Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 6-2-26

WKOM/WKRM Radio

Southern Middle Tennessee Today

News Copy for June 2, 2026

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

Police Asking for Theft Help (MauryCountySource)

The Maury County Sheriff’s Department is asking for the public’s help identifying two people connected to a reported theft at a residence in Maury County.

Authorities said an unidentified man and woman entered a property off Theta Parkway around 3 a.m. on May 8. Surveillance video reportedly captured the pair removing items from the residence before leaving in a dark-colored extended cab pickup truck.

Surveillance photos can be views at maurycountysource.com.

Anyone with information that could help identify the individuals is asked to contact the Maury County Sheriff’s Department.

New General Sessions Judge Chosen (MSM)

The Maury County Commission appointed a replacement for longtime Maury County General Sessions Judge Bobby Sands at its meeting on May 18.

The commission also voted to ask the State of Tennessee for a Columbia Dam feasibility study at the same meeting.

The commission appointed Scott Speer, an attorney with the 22nd Judicial District Attorney’s office, to replace Sands, who has opted for a slightly early retirement after presiding over General Sessions since 2005.

“I know I’ve got big shoes to fill [in place of] Judge Sands,” Speer told the commission after the vote. “I can make you one promise: I will treat this position as it should be treated, as one of service and not of power.”

“Other than Judge Sands, I would dare say there’s no other attorney that’s spent more hours in General Sessions Court in Maury County than Scott has,” said District Attorney General Brent Cooper, Speer’s former boss. “The only downside to you all appointing him, is what you’ve done to my office.”

“I’m not looking forward to arguing in front of him, but I know it will always be a just decision,” joked Commissioner Jerry Bridenbaugh, himself an attorney.

The county commission also appointed Jonathon Dye and Giles Rankin to the Regional Planning Commission, replacing Peder Jensen and Bradley Wooldridge after they resigned in early May. The commission also recognized vacancies on the boards of Education (one empty seat in District 2, to be filled by election in August), Public Utilities and the county library system.

Commissioners also voted to buy a $400,000 scoreboard for the Lindsey Nelson Stadium in Maury County Park. Parks Department head Al Ray told the Health & Environment Committee that such a scoreboard could bring annual revenues of $80,000-100,000, paying for itself via advertising and sponsorships. Permission was also given to the Visitor’s Bureau to sell $100 bricks for the walkway around the Historic Maury County Courthouse, that is currently being renovated, which can be engraved with names chosen by the purchasers.

The commission heard a report on the county’s key performance indicators from Travis Groth, vice president of Economic Development for Maury Alliance. Groth explained that the Alliance asks three questions about Maury County, beyond the traditional metrics of job creation and capital investment: “Is Maury County growing? Is Maury County growing wealthier? And is Maury County developing [competitive] talent?”

The Alliance has found some answers in the state-provided data from the last five years. In that timeframe, Maury County’s population has grown 16 percent and its real GDP by 37.3 percent, outperforming the state of Tennessee by almost double and the United States by more than double. In the same time frame assessed property values have risen by 79.4 percent, retail sales by 35.9 percent, incomes by 31.4 percent and the civilian labor force by 18.1 percent — the last tripling state labor force growth, which Groth said, makes Maury “very attractive to employers.”

“Maury County has outperformed the Nashville MSA and the state of Tennessee, which are no slouches themselves,” Groth summed up. “That’s bringing increased revenues to the community and allowing it to invest in enhancements like the justice center, the courthouse, the libraries and the airport.”

County Reassessment and What It Means to Property Owners (MSM)

Main Street Maury recently sat down with Bobby Daniels, the property assessor for Maury County, to talk about the property value reassessments that his department published for all properties across the county. Daniels explained how county assessor and the state Division of Property Assessments arrived at their conclusions — and what the reassessments mean for your pocketbook.

Will your property taxes rise?

Daniels and other local officials want Maury County property owners to know, first and foremost, that their taxes will not go up in direct proportion to the increase in their property values.

Daniels said that the total assessed value of all properties in Maury County increased by 43.17 percent from 2025 to 2026.

To calculate the effect on their own property taxes, people should compare the whole county’s rate of appreciation to that of their own property. If a person’s property valuation went up by more than 43.17 percent, they should expect an increase in their property tax bill from the previous year, but if it went up by 43.17 percent or less, they should be billed less.

The reason why, Daniels said, is because state of Tennessee requires property reassessments to be “revenue-neutral” for the governments collecting them. Whether total assessed value goes up or down, a government must collect the same amount of revenue from existing properties in 2026 as it did in 2025; the only new revenue allowed comes from new construction and improvements that weren’t billed the previous year.

“The county and municipalities can’t benefit off the value change during a reappraisal… If property values started declining, the offset would be a higher tax rate,” Daniels said. “Revenue neutral[ity applies to] the existing book of business.”

To neutralize property tax revenues in Maury County, the Tennessee Board of Equalization has given the county and municipal governments new Certified Tax Rates. Maury County’s would be dropped from $1.91 per $100 to $1.369, Columbia’s from $0.8251 to $0.6068, Spring Hill’s from $0.739 to $0.6476, and Mount Pleasant’s from $1.69 to $1.2426.

The governments will have to adopt new rates by vote; if they wish to exceed the Certified Tax Rate, T.C.A. § 67-5-1701 requires them to advertise their intentions and hold a public hearing. City Manager Tony Massey has already announced the city of Columbia’s intention to do so in June.

How to contest an evaluation

If a person sincerely believes that their property assessment is inaccurate, Daniels and his staff encourage them to file for a reassessment.

“[Do some research and ask], ‘Is the probability of it selling for this value real or not?’ If it’s too high, you have rights,” Daniels recommended. “You can come in [to our office] for an informal review, and if we’re not able to lower if for you, you have a right to go before the Maury County Board of Equalization that goes into session June 1.”

A property owner wishing to challenge an evaluation should first send an email to the Assessor’s Office, at rea26@maurycounty-tn.gov, and expect a reply within two or three days. Property appraisers will investigate their claims and search neighborhood sales, to see if the valuation should be lowered; if the claimant believes their re-evaluation is still too high, they can go before the Board of Equalization starting June 1.

“Be patient,” Daniels asked people. “We’ll get back to you.”

Assessment methods and trends

When the Maury County Property Assessor’s office conducts “mass appraisals” of properties, the first factor they take into account is the data from “qualified sales” in a given neighborhood. Qualified sales must be reviewed by assessors, involve two willing parties, and be exposed to the open market. Unqualified sales include foreclosures, auctions, owner-financed properties, friends-and-family discounts and sales that bundle significant personal property together with the real estate.

To evaluate a single property, the appraisers first refer to the data from sales in the same neighborhood, then for sold properties with similar traits and improvements. The most important factors in evaluation are the property’s location, lot size, and the size and exterior features of its buildings; other considerations include the buildings’ age, build quality and proximity to amenities.

Mobile homes are the property type that’s appreciated the most since the last assessment; the second-best investment was commercial properties, especially those on the downtown squares and main thoroughfares. Commercial buildings and housing alike appreciate all the more steeply with proximity to downtowns and their increasing amenities.

Daniels stated emphatically that, contrary to some accusations, his office isn’t trying to raise new tax revenue or force anyone out of their home, apartment or commercial space by arbitrarily raising its valuation. To do so would break the law, specifically T.C.A. § 67-5-1601, and he believes that even with the increase in assessed value, the county still isn’t exorbitantly expensive.

“Maury County is still an affordable county to live in when you compare it to other places, and our tax rates are well below some other counties,” he said.

Mayoral Forum (Press Release)

Join Maury Alliance on July 9th at 5:30pm to hear from the two Maury County Mayoral candidates: Sheila Butt and Gabe Howard. This moderated Q&A session with the candidates will give attendees an opportunity to learn more about each candidate and their vision for the future of Maury County. If you would like to submit a question for consideration, please send them to Alyssa at atate@mauryalliance.com. This event is open to the public and free to attend!

Doors open at 5pm, and the program will begin promptly at 5:30pm.

Blasting Damages Mt. Pleasant (MSM)

Work on the development of the Southbend Crossings subdivision in western Mount Pleasant has been hard on the existing neighborhood next to it. Residents of nearby streets complain of fine rock dust, constant loud noise, and at least one explosion on most workdays — the last of which is being blamed for mild structural damage to houses up to a mile away.

Dustin Kittle, a local environmental attorney, has been retained by the owner of a home on Meadow Road, one of the closest to the work site. The work and its noise, said Kittle, have been going on since February 2 and have gotten closer to his client’s house in the last few weeks. Since the blasting began, he and his client claim, the concrete outside the house has cracked, a brick outbuilding has been damaged, and bricks have come apart at several points in the lower exterior walls of the main house, among other damages. On the morning of May 28, a loud and constant jackhammering noise could be heard from the client’s yard, with very short breaks lasting only a few seconds.

Kittle relayed stories from several affected people at the May meeting of the Mount Pleasant City Commission. Blasting, he said, had knocked down paintings in people’s houses, and a clock off the wall in the Hidden Acres nursing home adjacent to the work site. The force and random timing of the blasts have also agitated pets and people, including small children and the residents of the nursing home.

The Dyer family moved into their new house on Pleasantwood Drive in mid-February, after a Jan. 14 home inspection confirmed that it had no serious problems. On March 5, after approximately a month of blasting, Lisa Dyer noticed a crack in the ceiling above the refrigerator, where she said another crack appeared by the end of the day. Dyer suspects that the blasting has also shaken the house’s shower pipes, loosened an electrical connection leading from the crawlspace to the pool, and caused three leaks in the city water lines under Pleasantwood Drive.

The journal that Dyer shared with Main Street Maury records at least one blast, sometimes two or three, on all but a few work days between March 17 and May 29. Kittle’s client recorded that on some days, up to five blasts would rock the neighborhood.

Dyer said an engineer told her that the blasting should be finished in a month and a half, when she called the contractor on March 10 — almost three months ago.

“This blasting has been more intense than… when they did the bridge [and] Exit 9. We didn’t feel the impact of that as badly,” said Alexis Martinez, who lives on Bellview Drive, about a mile away from the Southbend Crossings work site.

When she drives by the work site on Meadow Road, she said she can hear the jackhammer-like sound inside her car.

“It has shaken our foundation, it has shifted our hardwood floors… It has knocked down picture frames… The drywall nails are popping out of the wall. Every time it shakes the house, it feels like the floor is going to sink.”

City Commissioner Loree Knowles brought up the blasting and its effects at the April meeting of the Mount Pleasant City Commission.

“I have gotten a lot of phone calls about the blasting… I’ve gone to some of the houses, and I have pictures of the cracks,” she said, adding that the state fire marshal’s office has declined to take action, and that home insurance companies are declining to cover damages because the residents don’t have earthquake insurance. “A couple of citizens have told me that they’re selling their property and they’re moving, because they can’t continue to pay for a house that’s cracking apart because of blasting.”

Kittle and Dyer got similar responses from the fire marshal’s office: because nearby seismographs haven’t logged more than the acceptable “level of vibration” from the blasts, they can’t step in and put a stop to it. Kittle also reported that the developers declined to stop or ameliorate the blasting when they spoke to him; instead, he said, they intend to pay out damages to all the affected homeowners once the work is done.

Kittle told city commissioners that they might have more power in the situation than they might think. While he agreed with City Attorney Kori Jones that the state fire marshal has permitting authority over the blasting itself, he also believes the relevant case law empowers the city government to remediate its “impacts” and “nuisances” — especially since one of the conditions the project had to meet, before the city Planning Commission would approve it, is “no adverse impact upon adjoining property owners.”

“I know it’s a difficult position for the city to be in,” he said. “What I would ask the city to do is cooperate with us, share information.”

Most of the city commissioners expressed their appreciation for Kittle’s advocacy at the meeting, and seemed interested in taking action within their authority.

Down the Duck Documentary (Press Release)

A special community screening of the Nashville PBS’ documentary Down the Duck with John Guider will take place on Friday, June 12, at 6:00 p.m. at The Mulehouse, in downtown Columbia. Tickets are free by visiting: https://weblink.donorperfect.com/dtd-columbia.

Co-hosted by Friends of the Duck and Harpeth Conservancy, the event aims to bring together community members, conservation advocates, outdoor enthusiasts, and supporters of the Duck River for an evening centered around storytelling, environmental awareness, and connection. Food trucks will be on-site ahead of the screening, creating a casual community atmosphere for attendees to gather and enjoy the evening together.

The documentary, a film by Archaea Productions, follows acclaimed photographer, conservationist, and adventurer John Guider, as he canoes 270 miles of Tennessee’s Duck River, documenting its ecological significance, natural beauty, and the communities connected to it along the way.

Recognized as the most biodiverse river in North America, the Duck River provides drinking water to communities across Middle Tennessee while supporting hundreds of species of fish, mussels, birds, and wildlife.

“This film captures the wonder of the Duck River and the communities it sustains at a critical time when planning is underway to ensure long-term sustainability,” said Grace Stranch, CEO of Harpeth Conservancy.

As conversations continue across the watershed about the river’s future, the film offers both a celebration of the Duck River’s extraordinary significance and an invitation for communities to engage more deeply in its protection.

This will be the first in-person showing of the film in the Duck River Watershed. “This documentary offers a powerful reminder of how deeply connected we are to the Duck River,” said Sarah B. Gilliam, a member of Friends of the Duck River and who is featured in the film. “The screening is an opportunity for the community to come together, celebrate this incredible resource, and continue conversations about protecting it for future generations.”

The celebrations will continue with additional screenings throughout the Duck River Watershed this summer. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and guests are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy food trucks and conversation before the film begins.

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

Hal David Hall, age 82, retired journalist who wrote for the Nashville Tennessean, Chicago Daily News, Denver Post and the Chicago Sun Times, passed away on December 31, 2025.

Graveside services will be held at Rose Hill Cemetery on Friday, June 12, 2026 at 1:00 PM. The family will visit with friends on Friday, June 12, 2026 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Oakes and Nichols Funeral Home.

Phyllis Lovell Maley, age 79, passed away on January 28, 2026.

Graveside services will be held at Rose Hill Cemetery on Friday, June 12, 2026 at 1:00 PM. The family will visit with friends on Friday, June 12, 2026 from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM at Oakes and Nichols Funeral Home.

And now, news from around the state…

New Tennessee Welcome Sign (Press Release)

Governor Bill Lee, alongside the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (TDTD), today unveiled the first installation of the state’s new “Welcome to Tennessee” signage program, beginning with a dedicated photo-op sign at the I-26 Unicoi County Welcome Center in Erwin. The unveiling marks the first visible milestone in a statewide effort to enhance the scenic quality and visual experience along Tennessee’s major highways.

The initiative directly supports Governor Lee’s commitment of $5 million to promote and showcase scenic beauty along Tennessee’s major corridors in the FY25 budget. The new signage represents a modern, welcoming, and visually compelling gateway for the millions of travelers who enter Tennessee each year.

“Every day, thousands of people cross our state line for the first time—families on vacation, new residents seeking opportunity, and visitors who are about to discover what makes Tennessee special,” said Governor Lee. “These new welcome signs reflect the pride we have in our home and Tennessee’s Volunteer Spirit that says ‘we’re glad you’re here.’”

The update marks the first major redesign of the state’s welcome signs since 1995. While the previous version served Tennesseans well for nearly three decades, state leaders saw an opportunity to create something more visually inviting—something that sparks emotion the moment visitors cross the state line.

Inspired by the bold, nostalgic style of vintage postcards, the new signs feature a richly illustrated mural scene that feels both timeless and fresh. The artwork incorporates iconic Tennessee elements—mountains, rivers, wildlife, and layered geographic color palettes. The signs have a clean, confident look that stands out at 70 miles per hour.

“These signs are more than just markers on the side of the road—they’re a welcome mat to our home,” said TDOT Commissioner Will Reid, P.E. “We’re grateful to the General Assembly for providing the funding needed to bring this project to life. Their support allowed us to create something that truly reflects the pride we have in Tennessee and the experience we want every visitor to feel the moment they arrive.”

Beyond aesthetics, the new signage system is built for longevity and flexibility. Modular panels allow for easy replacement without rebuilding entire structures, and the design can be replicated at Welcome Centers statewide, creating a cohesive visual identity for Tennessee’s entry points.

“These new signs are a reminder to every traveler crossing the state line that they’ve arrived somewhere special,” said TDTD Commissioner Mark Ezell. “Every welcome is an opportunity to inspire visitors to stay longer, explore more communities and support local businesses across our state. From the moment travelers arrive, these signs help tell the story of why Tennessee Sounds Perfect.”

The version unveiled today is designed specifically for safe visitor engagement and long‑term durability at Welcome Centers across the state.

TDOT will begin installing new roadside gateway signs at 16 interstate entry points over the coming months. These signs will replace the existing welcome signs, with installation occurring in phases as fabrication and site scheduling are completed.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)

She wanted to be a Shakespearean actress. Instead, she became one of the most beloved figures in country music history. 

‘Facing the Laughter’ tells the full story of Minnie Pearl, the complicated, compassionate, and endlessly funny woman behind the price tag and the “Howdeeee!” The Franklin Theatre will show ‘Facing the Laughter’ on Wednesday, June 17th at 3pm.

Following the screening, there will be a live Q&A with the film’s director and the author of a new Minnie Pearl book. This is the side of a Tennessee legend you may not know and it’s worth every minute.

See the documentary on Wednesday, June 17th at 3 pm.

Find tickets at www.franklintheatre.com.