Sober living facility set for Friday grand-opening
Recovery Ridge is located on Vine Avenue behind Oneida High School
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.
Recovery Ridge set for Friday grand-opening
Editor’s Note: The following story has been corrected after a previous version mistakenly affiliated the new Oneida facility with an existing sober living home of the same name in southeastern Kentucky. There is no affiliation between the two.
ONEIDA | A grand-opening ceremony will be held Friday at Recovery Ridge, the sober living facility near Oneida High School that has stirred controversy on social media over the past week.
The Scott County Chamber of Commerce will host a ribbon-cutting at the facility at 11 a.m. Friday, and there will be an open house from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Recovery Ridge Sober Living is owned by Amy Montgomery, the Scott County businesswoman who is also the face behind The Barn at Magnolia Acres, a Huntsville event venue. It will be managed by Carl Bell. The home, located at 360 Vine Avenue in Oneida, is not a drug treatment facility; rather, it is a sober living home targeted for men who have already undergone rehabilitation as part of the recovery process and are taking the next step toward independent living. According to a fact sheet distributed by the Chamber of Commerce, residents of Recovery Ridge “agree to maintain sobriety, follow house guidelines, and actively work toward personal and professional goals.”
Recovery Ridge will be managed by Carl Bell.
Residents in the Oneida neighborhood where Recovery Ridge’s sober living home is located have taken to social media over the past two weeks to sound off on the new facility, and critics have questioned its proximity to Oneida High School. Earlier this week, more than two dozen people were present at an Oneida Planning Commission meeting to voice their concerns.
However, there appear to be no guidelines or regulations in place by the town to prevent the facility from opening.
Recovery Ridge is located three-tenths of a mile from the Oneida High School rear entrance. Its proximity to the football field at Oneida High School, as well as the J.C. Park behind the school, has been a point of concern over the past two weeks.
Not all the feedback has been critical. In fact, there has been a large contingent of supporters on social media who have applauded the opening of the new facility, calling it a much-needed service in Scott County. Supporters have pointed out that Myrtle Recovery Centers — an inpatient drug rehabilitation facility operated by Big South Fork Medical Center — is just as close to the school. For comparison, it is located two-tenths of a mile from the Oneida High School front entrance.
The contact information for the sober living home is (423) 539-6013 or recoveryridge@yahoo.com. Applications for residency are available through the Recovery Ridge Facebook page.
Although sober living homes are not classified as health care facilities, Recovery Ridge’s opening comes amid a boon of health care expansion in Scott County. Last week, the University of Tennessee Medical Center placed signage on its new specialty clinic in Oneida, and Big South Fork Medical Center officially opened the community’s first dedicated wound care center. Mountain People’s Health Councils is completing a new diagnostics center in Oneida and announced this week that its new, state-of-the-art MRI machine has arrived. Huntsville Post-Acute Care & Rehabilitation Center has announced an inpatient dialysis center, the first of its kind in Scott County, that’s expected to open in 2026.
MPHC takes delivery of MRI machine
Mountain People’s Health Councils Inc. announced Tuesday that its new, state-of-the-art MRI machine has arrived at the new diagnostics center on Industrial Lane in Oneida. Mammogram, bone density, ultrasound and digital x-ray machines will soon be added to the new facility, as well.
Huntsville Post-Acute & Rehabilitation Center offers short-term or long-term care … on your terms. Learn more. (Sponsored content.)
Haunting in the Hills is Saturday
ONEIDA | The Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area’s 33rd annual Haunting in the Hills Storytelling Festival is set for Saturday in the Bandy Creek area of the national park. The festival will include a full day of stories, heritage and music.
The Knoxville Dulcimer Club will lead free workshops during the day, inviting visitors to try the dulcimer. A flute circle will also perform throughout the day.
As the evening begins, concerts will take place on the main stage. Crazy Chester will perform at 6 p.m., featuring banjo player Paul “Hoss” Davis and guitarist Kenny Gilreath performing a mix of folk, classic rock and Americana. At 7 p.m., Gerald Hanright, a musician from Rugby, will perform blues, jazz and rock.
Other events throughout the day include a guided bird walk led by Dr. Charles Nicholas at 8 a.m., an old-timey toys display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., craft vendors from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and, of course, storytelling.
The storytelling schedule includes Anne Rutherford at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Karin Amano at 11:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., Norm Brecke at 12 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and Tamara Green at 12:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. There will be additional storytelling from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the main stage.
The event is free and family-friendly.
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: Hot and dry will be the theme of this weekend, with daily temperatures in the mid 80s and lots of sunshine. Check out our daily Eye to the Sky updates on our Facebook page — published each morning at 7 a.m. on the dot.
—
📅 Community Calendar
• Friday: There will be an open house at Recovery Ridge Sober Living facility in Oneida from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. The facility is located at 360 Vine Avenue in Oneida.
• Friday: Oneida football will travel to Tellico Plains (7:30 p.m.) and Scott High football will travel to McMinn Central (7 p.m.). Both games will be broadcast live on the IH Sports Network, with the Rogers Group Pregame beginning at 6 p.m.
• 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 Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area will host the 33rd annual Haunting in the Hills Storytelling Festival from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Bandy Creek Visitor Center. The event will feature live music, crafts and vendors, storytelling, and old-timey toys. Admission is free.
• 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.).
• 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 operates natural gas distribution pipelines in portions of Scott and Morgan counties. Visit citizensgastn.com.
—
📢 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)