TELLICO PLAINS, Tenn. (WATE) — It’s been more than a year since work began on building a track in Tellico Plains in honor of Darrah Wiseman.
Wiseman is a senior at Tellico Plains High School and a star cross country and track and field athlete. She died in a car accident in November 2024.
Although there was no track at her school or anywhere in Monroe County, she was a six-time state champion and dedicated herself to training. Last year, her parents, Chris and Melissa Wiseman, began raising money to build a track at Tellico Flats.
“She was so successful training that she didn’t even have a real training facility. Some people in the community approached us and I was already determined to build a track for her,” said Chris Wiseman.
The Wisemans raised about $140,000. State Rep. Mark Cochran then secured $500,000 in state funding for the project.
“I think this loss touches everyone in our community. So at the time I thought ‘OK, I feel like this would be a really appropriate thing to push in the state budget,'” Cochran said.
But now, the future of the project is unclear.
“We really couldn’t get any clear direction as to who needed approval, what the next steps were,” Melissa Wiseman said. “We were told we could get some bids, engineer reports and surveys and then we could move forward, which we already have.”
Monroe County Mayor Mitch Ingram responded to concerns about the status of the project in a Facebook post.
“This funding is earmarked (only) for District Three and is held in an interest-bearing account in accordance with state requirements and is securely managed by our outstanding finance department,” he said. “We look forward to seeing the direction of the Monroe County Board of Education and we are excited about the projects and opportunities it will bring to this community.”
Monroe County School Board President Dr. Lon Shoopman told 6 News the board has not yet voted on whether to build the track, nor has he discussed it with the mayor. When asked if the school board could take up the matter in the future, he said he didn’t know.
“What we want most is transparency. People coming together to do the right thing for what this money is going to be used for,” Chris Wiseman said.
Cochran clarified that the funds will be used specifically to build a track at Tellico Flats.
The Wisemans are still coping with Darla’s death and say it’s a battle they continue to work on.
But they hope to see the song become a reality before Darla’s sister graduates.
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“She is currently a junior, so ultimately we hope to have this done by her senior year so she can honor her sister,” Melissa said.
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