Progress being made on new buildings at TCAT's Oneida campus
Plus: A heat wave is coming next week!
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.
Progress seen on TCAT construction projects
ONEIDA — Construction is progressing quickly on two new buildings on Tennessee College of Applied Technology Oneida/Huntsville’s Oneida campus, as well as on the new campus in Jamestown that will be shared with Roane State Community College.
Collectively, the projects represent more than $40 million in new buildings and equipment as part of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s commitment to technical education in the Volunteer State.
The first building to be completed will be a new diesel technology facility on the Oneida campus, which will be ready to move into during the fall trimester, which begins Sept. 2. The actual completion of the facility is slated for October. After that, the second building at Oneida will be completed in February 2026. Finally, the Fentress County Higher Education Center — a shared campus between TCAT and Roane State Community College — will be completed in April 2026.
The Oneida diesel building
The diesel technology building at TCAT Oneida is located on the northeast corner of campus, adjacent to the lineman training yard. It will house the Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology program, the Power Line Construction and Maintenance program, and the Truck Driving program.
TCAT Oneida/Huntsville’s Power Line Construction and Maintenance program is widely recognized as one of the premiere lineman training programs in the region and draws students from Memphis to the Tri-Cities to Oneida to complete the pre-apprentice training. The Truck Driving program compliments the lineman program, providing training for not only commercial truck drivers but also helping power line students and other students obtain their CDL. Finally, the Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology program compliments both of those programs and others by servicing TCAT’s fleet of vehicles — including the lineman program’s bucket trucks and the Earthmoving Equipment Operator program’s skid steer, excavator, and dozer.
The new building will include covered parking for seven trucks in the lineman program, as well as two classrooms that will accommodate up to 50 students, instructor office space and two bays for lineman trucks. It will also include six truck bays for the diesel program, a classroom that will accommodate up to 40 students, and space for two trainer engines. There will be a shared wash bay. There will also be a classroom and office space for the trucking program, including a testing room with computers and a training room, and an area for TCAT’s truck driving simulator.
The overall size of the facility will be more than 17,000 square feet, with a price tag of approximately $8.5 million.
The second Oneida building
The second new building at TCAT Oneida will be located on the southeast side of campus, fronting Burchfield Avenue. It is a $9.2 million project that was part of Gov. Lee’s more than $1 billion investment into the state’s TCATs that was announced last year.
The facility will connect to the existing building. It will include classroom space and labs — or shop areas — for Building Construction Technology and Industrial Maintenance/Mechatronics, as well as a proposed Aviation Mechanic program. It will also include a student lounge and restroom facilities.
Together, the new buildings represent the ongoing revitalization of the Oneida campus. The first building on the campus was constructed in 1967. However, following the construction of the Huntsville campus 30 years later, most programs left the Oneida campus, and it even closed briefly from 1999 to 2001.
Since 2006, the Oneida campus has grown to include 10 programs. In addition to Power Line Construction and Maintenance, Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology, Truck Driving, Earthmoving Equipment Operator, Building Construction Technology and Industrial Maintenance/Mechatronics, programs offered at Oneida include Pharmacy Technology, Criminal Justice: Correctional Officer, Nursing Aide, and Emergency Medical Technology.
The Fentress County Higher Education Center
The Fentress County Higher Education Center is located on Old Highway 127 South in Jamestown, and will house both TCAT Oneida/Huntsville and Roane State Community College.
The new campus will include administrative office space and student services office space for both colleges, as well as a community room. It will include classroom and lab space for Manufacturing Technology, Building Construction Technology, Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology and Allied Health. Each of the classrooms will include space for up to 20 students.
The facility will also include a testing center and computer lab.
Outside, the campus will include a training yard for TCAT’s new Telecommunications and Underground Construction Technology class that is slated to begin in 2026.
Other programs offered by TCAT Oneida/Huntsville in Fentress County include Automotive Technology, Emergency Medical Technology, Farming Operations Technology, Phlebotomy Technology, Practical Nursing, and Welding Technology.
For more information about TCAT’s programs, call (423) 663-4900 or visit tcatoneida.edu.
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Heat wave incoming next week
There’s been no shortage of hot weather so far this summer, but the hottest temperatures of the season — at least to date — may be on the way for next week.
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is projecting likely above-average temperatures for the entire eastern U.S. next week, which translates to at least a 70% chance of above-average temperatures. The average high temperature in Oneida for late July is 86°.
Temperatures next week are expected to be in the 90s on the Cumberland Plateau, pushing close to 100° in valley locations on either side of the plateau, with heat indices pushing into the low 100s throughout the region.
According to the current National Weather Service forecast, the northern plateau region, including Scott County, could hit 90° as soon as Tuesday.
Daily thunderstorm chances are expected to continue through next week’s heat wave, although daily storm chances won’t be as great as they’re expected to be this weekend, when afternoon thunderstorms will be a near certainty each day.
The story of summer to this point has been steamy weather — above-average temperatures and above-average rainfall. Although there haven’t been any extreme temperatures so far — the hottest temperature recorded in Oneida has been 94°, back in June — the average temperature is running about two degrees warmer than normal for the month of July, after also running two degrees warmer than normal in June. Simultaneously, the area has a rainfall surplus of nearly six inches since the meteorological start of summer on June 1.
Next week’s hot spell is not expected to be short-lived; there are some indications that it could stretch through the remainder of July and into August. In fact, some modeling indicates that the following week could be even hotter than next week, with triple-digit temperatures covering a large swath of the U.S., although that’s far enough out that it’s subject to significant changes between now and then.
The emerging pattern shows eery similarities to 1980, which stands alone, even 45 years later, as the definition of a relentless heat wave during summer’s dog days in Tennessee. Scott County experienced much-above-normal temperatures during the months of July, August and September in 1980, and the average temperature was an astounding 10 degrees above normal throughout the month of August 1980 — an almost unheard of anomaly. It currently seems very unlikely that temperatures across the northern plateau will be nearly as hot during the upcoming heat wave as they were in 1980, but the looming heat wave could rival the 1980 heat wave in terms of longevity, if current long-term modeling projections prove to be true.
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The Weekend
⛈️ Weather: It could be a wet weekend. It won’t rain all the time, but there’s a 90% chance of rain tomorrow and Saturday, and a 70% chance of rain Sunday. Isolated flooding could become a concern in areas that see repeated thunderstorms. 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.
• Looking Ahead: The Scott County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Community Pool Party, sponsored by Takahata Precision Tennessee, will be Tuesday at the Huntsville Pool, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Admission is free.
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.
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)