Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 6-2-25

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Southern Middle Tennessee Today

News Copy for June 2, 2025

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

We start with local news…

Columbia Double Homicide (Press Release)

On Saturday May 31st at approximately 3:07pm Columbia Police responded to the 3000 Block of Somerset Lane in reference to a shooting incident. Upon arrival officers located three individuals who sustained gunshot wounds.

John Bidle, forty-six years of age, was pronounced deceased on the scene.

Stacie Wright, fifty-one years of age, was transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center where she passed away during surgery. A third victim was also transported to Vanderbilt with non-life-threatening injuries.

The offender, a forty-six-year-old male, was taken into custody at the scene and is being charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder. Investigators are still processing the scene, conducting interviews and combing through information. Other charges are likely at the conclusion of this investigation.

The Columbia Police Department extends its thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims and all who were impacted by this tragic incident. 

Spring Hill Official Present in DC (CDH)

Spring Hill Assistant City Administrator Dan Allen, accompanied by Mayor Matt Fitterer, traveled to Washington D.C. on Thursday to take part in a congressional briefing regarding water reclamation.

The panel was composed of five experts in the field, including Allen. He was flanked by representatives from Pepsi and Amazon, among others. Allen specifically focused on the impact of water resources on recruiting for economic development purposes.

“Spring Hill is expanding rapidly, and our industries — especially automotive manufacturing — rely on large volumes of high-quality water to operate,” Allen told congressional staffers. “By reusing water, we can reduce strain on the Duck River, ensure reliable supply for new and existing businesses, and protect our environment. It’s a smart investment that balances economic expansion with environmental stewardship.”

While in Washington D.C., Allen and Fitterer also met with Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty’s offices, stressing the importance of water reclamation for Spring Hill.

"Spring Hill’s water reclamation pilot project will position us as the leader in water reclamation in Tennessee. We are committed to leading from the front and helping push forward this important initiative for all of Tennessee,” said Mayor Matt Fitterer. “Staff’s efforts have brought positive national attention to Spring Hill. Spring Hill residents deserve high quality and sustainable utilities. The Board of Mayor and Aldermen and City staff are committed to delivering for them."

The City of Spring Hill is currently moving forward with plans for an Advanced Purification Pilot Project. The Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation gave clearance to the pilot in August of last year.

The overall Advanced Purification Project plan outlines how the City of Spring Hill will maximize its fair share of water from the Duck River through extensive treatment processes at an expanded Wastewater Treatment Plant and accompanying reservoir.

Construction of the Advanced Purification Pilot Project is scheduled to begin later this year.

CSCC Hires New VP (Press Release)

Columbia State Community College is pleased to announce Dr. Shane Hall as the new vice president for the Williamson Campus and community engagement.

Hall currently serves as Columbia State’s dean of the Written, Oral and Digital Communication Division, where he oversees curriculum development, evaluation and improvement. The role also calls for support and oversight of faculty, hiring and student achievement while also collaborating with other academic divisions, as well as other duties. He also serves as Columbia State’s director of learning support and is an associate professor of English. His tenure with Columbia State began in 2015 as an English instructor. In 2017, he became an educational services coordinator for Columbia State’s Williamson Campus, where he supported and led faculty, staff and students on Humanities and Social Sciences Division directives.

A Columbia native who now lives in Williamson County, Hall began his higher education journey by graduating from Columbia State in 2008 with an Associate of Arts degree in art. He then went on to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Vanderbilt University and later a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Murray State University. His most recent degree came in 2022 when he graduated with a doctorate in English Pedagogy and Technology from Murray State. His 2022 doctoral practicum was “Critical Pedagogy and Culturally Responsive Practice in the Community College Classroom: Addressing Social and Cultural Identity to Achieve Student Success.”

He has served in several leadership roles and continues to represent Columbia State as director of the Learning Support program and committee chair for the Teaching and Learning Advisory Committee.

Hall has also been selected for professional awards while at Columbia State, including the League of Excellence and Innovation Award in 2022 and the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development Outstanding Faculty Award in 2018.

“From the first day I met Dr. Hall as a student in 2008, his enthusiasm for Columbia State and the opportunities it provides was ever present,” said Dr. Janet F. Smith, Columbia State president. “That energy and commitment has been a hallmark of his teaching and his leadership style. He will be a leader who builds partnerships and relationships that move the college and community forward.”

As the new vice president for the Williamson Campus and community engagement, Hall will provide leadership and supervision of the Williamson Campus and Community Engagement division that supports the college’s mission, the president’s priorities and vision, best practices, policy development, accreditation compliance, outcomes assessment and strategic enrollment management. He will also represent Columbia State in the community to assess the needs for business, economic, workforce development and continuing education opportunities for credit and non-credit offerings, among other responsibilities.

Spring Hill High Gets New Football Coach (MSM)

Memorial Day Weekend was memorable for Josh Taylor – but not quite in a way he’d have preferred.

Set to start a fifth season as Spring Hill’s defensive coordinator, Taylor was appointed the Raiders’ interim coach after Ben Martin was not retained for an eighth year.

“I hate it for him, but I’m definitely excited for the future and the opportunity,” said Taylor, who prior to joining Martin’s staff at Spring Hill served as an assistant for four seasons at Columbia Central, after a year at Summit and four as freshman coach at Central.

“We’re really proud of the work we’ve put in since December, which is the part I really hate for Coach Martin. A lot of people think the season starts in July when ‘dead period’ ends, but we’ve been going at this thing since December in the weight room, getting a plan. Our boys are getting better.

“My message to the team is that: We came to do a thing. We’ve got a plan; stick to the plan. Let’s crank up the intensity, let’s go capture everything we’ve been planning on. Don’t change the plan, even though our head coach is gone.”

Martin and Taylor were each informed of the change over the holiday, bringing to an end the tenure of the 1988 Spring Hill graduate atop the Raider program after seven less-than-successful seasons.

“Not the best record (10-60),” the 55-year-old Martin said. “There were a lot of challenges, not to make excuses.”

The early portion of Martin’s tenure included the 2019 death of an assistant, line coach Will Fisher, who suffered a fatal heart attack, followed by the COVID nightmare that wracked both the 2020 and ‘21 campaigns. Spring Hill also transitioned into Class 5A competition and was grouped with Midstate powerhouses Page and Nolensville for a portion of that time.

“Could I have done some things better? Maybe,” he said. “But I don’t think I’d have done them any differently. Our thing was ‘building men for others,’ and I felt like that’s what we tried to do. I wanted to win every time we went on the field, but I don’t think I’d have done it any differently.”

After beginning his coaching career at his alma mater on a non-faculty basis, Martin moved into the classroom as a biology instructor, while working to gain his certification. He was granted a three-year permit to do so. Upon completing his studies, however, Martin did not pass the Praxis exam necessary for certification.

“There was some confusion over whether I could move to a different permit,” he said.

At that time, Martin said he was informed by second-year Spring Hill principal Brian Brewer that there were no other teaching positions available in the building.

“I let him know my first (three) years I was a non-faculty coach and I was qualified to do that, and he said he understood,” Martin said. “Friday (May 23) he called me in and told me he’d come to the decision that he needed his football coach to be in the building and he didn’t have a place in the building for me, so he was going to relieve me of my coaching duties.

“It obviously took me aback. We’d had a conversation earlier that he assured me he wanted me to be the coach. I didn’t know what had changed that he’d come to that decision.”

When reached, Brewer provided a statement:

“Spring Hill High School wants to thank Coach Martin for his years of dedication to our student-athletes. As we start a new chapter … under Coach Taylor, we look forward to the continued growth of our football program and the student-athletes that participate in it.  

“We appreciate the continuing support of our community and are excited to see our athletes compete on our new field in the fall!”

With the Raiders having recently completed spring practice and just “91 days,” by Martin’s count, from their Aug. 22 season opener against Summit, the move was a stunner to say the least.

“They love Coach Martin,” Taylor said regarding the team, which heads into 2025 looking to improve on back-to-back 2-8 finishes. “He got to address the team Tuesday, and you could see he was hurting. They were hurting for him, and so was the coaching staff.

“(But) I think they’re excited for me. I have a pretty good relationship with the boys. They know I want to be a head coach. I haven’t made that a secret at all. I love being at Spring Hill, I’m so glad to be the head coach at Spring Hill. They’re going to miss Coach Martin, but I think they’re still excited for the year.”

Taylor, 37, anticipates maintaining his current role for the ‘25 campaign, with his situation to be revisited at the end of the year.

“The plan, to my understanding, is that I will be the head coach through the season. Then whatever happens after that, I will find out,” he said. “I’m going to take it one day at a time, one week at a time, and hopefully I do a good enough job that they see fit that I deserve this opportunity to be the permanent head coach. I just want to have a good season this year and then we’ll see.

The Raiders pursue just their second postseason appearance since former coach Jay Emmons led the program to back-to-back playoff berths in 2016 and ‘17 before departing, meanwhile, Martin considers his next move.

“Obviously I care very deeply about Spring Hill High School and that’s not going to change. It was kind of my dream job. I think it’d do me some good to get back in (coaching), but at the same time, there may be some other possibilities.”

Animal Shelter Expansion Plan (CDH)

Maury County Animal Services is creating a five-year expansion plan, which would provide better services, better housing for intakes and educational opportunities for students while creating a more efficient facility.

The only issue is finding enough funding to realize this long-term dream, while at the same time facing a growing number of issues related to population growth experienced throughout the county.

Director Kim Raffauf said, above all, the shelter wishes to create a facility that is "more than a dumping ground for animals, but a community where people are involved." At the same time, there is a more pressing immediate need, things the animal shelter is called to provide that people might not think about.

"There are people who are evicted, people who move here and have a change of circumstances. With growth comes animals," Raffauf said. "We have 55 kennels, and when you have 115,000 people in the county is why you see so many strays, why you have to make an appointment ... because when we tell people we can take in an animal in about a week, they get mad. We have to do some expansion, more kennels to service the area properly."

The shelter has also assisted in recent emergency weather incidents, such as the tornado which struck Columbia on May 8, 2024, leaving approximately 245 structures damaged and one death.

"The taxpayers and citizens of Maury County need a resource for their animals, and we were the resource for them to come to, because it is natural that you would want to look for your pet at the shelter," Raffauf said.

"For days upon days, animals poured in that needed some place to go because they didn't have a home. That is something through FEMA we have to be able to offer citizens. Even the trickle effects where people thought they would be able to rebuild but were not able to, we have had to take in their animals down the road."

In the meantime, some updates have been making progress, such as converting the shelter's dog kennels from prefab to permanent structures, as well as expanding outdoor kennels to allow for fresh air, sunlight and a change of scenery. However, all of this has been achieved using the current budget, Raffauf said.

The shelter's five-year plan would include repurposing a portion of the existing facility to construct an area which can be utilized for additional veterinary services, a quieter and more ventilated room for cats, training classrooms and kennel space.

"We already offer low-cost spay and neuter and need to offer more of that, because that is a way to prevent unwanted litters here locally, and if it is affordable people can do it without excuses," Raffauf said. "Public education is also a really big deal and we need a room for those people to have classes, training classes in helping people keep an animal in a home. Sometimes it's the simple things that can make a difference."

The shelter has also expanded in other ways, such as now operating seven days a week and with later hours.

"We also have a marketing team and volunteers who go to offsite events and we are constant on social media," Raffauf said. "We are really pulling a big demographic from outside of Maury County, because people see the ads and it makes the animals more accessible. Some people don't even know the shelter exists either because they haven't been in this direction or they are transplants, and the people that are moving here expect services. We've just really got to get more with the times."

The need to expand, as well as handle the influx of animals due to recent growth, has been a focal point of discussions at the Maury County Commission and Columbia City Council, and if there can be a solution to the shelter's funding needs.

At its May 8 regular meeting, Columbia City Council approved its first of two readings regarding its 2025-2026 fiscal budget. The city's 2024-2025 budget included a $220,000 allotment to the shelter, a 10% increase over the previous year. This year proposes an additional 10% increase, totaling approximately $242,000.

"I think that shows good faith and everyone working together, which is what we need to do in having everyone be partners and step up to the plate," Raffauf said.

However, there likely won't be much more room to provide additional increases, Molder said.

"The request that has been made for the last two years, from a percentage standpoint ... is a request that we have the ability to absorb from a budgetary standpoint," Molder said. "For example, this past year we paid $4.3 million to save an aquatics and recreation center that is utilized by the county school system to have pools ... and in addition the upcoming budget has over $2 million in improvements to that facility."

The second and final budget reading will appear before the council in June.

Kathryne Sue Ausbrooks Burris, 65, resident of Columbia passed away, June 1, 2025 at her residence.

A Memorial Service will be conducted Saturday, June 7, 2025 at 12:00 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. The family will visit with friends Saturday from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. Online condolences may be extended at www.oakesandnichols.com.

And now, news from around the state…

Murder Suspect Caught in Carolina (Tennessean)

A Nashville murder suspect wanted in connection with a November 2024 robbery-turned-fatal shooting at a South Nashville Park was arrested in North Carolina on May 30.

Now 18, the suspect was 17 at the time of the shooting. Police said the teen girl killed Mohamed Keita and was arrested by authorities in Hampstead, North Carolina.

Police said criminal homicide charges are pending in juvenile court.

A second suspect, a now 18-year-old Clarksville man who was also 17 at the time of the shooting, was previously arrested March 6 after admitting to police she set up and participated in the robbery of Keita that turned fatal.

The Tennessean is not naming either suspect as they are charged in juvenile court.

Mohamed Keita, 23, of Riverdale, Georgia, was found dead in the driver's seat of his car, backed into a parking space in the lot at William Pitts Park on Dec. 1.

Police said they believe Keita was shot the night before.

Dolly Leans on Faith (WPLN)

Dolly Parton’s angelic voice floated throughout her first gospel album in 1971 with songs like “I Believe,” “Lord Hold My Hand” and the album’s title track, “Golden Streets of Glory.” The entertainment icon says the same steadfast faith that inspired those hymns have anchored her throughout her grief following the death her husband, Carl Dean.

“I am a person of faith, and I truly believe that I’m going to see him again someday. And I see him every day in my memories and in my heart, and in all the things that we used to do and all the things that we’ve built together,” said Parton. “You just kind of have to learn to kind of make new plans — but that’s the hardest part.”

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame honoree reflected on her marriage of nearly 60 years while promoting her new single-serve Southern-inspired frozen meals, following her popular Duncan Hines baking mixes via a collaboration with US-based Conagra Brands. Dean, who avoided the spotlight and inspired her timeless hit “Jolene,” as well as her 2023 “Rockstar” album, died in March at 82.

“I really feel his presence,” said the 10-time Grammy winner. “I just try to go on, because I know I have to. And he was ill for quite a while, and part of me was at peace that he was at peace and not suffering anymore. But that still doesn’t make up for the loss and the loneliness of it.”

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)

A Rutherford County resident's pet zebra broke free on Saturday, May 31, and made its way to the interstate — causing an afternoon of chaos before escaping into the woods.

Drivers took to social media to report narrowly dodging the animal as it was weaving in and out of traffic. Rutherford County Sheriff's deputies quickly closed a section of I-24 eastbound and westbound in Christiana, but they were unable to capture the zebra.

Corporal Zach Campbell met with the owners of the zebra, who said they obtained the animal less than 24 hours before it fled their property.

As of Sunday evening, the zebra was still “at large.”

While the Library of Congress says zebras’ "unpredictable nature and tendency to attack preclude them from being good candidates for domestication," it is legal to own one in Tennessee.