Southern Middle TN Today News with Tom Price 9-18-25

WKOM/WKRM Radio

Southern Middle Tennessee Today

News Copy for September 18, 2025

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

We start with local news…

Breakfast with the Mayors (CDH)

Cooperation among city and county leaders as Maury County envisions its next years of growth was a common theme at the 2025 Breakfast with the Mayors.

The annual event, hosted by the Maury County Chamber and Economic Alliance, brings together mayors from Columbia, Spring Hill, Mt. Pleasant and Maury County, and was presented Sept. 16 at The Memorial Building in downtown Columbia.

The mayors were given an opportunity to share each respective municipality's accomplishments over the last year, as well as the current hurdles and issues.

The talk included topics ranging from infrastructure projects to new jobs, affordable housing and solutions to Maury County's need for an additional long-term water source.

Prior to the event's discussions, Maury County Mayor Sheila Butt commented on the recent shooting death of conservative commentator, Charlie Kirk. The county, she said, will host a vigil in remembrance at 6 p.m. Sunday on the Maury County Courthouse steps, she said.

"It is to remember that he was a brother, a son, a father and husband, and all of us can relate to that," Butt said. "We also have to remember the family of the person who committed the crime. That family is losing somebody too."

Butt added that one of her priorities over the next year is to focus on the county's urban growth boundary, as well as implementing the county's recently updated zoning ordinance.

"We want the building to be high quality that comes to Maury County, and those [ordinances] have not been updated in years," Butt said. "The next thing we will work on is the land use plan, make our map of how we want the land to be used. And looking at these mayors, we want to work together with all of our municipalities."

Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder spoke about the city's infrastructure and investments, which he said amounts to about $120 million. The funding has included projects such as building a new wastewater treatment plant, paving more than 28 miles of city roads, and the city's acquisition of the former Muletown Rec, now known as the Columbia Aquatics and Recreation Center.

"When we acquired that center, we knew there would be some risk with that, but we also had a vision that the risk would be worth the return," Molder said. "The early returns show that it has definitely been worth the investment, with the number of memberships ... which has exceeded our expectations three-fold."

Spring Hill Mayor Matt Fitterer highlighted several accomplishments that city has made, some years in the making. These include the long-awaited widening of U.S. Highway 31, which is now on the verge of beginning, as well as the city's acquisition of an additional 16 acres of battlefield land at Rippavilla Plantation.

Much of the city's accomplishments, Fitterer added, are due to collaborations and public/private partnerships, something he believes will be a key factor in "every major project moving forward."

"We constructed a new police station through a private partnership, got a fire station under construction," Fitterer said. "We have a major roadway connection that former Mayor Rick Graham tried to get done, and we are finally building it in partnership with a private partner."

Mt. Pleasant Mayor Bill White acknowledged many strides the city has taken to improve its downtown district, creating new jobs at the Cherry Glen business district, road infrastructure improvements, as well as plans to build a new Mt. Pleasant Public Library.

"We are very proud of [our downtown]," White said. "The industrial growth we have had in Mt. Pleasant over the last year has been phenomenal."

While accomplishments, growth and investment were a big part of the Mayors Breakfast discussions, there were also a number of challenges presented.

One of the bigger challenges, Fitterer said, is that Spring Hill's sewer services are at near capacity, which led to the Board of Mayor and Aldermento implement a moratorium on sewer connections on new developments.

"That is going to be a significant headwind towards any kind of economic growth and opportunity, and so we are working very hard with our private sector partners to find onsite solutions to keep the economic engine of Spring Hill going," Fitterer said. "The good news about the consent order is that we know exactly what to do, and how to do it, to get out of the consent order and create 100 years of sewer capacity in Spring Hill. The bad news is it's going to take a lot of time and money."

In Mt. Pleasant, White added that one of the challenges with water has been repairing leaks to the city's system, which in October of 2024 reported to be losing 400,000 gallons per day.

"That's phenomenal for a community our size, and it's huge in us working together," White said. "We've got our new sewer system that's just about complete. That's been a project that's been going for some time."

For Columbia, Molder said quality of life, affordable housing and having a place for small businesses to grow is also key.

"If we are not focused on quality of life, then all of those things that we are doing that are positive is not seen by the public as the right focus," Molder said.

"Columbia has seen a lot of growth over the past eight years, which in my opinion is a compliment to the community. People want to move here because they like what they see, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"We should embrace the fact we have a lot of good things happening here in our community, and people want to be a part of that."

McCullen Appointed to City Council (MSM)

At its September meeting, the Columbia City Council swore in Carl McCullen, a former city councilman and until now, District 4 county commissioner, as the new city councilman for Ward 1. His predecessor, DaVena Hardison, resigned in August for personal reasons.

“Thank you for helping us fill the void here in the First Ward, and God bless you and thanks for your service,” Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder told McCullen after he took the oath of office.

In other Columbia news, the city presented a proclamation to the youth in the Police Explorer program, who undergo exploratory training in the Columbia Police Department to get a feel for what it’s like to be a police officer. Earlier this summer, the Columbia Explorers Post #786 took part in a weeklong skills competition hosted by the South Carolina Association of Law Enforcement Explorers. They won 18 trophies: first place in the Active Shooter Response and Civil Disturbance Investigation scenarios; second place in Arrest Search Warrant and Unknown Risk Traffic Stop; third place in Domestic Investigations, Officer Down, and Felony Traffic Stop; and the best-in-show trophy as Explorer Post of the Year, making them the first agency outside of South Carolina to win it.

Post 786 is led by Columbia Police Sergeant Cheryl MacPherson and Corporal Landon Barber, and has already given multiple officers to the Columbia Police Department. The cadets who competed this year were Daisy Boyle, Shelby Davis, Brendan Pavlik, Aiden Watkins, Wyatt Bridge and Max Cochran. Sgt. MacPherson announced that Pavlik had just been hired as an officer with CPD, eliciting more applause.

“They’ve dedicated a lot of time and a lot of themselves to our community as well as our police department, and we’re blessed and lucky to have them,” the sergeant said warmly.

The city also made a proclamation recognizing National Service Dog Month, and especially honored Canine Companions for their five decades of work to empower disabled people by alleviating the shortage of service dogs.

The city council then proceeded to other business. They agreed to re-pave the traffic surfaces at Fairview Park for $196,000. At the previous week’s study session, City Manager Tony Massey reported that Volunteer Paving expects to finish the city’s other streets by the end of the month, coming in a few thousand dollars under budget. The city therefore decided to take citizens up on their requests to pave a few more areas before the end of the 2025 paving season, and Volunteer had added that they could pave even more in the spring if oil prices didn’t change too drastically. Molder praised the workers who paved the square, and the Public Information Office’s work to publicize it.

The city approved the second reading of ordinances 10.2 and 10.3, officially granting easements to Columbia Power & Water Services for a water line that would draw from the Duck River in Williamsport.

The city council voted 5-1 to deny Ordinances 10.5 and 10.6, which would have approved on first reading the rezoning and reclassification of a land parcel on Foster Lane at the southwest end of town. John Maher Builders wished to build a new subdivision of more than 170 houses on the plot and had been working to secure rights, water and sewer for three years, and consultant Adam Crunk argued that some nearby zones had already been classified as similarly dense CD-3 zoning. However, the city Planning Commission voted unanimously against recommending the development because the smaller lots weren’t “rural transitional” enough to agree with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

“The [Planning Commission’s] question was, where does that transition start?” explained Paul Keltner, Director of Development Services. “If you continue to push the rural transect further and further out, when do you start to see… larger lots, instead of the standard smaller lots we’ve been seeing for a number of years?”

Councilman Kenny Marshall, in whose Ward 4 the development would sit, asked whether CD-3L zoning could be approved for the area. Keltner indicated that “it would’ve been a different conversation” if Maher had asked for that larger-lot zoning.

Councilman Charlie Huffman, a retired employee of Columbia Power and Water Services, carried reports from his friends who live there that water pressure is low in the southwest part of Columbia, and insisted that the city shore up the water-delivery infrastructure on the edges of town before committing to more development. Wastewater chief Donnie Boshers replied that Maher Builders had agreed to install a pump station that would augment the wastewater capacity of the whole area.

Mt. Pleasant Revitalization (MSM)

With the ink still wet on their accreditation from the national Main Street organization, the Visit Mount Pleasant nonprofit is working quietly behind the scenes to bring new life to the city’s downtown strip.

According to board chairwoman Caroline Rash, Visit Mount Pleasant plans to foster the downtown with regular festivals or block parties. The first, Motors on Main, will take place from 2-5 p.m. on Sept. 24. Sponsored by Wire Masters, Inc., the event will line Main Street with classic cars, food trucks, a kids’ zone, live music, a beer garden, and family-friendly fun.

Outside of their monthly meetings, the board of eight leave the week-to-week work to Mrs. Rash: finances, event planning, business support, business solicitation.

“There’s a lot of spending power in Maury County,” Rash said, according to numbers she’s seen on economic and population growth. The industrial employment that comes into Mount Pleasant adds disposable income to the town, but on top of that they still need tourists and events to really add value. People in Maury County are already willing to travel for tourism and shopping, so that they’ll spend a whole day in a well-cultivated “destination” downtown, like Leipers Fork or downtown Franklin.

“Every business that comes in, I would like them to add at least 15 minutes to someone’s time here, so that once you add it all up you’ve got a whole afternoon in Mount Pleasant,” Rash explained, modeling her approach on those and other successful downtowns, and traveling to thriving towns and Main Street conferences to find new strategies. “Right now I’m spending time looking for new businesses to come here, encouraging people to come here, giving them the ‘why.'”

Visit Mount Pleasant is courting a couple local coffee shops that want to expand, both to-go and sit-down restaurants, a wine bar and retail. They’re having the most success recruiting the last.

“It’s been difficult to achieve a good business mix, and I think that that’s everything,” she explained.

Visit Mount Pleasant wants to cater to the many types of customers who live in and beyond Maury County, and to meet the needs of the business owners on the street, since the real and perceived “health” of their businesses on the street drive foot traffic. She thinks Mount Pleasant already has a lot in its favor right now.

“To be totally frank, lease prices here, compared to lease prices in Columbia or Spring Hill or Franklin, are way more in-reach for a family,” she explained. “We’re in a good spot right now as far as being accessible for real people… [who run] small businesses.”

Her family, which has lived in Mount Pleasant for 10 years, is putting its own money behind this potential. Her husband Charlie recently decided to open Golden Boy, a store on the Main Street selling men’s clothing, guns and outdoor goods.

“We started looking at that property much earlier this year, while the construction and revitalization was going on, because we just felt like it was the perfect time to come along and bring some new life to Mount Pleasant,” she said. “We just started looking around and seeing the improvements that were being made. And we were also feeling like the fog was lifting after all the construction, you could just feel the potential in the air.”

Maury County Investments and the Barrier Group, two legal entities which own 25 buildings between them on and around Mount Pleasant’s Main Street, are participating in the revitalization from which they stand to benefit.

“I have been developing a good relationship with them. They’re really invested in Mount Pleasant,” Rash told Main Street Maury. “They’ve previously spent money on strategic plans for Mount Pleasant, [and] they really care about the health of their buildings, they’re constantly working on… and renovating their buildings.”

Visit Mount Pleasant also has a great relationship with the city, and is working on its public outreach.

“They’re very encouraging of any plans that my board and I make,” she testified of the City Commission and staff. “We have definitely had a lot of discussions about strengthening the public’s relationship with Mt. Pleasant on the whole, building community pride.”

On Visit Mount Pleasant’s social media, Rash publishes a video series called “Pleasantries” which highlights local businesses and their owners. She also moderates her page by engaging rationally with complaining people and defusing the anger it’s easy to stir up over local developments.

“On social media, I’m responding to people and trying to lay out as many facts as possible and communicate clearly with our community… I remind people that we’re all neighbors and to keep it neighborly… And I won’t tolerate baseless claims,” she said. “I do feel it’s been very effective. We don’t get a lot of nastiness on my page at this point… I’ve been trying to put a positive angle on everything, and I think people really appreciate it.”

Mike Wolf Injured in Accident (CDH)

"American Pickers" star Mike Wolfe was reportedly hospitalized over the weekend after a violent car crash left his vehicle totaled.

Wolfe, 61, revealed the crash in an Instagram story Saturday, Sept. 13, Fox News and Parade reported. The incident, which left his blue vintage vehicle mangled, also injured his girlfriend, Leticia Cline.

"Leticia and I were involved in a car accident last evening in Columbia, TN," Wolfe wrote on Instagram, according to the outlets. "By the grace of God, we're both safe and okay."

"We are both receiving excellent care and while Leticia is still in the hospital, she is expected to make a full recovery," he continued. "Thank you for respecting our privacy at this time and we appreciate all of your love & prayers. God bless."

USA TODAY has reached out to Wolfe's reps for comment. Cline detailed the extent of the damage on her own Instagram stories, posting a photo of herself in a hospital bed with the caption: "Hopefully I get surgery tomorrow. Broken jaw (in a few places), broken ribs, sternum, collapsed lung and a lot of swelling on my spine. My mouth will be wired shut but I still got my brain and that's all that matters."

In a separate post, Cline shared a photo of the car's smashed windshield with a hand pointing emoji to a section of the damage, writing: "my jaw."

Wolfe has starred on the History Channel's "American Pickers" since 2010.

Cyber Security Lunch and Learn (Press Release)

Cyber threats don’t take lunch breaks—and neither should your strategy.

Join Maury Alliance and Mapletronics on Wednesday, October 1, 2025, for a Cybersecurity luncheon at Southern Tré Steakhouse in downtown Columbia.

This event is designed for business owners, executives, and IT leaders from organizations with 25 to 150 employees. Whether you’re just starting your cybersecurity journey or refining a mature framework, this lunch-and-learn will equip you with the insights you need to lead with confidence.

What to Expect:

• A catered lunch in a relaxed, collaborative setting

• Expert insights on emerging threats like AI-powered deepfakes, phishing, and supply chain attacks

• Compliance essentials to help you avoid costly fines

• A smarter, simplified approach to cybersecurity

• Real-world strategies to outsmart ransomware and protect your business

Why Attend?

88% of ransomware breaches now target small and midsize businesses. Don’t be an easy target. This luncheon will help you build a game plan that’s practical, effective, and tailored to your organization’s needs.

Location:

Southern Tré Steakhouse – 2nd Floor

117 W 7th St, Columbia, TN 38401

Date & Time:

Wednesday, October 1, 2025

11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Seats are limited.

Reserve yours today and join fellow leaders for a meal that could change the way you protect your business.

Learn more at www.mauryalliance.com.

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

Alana Jaye Ingram Minor, 72, a lifelong resident of Columbia, died Saturday, September 13, 2025 at NHC HealthCare Columbia.

A memorial service will be conducted Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 11:00 AM at Oakes & Nichols Funeral Home. A private inurnment will be at Rose Hill Cemetery. The family will visit with friends from 10:00 AM until 11:00 AM at the funeral home.

Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society https://donate.cancer.org. Online condolences may be extended at www.oakesandnichols.com.

Now, news from around the state…

Cothran Sentenced to 2.5 Years (Tennessean)

Cade Cothren, former chief of staff to Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada, was sentenced Sept. 16 to two and a half years in prison for corruption tied to a political mailer scheme. He was convicted of using a fake identity to conceal his involvement in securing state contracts.

In addition to 30 months in prison, Cothren received one year of supervised release and a $25,000 fine.

Casada will be sentenced Tuesday, Sept. 23.

Former state Rep. Robin Smith, an alleged co-conspirator who pleaded guilty and testified against the men at the trial, will be sentenced Oct. 24.

U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson, a President Donald Trump appointee, handed down the sentence to Cothren in the Fred Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building.

The prosecuting attorneys, Blake Phillips of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee and John Taddei from the U.S. Department of Justice, asked Richardson in court to impose a 70-month sentence and $75,000 fine.

"Cade Cothren and his coconspirators engaged in a lengthy conspiracy to cheat the State of Tennessee and corrupt the process by which State legislators communicated with their constituents," the prosecutors wrote in a court filing. "Cothren’s offense conduct was consistent with a longstanding pattern of dishonesty and deception, as well as a persistent refusal to take responsibility for his actions."

Cothren’s attorney Cynthia Sherwood said if Cothren knew his conduct was illegal, he would not have done it. She also argued the facts of the case were so unique that it was not clear Cothren committed a crime.

“In any of these counts, it could have gone the other way,” Sherwood said.

The sentence determination came after hours of arguments on Sept. 16. One of the primary arguments centered around a disagreement over how much money Cothren, Casada and Smith received through fraud. The dollar amount determines the severity of their punishment. Richardson ultimately sided with Cothren's argument in favor of a lower dollar value of about $22,000. The three plaintiffs received $51,947 for political mailers paid for by the state, minus their operational costs.

Final Story of the Day (Maury County Source)

Comedian Kevin James announced the “Eat the Frog” tour beginning in January 2026, with a stop in Nashville at the Ryman Auditorium on April 9th.

The presale began on Wednesday, September 17th, with the code FROG. The public sale date is Friday, September 19th.

Kevin James began in stand-up comedy on the Long Island comedy scene. He is also known for his role on The King of Queens. James also appeared on the Netflix sitcom The Crew. James can currently be seen in his one-hour stand-up comedy special, Kevin James: Irregardless, available on Prime Video, which was nominated for the 2024 Critics’ Choice Award for Best Comedy Special.

Find tickets at www.axs.com.