Oneida plans Main Street Halloween event
Plus: Multiple flu shot clinics upcoming, TCAT needs volunteers for hands-on training, and Fentress County couple charged with financial exploitation of elderly relatives
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.
Oneida plans street closure, Main Street Halloween
ONEIDA | The Town of Oneida is planning a spooky new twist for South Main Street this Halloween, with a community celebration of costumes and many.
Halloween on Main will be Friday, Oct. 31, and the town has announced that Main Street will be closed to vehicular traffic in the downtown area from 4:45 p.m. to 8 p.m. The closure will be from Lafayette Street to East 2nd Street. Trick-or-treating will take place during that window. Homeowners and others will be handing out candy and treats.
From 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., First Baptist Church of Oneida will host a trunk or treat.
Finally, Music on Main will held from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. with Main Street closed between East 3rd Street and Depot Street. There will be live music, food vendors, and Halloween vibes.
untsville Post-Acute & Rehabilitation Center offers short-term or long-term care … on your terms. Learn more. (Sponsored content.)
Flu shots available at multiple locations
It is the time of year to take the influenza vaccination, and multiple flu shot clinics will be offered in the days ahead.
On Tuesday, Oct. 14, Pinnacle Resource Center — located at 1513 Jeffers Road in Huntsville, the former Capital Hill School building — will offer a flu shot clinic in coordination with Walgreens. It is open to any person five years of age or older. For those with insurance, Walgreens will bill the insurance company. For those without insurance, vouchers will be provided for free flu shots.
The hours of the clinic will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Additionally, the Scott County Health Department is planning a free flu vaccine clinic for Tuesday, Oct. 21. Details are forthcoming.
Volunteers needed for blood ‘sticks’
HUNTSVILLE | The Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville is welcoming volunteers onto its campus who want to help students in the Allied Health and Medical Assisting program complete hands-on training by volunteering their arm or hand for a simple blood draw.
Under licensing requirements, each student is required to successfully complete 30 blood “sticks” in order to receive their Phlebotomy licensure. The sticks are quick and almost completely painless.
The college is located at 355 Scott High Drive in Huntsville. Class hours for the Allied Health program are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fentress County couple charged with financial exploitation of elderly relatives
JAMESTOWN | An investigation by special agents with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has resulted in the indictment of two people accused of financially exploiting an elderly couple in Fentress County, the agency announced last week.
The TBI’s investigation was launched in May 2025 at the behest of 8th Judicial District Attorney General Jared Effler. Agents investigated allegations of financial exploitation involving Bucky Joe Pierce, 55, and Heather Pierce, 49. During the course of the investigation, agents learned that the couple had financially exploited two elderly relatives, taking thousands from them for their own personal gain.
A Fentress County grand jury charged Bucky Pierce with eight counts of Financial Exploitation of Elderly or Vulnerable Adults, while Heather Pierce was indicted on two counts of the same charge. The couple were taken into custody on Sept. 29 and booked into the Fentress County Jail at Jamestown. Bucky Pierce is being held on a $300,000 bond; his wife on a $150,000 bond.
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.)
The weekend
☀️ Weather: Absolutely gorgeous fall weather this weekend, with temperatures in the low 70s during the day and in the mid 40s to around 50 at night, lots of sunshine, and no chance of rain. 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: Scott High football will host Kingston at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on the IH Sports Network, with the Rogers Group Pregame beginning at 6:30 p.m.
• Saturday: The U.S.S. Tennessee Battleship Memorial Museum will be open Saturday, October 11, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Admission is free. The museum is located on the campus of Scott High School as part of the Museum of Scott County complex. Additionally, the Smoky Mountain Anchor Division, a local unit of the U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, will celebrate the Navy’s 250th birthday at the museum. The event will recognize the milestone in the Navy’s history with cadets laying a wreath at the memorial and providing 250 cupcakes, donuts and desserts. Admission is free.
• 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.
The Community Calendar is presented by Citizens Gas Utility District. Citizens Gas’s pipelines reliably distribute natural gas to customers across 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.
Thank you for reading. Our next newsletter will be Friday Features tomorrow. 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!
◼️ 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)