Staff Report

Staff Report

  • Joined: June 1, 2026
  • Articles: 64

Bowling leads charge against property tax

State Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma) was recently appointed chairman of the Coffee County ‘Yes on 2’ campaign, the official effort supporting Constitutional Amendment 2, which would permanently prohibit a state property tax in Tennessee. Governor Bill Lee will serve as statewide chairman of the campaign. Regional chairmen include Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) for East Tennessee, Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) for Middle Tennessee and Representative Tandy Darby (R-Greenfield) for West Tennessee.

Peggy May Watson, 82

Peggy May Watson, 82, of Winchester, passed away on Monday, June 8, 2026, surrounded by her loving family. A native of Franklin County, she was born on Feb. 20, 1944, to the late Ernest and Mary Lucille (Campbell) Mahaffey.

Keep data centers out

When data centers move into small counties, the immediate costs to citizens often manifest as spiked residential utility bills, severe strains on local water and sewer capacities, and diminished tax revenues from generous corporate exemptions.] The hidden costs borne by the local community include: 1. Soaring Utility Bills: Data centers consume massive amounts of power and require utilities to build costly new infrastructure. In areas with high concentrations of data centers, wholesale electricity prices have historically jumped by up to 267% as those grid upgrade costs are passed onto everyday consumers.