County mayor's race is heating up
Plus: MPHC opens new imaging center, Northern Lights are visible again, Scott woman dies in traffic accident, and TCAT announces veteran of year
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.
County mayor’s race heats up
HUNTSVILLE | The August 2026 general election in Scott County is beginning to heat up, as next month’s qualifying period nears.
In recent days, two candidates have announced their intentions to seek the office of Scott County Mayor. Incumbent Jerried Jeffers will seek re-election, and he will be opposed by current Huntsville Mayor Dennis Jeffers.
Dennis Jeffers said on Thursday, Nov. 6, that he will seek election as a Republican candidate in the May primary.
“After much thought, prayer, and conversation with family and friends and after being in my third term as Mayor of Huntsville, I have decided on December twenty-second, I will be picking up qualifying papers to be the Republican nominee for Scott County Mayor in next year’s election,” he said in a Facebook post. “I am extremely excited about the opportunity … I look forward to growing the county in the same way we have grown Huntsville through prayer and hard work.”
On Wednesday, Jerried Jeffers announced his intention to seek a second term as an independent candidate.
“Today, I want to announce that I will be seeking a second term as Scott County Mayor,” he said in a Facebook post. “I will be running as an independent candidate and will be on the August 2026 election ballot. It has been the honor and privilege of my life to serve as your County Mayor. I thank God for the opportunity and for the many blessings that He has bestowed upon Scott County. No matter the outcome of any election, never stop believing in each other, never waver from the mark set before you, and never stop pushing forward. May God bless each of you!”
With Jerried Jeffers’ decision to run as an independent candidate, the two men will not be opponents in the May primary, and will only be opponents in the August general election if Dennis Jeffers wins the Republican nominee. To date, he is the only candidate who has announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination, while Jerried Jeffers is the only candidate who has publicly announced an intent to run as an independent candidate.
The two become the third and fourth major candidates to publicly declare their candidacy for 2026. Earlier, incumbent Sheriff Brian Keeton and former drug agent Kris Lewallen both announced their intent to seek that office. Both men have indicated they will seek the Republican nomination, which will pit them against one another in the May 2026 primary.
The qualifying period will begin Dec. 22 and end Feb. 19. The deadline for candidates to withdraw their names will be Feb. 26. The write-in deadline is March 16. The primary will be held on May 5.
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MPHC officially opens new diagnostic center
ONEIDA | Mountain People’s Health Councils’ new Imaging Center is officially open.
Surrounded by members of his board of directors and elected officials, MPHC CEO James Lovett cut the ribbon on the brand-new, state-of-the-art facility — which sits on MPHC’s main campus on Industrial Lane in Oneida — during a Thursday morning ceremony.
U.S. Congressman John Rose, R-Cookeville, a Tennessee gubernatorial candidate, was slated to be the guest speaker for the ceremony, but was not in attendance. His chief of staff, Leah Grider, attended in his stead and spoke. State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Harriman, was also in attendance.
It has been one year since MPHC officials gathered with the public for a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of construction. The new imaging center will provide MRI, ultrasound, mammography, bone density scans, and x-rays, and will be the only such center currently located in Scott County.
At the time of the groundbreaking, MPHC Project Manager Shirley Torwirt said the new services will be available on a sliding fee basis to those who qualify, “meaning more individuals will have access to advanced diagnostic radiology services.”
Some of the advanced diagnostic services are not currently available in Scott County. The services will not be limited to MPHC patients, meaning patients of other physicians in Scott County and surrounding communities can receive diagnostic scans there instead of traveling outside Scott County.
“MPHC has always been very appreciative of state and local officials who have helped the organization bring new services to our rural community throughout its over half-century of providing care to the people of Scott and surrounding counties,” Torwirt said.
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Those northern lights!
It seems to be happening with increased frequency of late, and it happened again Tuesday night: the Aurora Borealis — commonly referred to as northern lights — were visible as far south as Tennessee and even closer to the Gulf Coast due to a strong geomagnetic storm that temporarily pushed the auroral oval well beyond its usual high-latitude zone.
Coronal mass ejections — large bursts of plasma and magnetic field from the sun — headed towards Earth and triggered the solar storm, which initiated when the charged particles reached the Earths’ atmosphere.
NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center had indicated that conditions would reach levels qualifying as a G3 (strong) or G4 (severe) storm.
Normally, auroras are confined to high-altitude locations, near the Arctic or Antarctic. However, strong geomagnetic storms cause the auroral oval to expand, causing observers much further south than usual to be able to see the lights. Sightings were reported Tuesday in parts of Texas, Alabama and elsewhere.
The reason for the increased northern lights sightings in Tennessee — they were also visible in May 2025 — is because the sun’s 11-year solar cycle is near its peak, causing more sunspots, more magnetic complexity, more solar flares, and more coronal mass ejections. The more frequent eruptions on the sun increase the odds of big geomagnetic storms.
As was the case with previous sightings in Scott County, the Aurora Borealis was only visible to the naked eye as faint glows on the horizon. However, relatively new technology on cellular devices like iPhones and Samsung mobile phones make it easy to capture images of the lights using long exposure, a technique long used by professional photographers that involves camera sensors gathering more light over time than the human eye can see at once. This lets faint greens, reds and purples from the aurora appear brightly in the final image. In essence, while the naked eye is seeking the aurora in real time, the iPhone is capturing it over several seconds.
The Aurora Borealis was forecasted to be even more vibrant at lower altitudes Wednesday night. However, that was not the case, as the geomagnetic storm’s activity subsided more quickly than originally anticipated.
Scott woman killed in car accident
HUNTSVILLE | A Scott County woman was fatally injured in a two-vehicle traffic accident near here earlier this week, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol.
According to a preliminary report from THP, 67-year-old Linda Sue Terry was killed in the accident, which occurred at the intersection of S.R. 63 and Jeffers Road Monday evening.
THP stated that Terry’s 2016 Kia Soul was westbound on S.R. 63 and attempting to turn left when it collided with an eastbound Ford F-150.
It was snowing at the time of the accident, but THP’s report does not mention road conditions as a factor. It was the fourth fatal traffic accident in Scott County of the 2025 calendar year.
Two other people were injured in the accident, including Terry’s husband, Chuck Terry, who was seriously hurt but is improving at a Knoxville hospital.
Terry, known to friends and family as “Sis,” is also survived by her children, Jody Adkins and husband Mike, and Dustin Pace, and stepchildren, Stasha Strunk and husband John, and Jason Terry. She had six grandchildren. A funeral service will be held Saturday afternoon at Jones & Son Funeral Home in Oneida.
TCAT announces Veteran of the Year
HUNTSVILLE | Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville’s 2025 veteran of the year is Power Line Construction and Maintenance student Joshua Stambaugh, President Dwight Murphy announced during a veterans appreciation luncheon on Wednesday.
Stambaugh is from Somerset, Ky. and is a veteran of the U.S. Army. He received the Chancellor’s Commendation for Military Veterans and will represent TCAT Oneida/Huntsville at the statewide SOAR conference in Nashville in March 2026.
TCAT honored its students and staff who are veterans at a steak dinner Wednesday afternoon. Other veterans include Building Construction Technology students Erian Washam and Richard Haley, Automotive Technology student Aaron Jefferson, and Allied Health and Medical Assisting student Morgan Branscum. Staff members who are veterans include Automotive Technology instructor Tim Gibson, Power Line Construction and Maintenance instructor Tim Elliot, Truck Driving instructor David Brewster, Industrial Maintenance - Mechatronics instructor John Blackmore, substitute teacher Michael “Sarge” Byrd, Computer Information Technology instructor Jacob Kimbrell, Correctional Programs Coordinator Robert Gledhill, and Correctional Culinary Arts instructor Jason Huft. Also honored was Practical Nursing student Renee Anderson, who is attending the college on the V.A. benefits of her husband, Brandon.
Present at Wednesday’s luncheon as invited guests were Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers, Huntsville Mayor Dennis Jeffers, and Scott County Veterans Services Officer Avery Lee Honeycutt. Honeycutt presented veterans with handmade place mats that were made by students at Winfield Elementary School.
The weekend
☀️ Weather: The weekend will start nice (and warm!), although there will be some rain Saturday night and early Sunday. 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: Oneida High School football will travel to Gordonsville for a second round playoff game. Kickoff is 8 p.m. EST. The IH Sports Network will broadcast the game, with the Rogers Group Pregame Show beginning at 7 p.m.
• Saturday: God’s Grace Soup Kitchen will serve at Helenwood Baptist Church Fellowship Hall (Main Street, Helenwood) beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday morning. The lunch includes homemade chili, pimento cheese sandwich, and dessert. All are invited to drive through and have lunch handed to them without leaving their car. The food is provided by volunteers from various Scott County churches.
• Saturday: Third Saturday night worship services will be held at Lone Mountain Baptist Church (6p.m.), Capital Hill Missionary Baptist Church (6:30 p.m.), Black Creek Crossroads Missionary Baptist Church (7 p.m.), High Point United Baptist Church (7 p.m.), and House of the Lord (7 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: Boy Scout Troop 333 of Scott County is holding a Thanksgiving fundraiser by cooking turkeys. Deep-fried turkeys are $60 and smoke-fried turkeys are $75. Pickup will be Thanksgiving by 12 p.m. at the American Legion’s War Memorial Building on Alberta Street in Oneida. To order, contact Stephen West at (423) 319-9753.
The Community Calendar is presented by Citizens Gas Utility District. CGUD regularly patrols our system and checks our pipelines for leaks to help mitigate hazardous situations. Visit citizensgastn.com.
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📢 Programming Note: Watch for our weekly E-Edition tomorrow morning! 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)