As 2025 comes to a close, we’d like to take a moment to revisit some of the stories that made a big impression in Lynchburg this year. Some show our collective zeitgeist and prove that Lynchburg is a special place. Others changed our way of life and put situations in play that have yet to reveal their full impact. Regardless, everything on this list colored our landscape this year
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1 | Jack Ends Historic Slop Program | For almost as long as there’s been a distillery in Lynchburg, there’s been what’s become formally known as the Feeder Cow Program in which local farmers haul off this byproduct of the whiskey making process – know locally as slop – to feed area cattle. It’s a symbiotic relationship that’s worked for decades, but in September Moore County farmers got the worst possible news: on March 31, 2026 the faucet of low-cost feed runs dry. That announcement bookended one the distillery originally made back in March 2022 – essentially giving local farmers over two year’s notice. The trickle down from it will be a story we’ll watch carefully in the coming year.
2 | Metro Council Places Moratorium on Future Solar Farms | In February, the Metro Council at the recommendation of the Metro Planning Commission placed a moratorium on future solar farms coming into Moore County. The move came in response to the controversial Silicon Ranch Solar Farm located along Highway 55 between Motlow College and the Tullahoma City Limits currently under construction. Local officials stated they wanted to press pause until all the “trickle down effects” from the current project could be worked through over the next five year. The move passed unanimously.
3 | New Digester Cause Big Stink In Lynchburg | It was supposed to be a green energy solution to an excess of spent distiller’s grains from the distillery but in December locals from the public square to the county line began to complain about the stink created from the Lynchburg Renewables anaerobic digester along Good Branch Road. Multiple locals reported that the stench smelled so strong at a home basketball games that they felt embarrassed and sorry for both the home and visiting team’s players. Environmental experts labeled it a nuisance and not dangerous. Lynchburg Renewables officials say the issue is temporary and that they are taking measures to resolve it permanently. Only time will tell.
4 | Petty Hollow Man Found Alive After 12-Hour Search | For 12 scary hours on Friday, November 28 and into early Saturday morning, an 80-year-old Moore County man with dementia lay injured on a steep Petty Hollow incline as an army of local officials and neighbors looked for him. Finally, at 3:50 a.m., Sherriff Tyler Hatfield and Investigator Brandon Thomas located the man with the help of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s fixed wing aircraft, which circled the area looking for a heat signature. Mr. Farless is now recovering at an area nursing home. It’s a shining example of how folks in Moore County deeply care for each other.
5 | The Democratic Party Reorganizes in Moore County | It’s no secret that Tennessee is a super majority state – meaning that the governor’s office, state house, and state senate are all controlled by the Republican Party. In fact, Moore County has voted red in the last six presidential elections. The last Democrat to gain the majority here in Lynchburg was Bill Clinton back in 1996. But one-party systems seldom lead to progress, and democracy requires that all voices be heard. To the aim, the Moore County Democratic Party reorganized in April of 2025.
In another piece of good political news, Moore County High School won this year’s Anne Dallas Dudley Gold Award for registering 100 percent of eligible students to vote. Secretary of State Tre Hargett presented the award to students back in May. Our county is politically active on both sides and that’s not a bad thing.
6 | Lynchburg Bridge Named After Bill Dance | He’s a name known around the world who learned to fish right here in Lynchburg in the shadows of The Jack Daniel Distillery on the Mulberry Creek. In October, local and state officials renamed the bridge he fished under as a child as the Bill Dance Bridge. The community celebrated with a bridge dedication ceremony attended by Dance and his extended family. Big smiles were seen across the faces of everyone involved. Lynchburg takes tremendous pride in our collective history and native sons and daughters.
7 | Jack Daniels Warehouse Partially Collapses | It was a story that made the Nashville and national news. On Monday, February 10, a historic barrel house partially collapsed behind the Distillery’s South Bottling Plant. No employees were inside at the time of the collapse and there were no injuries. Local officials were called in after a fire alarm activation at the warehouse likely caused by a severed fire suppression line caused by the collapse. Thanks to a quick response by Jack employees and local EMA officials, the spill was contained with minimal runoff. It’s a lesson in bad things sometimes happen, but when we respond together as a community, the worst can be avoided.
Honorable Mention | Nearest Green Distillery Sued for $100 Million Breach of Contract | Though is didn’t happen in Lynchburg, it revolves around one of Moore County’s founding families and one half of the duo that created Old No. 7, Nearest Green. A distillery bearing his name sits in Bedford County and has become part of the Tennessee Whiskey landscape. In August, a Louisville creditor filed suit against the Nearest Green Distillery for alleged breach of contract. The creditor accuses Uncle Nearest Inc. et all of defaulting on over $100 million dollars in loans that originated in 2022. The story is still playing out with new filing happening basically every week. Since it involves deep Lynchburg roots, we’ll keep an eye on it.
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