Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 8-6-26

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Southern Middle Tennessee Today

News Copy for August 6, 2026

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

Pipkin Gets Death Penalty (Local43TV)

 A Maury County jury has sentenced Nathanial Pipkin to death for the October 2021 killings of three family members, including an 11-year-old girl.

The jury deliberated for nearly five hours before returning its decision. The same panel had previously found Pipkin guilty in connection with the deaths.

The courtroom remained silent as the jury foreperson read the sentencing decision five times: “The sentence shall be death.”

Pipkin reportedly showed no emotion as the verdicts were announced. According to 22nd Judicial District Attorney General Brent Cooper, Pipkin had instructed his attorneys not to argue against the death penalty during the sentencing phase.

“There are no winners in cases like this,” Cooper said in a statement following the verdict. “The death penalty won’t bring back the lost loved ones. However, some cases cry out for a form of justice which exceeds all others.”

Cooper recalled responding to the crime scene on October 1, 2021, where a mother, her brother and an 11-year-old girl had been killed.

“When I went to the scene and saw the carnage — a mother, brother and 11-year-old girl, all senselessly slaughtered — I knew this was such a case,” Cooper said.

Cooper thanked the jurors for their service, noting that they had been sequestered and were required to review deeply disturbing evidence throughout the proceedings.

“They served their community heroically,” he said.

The district attorney also expressed sympathy for the victims’ relatives, who attended the trial and were exposed to graphic testimony and evidence.

“My heart goes out to all of the victims’ family members who also heard and saw things no one should have to,” Cooper said. “My hope is that they can begin to heal.”

Cooper praised Assistant District Attorneys Pam Anderson and Jenni Smith for the extensive preparation that went into prosecuting the case. He also recognized Victim Witness Coordinator Christi Dickey for assisting and supporting the victims’ family members throughout the trial.

Investigators Lt. Roscoe Voss, Keith Wrather and Matthew McDonald were also credited for their work processing the crime scene, preserving evidence and testifying in court.

“Maury County is blessed to have investigators of their caliber working for them,” Cooper said.

Cooper concluded his statement by expressing hope that the community will never again experience a case of this nature.

“No one won yesterday,” he said, “but justice was served.”

CPWS Gets $75M Loan (MSM)

A state financing board approved a $75 million loan July 27 to help Columbia Power & Water Systems begin work on a water treatment plant expansion, but deferred a separate decision on a $315 million federal loan for the utility’s proposed downstream intake project until the governor’s Duck River Watershed Planning Partnership issues an official recommendation.

The Tennessee Local Development Authority board voted to approve the first loan at 3.06 percent interest, allowing CPWS to begin construction on a plant addition capable of treating up to 12 million gallons per day. The utility plans to draw down additional loans totaling $130 million to complete the plant. Repayment plans negotiated with lenders are projected, according to project advocates, to save rate-payers about $50 million over the 30-year repayment term.

The board declined, however, to place the $315 million loan from the Environmental Protection Agency’s Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act fund — which would finance most of the pipeline and intake portions of CPWS’s larger downstream intake project — “on parity” with the State Revolving Fund loan until the Partnership formally endorses the downstream intake. In the event of default, parity ensures all lenders are repaid simultaneously; the EPA has made parity a condition of its $315 million loan.

At its previous meeting, the TLDA board had deferred both considerations to July to hear from the project’s proponents and opponents. Most board members agreed in July that the $205 million water treatment plant is a genuine “public-health need” and that work should begin as soon as possible. CPWS is reportedly drawing nearly all of the 20 million gallons per day allowed under its state Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit and cannot treat additional water at its current plant.

“There’s not a doubt that Columbia needs a water treatment plant,” said Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson. “My understanding is that this water treatment plant is agnostic to where its water comes from.”

“Whether the broader project moves forward or not, this particular issue is absolutely necessary from a public health standpoint,” said state Comptroller Jason Mumpower. “[Because] the present water treatment plant is … beyond safe capacity.”

The bulk of the 100-minute meeting focused on CPWS’s second request: that the TLDA place the $315 million WIFIA loan — which would fund most of the pipeline and intake, the other two parts of the downstream project — on parity with the SRF loan.

Defenders of the project from CPWS, the cities of Columbia and Spring Hill, and state agencies offered public comment and expert testimony. They described the pipeline and new intake as a way to meet Maury County’s growing water needs for several decades, until a long-term regional solution is pursued.

“This downstream project is nothing new. It has been recommended in feasibility studies since 2000 by the Tennessee Valley Authority. It rose to the top as a cornerstone alternative in 2011 in the Comprehensive Regional Water Supply Plan,” said David Money, executive director of the Duck River Agency and a Partnership member. “This pipeline will meet the needs of Maury County for the next 50 years, [including after] we revisited that plan in 2025 … The DRA has been supporting CPWS in the project since 2015.”

Other officials told the board that the new capacity should serve CPWS and its customers 35 to 50 years, depending on the pace of development.

“Our mayor and our board … passed a resolution in support of this project,” said Spring Hill City Administrator Carter Napier, whose city stands to claim up to five MGD from the downstream intake. “I support it as well, with respect to the SRF loan being asked for by the city of Columbia.”

Project advocates argued the new intake and pipeline are also required for environmental and regulatory reasons. To draw water under the new 32-million-gallon-per-day permit granted by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, the utility must pull from a deep, resilient stretch of the Duck River that environmental oversight agencies agreed upon during permitting — near Williamsport, 17 miles west of the current treatment plant. CPWS and TDEC officials have previously described the current intake as vulnerable to being overdrawn, particularly during droughts, leading TDEC to cap withdrawal at 20 million gallons per day.

“In order to remove [that] amount of water from the Duck River … it has to be located at that particular spot,” said TDEC Commissioner David Salyers, also a Partnership member. “[The planned new intake] is at a location where you have … [a] significant [enough amount of] water to allow the intake CPWS is proposing.”

CPWS had planned to sign the EPA’s $315 million loan agreement in early September, before the Partnership’s official recommendations are expected in mid-September. Officials said they were uncertain whether missing that signing deadline would jeopardize the loan.

“If you get to the second week of September and you say, ‘I’m sorry, we have hurdles and administrative approvals that we have yet to get,’ I don’t know how the EPA and Office of Management and Budget would react,” said Jeff Oldham, a bond lawyer with Bass, Berry & Sims.

“In my opinion, approval of [loan] parity today would not prejudge nor diminish the work the Partnership is doing, nor … the final report,” said Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder. “What we’re pleading for is to be able to capture $50 million in savings for our rate-payers on what is a very expensive project.”

“Our concern is with the WIFIA loan closing … That’s really our unknown,” CPWS interim CEO Jack Baxter told the board. “It’s really important that we don’t risk losing any of these loans.”

Still, Baxter said, barring significant complications, construction will move forward on the approved portions of the project, and the utility expects to begin drawing water from the downstream intake by summer 2029. “We feel like we’re in good shape if we can start by late September, October,” he said.

“The project is going forward either way,” Molder agreed.

Opponents of the project also addressed the board. Jason Gilliam, one of the most prominent advocates for a competing water-supply option — the Columbia Dam — spoke on behalf of “thousands [of people who] … do not support this exorbitantly expensive, under-serving [pipeline] project.”

“Don’t buy into the narrative from the city of Columbia or CPWS that this has to be done right now,” Gilliam said during public comment. “It has been apparent for quite some time that neither the City of Columbia nor CPWS are interested in whether this project is the best option for the rate-payers of Maury County. It seems that their only concern is completing the project at all costs.”

Mumpower said many others — particularly county residents who are CPWS customers but not city of Columbia constituents — share those concerns about how the downstream intake was approved.

“What we do not see at all [from the city and utility] is even a desire to have a broader audience engaged in the discussion or the outcome. This creates a feeling for a lot of people that this is being decided for them, and they are being subjected to it,” Mumpower told city and utility leaders. “This is clearly an issue that is tearing your community [in two]. That’s evident to me from the unprecedented amount of outreach that I have received … This is very unusual that we’re even having this type of discussion.”

Mumpower ultimately declined to make what he considered a policy decision that belongs to the Partnership. Though the Partnership unanimously voted in mid-July to place the pipeline on an unofficial draft list of recommendations — and board members said they would be “shocked” if the Partnership did not endorse it — they agreed it was not their place to pre-empt that decision.

“If Governor Lee thought it was so important to establish this DRWPP and bring together a board that is broader than just a city, and we’re within 30 to 60 days of a recommendation … why does it not make common sense to say, ‘Let’s defer this and at least see the recommendation?'” Mumpower asked.

“I don’t want to risk losing the WIFIA loan … but I want to reiterate that … we need to wait until the Partnership recommendation comes out,” Bryson agreed.

Mumpower sought to reassure city and utility leaders that the federal government was unlikely to pull the financing offer simply because the utility needed a few extra weeks to secure state approval. “As somebody who’s involved in a lot of this type of financing deal, I do think there’s more wiggle room than that [in closing the WIFIA loan]. I’ve not seen a situation where they say, ‘By golly, it’s this day or the highway,'” he said.

The majority of the TLDA board agreed, voting to defer the parity decision to its August meeting. Salyers offered to ask the Partnership to either issue an early recommendation or specifically endorse the pipeline at its Aug. 10 meeting. Mumpower suggested the TLDA could then call a special meeting to approve loan parity if the Partnership acts early.

Pryor Art Gallery Exhibit Opening (WKOM Audio 3:19)

Yesterday, a new exhibition of abstract art opened at the Pryor Art Gallery at Columbia State Community College. Front Porch Radio’s Delk Kennedy stopped by the gallery and spoke to gallery curator Tori Zemer about the exhibition…

Farm Bureau Federation Honors Legislators (CDH)

The Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation is recognizing 86 members of the Tennessee General Assembly with its new Friend of Farm Bureau Award.

The award highlights legislators who have shown a commitment to agriculture in the state and have built strong relationships with Farm Bureau leadership, according to a press release.

The selection process involved a review of each legislator's voting record on issues where the Farm Bureau took an official position during the 114th Tennessee General Assembly. Legislators who met the voting criteria were then evaluated by their respective Farm Bureau county representatives based on responsiveness to local members, attendance at county Farm Bureau meetings and events, and overall support for the agriculture community.

Among the recipients are Maury County legislators Senator Joey Hensley, Representative Scott Cepicky, and Representative Kip Capley.

The award is not intended to constitute a political endorsement by the Tennessee Farm Bureau Federation.

“For more than a century, Tennessee Farm Bureau has believed the strongest public policy begins with relationships and grassroots involvement," Eric Mayberry, president of Tennessee Farm Bureau, said.

"Our inaugural Friend of Farm Bureau class recognizes legislators who have taken the time to engage with our members, understand the challenges facing agriculture and support policies that help farm families succeed."

As farm families navigate a challenging agricultural economy, rapidly evolving technology and regulatory challenges, strong legislative partners are more important than ever, according to the release.

The awards will be presented by each respective county Farm Bureau in the coming weeks.

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

Mrs. Victoria Vaughn Sweeney, 72, a resident of Spring Hill, died at her residence on Monday, August 3. The family will receive friends on Thursday, August 6 from 5:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. A private graveside inurnment will be held at Polk Memorial Columbarium at a later date.

And now, news from around the state…

GoVoteTN (Press Release)

On Election Day, Tennessee voters can access the Secretary of State’s convenient toll-free Official Election Hotline or the Text to Report Voter Fraud system.

“In Tennessee, voters can count on the Division of Elections and their local county election commission for accurate and timely election information,” said Secretary of State Tre Hargett. “If you have questions or concerns on Election Day, don't hesitate to reach out to my office or your local election commission.”

Tennessee voters can get answers to Election Day questions or report voting issues by calling the Division of Elections' toll-free Official Election Hotline at 1-877-850-4959. Voters can also find contact information for their local county election commission at https://tnsos.org/elections/election_commissions.php

Tennesseans can also access accurate Election Day information, including their polling location, voting dates, hours, sample ballots and more, on the Secretary of State’s GoVoteTN.gov website and free GoVoteTN app.

"Ensuring every eligible Tennessean can vote easily while maintaining the integrity of our elections remains our top priority," said Coordinator of Elections Mark Goins. "If voters have questions or encounter an issue on Election Day, our office is here to help."

The Secretary of State's Text to Report Voter Fraud system provides Tennesseans with a convenient way to alert the Division of Elections about suspected voter fraud. Voters can also use the system to report Election Day issues or share feedback about their voting experience, whether positive or negative.

To use the Text to Report Voter Fraud system, text ‘TN’ to 45995. Users will receive a secure link where they can submit their concerns directly to the Division of Elections. The Division of Elections then works with county election commissions, district attorneys, and other parties to take appropriate action.

For the latest information about the upcoming August 6 election, visit GoVoteTN.gov.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)

The Williamson County Fair will run August 7- 15, 2026. Held at the Williamson County AgExpo Park, 4215 Long Lane, Franklin, this year’s fair will include a variety of family-friendly shows, competitions, food, and the always popular midway featuring rides for all ages.

The mission of the fair is to provide a family-friendly event that promotes agriculture, brings communities together, and celebrates the traditions of Williamson County.

The cost to attend the fair is $14 for adults and $7 for children ages 6-12; children under 5 are free.

Williamson County Fair is located at the Williamson County Ag Expo Center at 4215 Long Lane, Franklin.