News
May 13, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Some Farragut residents living off Grigsby Chapel Road smelled a strong odor when they stepped outside their doors Sunday night, May 10.
The Town of Farragut notified notified First Utility District of the problem about 10:30 am. Monday, May 11.
“Our stormwater coordinator, Cliff Mann, heard that a sewage leak had been reported on his way in to work yesterday, so he began an inspection immediately,” Town communications manager Wendy Smith said. “He located the source of the leak and informed FUD of the location. He also contacted [Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation] as required when there is water pollution,” Smith said.
FUD later posted on its Facebook page, stating a damaged sewer line was being repaired.
FUD assistant manager Kena Hyers explained FUD has a contractor who is in the midst of replacing a 50-year-old sewer pipe with a new one.
“At the time they were not excavating, and the equipment was sitting on the pipe, and the heaviness of [the equipment] actually broke [the pipe],” she said. “So, we’ve got an overflow, and they’re working on it to get a bypass pump to get it stopped, and that’s what they’re doing right now,”
According to Town of Farragut reports, the FUD “sewer main break has contaminated North Fork Turkey Creek from Grigsby Chapel Road to the Fort Loudoun Reservoir. No one (humans or animals) should be in or around North Fork Turkey Creek south of Grigsby Chapel Road until FUD says the water is safe.”
Hyers said the area around Founders Park [at Campbell Station] was affected.
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May 13, 2026 by Jake Nichols
The 2026 Knox County primary election results went final at 10:35 p.m. on Tuesday, May 5.
That night, Ashton Hicks settled in after a long day as a precinct election officer, having overseen the polling location at Faith Lutheran Church on Jamestowne Boulevard in Farragut.
While likely tired, Hicks also felt the same pride that inspired him to become involved in this process more than a decade ago.
“I think it’s one of the most important things we can do as Americans,” Hicks said. “I’ve often said that if you don’t like the way things are going, you can’t complain unless you voted because that’s how we make change.“
Hicks said his mother made sure to take him with her when she went to vote. That influence sparked involvement, as an 18-year-old Hicks asked about becoming a poll worker for a 2015 local election. He became a precinct officer the next year and served in that role until 2020 when he moved to Knoxville.
“I’ve always been kind of a democracy nerd,” he quipped. “I think everyone in this country should have the right to vote and should exercise that right. It’s always fascinated me, and it’s cool to be a part of it now as an adult.”
He previously served at a Knoxville Head Start location south of the river then was moved to Faith Lutheran for the mayoral election this year.
“At this precinct, we have everyone from every different background on the ideological and political spectrum,” he added. “We have Republicans and Democrats, as we’re supposed to by law, but we all come together to achieve a free and fair election in our specific precinct. If anyone has any doubt as to the integrity of elections in the state of Tennessee, I would tell them to show up and work an election on Election Day because I assure you it’s one of the most secure procedures that takes place.”
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May 13, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Since Farragut’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen last updated its Comprehensive Land Use Plan and Map in 2012, the Board again is looking to revise the documents.
During a special-called meeting Thursday, May 7, the Board voted 2-1 to approve a contract with Tunnel-Spangler & Associates for professional services to complete an update of the Town’s existing Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
Mayor Ron Williams and Alderman Joe LaCroix voted in favor of the contract while Alderman Alex Cain voted against it, saying he
believed action on updating the CLUP and map should wait until after the election. Vice Mayor Scott Meyer and Alderman Drew Burnette were absent.
The 2012 CLUP was an update to the 2001 land use plan.
“The plan [in 2012] did give us a good roadmap … we’ve used it a lot,” Cain said. “It helped us with some ordinances and to move forward.”
However, Cain said he had two concerns about approving the contract now.
“One, I don’t think we should be doing this now,” he said. “I think we should be waiting until after the election, when there’s going to be a big changeover on this Board, a possibility of more than two seats changing.”
Cain also said he would have preferred to consider another consulting firm.
“I would like to see what another firm can come up with,” he said. “We’ve seen what TSW’s done … in my opinion, I would like to see a different firm used for this.”
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May 13, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Winning candidate in the Knox County sheriff’s race, Brent Gibson said he is ready to roll up his sleeves and go to work as the county’s next sheriff in September.
“It didn’t seem real at the time,” he said about learning he had won the election. While he was confident in how he ran his campaign, “you never know. You never know who’s going to show up to vote.
“I knocked on a lot of doors and talked to a lot of people and presented myself in a way that I felt confident in the product I was trying to put out there,” Gibson said. “I wanted to portray that I actually do want to make a difference in Knox County and have an effect on the safety of our citizens.”
Once in office, Gibson said “right at first, there’s going to be a transition period” before putting his staff in place and “making sure we got the right people in the right place.”
“There is going to be more officers, more visibility and top-notch communication,” Gibson added. “I think it’s going to be a lot of hard work, but it’s going to be fun, too.”
The 25-year law enforcement veteran ran against fellow Republicans David Amburn, Mike Davis and Jimmy “J.J.” Jones and won Tuesday’s May 5 primary election. He will replace term-limited Sheriff Tom Spangler, who was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022.
Of the more than 44,000 people who voted in the May 5 primary election, Gibson received 19,672 votes, or 44.14 percent, compared to Amburn’s 30.16 percent, Davis’ 14.2 percent and Jones’ 11.5 percent.
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May 13, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
When Betsy Henderson, currently a Knox County School Board member, first heard the results of the mayoral election May 5, “my first thought was gratitude.”
“Gratitude to God, my family, our volunteers and the thousands of people across Knox County who believed in this campaign,” she said. “We built this campaign the grassroots way, knocking on thousands of doors and having one-on-one conversations with people. I also felt a tremendous sense of responsibility to protect what we love about Knox County.”
Henderson received 20,070 votes, compared to fellow Republican candidates Larson Jay, who received 13,975 votes, and Kim Frazier, who received 10,822 votes. Henderson now advances to the Thursday, Aug. 6, general election, where she will face Democratic candidate Beau Hawk.
“As the Republican nominee for county mayor, I’m focused on continuing to get our message out to the people of Knox County,” she said. “The general election is Aug. 6, and we are laser focused on making sure the Republican ticket wins in August.”
“If I’m elected in August, my priorities are very clear: improve roads and infrastructure, support public safety, protect our quality of life and continue strengthening our schools without a tax increase,” Henderson said.
“Knox County is growing quickly, and I want to make sure we grow responsibly without losing what makes East Tennessee special.
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May 13, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
A request to rezone part of a Virtue Road property so it could be subdivided hit a snag because of right-of-way concerns.
The rezoning request was discussed during a Farragut Municipal Planning Commission Staff-Developer meeting Tuesday, May 5, at Town Hall.
The subdivision is being planned for property at 817 Virtue Road, where the developer, Benchmark Associates Inc., is asking for an amendment to the town’s zoning map from S-1, Community Service, and agricultural zoning to R-1, Rural Single-Family Residential.
“This is a property that had some very dilapidated structures a few years ago, and we were able to get those taken out,” Town Community Development director Mark Shipley said. “The property owner is wanting to ultimately be able to subdivide this parcel. It’s a little over 8.5 acres, but it’s currently zoned three different districts.”
One part is zoned R-1 while another portion is S-1, the same zoning as Virtue Church. The other portion, located on the east side of Virtue Road by the lake, is zoned agricultural.
Shipley added the parcel extends into the water.
“It was one of those tracts that was flooded by [Tennessee Valley Authority],” Shipley said.
If the property is rezoned, the owner would like to subdivide it into three parcels, he said.
Shipley said the subdivision would be affected by the town’s road improvement plans for Virtue Road.
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May 13, 2026 by Jake Nichols
The population explosion within Farragut and west Knoxville is not a new concept.
There is, however, some newness in the adjustments that are being made by the Knox County Election Commission when election season rolls around.
One such move was made this year, as precinct 66SE was moved from its previous location at Farragut High School to Korean Church of Knoxville, located 1.6 miles away on Farlow Drive.
The decision has been a hot topic among voters across the area, and for good reason given FHS had welcomed voters in that precinct for at least a decade, according to Chris Davis, Knox County’s administrator of Elections.
Once Election Day came for the 2026 Knox County primary election, results reflected the impact.
The new voting location at the church brought in 12,547 voters, a sharp decline from the 16,464 voters that turned out to vote in the same precinct at the high school for the last mayoral election in 2022.
This came despite population growth that resulted in almost 18,000 more registered voters across the county this year as opposed to four years ago.
“It is difficult to find polling places in the southwest corner of the county, not only Farragut but south of there in the Choto area,” Davis said. “We as an Election Commission have been looking
for years because people are moving in left and right and voter registrations are continuing to go up. State law says we should try to limit the size of our precincts where practical, and Farragut High, Farragut Middle and Faith Lutheran are all ones we have targeted to try and split them up.
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May 13, 2026 by
Meat Theft Investigated at Kroger
An asset protection specialist for the Kroger store on Brooklawn Street reported a shoplifting incident discovered April 29 after loss prevention reviewed April 24 surveillance footage. An unidentified suspect allegedly concealed three packages of steaks, a ground beef chub and a pack of ground beef patties in a backpack and left the store without paying. The stolen merchandise was valued at $171.52.
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