Nashville, TN (WVLT) East Tennessee native and former Gibbs High School student Kenny Chesney is set to enter the Country Music Hall of Fame.
From Luttrell, Tennessee, Chesney has earned 16 platinum albums, more than 50 top-ten country hits and 23 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart.
Chesney spent time in Knoxville before making it big in the country music world and attended Gibbs High School, the same alma mater as fellow country star Morgan Wallen.
With hits like “The Good Stuff,” ”There Goes My Life” and “The Boys of Fall,” Chesney has been voted CMA Entertainer of the Year four times: in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
From Luttrell, Tennessee, Chesney has earned 16 platinum albums, more than 50 top-ten country hits and 23 No. 1 songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Chart. (Courtesy: Country Music Hall of Fame via You Tube)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) UPDATE 3/25: A Roane County school bus driver is now facing a slew of charges after a crash Monday morning that injures two students.
Officials with the Tennessee Highway Patrol say 64-year-old Paul Perrin was driving the bus on Ponders Gap Road just before 8:00 a.m. when it went off the right side of the road, down an embankment and came to a stop against a tree. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
Twenty-one students were on board the bus at the time of the crash; two were injured in the incident.
THP says Perrin has been charged with false reporting, reckless endangerment, child abuse, aggravated reckless driving, due car and violating the hands-free law.
ORIGINAL STORY: The Tennessee Highway Patrol is investigating after two students are injured in a school bus crash in Roane County.
THP says 64-year-old Paul Perrin was driving the bus on Ponders Gap Road yesterday (Monday) morning when it went off the right side of the road and went down an embankment, coming to a stop against a tree. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
21 students on board the bus at the time of the crash, two were injured and their conditions have not been released.
THP says charges are pending against Perrin. District Attorney General Russell Johnson says the charges are related to Perrin being on his cell phone when he ran off the road.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) For the first time in almost 50 years, Rural Metro Fire will begin charging its non-subscribers for emergency medical services.
The department, making that announcement Monday before Knox County commissioners, says it will start charging non-subscribers a flat fee of $600 per call beginning sometime after April 15.
Officials shared that first responder medical missions, such as automobile wrecks, account for about 60% of all of Rural Metro’s calls for service and that fee-for-service charges can no longer financially sustain the company’s local operations.
Though it charges non-subscribers for responding to fires on a per-call basis, Rural Metro has not charged non-subscribers for first responder medical services since it started Knox County operations in 1977.
Rural Metro says residential subscriptions for the department’s services run an average of $425 a year and vary based on the size of the home.
The department said it will start charging non-subscribers a flat fee of $600 per call beginning sometime after April 15. (Courtesy: Rural Metro Fire)
The Rossini Festival is Knoxville Opera’s annual International Street Fair that celebrates the global impact on the music, food, art, and culture of East Tennessee.
Throughout the festival, the public is treated to non-stop entertainment on four outdoor stages showcasing opera, classical, jazz, gospel, ethnic music, ballet, modern, and ethnic dance. Attendees can purchase from scores of food vendors and more than 75 artisans throughout the day, while The Y FunZone keeps children entertained. More than half a million residents of Knox County and the surrounding area have enjoyed the Rossini Festival over the years.
Fun and family-oriented. Admission is always free.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The seventh-ranked Lady Vols closed out their SEC series against No. 14 Arkansas with a 3-2 victory at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Monday night.
Down 2-0 after the top of the first inning, Tennessee (27-6, 3-3 SEC) quickly responded in the bottom of the first as Sophia Nugent put the Lady Vols on the board with a sacrifice fly. Laura Mealer followed with a two-RBI double to give Tennessee a 3-2 lead.
That would be all the offense either team would muster, as the game turned into a pitchers’ duel. After Arkansas’ (23-7, 3-6 SEC) Ella McDowell’s second-inning leadoff single, neither team would record another hit for the rest of the night.
The Razorbacks opened the scoring with a two-out-two-run home run from Bri Ellis.
IN THE CIRCLE Tennessee’s pitchers dominated the final six innings. Starter Sage Mardjetko went 2.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits while striking out three.
Junior Karlyn Pickens came on with two out in the third and shut down Arkansas with 4.1 scoreless, hitless innings, striking out six to earn her 11th win of the season in her 17th appearance.
HISTORY MADE In the sixth inning, Pickens made history by throwing the fastest pitch in softball history at 78 mph, surpassing the previous record of 77 mph. The previous mark had been set by Tennessee legend Monica Abbott in 2012 as a professional with the Chicago Bandits and was matched by Pickens earlier this season.
DUE UP The Lady Vols will travel to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the Sooners in their first matchup since Oklahoma joined the SEC. The three-game series is set for March 28-30, with Friday and Sunday’s games streamed on SEC Network+ and Saturday’s contest airing at 2 p.m. on ESPN.
SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WVLT) – A crew from the Tennessee National Guard rescued a hiker in the Great Smoky Mountains Saturday.
The state made the announcement Monday, saying guardsmen were called to rescue an injured hiker in a remote area in the park, near Ramsey Cascades, located east of Gatlinburg.
The crew — Capt. Andrew Rines and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Michael Brasfield, the crew chief, Sgt. Christopher Burke, and two flight paramedics, Sgt. 1st Class John Sharbel and Giovanni Dezuani — responded around 7:30 p.m., after the hiker’s call reached the state around 5:30 p.m.
From there, the state said, the crews took a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter to the hiker’s location. It took about 15 minutes for the crew to arrive. After getting to the park, the guardsmen took the hiker to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The hiker’s condition is unknown.
While waiting on the National Guard, the state said, park rangers helped the hiker.
East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) is preparing for a potential measles outbreak. This comes as the first case of the highly contagious virus was confirmed in Middle Tennessee on Friday.
“We’re just sort of waiting for it to happen,” said Dr. Suzanne Rybczynski, the chief medical officer at ETCH. “We anticipate it could happen any time.”
It’s a deadly outbreak moving closer to home. Nearly 400 cases have been reported in 18 different states, and it already surpasses the nationwide total from 2024. The CDC reports that 95% of cases are people who aren’t vaccinated, or whose vaccination status is unknown.
“If you aren’t vaccinated or you don’t have immunity and you’re exposed to measles, you have a nine out of 10 chance of getting measles,” said Rybczynski.
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000. Experts thanked the vaccine, but the rate of people getting the shot is trending downward nationally and locally.
Across Tennessee, 75% of kids ages 4-6 have received the measles vaccine. In East Tennessee, Morgan County has the highest vaccination rate at 92%, which is the second-highest in the state behind Houston County. Meanwhile, Hancock County has the lowest rate at 56%, but this is far above the statewide lowest of just 35% in Clay County. Knox County sits just below the state average at 73%.
“If your child is vaccinated, the concern is honestly minimal because the vaccine is just that good,” said Roberta Sturm with Knox County Health Department.
Rybczynski said ETCH leaders have been watching the nationwide outbreak closely and planning for months.
“Most doctors and nurses and health care professionals alive today have never seen a case,” Rybczynski said. “We really have to think how we will handle that kid when they come through our door.”
Rybczynski said they are thoughtfully working to create protocols and navigate logistics so they can avoid facing complications if there is a case.
“Once that patient is in our system, like I said, you have to shut down a room for two hours,” Rybczynski said. “No one can go into a room that someone has had measles in.”
Knox County Health Department said they are also preparing for if there is a case.
Rybczynski said the most effective way to protect yourself and your children from Measles is with the vaccine. She suggests contacting your primary care provider.
Vaccines are also available at the Knox County Health Department.
East Tennessee Children’s Hospital (ETCH) is preparing for a potential measles outbreak. This comes as the first case of the highly contagious virus was confirmed in Middle Tennessee on Friday.
“We’re just sort of waiting for it to happen,” said Dr. Suzanne Rybczynski, the chief medical officer at ETCH. “We anticipate it could happen any time.”
It’s a deadly outbreak moving closer to home. Nearly 400 cases have been reported in 18 different states, and it already surpasses the nationwide total from 2024. The CDC reports that 95% of cases are people who aren’t vaccinated, or whose vaccination status is unknown.
“If you aren’t vaccinated or you don’t have immunity and you’re exposed to measles, you have a nine out of 10 chance of getting measles,” said Rybczynski.
Measles was declared eliminated from the United States in 2000. Experts thanked the vaccine, but the rate of people getting the shot is trending downward nationally and locally.
Across Tennessee, 75% of kids ages 4-6 have received the measles vaccine. In East Tennessee, Morgan County has the highest vaccination rate at 92%, which is the second-highest in the state behind Houston County. Meanwhile, Hancock County has the lowest rate at 56%, but this is far above the statewide lowest of just 35% in Clay County. Knox County sits just below the state average at 73%.
“If your child is vaccinated, the concern is honestly minimal because the vaccine is just that good,” said Roberta Sturm with Knox County Health Department.
Rybczynski said ETCH leaders have been watching the nationwide outbreak closely and planning for months.
“Most doctors and nurses and health care professionals alive today have never seen a case,” Rybczynski said. “We really have to think how we will handle that kid when they come through our door.”
Rybczynski said they are thoughtfully working to create protocols and navigate logistics so they can avoid facing complications if there is a case.
“Once that patient is in our system, like I said, you have to shut down a room for two hours,” Rybczynski said. “No one can go into a room that someone has had measles in.”
Knox County Health Department said they are also preparing for if there is a case.
Rybczynski said the most effective way to protect yourself and your children from Measles is with the vaccine. She suggests contacting your primary care provider.
Vaccines are also available at the Knox County Health Department.
PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. (Monday, March 24, 2025) – Dollywood Parks & Resorts are well represented in the list of the latest USA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice awards thanks to nine award nominations across all properties.
A panel of experts and USA Today 10Best editors selected Dollywood and Dollywood’s Splash Country to receive multiple nominations, while Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa and Dollywood’s HeartSong Resort & Lodge also made the list of award nominations. Voting for the awards opened today, March 24, at noon and ends on Monday, April 21 at 11:59 a.m.
Dollywood Parks & Resorts has earned much praise during the last several years from USA Today readers in 10Best voting with nominees typically landing near the top of the list of final results.
The nominations for this season’s awards are:
Best Theme Park – Dollywood
Best Roller Coaster – Lightning Rod at Dollywood
Best Theme Park Entertainment – Gazillion Bubble Show (part of Smoky Mountain Summer Celebration)
Best Theme Park Restaurant – Aunt Granny’s Restaurant
Best Outdoor Water Park – Dollywood’s Splash Country
Best Lazy River – Downbound Float Trip at Dollywood’s Splash Country
Best Water Coaster – RiverRush at Dollywood’s Splash Country
Best Water Slide – Raging River Rapids at Dollywood’s Splash Country
Best Theme Park Hotel – Dollywood’s DreamMore Resort and Spa
Best Theme Park Hotel – Dollywood’s HeartSong Lodge & Resort
Anyone is eligible to vote and may do so once per day per device. Nominees for all categories are chosen by a panel which includes a combination of editors from USA Today, 10Best.com, relevant expert contributors and more.
For information about Dollywood’s 40th anniversary season, season passes, operating calendars and more, please visit Dollywood.com or download the Dollywood app.
Dolly Parton with the 40th Anniversary art package as part of Dollywood’s 40th Anniversary in 2025. Photo taken in Nashville, TN, at CTK Enterprises, on 9/20/24.
(Courtesy: Curtis Hilbun / Dollywood)
