McNelley, who was a supporter of the Confederacy during the Civil War, was arrested by Federal troops in the fall of 1863, and the newspaper ceased publication.

[4]Initially headquartered downtown, it moved to new offices on 25th Street in January 1970.

[6] The two former associate editors, Rick Norton and Gwen Swiger, were with the newspaper for a combined period of more than 50 years.

The Gwen Swiger/Rick Norton Scholarship for Journalism and Communications, designed for students in Bradley County Schools and Cleveland City Schools, was announced on May 10, 2018, on a day designed in their honor by County Mayor D. Gary Davis and Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland.

The scholarship is being administered by the Community Foundation of Cleveland/Bradley County, and was established by Banner staff writer Brian Graves.