Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-10-26

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Southern Middle Tennessee Today

News Copy for September 10, 2026

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

We start with local news…

County Leaders Take Oath (MSM)

Some new and returning Maury County officials took their official oath of office last Tuesday after the August general election was certified. They were sworn in by other ranking county officials, including re-elected Maury County Mayor Sheila Butt, re-elected county clerk Joey Allen and several county judges.

County Commission

• District 1: Jerry Strahan, Tim Holt

• District 2: Patti Hollinsworth, Wayne Romesburg

• District 3: Gary Stovall, Winston Harlan

• District 4: Connie Green, Mike Kuzawinski

• District 5: Scott Sumners, Sam Barnes

• District 6: Rebecca Haines, Cindy Hestla

• District 7: Richard Baud, Kenny Morrow

• District 8: Missy Phillips, Steven Burford

• District 9: Brent Coen, Kevin Markham

• District 10: Danny Grooms, Greg Combs

• District 11: Tim Mullen, Chad Brothers

Committee elections

In a meeting later that day, the county commissioners elected the membership of their committees. They re-elected Danny Grooms Commission Chairman and chose Scott Sumners to serve as his vice-chair.

Admin Committee

• Mike Kuzawinski

• Sam Barnes

• Brent Coen

• Steven Burford

• Kenny Morrow

Budget Committee

• Missy Phillips

• Connie Green

• Scott Sumners

• Richard Baud

• Chad Brothers

• Danny Grooms

• Rebecca Haines

Health & Environment Committee

• Jerry Strahan

• Patti Hollinsworth

• Gary Stovall

• Greg Combs

• Cindy Hestla

Safety Committee

• Kevin Markham

• Tim Holt

• Wayne Romesburg

• Winston Harlan

• Tim Mullen

Building Committee

• Kevin Markham

• Kenny Morrow

• Scott Sumners

• Connie Green

• Jerry Strahan

• Sam Barnes

• Danny Grooms

Financial Committee

• Patti Hollinsworth

• Scott Sumners

• Steven Burford

• Richard Baud

Public commenters at the later meeting congratulated the new public officials while reminding them of their responsibilities and the priorities facing the county. Teresa Sparks suggested creating a Strategic Plan to keep track of the county’s goals and progress towards them. Jordan Rouden, who ran for District 9, told the new commission that opportunities and problems concerning solid waste disposal, data center regulations and the land use plan would likely come up in their terms.

“It can be rewarding, and it can be hectic sometimes; I’m sure your phones will start ringing pretty quick,” said Chairman Grooms. “I just want to remind us all to be respectful of one another.”

Local Man Wins Carnegie Medal (Press Release)

Mayor Chaz Molder will present the Carnegie Medal to resident Samuel Hardin Adcock at a ceremony scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, September 10, at Columbia City Hall.

Adcock, an auto assembly plant tool coordinator, was awarded the Medal in March after he helped rescued a man from drowning on May 23, 2025.

At a boat ramp in Chickasaw Trace Park in Columbia Colin McNary, 25, who was severely autistic, ran into the Duck River and was swept downstream by the current. On the south side of the boat ramp, Samuel Hardin Adcock, 26, and James Alan Garner, 41, both from Columbia, were with Garner’s family when they saw McNary get carried downstream. Adcock immediately waded out to the channel and began swimming freestyle downstream to try to reach McNary. Garner then entered the water and swam downstream to catch up to McNary and Adcock. About 1,000 feet downstream, McNary was swept into a calmer area of the river, where Adcock caught up with him and grabbed him. McNary struggled to stay afloat and submerged Adcock, who pushed McNary away to get air. Adcock stood on an underwater tree limb and grabbed McNary before he pushed him toward the riverbank. Garner had then arrived and positioned himself behind McNary. The two men pushed and pulled McNary to a large tree root on the riverbank, where they waited for first responders. The riverbank had a steep, rocky ledge that prevented them from climbing up into the woods. Garner swam upstream about 120 feet to find an alternative route to climb out of the river but was unable to locate one and swam back to the others. Garner kept McNary calm until a rescue boat could take him back to the boat ramp, where his parents waited. An ambulance took him to a hospital. The boat then returned to pick up Adcock and Garner. McNary, Adcock, and Garner were tired and cold but not injured. Adcock and Garner were still wet when they later visited the hospital to check on McNary.

Adcock was the Pittsburgh-based Carnegie Hero Fund’s 10,561st hero. The Hero Fund, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1904, has awarded the Carnegie Medal to 10,581 individuals in recognition of their heroism, defined by the Commission as acts of lifesaving done at extraordinary risk to the rescuer. Grants totaling more than $45 million have been given to the recipients or their survivors and include scholarship aid, continuing assistance, and death benefits.

Maury Regional News (Press Release)

Maury Regional Health earned the Leapfrog Full Transparency Badge, recognizing the hospital’s commitment to publicly reporting information about patient safety and quality through the annual Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

The Full Transparency Badge is awarded to hospitals that complete, affirm and submit all sections of the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, one of the nation's leading voluntary reporting programs focused on patient safety, quality and transparency.

“At Maury Regional Health, our purpose is to help people live their healthiest lives,” said Martin Chaney, MD, chief executive officer of Maury Regional Health. “To achieve this, we have a set an uncompromising goal: zero preventable harm and 100% reliability. By doing so, we create a safety net for our patients and each other, ensuring we heal, not harm, those we serve.”

To support this goal, Maury Regional Health strives to foster a culture of continuous learning and proactive communication across every level of the organization. Team members in both clinical and non-clinical roles are empowered to prioritize safety in daily operations, identify potential risks before they reach a patient and maintain rigorous quality standards. This organization-wide commitment ensures that safety remains at the forefront of every patient interaction, creating a reliable and supportive environment for the community.

“We applaud Maury Regional Health for its commitment to transparency,” said Leah Binder, president and CEO of The Leapfrog Group. “Transparency is one of the most powerful drivers of improvement in health care. By participating in the Leapfrog Hospital Survey, Maury Regional Health is helping patients and families access meaningful information about the safety and quality of care.”

The Leapfrog Full Transparency Badge appears on Leapfrog’s public ratings website and identifies hospitals that have committed to openly sharing information about their performance.

In other Maury Regional news…Maury Regional Medical Center (MRMC) has received two national achievement awards from the American Heart Association (AHA) for its consistent, evidence-based care of patients with stroke and cardiac arrest.

MRMC earned the Get With The Guidelines®–Stroke Silver Plus Achievement Award and the Get With The Guidelines®–Resuscitation Gold Achievement Award, both part of the AHA’s quality improvement program. The program helps hospitals align care with the latest clinical guidelines and use data to drive better outcomes.

“Earning these two national awards from the American Heart Association speaks to the standard of care our teams deliver every day,” said Martin Chaney, MD, chief executive officer of Maury Regional Health. “Stroke and cardiac arrest are among the most time-sensitive emergencies we treat, and this recognition tells our community they have a trusted resource close to home when it matters most.”

The Stroke Silver Plus award recognizes hospitals sustained at least 85% adherence to all applicable stroke measures for one calendar year, plus 75% or higher adherence to select additional quality measures. Meanwhile, the Resuscitation Gold award recognizes hospitals that sustained at least 85% adherence to all in-hospital cardiac arrest measures for two or more consecutive calendar years, spanning prevention, response and post-arrest care.

“These awards reflect the coordinated work of our physicians, nurses and clinical staff to get patients the right care quickly and based on the latest evidence,” added Christina Lannom, DO, chief medical officer of Maury Regional Health. “I’m proud of how our teams have built and sustained these protocols, and of the outcomes that sustained effort delivers for our patients.”

In the United States, someone dies of cardiovascular disease every 34 seconds, according to the AHA — a reminder of why fast, guideline-based treatment for conditions like stroke and cardiac arrest can be the difference between life and death.

Maury Regional Medical Center provides a vast array of cardiac services that include interventional procedures as well as pacemaker and defibrillator implants. Physicians are members of the medical staff associated with Vanderbilt Heart-Columbia and Ascension Saint Thomas Heart Columbia.

In addition, Maury Regional provides comprehensive stroke care from emergency diagnosis through recovery, leveraging 24/7 neurologist consultations, advanced RAPID® CT imaging technology and dedicated inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation.

For more information on cardiovascular and stroke care at Maury Regional Medical Center, visit MauryRegional.com.

Restoration Jail Ministry (MSM)

Restoration Jail Ministry, which works to bring education, life skills and Christian ministry to inmates at the Maury County Jail, is hosting a fundraising barbecue Thursday, Sept. 17 at First United Methodist Church in Columbia. Board members, volunteers and the ministry’s head chaplain recently spoke with Main Street Maury about their work and how they plan to fund it.

Restoration Jail Ministry was founded more than a quarter-century ago by its first chaplain, Jeff Boggs, and used to be called Maury Chaplain Ministries. The current head chaplain is David Curtis Baker, a young father of three and member of Solid Rock Baptist Church. Baker felt a vocation to be a minister of some kind, but not as a pastor. He started as an assistant chaplain in the Maury County Jail in 2017 and became head chaplain in 2019.

“I felt like God was telling me, ‘This is what I’ve been preparing you for,'” Baker described his initial experience of jail ministry.

People don’t stay long in the Maury County Jail. Minor offenders get out after serving sentences that usually last between a few months and two years, and those convicted of serious crimes are sent to full-scale prisons after trial and sentencing. About 250 prisoners are sorted by sex, the severity of their alleged crimes and the risks they pose to themselves or others. Many of them come from difficult backgrounds and are in jail alongside their friends and relatives.

“Sometimes they have not seen role models that are what we would hope they would see: kids grow up in a broken home,” said Doug Williams, a volunteer who attends the Church at Station Hill. “It’s not unusual to see guys out there that are cousins over there, uncles over here, multi-generational. So this is one thing we hope [will] help break that cycle.”

Restoration Jail Ministries hopes to help reconcile inmates to three entities: to God with Christian faith, to their families by changing their ways and healing their relationships, and to society by becoming contributing and responsible members. Restoration’s personnel — all of them unpaid volunteers except for Baker and assistant chaplain Danny Castillo — counsel inmates in job readiness, financial stability, parenthood and other skills that will be required of them on the outside.

“People take a lot of things for granted… [that] for us [are] second nature because that’s the way we were brought up. But some of these guys are so far off the beaten path… [and] they have no religion or exposure to religion… [or got caught up in] alcohol, drugs and mental illness,” said Bob D’Amato, who attends St. Catherine’s Catholic Church and teaches the personal-finance class for Restoration. “There’s some bad eggs, but the majority of people are not rotten to the core, they just went down the wrong path, [even though] that doesn’t absolve them.”

“Most of the [men and women] in the Maury County jail are going to be released in the next year or so,” Williams continued. “It’s a whole lot less expensive for the county to [release] those people and not [have to detain them again].”

Restoration’s member churches also engage inmates directly by offering services, Bible studies and other religious activities. The Catholic Church of the Nativity, First Family Baptist Church, Graymere Church of Christ, the Well and Gospel Light Baptist Church all hold services in the jail’s classrooms, while services from the Church at Station Hill and the Bridge are streamed on a classroom TV. Inmates are also visited by church members — including the choir from the Church at Station Hill, who sang at Easter — and inspirational speakers such as MMA fighter Todd Monaghan, whose underdog story and evident care for the prisoners won them over last week. The overall goal is for local churches to draw inmates into their community before release, in the hope of improving their outcomes.

“One of the things that they need when they get out is to change their friends… [but] one of the obstacles sometimes is getting churches to embrace these people,” said Williams. “If we make connections by [way of a church], it helps them adjust to have support and encouragement when they get out.”

The work often changes the prisoners who take part. In 2022, County Sheriff Bucky Rowland told Main Street Maury that the work of Restoration and other rehabilitation services had brought overall recidivism down from 70 percent to about 55, and Baker claimed at the time that it dropped for 10-15 percent for those who completed Restoration’s courses.

“I’ve been here nine years and seen some amazing things… You never know when somebody’s going to get it, [even] revolving door guys… I’ve got guys that I’ve worked with for years, who are just now starting to get it,” said Baker. “These days I can’t go anywhere without hearing, ‘Hey chaplain!’… There’s so many people you run into that have been in this place, and you’d never know it.”

“I think a lot of success stories come out of jail ministry,” confirmed Ethan Jett, the programs coordinator at the jail. “We have people completing a GED every month, entering recovery, graduating life skills programs.”

Restoration’s people praised Rowland, recently re-elected to his fourth term, and his administration for freeing them up to work effectively in the jail. They described previous administrations as more punitive, but said Rowland broke with that approach by giving rehabilitation programs more latitude.

“We were limited in what we could do in the jail prior to that, but Bucky has… talked about all kinds of programs that we can do to help improve these people’s lives… [and] reduce recidivism,” said Board President Paul Boyd. “He has the mindset that he wants to leave people better than he found them.”

“It’s not common to have a sheriff who cares so much for not only the county he oversees, but the inmates,” said Jerri Bechard, a board member and Station Hill church member, who previously worked as a sergeant under the Los Angeles County Sheriff. “I can’t even believe what I am seeing in Maury County Jail… Rehabilitation is built into the jail, and it’s a really neat thing to see. People leave with hope.”

Restoration Jail Ministries is almost entirely volunteer-run and self-funded, buying liability insurance, supplies and other things for its work without financial support from the jail or any government entity. To raise the necessary funds for their operations, Restoration is planning a barbecue supper at the First United Methodist Church in Columbia, at 6 p.m. on Sept. 17. Reservations can be made by sending an RSVP to restorationjailministry@gmail.com. Donations also can be made at restorationjailministry.org/donate/.

Off-Duty Police Available (Press Release)

 The Columbia Police Department is announcing a new program that will allow off-duty Columbia Police officers to be hired for approved events, activities, traffic control, security and other services throughout the community.

Beginning September 2026, those seeking an additional law enforcement presence for an event or other approved need will be able to request an off-duty Columbia Police officer through the Off-Duty Management platform.

The new program provides the community with another public safety resource, offering access to trained Columbia Police officers when an additional law enforcement presence may help enhance safety at an event, gathering or other activity.

All costs associated with the service are paid by the party requesting the officer. This includes the officer’s time and any equipment or resources used for the assignment. No taxpayer dollars are used to cover the cost of the requested service.

“This program provides our community with an additional resource when there is a need for a law enforcement presence beyond the services provided through our officers’ regular duties,” said Columbia Police Chief Jeremy Haywood. “Whether helping with traffic control or providing an added presence at an event, this gives people another option to help make safety a priority.”

The Columbia Police Department will partner with Off-Duty Management to coordinate requests and administer the program through OfficerTRAK®. The service provides 24/7 customer assistance and handles scheduling, invoicing and other administrative aspects of each request.

Those interested in hiring an off-duty Columbia Police officer can submit a request through Off-Duty Management via ColumbiaTN.gov or contact Off-Duty Management directly at 1-877-636-8300.

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

Zenita Ann Bartlett, 83, of Columbia, Tennessee, died Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Graveside services will be conducted Friday, September 11at 1:30 PM at Polk Memorial Gardens. The family will visit with friends on Friday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home.

Mr. Jamie William Randolph Hawkins, 53, of Mt. Pleasant, passed away Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, September 12, 2026, from 2:00 PM until 4:00 PM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home.

Mr. Earnest Allen Bailey, 72, of Culleoka, Tennessee, passed away Wednesday, September 2, 2026. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

Mrs. Elissa Ann Emerson Seals, 72, of Columbia, passed away Wednesday, September 2, 2026, at Maury Regional Medical Center. Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home is assisting the family with arrangements.

And now, news from around the state… 

Trump Partners with Vandy on Trades (Tennessean)

Vanderbilt is one of eight universities partnering with the Trump administration this fall to teach students the skills needed to run factories as part of an effort to increase U.S. manufacturing capacity.

The U.S. Department of State announced the creation of the new educational program, called the Foundry School, Sept. 3.

The eight universities will offer students curriculum developed by Stanford University on modern factory design, materials and supply chains, assembly-line engineering, plant economics, regulation and permitting, and workforce development at scale, according to a fact sheet from the State Department. The courses will run through seven lectures by founders and CEOs from advanced manufacturing enterprises, the State Department said, including several from overseas.

In January, students will attend a 10-session course at Stanford University building on the fundamentals learned this fall.

U.S. Under Secretary for Economic Affairs Jacob Helberg said the program is designed so students are ready to work at, manage or start up an operation in a manufacturing sector that is more sophisticated than ever.

"Factories today look totally different than they did when they left America 30 years ago," Helberg said. "It's not necessarily about getting your hands dirty. ... In reality, advanced manufacturing plants involve highly creative work. They take place in factories that look and feel like labs, with a lot of very sophisticated tooling and machinery."

In 2024, Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute projected the U.S. could need as many as 3.8 million new manufacturing workers by 2033.

The curriculum will be incorporated into existing courses at Vanderbilt, Helberg said. Several details were not firmed up by Sept. 4. Helberg said it hadn't been decided who would be the lecturer for Vanderbilt or when the Foundry School lectures would begin. Vanderbilt University did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

Helberg said the plan is for the body of work in the 17 lectures to be used for comprehensive courses at universities in future semesters.

The other colleges participating in the Foundry School program are Arizona State University, Georgia Tech, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, the University of Kansas and Washington University in St. Louis.

Welcome back to Southern Middle Tennessee Today!

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)

The Grand Ole Opry will celebrate Vince Gill’s 35th anniversary as an Opry member with two special shows on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. 

Gill will be joined by longtime friends and fellow Opry members Ricky Skaggs and Patty Loveless, along with his wife Amy Grant, vocalist Wendy Moten and additional guests to be announced.

Gill made his Opry debut on June 29, 1989, and was inducted as a member on Aug. 10, 1991. Over the past 35 years, the Country Music Hall of Fame member has become one of the Opry’s most recognizable ambassadors, regularly returning to perform, collaborate with fellow artists and welcome new members.

Tickets and additional information are available at Opry.com.