Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 1-28-26

WKOM/WKRM Radio

Southern Middle Tennessee Today

News Copy for January 28, 2026

All news stories are aggregated from various sources and modified for time and content. Original sources are cited.

Closures

Due to the inclement winter weather there are a number of closures for today. Both Maury County Government Offices and City of Columbia Offices will open for business starting at 10:00am today.

Maury County Schools are closed today.  All extracurricular activities, athletics, and school functions are canceled. Boys and Girls Clubs will not meet at any Maury County Public School during the closure. All schools in our listening area including Giles, Hickman, Lawrence, Lewis, Marshall and Williamson Counties are closed today. Additionally, Hickman and Lewis County Schools will be closed through the rest of the week.

Columbia Academy and Zion Christian Academy are closed today

All Columbia State Campuses are open virtually only today.

Conditions Still Hazardous in County (CDH)

Duck River Electric Membership Partnership crews continue working to restore power, though fallen trees and other conditions have proven hazardous for crew members due to winter storms.

DREMC Safety Coordinator Brad Vincent said, while restoring power to customers experiencing power outages has been difficult, safety remains the utmost priority.

As of 1 p.m. Jan. 27, 1,206 DREMC customers were reported to remain without power, significantly down from 6,000 outages reported since the winter storm hit Jan. 24.

"Hazardous conditions are making restoration very challenging," Vincent said. "Our crews are doing everything they can to restore power safely and as quickly as conditions allow, and we truly appreciate everyone's patience."

Vincent added that on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 27, some workers encountered a situation that was far more than simply repairing a power line.

"This morning, one of our crews had to cut 41 trees in a short distance of roadway to get to the line they were trying to get back on."

To report a power outage, call DREMC at (931) 684-4621.

Residential Structure Fire (MauryCountySource)

Maury County Fire Department crews responded to a residential structure fire on Les Robinson Road at 3:06 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26. Multiple county units were dispatched, along with Spring Hill Fire Department on mutual aid.

Firefighters arrived to heavy fire coming from two bedrooms and immediately began an offensive attack. Engine 32’s crew quickly knocked down the main fire, with Spring Hill crews assisting on a second room.

Station 32 (Carters Creek), staffed by volunteers since Friday, was among the first to respond. Crews remained on scene for about two and a half hours conducting salvage and overhaul operations.

Maury County OEM provided support on scene, while the Maury County Sheriff’s Office closed the roadway to allow firefighters to work safely. Assistance was also provided by the Maury County Highway Department, TDOT, Duck River Electric, and CPWS, whose efforts helped crews reach the scene despite difficult conditions.

Officials remind drivers to slow down and use extra caution around emergency scenes, especially during hazardous weather.

Electrical Fire Danger Alleged at Taylor Landing (MSM)

Advocates for the Taylor Landing subdivision in Columbia, where a rental home burned down last month in an electrical fire, are claiming that the residence is far from the only one in the neighborhood with dangerous electrical defects.

Dustin Kittle of the Humble Law Firm filed an Urgent Life Safety Notice to the City of Columbia on Jan. 15, announcing that homes in Taylor Landing are in ongoing danger from electrical hazards. Representing the Wiley family, whose rented house burned down on Dec. 14, and the Taylor Landing Homeowners’ Advocacy Group, Kittle claims that many homes are missing their records of HVAC electrical inspections, which should have been prerequisites for both state fire marshal approval and the city’s Certificates of Occupancy.

“Neither entity caught the lapse,” Kittle said. “[This matter] should not be delayed by intergovernmental finger-pointing between the city and the state or by litigation posturing.”

Joshua Moore, a resident of and advocate for the neighborhood, uncovered the lapses. He points out that a separate inspection of a house’s HVAC electrical system, on top of the “standard electrical” inspection, is required for state electrical approval. In public comment at the September meeting of the Columbia Planning Commission, Moore put the number of missing HVAC inspection records at 90 of the 299 houses in Taylor Landing, based on his research.

Kittle went on to claim that there have been 18 “reported electrical incidents” in Taylor Landing, one of which caused the fire which burned up the Wiley family’s belongings and their landlord’s house on Dec. 14. In response to the 18 incidents, the state fire marshal has performed fire-safety reinspections for 88 houses so far, of which Kittle said 62 have “failed” reinspection and only 26 passed.

In February 2025, Joshua Moore said, he brought notice of systemic fire dangers in his neighborhood to the City of Columbia, the developer, Meritage Homes, and their property managers Ghertner and Company. The pattern came to his attention after a fire started in one of his neighbors’ attics, and he testified that he discovered a number of hazards and noncompliance, including missing labels, oversized breakers, and burnt-up HVAC disconnect boxes. At a March meeting of the city council, he claimed that 6 percent of the houses in Taylor Landing had experienced either fires or fire hazards.

He brought them up again to the city planning commission in September, and said that by that time more than 30 of the examined homes had failed state reinspection for fire safety. Moore later told Main Street Maury that they didn’t feel the commission took their concerns seriously. As of the time of publication, the video of the September meeting of the planning commission has not been posted to the city’s website, though the audio and minutes have been turned over to the Taylor Landing advocates as requested.

In the complaint, the advocates ask the city to first inform all Taylor Landing residents that their houses might have electrical hazards, and that they should take appropriate precautions and apply for voluntary reinspection by the state fire marshal. They also ask the city to arrange a public-safety meeting with state officials and send out continued updates as needed. Finally, they formally request that the city preserve all records related to Taylor Landing’s fire safety and confirm their intent to carry out all these steps by Jan. 22.

Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder told Main Street Maury that the city has taken preliminary action on the life-safety notice, by communicating about safety with the state fire marshal’s office and mobilizing city officials to look into the matter.

“Passing the electrical inspection is a precursor, among many, to receiving a certificate of occupancy from the City of Columbia,” the mayor said. “The safety of Columbia residents is my top priority and we want to facilitate an outcome that ensures the safety and security of all.”

Sandy Hook Bridge Closure Blamed for Deaths (MSM)

In September, two patients died after emergency responders had to take the long way into the rural community of Sandy Hook. With both northern access roads closed to traffic, EMS and other life-saving personnel had to take hilly southern back roads into Sandy Hook, adding at least 30 minutes to their round-trip response times. In response, Sandy Hook’s residents have renewed their campaign to get the Maury County Highway Department to reopen a key part of one of the routes: the 1916 Sandy Hook Bridge over Big Bigby Creek.

The Sandy Hook Bridge at the south intersection of Old Highway 43 and Sandy Hook Road was inspected in 2020 after Big Bigby Creek flooded. TDOT’s report documented that 104 years of flow had “scoured” the bridge’s piers and that small cracks were appearing in components of its deck and arches. They set a five-ton weight limit on bridge traffic (about the weight of a typical ambulance, according to RetireFearless.com) and rated it “poor” and “structurally deficient,” but did not close it to traffic.

The bridge was closed in February 2022 by the Maury County Highway Department under previous superintendent Van Boshers. Boshers, new Superintendent Ken McKee, and County Attorney Daniel Murphy have told the Maury County Commission’s Safety Committee multiple times that the bridge is practically “beyond repair, ” requiring around $1 million, at least 3-5 years and a lot of difficult engineering and labor to bring it up to modern codes. These repairs and upgrades would also take away most of the “historical value” of the bridge that people cherish in it.

“It’s a one-lane bridge… Guardrails cannot be attached… An ambulance can’t even go over the bridge,” Murphy said at the August 2025 safety committee meeting. “I understand the unfortunate nature of the situation, but… until an engineer… or the state [would say] it’s safe to reopen, I would advise Mr. McKee to keep it closed [for liability reasons].”

In summer 2025, the bridge over the Tennessee Southern Railroad on the Lawrenceburg Highway was also torn down, and its replacement won’t be opened for about another year. This has closed the other northern route out of Sandy Hook, forcing all traffic to drive 15-20 additional minutes each way over the hills to the south.

Sandy Hook residents filed an injunction in 2023 to reopen the Sandy Hook Bridge, but Maury County Judge David Allen rejected it because they couldn’t demonstrate that it caused direct “harm.”

The residents themselves chose to close the first injunction in 2024, when McKee was appointed the new superintendent of the highway department, and have said they say they still hope to work with him in a “spirit of cooperation” to reopen the bridge. The highway department has indicated to Main Street Maury, in turn, that they might be willing to turn over the Sandy Hook Bridge to the Historic Foundation — but only for preservation, probably not for reopening.

Emergency-response delays

Should the Sandy Hook residents choose to bring another injunction, its force would still come from the reality of harm, and they’ve closely documented two or three possible cases of it. The following accounts are theirs, with partial corroboration from footage and timestamps from security cameras on the bridge. Main Street Maury was unable to reach Maury Regional EMS for comment on any of these cases.

In the evening on Sept. 10, 45-year-old Matthew Chapman, who had recently been diagnosed with cancer, made an emergency call for chest pains and breathing trouble. About 15 minutes after his call, an ambulance had almost reached his house, but it came to a halt at the roadblock on the Sandy Hook Bridge. The driver was forced to turn around and take the back roads in over the hills to the south of Sandy Hook, reaching Chapman’s house after another 18 minutes. The EMS personnel had loaded him into the ambulance by the time a fire engine arrived at his house too, which had also been stopped at the roadblock and taken the back way in. On Sept. 12, Chapman died back at his house in Sandy Hook, a tenth of a mile from the bridge. The Sandy Hook residents couldn’t get in touch with Chapman’s relatives in Ohio after his death.

The night after Chapman died, Tina Gaines called 911 to help her elderly mother, Laura Parks, who was suffering from respiratory failure and was unresponsive. After about 15 minutes, an ambulance drove up to the Sandy Hook Bridge again and had to turn around, arriving at the house about 20 minutes later. Mrs. Parks was revived at the house, but she died either at or on the way to the hospital. Gaines confirmed this account in a conversation with Main Street Maury.

Finally, a drug-overdose response at the bridge was delayed on Oct. 17 by the bridge closure. Three teenagers were reportedly using cannabis at the north end of the closed bridge when one of them passed out, and the emergency response this time was mixed. The fire engine and other responders drove again to the north end of the closed bridge, where the youths were, but EMS drove the long way into Sandy Hook from the south — only to find, once again, that they were a bridge-length away from the victim. They had to double back another 15 minutes, but fortunately they revived the youth by administering Narcan to her.

At the October meeting of the safety committee, Sandy Hook residents brought the news of the deaths to their local representatives.

“We now have two community members who have suffered grave harm or death because EMS response times were hampered by a road closure,” announced Kevin Davis, one of the main advocates to reopen the bridge.

Commissioner Eric Previti expressed surprise that a bridge that had been closed for three and a half years was causing problems; Commissioner Scott Sumners said that emergency responders’ routing software didn’t seem to have been updated to reflect the closure. Murphy (county attorney) and county Deputy Fire Chief Richie Schatz told the committee that the emergency departments had all been informed that Old Highway 43 was closed at the bridge; Schatz promised to talk to the dispatchers once more about the mis-routings, and noted that he and Fire Chief Jose Periut had started reminding their firefighters of the bridge closure each time they were deployed to the area. The commissioners discussed the possibility of putting up signs closer to the entrance to Old Highway 43.

Procedural options now open

The Sandy Hook Historic Bridge Foundation is using the reports of harm to advocate again for the reopening of their bridge on the grounds of public safety.

“Why would the county not do whatever it takes to temporarily open the Five-Arch Bridge until the railroad bridge on Old Lawrenceburg Highway is complete?” Davis said. “Even under TDOT’s criteria in the bridge report, a critical-rated bridge can still be used but ‘monitored.’ TDOT ‘recommended’ to keep the bridge closed but, in several emails we’ve received, TDOT also states ‘TDOT does not tell Maury County what to do with its county-owned assets.’ With the grave situation we are now in, the community, [represented by a] 108-signature petition, wants the county to temporarily reopen the Five-Arch Bridge with monitoring for the safest all-access routes for our communities.”

In 2023, Davis contested Murphy’s characterization of the 13-foot-wide bridge as not suitable for an ambulance.

“Ambulances typically weigh [five] tons and are [eight] feet wide, easily within the width… [and] suggested weight limits,” he said in a Facebook post. “Engineers we’ve spoken with [have stated that] the TDOT rating is always a very conservative rating.”

The residents also contest the closure as wrongful because it didn’t follow Tennessee Code § 54-10-216, which requires public notice to affected drivers, a public hearing, and a vote to close it by the Maury County Commission.

“Under our legal advisement, TN Code 54-10-216 requires the chief executive of the road department to seek an application from the Commission to close the road, then notify affected property owners of the road closure,” Davis said at the October safety committee meeting.

The county highway department has replied that § 54-10-216 governs permanently closing bridges and taking them off the list of county roads, a process which hasn’t yet been initiated for the Sandy Hook Bridge. Bridges are otherwise under the county road system’s control, according to § 54-7-109(a), and the Maury County Highway Department closes bridges for repair or safety all the time without the commission’s approval, including the parallel railroad bridge on Lawrenceburg Highway which is now being replaced.

The Sandy Hook residents asked the County Commission with added urgency to reopen the bridge in summer 2025, when that other railroad bridge was closed. Davis told Main Street Maury that the movement to reopen the bridge was gaining traction among some county commissioners, and he later explained to the safety committee that if the county commission would order the highway department to reopen the bridge, it would “force [the department’s] hand… to repair the bridge and get it back open.”

However, McKee was able to present the county government with a new inspection that TDOT conducted on the bridge on Aug. 5. The TDOT inspectors reported that that the “scouring” of the piers has gotten even worse in the last few years: they measured six-inch-deep decay in parts of some, when they had only found it up to four inches deep back in 2020.

“The highway departments’ opinion of the bridge in Sandy Hook, from a traffic viewpoint, is [that] the structure has reached terminal serviceability and cannot be reopened to vehicular traffic,” McKee told Main Street Maury. “Based [on] the inspection reports… this structure has well exceeded its design life [of 70-100 years].”

Sandy Hook residents also contest the updated report. They note that the text of the 2025 report is mostly identical to the 2020 one, except for the updated measurements and danger ratings on a handful of bridge elements, and according to their security-camera footage, residents say the inspectors spent only 17 minutes at the bridge. They were also surprised by the speed of the inspection, since McKee told the safety committee it takes several months to plan and perform it.

“The inspection scheduling was prioritized in response to the community request,” a TDOT representative told Main Street Maury, adding that other favorable circumstances like lack of traffic and low creek-water levels also shortened the inspection. “The intent of the inspection was to determine if it was viable to reopen and, therefore, was limited to the critical components.”

McKee told Main Street Maury that his department would “like to see the structure preserved for the historical significance,” and would be willing to hand over ownership of the bridge to the Sandy Hook Five-Arch Historic Bridge Foundation. The Foundation would have to make a formal request, take out an insurance policy, and be given control of it by a vote of the Maury County Commission. But the bridge would be bound by the same safety and oversight laws as before, including the ban on vehicular traffic.

“There is also the possibility that any improvements could remove the historical designation of the structure,” McKee said in an August email to Main Street Maury. “The bridge cannot be opened in its current condition.”

And now, Your Hometown Memorials, Sponsored by Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home…

Marjorie Imogene “Jean” Wilson Childrey, passed away at her home in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on January 20, 2026, following a short illness.

Funeral services will be conducted Friday, January 30, 2026 at 1:00 P.M. at Highland Park Baptist Church. Burial will follow in Rose Hill Cemetery. The family will visit with friends Thursday from 4:00 P.M. – 7:00 P.M. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home and Friday from 12:00 P.M. till the time of service at Highland Park Baptist Church.

Sandra Sue Moore Haywood, 88, died Sunday, January 25, 2026 at her residence in Columbia.

Funeral services will be conducted Tuesday, February 3, 2026 at 11:00 AM at St. Luke United Methodist Church. Burial will follow in Polk Memorial Gardens. The family will visit with friends Monday from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home and Tuesday from 10:00 AM until time of the services at the church.

Betty Lynn Brooks passed away peacefully on January 21st in Nashville at age seventy-five.

Services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on February 21, 2026, at Belmont United Methodist Church, 2007 Acklen Ave., Nashville, TN 37212. The family will receive visitors beginning at 10:00 a.m. at the church prior to the service. Afterwards, a private interment for the family will be held in Santa Fe.

Now, news from around the state…

Safety Checks Following the Storm (Press Release)

The Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security today announced that Tennessee Highway Patrol State Troopers and State Homeland Security Agents will lead coordinated efforts to conduct welfare checks on Tennesseans who have not been heard from since the devastating ice and snow storm that brought dangerously low temperatures and knocked out power across the state, with the bulk of outages concentrated in the metro Nashville area and Middle and West Tennessee, and whose families have been unable to reach them.

In response to support local communities, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has activated its statewide 800-TBI-FIND number to coordinate welfare check requests, only the third time in the agency's history this resource has been deployed in response to a disaster. The activation came at the request of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) as communities across the state work to recover from the storm's impact.

"Our first priority is ensuring the safety and well-being of every Tennessean affected by this storm," said Commissioner Jeff Long. "By coordinating these welfare checks at the state level, we can help local cities and counties whose resources are stretched thin responding to ongoing weather emergencies. This coordinated approach will also help free up local 9-1-1 operators to focus on emergency calls, ensuring that those who need immediate assistance can get through."

"The Tennessee Highway Patrol stands ready to serve communities across our state during this critical time," said Colonel Matt Perry. "Our troopers are trained and equipped to conduct these welfare checks efficiently and compassionately, and we will work alongside our local partners to bring peace of mind to families worried about their loved ones. We will also continue be out on Tennessee roadways in full force to help motorists and respond to crashes."

"Our State Homeland Security agents understand the urgency families feel when they cannot reach someone they care about," said Deputy Commissioner Greg Mays, of the Tennessee Office of Homeland Security. "This coordinated state response ensures we can quickly deploy resources where they're needed most and provide answers to families during an incredibly difficult time."

The welfare check initiative is designed to assist local jurisdictions whose emergency response resources may be fully committed to addressing storm damage, power outages, road closures, and other weather-related emergencies. Tennessee Highway Patrol State Troopers and State Homeland Security Agents will work in coordination with local law enforcement and emergency management personnel to locate and check on individuals reported missing or out of contact since the storm.

Families who have been unable to reach loved ones since the storm are encouraged to call 1-800-TBI-FIND (1-800-824-3463), Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., to report their concern and provide information that will assist state personnel in conducting welfare checks.  

The statewide effort reflects Tennessee's commitment to ensuring no family is left wondering about the safety of their loved ones in the aftermath of this disaster.

For updates on storm response and recovery efforts, visit www.tn.gov/TEMA  or follow the Tennessee Department of Safety and Homeland Security on social media.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)

Visit Cheekwood Botanical Gardens in Nashville from February 7, 2026 - March 8, 2026 to discover the beauty of orchids as these remarkable flowers take center stage.

Take a reprieve from winter and explore lush displays of yellow, white, and orange in the Historic Mansion. Vibrant layered orchid chandeliers transform the Loggia into a tropical paradise.

Learn more by visiting www.cheekwood.org.