Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 7-22-24

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Daily News from MuleTown to Music City and beyond. Listen to Tom Price read the news of the day from Kennedy Broadcasting, WKOM & WKRM Radio.

WKOM/WKRM Radio
Southern Middle Tennessee Today
News Copy for July 22, 2024

All news stories are aggregated from various sources and modified for time and content. Original sources are cited.
We start with local news…
County Commission Recap (CDH)
The Maury County Commission voted this week to adopt a new three-year ambulance agreement with Maury Regional Medical Center.
The agreement will provide $2 million per year, as well as a 5% increase each following year. This would allow Maury Regional to purchase at least two ambulances per year.
The agreement also states that there would be seven 24-hour ambulances on duty at all times, along with two 12-hour ambulances.
The request for more ambulances began in 2023, when Maury Regional Health issued a letter to the county stating the need was based on continued population growth.
The previous agreement allocated $600,000 per year by the county for ambulance services.
Once brought before a vote, the agreement passed 16-1.
In addition to the Maury Regional's ambulance agreement, two other Maury County organizations received approval votes for additional grant money.
The Maury County Health Department will also be receiving a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health of up to $1,488,225 through June 30, 2025. The grant is to provide additional medical services to rural areas.
Maury County Animals Services will receive $1,100 from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture for a low-cost sterilization program for dogs and cats.
Prior to the main meeting, Maury County Sheriff Bucky Rowland spoke about the recent 20th annual Maury County Sheriff's Rodeo, which he said was "a huge success."
"It was a phenomenal weekend, and I greatly appreciate the bleachers that were donated by [the county], but we need more," Rowland joked. "We could have filled that much more up and then some. By far the two largest nights that there has ever been in that arena for any event."
In addition to a packed arena and vendor alley, the Sheriff's Rodeo is also held every year as a charity benefit for the department's annual Shop with a Cop program.
"We had Christmas in July, and you guys will see the benefits come November and December in how it affects our youth," Rowland said.
Rowland concluded by sharing how the event has grown in its 20 years.
"When it started out, it was the SROs and the reserves, and now it's truly the Sheriff's Department's rodeo. and it's everybody involved," Rowland said. "It's the community's rodeo is really what it is. The proof is in the pudding, and over the last 10 years it's just gotten bigger and better."

Culleoka Political Fish Fry (WKOM Audio 3:20)
On Friday, the Culleoka Masonic Order and Lion’s Club held a community fish fry and political rally. Front Porch Radio’s Delk Kennedy attended the event and spoke to Culleoka resident Kay Ivanhof about the political scene…

PACs Spending Big in 5th District (Tennessean)
Political action committees have shelled out more than half a million dollars in the heated Republican primary for Tennessee's 5th Congressional district between incumbent U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles and challenger Metro Council member Courtney Johnston.
While Ogles enjoys support from his longtime ally Americans for Prosperity Action, a new and well-funded PAC is backing Johnston.
Conservatives With Character Inc. is an independent super PAC formed in May 2024 by retired Tennessee GOP political director Randy Stamps.
It's funded entirely with donations from inside Tennessee, including significant contributions from Ryman Hospitality's Colin Reed, former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist, Nashville investor Joe Cook, Jones Brothers president Andrew Wall, Hardaway Construction Corp., Charter Construction Corp, and government affairs consultant and former U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper alum Sam Reed.
The bulk of Conservatives With Character Inc.'s funding comes from a $140,000 contribution from another PAC: Best of Tennessee Action Fund, a group formed in April to tackle the "bubble of ideological extremism" in Tennessee.
Prominent Republican fundraiser Kim Kaegi sits on Best of Tennessee's board. She's also Johnston's campaign treasurer.
Best of Tennessee Action has received donations from former Tractor Supply president and chairman Joe Scarlett, now the vice chair of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, Nashville developer Tony Giarratana, businessman John Ingram, James Granberry, Brentwood investor Stephen Smith, and a $120,000 contribution from Best of Tennessee Inc.
Johnston criticized Ogles' chronic inconsistencies on financial disclosures, after The Tennessean reported the freshman congressman omitted several significant financial interests, including his own salary, a line of credit, and state retirement account from disclosures submitted to the State of Tennessee as Maury County mayor.
"Andy Ogles has been running for office for 22 years and thinks he has figured out that he can say one thing and do another," Johnston said. "He is a hypocrite who disrespects the very rule of law he swore to uphold. The 5th Congressional District deserves better. We deserve someone with integrity that will represent our values each and every day."

CPJI Sponsoring Civil Rights Attorney Fred Gray (Press Release)
The Columbia Peace and Justice Initiative (CPJI) will be hosting an evening with Civil Rights activist and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient attorney Fred Gray on Thursday, September 19 at 6 p.m. The event will be held at Maury Hills Church, located at 101 Unity Drive in Columbia.
“It is an honor and a privilege to have such an iconic defender of civil rights share his experiences, noting how far we have come and the work that lies before us,” said CPJI President Trent Ogilvie. “CPJI is dedicated to bringing awareness and unity to our community through a multitude of initiatives, and we are grateful to Mr. Gray for his support of our endeavors.”
Fred D. Gray is the senior partner of the law firm of Gray, Langford, Sapp, McGowan, Gray, Gray & Nathanson, P.C., with offices in both Montgomery and Tuskegee. He is a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, a native of Montgomery, Alabama, and resides in Tuskegee with his wife Carol. Mr. Gray’s life mission has been to destroy racial segregation wherever he finds it, and that is what he continues to do. He has practiced law since 1954, specializing in civil rights litigation, and continues to practice today at the age of 93.
He has been a cooperating attorney with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Legal Defense Fund Inc. since 1956. He represented many civil rights icons and organizations, including the victims of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Claudette Colvin, Congressman John Lewis, the Freedom Riders and Walkers, Selma to Montgomery Marchers, NAACP, Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and others.
Attorney Gray is the recipient of many honorary degrees and awards. On July 7, 2022, President Joe Biden awarded Mr. Gray the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is the highest award a civilian can receive. In 2023, he received the American Bar Association’s Medal, which is its highest award given and was also awarded the Legal Defense Fund’s Thurgood Marshall Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as president of the National Bar Association and Alabama Bar Association and is the current president of the Tuskegee Human & Civil Rights Multicultural Center.
During his 69-year legal career Attorney Gray filed suits to end discrimination in public transportation, voting rights, rights of members in non-profit organizations, right to public education without discrimination from kindergarten to graduate schools, right of students to obtain an education and not be expelled without a hearing, equal access to farm subsidies, health care, the right to serve on civil juries and many others.
Proceeds from this CPJI Legacy Fundraiser, which will replace the traditional Legacy Luncheon in 2024, will support the completion of the Thurgood Marshall Roundabout coming in 2025 in partnership with the City of Columbia. The roundabout will feature a sculpture of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall created by renowned sculptor David Alan Clark. It will be located at the intersection of South Main Street and East 8th Street, a gateway to the historic Black business district and the epicenter of the 1946 Columbia Race Riot, a pivotal moment in Columbia’s history that sent shockwaves across the nation.
The February 24, 1946, confrontation culminated in the NAACP sending young attorney Thurgood Marshall to Columbia to defend 25 individuals who went to trial, held mainly in Lawrenceburg. Marshall fell ill before the trial commenced but remained involved from New York and returned to Columbia in November of that year to represent the last two defendants. During this time, Marshall was confronted by a lynch mob in Columbia and narrowly escaped death, an experience shared in nearly every account of Marshall’s life. Ultimately, 23 of the 25 individuals charged were acquitted for lack of evidence and two were charged with lesser counts.
Marshall’s dedication to protecting the rights of all citizens earned him the nickname “Mr. Civil Rights.” His distinguished career included successfully having the Supreme Court declare segregation in public schools unconstitutional (Brown v Board of Education, 1954),
President Lyndon B. Johnson nominated Marshall as the first African American to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967.
“By commemorating Thurgood Marshall, we not only highlight the national significance of these events but also their deep local impact, enhancing the story’s relevance and underscoring its importance in the broader context of American history,” said CPJI Legacy Event Chair Russ Adcox.
Sponsorship opportunities are currently available. For more information, contact Russ Adcox at [e-mail] or 931.628.0736. Individual tickets are $55 and may be purchased at cpji.org.

Former CA Standout Drafted into MLB (MSM)
Don’t expect Kavares Tears to remember all 133 of the names called before his during last week’s Major League Baseball Draft.
But don’t be surprised if the Columbia Academy graduate does, either.
“I think where I went was just outside the range we were expecting,” Tears said after the San Diego Padres selected him with the 134th overall pick – a compensation pick prior to the fifth round awarded to the team for losing reliever Josh Hader in free agency to the Houston Astros over the offseason.
“Definitely there was a lot of frustration, but also a lot of determination. I think in the long run this’ll be, I hope, the best thing that could ever happen to me, as far as motivation and determination.”
Aside from where he went, as the sixth member of the national champion University of Tennessee team to be chosen in the draft’s first four rounds, Tears was ecstatic that he went.
“There’s a little bit of a sigh of relief,” he recalled of Monday’s rush of emotions. “A big step in my ultimate goal was accomplished; that’s definitely a surreal feeling. Right after, though, I was also ready to get to work and start playing.
“Once I stepped back and thought about it, not a lot of people have gotten the opportunity to hear their name called. I’m still blessed to be able to play the game I’ve wanted to play my entire life. I feel blessed. I’m ready to get back to work and kinda prove everybody wrong.”
The dominance Tennessee exhibited in its run to the national title – winning the Southeastern Conference regular-season and tournament crowns before going into the NCAA Tournament as the national No. 1 seed and prevailing through regional and super-regional play  – continued over the draft’s three days, with four players selected in Sunday’s opening two rounds and another four in the following eight rounds on Monday.
Since Tony Vitello took over the Volunteer program in 2018, 41 ex-Vols have been drafted.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of teams that have been fortunate enough to have this many guys go,” Tears said. “I don’t know if that’s happened too many times, but it just goes to show the kind of guys ‘V’ likes to bring in.
“Maybe if you’re not top-four-round ready when you first get on campus, I’m sure by the time you leave you’ll definitely be better than when you first came in.”
Tears himself had to come to that conclusion, after redshirting as a freshman following a stellar prep career and playing in less than half of Tennessee’s games in 2023.
“I could have easily got in the (transfer) portal after last season,” he said. “But when I think of my career and ultimately what I want, every day when I’m going to work, whatever team I’m on and playing – every day I just want to get better. That whole time I was getting better last year. When I review everything I’ve done, I’ve gotten better. I haven’t improved as much as I want to, but I’m getting better.
“Why take the risk of going somewhere that maybe it’s not fitting? A lot of the time with me not playing was kind of my own doing: Stuff I needed to figure out on the baseball field, needing to mature in the (batter’s) box and in the outfield, taking care of my body, how I was eating. If you’re not playing at that exact moment but you’re getting better, what else can you ask? You can go somewhere and it really doesn’t benefit you at all. There’s different ways to look at it, but that’s how I look at it.”
His patience paid off, in more ways than one. After a redshirt sophomore season during which he batted .324 with 20 home runs, 62 runs batted in, 73 runs scored and 16 doubles – all among the top four for the national champions through their 60-13 campaign – and played stellar outfield defense, Tears’ draft signing bonus slot value is more than $525,000.
“That’s definitely the largest amount of money I’ve seen come my way since I’ve been alive,” he said. “But I think the biggest thing now is finding ways to make that money multiply and be smart with how I use it. I had a truck that I had picked out, but I don’t think now is the right time to get it.”
Meanwhile, Tears — the first Columbia Academy athlete to be selected in the MLB Draft since the Oakland Athletics picked pitcher Keith Norman in the 40th round in 1995 — is getting a bit antsy with the process and ready to get back on the field.
“I’ll fly out to Arizona here in a couple of days,” he said. “I’ll be doing the physical exams, my agent will be reviewing the contract, and hopefully by the time I get done with all the exams, they’ll be ready to sign and get the deal done and get ready to work.”
The national championship, the result of the draft process and the opportunity to call himself a professional baseball player are all achievements the 21-year-old Tears doesn’t take lightly.
“It definitely makes me hold my head a little bit higher, walk with a little more confidence,” he said. “Being able to be in a position to put on for the community I’ve grown up in and people I’ve been around and grew up with my whole life, it definitely gives me more confidence but also puts a bit more of a chip on my shoulder.
“Being from Lewisburg, I tell people where I’m from and they have no clue; they’ve never heard of it. So I just tell people I’m from Nashville. But it’s a little upsetting. It’d be kinda cool when it’s all said and done, at the end of my career, to have my name attached to Lewisburg.”

And now, Your Hometown Memorials, Sponsored by Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home…   
Matthew Jewel Harrington, 34, resident of Lynnville, died unexpectedly Thursday, July 18, 2024 two days short of his 35th birthday. 
A Celebration of Life will be conducted Monday, July 22, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. The family will visit with friends Monday from 12:00p.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Condolences may be extended online at www.oakesandnichols.com. 

Now, news from around the state…
How Dem Delegates Will Choose Nominee (Tennessean)
President Joe Biden announce Sunday he would no longer seek reelection and drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
The 81-year-old had been firm is his stance of staying in the race for the White House despite intense pressure for him to step down from in the wake of a disastrous performance in a debate with Republican candidate Donald Trump.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," Biden said in a written statement. "And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country for me to stand down and to focus solely on my duties as President for the rest of my term."
The 3,896 Democrat delegates from across the United States who will assemble next month at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago will now have to vote for someone besides Biden to represent the party - even if he won their states' primaries earlier this year.
Here's how they would select a new Democratic presidential nominee.
A section in the DNC rules referred to as the "good conscience" clause ― under Rule 13 (J)― allows for delegates to not vote for a candidate that won the primaries in their state. Here's how it reads:
 "Delegates elected to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them."
Originally adopted in the 1980s, the "good conscience" clause was added so delegates at the DNC can vote for anyone they choose if they, in all good conscience, represent their beliefs even if the person didn't win the primary in their state.
Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee, making her the leading candidate to take his place. 
The Democratic National Convention is a month away. It starts Monday, Aug. 19, and runs until Thursday, Aug. 22.
To win the Democratic nomination for president, a candidate must have 1,968 pledged delegates out of a total of 4,672. Biden's win in the March Super Tuesday primary, earned him all of Tennessee's estimated 70 delegates — 63 pledged delegates and 7 superdelegates.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)
The Paris 2024 Olympics kick off on July 26 and go through August 11. This will be the third time Paris has hosted the Summer Olympics, and it’s exactly 100 years after the last time, in 1924. WalletHub shared some interesting facts about the upcoming Olympic games.
Here are some stats for Paris 2024 Olympics:
$8.2B+ – Estimated cost of hosting the 2024 Paris Olympics.
200% – Increase in Paris hotel prices for Olympics opening night.
40K – Number of people who will join the 26 mi “Marathon for All” in Paris on August 10 at 9 pm, considering heat issues.
45K – Number of security personnel who will work the Paris Games.
2nd – Year in a row the Olympics will use artificial intelligence managed security features.
16 Years Old – Age of the youngest member of Team USA, gymnast Hezly Rivera.
100 Years – Length of time since Paris last hosted the Summer Olympics.