What started out as an ice cream parlor in downtown Jackson, is now a market that sells food from across the country. The manager took me on a tour. Right on Airways Boulevard sits McKenzie's BBQ, a market and restaurant that the community knows very well. The original owners began the store as a bakery and ice cream shop in downtown Jackson, but after a few years they wanted to be closer to their farm to grow apples and make apple cider. Now fast forward nearly 50 years, Amin Khalil is the manager and continues the legacy after John McKenzie passed away about 8 years ago. “I am continuing whatever he taught me. I am following his lead on everything. I don’t change nothing except I’m adding

In some places, the national health pandemic, and the recession has decreased car sales. Some people may have issues financing an automobile but one dealership in Jackson has multiple options for many buyers. Moss Miller, owner of Miller Automotive has been in the car industry for twenty years and this year has been the most challenging. “My care sales have really dropped off,” said Miller. Yet another economic symptom of the coronavirus. before the pandemic and recession, miller was selling over 30 cars a month. lately, that has not been the case. “Went from like 35 cars a month to about 15 cars a month,” said Miller According to Miller, one issue is the rising unemployment rate. buyers ca

Many families consider adopting pets this time of the year. When the temperatures drop, there are things to keep in mind to keep pets safe. This week, we talk with Brandy, the director of the shelter. For more details on how you can adopt a pet, visit https://wwww.fhhas.org or call 731-249-9443.

Agriculture has been affected by covid-19, and one farmer here in Jackson tells me that supply chains are down for equipment, and it is nearly impossible to make an appointment at a butcher shop. “As everyone watched, there was supposedly and meat shortage and a beef shortage just like everywhere else,” said Scott Woolfolk of Woolfolk Farms. The shortage for beef continues, and the demand increases, making it difficult for farmers like Scott Woolfolk to get into the butcher shops. He’s been dealing with this all year, and as there are fewer shops in this part of the country, it does not look like he’ll get an appointment anytime soon. “And it was almost virtually impossible. The butcher that

The University of Tennessee at Martin is preparing for their first in person graduation ceremonies this year. After speaking with the chancellor of the university he says they are taking extra precautions to make sure everything runs smoothly and safe. "The first question was can we do this in a safe way, we’ve really looked at with the number of people involved with how people are coming out through one entrance and one exit. The crowd and the graduates will never interact", says Chancellor of UT Martin, Keith Carver. This will be their first in person graduation this year, their May ceremony was virtual and this one is hybrid a mix of virtual and in person. “It’s been a hard year. My whole

The coronavirus puts food banks and other organizations in tough situations. During this pandemic, recruiting volunteers has become difficult, while many families are in need. “So throughout COVID, RIFA has definitely seen a decrease in volunteers,” said Gracie Sloan, the Marketing and Events Coordinator at RIFA. As COVID cases continue to surge across the nation and even in madison county, people are reluctant to get out of the house to serve others. “And that’s kind of to be expected. The health and safety of our volunteers is our top priority, so we understand people wanted to stay home and take care of themselves, but it does put us in a difficult position,” said Sloan. RIFA, like many n

Julie Daniels has worked in media most of her professional career, from radio to tv and now media relations. Daniels says although she started her journey in radio she knew from a young age reporting weather was somewhere in her path. “You know I did not ever imagine that, but it was one of those things, one of those goals that I thought 'Hey that would really be awesome. I would love to do that and when we would study the weather in science I thought this was great this is exciting I want to know more', so I might say hey, pay more attention to the weather and learn as much as you can, because one day you’re going to do that on tv", says Daniels. After being a radio personality for years Da

As temperatures begin to drop at night, local organizations start their winter programs to house the homeless, but as COVID-19 numbers continue to rise, they are running into a few problems. Area Relief Ministries has hosted room in the inn for over a decade. The program gives the homeless a place to stay during winter nights, because Jackson does not have a permanent shelter. But COVID-19 is causing issues this year. “Room in the Inn this year is much more difficult we have fewer churches participating due to covid-19", says executive director of ARM, Michael Roby. ARM usually partners with around 36 churches in the area to feed and house people. This year only 3 churches were able to open

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect our school systems. Teachers and other staff members are putting in extra work to ensure students are getting a good education. Here in Trenton, that work is not going unnoticed. Officials are giving their staff members a holiday bonus. The eight-month-long COVID-19 pandemic caused teaching and learning routines to change, bringing about challenges employees had never seen before. “That’s been an interesting eight months. And our people have not only pulled it off, but they’ve gotten very good at it. And so right now we have kids who are in person, we have kids who are in virtual, and we have kids doing both,” said Tim Haney, the director of schools

James Wages is the general manager of farmers’ gin of Humboldt and came into the cotton ginning industry straight out of college. “Well, I got in the gin business through college. I graduated from Mississippi State with an Agg Engineering degree with an emphasis in ginning management,” said wages. Wages has been in the business for about twenty years and says it is a lot of hard work, but it is worth it. “Oh, yes, it’s. It’s a lot of hours this time of year, twelve to sixteen hours every day, seven days a week. But it only lasts for about two and a half months,” he said. The company’s cotton farmers begin their crops in may. it takes about 110 days for it to grow, and once it is picked, it g

Officials are saying Madison county has reached a point they really did not want to reach after more than 150 new COVID-19 cases came in right before the weekend, putting a strain on the hospital and health department. “I’m just going to be honest with you, we cannot continue this rate going into the holiday season when families are going to be gathering. They’re going to be get togethers", says Director of the Jackson Madison County General Health Department, Kim Tedford." Madison county is averaging 50 cases a day, with a huge spike of 151 cases on Friday. That spike caused leaders in the county to vote to re-issue the mask mandate. “Those are current cases, they’re not old cases or a back

For more details on how you can adopt Luna, visit www.fhhas.org or call 731-249-9443.

Once a week, before the kids come to school and after they leave, maintenance custodian Charles Broyles comes in to sanitize the hallways and classrooms. Broyles says their new bleach-free Clorox 360 system makes cleaning easier. “Oh yes because before we purchased this, you had to do it with a hand pump,” said Broyles. Humboldt City Schools has three institutions and Broyles clean thoroughly cleans every building. “Our new sanitation system is amazing. the custodians work very to make sure our students are safe, to make sure everything is sanitized. we’re just so fortunate to have the system.” The pluggable machine with an advanced nozzle to ensure all targeted sides are clean. the $4000 i

Dyersburg State Community College is leading the way to educate prisoners. Their president tells me this program gives those students the necessary skills to succeed, but it also improves our communities. Classes begin this November with a new cohort of 50 students from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary. “These prisoners are going to come out. They’re going to live in our community. We are a community college, so we are trying to help the community grow and improve,” said Dr. Bowyer, President of Dyersburg State Community College. According to Dr. Bowyer, these initiatives will provide incarcerated students with the opportunity to take classes leading to a degree or certificate. “The pro

Jackson State Community College recently announced their continuation of the online format for classes in the spring semester. After talking with president of the College, Dr. George Pimentel, he says this decision was tough. Throughout the fall semester of meetings with department heads, the pandemic response team at JSCC decided to not go back to in person instruction for the spring semester. “So, it was decided that we should continue with this in the spring, especially in light of a potential rise in cases through this winter", says JSCC President, Dr. George Pimentel. The college will continue with traditional online courses as well as flex and hybrid formats they used in the fall. But

The faces of our veterans is a project the West Tennessee Veterans Coalition worked on for quite some time. Now those photos are available to see in the city hall.” “I am so pleased with the results of this project, it is a two-year project,’’ said Jackie Utley. Photographer Tommy Azbill and his assistant Larry Newsome saw similar work done at a photo convention and wanted to pull off the same thing in Jackson. “Tommy and I were at a photo convention in Nashville and saw similar work and Tommy said, you know I think we can do this. This meant that we had to find people who cared as much as we did,” said Newsome. Tommy and Larry presented the idea to the west Tennessee veterans committee and

Big buck resort is a family-owned attraction sitting on over 60 acres. Tina Bellamy, the owner, says this is the place to come for some peace and quiet. “I think the thing that people enjoy the most is how quiet and peaceful it is. You know people come out for a weekend, and they’re like that was so relaxing, refreshing. There are things to do,” said Bellamy. While guests getaway for relaxation, they can also enjoy nature-friendly activities, and couples come for their wedding ceremonies. “We do a lot of weddings. In-door, out-door weddings. Of course, we have a lake, so fishing. Cabins,” said Bellamy. There are ten fully equipped cabins at Big Buck, and discounts are available for weekly st

As the holidays come about, the Jackson Chamber wants locals to support local and family-owned businesses while the financial impacts of COVID-19 continue. “Our community, our local community, has suffered especially the small business owners during these last six, seven months,” said Jill Erling, who is the director of events for the Chamber. Instead of shopping online at major retailers, the Jackson chamber asks residents to shop local for the same items you can find on the internet. “It is effortless to go on Amazon and get what you want, but we have a lot of great stores and local businesses that supply the same thing here in Jackson,” said Erling. To spread the mission across the city,

“So, thankful for west Tennessee for allowing me those three years of being there and now still getting to be here but just telling stories in a different way. So, I’m really excited to see what the future holds", says Josh Robinson, former reporter and anchor in west Tennessee. Josh Robinson, a Collierville, Tennessee native, started his broadcast career at an early age. He began anchoring the morning announcements at his hometown high school, but wasn’t sure just yet if that was the path he wanted to take. “And for a while I thought I wanted to do pre pharmacy in college and take that route. But I took AP chemistry and realized not for me, not my best", says Robinson. Robinson studied jour