🏛️ Courthouse Corner: Dunlap Police Flag Fake Church Texts, Dunlap Water Helps Keep Pikeville's Taps Running, Altamont Says Yes to a Park-Planning Grant, and 264,000 Tennesseans Have Already Voted

Or: A Plain-English Saturday Look at Neighbors Helping Neighbors, a Few Picnic Tables in Altamont, Hamilton’s Next Chore List and a Road to Steer Around Next Week

By Thomas Seest, Dunlap.Today · Saturday, October 17, 2026

Some weeks the courthouse news is a big new roof. This week it’s more like neighbors passing a casserole over the fence. Here at home, the Dunlap Police Department is warning about fake text messages that pretend to come from church leaders. Over in Pikeville, the city’s water rules are staying on, and part of what’s keeping tanks full is water from Dunlap and the South Cumberland utility district. Up on the mountain, Altamont’s council said yes to a state grant to plan out its parks. Hamilton County has posted its list for Oct. 28, a Marion County road closes for paving next week, and early voting across Tennessee is running well ahead of the last governor’s race.

Here’s what’s in this twelfth Courthouse Corner in Plain English: a scam warning from Dunlap Police and the results we’re still waiting on, Pikeville’s water restrictions, with a Dunlap assist, Altamont’s park-planning grant and other mountain grants, Hamilton County’s Oct. 28 agenda, a Popular Springs Road closure in Marion County, and early voting by the numbers.

We label each item Local (Sequatchie County or Dunlap), Neighbors (nearby counties) or Statewide. Facts come from official agendas, government websites and local news reports, linked in each section. Items on an agenda have not been voted on yet. This is not an endorsement of any official, candidate or proposal.

⏱️ What this means for you in 30 seconds

• Dunlap scam alert: Texts that look like they’re from church leaders asking you to buy Green Dot cards are fake. Dunlap Police: (423) 949-3319.
• Pikeville water: Mandatory restrictions stay on. The plant manager says it would take 5 to 6 inches of rain to lift them.
• Altamont: The council accepted a state park-planning grant for City Park, Jay Lake Park and Firescald Park.
• Marion County: Popular Springs Road closes Mon., Oct. 19 – Thu., Oct. 22, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for paving.
• Early voting: 264,294 Tennesseans had voted through Friday, 512 of them in Sequatchie County. Absentee requests are due Sat., Oct. 24.

📱 Local: Dunlap Police Say That “Church” Text Asking for Gift Cards Is a Scam

The Dunlap Police Department says it has learned of text messages from people posing as local church leadership. The texts make urgent requests for Green Dot cards to be bought. Police say the messages may look convincing, but they are not legitimate. If you or a loved one fell for one, call Dunlap Police at (423) 949-3319 or the non-emergency line at the E911 dispatch center, (423) 949-9912.

What it means for you: No pastor, deacon or choir director needs you to run to the store for gift cards. That’s the tell. If a text like that shows up, put the phone down and call the church office or your pastor at the number you already know, the same way you’d check with Mama before believing something Cousin Billy told you. Please share this with older family members, who are the folks these texts usually aim for.

Still coming at home: As of Saturday afternoon, the results of Thursday’s Oct. 15 Dunlap City Hall meeting (Ordinance No. 321 for 1466 and 1494 Main Street, and a sludge mitigation proposal) still weren’t posted on the city’s website, and outcomes of the Oct. 12 Sequatchie County school board meeting weren’t posted either. We’ll share both when we can confirm them. City Hall: (423) 949-2115. School board office: (423) 949-3617.

👉 Read more (SValleyNow: Dunlap Police scam warning) · City of Dunlap Government

💧 Neighbors (With a Dunlap Assist): Pikeville’s Water Rules Stay On for Now

Last weekend’s rain helped, but not enough. The Bledsonian-Banner reported Oct. 13 that Pikeville’s mandatory water restrictions remain in effect. Water Plant Manager Lavaughn Brock said the city’s water table is seven feet below the mandatory restriction line. To keep up, he has been pumping water from the Sequatchie River through the plant to fill the tanks, and getting water from the Dunlap and South Cumberland utility districts. Brock said it would take five to six inches of rain to bring levels back where they need to be. Local weather reporter Roy Lee Standefer said Pikeville got 1.04 inches last weekend and is 10.40 inches below normal.

What it means for you: If you have family on Pikeville water, the rules are still on, so a quick call to City Hall at (423) 447-2919 will tell them exactly what’s allowed. For the rest of us, it’s a quiet reminder of how connected the Valley is. Water from down here is helping neighbors up the road, like lending a cup of sugar across the county line. A little care with the hose and the leaky faucet never hurts anybody in a dry fall.

👉 Read more (Bledsonian-Banner: Pikeville water restrictions)

🌳 Neighbors: Altamont Says Yes to a Grant to Plan Its Parks

At its Oct. 6 meeting, the Altamont City Council voted unanimously to accept a state Healthy Active Rural Tennessee (HART) grant, the Grundy County Herald reported Oct. 16. The money comes through the state Health Department’s Rural Health Transformation Program. Altamont’s project will write a master plan for Altamont City Park, Jay Lake Park and Firescald Park, with a community survey, an architect and small “try it and see” purchases. One goal named for Firescald Park on Northcutt’s Cove Road is to clean up the land and add picnic tables, a grill, a light post and playground equipment. Council members asked about adding Ricky Sons Park, and grant writer Paul McKee said the grant could possibly be amended. The article doesn’t give a dollar amount for Altamont’s award.

The same round of state grants also went to the Town of Tracy City and the South Cumberland Community Fund in Grundy County, and to the Appalachian Conservation Institute in Marion County for trail improvements. Separately, the Herald reported that Housing Hub received $532,500 through the Tennessee Housing Development Agency’s HOME homeownership program to develop more affordable homes.

What it means for you: A planning grant is like sketching the garden on the back of an envelope before you buy seed. Nothing gets built all at once, but Altamont will ask folks what they want first, and McKee told the council that a finished plan makes it more likely the town can win money to build it later. If you’ve got opinions about the mountain’s parks, watch for that community survey.

👉 Read more (Grundy County Herald: Altamont HART grant) · Housing Hub HOME grant

🏥 Neighbors: Hamilton County’s Oct. 28 List Includes a Birchwood Clinic and McDonald Farm

The Hamilton County Commission‘s next regular voting meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 5 p.m. Eastern (4 p.m. Central) in Room 402 of the courthouse, 625 Georgia Ave., Chattanooga, and it streams on the county’s YouTube channel. The posted agenda includes a few items close to the Valley’s back door. None has been voted on yet.

• Birchwood: An $89,635 state contract through the Rural Health Transformation Program for the Health Department’s Birchwood Health Clinic, running Sept. 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028.
• Sale Creek: A $105,000 bid from Nitzschke Communications for water upgrades at McDonald Farm, the county park on Coulterville Road.
• Lakesite: A contract for the Sheriff’s Office to provide police services to the City of Lakesite.
• Housekeeping: Juvenile Court Commission appointments, a beer board reappointment, cyber insurance and courtroom audio-visual upgrades.

What it means for you: If you live near the Rhea or Meigs line and use the Birchwood clinic on Highway 60, this is a steady-funding item worth knowing about. McDonald Farm hosts the Hamilton County Fair, so better water there is like fixing the spigot by the barn before the next big gathering. The same meeting is when commissioners plan to appoint the District 11 school board member we told you about earlier.

👉 Read more (Hamilton County Commission agenda) · Meeting notices

🛣️ Neighbors: Popular Springs Road Closes for Paving Monday Through Thursday

The Marion County Highway Department will close Popular Springs Road from Monday, Oct. 19, through Thursday, Oct. 22, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central for paving work, weather permitting, SValleyNow reported. Travel in and out of the area may be delayed, and emergency vehicles will still have access. Updates are posted on the Highway Department’s Facebook page.

What it means for you: If you live on Popular Springs Road or visit someone there, plan your errands, deliveries and doctor visits before 8 a.m. or after 3 p.m. those four days. It’s a bit like the week the church parking lot gets restriped: a short hassle for a smoother ride all winter.

👉 Read more (SValleyNow: Popular Springs Road closure)

🗳️ Statewide and Local: Early Voting by the Numbers, Three Days In

Through Friday, Oct. 16, the third day of early voting, 264,294 Tennesseans had voted early or absentee for the Nov. 3 election, based on Secretary of State daily reports compiled by the TN Firefly site. That’s 68% more than at the same point in the 2022 governor’s race and 24% fewer than in 2018. Counts close to home through Friday:

• Sequatchie: 512 (180 on Friday alone)
• Marion: 872 · Rhea: 723 · Grundy: 354
• Van Buren: 199 · Bledsoe: 176 · Hamilton: 15,234

In Rhea County, Administrator of Elections Felicia Goodman told the Herald-News that 451 voters had cast ballots as of press time Thursday, counting in-person, absentee and nursing home votes. These are counts of people who voted, not results; no ballot is counted until Election Day.

What it means for you: Lots of neighbors are getting it done early, the way some folks have the Thanksgiving pies baked by Tuesday. In Sequatchie County, early voting runs weekdays 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays 9 a.m. to noon, closed Sundays, through Thursday, Oct. 29. If you need an absentee ballot, the state’s deadline to request one is Saturday, Oct. 24. Election office: (423) 949-2431. Bring a Tennessee or federal photo ID.

👉 Read more (TN Firefly: early-voting turnout by county) · Herald-News: Rhea early voting · Secretary of State election calendar

🗓️ Dates to Put on the Fridge

• Mon., Oct. 19, 9 a.m.: Sequatchie early voting reopens (weekdays 9 to 5).
• Mon., Oct. 19 – Thu., Oct. 22, 8 a.m.–3 p.m.: Popular Springs Road closed for paving (Marion).
• Mon., Oct. 19, 6 p.m.: Van Buren County Commission, Spencer. 7 p.m.: Bledsoe County Commission, Pikeville.
• Mon., Oct. 19 – Sat., Oct. 24: Rhea’s extra early-voting site at 229 Front Street, Spring City.
• Tue., Oct. 20: Chattanooga City Council.
• Wed., Oct. 21, 6 p.m.: Orme city meeting, Orme Fire Hall.
• Thu., Oct. 22, 5 p.m.: Marion County School Board, Jasper. 5:30 p.m.: Sequatchie County Records Commission, courthouse upstairs.
• Sat., Oct. 24: Last day to request an absentee ballot. Sequatchie early voting 9 a.m.–noon.
• Mon., Oct. 26, 6 p.m.: Marion County Commission, Lawson Building, Jasper.
• Tue., Oct. 27: Sequatchie County school board working session.
• Wed., Oct. 28, 5 p.m. Eastern: Hamilton County Commission.
• Thu., Oct. 29: Last day of early voting.
• Mon., Nov. 2: Sequatchie County school board regular meeting.
• Tue., Nov. 3: Election Day.
• Mon., Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m.: Sequatchie County Commission, courthouse.

✅ Your Courthouse Corner Checklist

• ✅ Get a text from a “church leader” asking for gift cards? Don’t buy anything. Call the church at a number you already know, and tell Dunlap Police at (423) 949-3319.
• ✅ Tell older relatives about the Green Dot card scam today, while you’re thinking about it.
• ✅ Kin on Pikeville water? Remind them the mandatory restrictions are still on.
• ✅ Headed down Popular Springs Road next week? Go before 8 a.m. or after 3 p.m.
• ✅ Need an absentee ballot? Request it by Sat., Oct. 24.
• ✅ Haven’t voted early? Pick a day before Thu., Oct. 29, and put your photo ID by your keys.

Practical rule: If a message is in a hurry and wants gift cards, it’s not your church, your bank or your grandbaby. Hang up, slow down and call the number you already trust.

— Dunlap.Today

📚 Plain-English Courthouse Glossary

• Green Dot card: A store-bought prepaid card. Scammers ask for them because the money is hard to trace or get back.
• Mandatory water restrictions: Rules a water system must enforce during shortages, such as limits on watering lawns or washing cars.
• Water table: The level of water underground. When it drops, wells and springs a town relies on have less to give.
• Utility district: A public water or gas system that serves an area. Neighboring systems can sell water to each other when one runs low.
• Rural Health Transformation Program: Federal money sent to Tennessee to improve health in rural areas. The state awards it as grants to towns, groups and clinics.
• HART: Healthy Active Rural Tennessee, the part of that program aimed at nutrition, exercise and community support.
• Master plan: A long-range written plan for how a park or town will grow, often needed to win money to build.
• In-kind support: Help given as time, land or goods instead of cash, such as volunteer hours or benches the town already bought.
• HOME program: A federally funded program, run in Tennessee by THDA, that helps build or buy affordable homes.
• Agenda preparation session: A Hamilton County Commission meeting where items are discussed but not voted on.
• Absentee ballot: A ballot you vote by mail. Tennessee requires a reason, and the request has a deadline.
• Early-voting turnout: The count of people who have voted so far. It does not show who anyone voted for.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do if I get a text from a “church leader” asking for Green Dot cards?

Don’t buy the cards or reply. Dunlap Police say these texts are not legitimate. Call your church at a number you already know to check. If you or a loved one lost money, call Dunlap Police at (423) 949-3319 or the E911 non-emergency line at (423) 949-9912.

Are Pikeville’s water restrictions still on?

Yes. The Bledsonian-Banner reported Oct. 13 that mandatory restrictions remain because the water table is seven feet below the restriction line. The plant is pumping Sequatchie River water and getting water from the Dunlap and South Cumberland utility districts. Pikeville City Hall: (423) 447-2919.

What will Altamont’s park grant pay for?

A master plan for Altamont City Park, Jay Lake Park and Firescald Park, including a community survey, an architect and small demonstration purchases like picnic tables. The council accepted it unanimously on Oct. 6. The Grundy County Herald’s report didn’t list the dollar amount.

Which roads are closed next week?

Popular Springs Road in Marion County is closed Monday, Oct. 19, through Thursday, Oct. 22, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Central for paving, weather permitting. Emergency vehicles can still get through.

How many people have voted early so far?

Through Friday, Oct. 16, 264,294 statewide and 512 in Sequatchie County, according to Secretary of State daily reports as compiled by TN Firefly. Early voting runs through Thursday, Oct. 29, and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.

What did Dunlap City Hall decide on Oct. 15?

As of Saturday afternoon, the results weren’t posted on the city’s website. Call Dunlap City Hall at (423) 949-2115, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and we’ll report the outcome once we can confirm it.

🔗 Other Resources

• SValleyNow: Dunlap Police scam warning
• City of Dunlap Government
• Sequatchie County news and notices
• Sequatchie County Schools: board agendas
• Bledsonian-Banner: Pikeville water restrictions
• Grundy County Herald: Altamont park-planning grant
• Hamilton County Commission: Oct. 28 agenda
• TN Firefly: early-voting turnout by county
• GoVoteTN: sample ballots, polling places and hours
• Dunlap.Directory: free local business listings

🌿 Keep Learning, Stay Calm

This week’s government news is mostly the neighborly kind: water shared across a county line, a town asking folks what they want in their parks, a road getting fresh blacktop, and thousands of Tennesseans quietly casting ballots. The one thing to do today is simple. Tell someone you love that real churches don’t ask for gift cards by text. Then enjoy your Saturday. For more calm, practical Sequatchie Valley reporting, keep reading Dunlap.Today.