Burgess Falls State Park and Natural Area provide amazing views, wonderful hikes, and water features you will not find anywhere else. As one of the treasures of the Upper Cumberland, we explore the area’s history and its offerings with Park Manager Bill Summers.

Summers also introduces to the Window Cliffs Natural Area, a brand new offering for the Upper Cumberland.

Today In The Upper Cumberland airs each weekend as a way to introduce you to interesting people and subjects of interest to our community. Catch the show each Saturday morning at 6 on Lite Rock 95.9, Rock 93-7, and 106-9 Kicks Country.

Sunday morning, the show airs at 7am on Rock 93-7. Catch the show Sunday night at 6pm on Lite Rock 95.9 and at 7pm on 106-9 Kicks Country. You can also catch Today in The Upper Cumberland Sunday mornings at 7am and Sundays at Noon on News Talk 94.1/AM 1600.

The Upper Cumberland’s natural beauty and recreational facilities make it a special place for tourists and for those of us who call the area home. One of those treasures…Standing Stone State Park in Overton County.

The park offers quiet, reflective areas as well as places for recreation and fun. Sarah Geeslin is a park ranger at Standing Stone Park. She introduces us to what you can enjoy when you spend a day, a weekend or just a few hours at Standing Stone.

Today In The Upper Cumberland airs each weekend as a way to introduce you to interesting people and subjects of interest to our community. Catch the show each Saturday morning at 6 on Lite Rock 95.9, Rock 93-7, and 106-9 Kicks Country.

Sunday morning, the show airs at 7am on Rock 93-7. Catch the show Sunday night at 6pm on Lite Rock 95.9 and at 7pm on 106-9 Kicks Country. You can also catch Today in The Upper Cumberland Sunday mornings at 7am and Sundays at Noon on News Talk 94.1/AM 1600.

A 46-year-old woman in New York named Shannon Lombardo recently threw out her wedding ring AND her engagement ring. She put them in a paper towel after she cleaned them, and threw it in the trash.

By the time she realized, the city had already picked up the trash from her building. So she figured they were gone.

But someone at the sanitation department told her not to give up. So she and her husband went to a processing center in Jersey where they store trash before it goes to a landfill.

Workers were able to pinpoint which garbage truck picked up their trash, and narrowed it down to a pile of 800 bags. Then two workers named Sekou Callender and Gabriel Moreno helped sift through it all. And Gabriel found the rings less than an hour later.

Shannon says the rings have new meaning to her now, because it proved there’s, quote, “hope and goodness in the world.” Gabriel says this type of thing is pretty common though, and they train for it.

Another woman in New York did the same thing back in November, and found her rings. And a woman in Missouri tossed a 12.5-carat ring worth 400 GRAND in the trash last year but got it back.

There’s really no coming back from this photo for this guy.

A guy was trying to break into an elementary school in Tucson, Arizona before it opened on Friday morning . . . but he saw someone else on the grounds so he got scared and ran.

He tried to climb the fence to get away, but there was one big problem: His pants were too baggy and they snagged on the spikes at the top of the fence.

So the guy found himself completely trapped, dangling upside-down, with his pants around his ankles.

And naturally, a few people drove by . . . and took pictures.

Fortunately for him, it looks like he was wearing pretty thick white boxers that did a good job covering up his junk while he was stuck there.

The police eventually showed up, cut him loose, and arrested him.

It’s crazy how good kids are with technology. And one mom in England is alive today because of it . . .

A woman in London had some sort of medical emergency this month, and lost consciousness. No one was with her except her three kids. The oldest one is four.

But when he realized something was wrong, he grabbed her iPhone . . . pressed his mom’s thumb on the screen to unlock it . . . and called for help using Siri.

Emergency responders showed up about 13 minutes later and saved his mom’s life. It’s not clear what was wrong. But they say she wouldn’t have made it if they hadn’t gotten there so fast.

The cops posted audio from the phone call on YouTube. They want people to make sure their kids know how to call for help if there’s an emergency. Especially if you have any medical conditions.

The four-year-old actually thought his mom was dead at first, but stayed really calm the whole time. And the dispatcher did a great job.

Cookeville High School’s Kayla Woods has been selected as the Lite Rock 95.9/106-9 Kicks Country Dream Big Scholar for May.

The award honors outstanding work in the classroom, leadership in school groups, and organization, achievement in extracurricular activities as well as work in the community. One student from a high school across the Upper Cumberland wins the award each month.

Woods in heavily involved in many activities in Cookeville. She is a member of the Emerging Artist Club, Interact Club, and Flag Corp Captain for the Cookeville High School marching band. She is also a cheerleader, youth coach, and volunteer for Cookeville Youth Football and Cheer League.

While keeping up with those activities, Woods has accomplished receiving a 4.07 GPA as well as a 28 on her ACT. She is also graduating in the top 20% of her class with honors, distinction, Tennessee Scholars, and 15 college credit hours.

After graduation, Woods plans on attending the University of Tennessee – Chattanooga for Health and Human Performance Exercise Science and continue her schooling to obtain a doctoral degree in Occupational Therapy. Woods also wishes to continue being involved in band while at UTC.

Lite Rock 95.9 Morning Show Host Sheila Scruggs visited Cookeville High School and presented Woods with a plaque. Woods will join other Dream Big Scholars from the 2016-2017 academic year at a spring banquet where she could win a $1,500 college scholarship, or one of two smaller scholarships.

106-9 Kicks Country and Lite Rock 95.9 joined forces with The Tennessee Credit Union in 2014 to encourage rising seniors who want to Dream Big. Parents, teachers, and local residents nominate graduating seniors for the award.

The Tennessee Credit Union has offices in middle and east Tennessee, including 1281 South Walnut Avenue in Cookeville. For 65 years, The Tennessee Credit Union has been helping members achieve their financial goals with products and services designed to exceed their expectations. To nominate a student to become a Dream Big Scholar, visit 1069 Kicks Country Dot Com or Lite Rock 959 Dot Com.

Last April, someone brought an abused dog into an animal shelter in northern Michigan that had two broken legs. It still looks pretty young, so apparently it was still a puppy at that point.

Luckily it recovered, and the owners got arrested for animal cruelty. Then another couple adopted it and named it Peanut. So it’s in good hands now.

But last Friday, it started barking like crazy and running around their house. Which wasn’t normal. So the husband let it outside, and it bolted straight into a field next to their house. Which was also weird, so he followed Peanut.

And it ended up leading him straight to a three-year-old girl who was lying in a ditch in the freezing cold without any clothes on.

He says he wrapped her in his sweatshirt, got her inside, and called 911. Luckily she’s fine now, but couldn’t tell the cops where she lived. The only thing she said was the word “doggie.” So they started knocking on doors.

It turned out her parents live in the same neighborhood. Apparently they weren’t paying attention . . . didn’t even know she was gone . . . and their place was filthy. So Child Protective Services took custody of her, and her sister.

The good news is they didn’t get split up. They’re staying together in a foster home for now.

Here is the Facebook post.

Robert Gibson  from the Rock And Roll Express joined us today to talk about the benifit for Tiffanie Leann Davis going on at the National Guard Armory This Friday. Get more info here.

A better workforce should keep more brain power in the Upper Cumberland. And it should help the area grow. Members of the Highlands Workforce Development Committee are working together to make sure theUpper Cumberland has the best workforce possible.

Public school officials, college administrators, community college leaders, employers, industry leaders, and government officials have spent the better part of ten years working together to affect the future. What successes do they count? Where does the work remain?

We continue our discussion with Dr. Myra West, Dr. Jerry Boyd and Lilian Hartgrove.

Today In The Upper Cumberland airs each weekend as a way to introduce you to interesting people and subjects of interest to our community. Catch the show each Saturday morning at 6 on Lite Rock 95.9, Rock 93-7, and 106-9 Kicks Country.

Sunday morning, the show airs at 7am on Rock 93-7. Catch the show Sunday night at 6pm on Lite Rock 95.9 and at 7pm on 106-9 Kicks Country. You can also catch Today in The Upper Cumberland Sunday mornings at 7am and Sundays at Noon on News Talk 94.1/AM 1600.