McKenzie’s legendary barbecue pit master Chris Chadwick is a busy man, but don’t think that affects his cooking in any way. Since 2008, he has produced quality artisan smoked meats and built a strong reputation. He has attracted nationwide sponsors, flown to national competitions, and appeared on television. Yet the one-man-show still somehow finds the time to serve his hometown of McKenzie. more

JACKSON (July 29) — After a week of events and competitions, the Miss Tennessee Volunteer Pageant culminated on Saturday, July 29, with the crowning of Miss Lane College Volunteer Jada Brown as the 2024 Miss Tennessee Volunteer. Several women represented Carroll County in the pageant and made their own impacts on the competition. more

Kiddie Korner held its grand opening ceremony on Friday, July 28 at its location at 15078 Highland Drive, McKenzie. Misty Moon and Katey Holder are the owners of the clothing store, offering newborn to 14-16 children’s clothes and maternity clothes. more

Dr. Anna Anderson, O.D., is fresh out of optometry school and ready to serve West Tennessee. more

NASHVILLE — Secretary of State Tre Hargett welcomed Bethel University Student Government Association (SGA) President Gracelyn Eaves to the annual College Civic Engagement Luncheon in Nashville on Thursday, July 13. more

2023 is a year of firsts for Renee Sutton. After concluding year 18 of teaching at Camden Central High School, Sutton is taking an administrative leap at Carroll Academy in Huntingdon. Since starting her new position as Assistant Director of Carroll Academy on June 1, she has taken an administration job for the first time, she has written her first grant, and more. more

JACKSON — Contestants for the 2023 Miss Tennessee Volunteer Pageant checked in at the Carl Perkins Civic Center in Jackson on Saturday, July 22, officially starting Tennessee’s biggest pageant of the season and its festivities. Pageant rounds begin Wednesday, July 26, and end Saturday, July 29. Four women represent Carroll County at the 2023 pageant. more

McKENZIE — Bethel Associate Athletic Director of Communications/Sports Information Director Dave McCulley announced popular McKenzie radio broadcaster Craig Lunn is joining the Wildcat broadcast team. Lunn will be the color analyst for Bethel football this fall and selected games during the basketball season. more

Bruceton’s First United Methodist Church and New Hope Methodist Church of Vale extend a heartfelt welcome to their new pastor, Brother James Ellington, a certified lay minister from Jackson, Tenn. Preaching full time since 2019, Brother James served as pastor of Lester’s Chapel Methodist Church and Mount Carmen United Methodist Church, both of Jackson, and the Montezuma United Methodist Church of Henderson. more

Beta Club members from across the nation have worked for months in preparation for the National Beta Convention this summer. West Carroll Elementary and West Carroll Junior/Senior High School won big this year, with Junior Beta member Aubrey Hammett making history as the first National Junior Beta Secretary-elect from West Carroll. more

CHATTANOOGA — Chase Daffron, a 2019 McKenzie High School graduate, put the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) on the map recently by being named one of the best collegiate players in both Call of Duty and club baseball. more

McKENZIE (July 11) — Williams Furniture celebrated an employee’s milestone retirement last Tuesday, July 11. Peggy Hopper announced her well-deserved retirement after a 42-year long career at Williams Furniture in McKenzie. Williams Furniture owner Phil Williams threw a Hawaiian-themed retirement party for Hopper on Tuesday afternoon, complete with tropical leis and a cake congratulating Hopper on her retirement. more

McKENZIE (July 11) — The 2023-24 school year is a year of change, according to McKenzie Special School District Career Technical Education (CTE) Director Susan Dyer. As career paths and opportunities change alongside vast technological advances, McKenzie schools will begin preparing students for a technologically-saturated world with the help of Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s Innovative School Model (ISM) grant. more

NASHVILLE (July 7) — Leadership Tennessee, a collective with a mission to foster non-partisan dialogue on issues of state importance, has named Carroll County Mayor Joseph Butler to its 2023–2024 Signature Program Class X (class number 10). more

PARIS — Sally Lane’s Candy Farm may have new owners and a new location, but its legacy is stronger than ever. more

McKENZIE (July 6) — Ice bucket challenges were really popular a few years ago. The concept was to fill a five-gallon bucket with iced water and dump that water on someone’s head as a fundraiser. A recent fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital took the concept to the extreme: ice water from the bucket of a front-end loader. That followed a pie in the face by Johnathan St. Clair. Will Walker had the pleasure of operating the bucket as he eased the levers forward to dump the water on Trent Johnson and Trent’s granddaughter, Lila Colvin. more

McKENZIE (JULY 4) — Meet Toby, McKenzie Police Department’s new canine officer. more

Michael Schaffer, a student at Tennessee College of Applied Technology-McKenzie, received a Skill Point Certificate in the Computer Numerical Control (CNC) 5-Axis Milling Programmer program during the 2023 SkillsUSA Championships. The CNC 5-Axis Milling Programmer is a cutting machine that is moved in five different directions and monitored by a numerical computer control rather than by hand. more

Paige Costello, a rising tenth grade homeschooler and member of Carroll County 4-H, is the national winner of the 4-H Beekeeping Essay contest. The contest is sponsored by the Foundation for the Preservation of Honeybees, Inc. more