Some sun in the morning with increasing clouds during the afternoon. High 74F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph..
Cloudy with occasional showers late at night. Low 51F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Updated: March 1, 2026 @ 1:55 am
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School’s College Counselor Robert MacLellan has been named a 2026 “counselor that changes lives” by the board of directors and member institutions of Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL).
St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School’s College Counselor Robert MacLellan has been named a 2026 “counselor that changes lives” by the board of directors and member institutions of Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL).
Both teams shot the lights out this past week in the consolation round of the district playoffs with Fayetteville beating Moore County in overtime 84-75, sending the Raiders to the fourth seed in the regional tournament.
Lynchburg resident and world class artist Robert “Mutt” Suttles was recently awarded fourth place in an international art contest. Sponsored by the American Art Awards, contestants from sixty three countries submitted entries in the contest.
Recently, Jack Daniel’s Distillery management and employees showed off their logistical skills, but it had nothing to do with whiskey.
In light of the recent mud and water issues at the Silicon Ranch solar farm, representatives from both Silicon Ranch and LPL Solar appeared at February’s Metro Moore County Council Meeting to update the council on operations. Brett Bowers, Bryan Runion, and Morey Hill, all with Silicon Ranch, and Robert Quillin and Michael Cottle with LPL Solar attended the meeting.
Bowers gave a brief summary of progress to date, saying that most of the site grading is done, and the mechanical install has begun. This involves delivery of materials, estimated at thirty trucks daily. Installation of the piles has begun, along with steel racking systems that will eventually support the solar panels. This heavy construction part of the project is expected to continue through the summer into early fall.
Robert Quillin and Michael Cottle added some detail to Bowers report upon questioning by the council. Council member Dexter Golden asked about mud mitigation progress. Cottle answered that a total of 3,200 tons of rock had been added to most of the ingress/egress points on the site. Rumble strips have been installed, two strips wide by forty strips deep, as well as cattle guards. There are now eight sweepers operating, some with vacuums. Also new are eight wash stations where trucks leaving the site get their tires washed to help remove mud.
Golden then reported that some sweepers are still using private driveways to turn around, as they are to have stopped this practice. He then asked if the company uses flaggers when heavy equipment or trucks are coming out on the road. Quillin replied that they do not use flaggers, but they have a policy that the heavy equipment is not to be out on the roadways. Douglas Carson took exception to that as he himself has seen heavy equipment out on roadways.
Peggy Blackburn brought up that the truck drivers are being ticketed for tracking mud into roadways. She said the tickets should go to the construction company, as the muddy conditions on site are not the fault of the truck drivers. She then asked if the company could put up some flashing lights up in addition to the construction signs near the Highway 55 entrance, as drivers tend to pay less attention to the signs as time passes. She cited a wreck that had happened there some weeks ago.
The discussion then moved on to the subject of the recent TDEC inspection. As Brett Bowers was preparing to speak, Peggy Blackburn commented, “ We don’t need lies, we need the truth.” Bowers reported that TDEC was on site for over five hours, after which they reviewed their findings with site personnel. TCED could respond with three options. First, a Notice of Violation, which could involve both fines and work stoppage; second, an Advisement Letter, which could list areas to be improved, and third, an Inspection Report, which merely documents the inspection, could be the result. Bowers said that there were no violations, and that TDEC indicated the response would only be an Inspection Report.
This is in direct contradiction to the report Tony Grow gave to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Dexter Golden asked that LPL Solar come back to the council when they receive the report and share the inspection results. They agreed.
Later in the meeting when the Highway Road List was brought up, Moore County Road Superintendent Shannon Cauble asked to address the council with a response to the Silicon Ranch/LDL Solar report. Her words, “There’s so much inaccuracy in the statements from the solar farm that I don’t even know where to start…We’re at the point now that the Highway Department will no longer tolerate any mud drug out into the road, and we will take whatever action we need to take to stop that.”
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