December 7, 2023

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DECEMBER 7, 2023 | VOLUME 35 | NUMBER 48

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‘Tis the Season for Christmas tree lightings, holiday parades, book readings, and cheer STAFF REPORTS Communities across Middle Tennessee kicked off the holiday season with Christmas tree lightings and parades including Belle Meade, which held its inaugural city parade on Saturday.

Both Nashville and the City of Franklin held their respective Christmas tree lightings

on Friday night, with Franklin also hosting a parade on Saturday. Brentwood held its tree lighting on Monday night, which included its annual visit from the Conductor from The Polar Express.

View a full gallery of images at thenewstn.com. >> PAGE 3

Gov. Bill Lee at the Education Freedom Scholarship Act press conference PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Gov. Lee pushes statewide voucher expansion

BY KELSEY BEYELER

Gov. Bill Lee is ready to expand Tennesee’s school voucher program statewide, introducing the Education Freedom Scholarship Act at a packed press conference last week. He was joined by several members of the Tennessee General Assembly, as well as Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who successfully shepherded a similar program in her state. Sanders touted the universal voucher push as “an absolute conservative education revolution.”

Tennessee currently provides vouchers to qualifying families through education savings accounts, though those are available only to students in Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton counties, as well as those zoned for the state-run Achievement School District. Currently, qualifying students must fall below a certain income threshold. The current ESA program, which was narrowly passed by the state legislature in 2019, was quickly met with litigation for targeting Davidson and Shelby counties. Several judges agreed with this argument, and the

program was held up in court until 2022.

Gov. Lee’s newly proposed legislation would expand both the scope and eligibility requirements of the program to include students across the state. As introduced, it would provide 20,000 vouchers to students as soon as the 2024-25 school year. Half of those would be reserved for students who are already enrolled in the ESA program, have a disability or are at or below 300 percent of the federal poverty level. The other half would be available to all other students, though priority would go to the former group if applications exceed available scholarships. The legislation seeks to expand the program further by the 2025-26 school year.

Before the announcement was officially made, it garnered significant criticism from urban and rural Tennesseans alike.

Although vouchers are already available to students in Nashville, local politicians have vehemently condemned an expansion of vouchers on social media. Columbia Mayor Chaz Molder has referred to the >> PAGE 2

Children wave to Santa during Belle Meade’s inaugural Christmas parade on Dec. 2, 2023.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

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THE NEWS

Voucher expansion CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

legislation as a “mistake.”

“It will do more harm to the greater good than the select few who may benefit, and it’s a slap in the face to our teachers,” Molder tells the Scene. “This is almost as absurd as refusing federal funding for education.

I am convinced that the large majority of Tennesseans who oppose this privatization of public education will let their state legislative delegation know; and I am hopeful the legislature will listen to a large majority of their districts and oppose such a plan.”

A handful of people representing the local chapter of Americans United for Separation of Church and State held signs protesting the legislation during Tuesday’s press conference.

Charter Territory: State Overreach Is Shaping the Education Landscape “We are against vouchers,” said Mirabelle Stoedter, who serves as vice president of the group’s local chapter. “Public schools should come first. The money should be used to make the public schools better. Yeah, there’s problems with the public schools — but we need the money to make them better.”

Proponents of vouchers say they provide more educational opportunities for families and give parents more agency in their students’ education. Critics say they divert funds from public schools and allow tax dollars to subsidize education in religious

institutions. Additionally, private schools don’t have to follow federal requirements, such as providing students with disabilities an individualized education plan, and they aren’t required to admit every student that comes to them like public schools.

“We applaud Gov. Lee for his strong support of educational choice for all families across the Volunteer State,” says Walter Blanks Jr., a spokesperson for American Federation for Children’s Tennessee chapter.

“Legislatures across the country have passed universal choice programs and have seen great demand and widespread parent satisfaction follow. Gov. Lee understands that parents know their child best, and all parents should be able to access the best K-12 education for their family’s unique needs.”

In late 2019, after the scaled-back plan was passed, Lee told the Nashville Post he had no plans to seek to expand it to other counties.

“I don’t have any plans for that,” he said at the time. “I think rural schools don’t have the opportunity that an urban center does for that kind of change. I have no plans to expand that beyond the counties where it exists now, unless the people in those counties wanted that change.”

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

MNPD, Galilee Missionary Baptist Church partner for 2023 ‘Safe Surrender’ event STAFF REPORTS

The Metro Nashville Police Department will host a two-day “safe surrender” event this weekend in which nonviolent offenders with outstanding charges in Davidson County can meet with law enforcement and lawyers to address their legal cases and go home at the end of the day.

The event will take place from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 8, and 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 9, at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church located at 2021 Herman Street.

Policed said that attendees will receive “favorable consideration for surrendering, and may be able to go home the same day” after they speak with attorneys and appear before a judge at the church.

There are no religious requirements to take part in the program, and Juvenile Court staff will also be present to help address outstanding child support issues.

The Metro Action Commission will be present to take applications for utility payment assistance, and representatives from Operation Stand Down Tennessee TION

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will be present to help veterans connect to needed services.

“As our community has seen from prior Safe Surrender events, this is a real opportunity for persons to address outstanding warrant issues before the holidays, and relieve themselves and their families of the stress associated with stress of being wanted,” MNPD Chief John Drake said.

The police and the church have partnered for five previous safe surrender events, and in 2023, 56 people received special consideration to begin resolving a total of 76 outstanding criminal charges, nearly all of whom were able to go home the same day.

“I am proud to once again be among the Nashville pastors who will welcome persons coming to the church on December 8 and 9 who truly want a fresh start,” Galilee Church pastor Reverend William Harris said.

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DECEMBER 7, 2023

‘Tis the season CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Belle Meade Mayor Rusty Moore and Police Chief Charles Williams take part in the city’s inaugural Christmas parade on Dec. 2, 2023. PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

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Children and families watch Belle Meade’s inaugural Christmas parade on Dec. 2, 2023.

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Children and families take part in Belle Meade’s inaugural Christmas parade on Dec. 2, 2023. PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

>> PAGE 4

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THE NEWS

‘Tis the season CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

Franklin celebrates the lighting of the 2023 Franklin Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 1.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Members of the Freedom Intermediate School choir perform at the 2023 Franklin Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 1. PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Children are given sleigh bells during the 2023 Brentwood Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 4. PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Members of the Brentwood High School choir perform at the 2023 Brentwood Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 4.

Franklin Mayor Ken Moore (R) introduces government leaders at the 2023 Franklin Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 1. PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Children surround Brentwood Mayor Mark Gorman as they countdown the lighting of the 2023 Brentwood Christmas tree on Dec. 4. PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Children listen to a live reading of ‘The Polar Express’ by the Conductor himself at the Brentwood Library during the 2023 Brentwood Christmas tree lighting on Dec. 4.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

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THE NEWS

Airport, state working to alleviate traffic woes

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO

With traffic backing up onto the interstate and reports circulating of passengers walking from the ramp to Nashville International Airport, airport and state officials are working to expedite projects they say will address the issue.

Doug Kreulen, president and CEO of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority, recently told a Williamson, Inc. gathering that the airport will begin work on the roads it owns after the Tennessee Department of Transportation completes its ongoing work on Donelson Pike. The TDOT work was expected to be finished in 2027, but airport leaders are hoping to move that date up, Kreulen said.

“We’re asking TDOT now and we’re working on the business terms to see if they can accelerate their project by over a year,” Kreulen said. “If they’ll accelerate the project by a year, we’re willing to pay for that express roadway construction.”

TDOT told the Post on Thursday the project is already ahead of schedule. Kreulen said the airport is also asking TDOT to widen exit 216A on I-40 to two lanes because BNA will be widening that road on its property. TDOT confirmed BNA has hired a consultant to do a traffic analysis on the ramp to study improvements.

Once MNAA completes work on the existing Terminal Drive loop, Kreulen said it will be two miles long and six lanes wide, increased from the current one-mile, twolane circuit.

As far as the extra congestion from the holiday traffic goes, Kreulen said he’s on social media and sees the complaints. TDOT told the Post the department is “working with BNA to find and expedite solutions.”

Kreulen said the airport authority is working on improvements — starting with allowing limited free parking in garages on Dec. 1.

Parking in the garages will now be free

for the first 30 minutes and reduced rates at $5 for up to 45 minutes and $10 for up to an hour. Rates increase to $20 for an hourand-a-half, $25 for two hours and past that drivers will have to pay the full $30 day rate.

The cell phone waiting lots were closed in March due to construction and a new one opened on Murfreesboro Pike. It is about three miles away from the main terminal area but has flight information monitors and is more than two times the size of the original lots with 240 spaces. Now with the garage parking, drivers have a closer free spot to wait on the travelers they are picking up from the airport, Kreulen said.

“We want people to go into the garage and take advantage of the lower rates for that first two-hour time period,” he said, noting that there’s not enough room on the roads for drivers to circle as they wait for arriving travelers.

On a daily basis, the airport sees 60,000 passengers, with 24,500 flying out of BNA. “We will continue to focus on improving traffic flow around the airport construction as 120,000 cars will travel that area on any given day,” TDOT communications director Beth Emmons said. “We discourage travelers from getting out of their vehicles for their own safety and the safety of others. We continue to encourage everyone to leave early and check TDOT SmartWay before they go, use the alternate airport exits when the main one is backed up, and sign up for the BNA travel alerts.”

The traffic struggles come as the airport continues to expand further and seek new flights.

Kreulen said airport leaders are looking at expanding their international nonstop routes to both European locations and Pacific travel, with a potential nonstop flight to Hawaii through Hawaiian Airlines in the works.

Airport management has also been in flux

Nashville International Airport

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

for the past several months, as the Tennessee General Assembly moved to take over the airport authority, historically controlled by the Nashville mayor. Metro sued over the

Former Metro councilmember moves toward state House run

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

MNPD launches self-reporting portal for nonviolent crimes STAFF REPORTS The Metro Nashville Police Department is launching an online portal for citizens to be able to self-report nonviolent crimes.

The Citizen Online Reporting (CORe) system was developed by tech company Lexis-Nexis and launches Dec. 1.

MNPD began using the software in April to allow citizens to report non-injury vehicle crashes where cars were not blocking roadways or involved in a crime in order to help reduce the strain on police resources.

Citizens will now be able to report instances of shoplifting, fuel drive off, theft of restaurant services, nonthreatening harassing phone calls, lost property, package

theft and suspicious activity.

“Calls received by the Department of Emergency Communications will be triaged for a determination as to whether the incident qualifies for the program,” an MNPD news release reads. “If so, the dispatcher can transfer the caller to a dedicated 800 line where a link will be sent to their cell phone to complete the report. At the completion, parties will be sent a copy of the finalized report.”

Callers can still request an officer if they don’t want to file a report through CORe.

legislation, and a court panel reinstated the mayor-appointed board. The state is appealing the ruling.

Kevin Rhoten in 2015

PHOTO COURTESY

OF METRO GOVERNMENT

Former Metro Councilmember Kevin Rhoten, who this year concluded his second term on the council, is “looking seriously” at running for state House District 60 next year.

The district, which includes Old Hickory and Hermitage, is currently represented by Democratic Rep. Darren Jernigan. Jernigan has been hired by new Mayor Freddie O’Connell to lead the city’s state relations,

and he said he would serve out the current term but not run for reelection in 2024.

Rhoten has filed paperwork with the state allowing him to raise money for a bid. His campaign treasurer is Metro Councilmember Erin Evans. He said he is not ready to fully commit to a run for the seat.

“Once Darren Jernigan decided he wasn’t going to run, a lot of people called me because I’m from this area and I’ve grown up out here,” Rhoten told the Post. “I’m looking seriously at the race. I’ve not made an official decision yet, but I’ve been talking to a lot of people.”

Despite reporting suggesting he was a candidate for a role in the O’Connell administration, Rhoten said he has “not had any conversations with anybody in the mayor’s office” about a position.

Rhoten is an attorney and lobbyist who has lobbied on behalf of the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, Progressive Insurance and Everytown for Gun Safety, among other clients. He was also a legislative liaison and attorney in the Bredesen administration.

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

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DECEMBER 7, 2023

State plans appeal of Nashville airport ruling

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The state of Tennessee plans to appeal a three-judge panel’s ruling that a new state takeover of the Metro Nashville Airport Authority is unconstitutional.

The Tennessee General Assembly earlier this year passed a law giving state leaders most of the appointments to the board, which oversees Nashville International Airport. Previously, Nashville’s mayor has appointed the board members.

Nashville sued over the law, arguing that by singling out Nashville it violated the Tennessee Constitution’s prohibition on legislation targeted at one local government.

A new state-appointed panel took over this summer, with the city-appointed board continuing to meet. Then in October, a three-judge panel unanimously ruled the law unconstitutional and reinstated the cityappointed board.

The state had a month to file a notice of appeal, which Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti did Wednesday.

“We look forward to litigating this case to a clear and decisive resolution so airport leadership can focus on serving our community and visitors,” Tim Meads, spokesperson for Skrmetti, said in a release.

Metro’s arguments in the case are similar to those in other cases spawned by the 2023 legislative session, defined in part by the legislature’s attacks on the city. Metro won an earlier lawsuit related to legislation at the Fairgrounds Nashville, and the state declined to appeal. Litigation over the size of the Metro Council and the makeup of the Metro Sports Authority, which controls Nissan Stadium and Bridgestone Arena, is ongoing.

The airport board has been in limbo for months, even as Nashville International Airport reaches new passenger heights and the board manages the continued growth of the facility. Two members of the cityappointed board, Nashville businessmen Jimmy Granbery and Bobby Joslin, were also appointed to the state-controlled body. City leaders determined their acceptance of the state appointments to be effective resignations from the city-controlled board. But the duo showed up for a recent meeting of the city-controlled board, and Mayor Freddie O’Connell said he is “not interested in creating renewed legal action” over the seats.

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

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8

THE NEWS

OPINION

A life well lived: Remembering Rosalynn Carter’s enduring impact

BY BILL FREEMAN

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter, 1979 “National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution; gift of Mr. and Mrs. James Earl Carter, Jr.” The passing of former first lady Rosalynn Carter — a steadfast advocate for mental health, caregiving and women’s rights — is a significant loss for our nation. After 77 years of marriage to Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, Mrs. Carter peacefully departed on Sunday, Nov. 19, at age 96 in her home in Plains, Ga., while surrounded by family. President Carter, now 99, expressed: “Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished. She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

Married in 1946, the Carters built a union that endured for more than seven decades — a testament to their commitment and compatibility. Rosalynn’s

gracious support and “wise guidance” were instrumental in President Carter’s achievements. His tribute and his description of her as his “equal partner” capture the essence of their partnership and the profound impact she had on his life and presidency.

Rosalynn Carter’s legacy is marked by her roles as a loving mother, an extraordinary first lady and a great humanitarian. Her family adored her — and deservedly so. As her grandson Jason Carter said at her memorial service, “Her life was a sermon.” Her advocacy for mental health and caregiving has left a lasting mark on countless lives. Her son James Earl Carter III, who goes by Chip, said Mrs. Carter got him the help he needed to fight addiction. “She saved my life,”

he said, adding that her work both in the White House and afterward saved many more. “Besides being a loving mother and extraordinary first lady, my mother was a great humanitarian in her own right,” he said. “Her life of service and compassion was an example for all Americans.”

I especially appreciated the remarks of President Biden, who described the Carters as an “incredible family” who “brought so much grace to the office” and had “great integrity.” I wholeheartedly agree.

One of the things I personally admire about Rosalynn was her loyalty. The Guardian’s Richard Luscombe put it well: “She was a fiercely loyal ally throughout [her husband’s] political career, both in the White House and during his years as a respected international diplomat after his single term in office ended in 1981. But she also forged her own identity for her mental health advocacy and as a social justice activist.”

The Carters embarked on their journey in Plains, where they were both born and raised. Rosalynn not only supported her husband but also played a crucial role in his political campaigns. Politico fittingly noted that she was “Jimmy Carter’s closest political adviser and a political force in her own right [who] advocated for better mental health care and underappreciated caregivers in millions of U.S. households.”

As noted by Tennessee Lookout: “In 1982, the couple founded the Carter Center in Atlanta, with a mission to ‘wage peace, fight disease and build hope.’ She later founded the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving at the school now known as Georgia Southwestern State University, her alma mater. The institute was renamed the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers in 2020. … She was also an active partner in her husband’s philanthropic support for Habitat for Humanity, often joining him in framing houses for charity.” Together the two were a force for creating change.

Rosalynn Carter’s resilience in the face of political setbacks, such as President Carter’s defeat in 1980, only served to further her commitment to public service.

In her son Josh Carter’s words, “When they lost reelection, she thought the best part of her life was over.” Yet the creation of the Carter Center and the couple’s subsequent impactful work proved otherwise.

In reflecting on Rosalynn Carter’s life, it becomes clear that her impact reached far beyond the White House. Her work with the Carter Center and the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers defines her commitment to addressing pressing societal

issues. President Carter’s Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for their work through the Carter Center further reminds us of the global significance of their joint efforts.

Rosalynn Carter’s life exemplifies the positive impact of compassion and commitment amid challenges. As we mourn her passing, let’s reflect on the Carters’ legacy — a reminder of positive change through a lifelong commitment to family, community and humanity.

Rest in Peace, Mrs. Carter. You will be sorely missed.

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

LOGAN BUTTS ASSOCIATE EDITOR MATT MASTERS NEWS REPORTER AND PHOTOJOURNALIST NICOLLE S. PRAINO STAFF REPORTER LISA BOLD PRODUCTION MANAGER CHELON HASTY SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER HEATHER CANTRELL MULLINS PUBLISHER ELIZABETH JONES CORPORATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR TODD PATTON CFO MIKE SMITH PRESIDENT AND CEO BILL FREEMAN OWNER

FW PUBLISHING, LLC THENEWS @ FWPUBLISHING.COM 615.298.1500 | THENEWSTN.COM TICKED OFF: tickedoff@fwpublishing.com FW Publishing, LLC. 210 12th Avenue South, Suite 100, Nashville, TN 37203

9

DECEMBER 7, 2023

OPINION TICKED OFF! REJECTING FEDERAL AID FOR SCHOOLS IN TENNESSEE Because the Tennessee legislature continues to refuse billions of dollars from the federal government (because originated from “Obama Care”) they have taken away healthcare for thousands of Tennesseans and forced the closing of many rural hospitals. And the rest of the country does not understand why Tennessee is refusing healthcare to children who are confused about their sexuality – and demanding institutions to turn over the names of those children.

Now they want to refuse federal dollars for education because there are, “Too many strings attached;” yet they will not say specifically what they are referring to.

Perhaps that is because our wise legislators know what they want is unconstitutional.

Let’s face it; it’s all about religion.

Specifically, many in the “Alt Right” believe that most of society’s problems originate from the fact that the Bible is not being taught in public schools. The fact that the U.S. Constitution specifically states a separation of church and state, is something that the lawmakers (and some school administrators) somehow think doesn’t apply in Tennessee. At present, 84% of the charter schools in Tennessee are religious

based – and most are not even meeting the basic educational requirements - so much for the voucher system. According to a recent USA Today survey, “Tennesseans are among the least educated in the U.S.”; Tennessee is ranked 43rd in Education Attainment.

Why then do these legislators think that they can refu him and masterpiece se the billions in federal dollars and make up the difference with our state taxes – in order to teach the Bible in school? If they pass this harebrained scheme, some schools in Tennessee will have Bible classes, which will cost millions of dollars in lawsuits (all of which Tennessee will lose); and once again make Tennessee the laughingstock of the union. And our overall educational efficiency will continue to go into the toilet.

In all fairness, there may be some correlation between society’s woes and a lack of religious education. That said, if religion is taught, it must be a comparative religion class that would discuss many different religions, and not just focus on one.

ILLEGAL 25 MPH SIGNS Who is making money selling these 25 mph speed limit signs to people in Nashville to put up ILLEGALLY? I don’t mind if that is actually the speed limit, but I do

mind when the limit is higher as posted by ACTUAL legal speed limit signs. I see them in West Meade and the general vicinity.

When it slows down traffic illegally, I think the police should remove them and write citations to the perpetrators. Otherwise, anyone can post any traffic signs of any kind without fear of penalties.us.

REGARDING MALLS You are so right on. Nashville doesn’t support local businesses/malls. Look at Hickory Hollow, Bellevue, Opry Mills and now Tanger Outlet Mall.

The locals will support the stores until they are no longer interested, and the malls will go by the wayside or taken over by thugs and thieves.

Same goes with restaurants outside the boundaries of the downtown tourist area.

Green Hills has the mall, but has recently been hit by gangs of thieves preying on high end stores. Lock the doors and buzz customers in like they do on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills. That might not work here as someone will scream discrimination. Buy and support local.

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

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10

THE NEWS

Has the racetrack missed its window?

BY STEVE CAVENDISH, NASHVILLE BANNER

knows it badly needs an upgrade.

If we’re trying to sort out what the city thinks, there are at least three relevant data points: 71 PERCENT (AUGUST 2011)

Rendering

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

What does Nashville really want to do about the Fairgrounds Speedway? That depends on who you talk to, and when you talk to them.

Support for updating the Speedway has been strong for more than a decade. But that may be changing.

A poll released last week by a group that proposed demolishing the track in favor of affordable housing and a drag strip for “electric car racing” — to make the proposal compliant with a 2011 Metro charter referendum — found a plurality of respondents opposing further investment in the Speedway.

The survey was provocative, partly because it ran counter to polling conducted by proponents of a deal to inject state and Metro funds into the track and return bigtime racing to Nashville. That June poll said Nashvillians would support an upgrade to the track if they just knew more about the plan.

The track is historically significant for racing fans, having hosted NASCAR races for decades until the 1980s. But anyone who’s spent time at the facility recently

During Mayor Karl Dean’s first term, he proposed demolishing the Fairgrounds Nashville site in favor of an office park, a political miscalculation that boomeranged badly. Fairgrounds supporters rallied three disparate groups — racing lovers, flea market fans and Tennessee State Fair attendees — to codify permanent protection for those usages into the Metro Charter.

When voters went to the polls, 71 percent voted to keep the racetrack and sheds that housed the flea market (and other events).

That’s an impressive number, and one race fans have touted for years as broad support for racing. But coalitions have a way of changing over time: The Tennessee State Fair moved to Wilson County, and the Nashville Flea Market has not returned in size or quality to pre-COVID levels. Whatever political muscle those groups brought to the coalition has diminished.

And the Nashville of 2023 is a much different place than the Nashville of 2011, both politically and economically. In the mayoral election, Alice Rolli got little to no noticeable bump from the Save Our Fairgrounds supporters even though she took up their cause and supported a racetrack deal. Does that 71 percent support number mean anything today? Probably, but certainly not at a level that high.

42 PERCENT (JUNE 2023) “From what you may know, do you support or oppose the proposal between Metro Government and Bristol Motor Speedway to renovate and operate the

Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway?”

This was the question a pollster hired by racing supporters asked Nashvillians in June, with 42 percent supporting the deal and 30 percent opposing it. (Here’s the entire poll.)

The deal died when Mayor John Cooper’s administration couldn’t overcome Metro Council resistance. Notably, it failed in the middle of an election cycle that saw Freddie O’Connell find significant support by opposing the Titans stadium proposal.

The poll, conducted by respected pollster Fred Yang, found that only 29 percent of Nashvillians knew of a racetrack deal in June.

Yang concluded that “means that attitudes toward the agreement could quickly change depending on which side communicates more.” In a “low-information environment,” he argued, the racetrack supporters had “the upper hand in the upcoming debate.”

The poll tested several messages that Yang said had public support, including Bristol Motor Speedway taking over the track and bringing a NASCAR race to Nashville every other year.

That might have been true except for one thing: politics. Mayoral candidate Jim Gingrich spent more than $250,000 on TV ads to highlight his opposition to the plan.

And while Gingrich could not turn the opposition into support, he did inject some negative opinion into the “low-information environment.” The fight in the Metro Council appears to have generated some negative opinion about the deal as well.

44 PERCENT (NOVEMBER 2023) Opponents of the deal released a poll last week that found 44 percent opposed the deal with Bristol versus 41 percent supporting it. That’s a significant change in the opinion environment in five months.

The poll, like the June poll, was

conducted by a respected pollster. GBAO Strategies worked for multiple clients in this summer’s local elections and was generally regarded as one of the more accurate pollsters. One of the most interesting nuggets in the survey was this: “About 1-in-3 Nashvillians have visited the fairgrounds in the last year and among those who have visited, very few visit for auto racing. Among those who visited, 49 percent went for a flea market, 35 percent for a soccer game, 32 percent for the fair, and only 11 percent for auto racing,” wrote the pollster in a memo.

Of the people who go to the fairgrounds, almost 90 percent go for something other than racing. That number begins to explain the tough road track supporters have to travel when building support.

Now racing opponents, in the form of the newly created Fairground Preservation Partners, are proposing affordable housing and park space instead of a renovated track.

But less important than a specific plan for the space — which seems custom-built to troll the racetrack fans — is the fact that support for a racetrack deal is much softer than it was this summer.

NASCAR returns to Nashville this week for its annual NASCAR Awards event, a starstudded affair that usually generates lots of quotes from racers and sponsors about how much they love the city and want to race here again.

In 2021, Cooper used this event to announce the Fairgrounds Speedway deal that never happened. With a new administration and public opinion murkier than ever, it’s an open question whether proponents of a significant racetrack expansion have missed their window.

Frustrating conclusion for a $10 million budget experiment

BY ELI MOTYCKA

After nearly a year of planning, a $600,000 marketing budget, more than 1,300 proposed projects and 60 days of voting, Nashville’s latest round of participatory budgeting has yielded 13,365 votes — well shy of the committee’s goal of 20,000. Metro’s online participatory budgeting voting system included a voluntary identification process, and the city has yet to determine whether all votes are valid.

Additional votes cast at in-person ballot boxes around the city have yet to be tallied.

Speaking to media Friday morning, Mayor Freddie O’Connell suggested that the program failed to reach adequate levels of engagement and duplicated existing ways to secure neighborhood improvements.

“Even with hundreds of thousands of dollars in marketing, we are not seeing particularly heavy voting rates on

participatory budgeting,” O’Connell told reporters. He recalled working through the yearly budget to secure local improvements as a district councilmember. “All of the things that I would have wanted in participatory budgeting, I had made sure were generally in the [Capital Improvements Budget]. And they were sourced from our neighborhoods in District 19.”

Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee chair Jason Sparks — who took over the position after Whitney Pastorek’s resignation in May — tells the Scene that the mayoral transition disrupted a project otherwise set up for success. Sparks says O’Connell’s decision not to keep Fabian Bedne, who had overseen the program under former Mayor John Cooper, and poor communication from the mayor’s office doomed outreach and engagement during

the program’s rollout phase.

“Fabian did everything he could to give us a road map for the program before he left,” says Sparks. “We had people who spoke Spanish, Arabic, Kurdish — the plan was to go out and engage those communities, to have voting expos, but none of that ever happened. When Fabian left, we started reaching out to the O’Connell administration, but I got no response. We were cornering Freddie at public events asking who would take over.”

O’Connell inherited the participatory budgeting program from Cooper, who dedicated staff and $10 million in onetime American Rescue Plan money to the effort. The Cooper administration characterized participatory budgeting as an exercise in citizen-led democracy that could directly deliver improvements to Nashville

neighborhoods.

Last winter, Bedne assembled a steering committee to guide the process, which included assembling an additional group of budget delegates. Budget delegates narrowed a pool of more than 1,300 proposed projects to a ballot of 35 proposals — one for each Metro Council district. The majority of projects would allocate funds for pedestrian safety measures, public park upgrades and improvements to Metro schools and libraries.

The process parallels the Metro Council’s yearly Capital Improvements Budget, a catalog of citywide improvements that can then be funded by the mayor’s Capital Spending Plan.

The city has not yet released vote totals by ZIP code or by project. Sparks says the Participatory Budgeting Steering Committee has not had regular >> PAGE 11

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DECEMBER 7, 2023

Frustrating conclusion

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communication with the mayor’s office and struggled to get updates during the voting window. The mayor’s office confirmed that oversight of participatory budgeting had been assigned to Mary Jo Wiggins in the Metro Finance Department.

Wiggins has not responded to the Scene’s request for comment. O’Connell says that he will review the process and discuss with councilmembers whether it makes sense for the mayor’s office to continue supporting participatory budgeting.

“We worked really hard to put all this together with the guidelines we were

handed,” says Sparks. “Eventually more than just five projects will get green-lit. We just could have connected with so many more people if the whole thing with Fabian hadn’t happened. I don’t think it was incompetence.

It was just unfortunate timing.”

Votes will be tallied through December.

The steering committee will then announce what projects get funded and implemented in 2024.

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

The Sign of Excellence in HOA Management 1114 17th Avenue South, Suite 101 Nashville, TN 37212 615.383.1777 TimmonsProperties.com

Five free and cheap family things to do in middle Tennessee

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

If you didn’t get out to a parade last weekend because of the rain, there’s an opportunity to make up for it in Mt. Juliet this weekend at their Tennessee Christmas themed parade. In Nashville, the Tennessee Christmas theme continues, where you can reserve a time to check on the Tennessee Governor’s Mansion all decorated for the holidays, head over to the Tennessee State Museum for a free daylong seasonal celebration, go to Springfield for a free horse and carriage ride or learn more about and celebrate with folks who are blind at the White Cane Wonderland.

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: CAROLS, COOKIES AND CRAFTS The Tennessee State Museum’s Carols, Cookies and Crafts returns this year for a daylong event full of live carols, cookies and crafts. The family-friendly event begins at 10 a.m. on Dec. 9 and is free to attend.

Local choirs will perform carol favorites in the main lobby; performances will come from Lacappella, Nashville Horn Hang, Metro Nashville Chorus, Cremona Strings, Grand Old Dulcimer Club and Franklin Brass Quartet. Crafts will include reindeer hats and ornaments. There’ll be hot cocoa, cookies, and a storytime every half hour beginning at 10:30 a.m. in the children’s gallery. Guests are encouraged to wear their holiday sweaters and festive gear.

FREE CARRIAGE RIDES Springfield is hosting a free horse-drawn carriage through its historic downtown this holiday season. On Dec. 7, 8, 14 and 21, carriages will take folks on a path to see the lights, bells and beautiful downtown

in Springfield. The rides are weather permitting and first-come, first served. Folks will be set up at 4 p.m. to begin registering folks for rides.

TENNESSEE RESIDENCE 2023 CHRISTMAS TOURS Each year, the Governor and First Lady open the Tennessee Residence to the public for the annual Christmas tours. This year the theme is Heaven and Nature Sing. The free tours are open to all ages and, but guests must reserve a spot for their designated time.

The theme will portray the “larger-than-life magic that we experience in the delight of the holiday season, the beauty of Tennessee’s natural landscapes, and the joy of the coming of Christ,” the website says. Tour guests can give back by bringing items to donate to nonprofits from across the state, which include Creative Aging Memphis, Birthright of Memphis, Jonathan’s Path, Dismas House and Sevier County Food Ministries. Tours run through Dec. 10.

WHITE CANE WONDERLAND White Cane Wonderland is a free event for children and youth and celebrates the abilities and talents of persons with blindness. The event is dedicated to inspiring an informed, inclusive community for all children and youth. It will include activities for the whole family and inspiring speakers.

MT. JULIET CHRISTMAS PARADE On Dec. 9 at 11 a.m., the Mt. Juliet Christmas Parade will kick off with a theme of Tennessee Christmas. The route begins at the Mt. Juliet League off of Lebanon Road and goes to East Division Street off of N. Mt. Juliet Road. The city will also host the Mt. Juliet Tree Lighting on Dec. 8 at 6 p.m.

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12

THE NEWS

Here are the first steps in how the East Bank will be constructed

BY CONNOR DARYANI, NASHVILLE BANNER

East Bank rendering

PHOTO BY METRO NASHVILLE

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

Sixty-thousand people will make their way through the East Bank to attend a Titans football game at a new stadium in September 2027. Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s administration intends to have the makings of a new neighborhood ready for them to walk through.

Sandwiched between the Cumberland River and I-24 lies the East Bank: a 550acre plot boasting 110 acres of Metroowned land, very little development and a lot of concrete. In 2027, 20 acres of that land will be home to the new Titans stadium — arguably the most significant accomplishment of John Cooper’s term as mayor. As Cooper’s administration made its ultimately successful push for this $2.1 billion structure, they simultaneously pitched Nashvillians a previously considered but unpursued idea: the development of the East Bank as a functional new neighborhood within the city. Housing, transit, green space, family-friendly fun, river access and a potential new space for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center — all were floated as possibilities should the city choose to develop the East Bank.

Now it’s time for the O’Connell administration to turn those ideas into a reality.

Five-hundred-fifty acres is a massive undertaking that will take decades to develop in phases. For reference, the Gulch is 60 acres. The development of that private project kicked off in 1999 with the purchase of the land. More than 20 years later, the Gulch is only 50 percent complete. The

“initial development area” of the East Bank is a 30-acre plot of Metro-owned land near the new stadium.

In other words, don’t expect to take a stroll through a changed East Bank anytime soon.

“I think it’s underappreciated just how unusually large this is for Nashville and really anywhere that you could look,” says Bob Mendes, O’Connell’s chief development officer. “And that translates into time, and multiple phases and complexity, on a scale that hardly ever happens anywhere. The desire to have it all figured out right away, while natural, is hard to accommodate.”

But despite the scale, the city can’t drag its feet. The initial development area directly borders two sides of the new stadium, which means that if at least some of that development is not completed by the time the new stadium opens in March 2027, attendees will be walking through an active construction zone.

“In any universe where we didn’t have a football stadium opening in March of 2027, the timeline that we’re discussing for negotiating this with Fallon would be considered very aggressive,” Mendes said at a meeting of the Metro Council Ad-Hoc East Bank Committee. “But we do have a football stadium opening in three years and four to five months.”

Fallon is the private company selected

by Cooper as the master developer to head up making Metro’s plans a reality on the 30-acre initial development area. Fallon was selected on Sept. 11, three days before Metro’s mayoral runoff election. The protest period for that selection ended on Sept.

22, the final day of Cooper’s time in office.

That’s left the O’Connell administration scrambling over the past few weeks to set the groundwork for negotiating what the East Bank will look like. As part of those conversations, the administration gave Fallon feedback on the project proposal. The proposal received public scrutiny over its lack of substantial affordable housing units.

In the coming weeks, Fallon will come back with a new conceptual design that will serve as a jumping-off point for negotiations.

“We certainly have talked about the conversation related to affordable housing and just kind of looking at total number of units available on the total number of acres available, that kind of thing,” O’Connell said at a recent media roundtable. “I guess I would still call those pre-negotiation conversations.”

Over the past few weeks, O’Connell’s administration has emphasized that nothing has been finalized. They plan to bring a master development agreement to the Metro Council in February, hoping to pass it in April. That agreement and the attached documents will outline the details of developing those 30 acres: a timeline, what phases go first, a description of responsibilities, land usage, documents related to future lease agreements, and of course a price tag. Until that contract passes the council, negotiations are fluid.

But while anything could happen, some aspects seem increasingly likely based on public support and rhetoric from the mayor’s office. Interest in building a new space for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center within those 30 acres has grown. As the city works to revitalize its transit system, a parcel has already been identified as an ideal space for an East Bank transit hub. And on either side of the new stadium — the parcels likely to see development first — large open plazas will be needed to contain the foot traffic that Titans games, concerts and other events will bring.

That means that not only does Metro have much to negotiate between now and February, it won’t just be Fallon, the mayor’s office and department heads at the table. The Titans and the state will need to participate in some conversations.

Part of the Titans stadium deal was a site-coordination agreement. This agreement acknowledged that some spaces surrounding the stadium must be identified as shareduse spaces throughout future master development negotiations. That means that while the Titans won’t have a say in what happens to all 30 acres of the initial development area, they will be part of the negotiations for some of the spaces that most directly affect the stadium.

From the state end, the State Building Commission has already approved $200 million in grant funds for constructing a new Tennessee Performing Arts Center.

Additionally, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will need a seat at the table for conversations surrounding an underappreciated elephant in the room: the James Robertson Parkway bridge.

The bridge is one of the primary connections between downtown Nashville and the East Bank. Bridges are within TDOT’s jurisdiction. But for a new transit hub and connectivity of an East Bank neighborhood to work, that bridge will need to undergo significant changes. While the nearby Woodland Street bridge connects to the East Bank almost immediately at street level, having little negative impact on neighborhood connectivity, the James Robertson Parkway bridge sits atop a giant wall.

“It severs the neighborhood, it severs the pedestrian experience and certainly limits our ability to deliver transit,” said Metro Planning Department executive director Lucy Kempf during the Ad-Hoc East Bank Committee meeting.

The site selected for a possible transit hub lies directly against what is currently a concrete slab, rendering that parcel nearly useless as a transit hub. The James Robertson Parkway bridge landing will need to be lowered to street level, an endeavor that will be just as costly as it is necessary.

And of course, materializing a brand-new neighborhood from nothing right next to a brand-new stadium is sure to do one thing — significantly increase the need for sewage capacity. Sometime in December, the Metro Council will see legislation surrounding the construction of a new sewer pump station.

That legislation will include agreements with the Titans and an outline of how developments serviced by the sewer pump station will contribute to its cost. During the committee meeting, Mendes explained that this would allow Metro to be cost-neutral on a 30-year timeline. But in the meantime, Metro will have to front some of that money, which means estimating that cost will be a vital early piece of negotiations.

All these details, big and small, need to be hammered out in the coming months for ground to break on construction. Because at the end of the day, whether the city is ready or not, there are going to be 60,000 people traipsing through the East Bank in just a few short years.

“I think the thing to imagine would be, in the ideal world, if somebody starts downtown or wants to take a pedestrian bridge over the river, they could walk over the bridge, straight up to the south plaza into the stadium,” Mendes says. “And there might be a couple of complete buildings that they pass along the way, but more likely construction at various stages on either side, but their ingress and egress is doable in a safe manner.”

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DECEMBER 7, 2023

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Antioch slated for county’s first In-N-Out Burger

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

Antioch’s Century Farms is slated for what seemingly will be Davidson County’s first In-N-Out Burger restaurant.

The burger-and-fries-focused fast-casual restaurant will be located on a 2.25-acre

property with an address of 4136 William Turner Parkway near the Nashville SC training facility, according to a document filed with the Metro Planning Department.

The effort to get the eatery operational comes as the California-based chain in June paid $36.1 million to purchase the Williamson County property on which it will establish its eastern U.S. headquarters.

The Post previously reported the $125.5 million expansion will yield 277 jobs.

The document notes the future restaurant will offer 3,860 square feet with an outdoor patio, surface parking and drive-thru.

Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Galloway is the architect and engineer.

The future restaurant will sit on property owned by Century Farms master developer Century Farms LLC, which includes local real estate developers Bill Oldacre and Mark McDonald.

Green Hills CVS site list price reduced

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS The for-sale Green Hills property home to a recently opened CVS Pharmacy — and related to Metro’s future realignment of a key Hillsboro Pike intersection — has seen its asking price reduced by about $600,000.

As the Post reported in late August, Huntsville, Ala.-based Five Star Development, which owns the property via an LLC, originally listed the property for approximately $16.27 million.

The asking price is now about $15.67 million, according to updated marketing material.

Five Star Development paid about $6.3 million for the property in February 2022, according to Metro records. The company then redeveloped the site with the 9,600-square-foot CVS building, with the business having opened in October 2022.

For many years, a structure accommodating a Krystal fast-food restaurant sat on the site, with an address of 3715 Hillsboro Pike.

Previously, the CVS operated for at least 20 years at what had been a property with an address of 3801 Hillsboro Pike and in a building that has since been demolished.

The properties are noteworthy as Metro is expected to start, by year’s end, on the rerouting of Crestmoor Road — so as to align that street with Glen Echo Road. Such a physical arrangement will create a new intersection on Hillsboro and eliminate the

need for two traffic lights located within one block of each other as is currently the case.

The reconfiguration of Crestmoor Road will allow additional surface parking to be oriented to the immediate south of the site of the previously demolished CVS building and to be used by the pharmacy and sundries business.

Once the road work is done, the CVS site will offer 1.14 acres, with no further real estate transactions required to finalize the effort.

Clay Smith, Hutt Cooke and Beryl Grant — vice president, market leader and associate vice president, respectively with Nashville’s Matthews Real Estate Investment Services — are handling the marketing of the property.

An adjacent property, located at 3707 Hillsboro Pike and to the immediate north of the CVS site, offers a small building in which operates dry-cleaning business Park’s Cleaners and Alterations. That property was listed for sale for $2.5 million in 2021 but seemingly is no longer on the market.

A small, since-razed building that was sandwiched by the CVS and dry-cleaners properties housed Indian restaurant Shalimar for many years.

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

The first In-N-Out Burgers for Middle Tennessee is slated for Goose Creek Bypass in Williamson County.

As the Post reported in June, In-NOut plans to open multiple restaurants in the general Nashville area. The restaurant company operates approximately 385 locations throughout California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Oregon and Colorado.

Once opened, the Nashville-area restaurants are expected to be In-N-Out’s

first establishments located east of Texas.

Construction will begin on the Franklin headquarters building in late 2024, Williamson Source reports. The Goose Creek Bypass restaurant will open in early 2025, with the headquarters to open in 2026.

In-N-Out Burger officials have not responded to a request for comment regarding a construction start date.

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

Rezoning sought for proposed Rock Harbor project

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS The development team planning to update West Davidson County’s Rock Harbor Marina will soon seek Metro approvals and has released updated images for the project.

As the Post reported in June, Dallas-based Prescott Group seeks to undertake an update to the marina site — recognized, in part, for its Blue Moon Waterfront Grille.

Now, Prescott Group will go before the Metro Planning Commission on Jan. 11 to seek approval for a specific plan rezoning, according to a submitted document. SP-zoned property is not subject to the conventional land use and design standards that would otherwise be the case. Instead, permitted uses and design elements like height, size, setbacks, buffers, signage and materials, are determined for the specific development.

An SP zoning will allow Prescott Group flexibility related to the parking, boater amenities and dock infrastructure, retail spaces and, long term, possibly a multifamily residential component it envisions.

With nearly 29 acres of boating infrastructure and an address of 525 Basswood Ave., Rock Harbor is billed as Nashville’s only full-service marine facility located directly on the Cumberland River.

The marina offers 150 boat slips and a service facility at Cumberland River mile marker 175.

A Prescott Group representative told the Post Wednesday it is not ready to announce the cost of the upgrades, a start date and a construction timetable.

Via an LLC, Prescott Group paid $8.15 million for the property in December 2021, Metro records note. Relatedly, the company will need rezoned 1.6 acres of an adjacent 9.09-acre property that Western Express Inc. owns, according to the document.

Currently, Prescott Group leases that site for parking and has not announced if it

plans to purchase it.

As the Post previously reported, any future additions could include restaurants and stores specific to waterfront services, including boat, kayak and jet ski rentals. Rock Harbor is slated to see the construction of boat slips ranging in size from 30 to 55 feet “to encourage greater boating and dockside activity,” the release from June notes.

Prescott Group said the improvements to the Charlotte Park waterfront facility are continuing, specifically related to dock and electrical infrastructure updates.

Prescott Group has enlisted a local team of Centric Architecture (design), Fulmer Lucas (engineering), Holland & Knight (legal) and Proof Branding (marketing and branding) and Truxton Trust (financial services).

The effort to land the rezoning comes after Prescott Group’s community survey recently hit 500 respondents — yielding interest in water taxis, outdoor spaces for dining, live music, a gym, pickleball courts, a golf simulator and movie nights.

“We are thrilled to redevelop Rock Harbor Marina, an important and unique fixture of West Nashville while also preserving its history in the community,” Prescott Group Regional Manager Wes O’Quinn said in the release. “The new Rock Harbor Marina will be an exciting destination for locals and visitors alike to connect with the Cumberland River in a comfortable and carefree environment.”

Blue Moon Waterfront Grille opened in the 1980s and then closed due to the flood of 2010. It was rebuilt in 2012 on a floating platform docked at the marina.

Having recently closed for the 2023 season, the restaurant and bar will reopen in March 2024.

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

14

THE NEWS

BUSINESS BRIEFS

Community planned for 600 acres along West Harpeth River

BY NICOLLE S. PRAINO A development of nearly 70 houses is coming to a roughly 600-acre Franklin site located along the West Harpeth River and once owned by Nashville’s Ingram family.

According to a release, construction will begin on infrastructure work and homesites will be listed for sale beginning early 2024 for the future community, Wyelea (pronounced WHY-lee). The development will offer 68 homes on land ranging from under an acre and up to 10 acres and include a private club.

West Harpeth Partners, which will undertake the development, acquired the land in 2021 for approximately $28.1 million. The address is 3021 Del Rio Pike.

Wyelea is slated to include nature-focused recreational elements such as equestrian facilities, fishing spots, kayak and canoe launches, a lake, trails and community gardens.

The release notes the development is

planned to be low-density with 200 of the nearly 600 acres placed into a conservation easement with The Land Trust for Tennessee to preserve the natural habitat. More than half of the property is to be preserved as green space.

West Harpeth Partners has not disclosed the cost to undertake the project.

Orrin Ingram said in the release the Ingram family never intended to develop the site when it paid about $20.35 million for it in 2016, according to Williamson County property records.

“The idea of a low-impact community with equestrian facilities really spoke to us,” Ingram said in the release. “Our family has championed land conservation for many years, so the opportunity to place a substantial portion of the land into a conservation easement was important to us.

We couldn’t be happier with the plan that the development team has brought forth.”

West Harpeth Partners’ team is led by Trevor Cross, who previously undertook master planned communities while working at Southern Land Company and Pearl Street Partners. The other partners are Ryan Moses, an investor and developer involved in other Nashville projects, and Jamie Pfeffer, founding partner of locally based Pfeffer Torode Architecture, which will lead Wyelea’s design.

Daniel Communities will serve as co-developer of Wyelea, overseeing the operation of club amenities and helping to create the master plan. LandDesign of Charlotte will lead land planning and landscape architecture. The local office of Chicago-based Benesch will be the development’s civil engineer.

“Over the years, we’ve studied

destinations, architecture, and experiences around the world which have helped us cultivate a refined and timeless vision for Wyelea,” Cross, West Harpeth Partners president, said in the release. “We’ve been methodical in reaching this point to ensure Wyelea is rooted in nature and our values.

The collection of the talent working on this project...demonstrates our commitment to developing the highest quality asset possible.”

Wyelea will be gated with 24/7 on-site security and include a concierge team to offer resident services. Other amenities will include fitness studios with personal training; wellness areas including a sauna, hot and cold plunge pools and a salt room; farm-to-table dining at a to-be announced restaurant, bars and speakeasy lounge; a resort style swimming pool; and an activity barn with a basketball court, climbing wall and golf simulator.

SPORTS

Nashville SC’s Zimmerman, Mukhtar named to MLS Best XI team

Vanderbilt QBs Swann, Seals to enter transfer portal

STAFF REPORTS

Days after Vanderbilt’s football team completed its 2023 season, the Commodores still have a quarterback problem.

AJ Swann, Vandy’s presumed starting quarterback for 2024, on Monday announced his intention to enter the transfer portal after spending two years at the school.

That news came a day after Ken Seals, who split starts with Swann and has two years of eligibility remaining, had announced his intention to enter the transfer portal as well.

Swann made his decision public on social media, thanking Vanderbilt fans and his teammates but not mentioning the team’s coaching staff.

“I want to start off by thanking God for guiding me and for blessing me with the opportunities I have had,” Swann wrote. “I also would like to thank my teammates for sticking with me and being by my side and to all y’all boys, love y’all and I know y’all are gonna be great and can’t wait to see y’all succeed.”

The departures of Swann and Seals leave Vanderbilt (2-10), which lost its last 10 games in 2023, looking for a starter in 2024.

The only other quarterback on the roster who saw playing time in 2023 was Walter Taylor, who completed five-of-15 passes for 44 yards and ran for 103 yards and a touchdown during his sophomore season.

Other quarterbacks on the Vanderbilt roster include Drew Dickey, a four-star recruit who didn’t play in his first two

Walker Zimmerman, John Ingram and Hany Mukhtar Nashville SC defender Walker Zimmerman and midfielder Hany Mukhtar have been named to the MLS Best XI for the third straight season.

The designation recognizes the league’s top players at each position as determined by media, MLS players and MLS club technical staff.

Both players had earlier this year been named MLS all-stars as well.

The 28-year-old Mukhtar, the league’s 2022 MVP, had 15 goals and 11 assists in 34 games for Nashville this season. He became the eighth player in MLS history to record at

PHOTO BY NASHVILLE SC

least 15 goals in three straight seasons, after scoring 16 goals in 2021 and 23 in 2022.

Zimmerman was limited to 24 games because of injury and international play. But he helped Nashville allow just 32 goals, the lowest in the league.

The 30-year-old Zimmerman has been named to the MLS Best XI team five times, tied for third-most in league history behind only Landon Donovan (seven times) and Dwayne De Rosario (six times).

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

BY JOHN GLENNON seasons, as well as freshman Brennan Storer and junior Hayden Moses.

The 6-3, 228-pound Swann came into his sophomore season with high expectations after flashing as a freshman, when he completed 58 percent of his passes and threw for 1,274 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions.

He started Vanderbilt’s first five games this season, but was troubled by a nagging elbow injury and threw seven interceptions in those contests. Swann was benched until the season finale, when he threw a touchdown pass against Tennessee. He wound up completing 107-of-196 passes for 1,457 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions in six games.

Seals started the next six games, completing 105-of-179 passes for 1,183 yards, 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. He played in 17 games in three seasons at Vanderbilt.

Among other Vanderbilt players who’ve announced they’ll be entering the transfer portal is linebacker Ethan Barr, who finished tied for third on the team in tackles with 55 in 2023. A three-year starter and two-time team captain for the ‘Dores, Barr has one season of eligibility remaining.

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

15

DECEMBER 7, 2023

SPORTS

CPA football dominant in Division II-AA state championship game win

Pearl-Cohn becomes first MNPS program to win a state title in 15 years

BY LOGAN BUTTS AND KEVIN WARNER Christ Presbyterian Academy’s lauded senior class was determined to walk away with one more state championship trophy in hand.

On Thursday in the Division II-AA TSSAA state championship game at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga, the Lions (13-1) were dominant in a 35-13 win over an unbeaten Boyd Buchanan (13-1) team that was hoping to win its first state title in a decade.

But domination has been par for the course for CPA. The Lions lost just one game in the regular season — 15-11 to undefeated and potential Class 4A champion Pearl-Cohn — and have looked unbeatable in the playoffs. Over four games against the best DII-AA has to offer, CPA has won by an average of 29 points (40.5 to 11.5).

Thursday was more of the same as CPA clinched the program’s first title since 2020 and sixth championship trophy overall.

It was CPA’s sixth-straight championship game appearance. They were shut out by rival Lipscomb Academy (who CPA beat for the 2020 title) in each of the last two appearances. There was not threat of a shutout this year.

North Carolina commit and Mr. Football finalist Crews Law once again got the scoring started on the opening drive with a 73-yard rushing touchdown out of the Wildcat formation behind fellow senior and Ole Miss commit John Wayne Oliver.

Law was named the game’s MVP after finishing with a team-high 121 yards and the touchdown on nine carries, while adding 5.5 tackles on defense.

Boyd Buchanan answered with a field goal early in the second quarter, but the Buccs would not score again until the game was already out of reach.

Senior Braden Streeter tossed a pair of second quarter touchdowns to sophomore Owen Cabell and senior and Tennessee commit Jackson Mathews to balloon to the score to 21-3 heading into halftime.

Streeter finished 7-14 for 100 yards and two touchdowns. Cabell was the leading reciever with two catches for 65 yards, including the 35-yard score.

Sophomore Rawls Patterson, younger brother of Vanderbilt standouts and CPA alums Kane and Langston Patterson, quashed any chance of a second-half comeback for Boyd Buchanan with a 14-yard score on the first drive of the third quarter.

Following a pair of second-half Buccs scores, Patterson ran for a 20-yard score with just over three minutes left to all but clinch

the victory. Patterson finished with 108 yards and the two scores on 16 carries.

CPA’s stringy defense, which saw Georgia commit Ondre Evans return from injury after missing much of the postseason, held Boyd Buchanan to less than 200 yards, including just 23 through the air. Junior Steele Chance led the way with 11.5 tackles.

CPA head coach Ingle Martin — an MBA alum and former Tennessee Titan — has now won four state titles in his 11 years leading the CPA program.

DIVISION II-A MTCS (12-1) won 28-13 over Friendship Christian (11-3) in the only local-on-local matchup of the weekend. The win gives the Cougars the first state title in program history.

The running backs were the stars as MTCS’ Eli Wilson ran for 190 yards and a score on 17 carries, while FCS’ Mr. Football Finalist Tyson Wolcott gained 225 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries.

DIVISION II-AAA In a showdown between two high-profile Chattanooga schools, McCallie (12-1) defeated Baylor (10-3) in a shootout 34-28.

Vanderbilt commit Jeremy St-Hilaire went 22-28 for 309 yards and four touchdowns to lead McCallie. Baylor quarterback Whit Muschamp, also a Vanderbilt commit, finished 13-32 for 258 yards and two touchdowns. Both scores went to Mr. Football finalist and Alabama commit Amari Jefferson, who caught eight passes for 210 yards.

Class A South Pittsburg (15-0) defeated McKenzie (13-2) by score of 14-7.

Class 2A Riverside (13-2) defeated East Robertson (13-2) by score of 13-7.

Class 3A For the ninth year in a row, Alcoa (13-1) finished as Class 3A champions. For the third consecutive year, they defeated East Nashville (12-3) in the title game.

The Eagles fought to the end, scoring 13 of their 20 points in the 42-20 defeat in the fourth quarter. It was a similar final score to each of the previous two iterations (45-26 last season, 45-14 in 2021) in their elusive hunt for a first state title.

East Nashville held Mr. Football finalist and USF commit Brandon Winton Jr. to

CPA football lifts the DII-AA championship trophy just two catches for 11 yards, but he did score a touchdown as quarterback Eli Graf spread the wealth with three passing scores and one rushing.

Sophomore Kelan Anderson paced the Eagles with 258 yards and two touchdowns, including the first 99-yard score in state championship game history.

Class 4A For the first time since 2008, a Metro Nashville Public School has won a state title. Pearl-Cohn (15-0) completed an undefeated season with a 36-27 win over Upperman (14-1) to earn the program’s first championship since 1997 and third overall.

The Firebirds also made the 4A final in 2022, losing to Anderson County 34-30.

The seniors were determined to close the deal this season.

Zeion Simpson-Smith, one of PearlCohn’s two Mr. Football finalists, was named the game’s MVP. The senior ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and added seven tackles on defense.

Quarterback KeShawn Tarleton, PCHS’ other Mr. Football finalist, linked up with three-star receiver D’Arious Reed for a 24-yard touchdown. Tarleton also ran for a touchdown and a two-point conversion.

Sophomore Omarion Starnes clinched the win with just over two minutes left by

PHOTO BY JOHN WILKINSON III

returning an Upperman onside kick attempt 48 yards for a touchdown.

Class 5A Page High School (13-2) came up just short in its second-half comeback bid against Knoxville West (14-1) on Friday night, falling 24-19 in the Class 5A state championship game at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga.

It was the second year in a row Page fell in the title game to Knoxville West. The Rebels knocked off the Patriots in last year’s Blue Cross Bowl 47–13.

The victory secured Knoxville West’s third state championship in program history.

Class 6A Houston (13-2) prevented Oakland (12-3) from three-peating, defeating the Patriots 24-9 to win the program’s first-ever state championship.

Senior Damon Sisa won MVP honors, rushing for 179 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries and grabbing an interception on defense.

Oakland, appearing in its fourth straight championship game and fifth in the last six seasons, score just one touchdown when Mr. Football finalist Daune Morris notched the game’s first score.

16

THE NEWS

Metro Arts fails to deliver promised grants

BY STEVE CAVENDISH AND CONNOR DARYANI, NASHVILLE BANNER

Metro building

PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

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

Metro Arts, an agency that has endured turbulence and controversy for two years, is under fire again as money promised to artists and arts organizations has failed to arrive.

Every year, Metro Arts awards grants to a range of entities, from independent artists to organizations as big as the Nashville Symphony. For both large and small organizations, these funds have become a vital — and expected — part of their budget.

Going into the 2023-24 budget cycle, the agency attempted to make the grant process more equitable, allowing independent artists and small organizations to get a bigger piece of the pie. But organizations of all sizes are still waiting for their grant money, compounding already existing questions about Metro Arts’ strategy and management.

“I think maybe the lesson here is that no government funding should ever be depended on,” says Alan Fey, who handles administration for two small arts organizations, both of which have historically received Metro Arts grants.

Multiple organizations confirmed to the Nashville Banner that they had not received their grants, ranging from $10,000 all the way up to six figures.

Operational grant contracts went out to organizations in mid-September. Those contracts said that organizations would receive 50 percent of their award first, and the other 50 percent later. At the beginning of November, Metro notified organizations that those contracts had been refused and would need to be redone. When organizations received a new contract, according to some organizations, it only specified that they would get 50 percent of

the grant money they had been awarded and did not specify when, if at all, they would be getting the other 50 percent.

Now, organizations still have not received any of their funding despite the grant guidelines posted to the Metro Arts website stating that 100 percent of awarded grants would be distributed between Oct. 1 and Nov. 1. This has raised red flags in both the Metro Legal and Finance departments. “​​I am working with [finance director] Kevin Crumbo to engage in some basic factfinding and why we have not yet completed that process,” says Metro legal director Wally Dietz.

The grant distribution responsibility ultimately falls on Metro Arts executive director Daniel Singh. The Banner reached out to Singh multiple times and did not get a response.

Confusion Over Strategic Direction These most recent questions about management at Metro Arts coincide with a confusing strategic direction for the agency, as some members of the arts community have become increasingly frustrated that money they have been led to believe is coming has repeatedly been yanked away.

“Despite ‘trust’ and ‘transparency’ being evoked constantly in meetings and vision statements, no one I have communicated with trusts Metro Arts at all,” says Nashville Shakespeare Festival executive managing director Isabel Tipton-Krispin in an email to the Metro Arts Commission. “Metro Arts has changed the community-driven FY23 grants policy which was voted on by the Commission in December 2022 (and still posted on the website, by the way) more times than I can count.”

Metro Arts Staffers Allege Mistreatment, Racial Bias by Agency Leadership The process began unfolding more than

a year ago. In 2022, Metro Arts initiated a new community-driven process to determine the funding formula for 2023 grant awards. This came in the wake of high staff turnover in Metro Arts, including the departure of executive director Caroline Vincent following allegations of racism and a toxic work environment. Led by Vincent’s replacement, Singh, a group made up of independent artists and representatives from a range of arts organizations created a grant funding formula they believed would begin to make arts in Nashville more equitable.

Traditionally, large art institutions are awarded the lion’s share of grants, leaving little for small organizations and independent artists. The new funding formula would still provide those bigger organizations with the funding they had grown dependent on, but would also begin the process of pushing more funding toward smaller organizations and independent artists, with the goal of gradually increasing equity over a number of years.

That formula was built around the idea that Metro Arts would seek and receive $10 million in the current budget. But there was also a backup plan — to prioritize organizations that had received funding in FY23 with the understanding that, while everyone wanted to give money to new organizations and small artists, immediately ripping away this funding from organizations that had gotten used to receiving it could be catastrophic for the larger arts community.

“I remember discussing the backup plan, saying, ‘You know, we know that the backup plan doesn’t serve the ultimate goal of equitable funding,’” says Fey, who was a part of the committee that developed that formula. “‘But without this, how do we determine who gets the money when there’s not enough money?’”

In the end, Metro Arts did not receive its $10 million request. But rather than go with the backup plan created by Fey’s committee, the Arts Commission adopted yet another new funding formula at its meeting in July.

At that meeting, the commission was presented with four funding formula scenarios. Each one was rated based on how equitable it was, and how much it would positively impact BIPOC applicants. The commission ended up voting on the scenario that was the most highly equitable and would have the most impact on BIPOC applicants, despite concerns raised at the meeting that a recent Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action could make that funding formula illegal.

Metro Arts Commission Appoints Executive Director Daniel Phoenix Singh This formula left Fey’s two organizations receiving big awards. But Fey says that while he was happy about that, he was concerned that because the big organizations would not be receiving much funding, they would not

come back in the future to lobby for more arts funding, which in turn would cause the grant pool to shrink.

“It feels like Daniel’s trying to break the system of historic funding,” says Fey. “And that’s great. Somebody was saying to me, ‘What’s the philosophy? Break the system and rebuild.’ But it feels like he doesn’t want to do the rebuild step.”

A month later, the concerns raised proved valid: A July 25 memo from Metro legal associate director Lora Fox informed the commission that it needed to vote on a new funding formula, saying that “race may not be used as a way to distinguish between applicants.” So in August, the commission finally voted on the current funding formula.

Fey says that formula more closely resembled the backup plan his committee had come up with, giving organizations that received money in FY2023 the same amount, and cutting Thrive funding, which goes toward independent artists by 50 percent. This change was catastrophic for many artists who were supposed to receive that funding.

“These artists have real insecurities,” says Elisheba Mrozik, an artist based in North Nashville. “And you took $20K from them.

That money is life-changing for poor people.”

Mrozik did not personally receive funding, but her organization North Nashville Culture Crawl did receive $10,000.

Another member of her organization also received $10,000 for a separate event. But not only did the money come months after it was supposed to, it was only half of what they originally expected.

“If I hadn’t gone out and done more work myself and donated money to my org to help make the event go off, then we wouldn’t have been able to do it,” says Mrozik. “And so many artists I talk to had to not do [their projects] at all. They lost money during the season where so many desperately needed it.”

Chasing Equity With Limited Money Many within the arts community feel they have been pitted against each other, with some independent artists and smaller organizations blaming the big organizations in Nashville for the situation.

One group has even filed a Metro Human Resources complaint against the Metro Arts Commission, demanding an investigation.

“This agency is not fulfilling its mission whatsoever,” says Tipton-Krispin in her email to the commission. “There is a failure of leadership, which has eroded trust with both arts organizations (all of them, not only ‘larger organizations’ which I have seen repeated as a talking point) for not receiving their funding yet and independent artists who have filed a MHRC complaint against the agency. The house is on fire, and it has been for months.”

Conversations about the equitability of some of the biggest art organizations — the Frist Art Museum, the Country >> PAGE 17

17

DECEMBER 7, 2023

Music Hall of Fame and the Tennessee Performing Arts Center to name a few — are constantly bubbling among the arts community, making the large organizations a frequent target. But Mrozik says that while many of those organizations may be inequitable, they are still important parts of the Nashville arts ecosystem at this time.

“If we are going to keep institutions, if we’re going to keep systems and stuff in place, it’s going to be a longer, slower change to make them equitable,” says Mrozik. “But just working with a few orgs that I have — maybe I’m just the one checking the DEI card, I don’t fucking know — but at the same time, I would not have had a lot of the opportunities that I have gotten without those institution names on my résumé after being able to work with them.”

Mrozik doesn’t believe anyone is ready to “burn it all to the ground” — what she says would be required to create an equitable system. She hopes that instead, she can work to bring bigger organizations, small organizations and independent artists together under the common goal of securing funding for the arts.

“Instead of fighting amongst bigger and smaller arts orgs, it really needs to be a unified collaboration of the organizations and individual artists fighting against the fact that nobody wants to fund the arts properly,” says Mrozik.

Metro Arts Commission member Will Cheek says the kind of friction the arts

community is seeing right now is almost inevitable without greater funding all around. He says bringing Nashville in line with other cities would mean committing 1 percent of the Metro budget to the arts.

“That’s what we should be focused on as an arts community,” Cheek says. “What I really hate is that we’ve got fighting over ‘what is equity,’ and we’re scrambling over money, when we should really be pulling together as an arts community. And we should be getting more money for the arts.

We can do a whole lot of equity if we’ve got more money.”

The situation has taken its toll on the commission, with multiple vacancies created as members have resigned, including the recent chair, who lasted just one meeting.

“I had a super stressful meeting two weeks ago,” musician Ellen Angelico tells the Banner. “And I was just like, ‘This is too emotionally intense for me as a volunteer,’ and, you know, [I] had to prioritize my mental health and my relationship. And yeah, I just sort of reached my limit.”

Angelico resigned last week.

“I don’t have the knowledge to oversee a $6 million Metro department, and that’s the position I found myself in,” Angelico says. “What needs to happen is really basic structural stuff, because otherwise, we’re just gonna keep in a cycle of dysfunction.”

Franklin remembers Battle of Franklin with new information following MNPD forensic investigation

BY MATT MASTERS

Franklinites gathered at several sites last week to mark the 159th anniversary of the Battle of Franklin, a battle which is becoming clearer thanks to a new forensic investigation of the battlefield by the Metro Nashville Police Department.

The Franklin Police Department hosted MNPD and Battle of Franklin Trust CEO Eric Jacobson for a presentation on the new hi-tech investigation, which combined aerial photography drone technology, a 3D camera system to map the space and more traditional physical crime scene investigation tools focused on the Carter House, smoke house and farm office, which are peppered in bullet holes and other evidence of the battle.

“The Federal troops barely held on, and only through a combination of circumstances did they hold on,” Jacobson said. “We’re not just looking at bullet holes, strike marks. We’re not just looking at cool

stuff, we’re looking at absolute wholesale slaughter of human beings and that this is what we really did to each other for the better part of four years. By the time this was over, there were almost 10,000 casualties, almost 2,500 dead [in the Battle of Franklin].”

“This was training for us,” Retired MNPD officer and certified crime scene investigator George Bouton said.

Visitors to the site will soon see this new data presented as the history of the battle becomes clearer two centuries later.

“We will work this into our interpretation now as a really solid piece of, and in some ways, conclusive evidence, at least of 59 different trajectories, predominantly Confederate,” Jacobson said, adding that the MNPD investigators have “now become a part of the Battle of Franklin story.”

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18

THE NEWS

Smoky Carrot Latkes With Chive Aioli

BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ

NO. 1101

ACROSS 1 What a cat’s meow

might mean 9 Starchless, as some

Hanukkah is upon us. Chef Laura Rodriguez created these latkes to make use of her carrot harvest, though you can use any combination of root vegetables.

To impart a good smoky flavor to these latkes, she cooks them in rendered local

bacon fat and seasons them with paprika and smoked Maldon sea salt. (Or, if you’re Kosher or vegetarian, pick up a bottle of Smoked Olive Oil from Green Door Gourmet to use instead.)

foods 15 Peak in the Hawaiian-

Emperor seamount chain 16 1957’s “Attack of the

Crab Monsters,” for one 17 Actor Sean does

some things that aren’t nice 19 What Odysseus was

bound to during the sirens’ song 20 Turner with many

Grammys 21 Feature of some

Indian music

PUZZLE BY STEVE WEYER

22 Role-play 23 Sierra runners 26 Silent film star

Bara didn’t want to leave us 34 Little shots?

INGREDIENTS FOR THE AIOLI

1 cup mayonnaise 2 teaspoons lemon juice 6 cloves garlic, minced 3 tablespoons chopped wild or store bought chives splash of water sea salt to taste

1. Preheat oven to 200F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. To prepare aioli, place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

3. To prepare latkes, thoroughly squeeze liquid out of shredded vegetables (yielding about 3/4 cup liquid) and discard liquid. Place in large mixing bowl. Add eggs and next four ingredients and mix well.

4. Cook silver dollar sized latkes in a hot

35 Vintage Camaro

FOR THE LATKES

6 medium carrots, grated 2 medium red potatoes, grated 1/2 large red onion, grated 2 eggs 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon smoky paprika 2 teaspoons Maldon Smoked Sea Salt pinch ground black pepper bacon fat or smoked olive oil for pan frying wild chives, sliced thin for garnish pan coated with bacon fat or smoked olive oil until lightly browned and crispy around the edges (about 45 seconds per side).

5. Remove latkes from pan and place on sheet. Keep warm in the oven while you cook the remaining batter.

6. Serve latkes drizzled with wild chive aioli. Garnish with a sprinkle of smoked paprika, smoked salt, and sliced chives or carrot tops.

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.

owner’s boast?

36 ___ Day (May 1, in

66 1545 treatise

whose rearranged letters aptly suggest 17-, 26-, 44- and 59-Across DOWN 1 Prayer leader

30 Heady weapon

wielded by Wonder Woman?

31 Sync up 32 “The Brandon

___ Story” (1998 documentary) 33 Handmade sign at a

47 Entities holding

property 50 Within 51 Bunyan’s ox or

Hoggett’s pig 52 Applications 54 Tabula ___ 55 Manilow’s “hottest

2 Tamale dough

stadium

37 Break

3 Rustic refuges

38 “Forrest ___”

38 An artist might blow

4 Storage ___

39 Misled

56 Online zine

5 Photographer Goldin

40 One of five in Yahtzee

57 Swear to mend

6 Procedural flaw

42 Underground org. of

Hawaii)

it 40 Carpe ___ 41 Half dos 42 California’s ___

Woods National Monument 43 Firm refusal 44 Artist Édouard

mistakenly proposed 11:00 48 TV detective Bosch’s

former org.

49 Sites for some docs 50 Touch 53 Cut-off pants?

55 Hand over 59 Fictional

lawyer Perry cries “I give!”

63 Peninsula south of

the Pyrenees 64 Differentiate 65 Explorer from

63-Across

7 Elmo’s turquoise

amiga 8 “Life of Pi” novelist

Martel 9 Trail Blazers’ org.

10 Meditation sounds 11 Rough 12 Alternative to Reebok

New York 43 “Dynamite” K-pop

group 45 Six Flags ride named

for a powerful animal

spot north of Havana,” informally

things?

58 “Cómo ___ usted?”

60 Minor fault 61 Long March leader 62 Where 38-Down

served, for short

46 Lunchtime tryst

ANSWER TO PUZZLE

13 Hobbit Frodo’s

cloaking device 14 Test version 18 Wild horses couldn’t

drag them away, presumably 22 Some remote

batteries 24 Bothers 25 Govt. health agency 26 Hum monotonously 27 Spotted scavenger 28 Printer brand 29 What’s the point?

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20

THE NEWS

SOCIAL

Loyal Royal Secret Order of Hooligans Christmas Gathering

BY HOLLY SPANN

PHOTOS BY HOLLY SPANN

The green jacketed “Loyal Royal Secret Order of Hooligans” recently held their annual Christmas gathering at Jimmy Kelly’s Restaurant. For over 42 years, this public service-oriented batch of Nashville’s finest

have shared a camaraderie and deep devotion to Nashville. When the Hooligans gather, they bluster, ponder and pontificate on a myriad of aspirations. The Loyal Royal Secret Order of Hooligans was, according to

Mike Murphy, John Steinhouse, Jim Campbell, and Pat Curran

their recollection, founded “out of necessity and desperation,” as once quoted by beloved Hooligan now in heaven Eddie Bryan.

The Hooligans will host their 43rd Annual Hooligans event on Saturday, March 16

at the Nashville Palace. For tickets, please reach out to a Hooligan. Other Hooligans not pictured are John Curley, Dart Gore, Jad Duncan, Tim Pardue, Rep. Darren Jernigan, Toby Compton, and Barrett Hobbs.

Joe Hall, Greg Adkins, George Rooker, and Bobby Joslin

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615-308-0211 615-308-0211

PrAYEr

Fall Lawn Cleanup 30 years in business!

Winterize flowerbeds and leaves.

Leaf mulching and removal.

(615) 485-7391

Need Prayer?

If you are in need of prayer, call 888-388-2683 The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has prayer partners avail. to talk w/you 24/7.

LANDSCAPE

LANDSCAPE

Place Your Classified Ad!

$10 for the first 15 words, .30 cents each word extra.

Call 615-298-1500 to place an ad

PLUMBING

trEE SErVICE

New Installation & Repair Service

Eric’s tree Service, LLC Big, Tall or Small, We Do It All! Insured • Free Estimates Call Eric / Owner (615) 779-1870

Carter Plumbing Commercial & Residential

Drain Cleaning Service Licensed, Bonded & Insured All Work Guaranteed!

(615) 232-9051

PrESSUrE WASh Kyle’s Pressure Cleaning Property Pressure Washing: Driveways, Back Decks, Front Porch, Swimming Pool, Concrete & more. (615) 424-5354

rooFING

r. h. Callis & Sons Inc. Roofing, Siding, Metal, Slate, Flat Roofs.

38 yrs exp. / References.

(615) 969-7717 CallisRoofing.com License, Bonded & Insured

trEE SErVICE Bulldog tree Service • Topping / Deadwooding • Stump Removals • Trimming • Lot Clearing Free Estimates. Insured.

Call John 24 / 7: (615) 300-6254 (615) 313-7375

Wood

tree Service

formerly Gist Tree Service Trees Trimmed / Removed Stump Removal, Great Clean-up 24/7 EMERGENCY SERVICE HAZARDOUS WORK Senior & Single Parent Discount Licensed & Insured, Free Estimates All Major Credit Cards Accepted

615-456-9824

VACUUM CLEANErS FALL LEAF REMOVAL

Sales/service on all makes & models

WANtED W E BU Y R E C O R D S 45’S, 78’S, LP’S We pay more than any store!

Any Size Collection No Problem Also Buying Old Windup Phonographs

Call Paul 615-953-7388

Paying TOP DOLLAR Over 45 Years WE BUY Vinyl Records, Comic Books, CDs, Blu-Rays, DVDs, Toys, Video & Role-Playing Games, CCGs, Stereo Equipment, Music & Movie Memorabilia, and much more. In business 40+ years; No collection too large or small.

Mention this ad when you call.

BUY - SELL - TRADE the Great Escape Call 615-364-3029 TheGreatEscapeOnline.com

WICKEr rEPAIr

www.gisttreeservice.com

FLoorING

Hardwood floors, cleaned, waxed, buffed, sanded and/or refinished. Over 75 years in flooring.

Corlew & Perry, Inc. (615) 832-0320

(615) 298-1500

Chair caning and all styles of weaving. Wicker repair available. Pick up and delivery. the CANE-ErY (615) 269-4780 / 414-5655

WINDoW CLEAN All Seasons Window Cleaning

Specializing in residential windows.

Serving Nashville over 38 yrs!

Licensed - Bonded - Insured Free Estimates Low Prices (615) 889-9164

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202 Wilson Pike Circle Brentwood TN 37027 M-F 11am-3pm | Sat 10am-12pm 615-255-3292 blakep@edisonvacuums.com

3810B Harding Pl, Nashville, TN 37215 5 Beds, 6/2 Baths, 7096 SqFt

$2,799,000

Bold, modern new build from Richland Building Partners!

Signature pivot front door opens to a wall of windows & floating stairs w/ glass railing. Chef’s kitchen w/ walk-in pantry & additional, out-of-sight prep kitchen. Primary Bedroom is a home oasis with spa-like, state-of-the-art Primary Bath & dual walk-in closets. Bonus room w/ wet bar on 2nd level, plus 4 bed/bath combos and designated office. Walk-out decks on both levels. Basement level includes large bonus room w/ wet bar and full bath: gym, studio, in-law suite, make it your own! Flowing floor plan designed for easy entertaining & practical living. City living w/ proximity to Green Hills shopping/dining & the great outdoors at Radnor Lake/Percy Warner.

CHRIS HARWELL

SHARON WADE KINSER

Mobile: 615.969.0302 Chris@TarkingtonHarwell.com Lic. # 273081

Mobile: 615.406.9445 Sharon@TarkingtonHarwell.com Lic. # 335625

www.TarkingtonHarwell.com | (615) 244-7503