August 24, 2023

After summer of transition, Lawson High School wins debut in thrilling fashion

BY LOGAN BUTTS

On Friday night in Bellevue, the stars seemed to align for a night that James Lawson High School will not soon forget.

The weather was perfect, the stands were packed with parents and community members, and the location of the brand new campus reflected the town’s namesake. In French, Bellevue means beautiful view. The meaning inspired the school’s standout colors - midnight navy blue, Columbia sky blue, and sunny yellow - all of which can be seen from campus in the surrounding hills. The atmosphere was appropriate for the historic occasion - the inaugural football game in James Lawson history.

Middle Tennesseans push for gun reform ahead of special session

BY MATT MASTERS

Editor’s Note: This story was written prior to the start of the special session. Check back next week for coverage of the special session.

As the Tennessee General Assembly’s special session prepares to convene on Monday evening, gun reform advocates have been working to rally supporters across Tennessee, even in the state’s most staunch Republican enclaves like Williamson County.

Nearly a week after the March 27 Covenant School shooting in Green Hills shocked Middle Tennessee and the nation, dozens of protesters gathered on Franklin’s square to mourn the six shooting victims and call for change in Tennessee’s loosening gun laws.

The shooting just across the county line resulted in the deaths of not just Nashville residents, but Williamson County residents as well.

Another protest took place on the square

in June, with the most recent demonstration seeing dozens of residents protesting an Aug. 15 conservative event at the Franklin Library where Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District Rep. Andy Ogles and state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson appeared together.

Johnson, a Franklin resident, said that he won’t support any form of an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) during the special session, and with many GOP elected officials in tow, public faith in any meaningful gun reform is low.

Johnson was challenged by some of his constituents during the Aug. 15 event, including by Williamson County resident Rod Berger who told The News that the current social environment around guns has led to new and challenging conversations with his son who is in fifth grade.

“His role is not to funnel his opinion into the legislative process, but to represent

and legislate around the opinions of his constituents,” Berger said of Johnson.

“Fixed opinions rob us of the opportunity to meet real-time needs within and throughout communities across Tennessee, and we really run the risk of marginalizing an expanding electorate in a state of great growth.”

Two fixtures of the Williamson County protests have been Franklin High School graduates Jared and Caroline Sullivan, who are parents to two daughters.

“I believe that a new day is coming to Tennessee and that a new generation is coming up, and that we can either demand that our current elected officials behave well and act in our interests or we can vote them out,” Jared Sullivan told The News.

Another local activist and 2020 Renaissance High School graduate, Brynn Jones, serves as a legal associate for March For Our Lives, a group that was

But all of the excitement would be diminished if the Lightning were to lose on opening night. After transitioning from Hillwood High School to Lawson over the summer, there was a nervous energy prior to kickoff. The team had been on campus for less than a week, and now it was time to take on Cheatham County in the group’s first game.

“I think every opening game is special, but this is something that I’ve been dreaming about since I started playing football,” Lawson Head Coach Brian Lilly said in the leadup to opening night. “I think is is very special. It’s an honor that I’m extremely grateful to have.”

Lilly, formerly the defensive coordinator at Brentwood Academy, was tasked with guiding the team through the transition from Hillwood to Lawson. Lilly cited former Hillwood head coach Tom Moore, who still teaches at Lawson, Lawson athletic director Pete Froedden, and the school’s principal Stephen Sheaffer as instrumental in the process.

“I’m always going to be grateful for them because a lot of people thought maybe I’d be too young being 33,” Lilly said.

Williamson County residents protest for stricter gun reform measures outside of the Franklin library on Aug. 15, 2023.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Gun reform special session

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

founded in the wake of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, the deadliest mass killing in a high school in the United States.

March For Our Lives works to “create safe and healthy communities and livelihoods where gun violence is obsolete,” with Jones helping to interview and document the stories of survivors of gun violence.

Jones has been involved in organizing and participating in numerous actions in Middle Tennessee since The Covenant School shooting, including a recent youth advocacy day on Capitol Hill which attracted dozens of students from across the state “Mass shootings [can] happen anywhere,” Jones said. “It doesn’t matter how wealthy your community is, it doesn’t matter how powerful your community is.”

Jones said that while she shares the skepticism of the special session delivering meaningful gun reform, she hopes elected officials are actually listening.

“I would urge them to think about what their constituents actually want and what their constituents actually need, and what their constituents need are safe and healthy communities.”

In July, a group of Covenant School parents and community members created two anti-violence nonprofits, Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows and Covenant Families Action Fund, which have held more than 50 meetings with legislative offices and elected officials ahead of the special session.

“We will be direct and public about whether this special session meets our expectations of what’s needed to help make all of our kids safe,” Nonprofit co-founder Sarah Shoop Neumann said in August, adding that the group hopes that lawmakers and the general public treat the session with both “seriousness” and “respect.”

Churches and other houses of worship have also engaged in self-reflection about their response to safety concerns and the role of the faithful in addressing gun violence in their own communities.

“When a stranger graces the door of the

place where they should feel the most welcome, they are now met with suspicion and blocked entrances,” Rev. Jason Mikel, pastor for Nolensville’s Jenkins Cumberland Presbyterian Church, told protesters in Franklin.

“The very people Christ told us to welcome, strangers, are questioned first for not only is our concern about their intentions; we also don’t know what vast array of weapons they have to carry out those intentions because guns are everywhere.”

On Thursday, Belle Meade United Methodist Church held a panel discussion on gun safety featuring Tenn. House District 59 Rep. Caleb Hemmer, pediatrician Dr. Kelsey Gastineau, Metro Nashville Police Department Chaplain Rev. Keri Cress and MNPD Lt. Joe Winter.

“We are hosting this event in our sacred space because we believe that people of faith should offer voice and leadership when it comes to creating a safer community,” Rev. Sam McGlothlin, senior pastor at Belle Meade UMC, said.

Cress was called in on the morning of the shooting to notify families that they had lost children in yet another chapter of this American tragedy, consoling those whose lives were forever changed on March 27.

“It was a lot of deep breaths, it was acknowledging that there was nothing that could be said or done to make that moment any better,” Cress said.

Firearm deaths have increased in Tennessee, and often unseen consequences follow gun violence survivors for the rest of their lives, regardless of if the gun violence is intentional such as an instance of homicide or suicide, or an accidental shooting.

“These are long-lasting, lifelong injuries that kids have, and they get readmitted to the hospital with severe infections, significant pain. These are things that will last their entire lives,” Gastineau said, adding that victims, their families and communities also deal with emotional, mental, and social impacts from gun violence.

Rep. Hemmer has been working to increase laws on the safe storage of firearms since he was elected to the House

of Representatives last year, specifically focusing on the nationwide issue of guns stolen from vehicles.

The morning of The Covenant School shooting he was hopeful that his work was paying off, having been featured in a New York Times article days before the attack. Then he received the news that his own child’s school was in lockdown in response to the nearby shooting.

Hemmer is himself a victim of gun violence when, as a student at Nashville’s John Trotwood Moore Middle School in 1994, an accidental shooting claimed the life of 13-year-old Terrance Murray in what was the first and only instance of fatal gun violence in a Metro Nashville Public School.

Williamson County resident Kari Kuefler spoke in June of her experience as a survivor of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, the worst in American history, and the effects that have followed her home.

“It wasn’t just the Las Vegas community who were affected that day...those 25,000 people went to their respective communities and respective homes and those families hurt, their friends hurt,” Kuefler said.

In addition to the trauma and stress she now feels in daily life, she spoke about how the mother of 9-year-old Covenant School shooting victim Evelyn Dieckhaus worked at the Franklin school that was attended by Kuefler’s 5-year-old son.

“Five years and that tragedy comes full circle...I am reliving that violence, the connection to those survivors, and it’s touching my family in another way,” Kuefler said.

MNPD reports that more than 700 cases of guns stolen from vehicles have been reported in 2023.

Lt. Winter said during the panel discussion that, as of Aug. 12, Nashville has seen 276 gunshot wound victims, including gunshot deaths year-to-date, with a larger but unknown number of incidents where guns are fired at occupied homes and

vehicles but result in no injuries or deaths.

Semi-automatic handguns are the most common gun used in Nashville, but police are seeing an increase in the use of rifles, as well as an increase in ghost guns, which are assembled by a user and are essentially untraceable, and switches, illegal devices which convert semi-automatic handguns to automatic weapons.

Many gun reform advocates know that the path to change may be a long one, and while teachers, students, pastors, doctors and entire communities continue to mourn and reflect on the impact of gun violence, those same community members are continuing to march towards change.

“You feel powerless…But we don’t let it get too hopeless, because we can’t feel hopeless in this moment,” Gastineau said reflecting on her patients. “Because the second we start feeling hopeless, we allow children to keep dying in vain, and we will not ever allow that to happen.”

Franklin native and March For Our Lives legal associate Brynn Jones

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Covenant School parents and members of the nonprofit Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows Kramer Schmidt, Sarah Shoop Neumann, Melissa Alexander and David Teague stand on the steps of the Tennessee State Capitol on Aug. 9, 2023.

PHOTO BY BELLE MEADE UMC

Covenant School parents and members of the nonprofit Covenant Families for Brighter Tomorrows Kramer Schmidt, Sarah Shoop Neumann, Melissa Alexander and David Teague stand on the steps of the Tennessee State Capitol on Aug. 9, 2023.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Police, firefighters split in mayoral race

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

for mayor are making their decisions in the runoff known. On Thursday, former candidate Jim Gingrich endorsed O’Connell. Gingrich joins Wiltshire and state Sens. Jeff Yarbro and Heidi Campbell in supporting O’Connell. Wiltshire, Yarbro and Campbell finished in third, fourth and fifth places, respectively, and combined for nearly 38,000 votes.

Nashville’s police and fire employee unions are split in the mayoral runoff.

The Nashville chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police is backing Alice Rolli. The group endorsed John Cooper for reelection shortly before he decided not to run, and then supported Matt Wiltshire in the first round of voting. Wiltshire has endorsed Rolli’s opponent, Metro Councilmember Freddie O’Connell.

The local chapter of the International Association of Firefighters is endorsing O’Connell. That group also backed Cooper’s bid prior to his decision not to run.

Meanwhile, more former candidates

Rolli recently added a sort-of endorsement from former candidate Stephanie Johnson, and Rolli earlier announced support from former school board member Fran Bush. Combined, Bush and Johnson tallied fewer votes in the first round of voting than Gingrich, who spent millions of dollars on his campaign but dropped out before Election Day.

The Nashville Justice League also announced its endorsement of O’Connell. That group is made up of the political arms of the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (which endorsed O’Connell in the first round), the Equity Alliance and the Central Labor Council.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

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Freddie O’Connell Alice Rolli

Divided council approves full implementation of license plate readers

BY ELI MOTYCKA

In the final meeting of the Metro Council’s four-year legislative term, the body voted 24-14 to approve full implementation of automated license plate readers across the county. Full implementation follows a sixmonth LPR trial period mired in controversy over camera placements and police compliance with council safeguards. Metro police will oversee the expanded network of automated cameras, which cross-reference passing cars with state and federal databases.

Outgoing Mayor John Cooper opened the term’s last meeting with an address touting achievements of his administration. While Cooper did not mention LPRs in that address, a Wednesday morning press release from his office celebrated LPR implementation as the first of “five notable pieces of Mayor Cooper’s legislation” passed during a “sprint” to the end of the term.

A united coalition of legal and civil rights groups vocally opposed LPR expansion in a letter to Metro Council dated Aug. 1. The groups include the Metro Community Oversight Board, the NAACP, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, Chief Public Defender Martesha Johnson, the American Muslim Advisory Council, Conexión Américas, Open Table Nashville,

Stand Up Nashville, and SEIU Local 205. The groups resemble the political base that propelled Councilmember Freddie O’Connell into pole position in this year’s mayor’s race. O’Connell initially voted to defer the legislation before voting against full implementation on Tuesday night.

“Our city works best when everyone can feel safe and participate, but massive data gathering and surveillance only serve to erode trust and disproportionately target Black and brown communities,” reads the letter, signed by 19 individuals and groups. It references Community Oversight Board reports about how the LPRs have disproportionately surveilled majority-Black and low-income areas of the city during the trial period, resulting in high rates of officer use-of-force incidents against Black people and unhoused people. Immigrant advocacy groups worry that such widespread data collection could enable crackdowns from immigration authorities, a legal question that remains unanswered, even for policy experts.

“It was correctly stated that ICE does not need a warrant to go and access data,” District 30 Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda told colleagues, referencing HB2315, Tennessee’s 2018 law aimed at

so-called sanctuary cities, which forces local governments to comply with federal immigration law.

“We are deciding to move forward on this when we have no protections for immigrants, no protections for minorities,” continued Sepulveda. “I want you to sit with that and think about that. Sit with your privilege and reflect with what that means for some of us. This is the potential separation of families, the potential separation of people who have been here for a very long time who have only known this as home.”

Earlier in the meeting, Sepulveda connected LPR surveillance to Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s recent acquisition of health care records from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“There is a right way to do things and there’s a haphazard, careless way of doing things,” said District 35 Councilmember Dave Rosenberg, arguing in favor of Councilmember Delishia Porterfield’s motion for a deferral, which later failed 15-24. “Passing this tonight is haphazard and careless.”

A brief public comment period preceded the vote. Christopher Dickerson, a supervisor with MNPD’s homicide unit,

spoke in favor of LPR implementation. His argument was based on the conjecture that the 2022 murder of Vishal Patel, an employee at a Kwik Sak convenience store in Hermitage, could have been solved faster with an LPR network. Among others, Pastor Davie Tucker, a prominent city faith leader and director of the Metro Human Relations Commission, argued against LPRs. The commission has previously expressed disapproval of the plan. Tucker cited the fact that cameras over-surveil Black and lowincome areas of Nashville.

“Your intent is not discrimination, but what is your impact?” Tucker said. “It’s your duty to please assuage the public’s concerns.”

By the time his name was called for public comment, Vanderbilt Law School professor Christopher Slobogin had already left the chamber to go home. He helped draft the city’s ordinance along with Councilmember Courtney Johnston.

“I don’t think it should be used for immigration purposes or minor traffic violations — even though those are technically violations of the law,” Slobogin said. “I think it should be used only for serious crimes like kidnapping and homicides. Technology could be used in what I call a ‘pan-vasive’ way: watch everybody all the time, because everybody violates the law all the time.”

Even as Slobogin defends LPR legislation as compliant with the current best practices in law enforcement use of technology, he emphasizes that a lot depends on police compliance with the law and unanswered questions about data sharing, particularly with other law enforcement agencies. His 2022 book Virtual Searches: Regulating the Covert World of Technological Policing opens with the hearings that preceded Nashville’s LPR pilot program.

“It’s not entirely clear the city can prevent a state or federal subpoena from being executed, if an agency wants to access the data,” said Slobogin. “In the case of immigration, it’s possible immigration authorities could override any attempt by the city to stop access to the data. I think it’s a live issue. If I were the city, I’d be prepared to resist that, probably through litigation.”

Police can now begin setting up a network of cameras across the county. Their work is still bound by the ordinance, which includes restrictions on who can access LPR data and how it can (and can’t) be used. During its trial period, MNPD engaged surveillance tech vendors like Motorola and Flock Safety, and can now work to procure more cameras. Contracts with these vendors will govern how LPR data is owned and shared.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Scene.

License plate reader installed on Broadway

PHOTO BY ELI MOTYCKA

Lawson High School

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

But Lilly doesn’t just note the counsel of Lawson leadership, but from his former mentors at Brentwood Academy as well, including former BA head coach Cody White, David Norris, headmaster Curt Masters, athletic director Jason Matthews, and upper school director Andy Bradshaw.

“It was a community that I’ll always be grateful for,” Lilly said. “It’s like an extended family here that makes a native Texan feel at home here in Tennessee.”

Lilly played under White at Denison High School in Texas before coaching under him at Brentwood Academy. Similarly, current Lawson offensive coordinator Jeremiah Oatsvall, a starting quarterback for Austin Peay and Tennessee Tech during his college career, is a member of Lilly’s coaching staff after winning two state titles together as player and coach at BA.

“We always knew that Jeremiah would be

a really good coach because he would come game plan with us,” Lilly said. “He’s very methodical, very cerebral in his planning and understanding of the game. So when I became the head football coach here at Lawson, he was one of the first guys that I called.”

With the challenges that come from transitioning schools, Lilly and the coaching staff knew they had more than just Xs and Os to go over with the players this summer.

“We didn’t start on-field football activities really until July,” Lilly said. “We did a ton of character building with these guys and had a lot of guys get very vulnerable with their stories. I think that’s why we are where we are today because each one of these guys knows each other’s hearts.

“Our job as a football coach, especially mine as the head football coach, is to make sure that these young men that come into my program leave better men than they

would’ve been had they not come into it. I’m proud of them and the effort they put in.”

After all the buildup and a summer of hard work, the players came through with a thrilling 18-15 win on Friday night. But the victory didn’t come easy. After kicker Austin Grace scored the first points in Lawson history with a first-quarter field goal, the Lightning gave up seven consecutive points right before halftime.

The players responded with a strong second half. Cedrick Owens scored the first touchdown in Lawson history on a jet sweep in the third quarter to put the Lighting up 10-9. Cheatham County re-took a 15-10 lead with just over a minute left in the third, setting the stage for a nerve-wracking fourth quarter for Lawson.

With 5.8 seconds remaining in the contest, quarterback Zach Capps found receiver Mason Hawk for a touchdown.

Cameron Shields then ran in the two-point conversion out of the wildcat formation to clinch the Lightning’s first-ever win.

“I’m speechless,” Lilly said after the win. “I’m usually not at a loss for words, and I am just because I am so proud. I’m a proud father. I have 91 guys, so there’s 91 guys that are my sons.”

The competition will be tough this season. The first new Metro Nashville public school since 2008 will be joining the reformatted Region 6-5A alongside Centennial, Glencliff, Hillsboro, Nolensville, and Page. But with a performance like the one on Friday night, Lawson proved it has the resolve to handle whatever the schedule throws at them.

“I’m proud of my staff,” Lilly said. “I’m proud of my guys. I’m proud of the administration. I’m just proud of James Lawson.”

The Lawson Lightning rush the field at the start of their first game on Aug. 18.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Fans celebrate at the first game in James Lawson High School’s history on Aug. 18

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Cedrick Owens scores the first touchdown in James Lawson High School’s history on Aug. 18.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Metro Nashville Council Members Dave Rosenberg and Freddie O’Connell joined players for the coin toss at the first game in James Lawson High School’s history on Aug. 18.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Yellow lands $1.3B offer for freight terminals

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

After recently announcing a bankruptcy filing and ceasing operations, embattled Nashville-based trucking company Yellow Corp. has received from a rival company a $1.3 billion offer for its real estate assets.

Multiple outlets, including trade publication FleetOwner, report Richmond, Virginia-based Estes Express Lines is prepared to purchase Yellow’s 160 freight terminals.

Yellow initially sought bankruptcy protection on Aug. 6. Estes officials originally proposal to provide debtor-inpossession (DIP) financing, money Yellow could use to retire its debt while its officials prepare to auction the company’s real estate, machinery and equipment.

But during a Aug. 17 hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Yellow lawyers said Estes submitted a “stalking-horse” bid of $1.3 billion for the approximately 160 terminals. FleetOwner reports the stalking-horse bid places a floor under the planned auction of Yellow’s properties, thus giving other prospective bidders a number to beat.

Estes maintains a fleet of more than 9,600 trucks, 37,200 trailers and 280 terminals across the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico, while also serving Mexico.

Yellow has nearly $1.5 billion in debt, a lawyer for the company noted during the hearing, FleetOwner reports.

In addition to the bid for Yellow’s real estate, hedge fund Citadel is offering Yellow $142.5 million in DIP funding alongside MFN Partners Management, the company’s majority stakeholder.

The DIP proposal allows more time for Yellow to sell its assets (real estate, vehicles and equipment), and the fee structure could save the company between $27 million and $43 million — unlike previous proposals.

The company is also in a class-action lawsuit filed by former unionized employees for failing to provide proper notice of layoffs in late July. The employees had sought pension and health care benefits payments.

Nasdaq delisted Yellow’s stock on Aug. 15. The shares now trade over the counter (Ticker: YELLQ) and had lost 30 percent of their value since the delisting, FleetOwner reports, before closing up 17.15 percent at last week’s end.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Honoring Charlie Strobel, a Nashville icon who championed compassion and justice

BY BILL FREEMAN

episode, Camp notes that Strobel once complimented him via a quote from American writer Frederick Buechner: “One life on this earth is all that we get, whether it is enough or not enough, and the obvious conclusion would seem to be that at the very least we are fools if we do not live it as fully and bravely and beautifully as we can.” Strobel said Camp was not a fool. Nor was Charlie Strobel a fool — for certain, he lived his life fully and with the full intent of setting a good example.

wherein he recognized the stark disparities between privilege and adversity, which ignited his lifelong commitment to advocacy. He said: “I knew that there was something wrong whenever you saw a white water fountain and a colored water fountain. You didn’t know why, but you made some critical judgments about it. … In a simple way, a boy can make judgments. They’re smart enough to develop a conscience.”

working or advocating for others when he lost his mother. If anything, his fight became one of even greater effort.

Nashville is known for its music, sports and hospitality, but our city has also been blessed with leaders who care deeply for our community — people like Father Charles Strobel, who passed away on Aug. 6, and who left many of us feeling the loss. Charlie, as he was called, was known for his untiring pursuit of social justice, and he left behind a legacy and a fine example we would all be wise to follow.

On a recent episode of his podcast No Small Endeavor, host Lee Camp revisits a 2020 interview with Strobel. In the

Charlie’s life was truly evidence of the enduring power of kindness and the profound impact one individual can have on an entire community. Through his work with Room In The Inn, a nonprofit organization he founded, Charlie Strobel was a shining example of understanding and an advocate for those less fortunate. For those experiencing homelessness, Room In The Inn provides hope and safety. They can find support, shelter from the weather, a meal, computers to use, and referrals to other necessary services.

In the words of former Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen: “Charlie accomplished a lot in his life, and I suspect that’s not why most of us are here this morning. We’re here because he was our friend, and he was very, very good at being a friend.” Such sentiments echoed throughout a memorial service held at First Horizon Park on Aug. 11, where individuals from all walks of life gathered to celebrate Charlie’s enduring legacy.

In his No Small Endeavor interview, Strobel mentioned a childhood memory

TICKED OFF!

COALITIONS

Both mayoral candidates claim to be good at forming ‘’COALITIONS”. Just what Metro Nashville Davidson county needs more “COALITIONS” of folks that don’t have pot nor window. We sure could use a few ‘’COALITIONS” to pay off this four Billion dollar debt. (like the ‘’coalitions’’ had nothing with running up the debt)

NASHVILLE RANKINGS

The recent editorial highlighting the high rankings of Nashville and Tennessee in some categories speaks well of the State on some things. However, the State’s performance for

helping people in poverty is sadly behind the rest of the country. United Healthcare ranks Tennessee 44th in health in great part to the State’s refusal to take advantage of the expansion of Medicaid. Tennessee has the second highest sales tax rate in the country which places a greater burden on the poor than on the rest of us. The lack of an income tax benefits the rich the most. Memphis has the 4th highest rate of violent crime in the country while Nashville is 15th. If Tennessee would show as much concern for its needy citizens as it does for its businesses and sports teams, it would be an even better place to live.

Strobel believed the younger generation holds the key to a brighter future. As he told Camp: “I think that’s our hope for our future, that we’ve got a generation that has seen enough that they’re going to … walk to the Capitol or to the courthouse and claim the right to do that without punishment or without jail time.”

Charlie Strobel was an authentic, caring man, and his life was not without challenges — some of which were extreme. For instance, he had to face the tragic and violent murder of his mother, Mary Catherine Strobel, in the mid-1980s — a situation that tested his faith and commitment to forgiveness. But in the face of that horrific situation, he and his siblings chose to advocate against the death penalty for the man who had taken their mother’s life. As Charlie once shared, “Forgiveness means peace. … But you can never even the score by killing one, or killing a thousand.”

Strobel’s journey from unimaginable loss to advocating for the value of forgiveness proves we have the capacity for grace and healing. We can find ways to mourn, cope and move on. Charlie Strobel did not stop

In bidding farewell to Charlie Strobel, we reflect on his life’s work. His legacy reminds us that we can all be instruments of change, that forgiveness can heal even the deepest wounds, and that together we can create a world where social injustices become fewer or less pronounced. May we all be inspired by his example, and may his memory serve as a reminder that a life well-lived is to live “bravely and beautifully” — which in turn betters the lives of others.

We’ll miss you, Charlie, but your legacy will continue to inspire us all.

Bill Freeman is the owner of FW Publishing, the publishing company that produces the Nashville Scene, Nfocus, the Nashville Post and The News.

RUNNERS/BIKERS

Yes I’m in my 60’s. I have a perfect driving record- no tickets, no accidents and driving ever since I was 16. I’m sick and tired of these bicycle people and runners who are running / biking way out into the middle of the street at dusk and dawn with dark clothing on! I absolutely can’t see them. I almost hit someone the other day because this runner ran right in front of me in Franklin wearing dark clothing. People, please wear a vest with some kind of bright / reflective clothing on so you don’t get hit!

Bill Freeman

Charlie Strobel PHOTO BY HATCHER & FELL PHOTOGRAPHY

OPINION

TICKED OFF!

PROPERTY TAXES

Why is there even a discussion on raising property taxes in the future? Come on, with all the new sales of mega mansions, Downtown condos, A and B “skinnies” and other neighborhood flips, the property tax revenue should be increasing and overflowing. Obviously, it’s not enough for Candidate O’Connell who refused to pledge not to raise property tax in his administration. The key is accountability for Nashville, so that “our” money is not wasted on pet projects and not squandered non necessities. Live within your means and the budget, why is this a foreign concept for many of our government leaders?

DWINDLING TREE CANOPY

Davidson County trees continue being cut down and not replaced due to infill construction. Nashville Codes requires replacement of trees. If space does not allow for this on the property, ethical builders could contribute to the Cumberland River

Send

Compact to replant the urban tree canopy. A walk through any tree dense area— Radnor Lake, Deerwood Arboretum, etc.— demonstrates trees exchanging urban CO2 with oxygen rich air. What Joyce Kilmer wrote long ago is also true, “I think that I shall never see a poem as lovely as a tree.”

NOISE

If contractors can not work on Sundays building houses because of noise, then why are the same noise makers allowed to mow yards and run leaf blowers? Same with the people running up down the street with broken exhaust pipes. Look at me I am uneducated and driving a big loud stupid truck. Ha Ha ha.

Nothing better than peace and quite ;-)

The comments in the Ticked Off column do not reflect the views of FW Publishing.

Public Notice

The City of Oak Hill will hold a Special Called Meeting of the Board of Commissioners on August 29th, 2023 at 6:00 PM. The agenda for this meeting will be available 48 hours prior to the meeting date by visiting the city’s website at www.oakhilltn.us or by calling (615) 371-8291. The Board of Commissioner’s Regular Meeting for August 22nd, 2023 is cancelled Meetings will be held at 5548 Franklin Road, Suite 102, Nashville, TN, 37220.

Women in the Spotlight

This summer, women take the stage at Stanford Fine Art, Nashville’s premier art gallery for over 36 years. Female artists have come a long way in recent decades, with far greater representation at museums, galleries and international exhibitions than ever before. But today’s contemporary female artists likely would not be where they are today were it not for their 19th and early 20th century predecessors who ventured to Paris for an education in the arts.

France’s capital city called to artists throughout the late 1800s, a beacon of light and culture that drew in painters and sculptors from all around the world to its flourishing salons and academies. Among them were many women—some familiar names, such as Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot and Rosa Bonheur, but many others you might not know.

Stanford Fine Art brings together a group of paintings by female artists who each could have a powerful exhibition in their own right. Among them is Marie Louise Tollet, daughter of the famous French artist Tony Tollet. In the exhibited work, her cousin, Henriette, is arranging flowers in a beautiful interior. Another work is by Mabel Greer. Born in born in Chelsea, Massachusetts, she specialized in harbor scenes of New England, such as this one, painted in Gloucester. The exhibition passes a variety of subjects: figures, florals, landscapes, genre scenes and seascapes. It will be on view until Saturday, September 30th.

This exhibit is open now through September 30, 2023. Hours: 9 am - 6 pm, Monday - Saturday and by appointment.

Stanford Fine Art is located at 6608 A Highway 100. For more information call 615.352.5050 or visit stanfordfineart.com.

STANFORD FINE ART OPENS 36TH SUMMER EXHIBITION:

Mabel Greer “Boats at Gloucester, Massachusetts”

Marie Louise Tollet “The Artist’s Cousin, Henriette”

Rep. Ogles, state Sen. Johnson discuss Trump indictments, special session in Franklin

The Republican officials spoke at a Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting focused on addressing human trafficking

BY MATT MASTERS

Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District Rep. Andy Ogles and state Senate Majority Leader Jack Johnson made an appearance at the Williamson County Library’s main branch in Franklin on Tuesday at a Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting billed as addressing human and child trafficking. The group, which describes itself as a

“Conservative Christian org fighting FOR children and against Marxism in Tennessee,” hosted Ogles and Johnson, with Ogles opening his remarks with a reflection on “justice” and what he vaguely called “a weaponization of our government against hard-working American citizens.”

Ogles voiced concern about the multiple

ongoing criminal cases involving former President Donald Trump, saying, “If we don’t reestablish justice in this country, we’re damned.”

He added that the public should be “appalled” by the investigations regardless of the political party of the defendant, while in the same breath invoking “the Biden crime family” and calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden.

Ogles called for defunding “woke” prosecutors who are charging Trump, along with calls to defund the Federal Bureau of Investigation, an agency which itself is involved in investigating and combating human and child trafficking.

Much of Ogles’ time was spent defending Trump’s name, and notably absent from his remarks was any mention of his previously touted claims of being a former law enforcement official who “worked in human trafficking.”

Earlier this year, a NewsChannel 5 investigation found that while Ogles did have a part-time position in 2011 with Nashville-based Abolition International, a Williamson County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson told NC5, ““There is nothing in Mr. Ogles training or personnel file that indicates he had any involvement in ‘international sex trafficking’ in his capacity as a reserve deputy.”

Ogles quickly left the library’s meeting

room through a side door, refusing to answer any questions from the press or the public.

Johnson told the crowd that for three hours in 2017 he witnessed a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation sting operation inside a Brentwood hotel at the invitation of TBI.

Johnson said that he is “committed” to “making this [combatting human trafficking] a priority in this state,” vowing to introduce a “robust package of legislation” focused on sex trafficking in the coming legislative session beginning in January 2024.

Johnson also spoke about his recent legislative victories, including a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, and previewed next week’s special legislative session called by Gov. Bill Lee in response to the March Covenant School shooting. Johnson said that he won’t support any form of an extreme risk protection order (ERPO) during the special session.

Dozens of protesters calling for “common sense gun reform” stood outside the library in opposition to both Ogles and Johnson, with Johnson waving at the crowd from a distance as he arrived at the library.

Johnson did receive some pushback from several community members in attendance at the event, while event organizers barred several protesters from entering the meeting room at the beginning of the event.

Metro board approves group to construct Titans stadium

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

The Metro Sports Authority on Thursday approved the construction manager for the future $2.1 billion East Bank Tennessee Titans stadium.

The Titans will now work on a contract agreement with the Tennessee Builders Alliance, a partnership between Turner Construction Co., AECOM Hunt Construction, Polk & Associates and ICF Builders. The agreement will be brought to the sports authority, potentially at its October meeting, for approval.

The four TBA members offer 55 years of collective stadium construction experience, with Turner and AECOM Hunt having collaborated on 17 recent NFL stadium projects. Adding the Titans’ project will mean the team, in some form, will have worked on every NFL stadium located east of the Mississippi River. In addition, ICF undertook some work on the existing Nissan Stadium.

While expressing confidence during the

meeting at Bellevue’s Ford Ice Center in TBA being capable of staying on time and on budget, the Titans officials also noted TBA’s willingness to assemble a diverse and inclusive workforce. Specifically, franchise officials noted ICF and Polk are local minority-owned businesses.

Titans officials project the groundbreaking to be early or mid-2024 and said some preliminary utility work is being done on the site. The future facility is expected to be open for the 2027 NFL season.

In May, Titans officials announced that Atlanta-based TVS — which participated in the design of the Georgia capital’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Nashville’s Music City Center — will serve as architect of record for the future East Bank stadium. The sports authority voted to approve the Titans’ contract agreement with TVS at the Thursday morning meeting.

The agreement specifies TVS will provide all design development documents for

construction and related to architectural, mechanical, plumbing, electrical, code report and food service, among others.

Robert O’Keefe, who holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from the University of Tennessee, will serve as the project’s principal-in-charge.

The TVS agreement schedule notes that the design work is set to be completed by

Aug. 30, 2024, which includes built-in time for permitting. The total project fee is set at approximately $42 million. TVS’s portion is more than $14 million of that total. Almost $26 million will go to subcontractors and about $2 million is set for expenses. This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Tenn. 5th District Congressional Rep. Andy Ogles speaks at the Franklin Library on Aug. 15, 2023, during a Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition meeting.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Rendering of East Bank Titans Stadium PHOTO COURTESY OF MANICA

Rolli fires campaign consultant for ties to Proud Boys

STEVE CAVENDISH, NASHVILLE BANNER

This story is a partnership between the Nashville Banner and The News. For more information, visit NashvilleBanner.com.

Alice Rolli fired her campaign consultant and his firm on Aug. 14 after his ties to the Proud Boys surfaced.

As reported in a 2021 Washington Post article, Woodrow Johnston organized protests on behalf of Nevada Republicans following the 2020 presidential election. In Facebook Messenger messages, Johnston told an activist: “We need to do the same here in Nevada. We need to get the Proud Boys out.”

Johnston, the vice president of McShane LLC consulting at the time, was working on his own and not on behalf of his firm at the time of the quote. McShane does represent several far-right clients, including Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Arizona), who are election deniers. Rolli hired McShane, an all-in-one consultancy, to handle most aspects of her campaign.

In an email to supporters obtained by the Nashville Banner, Rolli said she fired Johnston.

“I learned some unsettling news this morning,” she writes. “I’m sharing it with you to be fully transparent about my campaign. This morning I learned the consultant firm we hired had more than a

strong connection to Proud Boys. Today I confirmed this alarming information and immediately severed ties with the firm. Hatred has no place in Nashville. It has no place on my campaign. After taking immediate steps to separate our campaign, I knew you needed to hear from me, directly.” Johnson disputed being fired. He provided a letter to Axios on Monday showing that he had resigned on Saturday. Rolli told the Banner that she did not know about the Proud Boy links until after speaking to a group at Pinnacle Bank on Monday morning. It was at that point she said she cut ties to McShane.

When asked about whether Johnston quit or was fired, Rolli said she didn’t want to get into a back-and-forth over it. Rolli said she was introduced to McShane by Phil Griffin, a Rutherford County-based operative for the firm. In a text shared with the Banner, Griffin apologized to Rolli and said he had no idea about any Proud Boys ties.

Rolli has spent two-thirds of her campaign’s money with McShane, an allin-one consultancy that provided media buying, production, digital and direct mail services. In addition to Gosar, McShane clients include Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Arizona) and Bob Good (R-Virginia), who along with Gosar voted to overturn the 2020 election

and in January 2023 held out supporting Kevin McCarthy in a vote for speaker of the House because they viewed him as insufficiently conservative.

Pressed about the firm’s far-right ties and whether they were adequately vetted, Rolli said she was relying on Griffin’s recommendation.

“Yeah, should I have probably called a whole bunch of references? Maybe,” Rolli said. “Did we put the team together quickly? Yes. And the day that I found out about this,

I made a change.”

On election night, Rolli thanked Johnston for her victory. But on Monday, Rolli said the message was hers.

“I wrote my own stuff,” she said. “If you look at my announcement before I hired them, you look at my initial ad that I wrote and drafted and yes, I hired their team to do it. And yes, I hired their team to say, ‘This is who we need to target.’ But I sort of saw them as a vehicle through which to buy things to get my message out.”

Alice Rolli PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Stanford Fine Art opens 36th summer exhibition “Women in the Spotlight”

STAFF REPORTS

Stanford Fine Art recently announced its 36th summer exhibition, “Women in the Spotlight,” is open for the remainder of the summer.

First established in 1987, this year’s exhibit is on display now through Sept. 30. Visits are by appointment only, with the hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

“Women in the Spotlight” celebrates influential artists such as Mabel Greer and Marie Louise Tollet who, in the 19th and early 20th century, ventured to Paris for an education in the arts to pave the way for contemporary female artists.

The exhibition will feature a variety of subjects including figures, florals, landscapes,

genre scenes and seascapes.

“Stanford Fine Art brings together a group of paintings by female artists who each could have a powerful exhibition in their own right,” a news release from the gallery stated.

Stanford Fine Art is located at 6608 A Highway 100. For more information call (615) 352-5050, or visit www. stanfordfineart.com.

Lipscomb fashion exhibition to feature first in-person look at outfits in Dolly Parton’s new book

STAFF REPORTS

in Rhinestones” will take place from Oct. 31 through Dec. 9 in the John C. Hutcheson Gallery in the university’s Beaman Library. The exhibition will feature 25 of Parton’s fashions from throughout her career and will highlight the makers behind the looks.

The exhibition will be the first physical interpretation of Parton’s new fashionfocused book, Behind the Seams: My Life in Rhinestones, which is set for release on Oct. 17th.

University President Candice McQueen said in a news release.

“This unique fashion exhibition will also provide tremendous learning opportunities for our students as they discover more about the creative process and techniques and interact with the makers who have developed these fashions.”

together this display celebrating the makers of these clothes and 25 of my favorite looks celebrating the people who make it all happen,” Parton said.

Lipscomb University’s department of fashion and design will host a special exhibition this fall that will give people a chance at viewing outfits featured in Dolly Parton’s new book in person.

“Dolly Parton and the Makers: My Life

“We are thrilled to partner with Dolly Parton and those behind her iconic fashion to offer the community this exciting opportunity to have an up-close look at some of her favorite outfits and to learn more about these treasured looks,” Lipscomb

The exhibit will be curated by Parton’s archivist Rebecca Seaver, who also curated Behind The Seams. Parton’s former head seamstress, Iisha Lemming, will also serve as artist-in-residence for the Lipscomb department of fashion and design in the fall to assist in the development and execution of the exhibit.

“Iisha and Rebecca Seaver have put

Tickets for the fashion exhibition are $25 per person for a 45-minute tour. The tickets are limited and are for timed entry. All tickets must be purchased online in advance. Tickets go on sale Sept. 1. The exhibit hours will be Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Find ticket information and more details at www.lipscomb.edu/art/dolly-parton-andmakers-my-life-rhinestones.

The Artist’s Cousin by Marie Louise Tollet PHOTO COURTESY OF STANFORD FINE ART

Boats at Gloucester Wharf by Mabel Greer PHOTO COURTESY OF STANFORD FINE ART

Inpatient eating disorder treatment center opens in Bellevue

BY HANNAH HERNER

An old and former Bellevue church is now home to an inpatient center for the treatment of eating disorders.

Aster Springs, located at 7544 Old Harding Pike, is the sixth location dedicated to inpatient eating disorder treatment for Brentwood-based Odyssey Behavioral Healthcare. It is set to open in early September.

The company also operates outpatient centers to treat eating disorders and mental health disorders in Nashville at 2900 Vanderbilt Place. Odyssey has 34 locations, including inpatient psychatric centers in Tennessee, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Florida, North Carolina, Alabama, Pennsylvania and California.

Via an LLC, Odyssey paid $2,145,000 for the property in October 2022, Metro records show.

The Bellevue Aster Springs can host up to eight women for an average stay of 30 to 45 days. Patients will meet with a dietician and therapists regularly, and the center will staff 24/7 psychiatric nurse practitioners and psychiatrists. The center will also offer group therapy classes, cooking classes and outings.

A multi-disciplinary team is necessary,

said Hillary Bacon, executive director of Odyssey, because there are a number of facets to eating disorder treatment.

“Strictly psychiatric facilities are simply not equipped in the culinary department, the dietary needs, and the expertise of what it means to deal with an eating disorder,” she told the Post. “There’s a biological piece, there’s a psychological piece, there’s a social piece. It affects the mind first, but that leads to it affecting the body.

“A psych facility on its own typically does not have the range of services and the expertise that it truly takes to treat eating disorders and get folks into remission.”

Eating disorders affect about 9 percent of the population and are among the most deadly mental health disorders, causing 10,200 causing deaths per year, according to a 2020 report.

Bacon notes that the effects are difficult to track because an eating disorder can cause a complication that might not otherwise have existed and yield death for which a cause cannot always be proven. In addition, many individuals do not ever receive a diagnosis or treatment for their eating disorders.

Caroline Pullen, dietician and director

of clinical partnerships for Odyssey, notes that eating disorders can take many forms, and in most cases, patients have two or more diagnoses together.

“I think a lot of us always think of typical anorexia,” Pullen said. We think of a very underweight individual. Yes, we serve that population and see that population, but we also have atypical anorexia, which is someone with anorexia, but not visibly. We see a lot of bulimia, a lot of orthorexia.”

Patients can call Aster Springs and complete an assessment via phone to determine if the center is a good fit, or be referred to outpatient care or partial hospitalization. The location will accept private insurance but does not accept TennCare.

Eating disorder prevalence has grown over the years. Bacon credits this to the rise of social media and popular diets.

“Dieting is the number one predictor that somebody is at risk for an eating disorder,” she said. Eating disorders have always existed, but they are more prevalent now than ever, and I think that’s a societal contribution.”

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Music industry official sells Berry Hill property

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

Music industry veteran and Grammy

Award-winner Keith Stegall has sold for $1.8 million a Berry Hill building that seemingly houses his production management and publishing firm Dreamlined Entertainment Group.

According to a Davidson County Register of Deeds document, the new owner of the property, located at 2820 Erica Place, is a Durango, Colo., LLC that shares an address with tax and accounting firm Curtis L.

Slim + Husky’s Pizzeria to offer Belmont presence STAFF REPORTS

Powers-Ackley PC. The Post was unable to determine further details about the buyer. Stegall paid $108,000 for the property in 1993, Metro records show.

In 2016, Stegall and Scott Miller of Pennsylvania-based Miller Investment Management announced the formation of Dreamlined Entertainment Group. Stegall, who has produced and mentored Alan Jackson and Zac Brown Band, among others, could not be reached for comment.

He boasts songwriting and producing credits that have contributed to more than $70 million in sales worldwide, delivering 55 number one hits and 40 million airplays, according to a release from 2016. Stegall has earned multiple CMA, ACM and Grammy awards.

The Post was unable to determine if brokers were involved in the transaction.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Southwest to add 1,300 local jobs via crew base

STAFF REPORTS

Officials with Southwest Airlines and Gov. Bill Lee announced Tuesday the commercial air-carrier will establish a crew base at Nashville International Airport starting in 2024, a move expected to yield an estimated 1,300 jobs.

According to a release, this will be the 12th crew base for Dallas-based Southwest. The effort initially will accommodate approximately 150 to 250 pilots (growing to 500 to 600 pilots) and roughly 500 to 700 flight attendants.

Airline industry websites note Southwest

Airlines’ most significant crew bases for pilots seemingly are located in Dallas and Houston. For flight attendants, the main crew base cities are in Atlanta, Dallas and Phoenix.

Various media outlets reported in late 2022 that Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan was eyeing Nashville as a home base for pilots and attendants. In addition to Atlanta, Chicago is the only other U.S. city located within about 500 miles of Nashville and with a Southwest crew hub.

Southwest began operations in Nashville in March 1986 with eight daily non-stop

flights to Chicago and Houston.

“As a top global travel destination and business hub, Tennessee is the ideal location for Southwest Airlines’ newest crew base, and we look forward to the continued economic investment, job creation for newly based jobs and opportunity this expansion will bring for Tennesseans across the region,” Lee said in the release.

Southwest Airlines was founded in 1967 and offers 121 destinations.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Belmont has announced that Nashville’s Slim + Husky’s Pizza Beeria will open within the university’s Janet Ayers Academic Center this fall.

According to a release, Slim + Husky will operate from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays; and 2-8 p.m. Sundays. Food can be ordered to-go or enjoyed in the restaurant’s seating area, to feature décor inspired by art, music and hip-hop culture.

Slim & Husky’s was founded in 2015 in North Nashville by Clint Gray, Derrick Moore and Emanuel Reed, the latter a Belmont graduate. Slim + Husky’s restaurants are located in Nashville, Atlanta, Sacramento, Memphis, Murfreesboro and Chattanooga.

“Belmont was instrumental in my development as a young entrepreneur,” Reed said in the release. “I am honored to have this opportunity as an alum and look forward to Slim + Husky’s being a part of Belmont’s continued growth.”

Belmont contracts with Gaithersburg, Md.-based Sodexo, led locally by resident district manager Tom Williamson, for its student food services operations.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post

E.J. Reed, Clinton Gray and Derrick Moore

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

City of Belle Meade to host summer open house at Belle Meade Historic Site

STAFF REPORTS

The City of Belle Meade is hosting a summer open house at the Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery on Sunday, Aug. 27.

The open house will take place in in the Bellevue Historic Site mansion at 5025 Harding Pike. The event is free to everyone and will last from 2-7 p.m.

According to a release from the City of Belle Meade, guests can experience samples of a variety of the events available on the grounds including:

HISTORICAL TOURS:

Learn more about the captivating history and the remarkable stories of the past that shaped the iconic site.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES:

Belle Meade welcomes families to indulge in interactive and entertaining activities, creating cherished memories for both young and old.

BELLE MEADE MEAT & THREE:

Experience the Belle Meade Meat and Three restaurant, renowned for its delectable

Southern cuisine, offering an authentic taste of the region.

WINE AND FOOD PAIRINGS:

Delight your taste buds with exquisite wine and food pairings, showcasing Belle Meade Winery’s finest selections in harmony with gourmet bites.

BOURBON SAMPLES:

An exclusive opportunity to savor bourbon samples, sure to please even the most discerning palates.

LIVE MUSIC:

Enjoy the enchanting sounds of live music, adding to the ambiance and creating an unforgettable atmosphere.

PHOTO BOOTH:

Capture the joy and excitement of the day at the photo booth, providing guests with mementos to cherish.

To RSVP, go to visitbellemeade.com

Five free and cheap family things to do in middle Tennessee

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

This week’s compilation of free and cheap things spans from East Nashville down to Murfreesboro and in between.

First, we scope out a carnival in La Vergne if you’ve got a few dollars to spend. Then there’s a huge consignment sale to get all the clothes you haven’t yet for school this year. The last pickin’ party of the summer

at Cornelia Fort Airpark is on Aug. 26, and then there’s free jazz in downtown Nashville and a day of free activities at the Discovery Center down in the Boro.

As part of our series on free and cheap things to do with the family, here is our weekly roundup of places to spend time together over the next week:

LA VERGNE CARNIVAL

The La Vergne Carnival is produced by Crescent City Amusements and will be set up at Veterans Memorial Park from Aug. 24-27. The carnival will be open from 6-10 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The carnival will have classic foods like hot dogs, funnel cakes, cheese curds, candied apples and lemonade. They will also bring midway rides like the carousel, Ferris wheel, tilt-awhirl and swings.

FALL KIDSALE CONSIGNMENT SALE

This semi-annual consignment sale benefits organizations that empower children and youth. The sale, which is from Aug. 2526, includes extremely discounted, consigned clothing, toys, baby gear and more. It’s at the Brentwood United Methodist Church, and proceeds specifically fund missions for Brentwood United Methodist Church, Harvest Hands, Room In The Inn and Thembelihle School in South Africa. After each sale, the program is able to distribute between $20,000 and $25,000 to the above ministries as well as to other smaller ministries in need of financial support. It’s too late to consign your things for this sale, but visit bumckidsale.net to learn more about how to consign your family’s lightly used clothing and toys.

2023 CORNELIA FORT PICKIN’ PARTY

The last Cornelia Fort Pickin’ Party of the summer is upon us at East Nashville’s Cornelia Fort Airpark on Aug. 26. The night will include local music, craft beer and wine, family activities, food vendors and more. Proceeds for the outdoor summer concert series help to preserve the Cornelia Fort Airpark. This event is open to all ages. Anyone 16 and over will require a ticket for entry — a great deal for the family.

MONDAY NIGHT JAZZ IN THE PARK

Across from the Nashville Public Library downtown, there’ll be a free Jazz in the Park set at Church Street Park. Folks can bring their own blanket, grab a chair at one of the tables at the park, and bring some snacks and drinks to the set.

DISCOVER INDIA DAY

On Aug. 26 at the Discovery Center in Murfreesboro, admission will be free for a daylong Discover India Day. The event, sponsored by the Nissan Foundation, will include a photo booth, traditional Indian games, Bharatanatyam Dance demonstrations, Rakhi Bracelets and more.

Belle Meade Historic Site and Winery PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Nashville SC’s trophy hunt continues after epic loss to Messi, Miami

BY JOHN GLENNON

This one had a very different feel to it, well before Nashville SC and Inter Miami CF kicked off Saturday night’s Leagues Cup final at Geodis Park.

There was former NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, one of Nashville’s minority owners, laughing on the field as he took pregame penalty kicks for fun.

Yards away near the corner flag, soccer legend David Beckham, now Miami’s coowner, posed for pictures and shook hands, accompanied of course by wife Victoria Beckham — aka Posh Spice.

Nashville countered with one final celebrity move before the opening whistle, rolling out actress Reese Witherspoon — also a minority Nashville SC owner — at midfield for a wave to the public.

All the big names, as well as a sellout crowd of 30,109, were on hand not only for the in-season tournament championship, but to witness the spectacle of Miami’s Lionel Messi, one of the greatest players in soccer history.

The seven-time winner of the coveted Ballon d’Or award, given to the world’s best soccer player, had laid waste to the Leagues Cup since signing with Miami, scoring nine goals and adding four assists in his first six games.

Nashville seemed determined not to feel overwhelmed by the hype surrounding the 5-foot-7, 159-pound Messi, nicknamed “La Pulga,” — the flea — for his tiny-butmighty persona.

In fact, Nashville midfielder Anibal Godoy gave Messi a little love tap about

three minutes into the game, perhaps reminding his teammates not to give the man too much respect.

Twenty minutes later, however, Messi produced another classic moment of brilliance. In the blink of an eye, he corralled a loose ball near the top of the Nashville penalty area, eluded defender Walker Zimmerman and then curled a perfectly placed shot into the upper left corner of the net.

Just like that, Miami grabbed a 1-0 lead.

“There are moments in the game that he’s just unplayable,” Nashville coach Gary Smith said. “It’s not over a prolonged period. It’s not for 90 minutes. [But] there are windows where he just comes to life. And it’s almost impossible to deal with what he is wanting to do.”

Surely, many presumed, the first Miami goal would open the floodgates for this offensively gifted team, one that had piled up 21 goals in its first six tournament games, scoring four in each of its previous three games.

But a funny thing happened on the way to the coronation ceremony for Messi and Miami.

The underdog Nashville team, much to the delight of its gold-clad faithful, took it to Miami for much of the final 45 minutes. When Fafa Picault tied the game 1-1 on a diving header that rattled its way over the goal line in the 57th minute, it felt well deserved, a reflection of how the field had tilted even early in the second half.

Sure, Miami came close to scoring twice in regulation, once when Messi hit the post

on a shot from the top of the box in the 71st minute and again when a sliding Leonardo Campana hit the post in the 93rd minute.

But Nashville had its own share of chances — including Sam Surridge’s shot from inside the box in the 77th minute that was parried away, and Hany Mukhtar’s rebound attempt that was blocked.

By the end of regulation, Nashville had outshot Miami 11-6, placed six shots on goal to Miami’s two, taken six corner kicks to Miami’s two and delivered 18 crosses to Miami’s six.

“I just thought in the second half there was a better flow to our possessions, a brighter look to the personalities of the group, and of course that comes with scoring a goal as well,” Smith said. “But once we scored, I honestly thought we’d go on and win the game. I felt strongly that there was enough quality in the group to do that.”

The penalty kick shootout? It was epic, worthy of an entire story unto itself.

There was Messi, coolly sliding in Miami’s first attempt to put Nashville under pressure right away. There was Mukhtar, the league’s reigning MVP, answering right back with a thunderous shot to the right of goalie Drake Callendar.

Then there was Nashville goalie Elliot Panicco, with the game on the line, making a diving save on Victor Ulloa’s fifth-round attempt and sending the contest into sudden-death kicks.

Ultimately, Callendar stopped Panicco’s 11th-round attempt, giving Miami victory thanks to a 10-9 edge in penalty kicks and

denying Nashville the first trophy of its fourseason existence.

“I am not sure the guys could have given any more than they did tonight,” Smith said. “They were all in on trying to win a trophy for this club. We’ve fallen short by the very finest of margins. When penalties are going to goalkeepers, there’s not a lot in it.”

So what can Nashville take from the loss — and from its play in the tournament overall — as the Boys in Gold look to regroup and resume MLS regular-season play next Saturday in Atlanta?

Well, keep in mind that just over a month ago, Nashville had stumbled into Leagues Cup competition after suffering three straight losses for the first time in franchise history.

Players were getting red-carded at a breakneck pace. Injuries had thinned the roster. Surridge had yet to wear the gold for the first time.

The outlook is a much, much brighter one now, even after the gut-punch of an 11-round, penalty-kick shootout.

Nashville outscored seven tournament opponents 16-9, claiming especially impressive victories against top Mexican clubs like C.F. Monterrey and Club America along the way, then playing on level terms with Messi for 90 minutes.

Mukhtar, who’d gone dry prior to Leagues Cup, re-emerged in the tournament, scoring once and adding six assists. Forward Jacob Shaffelburg shined, posting a goal and five assists in six games. Even elder statesman Dax McCarty, 36, contributed four assists during the competition.

Surridge, signed as Nashville’s third designated player in late July, arrived with dynamic impact in the tournament. His assist on Picault’s goal against Miami gave the big English striker three goals and two assists in his first four games.

Maybe most importantly, Nashville’s mojo seems to have returned.

A club that had crept near the top of MLS’ Eastern Conference at one point during the regular season, Nashville now once again looks like a team that’s confident, healthy and dangerous as it readies for a 10game sprint to the finish.

Might the lessons learned, the experience gained and the confidence forged during Leagues Cup play help vault Nashville back among the MLS elite by the end of the regular season?

If so, the Boys in Gold might just get another shot at that elusive first trophy in a few months.

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

NSC’s Shaq Moore takes on Leo Messi in the Leagues Cup final.

PHOTO BY DAVID RUSSELL

Lady Pea Salad with Pesto

BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE

Field peas, a product of the south, are in season now, and ready to be savored. You can find bags of shelled peas at the farmers market as well as peas that you can shell yourself. There are many varieties, including lady peas, purple hull, black eye, pink eye, and crowders

to name a few. Fortunately they are all pretty interchangeable. Contrary to how your Grandma may have cooked them, we like them crisp or al dente, tossed with other summer ingredients in a salad, such as this recipe.

ACROSS

1 Began devouring, say

6 Sign of love in Latin America

10 “Dynamite” hitmakers, 2020

13 “We ___ Blessed” (hymn)

14 Drip with

16 “I’m on to you now!”

17 Deal with it!

19 Fortuneteller’s sphere

20 Musician Brian

21 Deser t or tundra

22 Opinions

24 A comment may be dripping with it

26 “Ya dig?”

28 Stick with it!

31 Gritty film

34 Quick cut

35 Jennings of “Jeopardy!”

36 Electrical units

37 Fast pitch?

39 Part of many a friendship bracelet

40 Not be square, say

41 Analogous

42 “Liberal” things

43 Get on with it!

INGREDIENTS

1 small red onion, slivered juice of one lemon

1 cup field peas - see text

1 cup orzo, Israeli couscous, or Fregola Sarda, cooked according to package directions

1/2 cup pesto, plus more for serving

1. In medium bowl, toss onions with lemon juice. Let sit about 30 minutes.

2. Add peas to stock pot and pour water over top until just covered. Place lid on pot and cook over medium-high heat about 10 minutes. Peas are ready when they “give” when pressed between your fingers. Drain.

2 tomatoes, quartered

1 cup sliced cucumbers

1 avocado, cut into eighths

shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

3. Combine peas with pasta and toss with pesto. Top with tomatoes, cucumbers, avocados, onions, olive oil, and vinegar. Gently toss. Serve with Parmesan and a dollop of pesto on the side.

Follow Edible Nashville on instagram @ediblenashtn and their website ediblenashville.com. To subscribe to the magazine that comes out 6x/year, go to ediblenashville.com.

48 Make cr yptic

49 Wasn’t a myth

53 Stringed instr ument in some psychedelic music

54 Kitchen wrap?

56 Yes, to Yves

57 Residue from a barbecue

58 Roll with it!

61 Thurman of “Pulp Fiction”

62 Slowpoke

63 Painter’s prop

64 Do-over, of a sort

65 What some butterfly wings appear to have

66 Do over DOWN

1 Ruler of a mythological underwor ld

2 A cour t may be in the middle of one

3

4 Big ___ (serious favor)

5 “Sorry, not sorry!”

6 Morph into

7 Event often in caps on a syllabus

8 Can’t-miss

9 Not even

10 Creator of a spread

11 Winning feat achieved twice by the Green Bay Packers (192931, 1965-67)

12 Breaks down

15 Respect

18 Rummage (around)

23 Lead-in to countr y or rock

25 2006 animated film that really should have starred Adam Driver and Parker Posey?

27 Not good

29 Defend the hive, in a way

30 Tips

31 One getting pwned, often

32 Classic melodramatic cr y

33 “Seriously!”

37 Kind of mar k

38 Be for lorn

39 Prominent instr ument in “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’”

41 Like a cutie patootie

44 Record label for Diana Ross and Elvis Presley

45 Hazards

46 Neuron fiber

47 Karaoke par ticipant

50 A goner

51 Pioneer in calculus notation

52 Humdinger

53 Pulitzer winner Bellow

55 Demi-___ (ballet move)

59 United

60 Modern love?

ANSWER TO PUZZLE

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Walk a Mile: Granny White Pike Exploring the area surrounding the Battle of Nashville Monument

BY J.R. LIND

Once a month, former Nashville Scene reporter and resident historian J.R. Lind picked an area in the city to examine while accompanied by a photographer. With his column Walk a Mile, he walked a one-mile stretch of that area, exploring the neighborhood’s history and character, its developments, its current homes and businesses, and what makes it a unique part of Nashville.

Route:

From the Battle of Nashville Monument, north on Granny White Pike. Left on Ferguson Avenue, left on Belmont Boulevard, and left on Battlefield Drive, continuing back to the starting point.

Rarely has a monument been as peripatetic as the Battle of Nashville Monument.

These days, the granite-and-bronze monument overlooks a pleasant slope between Battlefield Drive and Clifton Lane, just south of Interstate 440 and where 12th Avenue South changes its prosaic designation to the far more romantic Granny White Pike.

The monument was originally dedicated on Nov. 11, 1927, at the intersection of Franklin Road and Thompson Lane. All but its pedestal was toppled by a tornado in 1974. (The original pedestal is still standing, tucked near some apartments.) In the 1980s, the construction of the 440/I-65 interchange and the realignment of Thompson Lane with Woodmont Boulevard left the original site unsuitable for restoration.

For years, the damaged statue sat in storage. In 1999, it finally went back up at its current location, close to the location of the right flank of the Confederate lines in the 1864 battle. The monument is the focal point of a simple amphitheater, and on this March morning, a smattering of daffodils rings the park. Also included is a basket oak certified as a “witness tree” by the Tennessee Landmark, Historic and Heritage Tree Registry (which exists).

The monument is rather unusual, and not just because it’s been quite mobile compared to most other monuments. It was sculpted by Giuseppe Moretti, an Italian who also sculpted the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt at the entrance to the eponymous university and the famous Vulcan statue in Birmingham (cheekily — forgive me — known as the “Full Moon over Mountain Brook”). The Battle of Nashville Monument is one of few from the Civil War that commemorates soldiers from both the Union and the Confederacy. An angel yokes together two horses, representing the two armies joined together to fight in World War I. Rather than the

Lost Causeism of the various Odes to the Confederate Dead that are ubiquitous on the sides of courthouse square statues throughout the South, the verse on this monument, penned by John Trotwood Moore, sings the praises of unity, ending with a supplication: “Let The Past Be Past: Let The Dead Be Dead. — Now And Forever American!”

There’s no sidewalk along Granny White as it gently slopes toward 440 — just a well-worn trail on the shoulder. That feels rather appropriate, though. The road is named for Lucinda White, who ran a tavern — famous for its applejack, among other things — between Nashville and Franklin. White left North Carolina in 1800 — the family lore said she had an ox, a spinning wheel, her two orphaned grandchildren and an enslaved person — and after a brief time in Knoxville, settled on 50 acres south of Nashville in Hollow Tree Gap, on the road between Nashville and Franklin. Her inn and tavern became a stopping place and watering hole for lawyers who had to go to and fro the two county seats, and she became well-known

and much beloved. Later, Sen. Thomas Hart Benton told her story on the floor of the U.S. Senate as an example of the utility of giving land to the poor. (A man named McCrory essentially gave White the acreage, with which she established her business.) It was an embryonic formulation of distributism a half-century before Leo XIII wrote Rerum novarum.

Despite being wedged between the density of Green Hills and 12South, this little stretch is pleasantly open with long tracts of as-yet undeveloped space, allowing the vine-covered oaks and strong-smelling Bradford pears room to grow. Oddly, this is due, at least in part, to 440 and its bizarre history of best-laid plans.

Originally, 440 was intended to truly be a parkway, with commercial traffic prohibited (count the semis to see how successful that proved) and with the rightof-way including a greenway. This was intended as something of a salve to the well-heeled neighborhoods through which it would be routed. The trucking ban didn’t last long, and the greenway remained a forgotten scheme for decades, though the

easements for its construction remained. Now Metro is committed to fulfilling that promise, and in a remarkable show of foresight not usually associated with Nashville’s political class, the city actually held onto the land rather than giving it away tax-free to some corporate doodad.

After the dip as it crosses 440, the road — now 12th Avenue South — rises up toward Sevier Park, a rolling expanse crisscrossed by running trails and sprinkled with playgrounds. Sevier Park opened as a park in 1948, but the history here is far longer. At the center of the park is the Sunnyside mansion, built by Mary Benton in the 1850s. Mary was the cousin of First Lady Sarah Polk and the widow of Jesse Benton, one of the few men who definitely got in a duel with Andrew Jackson. Coincidentally, also involved in that duel was Jesse’s brother, the aforementioned Thomas Hart Benton. The Benton brothers both left town after their 1813 pistol fight with the future president. (Jesse said he would no longer “live longer among people who gave such political preference to a man like Andrew Jackson.”) Thomas became a

Christ the King Catholic Church

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

prominent Missouri politician and Jesse a landowner in Texas and Louisiana. After the latter’s death in 1843, Mary moved back to Middle Tennessee and built the home that still stands. It changed hands a number of times, usually between various branches of Mary Benton’s family tree, and it was stuck between the two armies in the Battle of Nashville. (There are still marks from Minié balls on the porch columns.) It eventually came to be home of prominent dentist L.G. Noel, who sold it to Granville Sevier, the grandson of Mary Benton’s niece, who’d lived in the home. When he died in 1945, Sevier’s heirs sold it to the city. It’s now home of the Metro Historical Commission.

Sunnyside represents just one of the many generations of architecture that exist on the street. There are new builds, which asymptotically approach tall-andskinny status but hew enough to the Craftsman look of their neighbors to not be jarring. There are also modest brick ranches stubbornly holding out against the gentrification that’s spread from the neighborhood north toward downtown.

As we turn onto Ferguson, the Craftsman cottages swell into Craftsman castles, some of which are obviously modern rebuilds of the classic style. Twitterpated

— a blessed respite from the repetitious design that’s sucked the soul out of so many changing neighborhoods, rendering them little more than high-priced Levittowns. One home on Ferguson is a charming cacophony of additions clinging to a Cape Cod, of all things.

Tudors emerge as Ferguson meets Belmont, here a pleasant tree-lined thoroughfare with sidewalks and side yards, less densely packed than it is nearer to the name’s-the-same university. There’s the Nashville Chess Center and the Sound Emporium, the latter originally the recording studio of Cowboy Jack Clement where they churned out hits, every one a yellow Sun record from Nashville, as The Lovin’ Spoonful sang.

Christ the King Catholic Church and its attached parochial school are across the street from the famed Martin’s Bar-B-Que. This morning, the restaurant’s smoker must have already completed its work, for there is no smell of hickory, and the only haze in the air comes from the jackhammers of the road workers up ahead at Polly’s Marathon gas station. The station’s curvilinear look and big windows show its vintage is from the charming time when even filling stations had character. No promises, but it seems like they

the home of School of Rock Nashville and an Iron Tribe Fitness outpost.

Junipers — what we in Tennessee often call red cedars — form a gateway onto Battlefield, where the lots are bigger and the homes are newer than they are farther north. Still, that swath of open space, destined perhaps once again for its designed purpose as a greenway, hugs the beige walls meant to muffle the sound of 440’s bustle.

Another battle may also be in the offing. Yes, there are new homes, large and imposing. But those old ranches are stubbornly hanging on.

There’s not likely to be a John Trotwood

Battle of Nashville monument

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Battle of Nashville monument

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

PRESENTED BY

08.30.23

08.30.23

CITY WINERY / 11-2

Nashville Post and Nfocus are pairing their respective “Most Powerful Women” and “Model Behavior” programs to spotlight community luminaries. Launched in 2011, the Most Powerful Women series has convened female leaders from all corners of Middle Tennessee’s economy to share their stories of growth and success with peers and future community leaders. Our star-studded panel this year includes some of the city’s most accomplished and inspiring leaders in the arts, outreach and education sectors. Though their careers and skill sets may vary, the one thing that unites them is their commitment to serving others. To learn more about these impressive women and their thoughts on leadership, join us at City Winery for this year’s event.

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