Local News

The buzz of chainsaws echoed throughout Kingston late this week as cleanup continued from a tornado that tore through Tuesday afternoon.

Emergency officials originally called the blast straight-line winds, but the National Weather Service of Morristown weighed in with the tornado confirmation Wednesday.

Much of Roane County saw power outages and hundreds of downed trees after the storm that spawned the EF0-rated twister.

An EF0 rating means winds can get as high as 86 mph. The Kingston storm’s winds peaked at 80 mph, officials said.

A 2014-15 budget with a 5-cent property tax increase passed unanimously at Rockwood City Council Monday night.

The increase takes the property tax from 95 cents per $100 valuation to $1 per $100 valuation.

“I still have a lot of objections to this, but we have to pass a budget. I’ll go ahead and say yes with the hopes we can amend some of this,” Councilwoman Peggy Evans said.

The green leaves of poke salad sustained many a country family through the lingering chill of early spring.

“My mother-in-law, that was her saying,” said Diane Sutton. “She said, ‘If you could live until poke came up you could make it another year.’”

Sutton admitted she didn’t realize until years later that poke and other spring plants were a relief for hungry families fearing a prolonged winter and shortage of food.

Kingston Vice Mayor Tim Neal has decided to throw in his hat for a higher office.

He plans to compete against incumbent Kingston Mayor Troy Beets.

“It is time for me to run for mayor,” Neal said.

He had nothing bad to say about his opponent.

“Troy has done a good job. It is just time for a change. I feel like we need more stuff for the public,” said Neal.

The lifelong resident of Kingston would like to see more waterfront development, including more pavilions like the one at Kingston City Park.