News
September 30, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen heard mixed opinions from residents on whether Boring Road should remain closed during its meeting Thursday, Sept. 24.
Boring Road has been closed to through traffic since June.
“They’re getting ready to build 30 homes in Stonemeade [subdivision],” said Sharon Trotter, who wants Boring Road reopened and widened. “This will be a problem.”
Trotter spoke with aldermen and others before the workshop.
As an educator, Trotter said she knows there will be schoolchildren with asthma and other medical conditions who could require immediate emergency medical treatment, making access for emergency vehicles a concern.
“I’m generally in favor of closing Boring Road on [the Kingston Pike] end; however, if the faculty, the parents picking up kids, if they could come up part of Boring Road and connect with the back parking lot — in other words, going all the way from the access road to the Villages, their driveway and all the way across — and hit Boring Road at that spot, and then above that, Boring Road would be closed, that would give them more access to Kingston Pike,” said Steve Cottrell, a Boring Road resident who taught in the Knox County school system for 34 years.
Read More
September 30, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen members had more questions than answers Thursday, Sept. 24, as they considered, in a workshop, the future of Boring Road and the potential traffic impact of the new Farragut Area Elementary School.
Boring Road has been closed to through traffic since June.
Town engineer Darryl Smith said the Board is considering four options: keep Boring Road closed; make Boring Road at Kingston Pike a right-in, right-out intersection; reconstruct Boring Road from about 300 feet east of the rear school entrance to Kingston Pike; or take no action for now.
During a workshop before its regular meeting, the Board discussed the options but took no action. Instead, members asked that a public workshop be scheduled to allow more residents, as well as representatives from the Knox County Sheriff’s Office and Knox County Schools, to weigh in.
No date for the public workshop was set at the workshop.
Board members also discussed waiting until after the new school opens in August 2027 to determine how traffic patterns develop.
“Does the school [system] anticipate having a crossing guard like at the other schools to help mitigate traffic problems?” Vice Mayor Greg Wiberley asked.
“I don’t know that for sure,” Town administrator David Smoak replied, adding that he had spoken with the school board representative for Farragut. “Funding for that is problematic, for the Board and the school system.”
Read More
September 30, 2026 by Staff reports
Knox County Mayor Betsy Henderson is backing Knox County Commissioner Brandon Huckaby’s proposed ordinance to rescind a pay increase for Commissioners and school board members.
“I have said all along that politicians should not give themselves pay raises,” Henderson said. “After the Commission passed a 6% pay increase for themselves in June, I joined my fellow school board members in unanimously voting to ask the Commission to repeal that raise.
“As mayor, I have worked alongside my colleagues to come up with a creative solution to end self-dealing pay raises by politicians in Knox County,” she said. “I am proposing an ordinance that would tie Commissioners’ and school board members’ pay adjustments to the same state-certified formula used for other elected officials.
“This will create a clear standard that holds politicians accountable while removing conflicts of interests and self-dealing,” she added. “I want to thank Commissioner Brandon Huckaby for his leadership on this, and I ask the rest of the Commission to join him in supporting it.”
Huckaby’s proposed ordinance, if passed, would allow Commissioners and school board members’ salaries to be determined by the state.
Expressly, it would request that any increase on County Commissioners and school board members must be “equal to the percentage increase set by the state for other county officials pursuant to TCA §8-24-102(d).”
Read More
September 30, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
West Knox County residents will look at two Farragut candidates from which to choose for the 14th District state House of Representatives seat in the Nov. 3 General Election.
Currently in his sixth term as a 14th District state representative, Republican nominee Jason Zachary is seeking re-election and will face off against Democratic nominee, Lindsay Honaker, who is running for public office for the first time.
“It is truly the honor of my life to represent our community and be your voice in Nashville,” Zachary said about running for re-election. “Tennessee is leading the nation under Republican leadership. I feel that I’ve played an important role in advancing conservative initiatives and policy that have made Tennessee the best place to live, work and raise a family,” he said.
“It is important for West Knoxville to have a voice of influence in the legislature, so I’m running for re-election to continue providing effective leadership that positively impacts our community and state,” he said.
“Additionally, and most importantly, I pray about what the Lord would have me do when election time rolls around,” Zachary said. “I had peace about running again, which is always the ultimate deciding factor.”
For Honaker, “I was born and raised in Farragut, went to Farragut schools, and now my husband Brian and I are raising our two children here,” she said. “This community shaped me, and I want my kids to inherit a Tennessee that works for families like ours."
She said in early 2026, she watched the state political arena and “I realized that waiting for someone else to step up was not an option.
“I am running because District 14 deserves a representative who answers to constituents, not special interests, and who shows up, listens and does the work,” Honaker said. “My faith calls me to serve, and this is how I am answering that call.”
Read More
September 30, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen questioned a nearly $50,000 change order for the South Monticello Road culvert replacement before unanimously approving it Thursday, Sept. 24.
“The purpose of this item is to approve a change order request from Adams Contracting LLC for changes required,” assistant Town engineer Eric Schindler said.
Adams Contracting was awarded the contract May 7 to replace an existing 42-inch corrugated metal pipe with a 42-inch reinforced concrete pipe near 11619 S. Monticello Road.
However, utility conflicts were discovered soon after construction began, Schindler said.
“Upon further review, the utilities were not marked when the design survey was completed,” he said. “Our design consultant, Cannon & Cannon, performed multiple revisions in an effort to obtain a workable set of plans.”
Once those revisions were completed, the final plan called for a straight headwall instead of the U-type headwall originally planned.
Adams Contracting submitted a change order for $49,908.05. The additional work includes removing and resetting a new catch basin on the upstream end of the pipe, grading and installing the new straight headwall, disposing of the U-type headwall and covering additional time and equipment needed to complete the project.
The change order increases the contract from $139,767 to $189,675.
Vice Mayor Greg Wiberley questioned how the utilities went unidentified during the design process.
“I’m just curious on the unmarked utility part,” Wiberley said. “I know when I’ve called Tennessee One Call before, I get a list of utilities that they contact and can verify that those markings have been made. What happened in this instance, where things weren’t identified?”
Read More
September 30, 2026 by
• Stolen Equipment: The Knox County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the theft of construction equipment from a job site on Campbell Lakes Drive. The complainant reported Sept. 21 that a Caterpillar skid steer and mulcher attachment had been stolen sometime between Sept. 18 and Sept. 21. The equipment was valued at a combined $188,000. A GPS tracker on the property reportedly pinged at another location Sept. 19. Investigators were also advised that a nearby business might have surveillance footage.
• Stolen Trailer: Two suspects reportedly stole a trailer from Farragut High School early Sept. 20. According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, surveillance footage showed two men pulling the 12-foot, single-axle trailer by hand from the school’s southeast parking lot toward West End Avenue. The footage was not clear enough to identify the suspects. The trailer, which has Farragut High School branding on its wooden sides, was entered into a national law enforcement database as stolen.
• Stolen Firearm: A man reported Sept. 16 that a handgun was missing from his vehicle after he had taken the vehicle to a dealership for scheduled maintenance. According to the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the man last saw the Glock 43 9 mm handgun in his vehicle Aug. 10 and noticed it was missing Aug. 14. He told deputies he searched his home and vehicle but could not locate the firearm. The handgun was valued at $500.
Read More
September 30, 2026 by
farragutpress is now accepting political profile submissions for the 2026 election cycle.
As the 2026 election season approaches, farragutpress is providing political candidates with an opportunity to share their message directly with readers through candidate profiles published in the newspaper.
Read More
September 30, 2026 by
Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce’s gala event, 2026 The Charity Gala: High Stakes and Fine Spirits, is sponsored by Rocky Top HVAC LLC., high roller; Smoky Mountain Deck Builders, LLC., Rate and MR10 Realty; jackpot; Segra, Strategic Tax & Business Services, Coffee & Chocolate, Fairway Home Mortgage and Keith Window Company, full house; Bowen Door Service, Texana Bank Mortgage and Kerri A. Kor, CRE Broker with LeConte Realty LLC, game; and Renaissance Title & Escrow along with MR10 Realty, Cup. Some sponsors were inadvertently omitted from an article that ran on the front page of the Wednesday, Sept. 16, issue of the farragutpress. We regret the error.
Tickets for Taste of Turkey Creek are $40 general admission and $125 for VIP. The prices of the tickets were listed incorrectly in an article that ran on the front page of the farragutpress Wednesday, Sept. 23, issue. We regret the error.
September 30, 2026 by
Regarding the state fuel tax, state senate District 7 candidate Bryan Langan clarified, “Though I would consider ending the fuel tax, due to the volatility of fuel prices and the fact that many Tennesseans don’t drive, I would rather we implement temporary suspensions of the fuel tax as necessary to provide relief. However, because I believe every Tennessean deserves to have food in their stomach, clothes on their back and shoes on their feet, If elected, I would introduce legislation to end the state sales tax on groceries, clothing under $50 and footwear under $100.
