank You” to ALL the friends and family who attended my 100th birthday party and for the cards, gifts, phone calls and FaceTime visits I received. more