It seems like a lifetime ago that residents of the Coopertown Road area in West Oneida crowded into the courtroom at the Oneida Municipal Services Building to protest a proposal to rezone a tract of property that would greenlight the building of a new Dollar General discount store.
In reality, that moment — which convinced the Oneida Board of Mayor & Aldermen to kill the new DG when they declined to approve a second reading of the rezoning ordinance — was less than 12 months ago. But much has happened since then.
It wouldn’t be until four months after residents filed into the Oneida Municipal Services Building on that cold January evening that details would emerge of a planned landfill and trash transfer station in Oneida. But the stage was set for a year of citizen protests in Scott County. The landfill, of course, would dominate efforts and headlines throughout the year, but it was just one of many issues — in addition to the proposed DG — that had citizens showing up for public meetings and hearings in seemingly any given month. Along the way, there was also the proposed transformation of the former Tennessee Railroad from Oneida to Devonia in Anderson County into a recreational trail that would be used primarily by bicyclists that spawned pushback from residents who own property along the old rail line. And residents also opposed a new sober living facility in a residential area near Oneida High School.
As the year ends, it remains to be seen just how big an impact all of the citizen protests will have. The Dollar General is happening anyway, although a mile or so further west and just outside the Oneida city limits. The sober living facility — Recovery Ridge, located on Vine Avenue and owned by Amy Montgomery — opened in September. The rails-to-trails program continues to move toward reality with the heavy weight of a national land conservation group behind it, despite objections from Scott County and the Town of Huntsville. And developers are steadfast in their pursuit of a landfill at Bear Creek, although there are several issues to work through. But the 2025 calendar year was a textbook in the importance of local civics, rife with issues that appear set to have an impact, at least to some degree, on what will likely be Scott County’s biggest story of 2026: the August election.
In a nutshell, here’s the way 2025 went down in Scott County:
January
The new year was less than two weeks old when a major winter storm threatened the region, with widespread cancelations and schedule reshuffling on a Friday as multiple inches of snow were expected. As it turned out, little snow fell (only a couple of inches), but it was enough to create quite a headache for motorists that lasted throughout the weekend of Jan. 11-12. As the snow fell, it was revealed that the Scott County School System was among many victims of a PowerSchool data breach that compromised student data. PowerSchool later announced that it would team up with Experian to offer credit monitoring and identity protection for Scott County families.
Meanwhile, chatter continued about a proposal to transform the old Tennessee Railroad into a recreational trail from Oneida to Devonia, a stretch of 41 miles along Paint Rock Creek and New River. Scott County and the Town of Huntsville would eventually go on record in opposition to the plan, while the Town of Oneida voiced its support for the proposal.
It was on Jan. 23 that residents packed the courtroom at city hall to protest a plan to rezone property on West 3rd Avenue for a building of a new Dollar General. A month later, the town declined to vote on the second reading of a rezoning ordinance, effectively killing the Dollar General proposal. However, the year ends with news that Dollar General is planning to purchase property just a bit further west — outside the city limits — where Smith Road intersects Coopertown Road.
That might have been enough for an action-packed month, but there was a week to go. And before that week was over, state Sen. Ken Yager, R-Kingston, a steadfast opponent of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s school voucher plan, flipped his vote on the contentious issue, despite objections of most public educators in his district — including both the Oneida and Scott County boards of education. That helped set the stage for Lee’s signature proposal to finally become reality. Meanwhile, the Scott County Chamber of Commerce, at its annual meeting, passed a resolution asking the TN Dept. of Transportation to undertake sorely needed resurfacing projects on U.S. Highway 27 through Scott County. The first of those projects, from S.R. 63 in Huntsville to Robbins, was completed in the summer.
February
February began with Scott County saying goodbye to long-time pharmacist Danny Cross, the namesake of Danny’s Drugs, after he died following a battle with Alzheimer’s. In northern Morgan County, an EF-2 tornado touched down near Deer Lodge and stayed on the ground for 14 miles, killing two people and injuring three others. And in Oneida, plans began in earnest for liquor stores that had been approved by voters in November 2024. As the year ends, neither of the two liquor stores allowed by local ordinance have opened, but both are in the works.
Scott High announced that eight valedictorians and five salutatorians would top its graduating class of 2025. And Oneida High announced that 16 valedictorians would top its graduating class.
March
The month of March began with news of a murdered Middle Tennessee woman — 37-year-old Megan Brittany Raymond — being found buried in the Coal Hill community in southern Scott County. Her husband was charged with her murder. On TikTok, Scott County mother RaShell Meece went viral with a video of her husband and infant son. And it was announced that Oneida Elementary School educator Stephanie Boshears would receive a $25,000 national prize. A mid-month windstorm caused widespread damage and power outages across Scott, Morgan and Fentress counties.
It was also announced that human remains that had been discovered in McCreary County in 2023 were those of a Scott County man — Will Cross — who had been missing for nearly seven years. No one has ever been charged criminally in his death, nor was it publicly announced how he died.
At Scott High, plans began to be made for a FEMA-approved storm shelter, which would double as a second gymnasium and be funded mostly with federal grant money. The shelter was proposed by 3rd District school board member Chris Shelton and is modeled after a similar project in his native Fayetteville, Tenn. As the year ends, FEMA has not approved Scott County’s project, but Shelton is optimistic that it will become reality.
April
The month of April began with an announcement that Congress has proposed a new national park for Scott and Campbell counties that would encompass much of the Chitwood Mountain and Capuchin areas and would be called Chitwood National Park. It was actually an April Fool’s joke perpetrated by the Independent Herald … but not everyone got the joke.
Not a joke: An Ohio man crashing into the Oneida McDonald’s and causing significant damage during a high-speed pursuit that had begun in Fentress County and later involved Scott County law enforcement. Andrew A. Leininger, 40, of Ohio, was charged with a litany of crimes after being arrested at the scene. Fortunately, no one was hurt.
And in south Oneida, where the High Point bridge remained closed after being condemned by TDOT, preliminary work continued to replace both that bridge and another condemned bridge on O&W Road near the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area. The year ends with the construction of the O&W Road bridge over Pine Creek nearing completion, and with the bid awarded for the new railroad overpass on Niggs Creek Road at High Point. It will be completed before the end of the new year.
Around the middle of April, the federal Surface Transportation Board told supporters of the Tennessee Railroad trail — chiefly, Oak Ridge-based Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning — that they have one year (until April 2026) to make the rail-trail a reality. Although that deadline is nearing as 2025 draws to a close, backers are confident that the project will happen.
On the law and order front, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation charged a former nurse at the Scott County Jail with smuggling contraband into the facility.
And in news involving a former Scott Countian, Jennifer Winningham Owens — daughter of long-time state Rep. Les Winningham — returned to Tennessee Tech as head athletic trainer. Other sports news saw Mike Swain step down from the helm of AYSO after 40 years of leading the youth soccer initiative in Scott County.
May
The month of May began with a major publishing change for the Independent Herald. Four years after its move from print to digital, the IH moved its publishing operations to the Substack platform, which utilizes mailing lists to readers and emails every day of the week on various subjects. Rather than being published individually, news stories are consolidated into two newsletters, published on Mondays and Thursdays, obituaries are consolidated into a Wednesday newsletter, and sports stories are consolidated into a weekend newsletter. As the year ends, the IH’s subscription list continues to grow and exceeds the number of print subscribers the newspaper had prior to moving exclusively into the digital realm in June 2021. For those who prefer the “old-school layout,” the IH still publishes an e-edition every Thursday.
The Scott County Board of Education compiled a list of capital projects, a sort of wish list, that it submitted to County Commission, saying the list could be completed without an additional burden on the county’s taxpayers. The list included capital projects at each school, some of which were completed in 2025. The biggest attention-grabber on the list was a $200,000 “Jumbotron” at Scott High School’s football field, which was put into use during the fall football season. However, another major item included the construction of a new $2 million-plus playroom at Huntsville Elementary School.
In law and order, the TBI renewed its push to solve the murder of Tracy Sue Walker, the Midwestern girl whose body was discovered in a trash dump along the Scott/Campbell County line in 1985. The agency offered a $10,000 reward for information on the dead girl.
The first of several major announcements in the healthcare field occurred in May, as Huntsville Post-Acute & Rehabilitation Center announced that it will open a dialysis center for in-patient use, which it hopes to be complete in mid 2026. Later announcements would include a new specialty clinic in Oneida operated by the University of Tennessee Medical Center, the completion of a state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging center on the Oneida campus of Mountain People’s Health Councils Inc., and a new wound care clinic at Big South Fork Medical Center.
Ashley Billingsley was named principal at Oneida Elementary School, replacing Jordan Sims.
It was on May 18 that the biggest story of the year broke: a proposed landfill and trash transfer station in Oneida. Angry citizens crowded the conference room at the Scott County Office Building to address County Commission on the subject, and it was revealed that Chattanooga-area landfill developer Knox Horner was planning a trash transfer station on the former Hartco property in downtown Oneida in addition to a landfill on 700 acres of property he’s buying at Bear Creek, adjacent to the existing Volunteer Regional Landfill. However, Horner told the Independent Herald days later that he decided to abandon the trash transfer station at Hartco after listening to comments made at the meeting, and the facility’s owners — Scott County-based Brewco — said it had not heard a formal proposal from Horner and had no interest in entertaining an offer. Instead, Horner’s company is pursuing a trash transfer station on Poplar Lane, adjacent to the planned landfill. As the year ends, the proposal remains very much a front-burner issue and a hot-button topic. The governments of Scott County and all three of its municipalities, as well as McCreary County in Kentucky, have joined forces and hired legal representation to attempt to derail the plan, while local citizen groups are fighting the proposal on a separate front. The most recent developments include the TN Dept. of Environment & Conservation informing Horner’s group of myriad changes it must make to its application, and the National Park Service voicing concerns about water contamination that would ultimately impact the Big South Fork River. TDEC is currently considering a variety of measures, including a modification of a 2010 landfill permit for 24 acres within the 700 acre tract in question, and the Poplar Lane transfer station. The issue promises to once again be one of the top stories in Scott County in 2026.
Meanwhile, the Town of Oneida implemented a 4% lodging tax — similar to a lodging tax in place at the county level — to fund tourism efforts.
There was good news on the economic front, as Scott County’s unemployment rate hit an all-time record low of 3.1%. County-level unemployment records date back to the early 1970s. The number of working Scott Countians also hit a record high.
June
The month of June began with Scott County employees receiving a 5.5% pay raise as part of the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget.
The emergence of the 17-year cicadas — which last emerged in Scott County in 2008 and will next emerge in 2042 — finally came to an end, stopping the endless drone of noise that had stretched on for weeks and leaving minor tree damage behind.
Scott Countians bid farewell to former road superintendent Ray Hatfield, who served in that position in the 1990s.
In local government, County Commission raised ambulance rates to match those in Morgan County. The Town of Oneida followed in the steps of the Town of Winfield by adopting overlay zoning in an effort to stop the proposed landfill and transfer station. And the coalition of local governments to oppose the landfill became a formal idea.
July
As summer’s temperature reached scorching levels and life slowed down locally, landfill developer Knox Horner pledged that construction of the proposed landfill at Bear Creek would begin by September. That, of course, did not happen. County Commission implemented a training supplement for corrections officers, and the Town of Oneida learned that it will receive $400,000 for a walking track at Bear Creek. Scott County EMS director Jamie Byrd helped save a massive 8-foot honey bee hive that was discovered inside the wall of an abandoned house that was being demolished.
Also in July, Scott Countians bid farewell to longtime local politico Speedy Blevins, and Marc Taylor of McCreary County was named principal at Scott High School, replacing Jeremy Hamby. Hamby moved to Central Office as CTE coordinator, replacing Keith Shannon, who took a similar job in Morgan County. The Town of Winfield learned that it would receive $100,000 to prepare an industrial site adjacent to JDS Technologies. And it was announced that site preparation was beginning on a tract of property in Oneida that had been purchased by fast-food chicken chain Zaxby’s.
August
The dog days of summer saw a Helenwood man picked up by police within minutes of a Monday morning incident at Walmart. Allegedly, he attempted to explode propane canisters at the store. County Commission renewed its stance against rails-to-trails. And construction began on the O&W Road bridge over Pine Creek. Thrilling comebacks marked the opening of the high school football season, as Oneida defeated Rockwood and Scott High defeated McCreary Central. And the Scott Solid Waste Board went on record against a proposed landfill at Bear Creek.
September
The 99th Scott County Fair was a little later than usual, but also a little cooler than usual. Pageant winners were crowned across several days, including Brylee Rector as the new Miss Scott County.
One of the most uplifting stories of the year came as news that paramedic and EMS instructor Alison Jeffers had received a new lease on life after receiving a kidney from Christian Wright, a young Coal Hill man who had been fatally injured in an accident in southern Scott County.
Big South Fork Medical Center CEO Hal Leftwich died unexpectedly in September, after serving as the head of the hospital for seven years.
October
Winfield Fire Department assisted with a massive firefighting effort at a McCreary County lumber yard, where a major business was destroyed despite the best efforts of all involved. And District Attorney General Jared Effler’s annual Clays for Children fundraiser generated $115,000 for child advocacy centers in his district, including the Children’s Center of the Cumberlands.
Scott Appalachian Industries donated an ambulance to the Scott County Ambulance Service during the month of October, a gift that came with an estimated price tag of more than $300,000. And it was learned that Scott County had renegotiated its host fee agreement with Volunteer Regional Landfill, resulting in increased revenue to county government. (Volunteer Regional later agreed to the same deal for the Town of Oneida.)
Finally, it was announced that JDS Technologies’ Jerry Slaven had purchased the old Highway 27 Unity Club building in south Oneida and granted lifetime, no-cost use of the facility to the club for AA and NA meetings.
November
In November, both incumbent Scott County Mayor Jerried Jeffers and Huntsville Mayor Dennis Jeffers announced that they would seek the office of county mayor in the 2026 election. Scott County Commission approved a $500 Christmas bonus for county employees, and the Scott County Road Department received a $1 million CDBG to build a new headquarters building on Scott High Drive. It was also announced that the county would receive a weather station as part of a state grant.
RaeZack’s broke its own record by serving more than 1,000 people with its annual free Thanksgiving dinner, while Huntsville Elementary School was named a Reward School by the State of Tennessee, and the Scott County Masonic Lodge announced that it had raised $2,000 for students at Fairview School and Robbins School.
December
Mud & Grace Transfers took the Judges’ Choice award at the 77th annual Scott County Chamber of Commerce Christmas Parade in Oneida. On the landfill front, the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area waded into the fight by raising concerns about water quality issues. And the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office released the findings of its investigation into the Scott County Election Commission’s travel reimbursements. Scott County received a $48,000 planning grant for the John John Yancey Memorial Park and other county-owned facilities in Robbins and Straight Fork. And a third candidate joined the race for Scott County Sheriff, with former deputy sheriff Dennis Chambers announcing that he was joining incumbent Sheriff Brian Keeton and former Drug Agent Kris Lewallen in the field.
Finally, nearly two dozen candidates picked up qualifying papers as the election qualifying period officially got underway. And the O&W Bridge was named to the National Registry of Historic Places.