Due to the ongoing operations and evacuations on Western Avenue, the Knoxville Fire Department has decided to be proactive and cancel tonight’s KFD Night on the Square.
Officials say it’s regretful they canceling the event which offers Children’s Activities, a Fire Safety House, Equipment demos and much more.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation is contacting property owners along state routes impacted by flooding to gain right-of-way access during the rebuilding process.
Officials say the form is not a scam as many property owners have expressed concern about the form’s legitimacy.
TDOT is contacting property owners to gain temporary right-of-entry access to repair and reconstruct impacted state routes in their existing location. They need permission to be on resident’s property as crews repair or rebuild roads.
If you own property along the highlighted State Routes impacted by Helene, TDOT needs to speak with you.
Property owners can contact TDOT by emailing [email protected] or by calling 833-TDOTFIX (836-8349) and following the voice prompts.
Link to Form: Form 6 template.pdf
Link to Property Map: (Binder1.pdf (tn.gov))
Link to Helene Recovery Information and Right-of-Entry FAQs: Hurricane Helene Recovery (tn.gov)
Some roads in downtown Knoxville will close to traffic on the weekends through the end of the year.
It’s part of an ongoing effort by the City of Knoxville to make the downtown area more friendly to pedestrians. The city says it will be closing Market Street between Clinch Avenue and Union Avenue and Union Avenue between Walnut and Gay Street on weekends.
The closures are expected to go from Fridays at 6 p.m. to Sundays at 6 p.m. The only exception being this weekend when road closures will start Saturday.
Unicoi County, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Department of Transportation today Thursday reopened a section of I-26 in Unicoi County closed previously due to flooding from Hurricane Helene.
TDOT officials say the roadway is open from the
Tennessee/North Carolina state line to Exit 40 in Erwin, Tennessee for local traffic and deliveries only. Officials stress that the interstate is not open to commercial vehicles or thru-traffic.
They add that local law enforcement will be on the road to enforce the restrictions.
According to the North Carolina Department of Transportation, all roads in western North Carolina should still be considered closed due to the widespread damage.
In addition, TDOT says drivers should use extreme caution along the Nolichucky River corridor while crews continue assessing local roads, and State Route 36 remains impassable in Unicoi County.
Knoxville Police Detectives need your help to identify a shooting suspect.
The shooting happened in the 1500 block of Connecticut Avenue on September 28th and was captured on video.
The victim, a 48-year-old man, was shot in the foot. The suspect, wearing dark-colored clothes, ran from the scene.
If you have any information, you are asked to contact East Tennessee Vall at 865-215-7165.
Knoxville, Tenn. – The Knox County Health Department will offer free flu shots at four locations as a part of the Tennessee Department of Health’s Fight Flu TN Day. Fight Flu TN will take place on Oct. 15 with select locations across the state offering free flu shots.
KCHD will offer the vaccines at the following locations:
The clinics are open to the public. KCHD will vaccinate insured and uninsured adults and children at no cost to the patient. No appointments are needed.
Knox County offers twelve early voting locations – the most ever for a Knox County election – with generous hours and two Saturdays
Knoxville – Early voting begins Wednesday, October 16 at eleven (11) locations across Knox County. Those locations are:
Additionally, a 12th location will be open on the University of Tennessee campus for the last week of early voting (October 28 to 31).
HOURS
For most locations:
For Meridian Baptist Church in south Knoxville:
The above schedule, with the following exceptions:
For the Karns Senior Center in northwest Knox County:
For the Baker School on the University of Tennessee campus:
All daily Knox County early voting schedules can be viewed at: https://knoxcounty.org/election/2024elections/pdfs/20241105-EarlyVotingDailySchedule.pdf?
NOTE FOR FIRST-TIME VOTERS – Be aware that, while having your voter registration card is helpful to speed up the early voting process, you do not need it to vote. However, all voters must present a photo identification issued by the State of Tennessee (such as a Tennessee Driver’s License) or the Federal Government (such as a passport).
Out-of-state driver’s licenses and student IDs are not sufficient for identification purposes for voting under Tennessee law. For more information on photo ID, visit: https://sos.tn.gov/elections/faqs/what-id-is-required-when-voting?
For more information on elections, visit the Election Commission at https://www.knoxcounty.org/election/ or call 865-215-2480.
Flood clean-up continues in East Tennessee after Helene and unfortunately another death is confirmed in the state.
TEMA says there has been 17 weather-related deaths in Tennessee and officials are still searching for 6 missing people.
Governor Bill Lee says the state is extending the tax filing date for businesses in certain disaster areas to May of next year.
Also, people who lost their homes can also qualify for a sales tax refund on appliances and furniture.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT / WOKI) – Six Tennessee counties are seeing election updates after devastating floods brought by Hurricane Helene.
Secretary of State Tre Hargett made the announcement Wednesday, saying the state and local election officials are working to make sure voters can cast a ballot this election, whether it be in-person or absentee.
“The devastation experienced in northeast Tennessee is heartbreaking and unimaginable,” said Secretary Hargett. “However, I continue to be amazed at the planning and resiliency of our local election officials. We have been working with our local elections administrators — Josh Blanchard, Sarah Fain, Tracy Harris, Dana Jones, Cheri Lipford, and Justin Reaves — throughout the entirety of this disaster, and their unwavering leadership and commitment will ensure this election proceeds as planned, so registered voters have the opportunity to vote.”
Carter, Cocke, Greene, Johnson, Unicoi and Washington Counties have all been affected. Below is the latest information from Hargett’s office:
Carter County:
Two Election Day polling places have temporarily been changed and voters in the impacted areas will vote at their temporary location on Election Day. Notices are being sent to local media and letters are being mailed to the impacted voters.
Hampton High School (Tiger Valley Precinct) will vote at Hampton Elementary
Elk Mill VFD (Elk Mills Precinct) will vote at Little Milligan Elementary
Early Voting:
Carter County Election Commission, 116 Holston Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643
Monday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon)
Cocke County:
The Election Commission has moved to 157 Western Plaza Drive, Newport, TN 37821
The new mailing address is PO Box 459, Newport, TN 37822.
Early Voting:
Western Plaza Shopping Center, 157 Western Plaza Drive, Newport, TN 37821
Monday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon) with extended hours October 30 and 31 (9:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.)
Greene County:
All locations are expected to be open by Election Day. Voters are encouraged to monitor road conditions for possible closures.
Early Voting:
Greene County Election Commission, 311 CCU Boulevard, Suite 1, Greeneville, TN 37745
Monday, Wednesday, Friday (8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Tuesday and Thursday (8:30 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), Saturday (8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.)
Johnson County:
Access to the Trade Community Center polling place is limited. Election officials are monitoring repairs to HWY 421 to determine if additional adjustments are needed. The Trade Community Center polling location is expected to be open. If this changes, notice will be widely distributed.
Early Voting:
National Guard Armory, 1923 S Shady Street, Mountain City, TN 37683
Monday (8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.), Tuesday through Friday (8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon)
Unicoi County:
Election Day Voting at the Temple Hill Elementary School will now occur in the library. Voters can gain access at the left rear of the building.
Early Voting:
106 Nolichucky Avenue, Erwin, TN 37650
Oct. 16-18 and 28-30 (8:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.), Oct. 21-25 (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon); Thursday, Oct. 31 (8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)
Washington County:
Early Voting:
Johnson City Fire Station #8, 106 Gray Commons Circle, Gray, TN 37615
Freedom Hall, 1320 Pactolas Road, Johnson City, TN 37604
Old Jonesborough Middle School, 308 Forest Drive, Jonesborough, TN 37659
Monday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon), Extended hours October 29th (9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.)
Washington College Academy, 116 Doak Lane, Limestone, TN 37681
October 22-26, Tuesday through Friday (9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.), Saturday (9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon)
There have also been updates to who can and cannot request an absentee ballot. According to Hargett, those affected by the flooding can qualify.
That means anyone who has been displaced outside their county or relief workers who have moved in from other parts of the state can request to vote by mail.
For those who have lost a photo ID, the state has set up several existing and temporary locations to get replacements:
Elizabethton Driver Services Center
1741 HWY 19 E Bypass
Elizabethton, TN 37643
Newport Grammar School
301 College Street
Newport, TN 37821
Unicoi Police Department
3600 Unicoi Drive
Unicoi, TN 37692
Greeneville Driver Services and Reinstatement Center
1210 Hal Henard Road
Greeneville, TN 37743
Johnson County Clerk (Duplicates and Renewals of Non-CDL Only)
222 West Main Street
Mountain City, TN 37683
Johnson City Driver Services Center
4717 Lake Park Drive
Johnson City, TN 37615
Story courtesy of WVLT
The Tennessee Department of Transportation has a page set up for anyone needing information on interstate detour routes, road closures, traffic impacts and other traffic information.
Please go to https://www.tn.gov/tdot/projects/projects-region-1/hurricane-helene-recovery.html for updates on East Tennessee Roadway Closures.
