Baby J's closes its doors after eight years
Plus: Scott Solid Waste Board to meet Monday, Winfield receives industrial site grant, and High Point bridge set to go to bid
Good Thursday evening! This is The Weekender, a final look at this week’s news from the Independent Herald. The Daybreaker (Monday) and The Weekender (Thursday evening) are our two news-first newsletters. We publish several other newsletters throughout the week, as well as our regular E-Edition on Thursday and our Varsity E-Edition on Sunday (during sports season). If you’d like to adjust your subscription to include (or exclude) any of these newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t subscribed, please consider doing so!
Today’s newsletter is sponsored by Buckeye Home Medical Equipment. Serving Scott County and several other communities in the Upper Cumberland region, Buckeye is a full-line DME providing home health equipment to its patients.
Baby J’s closes its doors
ONEIDA | After more than eight years, Baby J’s Pizza has closed.
The Oneida pizzeria, located across the street from Big South Fork Medical Center, opened in January 2017. It offered pizzas, sandwiches and more for carry-out or delivery.
Located in the same building where Domino’s Pizza had once been located in mid-town Oneida, the restaurant was started by the late Wayne King, an Oneida businessman who passed the day after Christmas in 2023 following a battle with liver cancer. King, a 23-year veteran pastor of New Salem Baptist Church in the Smith Creek community and the owner of multiple businesses in Oneida, named the pizza restaurant for his baby grandson, Jesse Wayne Brewster, who had tragically passed just one day shy of two months old in April 2013. Also serving as inspirations for the name were the rest of King’s grandkids: Jazz, James, Jaden and Jase.
King’s daughter, Tara Brewster — Baby Jesse’s mother — operated the restaurant. Wayne’s wife, retired educator Kim King, was also involved.
“A lot of prayers and tears have gone into making this decision to close,” the restaurant said on its Facebook page on Aug. 1. “We absolutely want to thank our loyal customers, family, and friends for 8 1/2 years of enjoying Baby J's Pizza. Going into this business we wanted to provide quality food, customer service, and to show love for our community.”
Brewster said that she and her father took a leap of faith in opening the restaurant in 2015.
“Baby J's was more than a business to us, it was special and a way of giving back! And we have truly loved being a part of this County,” she said. “I've enjoyed everyone who has come through our doors, whether it's been customers or employees.
“I'm so thankful you all took a chance on our little pizza place,” Brewster added. “To say I am saddened by this is truly an understatement. I will miss you all so much! I've enjoyed every minute of running the store.”
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Scott Solid Waste Board to meet Monday
HUNTSVILLE | The Scott County Solid Waste Board is scheduled to meet Monday at the Scott County Office Building in Huntsville, beginning at 11:30 a.m., according to County Mayor Jerried Jeffers.
Of the various boards and committees that serve as tentacles of county government, the Solid Waste Board is ordinarily one of the most out-of-sight, out-of-mind of the lot, dealing primarily with relatively mundane matters such as the county-owned recycling center in Huntsville and the annual county-wide clean-up that’s held in the spring. Municipal solid waste boards in Tennessee are also tasked with developing 10-year comprehensive plans for managing solid waste within their designated boundaries.
The board only meets quarterly.
However, the board has been thrust into the spotlight by a Chattanooga-area developer’s plans to build a privately-owned landfill at Bear Creek in Oneida. The landfill is expected to be a topic of discussion when the board meets Monday, though it remains unclear what — if anything — the local Solid Waste Board could do to either prevent the landfill. TDEC permitted a 24-acre landfill on the Bear Creek property in 2010. Knox Horner, who is the face of the landfill effort, has applied to have that permit re-certified. His group of investors is in the process of purchasing nearly 700 acres of property that includes the permitted tract. Horner indicated at a meeting of the coalition of local governments earlier this summer that the re-certification is complete. However, TDEC has not approved the re-certification and it appears there are some issues that will have to be resolved before that happens. Because construction was not started within 365 days of the permit being issued in 2010, any construction now, in 2025 or hereafter, must follow current state guidelines and regulations. Chief among the obstacles that Horner’s group faces is obtaining a state-issued Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit — better known as ARAP — that will require the purchase of wetland mitigation credits elsewhere to offset any streams or wetlands being altered by the creation of a new landfill.
As is the case with county government’s other boards and standing committees, Monday’s meeting will be open to the public.
Enough is enough: Why authorities should reject proposed landfill
By Tracey Tibbals Stansberry
I am a lifelong resident of Scott County, Tennessee, a region known for its rough-hewn beauty and people living in concert with its rugged terrain. Unfortunately, it also has a history of “boom and bust” economies associated with outside business interests exploiting the county’s vast natural resources and rapidly exiting once the resources have been siphoned off. Despite the “busts,” Scott Countians are collectively known for our resilience (and occasionally for full-on stubbornness). We tend to rely on our well-known heritage of dogged determination (and deep faith in God) to survive adversity, even when the odds are stacked against us.
After generations of laboring in the timber and coal industries, Scott County and its people have recently charted a new path, again one rooted in the county’s natural beauty and resources. Adventure tourism and retirement that revolve around the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, multiple local and state parks, and forests, have provided a foundation for a new economy, one that allows this previously rural industrial people to stay on the lands that sustained them for over two hundred years and one that conserves the region’s rich biodiversity for ages to come.
However, a new outside force now threatens to undermine this progress and choke Scott County’s new economic taproot at its source: our free-flowing streams and rivers. Capiche LLC from Cleveland, Tennessee, and a small handful of local businesspeople have proposed a new landfill adjacent to the already questionable Volunteer Regional Landfill in North Oneida (that sits atop springs and streams that feed into the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River), one massive enough to accept train cars of garbage and toxic waste from New York and other northeastern corridor locales which are unwilling to deal with their own refuse. Capiche LLC and its associates have proposed a solution to this urban detritus – ship it to our rural community, one that cannot (and should not) be raped and pillaged again by outside robber barons who care nothing about the health and environmental consequences of their unscrupulous business practices.
The current landfill has a documented compliance problem, with leachate overflowing into nearby streams and groundwater. Consider this: Scott County is home to one of the wettest climates in the Continental U.S., routinely receiving over 65 inches of rain annually. While accustomed to prolonged rains, thankfully, we were spared Hurricane Helene’s recent wrath (due to a slight shift in the jet stream). Still, suppose this new landfill is allowed to proceed, and we experience a Helene-style rainfall. In that case, the resulting 1,500-acre mass of toxic refuse, most of it from the Northeast, is almost certain to leach not only into our waterways and land, but also into those along the Cumberland River, including Nashville. According to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Tennessee is already home to one of the world’s most plastic-polluted rivers, the Tennessee, with more microplastic particulates than most other rivers in the world. A massive landfill of this type could push the Cumberland River into its ranks, polluting much of the state.
As a nurse practitioner and researcher, I have witnessed up close the long-lasting health consequences of our region’s past “boom” economies, with mine-associated cancers plaguing many in our area. But I have also watched the downward spiral of poverty and poor health that resulted from the “busts.” Today, we in Scott County have a genuine opportunity to continue on our new path toward a healthier (and wealthier) future for our families, but only if we can prevent new toxic threats to our people and our environment.
Other than the dozen or so principal investors in the landfill expansion, NO ONE in Scott or the surrounding communities wants this proposed business deal to proceed. With so many other honorable, healthy, and economically sustainable uses of this land, why, on “God’s green Earth,” would authorities permit this misuse of Scott County’s land and its people? Enough is enough. Please work to stop this project in its tracks before it’s too late by calling your state senator and representatives to voice your opposition – future generations will thank you.
Editor’s Note: The Independent Herald encourages guest opinions. If you’d like to submit a guest op-ed for consideration, please email it to newsroom@ihoneida.com.
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Winfield receives $100,000 for industrial site planning
WINFIELD | The Town of Winfield will receive a $100,000 grant from the TN Dept. of Economic & Community Development for the purpose of due diligence at the Winfield Industrial Park.
The grant was announced last week by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Commissioner Stuart C. McWhorter of the TN Dept. of Economic & Community Development. The funding is among six grants that total more than $6 million that were awarded.
“What happens in rural Tennessee matters to all of Tennessee, and today’s grant announcement marks another step forward in creating greater economic opportunity across our state,” Lee said. “I thank our local leaders for their partnership to drive growth in their communities that will in turn attract future investment and job creation.”
The Site Development Grant program mis part of the Rural Economic Opportunity Act, which provides funding to improve the economies of Tennessee’s rural communities. Since 2016, TNECD has awarded 197 Site Development Grants across the state, totaling more than $120 million in assistance to local communities and generating 7,459 new jobs for Tennesseans.
The Winfield grant was one of two $100,000 due diligence grants awarded by TNECD as a part of this round of funding. The City of Bartlett also received $100,000 for the Bartlett Innovation Park.
Other funding included $1 million to the Town of Livingston for property grading at the Livingston Industrial Site, more than $3.9 million to Knox County for property grading at the Eastbridge Business Park, $658,922 to Morgan County for purchase of the Darnell Property, and $241,769 to the City of Milan for master planning and sewer infrastructure design at the Milan Arsenal Property.
The Winfield Industrial Park is located near the TN/KY line, and includes the former ABC building that is currently owned by JDS Technologies. The property that Winfield hopes to develop is on the south side of the JDS building.
High Point bridge set to go to bid
ONEIDA | The Niggs Creek Road overpass of the Norfolk-Southern Railroad at High Point has been given final approval, and is set to be advertised for bids, Scott County Road Superintendent Kelvin King said Thursday.
The bridge, which has been closed by order of the TN Dept. of Transportation since March 2024, will be torn out and rebuilt. Because of the railroad, it required approval from Norfolk-Southern, a multi-stage process that proved lengthy.
However, King said Thursday that the railroad has given its final stamp of approval to the project. Just as importantly, King said that funding has been secured from TDOT to complete the project, meaning that construction can start right away. There had been some concern that funding might be lost until the start of next fiscal year in July 2026; King had been in contact with state officials in an effort to prevent that from happening.
The bridge is being funded through the IMPROVE Act. The Road Department had been working to secure funding through the act — which dates back to 2017 when the state legislature increased the gasoline tax to fund transportation infrastructure projects — for more than two years before TDOT condemned the bridge after it scored low on an annual inspection. The bridge dates back to 1937, but was mostly rebuilt in 1975 after suffering severe damage in a train collision.
On Thursday, King expressed his appreciation to state Sen. Ken Yager and state Rep. Kelly Keisling for their assistance in securing the funding.
King said the successful bidder on the project will be required to sign a contract with Norfolk-Southern, but he’s hoping the project will move “pretty quickly” — perhaps within 45 days after the bid is awarded.
The new bridge will be similar in size to the existing bridge at High Point. The design of the new bridge is 11 inches wider and 11 inches taller than the existing bridge, King previously said, due to requirements by the railroad.
Meanwhile, King said construction is expected to start on the O&W Road bridge over Pine Creek within the next 10-to-14 days. He said the final go-ahead for that project was received from TDOT this week. O&W Road has been closed near its intersection with Toomey Road just outside the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area boundary since TDOT condemned that bridge last summer. King General Contracting, based in Cookeville, Tenn., will be building the new bridge.
In another roads-related matter, Yager announced at a Scott County Chamber of Commercemeeting on July 24 that TDOT will advertise for bids to resurface U.S. Highway 27 through Oneida late this fall, with the actual paving project to begin when temperatures warm next spring. He credited King for his persistence in moving that project forward. Earlier this year, TDOT completed the resurfacing of U.S. 27 from Huntsville south to Robbins.
The Weekend
🌦 Weather: It’s going to be a pretty typical summer weekend, with slight chances (~20%) of isolated thunderstorms each afternoon, and temperatures topping out around 85° each day. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot.
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📅 Community Calendar
• Friday: The Bandy Creek Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today ($3, or $2 for ages 6-12). Huntsville Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today ($3). The Oneida Splash Pad is also open.
• Saturday: The Scott County Farmers & Crafters Market will be open from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. — rain or shine. The market is located at 600 Scott High Drive, Huntsville.
• Saturday: The Bandy Creek Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today ($3, or $2 for ages 6-12). Huntsville Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. today ($3). The Oneida Splash Pad is also open.
• Sunday: The Bandy Creek Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. today ($3, or $2 for ages 6-12). Huntsville Pool will be open from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. today ($3). The Oneida Splash Pad is also open.
• Sunday: Celebrate Recovery, a 12-step program designed to help with addiction, co-dependency and domestic abuse, will be hosted by Fire & Purpose Ministries from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at 27192 Scott Highway in Winfield. There will be food, fellowship, praise and worship. Childcare is provided.
The Community Calendar is presented by Citizens Gas Utility District. Citizens Gas operates natural gas distribution pipelines in portions of Scott and Morgan counties. Visit citizensgastn.com.
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📢 Programming Note: Watch for our weekly E-Edition later this evening! You can always find our E-Editions here. The E-Edition is published on Thursdays (and on Sundays during the high school sports season) and includes all digital content from the week in an easy-to-read, flip book format.
Scenic Sale!
This week’s sale items at Scenic Foods in Huntsville! The sale continues through Tuesday. Sponsored content.
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◼️ Monday morning: The Daybreaker (news & the week ahead)
◼️ Tuesday: Echoes from the Past (stories of our history)
◼️ Wednesday: Threads of Life (obituaries)
◼️ Thursday evening: The Weekender (news & the weekend)
◼️ Friday: Friday Features (beyond the news)
◼️ Sunday: Varsity (a weekly sports recap)