Good morning, Cookeville.

The hundredth fair is running out of days.

Six more nights on the midway, then the lights go off Saturday.

Meanwhile, a grocery store on North Washington served its last customer.

This week: a Baxter woman on a national stage, a world champion from Jamestown, and a dinosaur brought back from the dead.

Let's fly.

Tonya Jared took a two-week job answering phones in 2005.

Twenty-one years later, the Baxter woman manages five facilities across Missouri, Texas, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, and Boating Industry has named her a national honoree in its Women Making Waves program. The program recognizes women who have pushed the marine industry forward and widened the door behind them.

Jared said the news caught her flat-footed. You put in the work for two decades without assuming anyone outside the building is keeping score.

She has held her current leadership role less than six months. Her stated goal is not expansion for its own sake. She wants the people on her team to grow into the jobs they actually want, the way she did.

Her advice to younger women in manufacturing is to say the uncomfortable thing anyway. "Failing is okay. Failure actually means you're doing something," she said.

A small town girl, in her own words, on a national stage.

Mikayla Jennings has shown at the Tennessee Walking Horse National Celebration in Shelbyville every year since 2017. This year she finally won the thing.

Jennings and her mare, Clarabelle Chug-A-Chug, took a world championship at the biggest horse show on the calendar, the one she describes as the Super Bowl for horse people. She said it still does not feel real that they called her number.

Jennings was born four months early, weighing one pound and three ounces. She has cerebral palsy and is blind and deaf on her left side. Her summary of growing up that way was blunt: it was rough, and you keep going anyway.

Clarabelle, for her part, is a ham. Jennings says the mare knows exactly where the camera is and plays straight to the whistles and the crowd.

Jennings rides out of Jamestown and made a point of thanking the Fentress County sponsors who got her to Shelbyville. Small town, world champion.

Here's what else caught our eye around the Plateau this week:

The IGA on North Washington closed Saturday. The store cut hours back to 8 AM to 6 PM for its final stretch and pushed the storewide discount to 50 percent off while supplies lasted. The owners are looking for a new tenant at 1010 North Washington Avenue and have not said who is next. Details That corridor now has a grocery-sized hole in it.

Cinderella Park's dinosaur is back. Someone set off fireworks on the molded plastic climbing ladder during Fourth of July celebrations, blowing a large hole in it and forcing the city to close the structure. Vandals tore down the barricades and did more damage on July 18. Then Ryan Gardner, a local plastic welder, called Leisure Services and offered to repair it free of charge. It reopened Wednesday. Police have made one arrest in the July 4 incident and are still investigating the second. Details Leisure Services director Chad McDonald's ask is a good one: treat the parks like you own them, because you do.

Averitt raised driver pay. The Cookeville-based carrier moved its top regional mileage rate to 66 cents and simplified the structure so every truckload driver starts from the same base rate. More than 40 drivers work out of the Salem Road service center. The LTL increases took effect July 26 and scale by location and experience. Details

Dustin Lynch is playing the WestSide for free. The multi-platinum country singer headlines Tennessee Tech's fourth annual College Town Kickoff block party on Saturday, August 22, in Cookeville's WestSide district. Katie Aikens, Tech's vice president for Student Affairs, framed the event as a thank-you to a community that has always backed the university's students. Trackside handles the food. Tech's announcement A chart-topping country act, three weeks out, no ticket required.

Tennessee Tech gives Putnam County a two-week head start Monday. The seventh annual Putnam First opens August 3, letting county residents submit a free application for the 2027-28 school year before the window opens to everyone else. Tech's admissions office framed it as a thank-you to the county that has backed the university since the beginning. The UC Now has the details Free application, two-week jump. Set a reminder.

Love's finished its Baxter overhaul. The travel stop at 110 Fast Lane cut a ribbon Thursday on a top-to-bottom remodel: a fully remodeled sales floor, new public restrooms and showers, a refreshed exterior, and an upgraded back of house for employees. The lot now holds 64 gas spaces and 130 diesel spaces. Love's also presented a $5,000 donation to Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. Chamber photos and details Exit 280 got a glow-up.

A new boutique cuts its ribbon Monday. Westside Luxuries hosts the Cookeville-Putnam County Chamber of Commerce from 3 to 3:30 PM. Lloyd and Gail Harris, the couple behind Harris Monuments, opened it as a curated home and gift shop. Details Same family, same craftsmanship, softer materials.

Five rubber ducks are hiding at Cane Creek Park. Cookeville Police stashed five National Night Out ducks somewhere in the park. Find one and bring it to National Night Out on Tuesday, August 4, from 6 to 8 PM at Dogwood Park to trade for a free 2026 shirt or hat while supplies last. One duck per person. Details Take the kids. Look low.

The Last Six Days

The midway closes Saturday night. After that the fairgrounds go quiet until the Chicken Festival rolls in on the 15th.

Go On A Weeknight

Monday through Thursday armbands run $20 to $25 instead of $30, and the lines are shorter. Thursday is the cheapest ride night of the entire run. Fair schedule

Rodeo Friday

Back Roads Band plays the main arena at 5:30 PM, then Hedrick Rodeo Company takes over at 7. Gates open at 4.

Closing Saturday

Pet show at 10 AM, 4-H horse show at 10, beef show at 4 PM, mounted shooting at 6:30, and the demolition derby at 7. A hundred years of Putnam County agriculture ends with cars running into each other. Feels about right.

Underground Tennessee

Tennessee has more caves than any other state. A mapping project by Chuck Sutherland, built on Tennessee Cave Survey data, put the count at 11,677 caves and 14,829 entrances statewide.

The densest band on that map runs straight down the Cumberland Plateau. We are all living on top of a lot of empty space. See the map

250 Years, Free and Air Conditioned

If the fair's crowds aren't your speed, Becoming America: Voices of 1776 is up at the Cookeville History Museum through September 12. It walks the Revolution through six people who lived it, rather than through dates and battle maps. Free admission, 40 East Broad Street, Tuesday to Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM.

Broad Street itself is part of the exhibit. The Declaration of Independence Walk puts panels in the windows of participating shops between the Depot Museum and the History Museum, and it's open whenever you feel like walking it. Sign the 250th Anniversary pledge when you finish. Museum details

100th Putnam County Fair Putnam County Fairgrounds, 155 Fairground Street · Through Saturday, August 8 · Gates open 4 PM most weekdays, $5 admission · Details

Tennessee Tech Putnam First opens Free early applications for Putnam County residents, two-week window · Details

Westside Luxuries ribbon cutting 3 to 3:30 PM · Details

Fair: Senior Citizen Day Putnam County Convention Center 9 AM · Details

Fair: Jump and Run Main Arena 6:30 PM · Wild horse and mule show in the East Arena at 6:30, greased pig catching in the Big Barn · Details

National Night Out Dogwood Park 6 to 8 PM · Free 2026 shirt or hat if you turn in a duck found at Cane Creek Park · Details

Fair: Motorcycle Races Main Arena 6 PM · Practice at 5 · Details

Fair: Dairy Cow Show Big Barn 6 PM · Details

Fair: Corn Hole Tournament Music Barn 6 PM · Details

Fair: Motorcycle Races Main Arena 6 PM · Practice at 5 · Details

Fair: Peachtree Learning Center Wilson Stage 7 PM · Barrel clinic in the East Arena at 6, poultry pick-up at the Chicken House 4 to 9 PM · Details

Putnam County Election Day Polls open 9 AM to 7 PM · Bring a photo ID; a college ID does not count · For your precinct location, the Election Commission is at 705 County Services Drive, 931-526-2566 · Details

Fair: Putnam County Horse Show Main Arena 6:30 PM · Details

Fair: Timeless Highway Band with Dale Johnson Wilson Stage 7 PM · Cheapest armband night of the run at $20 · Details

First Fridays with Art Round Tennessee Cookeville Performing Arts Center, 10 East Broad Street 5 to 8 PM · Work from Daniel Alfaro, Kelly Eberhardt, Matt Knieling, and Raven Williamson, live music from Glenda Nelms, $5 suggested donation, all ages · Details

Fair: Back Roads Band, then Hedrick Rodeo Company Main Arena 5:30 PM and 7 PM · Details

Steven Farmer Cavin Haus 8 PM · Details

Cookeville Farmers Market 6 AM to Noon · Details

Fair: Pet Show Music Barn 10 AM · Registration at 9:30 · Details

Fair: 4-H Horse Show East Arena 10 AM · Mounted shooting at 6:30 PM · Details

Fair: Beef Show Big Barn 4 PM · Greased pig contest to follow · Details

Fair: Demolition Derby Main Arena 7 PM · Closing night, with Tennessee Outlaw Country on the Wilson Stage · Details

Jade Arrow and the Archers Get Roasted, 1068 East 10th Street 8 PM · Americana, folk, and backwoods grit with Eagle Eye Eli, Alan Benest of the Fumblebuckers, and River of Ash · $10 cover, 21 and up · Details

Nothing on the midway. The fairgrounds get a day off. So do you.

The first-ever Chicken Festival lands at the Putnam County Fairgrounds · August 15

Dustin Lynch headlines the fourth annual College Town Kickoff block party on Cookeville's WestSide · August 22

The second annual SBE Conference fills the Leslie Town Centre · August 28

Golden Eagle football opens the renovated Tucker Stadium against Monmouth · August 29

That's the week, flock.

Ride the midway on a weeknight.

Get to the derby early for a seat.

Go find a duck at Cane Creek.

And pour one out for the IGA on North Washington.

If you spot news worth chirping about, hit reply. I read everything.

See you next Monday.