The Weekender: 12/20/2024
Gooooood Friday morning! Welcome to the weekend, and to the start of the Christmas holiday period. As such, it’s not a very busy time in Scott County, but here’s what’s happening nonetheless.
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Weekend Weather
(Ignore those rain chances on the graphic for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. A lack of proofreading in the graphics department. 😂)
❄️ We'll see scattered rain showers transitioning to snow showers today.
Almanac: Sunrise/Sunset: 7:44/5:27 • Records: 71° (1967), -11° (1963) • YTD Rainfall: 53.0” (Normal: 56.1”).
Details: There's a 60% chance of rain and snow showers in the forecast for this afternoon, and a 30% chance of lingering snow showers tonight. Anything that falls this morning will likely be in the form of rain, but will transition to snow early this afternoon as the atmosphere cools below freezing. Only minor accumulations are expected; generally a dusting to half an inch or so. Major travel problems are not anticipated. It's possible that no snow accumulates at all; snow shower coverage is difficult to project in advance. Temperatures will remain cold tomorrow, only reaching the mid 30s before settling into the teens tomorrow night. A warming trend will begin Sunday, however, and we'll likely be in the 50s on Christmas Eve.
Further Out: Our next chance of rain will be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Right now it's only about a 40% chance of showers, but that can increase between now and then. The warming trend will continue, with us reaching the mid 50s on Christmas Day and perhaps pushing 60° by Thursday. We'll likely be around 60° through next weekend. We'll cool down early the following week. Right now it appears a very cold air mass will invade much of the U.S. around Jan. 3-4. It remains to be seen how far southward the coldest air will penetrate.
Snow Watch: Very minor snow accumulations are possible this evening. Otherwise, accumulating snow is not expected for the next two weeks.
You can always find the latest forecasts and weather analysis on our Eye To The Sky page.
The Latest
» A pedestrian was killed on Coopertown Road Thursday evening. The accident occurred shortly after 7 p.m., and caused a complete closure of the highway while it was investigated. Traffic was rerouted via a long detour along O&W Road and Toomey Road. Initial reports suggested that a pedestrian had just left The Barn Market & Deli and was walking towards Oneida when they were struck by a vehicle. The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating and updates will be posted to indherald.com.
» Oneida’s men’s basketball team posted a win on the first day of play at the Christmas tournament in Eagleton on Thursday, defeating Claiborne 64-55 behind a 21-point effort from Grady Keeton and 17 points from Drayton Wade. The Lady Indians fell to Maryville Christian earlier in the day, 59-48.
» Shop With A Cop was Thursday at Oneida Walmart, and around 70 police officers from Scott County and surrounding communities were able to make Christmas brighter for about 210 kids from Scott and McCreary counties.
» A new E-Edition was published Thursday. Due to the small number of basketball games played this week, this E-Edition also includes the weekend edition of Varsity, the Sports Magazine of the Independent Herald. Our annual “Dear Santa” special edition will be published later this weekend.
Weekend Happenings
⦿ Friday: First National Bank in Oneida will host Santa Claus and friends from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. You can stop by and get a free 8x10 picture with Santa, cookies and hot chocolate.
⦿ Friday: Oneida’s boys will play at 2:15 p.m. at Eagleton Academy in Maryville. The Lady Indians will face Thomas Nelson (Ky.) at 4:45 p.m.
⦿ Friday: Scott High’s boys will face Tellico Plains at 12 p.m. at Loudon High School.
⦿ Saturday: The Fairview Elementary School Food Pantry will be open Dec. 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the Straight Fork Community Center. Parents, grandparents, guardians or caregivers of any child attending Fairview Elementary School are eligible to receive food. No proof of income is required.
⦿ Saturday: The God’s Grace Soup Kitchen will serve at the Helenwood Baptist Church fellowship hall on Saturday, Dec. 21, beginning at 12 p.m. Drive through and have your food handed to you through your car window. The menu is potato soup, ham sandwich and dessert. The food is prepared by volunteers from several area churches.
⦿ 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 pm to 8 pm at 27192 Scott Highway in Winfield. There will be food, fellowship, praise and worship. Childcare is provided.
That’s it! Have a great weekend, and look for The Daybreaker in your email inbox Monday morning as you get ready to head off to school or work.
And if you have an event coming up or news to share, reach out to us by email at newsroom@ihoneida.com or visit indherald.com/community-calendar-2.
— Ben Garrett, Publisher