Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-26-24

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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 September 26, 2024

All news stories are aggregated from various sources and modified for time and content. Original sources are cited.
We start with local news…
Ultium Workers Join UAW (MSM)
On Sept. 4, the United Auto Workers local 1853 unionized the Ultium battery cell plant in Spring Hill. A majority of workers at the plant signed cards to join the union and the company agreed to recognize their decision. The workers organized without facing threats or intimidation.
“Ultium Cells has recognized the UAW as the official union representing hourly team members at our Spring Hill facility,” Ultium said in a statement to news organizations. “This recognition follows a previously agreed-upon and independently certified process. We believe this will support the continuity of operations, drive innovation, and enhance world-class manufacturing, further contributing to economic development in Tennessee.”
The Ultium plant in Spring Hill, which started production in 2024, is the second Ultium factory built in the United States. The first one, in Lordstown, Ohio, unionized in June.
“This is a great day for Ultium workers and for every worker in Tennessee and the South,” said Trudy Lindahl, an Ultium worker. “Southern workers are ready to stand up and win our fair share by winning our unions. And when we have a free and fair choice, we will win every time.”
“Being unionized will help us reap the benefits as far as better healthcare, better pay, and overall, just having decency within the workplace — not just for us, but future generations,” said Tradistine Chambers, a worker at Ultium.
Fellow worker Jim Erwin commented, “You’re grouped together, and you can stand up as one. That’s the power of being a union.” He added, “Instead of just one stick, you’ve got several. You can’t snap several sticks, but you can snap one.”

Electric Vehicle Fast Charging Station (Press Release)
The City of Columbia, in partnership with Columbia Power and Water Systems (CPWS), the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation (TDEC), recently hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the installation of new Electric Vehicle (EV) Fast Charging Stations.
“These charging stations represent a crucial step in Columbia’s efforts to support the growth of electric vehicles and contribute to a cleaner, more sustainable future for our city and state,” said Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder. “By working alongside partners like CPWS, TVA, and TDEC, we are able to position Columbia at the forefront of green energy initiatives.”
Funded through a $300,000 grant from TVA and TDEC, these new stations are part of a statewide initiative to expand EV infrastructure along Tennessee’s interstates and major highways. Columbia is proud to be part of this statewide effort, which supports the future of clean transportation and contributes to a greener, more sustainable environment.
President and CEO of CPWS Jonathan Hardin stated, “Columbia Power and Water Systems would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Maury County and City of Columbia governments for their partnership and forward thinking as we expand the energy portfolio into cleaner means of transportation. We all operate under the umbrella of responsible stewardship and progressive thinking facilitated by the Tennessee Valley Authority and the State of Tennessee and local efforts are capably supported by the South-Central Tennessee Development District, among others. The rapid pace of technological advancement in transportation necessitates a vast infrastructure to robustly serve the travel needs of the electric vehicle driving public. CPWS staff was entirely responsible for building this charging station and we are excited that EV drivers will have their charging needs efficiently met in Maury County. Once here, we are excited they get to experience the gem that is our beloved town of Columbia!”
The newly installed charging stations feature Level 3 DC Fast Chargers, which can provide an 80% charge to a standard EV in just 15-20 minutes. This rapid charging capability allows EV drivers to power up quickly during short stops, making sustainable travel more convenient than ever.
Chris Templeton, Customer Service Manager for TVA, emphasized the importance of the growing Fast Charge Network: “TVA is truly committed to supporting the expansion of the fast charge network. By working to establish these charging locations every 50 miles, we can meet the needs of the growing population of EV drivers. Congratulations to Columbia on becoming the 39th installation site, and we look forward to the positive impact this will bring to the community."
Columbia is one of 12 cities benefiting from a portion of the $5.2 million in funding from TVA and TDEC’s competitive grant program. This program supports the installation of 32 charging units at 13 sites across the state. The initiative is part of TVA’s broader Fast Charge Network, designed to reduce barriers to EV adoption by deploying fast chargers every 50 miles along major highways and interstates across its seven-state service area by 2026.
Chuck Yoest, Deputy Director of TDEC’s Office of Energy Programs, added, “We at TDEC look forward to continuing our great partnership with TVA to build out a network of charging stations that will put Tennessee on the map as an EV epicenter of the United States.”
The Fast Charge TN Network, developed through a partnership between TDEC and TVA, aims to address infrastructure gaps by adding approximately 40 new charging locations along prioritized corridors. This initiative is crucial in supporting the growing use of EVs and reducing barriers to transportation electrification, ensuring a more sustainable future for Tennessee and beyond.

Bridge Named After Model Citizen and other County News (MSM)
The Maury County Commission passed a resolution on Sept. 16 to name a bridge after Hampshire’s John Andrew Booker. The State bridge runs over Cathey’s Creek on Love Branch Road.
Booker was born in 1944 and went to schools in Columbia, finishing at the all-black Carver-Smith High School. He served in the Navy during the Vietnam War and returned to Hampshire. After working at a few other businesses, he settled at Columbia Gulf Transmission and worked there for 27 years until he retired. In 1965 he married Lillian Joann Booker and they had four children. When Lillian was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1980, Booker took care of her until his death in 2011.
Booker was very active in the common life of Hampshire. He was an adult leader in the Boy Scouts, the president of the PTA, a Rotarian, a volunteer firefighter and an involved member of the Pleasant Union Church of Christ, where he led building and maintenance projects. Booker also founded the Godfathers motorcycle club, to which County Commissioner Gary Stovall belongs.
“I knew him a long time,” Stovall reminisced about his time with Booker. “He had a servant’s heart there.”
Commissioner Aaron Miller sponsored the resolution to name the bridge. One of Booker’s sons had asked Miller about a memorial for his father, so the commissioner put out a call for testimonies about his life and character. They needed only three testimonies to start the process, but Miller was quickly swamped with them.
“There was an absolute outpouring from neighbors, friends, and family, with these anecdotal stories of Mr. Booker going out of his way to help his neighbors,” Miller said. “[It] could be the middle of the night, could be him coming home from work – whatever it was, he was always looking for opportunities to serve his neighbors.”
Miller brought out another purpose for the memorial while speaking to the Commission. When Miller was in the military, a senior officer told him that military medals are meant not only to reward the recipient, but also to inspire other people to emulate their good deeds.
“Every time somebody drives over that bridge, or walks by that bridge, they’re gonna see that plaque and say, ‘Hey, I wonder what that guy did? Why is he being honored?’ ” Miller said. “I just hope this bridge honors his legacy and his memory, and also inspires other members of the community to act in the same ways that he did.”
In other county government business, commissioners selected Ray Jeter to serve as chairman pro tempore (vice chairman) for the next year, as well as approving Tim Holt and Tony Greene to the Civil Service Board, Beverly Rayburn to the Adequate Facilities Tax Board, Jeter, Gabe Howard and Kathey Grodi to the Audit Committee, Cindy Hestla and Carl McCullen to the Ethics Board and Benny Bolton and Cindy Johnson to the Park Board.
Also approved on second reading was the adoption of an impact fee on new construction, something Maury County has been pursuing for years. Earlier in 2024, the General Assembly passed a law allowing counties with high population growth in the last U.S. Census to add an impact fee of up to $1.50 per square foot on residential construction and commercial construction, up to 150,000 square feet.
The new fee will take effect on Nov. 1, 2024, and will not apply to any builders who have already received permits for construction as of the end of October.
“A big, big thank you to every commissioner in this room and the pervious commissioners who started this fight… It’s been over three years in the making. It’s a big deal for the people of Maury County, our schools and how we’re going to fund our growth,” Jeter said.
A request by Maury Regional Medical Center to issue $100 million in bonds for upcoming projects at the hospital was also approved. The hospital will pay off the bonds, per an inter-local agreement between MRMC and the county.
Grant funding of $433,287.04 for the Maury County Health Department and $3,267,322.33 in American Rescue Plan funds for the Maury County Water System and the City of Mt. Pleasant was also approved by commissioners.

Maury Regional Golf Tournament (Press Release)
The annual Tony Starks Memorial Golf Tournament was held Sept. 19 at the Graymere Country Club in Columbia, raising over $120,000 for the Maury Regional Health Care Foundation. This year’s tournament is the largest in the Foundation’s history.
 
The event brought together community members, local businesses and golf enthusiasts to raise funds in support of the Foundation’s mission to enhance health care services and provide support for patients in need across the region.
 
“We are incredibly grateful to everyone who participated in and supported the Tony Stark Golf Tournament this year,” said Courtney Lewandowski, development specialist at the Maury Regional Health Care Foundation. “The generosity of our community makes a tangible difference in the lives of those we serve, and we look forward to putting these funds to work to improve health care access and outcomes across the region.”
 
This year’s tournament included 48 teams and 189 players teeing off for a day of friendly competition and philanthropy. Prizes were awarded to the winners and runners-up of three flights in both the morning and afternoon groups. There were also contests for longest drive, closest to the pin, hole-in-one and the team putting challenge.

Annie Moses Conservatory Finishes First Original (MSM)
This past weekend, the Annie Moses Conservatory wrapped up eight sold-out shows of its original musical based on “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.” The musical was debuted in an earlier version a few years ago in Franklin, but the revised script and the professional venue bring it up a notch.
“You could say it’s the premiere of the first professional show,” said writer-director Robin Wolaver.
Wolaver, who runs the Conservatory with her husband Bill and their six adult children, is very proud of what she’s done with the story. Most adaptations of “Tom Sawyer” abridge the plot to emphasize classic moments, like Tom whitewashing the fence or getting lost in McDougal’s Cave, and they flatten the Tom Sawyer character into a simple troublemaker. Wolaver’s script, on the other hand, puts the characters through the same arcs that they follow in the book.
“The story of Tom Sawyer follows a lot of biblical lines, it has a lot of redemption themes,” she explained. “Tom decides that instead of being a little vagabond, he will be noble… The story is really fleshed out in its morality.”
Wolaver also has a privileged perspective on the book’s setting. “‘Tom Sawyer,’ and the location of Hannibal, Mo., are very much like where I grew up,” she reminisced.
Her father was a Church of Christ preacher in the tough and remote wilderness of Oklahoma, who, out of necessity, stashed a handgun in his pulpit next to the Bible. For Wolaver, who grew up living among the descendants of the white pioneers, walking 30 minutes to her one-room school when the bus driver had a quarrel with someone in her town, and hearing old women converse in Choctaw in the back of her father’s station wagon, antebellum Hannibal feels surprisingly like home.
“It was really natural for me to write it because I understand the people in the book,” she said. “I understand the way they talk, their superstitions, their religious engagement, and their relationships with one another.”
The show was backed by a live band led by Bill Wolaver, who scored the show and set Robin’s lyrics to music. His folksy settings reinforce the heartland feel of the story, while cutting the comfort-food aspect of the music with sophisticated harmony.
“I composed musical themes for the primary characters, to help the audience feel the familiarity of… Hannibal,” Bill stated. “Then I branched out from there, to a Copland-styled Americana that would musically match the lofty, yet colloquial, nature of Mark Twain’s writing.”
Musical highlights included a church service with a large choir and an unsettling score for the scenes featuring the character Injun Joe.
The Wolavers also praised their performers and staff. Between its alternating “red” and “blue” casts the show used about 65 actors, and about 15 technicians and musicians worked on every show.
“We have such a great pool of actors, singers, and players at the conservatory… We have some world-class musicians and… a beautiful orchestral setting,” Robin gushed. “That’s a great blessing… It doesn’t matter how good your musical is, if you don’t have the talent to perform it well.”
They went all-out on the visuals with the help of stage director Krista Harris and art directors Berklee and Alex Wolaver. Berklee executed the painted sets and digital backdrops that she and Alex conceptualized. Krista Harris and Cathy Johnson also put great effort into coordinating the costumes, to make sure the characters fit together visually onstage.
“Tom Sawyer” was also enlivened by some impressive practical effects. Running a “scrim” (a gauzy screen) in front of the stage gave a spooky, mysterious cast to the nighttime and cave scenes. It also enabled other special effects, like the menacing candle-lit silhouette that Injun Joe cast during his night scenes.
“We used a lot of… special effects to put the story together… to make it very real to the audience,” Robin said.
The conservatory’s Packard Playhouse was full to capacity for every performance, selling a total of about 1,200 tickets. The Annie Moses Conservatory plans to go on the road next, taking Bill and Robin’s even more successful Broadway-styled musical “Merry Christmas, Uncle Scrooge!” to regional theaters in North Carolina at Thanksgiving and in Texas at Christmas.

DUI Checkpoint (Press Release)
The Tennessee Highway Patrol will be conducting sobriety roadside safety checkpoints during the week of October 4th on State RT. 50 at the 0 Mile Marker in Maury County starting at 10:00PM .
Impaired driving is a serious crime that kills more than 16,000 people and injures 305,000 people every year in the United States. Troopers will evaluate drivers for signs of alcohol or drug impairment. Troopers will target those who operate a vehicle while impaired and take corrective actions for other violations observed while ensuring the protection of all motorists.
The Tennessee Highway Patrol recognizes that sobriety checkpoints are highly visible and effective tools in the battle against impaired driving.

And now, Your Hometown Memorials, Sponsored by Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home…
Evelyn Jett Brewer, 83, and resident of Columbia, died Friday, September 20, 2024 at Poplar Estates Assisted Living.
Visitation 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM Monday, September 30 at Oakes and Nichols Funeral Home followed by graveside service at 3:00 PM at Lynnwood Cemetery in Lynnville.

Joann Barrett Johnson Coffey, 84, retired secretary for Columbia State Community College and a longtime resident of Cleveland and Columbia died Tuesday, September 24, 2024 at Maury Regional Medical Center.
A celebration of life service will be Thursday, September 26, 2024 at 6:00 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. The family will visit with friends Thursday from 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM at the funeral home. A graveside service will be conducted Saturday, September 28, 2024 at 1:00 PM EST at Sunset Memorial Gardens in Cleveland, Tennessee.

And now, news from around the state…
Johnnie Cash Statue Unveiled (Tennessean)
A statue depicting country music legend Johnny Cash was unveiled Tuesday morning at the U.S. Capitol, making the "Man in Black" the first musician to have his likeness represented in the building.
At an unveiling ceremony in at the United States Capitol Visitor Center, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders joined over 100 members of the Cash family to reveal artist Kevin Kresse's bronze statue.
The 8-foot-tall statue depicts the "I Walk the Line" singer with his head slightly downturned, a Bible in one hand and the other on his chest. A guitar is slung over his back.
"Today we have the pleasure of recognizing — get this — the first musician to ever be honored with a statue here in the Capitol," Speaker Mike Johnson said. "And Johnny Cash is the perfect person to be honored in that way. He was a man who embodied the American spirit in a way that few could."
Cash, a Kingsland, Ark. native, died in Nashville, Tenn., at the age of 71. Throughout his career, he produced forty years of hits, including "Folsom Prison Blues," "Ring of Fire," "A Boy Named Sue" and "Hurt."
Speaker Johnson shared that he recently learned, "as fate would have it," he is a distant half-cousin of Cash's, joining the many other Cash family members present for the reveal.
Rosanne Cash, the daughter of Johnny Cash, took the podium at the ceremony. "What a remarkable day," she said. "In my wildest dreams, I couldn't have imagined."
"Words cannot come close to expressing our pride to see my dad accorded such a singular privilege, the first musician in history to be included in the Statuary Hall Collection," Cash said on behalf of the family. "I'm very careful not to put words in his mouth since his passing, but on this day, I can safely say that he would feel that of all the many honors and accolades he received in his lifetime, this is the ultimate."
"Thank you Kevin Kresse for capturing his very essence in bronze," Rosanne Cash said. "You see this statue and you know this is no one else but Johnny Cash."
A sculptor from Little Rock, Ark., Kesse has crafted two other statues of Cash and other Arkansas musicians like Al Green, Glen Campbell and Levon Helm.
The ceremony closed with a performance of "I Walk the Line" from the United States Air Force Band and the Benediction delivered by Dr. Mike Garrett, a nephew of Johnny Cash.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)
Six new nonstop Southwest Airlines flights will take off from Nashville starting next spring — including its first to another Tennessee city.
Direct flights from BNA to Memphis, Albuquerque, N.M.; Albany, N.Y.; Jackson, Miss.; Providence, R.I.; and Tulsa, Okla., will begin on April 8, 2025.
“The announcement of Southwest’s extended schedule continues to strengthen their commitment to the region,” Metro Nashville Airport Authority President and CEO Doug Kreulen said in a statement. “Whether you are headed up north to visit the capital of New York or out west for the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, there is a nonstop option from BNA.” 
Visit www.flynashville.com for more information.