Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 7-10-26

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Southern Middle Tennessee Today

News Copy for July 10, 2026

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

Spring Hill Woman Found Dead (MauryCountySource)

A Spring Hill woman who was reported missing with her 8-year-old daughter has been found dead in Ohio, one day after her family contacted police, WSMV reports.

The Spring Hill Police Department received a missing persons report on July 2 for 37-year-old Amber Graham and her daughter.

According to Graham’s family, she had traveled to Cleveland to meet a friend.

Police said Graham had previously traveled to Ohio on June 14 and returned home on June 20 before leaving again with her daughter.

On July 3, the Cleveland Division of Police notified Spring Hill police that Graham had been found dead in the backyard of a home.

Graham’s 8-year-old daughter was located safely by Cleveland police and was placed in the custody of Ohio’s Department of Children and Youth.

Spring Hill police said they are working with Cleveland investigators as the death investigation continues.

Mt. Olivet Bridge Closure (Press Release)

The City of Columbia is notifying residents that the Mt. Olivet Bridge at Bear Creek Pike will close effective Monday, July 13, 2026, due to structural concerns.

The Mt. Olivet Bridge replacement project is a Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) project funded by the State of Tennessee and is currently scheduled for 2029. Due to the impact the closure could have on and daily local travel, the City of Columbia has requested that TDOT evaluate opportunities to expedite the project timeline.

The City of Columbia will continue coordinating with TDOT and sharing information as it becomes available regarding the project timeline, detour routes, and future construction schedule.

Motorists are encouraged to follow posted detour signage and allow additional travel time while the bridge remains closed.

The City appreciates the public’s patience and understanding during this closure and will provide updates as additional information is made available.

GM Investing in Spring Hill Plant (MSM)

General Motors plans to invest $275 million in its Spring Hill operations and expand the facility to produce five vehicles — two electric, two with internal-combustion engines and one already in production — company and union officials announced.

GM will invest $150 million to allow the Spring Hill vehicle assembly line to produce a new internal-combustion Cadillac vehicle in addition to the XT5, according to a GM press release and a report by the UAW Local 1853 bargaining committee. Preparations are set to begin in 2026, with the vehicle launching in 2028.

GM also plans to invest $125 million in the Spring Hill Global Propulsion Systems plant, supporting the production of its 2.7-liter 675T engine.

“This investment is focused on … extending the life and reliability of our equipment and technology to help support continued demand,” the company said.

Vehicle assembly workers should expect downtime the week of Oct. 5 to align production with market demand. First and second shifts at Spring Hill Assembly will also take alternating two-week breaks — from an unpublished start date through the end of the first quarter of 2027 — to prepare workers to build the Chevrolet Blazer before it launches in the second quarter. The addition will bring Spring Hill’s count to five vehicle models: the Blazer, the Cadillac LYRIQ, LYRIQ-V, VISTIQ and XT5.

“This investment reinforces that Spring Hill remains a critical part of GM’s manufacturing footprint and is well-positioned for the long term,” the company added. “This is significant news for our entire site and reflects the hard work, engagement and results our team delivers every day. You earned this investment. Thank you for everything you do to keep Spring Hill strong, competitive and moving forward.”

Mt. Pleasant Asst. Principal Named (Press Release)

Maury County Public Schools is pleased to announce the appointment of Anna Arnold as the new assistant principal at Mt. Pleasant High School.

Arnold brings 18 years of educational experience to the role, establishing herself as a respected instructional leader committed to student achievement. She has served as a mathematics teacher at Mt. Pleasant High School since 2020.

During her tenure, Arnold has earned recognition as both the Maury County Public Schools High School Teacher of the Year and Mt. Pleasant High School Teacher of the Year for the 2025-26 school year. She is also a Level 5 Geometry teacher, reflecting her commitment to helping students achieve academic success.

Arnold has served on the school's Leadership Team and School Improvement Team, facilitated professional development for faculty, analyzed schoolwide assessment data, advised Student Council for seven years and coached golf and tennis. Her leadership has focused on supporting both student achievement and school improvement while creating opportunities for students to grow inside and outside the classroom.

"I love the Mt. Pleasant community and schools," Arnold said. "I am honored and thankful for the opportunity to serve in this role at Mt. Pleasant High School. Our school has been successful over the last several years. I look forward to working with Mr. Hughes and the entire staff to build on our success and challenge our students to continue to grow and reach their full potential."

Arnold earned a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Secondary Education from Freed-Hardeman University, a Master of Arts in Mathematics from Western Kentucky University and an Education Specialist degree in Educational Leadership from Arkansas State University.

Maury County Passes Budget (MSM)

The Maury County Commission approved a $307.7 million budget for the coming fiscal year, with more than half those funds going to county schools.

The school district has been directly endowed with $170 million, and Maury County Public Schools will receive another $11.3 million for school food service, $1.78 million of the capital-projects appropriations, and $23.5 million of the $32.46 million the county has allocated to debt service.

County Commissioner Scott Sumners, chair of the county Budget Committee, explained in a social media post most of the schools’ funding comes from state Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) education grants. He noted 75 percent of county sales tax goes to schools, as well as half of the sales taxes from each of the three cities in Maury County. He expects schools will receive $31 million in sales taxes, compared to the county’s projected $1.6 million.

The General Fund will funnel its diverse revenues into $59 million worth of expenses, including emergency response, infrastructure, the courts, law enforcement, administration and record-keeping. The Highway Fund will pay out $13.2 million, with an additional $1.3 million for highway capital projects. Solid Waste received $6.1 million.

The county adopted a new certified, revenue-neutral property tax rate of $1.369 per $100 of assessed value, a 28-percent drop from the old rate of $1.91 per $100. Of those 137 property tax cents, 55 will go to the School Fund, 40 to the General Fund, 12.7 to debt service and 8 tax cents to capital projects.

The budget is projected to run at a deficit of $14.5 million over property tax revenue. Between budgeted revenue of $54 million and expenditures of $59 million, the General Fund’s reserves will fall by $4.86 million; other funds’ deficits will bring the county-side deficit to $6.18 million. The School Fund’s deficit is projected at $8.34 million. At the meeting where the budget was passed, County Commissioner Scott Sumners, chair of the Budget Committee, congratulated the county for bringing its side of the deficit down from $10 million.

“I expect that we will continue to overperform in our revenues and then not spend all of our expenditures,” Sumner told Main Street Maury, predicting another boom year for sales tax that will again exceed the county’s conservative revenue projections. “That is typical for our budgets[, but] I still want to get to where we have a true balanced budget.”

The county also divided just over $2 million among local nonprofits. Allocations included $1.8 million for the volunteer fire and rescue department; $70,000 for the Senior Citizens organization; $35,000 to the Spring Hill Library; $20,000 for the Boys & Girls Club; $17,510 for the Tennessee Rehab Center; $10,000 each for the Center of Hope and The Well Outreach; $9,000 for Keep Maury Beautiful; $8,000 for A Kid’s Place; $5,000 each for Harvest Share food bank, CASA, Students in Crisis and the Family Center; and $3,000 for the Mediation Center.

State Defers CPWS Loan (MSM)

The Tennessee Local Development Authority (TLDA) voted June 22 to defer a $75 million state loan application from Columbia Power & Water Systems, delaying a decision on funding for a $205 million water treatment plant that CPWS says must be built to avoid mandatory water restrictions in the next few years.

The plant would be capable of treating 12 million gallons per day (MGD) and is part of CPWS’s larger project, which is currently predicted to cost $540 million, to draw and treat sufficient water for its current and future customers. CPWS routinely draws more than 16 million of the 20 MGD its permit allows from the Duck River, and last August the utility used 93 percent of its permitted amount. Matt Wheeler, vice president at CPWS, warned that every month of delay adds $2 million to the cost of the overall project, and that utility is on track to having to restrict consumer water use by the summer of either 2028 or 2029.

“We’ve got risk on the table, right now there’s a whole host of risks to our existing water intake,” said Wheeler. “We’ve got to start now to meet our next potential peak demand in summer 2029. If we don’t get started in the next month or so, we will miss that summer of 2029 and [risk drought or limiting usage] another year.”

Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder also advocated for the state funding, noting that terms negotiated by CPWS and its consultants are on track to save the city $50 million in interest compared with market bond rates.

“This is truly a matter of life and death, having… clear, clean drinking water,” said Molder. “It is our belief that the Duck River Partnership will come back with the recommendation for this project, because it is the only project that is anywhere beyond a feasibility study… [and] it’s taken 15 years to get to this point.”

Vena Jones, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s program manager for loans, told the TLDA board the state Drinking Water Fund currently has $163 million available for projects of this kind. She said TDEC has worked on and now endorses the planning, financial modeling and necessity of CPWS’s project.

“We don’t know of another system in the state that is operating at such a level of demand… They have very, very little room for anything else. They could be in a position… to restrain folks from using water if they don’t get that plant,” Jones said. “I’m sure the governor’s report will support that expansion… [but] we expect that the plant capacity expansion has to occur regardless.”

Opposition to the loan

Opponents of the CPWS project submitted a letter to the TLDA board which they received a few hours before their meeting. The letter was written by Jason Gilliam, a board member of the Maury County Water System (MCWS), and its signatories included several Maury County commissioners; three members of the MCWS board; both Republican executive committee members for State Senate District 28; and state legislators Joey Hensley, Scott Cepicky, Kip Capley, Todd Warner, Clay Doggett and Chris Todd.

Gilliam, a prominent local advocate for rebuilding a dam on the Duck River in east Columbia, argued that CPWS’s intake project reflects a pattern of flawed planning.

“This CPWS project reveals a pattern of incomplete planning, shifting numbers, unacquired easements, potential legal challenges, negative environmental impacts, and a failure to adequately consider far cheaper and more collaborative regional alternatives,” Gilliam wrote.

Gilliam estimated that even under the favorable loan terms CPWS promotes, the total investment is an unreasonable cost for only 12 MGD of capacity, and he predicted that the 30-year loan term might even outlast the adequacy of the water supply.

“Maury County Water System, Spring Hill Water System and Mt. Pleasant Water System will experience the greatest impact since they all currently purchase water from CPWS,” Gilliam wrote. “This gives CPWS the distinct opportunity to control the water treatment and distribution, as well as growth throughout the county, putting every other utility at their mercy… Rate-payers, including those served by MCWS, Spring Hill and Mt. Pleasant, would bear the burden without meaningful input or representation.”

At the TLDA meeting, Maury County Mayor Sheila Butt said she would prefer to see the state create a regional utility commission, which would impose equal rates on city and county customers and pursue projects cooperatively. MCWS’s water rates are much higher than those of CPWS customers, which its leaders have attributed in the past to their large service area, much smaller customer base, and the fact that they have to purchase all their water. County leaders including Gilliam and Butt have complained that CPWS’s project will further raise their own rates.

“This is not just a Maury County problem. This is a statewide problem, and I hope you will see it as that, because eventually we’ve all got to quit competing and work together for all of the ratepayers,” Butt said. She also argued that it would be premature to approve the loan before the governor’s Duck River Watershed Planning Partnership (DRWPP) publishes its findings.

Gilliam also complained of what he called TDEC’s “inexplicable bias” toward CPWS’s project and against other water supply prospects. April Grippo, director of TDEC’s Division of Water Resources, has spoken publicly in favor of the CPWS intake and against rebuilding the Columbia Dam.

TLDA board deliberations

The TLDA board, divided over the competing arguments, voted to take a month to hear each side’s case in full. While Secretary of State Tre Hargett said the board would benefit from a draft of the governor’s report, members agreed they could not wait for its September publication date to decide whether to lend Columbia $75 million.

“We have a stark disagreement between the city and the county, which is unfortunate… [The impact of a large utility project is] not what this board is accustomed to mitigating,” said State Comptroller Jason Mumpower. “[And] I’ve had folks say to me… that this is a fight about control of the development of Maury County… [because] whoever controls the water source, controls the long-term development.”

“It’s never been about control, it’s been about making sure that we have adequate water capacity… in the future,” Molder replied. “A value-added partnership [with Maury County Water]… is the way that it has always been, and they get it at very good rates, as do our other customers.”

At Mumpower’s prompting, Wheeler and Jones predicted the useful lifespans of each element of the project. The water treatment plant, Wheeler said, should last 50-100 years depending on maintenance and expansion. The 12 MGD capacity it provides should sustain the city about 35 years, based on CPWS’s growth projections.

After that, Wheeler said, the Duck River Watershed Planning Partnership (DRWPP) has talked about building upon CPWS’s work. In its November 2025 recommendations, the Partnership expressed interest in studying a pipeline that would take up where CPWS’s new intake ends, traveling about 35 additional miles to the Tennessee River, making that the new long-term water supply for the Duck River Watershed.

Anticipating the state may take a line to the Tennessee River, CPWS has left room to expand on the campus of the planned water treatment plant, and sought easements to Williamsport twice as wide as what they need for their single pipe, so that the state can drop a second line alongside it.

“This project doesn’t get ‘replaced’ by some project that is on review with the governor’s partnership, some future water source from another region,” Wheeler said. “It actually dovetails well with it. This project is a linchpin project for a future water source that would augment what we’re doing in Columbia and the county today.”

“I think in order to have a long-term solution, you have to have a short-term solution in place,” Molder said.”

Butt noted the DRWPP, on which she serves, is also examining other routes to the Tennessee River beyond the one that builds upon CPWS’s pipeline.

Gallatin Mayor Paige Brown, a TLDA board member, said, “There’s nothing that has been said that could potentially take [the water treatment plant] off the table. It’s going to cost what it’s going to cost.”

“The state… has a huge interest in this that overarches those of any county or city that’s involved,” said State Treasurer David Lillard. “A month or less than a month of delay is called for to understand these issues… because this is a huge [issue for perpetuity], as each of you have argued very eloquently and ably on both sides.”

“The future of utilities in Tennessee is regionalization,” Mumpower said.

Mayor Brown also pointed out while the local “water wars” described by Mayor Butt are indeed happening — Lillard corroborated from his experience as a Shelby County commissioner — and she herself supports regionalizing utility service. She noted, “There’s no way to force anyone to participate in a regionalization project without some deficiency that causes TDEC to interfere,” Brown advised the mayors of Columbia and Maury County. “You have to work collaboratively on these things… in a more positive direction.”

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

Cathy Elizabeth Garner, 75, a lifelong resident of Maury County, Tennessee, passed away peacefully on Saturday, July 4, 2026, at NHC Columbia HealthCare.

Funeral services will be conducted on Saturday, July 11, 2026, at 11:00 a.m. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. Visitation with family and friends will be one hour prior to the service at the funeral home. Burial will follow in Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hampshire. 

Jon David Hildenbrandt, 43, a lifelong resident of Columbia, passed away Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at his residence.

Funeral services will be conducted Sunday, July 12, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. at First Baptist Church of Columbia. Burial will follow in Gobble Cemetery in Lawrence County. The family will visit with friends Saturday, July 11, 2026, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home.

David Houston Harris, 72, a lifelong resident of Columbia, passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, June 25, 2026.

Graveside services will be conducted on Sunday, July 12, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. at Pleasant Mount Cemetery.

Online condolences may be extended to the family at www.oakesandnichols.com.

Klaus Lachmann, 78 of Columbia, passed away on July 8th. Funeral services will be conducted on Monday, July 13, 2026 at 2:00 PM at St. Peters Episcopal Church with Father Chris Bowhay officiating. Burial will follow at St John's, Ashwood. The family will visit with friends on Monday from 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home.

Mrs. Bobbie Lou Collins Baker, 82, a longtime resident of Columbia, TN, passed away Thursday, June 25, 2026, at Poplar Estates. A graveside service will be conducted on Thursday, July 16 at 11:00 AM at Rose Hill Cemetery.

And now, news from around the state…

TN House Speaker Calls for Governor’s Debate (Tennessean)

With fewer than 10 days before early voting begins in the primary for Tennessee governor, the three Republican candidates have yet to share a debate stage — but there's a new push for them to do so.

“I would love to see a debate. I think that’s what Tennesseans want,” Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, told The Tennessean. “It’s hard to see the differences from the TV ads, and when one gets up to speak … and you don’t have the interaction.”

He is the highest-ranking lawmaker who is not term limited or retiring this year — and will work closely with the next governor. He has not made an endorsement.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn holds a double-digit but declining lead, according to a poll recently released by one of her rivals, U.S. Rep. John Rose. Blackburn campaign staff did not comment on the poll, conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, but pointed to a questionnaire conducted in 11 of Tennessee’s 95 counties during the same time period that reported favorable approval ratings for Blackburn.

Rose has called for a debate among all GOP candidates, including State Rep. Monty Fritts. 

"I think the people of Tennessee deserve to see debates across this state where we talk about the issues," he told WJHL-TV during a recent interview in East Tennessee. 

Blackburn this week said Republican candidates have already shared the stage during forums.

“Republicans, we have had lots of forums across the state where all three of us have been onstage, and that’s a good thing because people have been able to see us onstage, and they’ve been able to hear from us,” Blackburn said during a TV interview with Action News 5’s Joe Birch in Memphis on July 7.

“We have been talking to Tennesseans every single day, and we have done plenty of these forums across the state,” she added later during the interview.

Blackburn, Rose and Fritts have attended and spoken at private events including the annual GOP Statesmen’s Dinner in Nashville last month but haven't debated in public.

Blackburn's campaign did not respond when asked for details about the forums she referenced in the interview with Birch.

Multiple candidate forums have been scheduled for the future, but Blackburn has not confirmed whether she will attend any. Other forums traditionally attended by leading governor candidates — including those historically held by Farm Bureau Insurance and the State Collaborative on Reforming Education — have not happened this cycle.

East Tennessee Young Republicans are hosting a gubernatorial candidate forum on July 10. Rose and Fritts have both confirmed they will attend. Blackburn has not said if she'll attend.

NewsChannel5 in Nashville recently announced a gubernatorial debate for July 20. Rose and Fritts have both confirmed they will attend, but not Blackburn.

Sexton has said each of the three candidates has “some legislative experience” and “they all bring something different.” 

“It just depends on what the voter is looking for, and that’s why I think a debate would bring all that out in much more clarity,” Sexton said. “I think that would be a fun thing to watch.”

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)

Columbia Parks & Recreation invites adults to team up and visit Ridley Sports Complex, 1446 Oak Springs Drive, this weekend to compete in a childhood favorite.

Starting at 8 a.m. Saturday, the department will host a Co-Ed Adult Kickball Tournament.

The one-day tournament is open to anyone ages 18 and up, with a minimum of nine players (at least four female) required per team. Registration is also required in advance at the Parks & Recreation section at www.ColumbiaTN.gov.