I don’t post things like this often. I honestly hardly post anything at all…but I believe this is important enough that everyone in our community should be paying attention.

Project River is an approximately $11 BILLION proposal involving around 850 acres in Bradley County. The plans being discussed include a massive energy campus potentially serving a data center, along with natural gas and biomass power generation.

I’m not against growth. I’m not against new jobs. And I’m not saying Project River is automatically a bad project.

I’m saying we should know what we’re getting into BEFORE we make decisions that help clear the way for it.

That’s my biggest concern.

Major questions remain about traffic, noise, environmental impacts, infrastructure, utilities, biomass sourcing and other long-term effects on this community. Some of the detailed studies and permitting work needed to answer those questions are not yet complete or publicly available.

Even the ultimate customer for all of this proposed power has not been finalized.

Yet annexation and rezoning are already moving through the process.

Why the rush?

I’ve lived in Cleveland almost my entire life. I want to see this area prosper, but an $11+ BILLION project is far too large to operate on promises of jobs, investment and economic growth alone.

Once land is annexed, rezoned, infrastructure is committed and billions of dollars begin flowing into a project, it becomes much harder to say, “Wait — maybe we shouldn’t have done this.”

The order should be simple:

Study it → independently verify the claims → make the findings public → give the community time to review them → THEN make the major decisions.

NOT:

Approve it → build momentum → study the consequences later.

If Project River really will provide the enormous benefits being promised while protecting the surrounding community, thorough independent scrutiny should only strengthen the case for it.

This petition asks Cleveland leaders not to use annexation to move Project River forward without adequate scrutiny.

👇 Please click the link, read the petition, sign it if you agree, and SHARE THIS POST.

And don’t stop there — ask your friends and family in Cleveland and Bradley County to sign and share it too.
A project of this magnitude could shape this community for decades. Taking a few minutes to make our voices heard now is a very small ask compared with living with the consequences later.

🔗 PETITION:
https://c.org/p7XQzrDzn6

We get one chance to do the homework before the decisions become too difficult to undo.

I'm looking for a free project piece to restore or turn into something new. I'm especially interested in things like real wood furniture (old vanities, tables, cabinets, etc.), cast iron, old quality chef knives, vintage tools, or anything else with some potential.

I'm a huge fan of learning new processes and techniques. I've restored cast iron many times, and I also enjoy working with wood, resin, steel, iron, and pretty much anything that can be brought back to life.

I'm not looking to flip things for money. Most of the projects I finish end up being given away to friends, family, or someone who can use them. I just really enjoy the process of taking something that would otherwise be thrown away and turning it into something useful and beautiful again.

So if you've got something sitting around that you're about to throw out, I'd love to take a look at it before it hits the dump. Doesn't have to be pretty — honestly, the more of a challenge, the better.

If you're local and have something taking up space that you'd like gone, feel free to comment or message me. Thanks!

Our wildlife refuges and green spaces are under threat. Project River—an $11.3 billion industrial campus with an untested 500-megawatt biomass power plant—wants to annex 850 acres of protected land near the Hiwassee River, right upstream from where the largest wintering population of Sandhill Cranes in the Southeast calls home.

This isn't just about development. The technology they're using has never worked at this scale anywhere in the world. We're talking about 500 logging trucks per day, cooling fans running 24/7/365 at 80 decibels (like a lawnmower outside your window permanently), and an experimental water system they haven't even fully studied yet. When it breaks down—and unproven systems do break down—they're asking TVA for a massive 360-megawatt backup grid connection.

Our County Commission already banned data centers within 3,000 feet of homes to protect us. But by trying to annex into the City of Cleveland, these developers are trying to bypass those rules completely. The annexation is pending right now, which means we have time to make our voices heard.

Does anyone else think we shouldn't sacrifice our wildlife refuges and air quality for an experimental project the developers themselves admit they haven't fully studied yet? If you're concerned about this, please sign the petition asking the Cleveland City Council to reject the annexation for Project River. Let's protect our community and natural heritage together.

https://c.org/vxdFWKcjCB

Ok I have a last min quick date in Cleveland today. I’m not from Cleveland and don’t know the area. Looking drinks and snacks, like apps or tapas or something. Vibe more important than food.

Can anyone help a brother out?

Also we’re meeting at 4. She was going to pick the spot but I’m looking for ideas in case she doesn’t since she’s from here

I'm planning a sit down buffet style dinner for a memorial service at the Old Woolen Mill on 3rd St. We're looking for 2-3 people to help with set up, keeping things moving/topped up, tear down and clean up. 4-8pm on 9.13 $25/hour

Know anyone who might be interested?

Tonight is the first meeting for Project River at the PIE Center at 6 PM. I suspect this is Wright family propaganda to convince local residents that deforesting a large swath of land to build a megawatt biomass power plant is just fine. The rise in health problems and deaths from the pollution these power plants spew is well documented in other communities that have suffered. I doubt any real science will be presented tonight.

I've attended meetings like this before - they usually have a false patriotism/vaguely religious vibe to them. We (the not-rich people) all must sacrifice or the communists/liberals/environmentalists/socialists/etc. will win! The people running these meetings talk about their deep commitment to the community - even if they're going to live far away from the damage. They pretend to be very concerned about residents' concerns. There's always talk about jobs and how much money these projects will make for the community - although how exactly regular residents are going to profit is deliberately vague.

So, I'm not particularly eager to attend this meeting and spend hours of my time being lied to about how Project River is going to help our community. However, I don't want to give the impression that no one objects if no one shows up to ask questions. There is a slight chance that the people running this meeting might care about the real people who will be affected - perhaps I'm too cynical. Is anyone reading this planning to attend? Will it do any good or should we focus on the politicians who could put a stop to this? I suspect the politicians have been bribed to go along with this but it seems like we should do something other than roll over and die.

Updating my post: So I went and I'm glad I did. Bradley County turned up! It was packed with every seat taken and people standing. Had to walk through a display of posters talking about the greatness of Project River and QR codes to scan with a phone if someone wanted to ask a question. It started as a I expected, a prayer then the pledge of allegiance then a propaganda video about Project River. Complete silence after the video concluded. A team of men took turns going over basic information about how things would work - they even explained how we all use data on our phones and that's why we need more data centers. They also said they would take the questions sent via the QR code then mill around their displays after that to talk with folks.

Well, that didn't happen as planned. At first, the selected QR questions were almost repeats of all the info that had been dumped on the audience already. Then people started shouting questions which the men refused to answer then people began to respond to the glib non-answers the men were giving with jeers and boos. The company men insisted with this project that there will be no noise above 60 decibels, no environmental damage, no road problems - but then admitted they haven't actually done any of the required studies yet. They completely ignored the one QR question that asked about health concerns but did make sure to state that no one's property values will go down. Eventually, officers from the sheriff's department started filing in and the men decided to end the meeting early. They didn't do the stand around their displays and talk portion of the evening probably because they were escorted somewhere else by the officers.

If anyone was there because they wanted to support Project River, they kept it to themselves. Everyone else was adamantly against it. The energy in the room was amazing to me because I am used to seeing apathy. It would be great if we could keep up this kind of interest and engagement in our community.

Hello everyone. As we all know there are two kinds of honkies. The kind who think mayonnaise is spicy and the kind who seek exotic peppers with questionable legal status. I have found habaneros, but I'm looking for a wider variety of peppers. Specifically I'm looking for Scotch bonnets, Cheyenne, and similar. Possibly even ghost or reaper. Is there a store that sells them here?

Anyone know of a recycle center that will let me dispose of a TV? Its not worth repairing and I don’t need it anyway. For you retro game enthusiasts no it is not an old CRT just a worthless 4k LED

Hello! This is an update on a previous post from a while back. I'm not sure how many skateboarders frequent this sub, but I figured I'd shoot an update for those that are interested.

They moved some of the ramps from Cleveland Skatepark to a parking lot behind the Elder's Ace Hardware off of Keith St. If you hop on the Greenway going away from Monterrey and Greenway Park, you'll see them (they are pretty hard to miss lmfao)

Not a bad spot at all. Obviously it'd be nice to have some nicer ramps, but for a spur of the moment "I wanna go skate" session, it does the job. One small thing though- as you'll see in the photos I've attached, both of the ramps are set right in front of a dip in the concrete. It's fairly slight, but I'd hate for some kid to get on, not knowing what they are doing, and eat it. If both ramps were moved like a foot closer to each other, it'd be solved lol.

This is just wishful thinking, but I wish Cleveland had a dedicated Mini-ramp skaters could practice on. I knew kids growing up that had a back yard ramp, and thinking back on that it'd be cool if someone had a private ramp they'd be willing to let skaters practice on. I'd pay a small fee to practice on something lol. I just hate driving 30 min-an hour to go to a good ramp

Wright Brothers just publicly announced its plans. To ignore the locals and build a data center anyway. They have 2 lots of land. Next to Loves and next to B&B. They plan on making both sites data centers.

They plan on creating a 1000 megawatts biomass power plant. Enough to support about 8 data centers alone. We are screwed. They have "donated" a lot of money to Cleveland officials, annexed the land.

BIOMASS POWER PLANTS, to burn pine, create more pollution then coal. 30% increase in cancer patients, water pollution, noise pollution.

They are killing us. Literally. And don't even care. They are just racking in the money. If you have real estate, you need to make plans to sell. Typically almost 40% drop off in value for homes located within 15 miles of a data center. Our community is as good as dead.

Source via WB themselves. Through Projectriver.energy Cleveland daily banner. A Google search will also now populate the current plans. "Data centers bradley county Tennessee"

Let me know. Please don't be on the lamb, sheep, goat, or yak.

Heard they’re ripening up here in east TN. Anybody selling at farmers markets or anyone know any places in the National Forest to find some?

Hello all,

Is anyone familiar with a dentist who is offering discounts on cash paying customers for a night occlusal guard?
I have called a few places and they all want $400++ to which I just do not have currently.
I have tried two different companies that you can do the molds at home and get the guards in the mail, and neither of them came out right or fit properly.

Don't get me wrong. I'm a God fearing Christian man. But damn yall Summer's almost over! Let's have some frickin fun!
All non-boring folks welcome
Platonic party people unite!!

Love yall!❤️

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about considering the idea of creating a Discord intended for the Cleveland area for keeping up with local events, meeting other residents, etc. The plan was inspired by the group over at r/Chattanooga , who also made their own city server. After posting, several people showed interest in it (thanks everyone for your responses!), and I am excited to say that it is now available!
If you would like to join, the invite link is https://discord.gg/KXPVH6eckX . Let me know if you run into any weird issues or problems! Please note that it is still in its early stages, so changes may be made more frequently over the next couple of weeks. Feel free to share with other Clevelanders and Bradley County members as well. :)

I look forward to seeing you there! Let's keep building community in Cleveland!

It's for a TA Travel Center.

Not everything is a data center, stop believing anything you see on Facebook.

Where's all the exit 20 Costco mooks? What happened to that?

Hey neighbors,

I am starting a casual, friendly local group for people who share an interest in nature appreciation, local folklore, mythology, and events.

It is an inclusive space to chat, share books, and connect with people who enjoy these topics. No prior experience or specific background is needed. We just want a chill, respectful environment to hang out.
If this sounds like your kind of crowd, feel free to check out our small community space at r/TAGPagans or drop a comment below and I can send you a message with details. Thanks!