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.
Yager, Keisling bill to stop Roberta Phase II landfill clears committee
NASHVILLE | Legislation carried by state Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, and state Rep. Kelly Keisling, R-Byrdstown, that intends to stop the Roberta Phase II landfill in Oneida has cleared a key committee vote.
By a 9-0 vote on Wednesday, the Senate’s Energy, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee forwarded the bill to the Senate Calendar Committee.
The carefully-worded bill, which is an amendment of existing legislation governing recreation and natural areas in the Volunteer State, would seek to stop the proposed Roberta Phase II landfill project at Bear Creek by protecting the Big South Fork River.
As introduced, Senate Bill 2172 and its House companion, HB 2202, would extend the amount of time state officials have to designate the boundaries of a scenic river area following the addition of a river segment to the state scenic rivers system from 24 months to 27 months.
However, an amendment to the initial bill is where the legislation carries weight. It classifies the Big South Fork River, from the confluence of New River and Clear Fork west of Helenwood to the TN/KY border, as a Tennessee Class II Pastoral River Area. It further adds new language to the original statute that states a landfill “is not permitted within the entirety of a county in which two rivers join to form a Class II river that flows through a national river and recreation area and, upon crossing the border of that county, enters the territory of a neighboring state.”
The amendment is obviously written to apply specifically to Scott County. No other county in the state would meet those specifications.
A separate subsection created by the Yager-Keisling bill specifies that it does not prohibit a permit renewal or expansion of a landfill that is operating under a valid permit at the date that the bill becomes law. That exempts the existing Waste Connections-owned landfill at Bear Creek.
Roberta Phase II has a permit that was issued by the TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation in 2010 and is currently being considered for reauthorization by TDEC. However, the landfill was never constructed and is not in operation. Investors led by Cleveland, Tenn. landfill developer Knox Horner intend to purchase approximately 700 acres of property and build a landfill on the 24 acres initially permitted within its boundaries, as well as build a transfer station along the Norfolk-Southern Railroad nearby.
Yager and Keisling quietly filed their legislation on Feb. 2.
The Senate version of the legislation passed the Energy, Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee Wednesday, shortly after Yager told the Independent Herald that he was confident the votes were in place to pass the bill out of the committee.
The amendment was adopted by the committee without discussion. Afterward, Katie Evans — vice president of the National Waste & Recycling Association — took the floor to address the committee. She said she was “sympathetic” to Yager’s need to “respond to his constituents,” but that her organization opposes the legislation for several reasons. She said the act that the Yager-Keisling legislation amends was never intended to be used to stop a landfill, and that local governments have several tools at their disposal — such as the Jackson Law — to regulate landfills.
A court ruled in 1992 that Scott County could not use the Jackson Law to stop the inaugural Roberta landfill, which today is owned by Waste Connections as the Volunteer Regional Landfill. The county’s Jackson Law expired in 2010, shortly before TDEC issued the Roberta Phase II permit. However, the county has since reimplemented the Jackson Law, and Scott County Attorney John Beaty has indicated that the county is prepared to argue that the Jackson Law never expired in Scott County.
Speaking after Evans’ remarks, Yager called it a “very, very important issue that impacts not just Scott County but all of upper East Tennessee that is impacted by this river,” adding that a landfill will “devastate the water quality, damage the public health, and put an end to the tourism industry in that area.”
Yager went on to say that the bill is “not anti-landfill, because we have a landfill in Scott County that has 24 years left.”
“To suggest we are anti-landfill, we are not. We are pro-Big South Fork River and preserving the pristine quality of that river,” he added.
Addressing the Jackson Law specifically, Yager confirmed what has been assumed: the Jackson Law cannot retroactively be used to stop Roberta Phase II. Because of that, he said, local government has “no recourse” to stop the landfill.
However, Yager repeated to his fellow legislators what he told the IH by phone moments earlier: local authorities are very united in their stance against the landfill.
“I’m telling you, to illustrate the impact that this landfill, the pollution of this river would have on Scott County, every local government in the county has taken a unanimous opposition to it,” Yager said. “The County Commission, the cities of Oneida and Winfield and Huntsville, the Chamber of Commerce has taken a position against it because of the issues we’ve outlined. This matters so much ... We want to preserve the environment that God created and gave to us.”
State Sen. Heidi Campbell, D-Nashville, said Tennessee is in danger of “becoming a dumping ground for the entire Southeast.”
Yager, who visits Scott County for a hike each October that is led by the Independent Herald, told the committee that he has hiked “every trail in the Big South Fork over the past 14 years,” and can assure legislators that it is “one of the most pristine and beautiful environments in the State of Tennessee, and we don’t need to sully that with the development of a 700-acre landfill in Scott County.”
The Senate version of the bill, sponsored by Yager, will next be scheduled for a potential floor vote.
The House version, sponsored by Keisling, is currently assigned to the Agriculture & Natural Resources Subcommittee, where it has not been scheduled for deliberation.
Following Wednesday’s deliberation in Senate committee, Sen. Joey Hensley, R-Hohenwald, signed on as a co-sponsor of the legislation, joining Yager and Keisling.
Huntsville Post-Acute & Rehabilitation Center offers short-term or long-term care … on your terms. Learn more. (Sponsored content.)
Three in running for Scott County Director of Schools so far
HUNTSVILLE | With a week remaining before the application deadline, three persons have applied for the Scott County Director of Schools position.
John Beaty, the county’s attorney, said Thursday that the school board has a resolution stipulating that applications remain sealed until after the application deadline, which is March 20. However, he said that three people have submitted applications so far.
The applicants will be considered by the school board to succeed Bill Hall, who will resign from the position at the end of the current fiscal year on June 30.
Scott County isn’t the only school system in the region looking for a new director. Campbell County’s vacancy drew 15 applicants, which have since been trimmed to three finalists.
Hall will leave the Central Office as the second-longest-tenured school superintendent in Scott County’s history. He began his career in education in the Oneida Special School District, then moved to Scott High School in 1995 when he accepted the head football coach position there. He moved up through the ranks from teacher and coach to assistant principal, then to principal after Sharon Wilson left that position to succeed Mike Davis as director of schools. Finally, Hall succeeded Wilson as director of schools when she retired.
Mountain People’s Health Councils offers general practice dentistry for all ages, using the latest technology for dental imagery and digital scanning. Sliding scale fees apply! Learn more. (Sponsored.)
Town of Oneida secures pair of grants for America’s 250th celebration
ONEIDA | The Town of Oneida has been awarded a pair of grants to celebrate America’s semiquincentennial — the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding in 1776, Mayor Lori Phillips-Jones announced earlier this week.
The first is a $10,000 grant from the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial, which will be used to paint a mural honoring the history of Scott County. The second is a $10,000 grant from the same organization that will be used to host bluegrass music nights at Oneida City Park, highlighting the remodeled depot museum there.
The second round of the Tennessee America 250 grant program received 365 applications totaling more than $6.3 million in funding requests, according to the state. The commission partially or fully funded 194 of those requests, representing 73 counties and more than $2.2 million.
“I am inspired by the excitement across the state to commemorate our nation’s 250th anniversary,” said Ashley Howell, executive director of the Tennessee State Museum and chairperson of the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial. “This year will be filled with exhibitions, programs, festivals, and preservation of our local and state history. We hope that these projects inspire Tennesseans across the state to engage with the anniversary in 2026.”
The deadline for spending the funds is April 30, 2027.
Virginia Bruce, the town’s events coordinator, said that bluegrass music is an important part of the community’s past.
“Bluegrass music is more than just a sound in Appalachia — it is the heartbeat of our communities, carrying the stories, struggles, and spirit of generations,” she said. “Grant funding for this project will help preserve that legacy by supporting events that honor the music’s history, ensuring that it continues to inspire residents and visitors while connecting people to the rich cultural heritage of the region.”
The Weekend!
☀️ Weather: A nice weekend is in store. We’ll see sunshine and a high of 62° on Friday, and mostly sunny skies and a high of 68° on Saturday. Sunday will see partly sunny skies and a high of 72°. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page— published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot.
—
📅 Community Calendar
• Saturday: Second Saturday night service will be held at Jake’s Branch United Baptist Church at 6 p.m. For more information, see our Church Directory at indherald.com.
• 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.
• Looking Ahead: The Independent Herald’s Spring Hiking Challenge will begin Friday, March 20! Keep an eye out next week as the destination of our first hike is announced!
The Community Calendar is presented by Citizens Gas Utility District. You can help prevent pipeline damage and leaks by calling 811 before doing any excavating or demolition and submitting a utility locate request. Visit citizensgastn.com.
Scenic Sale!
This week’s sale items at Scenic Foods in Huntsville! The sale continues through Tuesday. Sponsored content.
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Friday Features. If you’d like to update your subscription to add or subtract any of our newsletters, do so here. If you haven’t yet subscribed, it’s as simple as adding your email address!
◼️ About the IH • IH Sports Network • The Encyclopedia of Scott County
◼️ Subscribe • Sponsor • Manage Your Account
◼️ Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, YouTube
Our Newsletters:
• 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)