Tennessee
Some people in the path of Hurricane Milton head to the middle Tennessee for safety
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Some Tennesseans stuck in the mix of Hurricane Milton evacuations break down what they have been experiencing as the storm approaches.
Some Floridians recently moved from Tennessee to areas directly in the path of Hurricane Milton and said they’re either hunkering down and staying in Florida or hitting the road and heading back to Tennessee.
Rain falling in Florida on Monday afternoon was the start of what former Tennessee resident Erich Gentry said could be his worst nightmare come to life.
“It has ramped up so fast,” Gentry said. “I knew I needed to keep an eye on it after last week’s storm. We’re just so over-saturated and trees are already trying to work themselves down.”
Gentry moved from Nashville to St. Augustine two years ago and said watching Hurricane Milton intensify was unlike anything he’d ever heard or seen before.
When asked about his evacuation plan, Gentry said, “I kind of drug my feet just a little bit, and within a matter of hours it strengthened to a category 5, even the gas station that’s just up the street from me is already out of fuel and people are going crazy.”
But crowds at gas pumps weren’t unique to St. Augustine, Jessica Beard who moved from Columbia, Tennessee to Fort Myers, Florida said she also saw busy gas stations when she and her family were headed north Monday morning.
Beard said they loaded up their car and started driving to Columbia, Tennessee at 7 a.m.
“We hit traffic coming out of Fort Myers around Sarasota,” Beard said. “It was stop and go all the way through Ocala.”
Beard said she and her family were following the progression of the storm for days. As soon as the meteorologist announced that Hurricane Milton upgraded from a category 3 storm to a category 4 and then a category 5 storm by Monday morning, Beard and her family started to panic. Beard said people started posting reports online of store shelves emptying and generators selling out.
“We’re not in the mandatory evacuation zone but, it’s just a few streets over that are, so we left, better safe than sorry,” Beard said.
Gentry said when he decided to leave, traffic was just too bad. He was worried he’d possibly run out of gas and not be able to find a station that wasn’t also out of gas.
“Unfortunately, anything heading north is pretty much already backed up,” Gentry said. “People are evacuating with their cars and things, so it seems like I may have missed the boat unfortunately.”
To prepare for the storm, Gentry said he was loading up his home with sandbags, food, and water.
“At this point, I think it’s just time to batten down the hatches and try to pray and hope for the best for myself and everyone around us,” Gentry said.
Copyright 2024 WSMV. All rights reserved.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to discuss hundreds of bills as the state legislature convenes, with mental health funding emerging as a priority for two lawmakers.
State Rep. Sam McKenzie, D-Knoxville, and state Sen. Becky Massey, R-Knox County, said mental health care funding will be a focus of upcoming legislative conversations.
“It’s been a big topic,” McKenzie said.
“That’s going to be very top of my mind as far as working and advocating for that,” Massey said.
Massey, who chairs the Transportation Committee, said the state needs more money for road expansion. She expressed concerns about insufficient funding for billion of dollars worth of road projects.
“People are paying less to drive on our roads and the cost of building roads are going up. So your gas tax is going down, the cost of building roads is going up,” Massey said.
McKenzie stressed the need for more public education funding following the first year of families using state dollars for private school through the voucher program.
“In Knox County, our numbers are up. Actually, in Memphis, their numbers are up, so I think some of the changes we’ve made in regard to public education and putting a few more dollars in, I think we can continue that process,” McKenzie said.
State House Speaker Cameron Sexton has said he wants to at least double the voucher program to offer it to 40,000 to 50,000 families. Both Massey and McKenzie expressed skepticism about the expansion.
“This isn’t about those kids in failing schools, this is about their friends, the rich or almost rich, that are just wanting a check from the government,” McKenzie said.
Massey cited revenue concerns about the expansion.
“I’m not getting the vibes that there is going to be enough revenue to do that because we’ve got other funding needs also,” Massey said.
Massey added the state could expand the program this year, but perhaps to 5,000 more families.
The General Assembly will reconvene next Tuesday.
Copyright 2026 WVLT. All rights reserved.
Tennessee
Deputies perform ‘life-saving measures’ after 5-year-old falls into swimming pool in Tennessee
FAYETTEVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A Tennessee sheriff’s office is asking the community to pray for a family whose 5-year-old was hospitalized after falling into a swimming pool.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said deputies and family members were “administering life-saving measures” Thursday afternoon after pulling the child out of the water.
The child was then transferred to a hospital, where they are still being treated.
“The child was subsequently transported to the hospital, where they are currently receiving medical care‚” said a Facebook post from the sheriff’s office. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy, no further details will be released at this time.”
Copyright 2025 WSMV. All rights reserved.
Sam Purcell felt good about the game plan for Mississippi State women’s basketball’s matchup with Tennessee.
But the Bulldogs gave up 26 points in the first quarter and trailed by seven points. It was a deficit they never recovered from in a 90-80 loss to the Lady Vols at Humphrey Coliseum on Jan. 8.
“You look at that that first quarter, I thought it was crucial. We had a great scout, a great game plan, but we didn’t talk on ball screens,” Purcell said. “Their largest quarter was that first quarter, and we’re going to watch back and go, dang it, we need to be more vocal. And you got to give them credit – top to bottom, they’re probably as good as anybody in the country with athleticism. So you can’t let those athletic kids turn the corner for wide open layups, and we did.”
Kharyssa Richardson and Madison Francis led the Bulldogs with 22 points each, but MSU didn’t have enough defense to pull off the upset.
Had Mississippi State been able to slow down Tennessee’s drivers in the first quarter, it may have been a different result. But once the Bulldogs started slowing that down, the Lady Vols were “phenomenal hitting some big-time shots,” Purcell said.
Tennessee only had the edge in points in the paint, 42-40, but it also went 10-for-27 on 3-pointers, which was an area Mississippi State couldn’t match. The Bulldogs shot 2-for-13 from deep.
MSU also couldn’t stop Tennessee freshman point guard Mia Pauldo, who scored a game-high 26 points on 8-for-12 shooting. The Bulldogs sent her to the foul line time and time again, and she went 8-for-9 on free throws.
“I thought (Pauldo) was poised, she was clutch,” Purcell said. “Obviously, that’s what you need in games like this that are gonna come down the to the wire. You need players to step up, and I thought she was the X factor for them.”
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