Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 7-17-24

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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.

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Southern Middle Tennessee Today
News Copy for July 17, 2024

All news stories are aggregated from various sources and modified for time and content. Original sources are cited.
We start with local news…
Kayaker Rescued (MauryCountySource)
A kayaker was rescued in Maury County over the weekend.
According to Maury County Fire Department, units were dispatched Saturday to the Duck River near Carpenters Bridge for an injured kayaker.
A homeowner led units to their private boat ramp for closer access where a raft was deployed. Members were able to paddle a few hundred yards to retrieve the kayaker.
The kayaker suffered minor injuries.

County Mulls Book Store Purchase (MSM)
Members of Maury County’s Budget Committee discussed but declined to send forward the potential purchase of a bookstore property adjacent to the new judicial center during their meeting on July 8.
Prior to the vote which failed by a 5-2 margin, Committee Chairman Tommy Wolaver pointed out that because the purchase had received a motion and a second, it could be brought forward to the full Commission at the request of two commissioners, regardless of the Budget Committee’s vote.
County Attorney Daniel Murphy said a proposed contract had a sale price of $900,000 for the One Stop Book Shoppe and that that amount could be broken up over two years. He also noted that the contract did not require closure until the end of September but that $10,000 in earnest money would be needed, requiring a budget amendment.
Finance Director Doug Lukonen said interest from American Rescue Plan Act funds could be used and that about $1.5 million was available for a capital project. Because that is interest from ARPA funds, it can be used for any capital purpose without the ARPA restrictions.
County Mayor Sheila Butt said she originally was against the purchase, but that “many people do not want to see that become something that doesn’t work well there, a vape shop or tattoo (parlor).. Let each one of us vote what we think is best for our constituents and the people of Maury County.”
Scott Sumners said the county should look toward the future in considering the purchase but motioned to authorize the mayor to offer $600,000 instead. Sumners’ motion failed by a 5-2 vote, but he also encouraged commissioners to let their voters know that buying the property would not use Maury County tax dollars, as the funding was instead coming from interest earned off of federal grant money.
“I cannot look my constituents in the face and take a match and light up $1.5 million, because that’s what it’s going to cost to get 39 parking spaces,” countered Kathey Grodi. “I am not for buying this building.”
Jerry Strahan said, “This is a real lose-lose situation. If we leave that building there, we’ll be considered to be idiots. If we spend a million dollars for it, we’re going to be idiots… Why don’t we make a fair offer for it, let them turn it down and they’re the idiots?”
The issue appeared on the agenda for the July full commission meeting, but was postponed until August.

Columbia Declares Makky Kaylor Day (MSM)
Columbia’s City Council and Mayor Chaz Molder declared July 11 to be “Makky Kaylor Day” during last week’s meeting, recognizing the local songwriter’s contributions to the music industry.
A song penned by Kaylor, “Tennessee, In My Dreams,” was recently added to Tennessee’s list of official state songs by the General Assembly.
“Other people are starting to find out about Makky Kaylor what we have known for a number of years… Makky has made his home in Columbia for 20 years, being dubbed ‘The Mayor of Muletown Sound,’ ” Molder said in presenting Kaylor with a proclamation from the city.

Ed Board Candidate Forum (MSM)
Candidates for the Maury County Board of Education made their respective cases for election to the public last week at a forum hosted by Maury Alliance.
The School Board Candidate Forum was held at Columbia State Community College.
Maury Alliance also has a candidate guide available on its website, in which each candidate answered a number of questions.
“One of the priorities of our organization is to impact our community in a meaningful way. I think we’ll all agree, there’s not much more that impacts a community than its public education system,” said Wil Evans, president of Maury Alliance. “It sets the foundation for our future workforce and is a key factor which many consider when looking to locate to a community.”
Six of the board’s 11 seats will be on the Aug. 1 county general election ballot, with Districts 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 up for grabs. Of the five seats, only one incumbent (Justin Haucke, District 5) is seeking to stay on. Haucke, who was appointed to the seat in April 2024, is looking to fill the remainder of an unexpired term.
Seven of the 10 candidates participated in the forum, with each receiving five minutes to speak. The forum was moderated by Jake Langsdon.
“I think (school board) is probably the most important county office that there is. There’s a lot of negative publicity that comes out about what the school system does… But good things don’t make the headlines,” said Frank Bellamy, who said he worked in Maury County Public Schools for 27 years.
“It’s hard to get people to run for office, but it’s easy to get people to complain,” added Bellamy, who is running in District 2 as an independent. “I want to vote for the person and what they stand for, not what the party says I need to stand for.”
Bellamy is running against Robert Plageman, who is also running as an independent.
“I look at (my childrens’) future… I want the best for them and that’s why I’m up here,” Plageman said. “I want our students to be set up for whatever endeavors they want to get into after high school. There are so many more options out there today: trade schools, community colleges, going into the workforce or starting a business.”
Plageman said his top values were education, supporting and keeping good teachers and providing transparency in the school system.
In District 4, Republican nominee Darryl Martin will face Independent Chandler Anderson.
“I’m concerned about the kids of our community,” Martin said. “As a Realtor, I’ve seen where clients will bring up, ‘How’s your school system?’ When you start comparing us to some other counties, it can look negative… We’ve got to bring the bar up.
“My hope is to be part of a board that works together, not against one another, not against the staff and administration… We ought to be setting the standard, not chasing the standard.”
Anderson said Maury County had great teachers, saying, “We have to give them the tools they need to do their job.”
Anderson said he was “pro-vocational schools” and “pro-teacher.”
“If you want to know why we’re having trouble in public schools, it’s because we started relying on a test instead of a teacher to tell us if our kids are meeting standards or not,” he said. “When we take the ability to promote a kid out of the hands of a teacher because of one test, we’re making a mistake.”
In District 5, Haucke (who was not present) will take on Independent David Moore, a former school board member who promoted his “passion” for education and for advocacy.
“As an elected official, we have an obligation to the citizens to be accessible… The school system is pretty confusing at times. One of the things I was proud of as a board member was being able to assist people to understand the processes, so they can affect the change they’re looking for.”
District 6 candidate Susan Stephenson is unopposed and did not participate in the forum, nor did District 8 Republican candidate Brendan Babcock.
District 8 Democratic candidate Greg Hanners said, “My wife is a recently retired high school teacher. My family really cares about public education.”
Hanners said as a board member, he wanted to focus on early education skills, attracting and retaining teachers and improving ACT scores and graduation rates.
“We have to focus on reading, we also need to focus on math. Getting children reading and doing math at grade level in the third and fourth grade is key to their success later,” Hanners said. “We’ve got to improve the working conditions so we don’t have teachers losing their planning period, or serve as a pipeline to Williamson County.”
Lesa Webster-Dawson is running unopposed as an independent in District 10.
“I’ve raised two boys and now have grandchildren in the Mount Pleasant system,” Webster-Dawson said.
She called for more counselors to help children deal with mental health issues, saying, “Our schools are the heart of our community… We need to step up as a parent… We need to talk to the children and see what the problems (are).
“We must work together to explore solutions for funding to ensure every child has access to a well-rounded education… I believe in the power of cooperation between schools, parents and the community.”

Central Gets New AD’s (MSM)
Columbia Central’s athletic administration has undergone a bit of a shakeup over the summer – though not entirely of new principal Shanda Sparrow-Lang’s choosing.
Neither Marc Higdon nor Megan Moore, who served as co-athletics directors last year, will be in those positions when classes begin next month.
Moore, who resigned as girls basketball coach in late March after three seasons, has been assigned a role related to Central being identified as a Tennessee Department of Education’s ATSI (Additional Targeted Support and Instruction) school.
“We have her in another position that’s going to take up a lot of her time,” Sparrow-Lang said. “She’s going to be helping us with the instructional part. We have a program we’re going to try to implement because of the scores. She’s going to be helping in that capacity.”
Replacing Moore will be Gerard Randolph, who was most recently a football assistant coach at Marshall County for the past two years. Randolph will also have graduation coach duties at Central.
“When I hired Gerard as grad coach, I also made him the other co-AD,” Sparrow-Lang said. “He’s come in fully charged, helping Mr. Higdon a lot. They kinda made some decisions before Mr. Higdon left.”
Prior to returning to Marshall County, Randolph spent 10 seasons as football coach at Cornersville, leading the Bulldogs to back-to-back state championship game appearances in 2017 and ‘18.
“I haven’t been in this realm as director, but I’ve coached several sports,” Randolph said. “I like the challenge. It’s going to be fun being around young coaches, picking their brains, seeing their body of work and seeing if I can help them, be there for them.”
Higdon, meanwhile, accepted an assistant principal position at Hickman County High School. He had held the AD position, either in whole or on a shared basis, for the past 2½ years after joining the Central faculty in 2021. 
“After 30 years of teaching in the classroom, I felt I was ready to move up to an administrative position,” Higdon said. “I applied for a few assistant principal positions around the county and didn’t get any of them. I went and interviewed (at Hickman County) last week and here we are.”
Sparrow-Lang, who takes over for Mike Steele as principal at Central after previously spending 10 years as principal at Spring Hill Middle School, said she does expect to fill the second co-AD position.

Ten Pin Alley Opens Outdoor Features (MauryCountySource)
Tenn Pin Alley opened its latest outdoor attractions: go-karts and mini golf.
Sharing the news on social media, they stated, “Drumroll, please … the announcement we’ve all been waiting for! Our outdoor attractions are NOW OPEN! We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process, and we can’t wait to share these awesome new attractions with you!”
Tenn Pin Alley is a family entertainment center located at 730 Mooresville Pike in Columbia. It offers bowling, arcade games, laser tag, and other fun activities. The center also offers one- and two-seat electric go-karts for exploring an 850-foot track. The driver’s minimum age is ten, and the height requirement is 4′ 8″. Passengers ride for free. The mini golf course has 18 holes, from steampunk-themed robots to penalty holes and unique obstacles.
After you finish the go-karts, Tenn Pin Alley has 32 bowling lanes, bumper cars, laser tag, an arcade, and a cafe with a full menu.
Hours of operation are Monday- Thursday, 10 am – 10 pm, Friday-Saturday, 10 am – 12 am and Sunday, 11 am – 10 pm.

African American Heritage Society to Meet (Press Release)
The next meeting of the African American Heritage Society of Maury County will take place on Saturday, July 20th and feature Ray Bonner, assistant track and field coach at Middle Tennessee State. His talk will be part of the society’s quarterly lecture series on the 2024 theme of “African Americans Making History in Sports and Coaching”.
A Winchester native and a Franklin County High School graduate, Bonner was one of MTSU’s first two African-American players signed to football scholarships by legendary coach Charles “Bubber” Murphy in 1969. 
He went on to start four seasons at cornerback for the Blue Raiders, earning accolades as part of the program’s memorable “Mod Squad” defensive secondary. As a junior, he added punt return duties to his repertoire, posting a 7.1-yard average that ranked third nationally with two touchdowns on 31 returns – an MTSU single-season and career record.
Bonner earned all-Ohio Valley Conference honors as a senior in 1972 and was selected by the Detroit Lions in the 10th round of the 1973 National Football League Draft, but a suspected heart murmur cut short his professional aspirations.
He went on to serve four years in the United States Navy before embarking on a coaching career that included stops in the Georgia high school ranks as well as collegiate assignments at Alabama A&M, Texas Southern and Tennessee State. 
Prior to joining the staff at MTSU in 2013, Bonner served as head football and track coach at Cedar Grove (Ga.) High School.
Earlier this year, the AAHSMC recognized the county’s African-American coaches from the conclusion of segregated high schools forward, featuring those in their annual calendar. The April installment of the lecture series featured Columbia natives Bernard Childress, retired executive director of the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association, and Maury County Public Schools athletics director Chris Poynter.
Saturday’s event will be held at 10 a.m. at the Maury County Archives, temporarily located at the Muletown Rec (1446 Oak Springs Drive). The free and open to the public.

Columbia State Leadership (Press Release)
Columbia State Community College’s Office of Workforce and Continuing Education leadership development program is designed to benefit new and emerging leaders to help them develop the necessary skills and a toolkit of resources to help them excel as they move into and grow in their leadership roles.
“I am extremely proud to be bringing this program to our communities,” said Melody Murphy, Columbia State Workforce and Continuing Education director. With ‘Now Hiring’ posted on almost every storefront, it is becoming harder for employers to find and keep good employees. This program is an excellent opportunity for a company to identify dedicated employees' value and hard work and build them up through this program for leadership and supervision roles.”
The Columbia State Leadership for Operational Excellence program nurtures success and provides participants with the skills and resources for them to excel as leaders within their organizations.
Topics covered will include leadership styles, generations and teams, employee engagement and productivity, communication and leading your team, business finance and budgets, presentation skills and networking as well as delivering outcomes and managing change.
“Many of us have seen firsthand how promoting internally for these positions based on performance can be problematic, because doing a job and leading others to do a job are very different things that require somewhat different skill sets,” Murphy said. “This program aims to give participants the necessary leadership skills to be successful leaders.”  
Registration is now open for the program, which consists of eight full-day sessions with two full days conducted back-to-back. Participants should plan to attend all sessions, which will take place at Columbia State’s Williamson Campus. The program begins in August with the dates of August 8 – 9, September 12 – 13, October 3 – 4 and November 14 – 15. Cost is $2,995, with lunch provided.
To register, please visit https://www.campusce.net/columbiastate/course/course.aspx?catId=23.
For more information, please contact Murphy at [e-mail].

And now, Your Hometown Memorials, Sponsored by Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home…   
James Butler “J.B.” Long, 98, long time resident of Columbia, died Monday, July 15, 2024, at The Bridge of Columbia Assisted Living.
Funeral services will be conducted Friday, July 19, 2024, at 11:00 AM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. Burial will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens with military honors provided by Herbert Griffin American Legion Post 19. Visitation will be Friday, July 19, 2024, from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home.

Shirley Jean Spires Bunting, 71, long-long resident of Columbia, and retired store manager for McDonalds, died Saturday, July 13, 2024 at Maury Regional Medical Center. 
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, July 20, 2024 from 11:00 a.m. till 1:00 p.m. at Loyal Chapel Free Will Baptist Church with Rev. Steve Swango officiating. 
Marilyn Miller Johnson Stevens, 86, of Baileyville, IL passed away Sunday, June 9, 2024, at FHN Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Illinois .
Memorial services will be held at 3:00 P.M. Saturday, July 20, 2024, at Fly Church of the Nazarene, 5688 Leipers Creek Rd, Santa Fe, TN. The family will visit with friends from 1:00 P.M. until the service time at the church.

Now, news from around the state…
Baby in the Back Hangtag (Press Release)
As temperatures approach 100 degrees these summer days, Secretary of State Tre Hargett reminds Tennessee parents and caregivers about the Baby in the Back car hangtag program as a free resource in preventing heat-related illness or death in children.
 “The Baby in the Back program can make all the difference in protecting our youngest citizens from extreme temperatures,” said Secretary Hargett. “With this week’s expected heat and the likelihood of more hot days ahead, we want all parents and caregivers to know about our free program that ultimately can save lives.”   
 On days with extreme heat, temperatures inside a parked car can quickly reach as high as 140 degrees. Instances where parents or caregivers have forgotten that their child is inside a vehicle have become more common in recent years. Baby in the Back serves as a visual reminder to always check the back seat to ensure young children stay safe.
 “Unfortunately, we’ve heard the tragic stories where a child is accidentally left inside a hot car,” Secretary Hargett added. “Using the Baby in the Back hangtag program will hopefully help remind parents or caregivers to check the back seat one final time to ensure their child is safe during significant weather events.”  
 Tennesseans can request free hangtags online through the Secretary of State’s office by visiting https://sos.tn.gov/requesthangtags or by calling (615)-253-2668.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)
It’s no secret that Morgan Wallen has remained loyal to his Tennessee roots throughout his career. Growing up in Sneedville, Tennessee, before moving to Knoxville as a teenager, Wallen’s affinity for the University of Tennessee Vols has inspired hits such as “Tennessee Fan” and “Had Me By Halftime,” while he continues to cheer on his favorite team between tour stops.
Now Wallen, on his One Night At A Time Tour, will have the show venue he’s always wanted to headline: Neyland Stadium. Produced by Live Nation, on Sunday, Sept. 22, Wallen will be joined by special guests HARDY and fellow Tennessee-native ERNEST with tickets going on-sale at 10 AM this Wednesday, July 17.
“I’ve had the honor of playing in a lot of college, MLB and NFL stadiums the past two years, but getting to play to my hometown at Neyland Stadium, nothing tops this for a boy from East Tennessee,” shares Wallen, who reactivated his Instagram this morning to share the news.
Tickets to the show are available at www.MorganWallen.com.