Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 3-17-26

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Southern Middle Tennessee Today
News Copy for March 17, 2026

All news stories are aggregated from various sources and modified for time and content. Original sources are cited.
Storm Recap (CDH)
The city of Columbia reported multiple weather-related incidents in the late-night hours of Sunday, March 15, stating potential tornadic activity showed on radar in northern and western Columbia.
Most storm-related impacts occurred in the northern and western portions of the city, extending from the Williamsport Pike and Hampshire Pike split toward Carters Creek Pike and Nashville Highway, according to a March 16 media release by the city.
Trees and downed power lines were reported across multiple roadways and utility areas, along with minor structural damage to homes and property, the release states. A carport was torn from a home in Maury County, while some cars were damaged under the weight of fallen trees.
The National Weather Service has crews in Maury and Lawrence counties trying to determine the intensity of the storm.
"We have sent a survey team down to Maury County, and also to Lawrence County, and they will be assessing the damage and deciding if it is straight-line wind damage or if it is more of a tornadic nature," NWS Nashville meteorologist Alexandra Holley said.
The city addressed new sirens installed following the May 2024 tornado that hit eastern Columbia, destroying multiple homes and structures.
"As part of the City’s ongoing tornado siren installation project, newly installed sirens activated during the storm, alerting many residents across Columbia to the developing severe weather," the release states.
"Several mass notifications were also sent to residents through the City’s Hyper-Reach emergency alert notification system for both tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings during the event.
"At this time, first responders have addressed the immediate hazards resulting from the storm, and no injuries have been reported."
Residents are also encouraged to sign up for Hyper-Reach emergency alerts to receive up-to-date public safety notifications by calling or texting "Alert" to (931-286-7771 or signing up online at https://signup.hyper-reach.com/hyper_reach/sign_up_page_2/.
Columbia Power & Water Systems reported 6,500 customers were affected by Sunday's storm, with major outages in the Sunnyside area.
By Monday morning, the outages had reduced to 640 as crews continued to assess damages, which included replacing 12 broken poles.
"Maury County EMA indicates a likely tornado touchdown, and the field damage we're seeing supports that," CPWS posted to Facebook on Monday. "Because of the extent of the physical damage, we are looking toward mid-week (Wednesday or Thursday) to have 100% of customers back online, though most will see power restored before then."
CPWS also reported that Benton County Electric of Camden and Shelbyville Power provided assistance to help restore power outages.
"Teams are in the field this morning conducting assessments on smaller, localized outages to gather the information needed for the incoming mutual aid crews," CPWS posted to Facebook on Monday.
In addition to downed power lines and multiple outages, Columbia Parks and Recreation reported that one of its facilities received damage due to the storm.
The Columbia Aquatics & Recreation Center remained closed Monday morning as crews addressed any critical repairs and cleanup efforts.

Candidate Deadline Passes (MSM)
On March 10, the window closed for candidates to submit their qualifying documentation to run for county-level office in Maury County. 
The candidates who have successfully met the deadline and submitted qualifying documentation or have been chosen by party caucus are:
Federal Offices
U.S. House of Representatives
• District 5: Andy Ogles (Republican, incumbent)
• Chaz Molder (Democrat)
• Jim Torino (Democrat)
State Offices
Governor of Tennessee
• Lauren Pinkston (Independent)
• David Martin (Democratic)
Tennessee House of Representatives
District 64
• Scott Cepicky (R-incumbent)
• Craig D’Apolito (D)
District 71
• Kip Capley (R-incumbent)
• James Day (D)
State Executive Committee
District 28
• Angela McClanahan (R)
• Vicki Hale (D)
• Seth Campbell (D)
• Chris Morris (R)
• Debbie Matthews (R)
Maury County
County Mayor
• Sheila Butt (R-incumbent)
• Gabe Howard (I)
Sheriff
• Bucky Rowland (I)
County Trustee
• Randy McNeece (R)
County Clerk
• Joey Allen (R)
Registrar of Deeds
• John Fleming (R)
Circuit Court Clerk
• Sandy McLain (I)
County Commission (by district)
• District 1: Jerry Strahan (R-incumbent), Tim Holt (R)
• District 2: Patti Hollinsworth (R-incumbent), Wayne Romesburg (R)
• District 3: Gary Stovall (I-incumbent), Jennifer Garrard (R), Winston Harlan (D)
• District 4: Connie Green (R-incumbent), Mike Kuzawinski (R-incumbent), James Dallas (D)
• District 5: Scott Sumners (R-incumbent), Brandon Nutt (I-incumbent), Sam Barnes (R)
• District 6: Cindy Hestla (R-incumbent), Rebecca Haines (R)
• District 7: Kenny Morrow (R-incumbent), Richard Baud (R), Bradley Coutts (I)
• District 8: Steven Burford (R), Melissa “Missy” Phillips (R), Andreas Eastep (I)
• District 9: Kevin Markham (R-incumbent), Brent Coen (R), Jacquelyn Marshall (I), Jordan Rouden (I), Adam Southern (I)
• District 10: Danny Grooms (R-incumbent), Tommy Wolaver (I-incumbent), Diane Davis (I), Greg Combs (R)
• District 11: Chad Brothers (R-incumbent), Tim Mullen (R)
County constable (by district)
• District 1: Ronald Barnes (I)
• District 2: John Tomlinson (I)
• District 3: Timothy Clark (I-incumbent)
• District 4: David Coombes (I-incumbent)
• District 5: Nathan Popplewell (I)
• District 6: Joey Potts (I- incumbent)
• District 7: Patrick Ryan (R-incumbent)
• District 8: Ronald Shelton (R-incumbent)
• District 9: William Maddox (I), Mark A. Lee (R)
• District 10: Steve Mangrum (R-incumbent)
• District 11: Ronald Barnes (I)
School Board (by district)
• District 1: Kristen Shull (R-incumbent)
• District 2: Kris Gulstine (R, running to replace Ron Plageman)
• District 3: Jamila Brown (I-incumbent)
• District 5: David Moore (R-incumbent)
• District 7: John Lawson (R)
• District 9: Steve McGee (R-incumbent), David Sisk (I)
• District 11: Kathy Mikula (R-incumbent)

Maury County Attorney Resigns (MSM)
After more than 17 years as Maury County Attorney, Daniel Murphy has officially resigned his post and will finish his term at the end of this month.
Murphy, who served in an official capacity as county attorney and privately as counsel to Columbia Power & Water Systems, announced his resignation in a public comment before the March meeting of the county Health and Environment Committee. He did so because of two resolutions, which never passed, on the agenda of the county Administration Committee.
One resolution, brought by District 8 Commissioner Gabe Howard, formally objected to the city of Columbia’s approval for water rate increases that would pay for CPWS’s new water-intake pipeline and treatment facility. The other, brought by District 6 Commissioner Kathey Grodi, expressed the county’s “non-consent to [Murphy’s] concurrent representation of County Attorney and CPWS related to any matters regarding [the] planned water project.”
Several county commissioners have publicly questioned or objected to the downstream intake project, either in its different aspects or as a whole, and to how CPWS and the City of Columbia have proceeded without the consent of the county’s government and voters.
The second resolution especially objected to Murphy representing CPWS in its negotiations with private-property owners, many of them in the unincorporated county outside Columbia, to get pipeline easements and rights-of-way through their land. In their March board meeting, CPWS leadership noted that eight easements (of the 81 in the pipeline’s path) are now either “condemned” or on a watchlist for eminent domain.
Grodi later told Main Street Maury that Murphy’s representation of CPWS had led several county residents to think that the county government was on board with the project, and they complained in this mistaken belief to their representatives on the county commission.
“[T]he commission respectfully finds that there is a concurrent conflict of interest between the position of CPWS and the commission related to the Water Project, including the exercise of eminent domain related to such pipeline, and it does not consent to any joint representation of CPWS and the commission in such regard,” ends the second resolution, which argued that Murphy couldn’t adequately represent the interests of two government entities that are divided over the project. “Now therefore, be it resolved by the Maury County Commission that the county attorney is hereby respectfully notified that he may not represent CPWS related to the water project in any way, including any eminent domain matters related to the water project, either now or in the future.”
Murphy objected both to the commission trying to control his choice of private clients, which he said came from the prevalence of hostile, uninformed and bad-faith objections to CPWS’s project.
“I started writing down facts about that downstream intake, that many people have heard about but don’t really understand, in my opinion,” Murphy said, adding he was initially hopeful that he could make his points based on the facts established during preliminary studies for the pipeline, because all the public figures on both sides of the pipeline issue share a stated concern for the health of the Duck River. “Then I realized something… facts don’t seem to matter in the political [and] social-media world that we currently live in.”
Murphy accused unnamed parties of treating Columbia’s water supply as a political football, by curating the “facts” surrounding the downstream intake at best, omitting or distorting them at worst and personally attacking people, including him.
“Those methods, in my opinion, are terrible… [and] very sad for this community… In my position as county attorney, I have always tried to keep out of politics and treat everyone the same. I try to work with everyone, I get along with everyone,” Murphy said. “Now it seems that certain individuals desire to align the county attorney position, and aspects of his private practice of law, with their particular political agenda. I’m not going to be part of that process.”
Murphy threatened to resign before the end of March if the administrative committee passed the resolutions, and by the next night they had been struck from the committee’s agenda.
“I want to thank everyone who has supported me during my time as county attorney. I have thoroughly enjoyed representing this county [and] I believe I’ve done a lot of good things for this county,” Murphy said. “But it’s clear to me that my time representing [Maury] County has come to an end.”
Even before the downstream intake had entered the public conversation, the county commission had questioned Murphy’s ability to represent the interests of both the Maury County government and CPWS. In March 2025, 11 county commissioners voted to retain Murphy, against nine who voted to replace him with District 9 Commissioner Jerry Bridenbaugh. The first-round vote ended in a 10-10 tie; in the second round, then-Chairman Kevin Markham changed his vote to keep Murphy. The stated concern of the side that narrowly lost the vote, was Murphy’s representation of CPWS.
“There is a major conflict of interest,” County Mayor Sheila Butt said in March 2025.

County Land Use Plan Meeting Planned (Press Release)
A Public Meeting will be held to develop a new Maury County Comprehensive Land Use Plan on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. The meeting will take place in the Auditorium and Event Center at Columbia Central High School, located at 921 Lion Parkway, Columbia, TN 38401. The purpose of this meeting is to establish a new Comprehensive Land Use Plan which develops a planning guide for the most appropriate use of land in the unincorporated county. Questions or comments should be directed to the Maury County Building and Zoning Office at 931-375-3003.

CSCC Professor Receives SOAR Award (MSM)
Columbia State Community College faculty member, Dr. Lacey Benns was among the recipients of this year’s Tennessee Board of Regents Statewide Outstanding Achievement Recognition (SOAR) Awards.
The College System of Tennessee honored outstanding students, faculty, staff, philanthropists, partners and volunteers of the year in the Eighth SOAR Awards in Nashville recently.
In addition to individual SOAR Award winners, Jackson State Community College and Tennessee College of Applied Technology (TCAT) Knoxville took home College of the Year honors in their respective college sectors.
After weeks of college- and regional-level judging that selected 18 finalists for student, faculty and staff members of the year, the 2026 individual winners at the SOAR Awards Dinner Thursday, March 5, and the local finalist among the Faculty of the Year recipients in the Community College category is Dr. Lacey Benns, communications studies professor at Columbia State Community College.
The student, faculty and staff award recipients receive cash prizes.
In a video appearance during the awards dinner, Gov. Bill Lee said, “It is an honor to celebrate each of Tennessee’s outstanding students, staff and faculty at the community colleges and Tennessee Colleges of Applied Technology across our state. Our community colleges and TCATS offer a variety of life-changing opportunities for Tennesseans, and these finalists stood out as leaders who have excelled within their communities. Congratulations on this honor, and thank you all for your hard work and dedication.”

First Fridays Coming Back (Press Release)
Columbia Main Street is excited to announce the return of First Fridays in Downtown Columbia. The event runs April through December from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and invites the community to enjoy food trucks, craft vendors, live music, a Game Zone, a Young Entrepreneurs Market, plus shopping and dining with downtown merchants and restaurants.

Each month features a fun theme, and attendees are encouraged to dress up and participate.
• April 3 – Muletown Celebration
• May 1 – Flashback Friday
• June 5 – Luau
• July 3 – USA 250th Celebration
• August 7 – Tie-Dye
• September 4 – Spill the Tea
• October 2 – Fall Fest
• November 6 – Holiday Kickoff & Tree Lighting
• December 4 – Merry Makers Market

New this year, the event area expands to include West 7th Street, the entire Public Square, and one block of South Main Street. The larger footprint allows for better placement of vendors and activity areas, including the expanded Young Entrepreneurs Market for youth 17 and under to sell homemade items, baked goods, or showcase their talents.

LIVE at First Fridays takes place on a new amplified stage-area on South Main Street beginning at 6:30 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket to enjoy the live music. Also returning by popular demand are acoustic performers playing throughout the downtown district on the streets and inside downtown storefronts and restaurants.

A new dedicated Game Zone will feature yard games and activities for all ages. Columbia Main Street is also partnering with the City of Columbia’s Public Works Department on a recycling awareness project. At each month’s event, guests can help paint a recycling can that will later be placed in the Arts District.

“It’s an honor to continue this beloved community event where residents can gather to enjoy great shopping, food, and a lively downtown atmosphere,” said Kelli Johnson, Columbia Main Street Director. “We encourage everyone to attend all nine First Fridays because each one will be different. Our goal is to help our residents deepen their love for our community by continuing to showcase the best that Columbia has to offer!”

Vendors interested in participating can apply at ColumbiaMainStreet.com on the First Fridays page. The deadline to apply is the 14th of the prior month and all applications are reviewed by the First Fridays committee. Applicants are notified by the 19th of their application status.

Columbia Main Street is a nonprofit organization, and vendor fees help support the initiatives of Columbia Main Street’s plan of work for the Downtown District. For more information, visit ColumbiaMainStreet.com, follow Columbia TN Main Street on Facebook and Instagram, call 931-560-1507, or visit the office at 713 North Main Street, Columbia, TN.

And now, Your Hometown Memorials, Sponsored by Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home…
Mr. Bobby Eugene Dye, 94, died Sunday, March 15 at his residence in Culleoka. Graveside services will be conducted Wednesday, March 18 at 2:30 PM at Polk Memorial Gardens. The family will visit with friends Wednesday from 1:00 PM until 2:00 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home.

Ernest Giddens “Pete” Sloan, 76, retired Petroleum Geologist for the United States Dept. of Interior, and resident of Columbia, died Friday, March 6, 2026 at his residence.
A memorial service will be conducted Thursday, March 19, 2026 at 4:00 PM at St. Peter's Episcopal Church with The Reverend Chris Bowhay officiating.

Susan Piesch Dobbins, 74, passed away peacefully at her residence in Culleoka on Tuesday, March 3, 2026.
A public memorial service will take place at Hopewell ARP on March 21, 2026 at 4:00p.m. A private burial will take place at Hopewell Cemetery.

And now, news from around the state…
Student Immigration Bill (Tennessean)
Tennessee is poised to become the first state to require proof of immigration status as a requirement to enroll in public school — an overture to challenging the U.S. Supreme Court's 1982 decision Plyler v. Doe, which barred schools from discriminating against children based on immigration status.
House Republicans on March 16 passed House Bill 793 directing public schools to require students to provide proof of their immigration status at enrollment. Schools will be required to report the number of students unable to provide proof of legal status to the state. Students are still permitted to attend public school regardless of their immigration status.
Three Republicans voted against the bill: Rep. Jody Barrett, R-Dickson, Rep. Charlie Baum, R-Murfreesboro, Rep. Michael Hale, R-Smithville. The vote was 70 to 25.
"These are not undocumented immigrants. These are illegal immigrants that have come into the country illegally," said bill sponsor House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland. "These are not folks that were ever documented. These are not folks that ever had immigration status. These are folks that are illegally here. We need to know how many of those are in our school system."
Senate Republicans last year passed a further reaching bill requiring public schools to check students’ immigration status, and charge tuition or refuse to educate children unable to prove they’re in the U.S. lawfully.
But over $1.1 billion in federal K-12 education funds could be withheld if the state refuses to educate children based on immigration status. 
“That funding considers free and reduced lunch, considers programs that help some of our special education students. It helps teacher training,” Lamberth said. “I don’t want to endanger that.”
So Lamberth removed elements of the bill that would have allowed schools to discriminate against undocumented children and charge tuition.
His bill that passed the House on March 16 requires schools to demand proof of immigration status, to total up the numbers of undocumented students and to report those totals to the state.
School districts would be required to report to the Tennessee Department of Education the number of students including those who are:
• Citizens of the United States
• In the process of seeking citizenship
• Hold a valid legal immigration or visa status
• Are subject to pending immigration proceedings in which a final order of removal has been issued
• Have failed to produce documentation
• Have produced insufficient documentation
Student names and addresses would not be shared with the state.
The bill is part of Republicans’ push this year to require immigrants to prove legal status for all types of public services. Republican leaders are pushing a package of eight bills crafted with input from President Donald Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. The Trump White House has said it sees Tennessee as a testing ground for its state level immigration policy agenda.
Demonstrators holding signs that read "education for all" lined the Capitol rotunda as the the House of Representatives commenced.
During an invocation, the minister of the day referenced the teachings of Jesus that exhorted his followers to care for the oppressed, love strangers and those seeking shelter, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and pursue justice and compassion.
As debate began, House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, warned spectators in the galleries that any noise or response to the debate would result in the galleries being cleared. One woman in the balcony held a sign that read “teach, don’t track!”
Members voted down a number of amendments proposed by Democrats, including one proposed by Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, seeking to rename the bill the “Doxing Immigrant Students Act.”
“Let’s be honest, this is about doxing children who will be fearful to show up to school,” Jones said. “Do you want this to be your legacy when you leave this chamber that you bullied some immigrant children to make you feel powerful?”
Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, said the Knoxville Board of Education has adopted a resolution to oppose the bill, saying it would "turn our teachers into ICE agents."
"We are targeting innocent children who have come with their families, and we are punishing children for this, making them afraid to go to school because they're afraid of what information that would give the government and what that would do to their families," Johnson said.
Johnson pointed to a recent report from the Immigration Research Initiative that estimated schools across the state would need to hire a total of 934 new school personnel to carry out the requirements in the bill, costing districts a total of $55 million.
State fiscal analysts have estimated the bill will cost the state nothing.
Lamberth dismissed Johnson's assertion that the bill could create new expenses for schools.
"I hear that 87% of all statistics are made up on the spot, including the $55 million you just stated," he said.
Rep. Bo Mitchell, D-Nashville, said the legislature should not hold children accountable for the decisions their parents make.
"How did we get to this point that we really want to stop a kid from getting an education?" Mitchell said. "Most of these children came to this country, but they didn't have a vote in it. Mom and dad or mom or whoever got them here didn't ask them if they wanted to come. But we're taking an opportunity from that child."
Lamberth responded that the child would still be able to enroll in school, but foreshadowed future actions.
"What would the plan be? All 8.3 million just pour across the border unrestricted and enter our schools and bankrupt the entire nation? We're going into debt pretty far already," Lamberth said. "Will we just go ahead and allow open borders and sink the entire country? Or should we have a process where people legally enter this country? And for those that do not, let's count. Let's get the data."
Rep. Yusuf Hakeem, D-Chattanooga, said he is concerned that the data gathering will result in federal immigration enforcement coming into neighborhoods to harass families seeking to live peacefully.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)
The Spring Hill Historical and Genealogical Society is proud to announce the inaugural Timeless Treasures : Spring Hill Founders’ Day Historic Home Tour, taking place on May 2nd, from 9AM to 4PM. Timeless Treasures is proudly presented by Platinum Sponsors Experience Maury County, Tennessee and the City of Spring Hill, Tennessee Historic Commission. The tour features six private homes as well as Rippa Villa and Grace Episcopal Church, offering a rare glimpse into Spring Hill’s architecture and to learn stories of the families who shaped our community.
Tickets may be purchased by cash or check for $25. You may purchase tickets in Spring Hill at First Farmers and Merchants on Main Street and Port Royal, Spring Hill Antique Mall and Spring Hill Chamber. Tickets are available for purchase in Columbia at the Maury County Visitors Bureau, Columbia Antique Marketplace and Carter’s Creek Antiques. For additional information go to https://www.historicspringhilltn.org.
Proceeds from Timeless Treasures support the Historic Spring Hill Cemetery for ongoing upkeep and perpetual care. The cemetery is located at 578 McClemore Avenue, Spring Hill, Tennessee.