News
TDEC releases FUD from spill-related monitoring, warnings
June 3, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
First Utility District was released Friday, May 29, from its obligation to sample water and post caution signs and tape to prevent access to Turkey Creek.
“I can confirm that the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, on May 29, released First Utility District from posting signs and tape preventing public access to Turkey Creek around the area of the sewer line leak first reported on May 11,” said Jennifer Donnals, TDEC senior communications adviser.
“Samples for E. coli downstream of the event have returned to levels below the results from the reference site upstream,” she said Friday. “The utility says it will continue to sample at the normal locations as part of its operating program.”
Likewise, “current testing indicates that the affected area has returned to pre-event conditions,” FUD Human Resources manager Leea T. Butler said Friday afternoon.
“Based upon TDEC guidance and sampling review, overflow-related sampling and cautionary monitoring efforts conducted by FUD are now complete. FUD has published this update, along with final sampling data, on our website and Facebook page.
“We have also shared this information with the Town of Farragut,” Butler said, referring the public to FUD’s published updates for consistent information.
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June 3, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
A traffic signal at the intersection of Jamestowne Boulevard and Campbell Station Road is moving closer to reality.
The Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously approved a bid Thursday, May 28, to Stansell Electric Company Inc. of Nashville for installation of the traffic signal.
Assistant Town engineer Eric Schindler said the signal would provide eastbound Jamestowne Boulevard traffic with better opportunities to enter Campbell Station Road while creating gaps in northbound traffic, which would allow easier access at Eddie Courtney Lane and Sonja Drive.
“This project will also include the installation of two crosswalks across Campbell Station Road and one crosswalk across Jamestowne Boulevard,” he said. “The signal will be connected to our Advanced Traffic Management System and will be timed to coordinate with our existing signal infrastructure.”
Schindler said the Town previously contracted with Cannon & Cannon to design the project for $50,735.
“The project completion date will be 365 calendar days after notice to proceed due to the current nine-month lead time for mast arms and poles,” he said. “The project was offered for bid, with responses received on April 23.
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June 3, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Farragut Mayor Ron Williams said he stands by his comments regarding law enforcement coverage in the town after receiving a letter from Knox County Sheriff Tom Spangler accusing him of lying.
“I wasn’t lying,” Williams told the farragutpress on Thursday, May 28.
In a TV news interview, Williams said, “We pay our property tax, and out of that property tax, we’re supposed to have police protection, and we have none.”
That statement prompted a response from Spangler.
“When you made that statement, you knew that Knox County Sheriff’s deputies were still patrolling your town in the same way they have for the last 25 years,” Spangler wrote. “You knew there had been no decrease in patrol officer numbers or patrol officer hours in your town.
“You knew these facts, but you chose to lie about police protection in the Town of Farragut.”
Spangler added Williams owed sheriff’s deputies “an immediate apology.”
In the same TV report, Knox County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Kimberly Glenn said calls are dispatched through E-911 rather than through a precinct.
Williams said his comments referred to the loss of a dedicated officer assigned to Farragut.
“When I said ‘we have none,’ it means the one police officer, Capt. Brad Hall, that we had is still reassigned to the jail in East Knoxville, where he has been since September,” Williams said.
“We have no complaints with the type of protection we have when we have it,” he added. “It’s just that we no longer have the police out here like we had before.”
As for Spangler’s demand for an apology, Williams said he has nothing for which to apologize.
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June 3, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Farragut Municipal Planning Commission discussed, but took no action on, a rezoning request for part of a Virtue Road property during a workshop session Thursday, May 21.
The subdivision is being planned for property at 817 Virtue Road, where the developer, Benchmark Associates Inc., on behalf of the owner, is requesting an amendment to the Town’s zoning map from S-1 — Community Service — and Agriculture to Rural Single-Family Residential (R-1).
“The property owner is wanting to ultimately be able to subdivide this parcel,” Town Community Development director Mark Shipley said. “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, and the remaining portion, located on the east side of Virtue Road by the lake, is zoned Agriculture.
If the owner gets the property rezoned, Shipley said she would like to subdivide the property into three parcels.
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June 3, 2026 by Tammy Cheek
Farragut Alderman Alex Cain, during a Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting Thursday, March 28, commended 13 businesses in the Town that passed Knox County Sheriff’s Office regular compliance checks.
“The Knox County Sheriff’s Office completed alcohol compliance checks on May 20,” Cain said. “The following establishments were checked, and all successfully passed the compliance inspection: Buffalo Wild Wings; Staybridge LILI1, LLC: Casey’s no. 4049; Top Golf USA; Wild Wings Café; Hampton Inn & Suites; Little Bangkok; Red Robin; Campbell Station Shell; Marathon; Mellow Mushroom; Fairfield Inn & Suites; and Walgreens no. 505053.
“All 13 of them passed with flying colors,” Cain said. “I’m really proud. I think that stems from the way staff and BOMA work with our businesses right from the beginning …
“I want to commend the staff and businesses here in Town,” he added.
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June 3, 2026 by
• Vandalism - A Farragut man reported a vandalism incident May 6 on Bancroft Lane after discovering his home's water service had been interrupted. The complainant told deputies that surveillance footage showed a neighbor in bushes near the property's main water valve and sprinkler system for about 10 minutes while the homeowner was away. When the complainant returned home, he found he had no water service, though nearby homes were unaffected. The water company restored service and was checking for possible damage to the water line and valve. The complainant said the incident followed a dispute several months earlier involving tree branches extending over a property line.
• Hit-and-run - A woman reported a hit-and-run crash May 12 in the Parkside Drive area. According to the report, she was stopped in a bank parking lot exit lane when the vehicle in front of her backed into her 2026 Kia Carnival and left the scene. The driver and a passenger were unable to obtain a license plate number but described the vehicle as a gray-blue hatchback with a black roof and roof rails.
• Theft of services - A restaurant on the Parkside Drive corridor reported a theft-of-services incident May 15 after a woman dining with four others allegedly left without paying for four meal checks. According to the report, the group requested separate checks, and the suspect told a server she had already paid all five bills. After the group left, employees discovered only the suspect's check had been paid. The unpaid meals totaled about $90.
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