Fire destroys home in Strawberry Flats area
Plus: Lee's Chicken to close, severe weather possible Friday
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.
Fire destroys home in Strawberry Flats area
ONEIDA | A four-alarm fire in the Strawberry Flats neighborhood east of Oneida completely destroyed a resident Tuesday evening.
Paint Rock Volunteer Fire Department was first on the scene, with the first tone sounded at 7:22 p.m. Tuesday. The first arriving firefighters found the mobile home aflame and already partially collapsed. Subsequent tones were sounded for Pine Hill Volunteer Fire Department, Huntsville Fire Department, and East 63 Volunteer Fire Department, as crews aggressively battled the flames to prevent further spread. Oneida Fire Department was also dispatched, but later canceled.
The fire occurred on Walnut Lane, off Strawberry Flats Road. Firefighters remained on the scene for more than four hours, battling the fire until nearly midnight.
No injuries were reported, according to Paint Rock VFD.
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Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken to close after 43 years
ONEIDA | Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken is closing, the Jeffers family announced Wednesday.
The restaurant will first move to an abbreviated schedule, closing at 2 p.m. daily after serving breakfast and lunch, beginning today. It will continue to accept catering orders. The restaurant will “close for good in the next month or so,” it said.
Opened in 1983 as Mrs. Winner’s Chicken & Biscuits, the restaurant is Oneida’s oldest fast-food establishment, pre-dating the arrival of McDonald’s. It has remained a staple in Scott County for 43 years, especially for breakfast and on Sundays. In addition to fried chicken, a fan favorite has long remained the super cinnamon swirls, a holdover from the Mrs. Winner’s days. It has been known as Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken since 2000.
Located in front of the Capitol 3 Theatre that the Jeffers family also owns, the restaurant was established by Oneida business owner Jan Jeffers. Jeffers has owned many businesses through the years, starting with the old Goodyear store, and was one of the original stockholders of the Independent Herald.
“I have determined that the time has come when I should reduce the stress and needs of a fast-paced business,” the 87-year-old Jeffers said, “with my age and a couple of medical issues being the determining factors.”
While several other fast-food restaurants have recently crowded the Oneida market, including the pending construction of a Zaxby’s that will also create competition in the fried chicken niche, Jeffers said Lee’s sales remain strong, which makes the decision to close difficult.
“We want to end our 43-year run on our own terms, at a high point, and with only good thoughts and memories for our guests,” he said.
Jeffers said Lee’s has been “a great company to work with, going far above what was necessary and expected.”
Lee’s has been managed for several years by Louise Phillips, who Jeffers said has been “the heartbeat of the business for years.”
The Jeffers family has been prominent on the Oneida business scene for years. Jan’s sister, Joan Williamson, owns Dilly Dilly Lavender Farm. His nephew, Leif Jeffers, is the 8th Judicial District’s Public Defender. His sister, Judy Davis, established the Horace M. Jeffers Scholarship Fund in their father’s memory to help Oneida High School students attend Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville.
“We have had hundreds of the local population pass through our doors as workers, and are happy to have aided with their transition to adulthood and hopefully contributed to others in raising their families. The thousands of Scott County and Kentucky residents who have literally carried us on their backs throughout the 43-year span should be recognized and thanked for their support as well,” Jeffers said.
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Severe weather is possible Friday
There’s a chance of severe weather on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
The NWS’s Storm Prediction Center has the entire area under a “slight risk” for severe weather Friday afternoon, primarily for damaging winds. A slight risk means there is at least a 15% chance of severe weather occurring, and is the second step on the SPC’s five-step severe weather threat assessment scale.
The NWS weather forecast office in Morristown, which covers Scott County, said Thursday afternoon that isolated thunderstorms will quickly develop Friday afternoon, bringing damaging wind and hail to some areas. The storms are expected to persist through sunset.
Locally, there is a 60% chance of thunderstorms Friday. Greater chances of storms exist further east, including in the Knoxville area.
Rain will be possible again Saturday night and Sunday, as a cold front approaches the region.
ICYMI
Threads of Life: This week’s Threads of Life newsletter is in remembrance of Regina Allen, Katrina Bertram, Anna Fairchild, Nathan Hill, and Faye McDonald. » Read It
Echoes in Time: This week’s Echoes in Time newsletter remembers H. Clay James, who was quickly becoming a very prominent attorney in Scott County in the early 1900s before his life was cut short by illness. » Read It
Spring Hiking Challenge: Hike #13 of 14 takes us to Gentlemen’s Swimming Hole in the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area, near the historic Victorian English village of Rugby. » Read It
The Weekend
🌦️ Weather: There’s a 60% chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, and severe storms are possible. Temperatures will top out around 86 degrees. Tomorrow will be dry and sunny, again topping out around 86 degrees. Rain will become likely on Sunday, as a cold front approaches the region. 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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⛪︎ Featured Church
First Baptist Church of Robbins
Denomination: Baptist
Pastor: Mike Smithers
Address: 251 Sims Road, Robbins
Services
Sunday School: 10 a.m.
Sunday Morning: 11 a.m.
Sunday Evening: 6 p.m.
Wednesday: 7 p.m.
» See the complete Church Directory, and thank you to our sponsors of the Church Directory.
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📅 Community Calendar
• Saturday: The Scott County Farmers & Crafters Market will be at the Scott County Visitor Center in Helenwood (12025 Scott Highway) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with fresh produce, baked goods, and handmade crafts.
• Saturday: The Big South Fork swimming pool at Bandy Creek will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $3 ($2 for ages 6-12; free for 5 and under). The Huntsville Municipal Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3.
• Saturday: The U.S.S. Tennessee Battleship Memorial Museum will be open on Saturday, June 13, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is located on the campus of Scott High School.
• 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: The Big South Fork swimming pool at Bandy Creek will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is $3 ($2 for ages 6-12; free for 5 and under). The Huntsville Municipal Pool will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $3.
• 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 weekly 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.
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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)