Harpeth Conservancy’s 2024 River Swing fundraiser drew hundreds to River Circle Farm on Sept. 21 marking 25 years of work by the conservation group, work that is continuing on in part thanks to the next generation of naturalists.
Among the attendees was 16-year-old Battle Ground Academy junior Alison Zierden and Shelly, a large turtle sculpture she handcrafted from trash —such as cardboard, soda cans, and an assortment of plastics — she recovered from the Harpeth
River fastened together and shaped with a chicken wire frame and hot glue.
Shelly was then auctioned off along with dozens of other items during River Swing to benefit the Harpeth Conservancy.
Following a trip to Costa Rica and Belize to learn about waste management, Zierden began taking part in Harpeth River cleanup events.
“Hopefully this spreads awareness, and it’s very accessible to kids and adults,” Zierden told The News. “Picking up one piece of trash
leads to all of this.”
Throughout the event 13-year-old West
End Middle Schooler Jasper Sentell could be found handling a variety of snakes and box turtles and showing off tree frogs that he’s raised to curious (and sometimes timid) attendees, eager to learn about caring for and protecting our cold-blooded neighbors.
“My mom said I caught my first turtle when I was three; I don’t remember that,” Sentell said, adding that at just 10 years old he completed a Master of
U.S. District Judge Eli Richardson has ruled that the group that oversees the Swan Ball has, to date, “provided sufficient evidence” of its claim to ownership of the annual event’s trademark — the latest update in a case that now moves to mediation. In his ruling, Richardson notes that — despite Cheekwood Botanical Garden and Museum of Art officials’ claims that because SB Initiative Inc. did not exist before May 2024, it (SBI) could not have been the first to use the mark — SBI has made a “persuasive argument” that the Swan Ball committee was an unincorporated association under Tennessee law and, therefore, existed as an entity (distinguishable from Cheekwood) that “could be deemed to have used the SWAN BALL Mark prior to Cheekwood.”
Richardson points to a comment from former Cheekwood CEO Jack Becker as “particularly notable.” According to the court document, Becker said, “neither I nor any member of the Cheekwood staff had any input or control over the Swan Ball operations.”
Richardson ruled Cheekwood has failed to meet two of the four requirements necessary for its requested temporary restraining order (TRO) relief. The judge stated that he did not find that [Cheekwood] “has a likelihood of success on the merits.” The ruling (see attached) provides background explanation and
13-year-old Jasper Sentell educates attendees at the Harpeth Conservancy’s 2024 River Swing celebration in Franklin about his rescued corn snake named Ice Cube, Sept. 21, 2024. PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Harpeth Conservancy
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
Herpetologist program through the Atlantabased Amphibian Foundation.
“I just love educating the public, and I love bringing my passion to everybody and showing that snakes are not dangerous.”
More information about the Harpeth Conservancy, including conservation efforts and events, can be found online at harpethconservancy.org/.
Judge offers details
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
details related to Richardson’s Sept. 13 ruling denying Cheekwood’s request for a TRO. However, the case moves forward as Richardson notes, “The identity of the first user of the Swan Ball Mark cannot yet be established via materials in the record. More to the point for purposes of the request for a TRO, not even the likely first user can be established at the instant stage; the record precludes the Court from finding an affirmative likelihood that either party’s position on this point is likely to prevail.”
Richardson has required the two parties to engage in mediation, beginning Oct. 11. In addition, the court will oversee an initial case management conference related to the legal matter on Oct. 17. A preliminary injunction hearing will be held Oct. 18.
SBI previously asked the court to deny Cheekwood’s request for the TRO on the ground that the group that has traditionally produced the Swan Ball gala legally owns the trademark. After Cheekwood and the Swan Ball volunteers parted ways, SBI considered various potential beneficiaries for the 2025 Swan Ball gala, choosing Friends of Warner
Park on Sept. 3.
Cheekwood filed the TRO while the case is pending in an effort to prevent SBI from using the Swan Ball name while seeking the separate Warner Parks space.
“Cheekwood is asking the court to maintain the status quo — the Swan Ball is a Cheekwood fundraiser — while the case is pending,” Maia Woodhouse, an Adams and Reese attorney representing Cheekwood, emailed the Post earlier this month.
“Cheekwood is not trying to block the Friends of Warner Park event,” Woodhouse added. “Cheekwood has no problem with SBI hosting a fundraiser for any beneficiary. It just cannot use Cheekwood’s trademark to do it. SBI concedes it could do this easily, telling the media that it ‘will simply present our fundraiser in 2025 using another name’ if the Court rules in Cheekwood’s favor.”
Woodhouse declined comment for this article. Similarly, Chanelle Acheson, a Waddey Acheson attorney representing SBI, declined comment.
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
16-year-old Alison Zierden shows off her turtle sculpture ‘Shelly’ that she made from recovered litter from the Harpeth River. PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Attendees arrive at the Harpeth Conservancy’s River Swing in Franklin on Sept. 21, 2024.
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Attendees browes silent auction items at the Harpeth Conservancy’s 2024 River Swing in Franklin on Sept. 21, 2024. PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Attendees watch a promotional video during dinner at the Harpeth Conservancy’s 2024 River Swing in Franklin on Sept. 21, 2024.
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Former governor Winfield Dunn dies
at 97 Ex-statesman, military man, dentist took office in 1971 as Tennessee’s then-first Republican governor in 50-plus years
STAFF REPORTS
Winfield Dunn — who was elected Tennessee governor in his first run for public office in 1970 — died Saturday. He was 97.
When he took office in 1971, Dunn became the first Republican governor in Tennessee in more than 50 years.
Some of Dunn’s accomplishments as governor included his creating a statewide kindergarten program, establishing public parks, prioritizing highway construction and creating the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development. Dunn made his achievements with a state legislature controlled by Democrats.
Dunn served only one term, but his success began a time of Republican emergence. He is remembered for his civil demeanor and as a champion of programs that many feel unified the state.
Born in Meridian, Miss., on July 1, 1927, Dunn enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and subsequently served as a reserve lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. He graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1950 and continued his education at what is now the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, earning his D.D.S. degree and later practicing dentistry in Shelby County.
Dunn also served as chairman of both the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees and the Tennessee State Board of Regents.
“Governor Winfield Dunn was, simply put, a genuine statesman,” Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement.
“He was a true servant of the people of Tennessee. He led with principled integrity, a strong faith, and a gracious love for others. Our state is a better place because of his service and leadership. Maria and I join all Tennesseans in honoring Governor Dunn’s life, and we pray for Betty and the Dunn family in the days ahead.”
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
First female WeGo driver honored with mural Mayor plugs transit plan at event honoring Creative Girls Rock,
Elizabeth Duff family
HANNAH HERNER
Elizabeth Duff was a trailblazer. In 1974, at age 24, she became the first woman to drive a bus for what was then known as the Metro Transit Authority in Nashville. Nashville’s public transit authority rebranded itself as WeGo in 2018, and the city’s WeGo Central station already bears Duff’s name. But earlier this month, Duff — who died in 2021 at age 72 — was honored with a mural on the station’s lower level, thanks to artists from local nonprofit Creative Girls Rock.
“I thank God for Elizabeth and my daughters and granddaughters — I’ve got quite a few of them,” said Elizabeth’s widower Harry Duff at the event. “I think about them and where they’re going to go, but I don’t worry about them because they’ve got something to go by. They’ve got Elizabeth Duff to look up to. They can look at Elizabeth’s life and pattern their lives after that and know which route to take.”
Mayor Freddie O’Connell spoke at the
ceremony on Sept. 12 — the same day his office unveiled a website feature that displays specific changes to routes under his proposed “Choose How You Move” plan. O’Connell asked attendees to “meet the moment” and vote for the transit referendum on the Nov. 5 ballot. He added that WeGo ridership had recently surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
“I can’t think of a better message for this time and this place than leveraging the story of Music City’s rich heritage and diverse communities to celebrate our differences and strengths,” he said, “to inspire the riders who come through here, the operators who serve them, and to empower young girls and women through creative art.
“This is also a time to think about the future,” the mayor continued. “About how we invest in better transportation options that emanate not just from this center, but those like Rip Patton and Green Hills through our Choose How You Move program.”
The mural is incredibly detailed, and features a portrait of Duff completed by Maplewood High School senior Kammarah Stevens, who worked on each of the many faces in the mural. Spanning several buslengths, the mural also includes artistic renderings of the Ryman Auditorium, the Parthenon, the Tennessee State Capitol and the Adventure Science Center.
Artist Elisheba Israel Mrozik, who led students of Creative Girls Rock on the piece, hopes people stop and look for the many Easter eggs she’s hidden.
“Elizabeth Duff inspired me to find others in the industries of service work and also highlight things in the mural that we may not think about,” Mrozik tells The News sister publication the Nashville Scene “We think about Broadway all the time. But did you know about Frederick Douglass coming here to speak? Did you know that Martin Luther King came to speak? Did you know that the Talking Heads had a random
concert at this place? We are just trying to highlight things about Nashville that you don’t find anywhere else.”
Creative Girls Rock has now completed 13 murals and seen more than 160 young women participate in the program, founder Charmin Bates adds.
“We use these mural projects as educational components,” Bates says. “They are learning the different colors and meaning behind colors and art and paint and all of that, just to empower our young artists and to say, ‘You can do this’ as well.”
The mural also features two of Duff’s family members, looking out the window of the bus she’s driving: her son Seneca Duff and grandson Emmanuel Smith Duff. The two have both joined what Elizabeth made the family business — driving a WeGo bus.
Seneca has memories of riding the bus his mother drove as a child — sometimes from point A to point B, and sometimes tagging along for an entire route. When Seneca turned 21, Elizabeth suggested he follow in her footsteps. At first, he wasn’t sure if he could handle working with the public. He eventually started the job at age 24 in 2005. Nearly 20 years later, he’s still on board and looking toward retiring in the next five to 10 years, he tells the Scene.
He says he tries to embody his mother’s friendly nature while dealing with bus riders.
“She had always wanted to drive the bus,” Seneca says. “And she ended up doing it. She’s definitely a trailblazer. She definitely gave me the courage to actually step forward and do the job.”
Emmanuel Smith Duff worked for WeGo two years ago for a stint and rejoined as a driver earlier this year, also at his grandmother’s suggestion. This time it’ll stick, he says — and not only because his face is painted on the wall of the Elizabeth Duff Transit Center.
“When I first started, I didn’t know if I would like driving the bus because I was always intimidated by it,” he says. “But once I started getting it, I caught on to it quick. Maybe when she was trying to tell me that I should drive the bus, I should have listened to her the first time.”
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Scene.
Kia Lewis, Elisheba Israel Mrozik, Harry Duff, Gail Carr Williams, Stephen Bland, Mayor Freddie O’Connell, Charmin Bates, and Kammarah Stevens PHOTO: HANNAH HERNER
Nashville’s Geodis Park chosen as a host site for FIFA Club World Cup 2025
The 32-team tournament will be played next summer in 12 cities
STAFF REPORTS
The competition features 32 of the best club teams from around the world, participating in a tournament that runs from June 15 to July 13 and culminates in a championship game at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Clubs qualify for the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 via their respective continental club competitions. Qualification is based on sporting merit across a four-year cycle, ensuring continental champions and clubs demonstrating consistency are rewarded. With the draw set for December, just two of the 32 teams are yet to be confirmed: one from South America, the other representing the host country, which will be filled by this season’s MLS champion. The tournament match schedule will be published shortly after the draw. Fans can visit FIFA.com/ tickets to register for FIFA Club World Cup 2025 ticket and hospitality information. The last five champions of the tournament are heavyweights in the soccer world: Manchester City (2023), Real Madrid (2022), Chelsea (2021), Bayern Munich (2020) and Liverpool (2019).
“We are tremendously proud and honored that Geodis Park has been selected as one of the 12 venues for the historic FIFA Club World Cup 2025,” Nashville SC CEO Ian Ayre said in a release. “This tournament
will bring the world’s best clubs to Nashville, showcasing our stadium, our city, and our passionate fanbase on a global stage. As we prepare to welcome fans from around the world, this moment reflects the growth of soccer in the U.S. and solidifies Nashville’s place as a premier destination for world-class soccer.”
Geodis Park, capacity of 30,109, is the largest soccer-specific stadium in the U.S.
The United States women’s national team debuted at Geodis while playing in the SheBelieves Cup in February of 2023, while the U.S. men’s national team played its first game at the stadium in October of 2023, defeating Ghana 4-0.
In addition to Geodis Park and MetLife Stadium, the other 10 host sites chosen for the Club World Cup include: MercedesBenz Stadium (Atlanta); Bank of America Stadium (Charlotte); TQL Stadium (Cincinnati); Rose Bowl Stadium (Los Angeles); Hard Rock Stadium (Miami); Camping World Stadium (Orlando); Inter&Co Stadium (Orlando); Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia); Lumen Field (Seattle); and Audi Field (Washington, D.C.).
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
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TERMS: CASH - ALL PROPERTIES AUCTIONED ARE SOLD “AS-IS, WHERE-IS, WITH NO CONTIGENCIES, AND ALL FAULTS AND LIMITATIONS” and without warranty of any kind or nature. Conduct your own due diligence and make ALL financial arrangements PRIOR to sale day. Any and all pictures and documents presented should be used for informational purposes only. All Terms of Sale are nonnegotiable and irrevocable. Real Estate: 15% Non-Refundable Earnest Money due day of the auction by US certified funds (bank check or certified check), with balance due at closing. Deed and Insured Title Furnished by Seller. Personal Property: Cash, Visa, MasterCard, & Discover accepted. A government-issued photo ID is required for bidding number.
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Geodis Park PHOTO: NASHVILLE SC
Harrow to create 147 jobs with headquarters expansion
Nashville-based eyecare pharmaceutical company established local presence in 2019, preps for $3M effort
HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Eyecare pharmaceutical company Harrow Health is expanding its Nashville corporate headquarters in a $3 million investment that is slated to bring 147 new jobs to the city.
Harrow announced the move Wednesday morning at its Burton Hills office, with local and state officials attending the event.
Founded in San Diego in 2012, Harrow relocated its corporate headquarters to Nashville in 2019 and has since expanded
its footprint, including an analytical chemistry lab.
The announcement comes as Harrow stock recently hit a high mark, fueled by a healthy quarterly report and robust sales of the company’s eyecare products (read here).
Harrow CEO Mark Baum said that Harrow is “flourishing,” growing from approximately 140 employees in 2019 to about 175 today, and “$50 million or so in revenue,” a number he said could quadruple
by year’s end.
“Harrow’s Nashville expansion will not only improve our service to eyecare professionals throughout North America but also solidifies our dedication to the community that we are honored and thankful to call our home,” Baum said.
Stuart McWhorter, Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development commissioner, attended the announcement event but did not note any incentives the
department might be offering Harrow. According to the state, since 2020 TNECD has supported 38 economic development projects in Davidson County, which has resulted in nearly 14,000 job commitments and more than $1.7 billion in capital investments.
USN trustees back director in sexual misconduct debacle
Prep school’s governing board standing behind top administrators despite ‘no confidence’ from faculty, parents and students
ELI MOTYCKA
In the quiet morning hours before class on Thursday, Sept. 19, more than 100 University School of Nashville faculty and staff members cast anonymous ballots in the Payne Library, a sunny multipurpose space on the school’s second floor. Joel Bezaire, a longtime middle school math teacher, stood in the doorway to greet colleagues.
“What was necessary to support transparency, inclusion, fairness, and neutrality in this vote was an announcement email on our @usn.org accounts from a party that has not expressed a public opinion on this matter, has a strong reputation in the school community, and is far enough removed from the events in question to have some semblance of impartiality,” Bezaire wrote later that day in an email to
USN’s board of trustees. “I was asked to play this role. I don’t believe I was the first administrator asked to play this role, but I was the first who agreed.”
Then Bezaire let the results speak for themselves. With 15 abstentions and five in support, ballots returned 95 votes of “no confidence” in Amani Reed, the embattled USN director seen by some as the most culpable in the school’s mishandling of a sexual misconduct investigation into former teacher Dean Masullo. Quinton Walker, Reed’s No. 2 administrator and the previous head of the high school, lost his vote of confidence 78 to 12, with 22 abstentions. Bezaire then informed the board that its chair — Eric Kopstain, a USN parent and vice chancellor at Vanderbilt — was
underwater 78 to 6, with 28 abstentions.
The USN board of trustees, led by a fourperson executive committee, continues to stand behind Reed and Walker. Kopstain has continued in his role leading the 28-person body, which met Monday for its annual retreat and also includes Vanderbilt surgeon Alex Jahangir and Nashville Scene contributor Chris Chamberlain. Kopstain, restaurateur Benjamin Goldberg, banker Jim Rienets and Kristin Wilson, chief of operations and performance in the mayor’s office, are officers of the board.
Wealthy Nashville families have traditionally favored the private school as a more relaxed, left-leaning alternative to Montgomery Bell Academy, Harpeth Hall or Ensworth High School.
In August, a 2024 alumna of USN shared
with the board her thorough, disturbing narrative enduring sexual advances from former English teacher Dean Masullo, setting off a sequence of events that has fractured USN. The extensive account detailed years of behavior from Masullo that gradually wore down professional boundaries between student and teacher and moved quickly toward sexual contact once the student turned 18. Connor Daryani originally reported on the account for the Nashville Banner
Since then, the situation has intensified as parents, faculty and students call for new school leadership. Faculty say they are embarrassed and disturbed by how Reed, Walker and Kopstain seem to have scrambled to protect the
From left: State Sen. Heidi Campbell, Harrow CEO Mark Baum, TNDEC Commissioner Stuart McWhorter and Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Harrow CEO Mark Baum speaking at the company’s announcement.
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
school’s reputation and legal liability rather than explain the situation to the school community. After initial meetings with Reed and Walker, the affected student was cut out of the investigation into Masullo, which USN considers an employment matter rather than an investigation into sexual misconduct, according to multiple accounts.
On Tuesday, Sept. 24, selected board members — including Kopstain — met with the student’s family. The News sister publication the Nashville Scene reviewed a summary of the meeting written by the student’s father, John Bass. He criticizes the members for refusing to describe the situation as “sexual misconduct” and denying that board members, as well as Reed and Walker, knew the extent of Masullo’s behavior before firing him.
Other parents have co-signed multiple letters criticizing Reed, Walker and Kopstain and petitioning the school for information. Currently, parents are adding signatures to a letter protesting the school’s latest plan to investigate Masullo’s tenure at USN. On Friday, Sept. 20, USN announced a new entity — the Ad Hoc Committee for School Safety — and a new Community Support Task Force in an email titled “We are truly sorry.”
Parents have protested the continued involvement of Reed, who will be consulted
NowOPENingreenhills
throughout new investigations, and Kopstain, who serves on the new school safety committee.
“We are especially concerned about any involvement by the Board Executive Committee and Head of School Amani Reed in the new investigation,” reads the latest statement from parents. “Because they were involved in the previous investigation, this looks very much like a conflict of interest. It is likely that all members of the current Board of Trustees will be subjects of the new investigation, to some extent.
Because of this, the only way to promote confidence in the full independence of the new investigation is through an oversight committee entirely independent of the Board and the current administration.”
Last week, more than 200 parents sent another letter to the board expressing no confidence in Reed and Walker. The mother of one 11th-grade student describes the current atmosphere at the school, which commands an annual tuition close to $30,000, as a “civil war.”
One current high school student, speaking with the Scene on the condition of anonymity, says USN is barely still functioning as a school; assignment deadlines have been extended indefinitely, faculty are pulled into meetings, and teachers have been seen crying at school. Current students,
organizing under a school-sanctioned USN student union, wear handmade buttons that read “Listen Protect Act” and “JUSTICE NOW” in support of their former classmate’s public stance: they believe USN can only survive the current crisis of mistrust after the resignations — or removal — of Reed, Walker and Kopstain. Students jokingly trade the hashtag #WheresAmani to highlight the top administrator’s scarce public appearances.
Hired just two years ago, Reed looked like the ideal successor to longtime director Vince Durnan. Reed had led several peer schools, including Seattle’s Lakeside
Academy and The School at Columbia University. For the first time, USN hired a person of color to lead the predominantly white prep school. Reed serves on the board of the National Association of Independent Schools, a body that has extensive guidelines for how to properly handle sexual misconduct investigations.
Disclosure: Motycka is a 2013 graduate of the University School of Nashville. This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Scene.
University School of Nashville PHOTO: FILE
Tennessee Valley Authority releases 20-year power grid plan
Scenarios
show natural gas buildout as an increasing environmental, economic and political liability
ELI MOTYCKA
The Tennessee Valley Authority on Monday released its draft 2025 Integrated Resources Plan, executives’ tentative direction for how the utility will expand over the coming decades. The last IRP came out in 2019 and previewed the TVA’s pivot from coal to natural gas. The company provides power to more than 10 million people within an 80,000-square-mile region.
Multiple scenarios in the IRP show the TVA’s new carbon-heavy gas plants as a liability even as the utility expands natural gas across the region. Every strategy projected by the 2025 Integrated Resources Plan proposes new natural gas. Some scenarios in 2035 and 2050, if federal environmental regulations force the TVA to address its gas emissions, include a larger backbone of nuclear and renewable energy.
“After a decade of flat electricity demand, the TVA region is now experiencing increasing demand for electricity driven by population, employment, and industrial growth, weather trends, and increasing electric vehicle use,” reads a summary paragraph in the 262-page report. “The region is also seeing more volatility in winter temperatures and natural gas prices that affect resource planning. Finally, the TVA continues to experience increasing demand for carbon reductions and renewable energy options from residents and businesses in the region and those considering locating here.”
Appalachian Voices, a regional environmental nonprofit, skewered the TVA for pursuing more gas despite the environmental and political urgency of carbon reduction. The group has joined other advocacy groups across the TVA service area to push the TVA toward clean energy.
“The CleanUpTVA Coalition is disappointed to see that TVA’s draft Integrated Resource Plan charts several possible courses to even more gas expansion in the Tennessee Valley, while communities are still fighting seven TVA gas plants and new pipelines that have been proposed in recent years,” says Appalachian Voices’ Leah McCord in a statement. “This is a critical juncture in TVA’s history, and our public utility should commit to a long term energy plan that lowers electric bills, reduces pollution and provides reliable power by building more clean and renewable resources instead of fossil fuels. The TVA Board of Directors should strengthen the final plan by hosting a public hearing that allows for modeling input from outside experts, as is industry standard for most utility IRPs.”
Since President Joe Biden set out a goal for a net-zero power grid by 2035 — the TVA instead set its own net-zero goal for 2050 — an increasingly public rift has grown between the federal utility and its regulators in Washington. President Franklin Roosevelt chartered the TVA to electrify the
South during the Great Depression, and with board members appointed by the president, it still exists under D.C.’s broad oversight umbrella. The IRP released this week shows a conservative utility reacting to market conditions and policy.
Rolling blackouts in December 2022 revealed a power system failing during Winter Storm Elliott. The public failure prompted investigations into the TVA’s grid resilience, referenced throughout the IRP. The utility shares that its own related investigation, a look into reserve power, is not yet complete. A planned System Operations Center will come online in 2026 to help better control grid reliability, improve efficiency across the complex power system and protect the TVA’s power grid from manipulation or cyberthreats.
The IRP projects six scenarios for power generation in 2035 and 2050. These scenarios respond to two major variables: electricity demand and carbon regulation.
The TVA’s base-case scenario combined with its baseline strategy — the clearest summary of current plans — builds the power grid on natural gas and nuclear power through 2050. These plans do not include carbon capture. Renewable energy remains a marginal contributor to power generation.
While the TVA has no plans to abandon gas, new environmental regulation from the federal government could force the company
into expensive, emerging carbon capture technology. This includes carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) processes and co-firing hydrogen. In this scenario, the TVA would combine roughly equal parts of carboncaptured natural gas, nuclear power and renewable energy by 2050.
In every case, the TVA has a carbon problem. Continued investments in natural gas are making future scenarios expensive, environmentally destructive and potentially noncompliant with federal rules. Rather than the TVA proactively curbing its own emissions, the IRP indicates that it will adapt to public policy and market pressure.
Members of the public can submit comments on the plan. Staff will take feedback at 12 open houses across the TVA’s seven-state service area in October and November. This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Scene.
LOGAN BUTTS ASSOCIATE EDITOR
HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS NEWS REPORTER AND PHOTOJOURNALIST
NICOLLE S. PRAINO STAFF REPORTER
LISA BOLD PRODUCTION MANAGER
CHELON HASTY
SALES OPERATIONS MANAGER
ELIZABETH JONES CORPORATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR
TODD PATTON CFO
MIKE SMITH PRESIDENT AND CEO
BILL FREEMAN OWNER
Gas turbine at TVA’s Gallatin plant PHOTO: ELI MOTYCKA
Woman found dead near Bellevue in 2020 identified
STAFF REPORTS
A previously unidentified woman who was found dead in an abandoned home near Bellevue on Thanksgiving Day in 2020 has been identified as 19-year-old Ashley Fuller, of Columbia.
Metro Nashville Police publicly identified Fuller on Thursday one year after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released a forensic sketch of her face, having previously released an image of a wrist tattoo.
The MNPD previously said that they
believed she died from an accidental drug overdose, and they reiterated that no foul play is suspected in Fuller’s death.
A relative of Fuller contacted MNPD’s Cold Case Unit and her identity was confirmed through dental records.
The Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting a final review to determine her official cause of death.
Bellevue man killed in early morning crash on Sept. 25
STAFF REPORTS
A Bellevue man was killed in an early morning car crash on Wednesday.
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, 51-year-old Greg Polsdofer was killed in a single-vehicle crash when his Lexus GS460 sedan “ran off of Hicks Road in Bellevue and struck a fence, then a tree, just after 1 a.m.”
Police said that Polsdofer, who resided on Hicks Road, was not wearing a seatbelt. No further information has been made public at this time.
Bellevue man charged with murder following 2-year-old son’s March overdose death
STAFF REPORTS
A Bellevue man was charged with first degree murder and aggravated child abuse on Thursday following the March 9 death of his 2-year-old son.
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, 32-year-old Haze Hamlett was arrested at his Hicks Road home after he was indicted by a Davidson County grand jury months after his son, Joshua, died from fentanyl and xylazine toxicity.
“The investigation, led by Youth
Services Detective Steffani Dahlstrom, showed Hamlett, who has a history of drug abuse, left pills out that tested positive for Suboxone and Adderall,” an MNPD news release reads. “Those pills, which he admitted to purchasing ‘off the street,’ are believed to have been laced with fentanyl and xylazine before being consumed by the 2-year-old.”
Hamlett was booked in jail on a $200,000 bond.
OPINION
LOTTERY SCHOLARS
The lottery only creats more lottery players and is another form of tax. The vast majority of lottery scholars are not prepared and find themselves in debt after the short-lived dream shattering but learning experience. They return to play the lottery and dream some more. Dream changing Life changing fun?
The comments in the Ticked Off column do not reflect the views of FW Publishing.
BID NOTICE
Sealed bids for Backdoor Pickup for Garbage and Recycling Service for the City of Oak Hill will be received by the City of Oak Hill at the City Office, Nashville,TN 37220 until 2:00 p.m.,Thursday, October 17th, 2024 and then at said time and location, publicly opened.
The BID SPECIFICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS may be obtained at the City Office, at the below address.
CITY OF OAK HILL Oak Hill Office 5548 Franklin Rd, Suite 101 Nashville TN 37220
The City of Oak Hill reserves the right to reject all bids and to waive all technicalities in bidding.
City of Oak Hill
J. Steven Collie City Manager
BUSINESS BRIEFS
East Bank scrapyard site set for auction
Ownership entity led by billionaire Carl Icahn seeks to sell 45 acres near Nissan Stadium, Cumberland River
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
The East Bank site of PSC Metals will be offered for sale via auction, Nashville Business Journal reports.
the property on which the scrapyard operates and leasing the space to SA Recycling.
NBJ reports Icahn Enterprises has received offers from prospective development companies during the past six months. Would-be buyers likely have been motivated to explore the site as full-scale work is now underway on Nashville’s future enclosed NFL Stadium, slated for a 2027 construction completion.
Similarly, SA Recycling in August moved some of its work to a recently acquired West Nashville property.
The News sister publication the Nashville Post reached out to the mayor’s office to ask if Metro has interest in purchasing the property.
“The mayor, like many Nashvillians, has long imagined riverfront uses at this site other than scrap metal processing, but we’re very focused on the existing opportunities for redevelopment on the East Bank,” Communications Director Julie Smith said.
“We have maintained a belief that as Metro’s nearby property is developed under the terms of the 99-year lease approved by the Council in April, the market will seek a new use for the scrapyard that aligns with the changes advancing elsewhere along the East Bank.”
Icahn Enterprises LP, led by billionaire businessman and investor Carl Icahn, owns the 45-acre property and has enlisted the local office of Dallas-based CBRE to oversee the effort.
Byran Fort, CBRE senior vice president, told NBJ the auction date is set for midNovember. Fort will handle the process with colleagues Frank Thomasson and Ryan Coulter.
Berry Hill property listed for $1.4M West Iris Drive building accommodates owner’s music industry business
WILLIAM
WILLIAMS
A Berry Hill property that sold in 2020 for $575,000 is now being offered for $1,399,900 following major improvements.
The 0.02-acre property is located at 612 West Iris Drive and offers a 1942-constructed office building.
Via an LLC, Chris Bragg, owner of independent music publishing company Ghostwriter Music, owns the property, having acquired it four years ago. According to Reliant Realty Chief Operating Officer Sean Shariati, who is handling the marketing of the property, Bragg spent about “significant sum” to fully update the building. Bragg operates Ghostwriter Music from the structure.
The listing is the equivalent of $821 per square foot based on the size of the building (1,632 square feet). Bragg added some square footage to the structure following the 2020 transaction.
“The owner is an active member of the community and is proud to have contributed a property that will transfer to a purchaser who will hopefully keep the building, as it contributes to Berry Hill and the music industry,” Shariati said.
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
NBJ reports Fort said the auction will include a reserve. As such, if bids are insufficient regarding an undisclosed minimum price, the property may not be sold.
Icahn sold PSC Metals LLC to SA Recycling in 2021, retaining ownership of
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
Ascension Saint Thomas to finish $22M renovation
HANNAH
HERNER
Ascension Saint Thomas West officials have announced a $22 million renovation is underway at the West Nashville hospital.
Investments include $9.2 million to add patient rooms in the emergency department, $7.8 million to improve cardiac operating rooms and $2.5 million to bolster cardiac care services. In addition, the hospital will build an Advanced Clinical Learning Center for nursing education.
Initial planning for the project began in 2019, according to a press release, but faced delays because of the pandemic. The total renovation is now set to be completed by July 2025. Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown also saw renovations completed in September 2023.
“We care for the most complex
cardiac cases coming into our emergency department,” said Dr. Shubhada Jagasia, president and CEO for Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital.
“Most hospitals admit somewhere around 15-20 percent of patients from their emergency departments, within our full service emergency department we admit around 40 percent. These are high-acuity and complex cases that we manage daily. Our emergency patients get immediate care and advance diagnostics that can be life saving right here in our four walls. This is why we are concentrating on these very necessary improvements.”
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
The PSC site is seen in lower right of image. PHOTO: AERIAL INNOVATIONS SOUTHEAST
BUSINESS BRIEFS
Asurion to cut workforce by approximately 3 percent
Layoffs come after mobile phone insurance and tech repair company undertook downsizing in 2022
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
After undertaking significant employee personnel cuts in mid-2022, Nashvillebased mobile phone insurance and tech repair company Asurion is set to lay off more individuals.
In a statement, the company will reduce its global workforce by approximately 3 percent.
Asurion employs approximately 19,500 people working in 55 locations in 18 countries, according to its website. The Nashville office is home to more than 3,500 employees, the company notes.
The cuts are part of a major restructuring due to various challenges, according to the sources. In June, financial services and bond rating company Moody’s reported Asurion had about $12.3 billion of debt.
“Earlier this year, we shared with employees that, as an industry leader in a competitive market, we have a responsibility to continuously evolve our structure to align with our long-term goals and growth strategy,” the statement reads. “Although our aim was to simplify our operations and focus on our most important initiatives, it became evident that we no longer needed the same number of people in certain areas of the business. This led to the difficult decision to
reduce the size of our team.”
Affected employees are being offered severance packages, benefits continuation options and outplacement services, Asurion said in the statement.
“While the overall impact represents a small percentage of our team, these decisions are always hard. We are parting with friends and colleagues, many of whom we have worked with for years and who have significantly contributed to our growth.”
Asurion ranks among the 20 largest employers in the general Nashville area. S&P Global Ratings notes the company recorded about $9.1 billion in revenue in fiscal year 2023.
Since Covid, Asurion has lost Sprint as a customer and seen various high-ranking company officials depart. In June, Tony Detter stepped down as co-chairman of the Asurion board. Detter previously served as company CEO.
In 2019, Asurion acquired uBreakiFix, a same-day electronic repair provider with multiple locations nationwide, and rebranded to Asurion Tech Repair & Solutions.
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
Coca-Cola affiliate pays $56M for Berry Hill property
Tennessee Soft Drink Production Co. now owns facility it had leased after deal with with long-time owner
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
An affiliate of Coca-Cola has paid $56 million for a Berry Hill commercial building in a deal that ranks among the more robust of the last few years for the Davidson County satellite city.
Tennessee Soft Drink Production Co. now owns the 21.76-acre property, which offers an address of 407 Craighead St. and is home to that company’s Coca-Cola production facility. Geodis Park is located nearby.
The seller was Ragland Corp. Metro records note Ragland acquired the property in 1953 for an unclear sum. Ragland Corp. is not affiliated with Nashville-based real estate development and management company C.B. Ragland Co.
Nashville Business Journal, which first
reported the sale, notes Tennessee Soft Drink Production Co., an affiliate of Coca-Cola Consolidated, had leased the just-acquired building since 1999.
Ragland Corp. also owns an adjacent property, with an address of 493 Craighead St. and home to an O’Reilly Auto Parts store. The company acquired that property in 1953, a deal that seemingly included the building that had just sold to Tennessee Soft Drink Production Co.
The News sister publication the Nashville Post was unable to determine if brokers were involved in the transaction.
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
TriStar Skyline names CEO Longtime HCA veteran Brian Marger to lead Madison-area location
HANNAH HERNER
TriStar Skyline Medical Center has named Brian Marger its CEO. Marger most recently served as vice president for cancer services with Sarah Cannon Cancer Network at the HCA Healthcare TriStar Division in Nashville. He led Onsite Women’s Health until earlier this
year, but has a history with HCA, having first worked for the company in 2003.
He replaces Mark Miller, who was named to the role in early 2023 and has since moved on to Advocate Health Care in Chicago.
“I am thrilled to welcome Brian into this new role within our TriStar Division family. During his tenure with HCA Healthcare, he has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our mission to improve human life through his dedication to superior, patient-centered care,” said Mitch Edgeworth, president of the HCA Healthcare Tristar Division.
Marger earned a Master of Business Administration from Vanderbilt University and a bachelor’s degree from Duke University.
The North Davidson County hospital has seen recent changes in its C-suite. Natalie Whitmer was named COO of the hospital in June. TriStar Skyline is in the process of building a freestanding emergency department in East Nashville, which would serve as a satellite location.
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
Green Hills property sells for $13.05M
Local real estate company now owns Hillsboro Road site after deal with Philadelphia-area entity
WILLIAM WILLIAMS
A Green Hills retail property once seemingly eyed for redevelopment has sold for $13.05 million.
According to a Davidson County Register of Deeds document, the buyer was an LLC affiliated with Green Hills-based Brookside Properties. The LLC then quitclaim deeded the property to a separate LLC.
The seller of the 1.03-acre property, located at 4012 Hillsboro Pike across from Hill Center Green Hills, was Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania-based Stoltz Real Estate Partners. The Philadelphia-area company paid $8.5 million for the property in January 2023. The property offers four retail buildings (previously having accommodated Logos Christian Bookstore and Sleep Outfitters) home to various businesses. It is positioned near the busy T-intersection of Hillsboro and Richard Jones Road.
Brookside officials could not be reached
for comment.
The property is zoned to accommodate a building of up to 15 floors. Nearby is the 18-story Vertis, the site for which Nashvillebased Southern Land Co. developed. In addition, Houston-based Transwestern is nearing completion of a 22-story mixed-use building at 4100 Hillsboro Pike. Previously, Brentwood-based GBT Realty had sought to develop a Richard Jones Road site with the 16-floor Eden House before later selling to Southern Land.
A lawsuit related to the zoning of the justsold property was settled in favor of Stoltz. Unrelatedly, Dallas-based Lincoln Properties is reportedly considered a project for the site.
The property sits within Metro Councilmember Preptit’s District 25.
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
Brian Marger PHOTO: SUBMITTED
Pilgrimage Music Festival
STAFF REPORTS
Over the weekend, the 10th annual Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival took place at The Park at Harlinsdale Farm in Franklin. Weather-related effects from Hurricane Helene threatened to cancel the event, but setting aside a delay on Saturday, this year’s fest went mostly as planned, while fans donned rain gear and dodged (or else jumped right into) mud puddles scattered around the site.
View our gallery below of some of the weekend’s most exciting acts, and check TheNewsTN.com for full coverage of the festival.
Crowds brave the rain on Sept. 28, 2024. PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Noah Kahan PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Grace Bowers and The Hodge Podge
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Dave Matthews Band
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Some attendees embraced the mud on Sept. 29, 2024.
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Hippies and Cowboys PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Charlie Worsham PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Allison Russell
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Rocky Top Revue PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Willi Carlisle
PHOTO: HAMILTON MATTHEW MASTERS
Pumpkin Walnut Muffins
BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE
The quintessential pumpkin muffin that signals fall has arrived. While they’re called “pumpkin” muffins, you can use
ACROSS
mashed fresh sweet potatoes or butternut squash in this recipe too.
INGREDIENTS
2¼ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoons nutmeg
1 stick salted butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Whisk together and set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar, and brown sugar until creamy. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating between additions. Add pumpkin and yogurt, beat well.
4. Add flour mixture a little at a time, beating between each addition. Fold in walnuts.
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin or 2 cups sweet potatoes or squash puree ¼ cup plain Greek yogurt 1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
Streusel Topping ¾ cup flour 1/3 cup brown sugar ½ teaspoon cinnamon 5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
5. To prepare the streusel topping, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and mix together with a fork. Add butter and combine until mixture resembles coarse meal. (Using your hands is useful here.)
6. Pour batter into 12 muffin cups until ¾ full. Sprinkle each with streusel topping. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.
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.
1 Chicken par_ _ _ _ _ in fat
6 Last word, at times
9 Hurdles for doct_ _ _ _ _ tudents
14 Lover boy
15 Bronx politician with a noted 2018 upset, familiarly
16 Clay figure in Jewish folklore
17 Referring t_ _ _ _ _est
18 Onetime studio with a broadcast tower in its logo
19 I_ _ _ _ _ at terrifies thanatophobes
20 Has the stage
21 Participants in a 140.6-mile race
23 Prenatal diagnostic, in brief
25 Because
29 Cropped photo?
32 Made amends for wh_ _ _ _ _id
34 Something that can be “dominant”
35 Comfortable
37 Up there, so to speak
38 Outline
39 They pu_ _ _ _ _ _ _tuff
41 “Star Tre_” _ _ _ _ _ot heard on the original series
7 Half of the couple on the iconic Rolling Stone cover of 1/22/81
8 Subj. for Milton Friedman
9 Nash who wrote “A door is what a dog is perpetually on the wrong side of”
10 Units of X-ray exposure
11 In the manner of
12 Cour t call
13 Texter’s “Unbelievable”
21 Make sense of
22 “When your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places,” per E. Joseph Cossman
24 Broadway “Auntie”
26 Placed bets on both sides
27 Neighbor of Zambia and Namibia
28 Itsy-bitsy
29 Foods with names often ending in “i”
30 Ivy League city surrounded by more than 150 waterfalls
31 Fury
33 Animal with a buglelike mating call
36 Analyze to a fault
40 Site of many wrecks
42 Going nowhere
45 Lifeblood
49 Checked the IDs of
52 Often-skipped step when making rice
54 Like the proverbial milk
56 Will figure
58 411
59 Energize
60 “Beg pardon ...”
61 They often mix up lyrics
62 Spoil
63 Exclamation of enlightenment
65 Grammy winner for Best Rap Album in 2021
ANSWER TO PUZZLE
Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 9,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/ crosswords ($39.95 a year). Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.
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18 MUFFINS
PUZZLE BY JESSE GOLDBERG
SERVICE & MAINTENANCE
WOODMONT BAPTIST CHURCH
Paint the Town
PHOTOS BY JASON BIHLER
On Sept. 14, Preservation Society of Nashville welcomed nearly 200 preservationists, historians, and supporters to Neuhoff District, a mixed-use transformation of Nashville’s 1900s meatpacking district in Germantown alongside the Cumberland River, for its inaugural fundraiser, Paint the Town. During the lively cocktail party, plein-air painters from The Chestnut Group were stationed throughout the space working on paintings of historic sites in Nashville, including Fort Negley and the Belle Meade Theatre, which were later auctioned off to benefit the cause. PSN co-founders Kelleigh Bannen and Colson Horton presented the Sondra Morris Impact Award to Meg Hershey and unveiled some very exciting news: the appointment of David Greider as the nonprofit’s first executive director.
Preservation Society of Nashville cofounders Colson Horton and Kelleigh Bannen
Preservation Society of Nashville Board of Directors
Marian Kohl and Mary Belle Grande Madeleine and Michael Wyatt
Plein-air painter from The Chestnut Group
Preservation Society of Nashville co-founder Colson Horton, Sondra Morris, Sue Bannen, and Preservation Society of Nashville co-founder Kelleigh Bannen
Melanie and Nelson Byrd, Beau and Whitney Daniel
Alexis Stevens and Chuck Draper
Society of Nashville co-founder Kelleigh Bannen,
Director David Greider, and Preservation Society of Nashville co-founder Colson Horton
Cara Jackson and Michael Bryan
Chris Cotton and Lynn Maddox Grace Stephens and Allison Littman
Nashville Film Festival Kick-Off
PHOTOS BY MITCH BEARD
The 55th Nashville Film Festival official kick-off reception at The Finch in Nashville took place on September 18 ahead of NashFilm’s weeklong celebration of film, music and culture.
This year’s invite-only kick-off reception featured networking and celebration of the arts over appetizers and drinks. More
than 60 of the city’s most enthusiastic and influential film, art and music aficionados, along with key industry leaders and experts and board members and leadership for the Nashville Film Festival gathered for an evening brimming with engaging conversations and memorable experiences.
Members of the Nashville Film Festival board and friends with Executive Director Jason Padgitt (center)
Actress Laura Osnes and Producer Nathan Johnson
Guests enjoying the kickoff event
Guests enjoying the kickoff event
Guests enjoying the kickoff event
Nashville Film Festival Programming Director Lauren Thelen and Executive Director Jason Padgit
Nashville Film Festival Executive Director Jason Padgitt with Red Carpet Interviewer Libby O
Guests enjoying the kickoff event at The Finch in downtown Nashville
Musician Lane Smith Musician Mary Sarah
Musician Remy Garrison Tennessee Filmmaker Marta Palombo
Headline Homes: August 2024 A complete list of top home sales for the month
AMANDA HAGGARD
While the founder of firearm accessory company Magpul purchased the highestpriced home in August at $10.7 million, a pair from Seattle surpassed that by buying two of the 10 homes on the list and coming out more than $11 million on their purchases. Katia Capprelli, the owner of Stratus Racing and a former race car driver, and Oracle Cloud executive Clayton Matthew Magouyrk purchased one home in Green Hills and one other located about 20 minutes west of that. The homes themselves on the list this month feature acreage aplenty, custom finishes and the kind of square footage you know nobody could ever clean on her or his own. (Not that these folks will ever have to.)
Below are August’s top 10 home sales in Nashville and the surrounding counties, ranked by sale price.
1. Franklin Pike, Nashville 37204
Buyers: Jamie and Richard Mark Fitzpatrick
Sale price: $10.7 million
Seller: Kathryn Skye Sawrey Cornelius, trustee of the Plettenburg Trust
Founder of high-tech polymer and composite firearms accessory company
Magpul Richard Mark Fitzpatrick and wife, Jamie, purchased this six-bedroom, several bathroom home in Franklin. The residence also comes with 2.5 acres of outdoor space. Magpul moved its headquarters from Colorado to Texas about 10 years ago in response to Colorado’s gun-control legislation. Should we expect the founder to bring the business with him to Williamson County?
2. Robin Hill Road, Nashville 37205
Buyer: 235 Robin Hill Road Trust
Sale price: $8.5 million
Seller: Mac LLC
Seller’s agent: Franklin Pargh and Lana Pargh, Compass RE
Buyer’s agent: Megan Garrett, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Sitting on nearly three acres, this sixbedroom, 10-bathroom home was custom built by Landon Development. The 12,157 square feet inside includes a grand entrance with white oak flooring throughout the main level. The exterior features cedar shingles and copper gutters, and the backyard includes a pool, spa, outdoor fireplace and full outdoor kitchen. Inside, there’s also a twolane bowling alley, gym and movie theater, complete with its own snack bar. Add the five-car garage, and you get an $8.5 million home.
3. Harding Place, Nashville 37215
Buyers: Katia Capprelli and Clayton Matthew Magouyrk
Sale price: $6.2 million
Seller: Harding Place Investments LLC
Seller’s agent: Chris Harwell and Sharon Kinser, Tarkington & Harwell Company
Buyers’ agent: Mary Brown, PARKS Owner of Stratus Racing and former race car driver Katia Capprelli and Oracle Cloud executive Clayton Matthew Magouyrk purchased this home as well as another in town on this list. This Green Hills abode came with seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms, all in 8,553 square feet. The half-acre lot offers a pool, back deck putting green, outdoor fireplace, private motor court and three-car garage. In addition to the bedrooms, there’s a full guest suite set away from the main house, which the listing says
would be “perfect for live-in grandparents, nanny, custom home gym, or designated office.” Dream big.
4. Sewanee Road, Nashville 37220
Buyer: Counts Holdings LLC
Sale price: $5.25 million
Seller: Stone Oak Builders LLC
Seller’s agent: Richard Bryan, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Buyer’s agent: Stephen Delahoussaye, House Haven Realty
A holding company purchased this home from the builders for $5.25 million. The newly constructed home in Oak Hill sits on one acre. The entry to the home includes custom herringbone pattern wood flooring, while the main floor of the home offers an owner’s suite outfitted with a coffee bar, 10-foot ceilings and two walk-in closets. The living area opens into a massive patio with a kitchen. The home has two pantries as well, one in the main kitchen and a second “butler’s pantry” that features a Zephyr wine refrigerator, Monogram refrigerator/freezer and Scotsman ice maker.
5. Hunters Trail, Nashville 37209
Buyers: Katia Capprelli and Clayton Matthew Magouyrk
Sale price: $4.99 million
Seller: Domus Development Group LLC
Seller’s agent: Pete Jones and Amy Clithero Gill, PARKS
Buyers’ agent: Mary Brown, PARKS
This is the second home Capprelli and Magouyrk purchased in August. This one is “close enough to Nashville for a downtown skyline view over the pool, and far enough away for seductive privacy, this envyinducing ridge top jewel leaves nothing to be desired.” (Except maybe a whole other house
across town.) This house sits on five acres of “soul-enriching views.” And on the inside, every space is “bathed in natural beauty and subtle drama,” according to the listing.
6. Van Leer Drive, Nashville 37220
Buyer: Casa Del Mar Trust
Sale price: $4,975,000
Sellers: Travis and Aftin Swearingen
Sellers’ agent: Alexander Brandau IV, Keller Williams Realty
Buyer’s agent: Julie Riven Dretler, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Trial lawyer Travis Swearingen and his wife, Aftin, who is a health care director at HCA, sold this nearly $5 million home to a Casa Del Mar Trust. The Oak Hill home was built on just more than an acre in 2021. The yard has a hidden dog fence, irrigation system and ground basketball goal. The home has five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a media room, a recreation room and a threecar garage.
7. Carl Road, Franklin 37064
Buyers: Steven Pittel and Roxanne Isaacson
Sale price: $4.8 million
Sellers: Holly Christine and Jeffrey William Hayes
Sellers’ and buyers’ agent: Kimberly Biddle and Tristan Kinsley, Compass RE Influencer Holly Christine Hayes and husband sold this home in Leiper’s Fork just a couple short years after moving in. With more than 15 acres, the luxury farm estate comes with two fenced pastures, an equestrian barn and fresh water sources for the animals. The home, which was featured in Southern Living magazine, was renovated last year — the basement was built out in a dance and yoga studio, movie theater room and guest quarters with
Franklin Pike PHOTO: ANGELINA CASTILLO
Van Leer Drive PHOTO: ANGELINA CASTILLO
Headline Homes
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 20
full bathroom as well as a sound-proofed recording studio.
8. Old Hillsboro Road, Franklin 37064
Buyer: Michelle Campbell
Sale price: $4,185,000
Sellers: Durand and Tina McIntosh
Sellers’ agent: Kayla Jarmon, Luxury Homes of Tennessee and Joe Jennings, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Woodmont Realty
Buyer’s agent: Wendy Chancellor, PARKS
Jeweler Durand McIntosh and his wife, Tina, sold this four-bedroom, four-bathroom home for just over $4 million. This home also comes with acreage, like many on this month’s list, with five acres to stretch out in. “This is a haven where high-end luxury doesn’t just look stunning, it feels like home,” the listing says. In this case, that means bespoke woodwork throughout, a screened-in deck with a wood-burning fireplace, a heated saltwater pool, a lighted sports court, a fourstall stable and a horse arena.
9. Joslin Court, Brentwood 37027
Buyer: Christolas Trust
Sale price: $4,121,710
Seller: Mike Ford Custom Builders LLC
Seller’s agent: Mary Kocina, Fridrich & Clark Realty
Buyer’s agent: Caitlin Martin, Weichert Realtors - The Andrews Group
We thought we’d go a month without seeing a Mike Ford Custom home, but this one saved us. A trust purchased this custombuilt home with 12-foot ceilings, wood beam details, a wine room and a butler’s pantry. Mike Ford also hooked this one up with an elevator, a sun deck, an exercise room, and finished storage space over the garage. A private study in the rear of the home overlooks the tree-lined backyard.
10. Panorama Valley Lane, Franklin 37064
Buyer: Paul and Shannin Pickle, Pickle Revocable Trust
Sale price: $4,025,000
Seller: Gregory Penza
Seller and buyer’s agent: Alex Helton, Helton Real Estate Group
Paul Pickle, who was abruptly fired as CEO of Semtech in June, and his wife, Shannin, purchased this home from ULC ULC Robotics President Gregory Penza. The home is located in the Sloan Valley Farms area, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms and almost seven acres of outdoor space. The main floor includes the owner’s suite and large windows for natural lighting. Upstairs, each of the remaining bedrooms has its own bathroom.
This article was first published by our sister publication the Nashville Post.
Five free and cheap family things to do in Middle Tennessee
It may be tough to choose what to do with your Saturday this week. Oct. 5 offers several fun outdoor festivals, including two that would be perfect for the kids. The Dragon Boat Festival is perfect for your family members who love to see a race with some flair. Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival packs a lot of punch into one daylong event at Centennial Park. There’s also one just for the dogs at Pups & Pints in West Nashville. Or you can head south and Hike for Healing at the new Mill Ridge Park. If the mud hasn’t quite dried to your liking, you can try Jazz AM, an interactive music workshop on Buchanan Street. As part of our series on free cheap things to do with the family, here is our weekly roundup of places to spend time together over the next week:
DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL
On Oct. 5, the annual Dragon Boat Festival is slated for a full day of races and fun riverside in downtown Nashville starting at 10 a.m. Families are welcome to bring a blanket, chairs and sit next to the Cumberland River and watch the boats race by. All proceeds from the event benefit the Cumberland River compact.
HIKE FOR HEALING
At the new Mill Ridge Park in southeast Nashville, they’re hosting a second annual Hike for Healing on Oct. 5 from 8-10 a.m. The hike offers a “chance to come together as a community, to hike for justice, healing, and hope for all,” according to the event. The hike is free, and is appropriate for the whole family.
CELEBRATE NASHVILLE CULTURAL FESTIVAL
The annual Celebrate Nashville Cultural Festival is also on Oct. 5. From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.. The day is full of events to choose from: The Asurion Stage will host dance and musical performances. The Café Stag near the food area offers a smaller stage to hang out around while you choose from foods from all over the world. The Global Village shows off the customs and traditions of the participating cultures in Nashville. The World Bazaar will have several booths with handcrafted or imported items. Metro Parks Community Center leaders and members will also be on hand offering chances to dance, play sports or engage in arts and crafts. Centennial Park Conservancy’s
popular Kidsville will also be there as well as Teens United! You could spend all day here if there weren’t so many other things going on, too.
JAZZ AM
Jazz AM is a series of free Saturday morning programs that offer interactive jazz concerts for young people. This iteration focuses on Duke Ellington, and every event includes music, puppets, improv, rhythm and movement. The show begins at 10 a.m. is first come, first served.
PUPS & PINTS
This one is for the furry family members. Pups & Pints offers an afternoon of dog-friendly activities for your best buds from noon to 4 p.m. In addition to pet product vendors, food trucks, and pet photos, there’s also a full beer garden. All beer sales at the Oct. 5 event benefit the Nashville Humane Association.
AMANDA HAGGARD
Dragon Boat Festival PHOTO: CUMBERLAND RIVER COMPACT
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