May 18, 2023

Mayoral race kicks into gear with televised forum

BY CONNOR DARYANI

Metro election season is heating up this week, with one of the first major mayoral forums taking place Tuesday night.

Following Mayor John Cooper’s decision not to run for a second term, the field quickly expanded. Ten candidates took the stage for WKRN’s mayoral forum: Heidi Campbell, Freddie O’Connell, Matt Wiltshire, Jeff Yarbro, Natisha Brooks, Jim Gingrich, Sharon Hurt, Vivian Wilhoite, Stephanie Johnson and Alice Rolli.

Over the past few weeks, both Gingrich and Wiltshire have aired TV ads, yard signs have begun popping up throughout the city and with the May 18 qualifying deadline fast approaching, Tuesday night in some ways marked the beginning of a busy season.

82nd Iroquois Steeplechase returns to Percy Warner Park

MATT MASTERS

The 82nd annual Iroquois Steeplechase drew thousands to Percy Warner Park on Saturday, May 13, where Irish racehorse Scaramanga pulled off an upset in The Calvin Houghland Iroquois Race beating two-time winner Snap Decision.

The Eight-year-old Scaramanga (lovingly known to his team as “Scuba Steve”) prevented Snap Decision from securing a historic three-peat.

“It was a great experience to come to Nashville; it’s such a friendly place,” Scaramanga’s Owner Malcolm C. Denmark said. “The ground here is firmer than the UK, and we know it’s a great place to run Scaramanga.”

“This is a very special race with a lot of history and to beat a horse like Snap Decision is really cool,” Scaramanga’s Jockey

Paul Townend added.

The winners of the all of the races are as follows:

Race 1 - 11 JIMMY P, Jockey Danny Mullins, Owner Madaket Stables LLC, Molly Willis, Paul Willis, Trainer Keri Brion

Race 2 - 3 L’IMPERATOR, Jockey Stephen Mulqueen, Owner Hudson River Farms, Trainer Archibald Kingsley Jr.

Race 3 – 4 BARBADOS, Jockey Stephen Mulqueen, Owner Richard C. Colton Jr. and Stella Thayer, Trainer Archibald Kingsley Jr.

Race 4 – 1 COOL JET, Jockey Graham Watters, Owner Riverdee Stable, Trainer Jack Fisher

An early poll from school choice group Tennesseans for Student Success had Campbell and Yarbro, both Democratic state senators, leading the race going into Tuesday night, with O’Connell, the District 19 Metro councilmember, close behind.

Over two hours, candidates spoke about transportation and infrastructure, housing, education, crime and inequality. With so many topics to discuss, two hours felt insufficient for 10 candidates to differentiate themselves from one another. Following each question, asked by various community leaders, candidates were given one minute to respond, and from the jump it was apparent that the future mayor would need to put in the work to stand out.

“As you can see, all of us on this platform have the same interests,” said Wilhoite. “We want affordable housing. We all want public safety, investment in what’s happening in our city, but there’s one thing that separates all of us. The will and drive to make things happen.”

Wilhoite, one of the more recent entrants in the race, said that her time as Davidson County property assessor shows she has that energy more so than the other nine candidates — a crop that includes state

Irish race horse Scaramanga is celebrated following his win on May 13 with Jockey Paul Townend, Owner Malcom C. Denmark and Trainers Rachel Robins and William Mullins.

PHOTO COURTESY OF IROQUOIS STEEPLECHASE/THE ANDREWS AGENCY

Fashion was on full display at the 82nd Iroquois Steeplechase

PHOTO COURTESY OF IROQUOIS STEEPLECHASE/THE ANDREWS AGENCY

Steeplechase

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Irish race horse Scaramanga enjoys a carrot with one of his trainers, Rachel Robins, at Percy Warner Park two days before the 82nd Iroquois Steeplechase.

Race 5 – 8 SCARAMANGA, Jockey Paul Townend, Owner Malcolm C. Denmark, Trainer William Mullins

Race 6 – 3 BERCASA, Jockey Gerard Galligan, Owner Katherine S. Neilson, Trainer Katherine Neilson

Race 7 – 2 FAMILY TREE, Jockey Barry Foley, Owner Leipers Fork Steeplechase, Trainer Leslie Young

In addition to the races, Steeplechase saw the return of big hats and stylish fashion despite the early rain and warm, humid weather that followed into the afternoon, as well as the family-favorite stick horse races for the children.

In the days before the race, horses began arriving at the park as the grounds were prepared for the big day.

On Thursday, May 11, organizers unveiled the positions for the race, and The News spoke with Scaramanga’s grooming trainer Rachel Robins who traveled with

the horse from Ireland and tended to him at the Nashville stables.

“Once you get over here, everyone is so friendly and so nice, and it’s just lovely,” Robins said.

“Horse racing is just a big, big family industry and everyone are friends, so it’s great to come back as a community together.”

Scaramanga and his team traveled by ferry from Ireland to England and then on another ferry to France. They then drove to Belgium and on to Amsterdam, followed by a plane ride to Chicago.

Following a 40-hour quarantine, Scaramanga traveled by truck from Chicago to Nashville.

“We’ve had to get to know each other as well, but he is very trusting,” Robins said, calling watching Scaramanga run “magical,” and noting that this year’s event was only the second time that Scaramanga has performed in a hurdle race.

The annual race has been a Nashville tradition since 1941 and has raised nearly $11 million for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt since 1981.

Thousands of people filled Percy Warner Park for the 82nd Iroquois Steeplechase

PHOTO COURTESY OF IROQUOIS STEEPLECHASE/THE ANDREWS AGENCY

Attendees celebrate winning race horse Jimmy P. who was led by Jockey Danny Mullins, Owned by Madaket Stables LLC, Molly Willis amd Paul Willis and Trained by Keri Brion. PHOTO COURTESY OF IROQUOIS STEEPLECHASE/THE ANDREWS AGENCY

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Mayoral race

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

legislators, Metro councilmembers, business executives and activists.

The first question, asked by novelist and organizer Simone Boyd, triggered a discussion about the recently approved deal to help fund a new stadium on the East Bank. Most of the candidates avoided making substantive statements about the project, with only Gingrich, Hurt and O’Connell taking specific stands in the moment. While Hurt, a Metro councilmember who voted for the deal, spoke in support, Gingrich and O’Connell both spoke against the deal.

Transportation and infrastructure was one of the main issues of the night. All candidates agreed that Nashville is in dire need of an overhaul, with many of them taking the step to say they would bring greater mass transit to the city during their term. Throughout the night, Wiltshire and Wilhoite referenced publicprivate partnerships as a tool to solve various problems the city faces, including transportation and housing.

The issue of the city’s relationship with the state did not come up in questions, but candidates repeatedly referenced the tensions in their answers. While some, like Brooks, spoke about trying to work with the state and mend the relationship, O’Connell discussed the idea of finding ways to serve the people of Nashville despite the state’s continued attacks on the city. Rolli, like Brooks a rare Republican in the race, blamed

the city’s debt for the tensions.

Another issue on the top of everyone’s minds was the rapid development of Nashville, which has led to generally decreased affordability. All of the candidates acknowledged that investments needed to be made in affordable housing as well as in programming and infrastructure to support the city’s various communities.

“With all the big developments that we’ve seen in our city, I still think most Nashvillians know that you’re not really a big league city unless you’re investing in the Little League fields and in people’s neighborhoods,” said Yarbro.

With the limited time, it was difficult to parse through what the candidates’ actual policies would look like. Still, the forum served as an opportunity for the candidates to present their backgrounds and experience. While some of them already have some name recognition due to time in office and other public-facing roles, others, such as Gingrich, are not as familiar to the public.

“I’m not exactly like the other folks on this stage,” said Gingrich, a former executive at AllianceBernstein. “I’ve never worked in politics. I’ve never run for office.”

Election Day is Aug. 3, and there are more than a dozen forums similar to Tuesday’s scheduled until then, including one Wednesday.

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

44th annual Bellevue Community Picnic set for Saturday

STAFF REPORTS

The 44th annual Bellevue Community Picnic will take place this Saturday. The free event will take place from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. featuring carnival rides, a petting zoo, inflatables, food trucks, arts and crafts vendors, with more than 80 businesses, nonprofits and other community organizations represented, and a fireworks display scheduled for 9 p.m.

Live entertainment includes Bellevue’s own Whelan Stone, the Hillwood High School Band and cheerleaders, Gale Mayes Band,

Vaken, Cliff Notes, Giovanni Rodriguez and 12 Manos, Friends of Bluegrass, the Dance Academy of Bellevue, Bellevue Performing Arts Center, Nashville Christian School Band, as well as the Bellevue Middle School Jazz Band and cheerleaders.

The picnic will take place in the recreational area behind Bellevue Middle School at 655 Colice Jeanne Road in Nashville and is organized by the Bellevue Harpeth Chamber of Commerce.

Bellevue Community Picnic

PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLEVUE HARPETH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Local universities hold commencement ceremonies for spring 2023 graduates STAFF REPORTS

Several local universities held commencement ceremonies over the past two weeks to honor their 2023 spring graduating classes.

Belmont held a ceremony for graduate students on Friday, May 5, followed by a pair of commencements for undergraduate students on Saturday, May 6, both of which were held in the Curb Event Center.

In total, 1,511 students were recognized, including 1,069 bachelor’s candidates and 442 master’s and doctoral candidates. Belmont President Dr. Greg Jones also handed out a pair of special honorary Doctor of University during the events to individuals who have “greatly impacted both Belmont and the Nashville community.”

On Friday evening, Board of Trustee members Joe and Anne Russell were honored. The Russells both gave a $4

million endowment in 2016 to support the University’s Bell Tower Scholars program, which has provided hundreds of Metro Nashville Public School graduates access to a Belmont education.

On Saturday afternoon, legendary gospel singer CeCe Winans was honored. Winans is a Belmont parent, a former Board of Trustee member, and is beginning a residency at The Fisher Center through the fall semester. As part of her residency, she will host seminars, speak in chapel and perform a stop on her “Believe For It” tour in September.

Lipscomb University also held both its graduate and undergraduate ceremonies on Saturday, May 6, each of which took place in Allen Arena.

Nearly 1,000 students were honored in total, including the university’s firstever graduates in the Master of Science in

cardiovascular perfusion program. Lipscomb also held its inaugural First Generation Pinning Ceremonies, honoring May and December students who were the first in their families to graduate college.

Tennessee State University held a ceremony for more than 200 graduate students on Friday, May 5 in the Howard C. Gentry Complex, while over 600 undergraduate students were honored at a commencement on Saturday, May 6 in Hale Stadium.

On Friday, United States Congressman Bennie G. Thompson, who man who led the congressional investigation into the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, led the ceremony. TSU President Glenda Glover conferred the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters on Rep. Thompson.

On Saturday, iconic talk show host, media

mogul, and TSU alum Oprah Winfrey spoke to the collection of graduating students. The former Nashville resident spoke of her time at News Channel 5, where she was the station’s first Black female TV anchor, as well as the story of how she came back to earn her final credit for graduation in 1986.

On Friday, May 12, Vanderbilt moved its undergraduate commencement ceremony indoors to Bridgestone Arena where an estimated 15,000 guests gathered due to inclement weather.

The university’s graduate and professional schools honorees celebrated at other ceremonies around campus. In total, approximately 4,498 students graduated from Vanderbilt during the 2022–23 academic year, including approximately 2,689 people receiving graduate and professional degrees.

Bachelor candidates for Jack C. Massey College of Business, Mike Curb College of Entertainment & Music Business at Belmont University on May 6, 2023

PHOTO BY SAM SIMPKINS/BELMONT OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Lipscomb University undergraduate candidates gather in Allen Arena on May 6, 2023.

PHOTO BY SHELBY MICK/LIPSCOMB OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS

Alumna Oprah Winfrey speaks to Tennessee State candidates for graduation at Hale Stadium on May 6, 2023.

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY NEWSROOM

Vanderbilt Commencement 2023 was indoors at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. Rainy conditions prompted the change from the outdoor ceremony planned on campus. PHOTO COURTESY OF VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

Five free and cheap family things to do in middle Tennessee

BY AMANDA HAGGARD

This week’s free and cheap events include a spectrum of events and no two are alike.

First there are a number of events south of Nashville at Cannonsburgh Village. Basically pick a day and there is something educational or fun going on there. The library downtown will have a number of showings of the Tall Tale Circus, which is good for kids across a wide age group. Pick up a few beauties for the lawn and have

the kids help at a Spring Native Plant Sale and teach them the joy of planting the things our local ecosystem does best with. Musicians Corner has weeks and weeks of tunes planned — shows go until 9 p.m. on Fridays, but Saturday everything is sewn up by 6 p.m. And then if you like turtles, there’s a whole day of celebration lined up for those little fellas. Cowabunga!

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:

MAY AT CANNONSBURGH

Nearly every day in May, Cannonsburgh Village down in Murfreesboro is hosting family-friendly events. There will be demonstrations throughout the month on blacksmithing, textiles, live music, art, crocheting and more. All events are free and no registration is required.

WISHING CHAIR PUPPET SHOW: TALL TALE CIRCUS

The Nashville Public Library downtown is presenting the Tall Tale Circus, which is put on by the Wishing Chair Puppet troupe. This 30-minute musical showcase presents Pecos Bill, Calamity Jane, John Henry and Johnny Appleseed and various types of puppets. All showings are free and are recommended for children aged 3 to 10 years old.

SPRING NATIVE PLANT SALE

Owl’s Hill Nature Sanctuary will have a selection of native seeds, perennials, trees and shrubs for sale at its annual Spring Native Plant Sale. The in-person event begins at 10 a.m. on May 20, and there is an online presale for any folks feeling antsy about

snagging the right plants. Proceeds for the sale benefit the sanctuary as well as the Middle Tennessee Chapter of WildOnes, an organization that promotes the use of native plants in the landscape and the use of sustainable landscaping practices.

MUSICIANS CORNER

Nashville’s free concert series Musicians Corner is slated to begin its summer celebration of music on May 19. Alanna Royale, Lilly Hart, the Seratones and Harry Keyworth are slated for opening day, and on May 20, the festival will include Nikki Lane, Jackie Venson, Roanoke, Hobo Cane and Luke Schneider. Over five weeks, 12 shows will host dozens of artists each Friday from 5-9 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. from May 19 to June 17. All shows are at Centennial Park.

WORLD TURTLE DAY AT SHELBY BOTTOMS

One of our favorite pastimes while walking in various parks about town is to see how many turtles are in the water. Shelby Bottoms Nature Center and Radnor seem to be up there with the most turtles, and Shelby Bottoms is hosting its own little party for World Turtle Day on May 23. Come out and celebrate those little hard-backed cuties.

No more city funding for the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce

BY BILL FREEMAN

Mayor John Cooper has decided not to put the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce in the budget this year, which means the chamber will receive no funding from the city. This will be the first time in 33 years, according to the Nashville Business Journal, that the chamber will not receive funds from the city. Though this decision may be surprising for some, it doesn’t come as a surprise to everyone.

In May 2020, I wrote about how the mayor had cut the chamber’s funding in half, from $350,000 to $175,000. As the chamber receives funds for recruiting businesses to both our city and the surrounding area, it seemed odd that 46 companies moved to “our region,” but none of them to Davidson County. This brings the leadership of chamber president and CEO Ralph Schulz into question in terms of economic development. Despite Nashville’s incredible growth, the chamber has also downsized its office space and cut staff

REGARDING WHO DIED

To the writer of the article regarding DeSantis. Spot on!!!! Now, if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to use your same letter, deleting DeSantis’ name and inserting each name of our illustrious Governor Plumbing, each Republican senator and representative of our state and federal government. All of these people have their heads in the sand and each will line up to kiss the posterior of Trump and DeSantis. Each and everyone of them are sticking their noses in people’s

during Schulz’s tenure.

Late last year, I had a poll conducted within the business community. Fifty-eight percent of respondents gave Schulz a rating of 0 or 1 out of 10 for his leadership, and 44 percent disagreed with the chamber’s regional focus. The chamber’s focus should be more on Nashville.

This has not, however, been the most negative news related to the chamber and Schulz’s leadership in recent years.

A year ago, without consulting Mayor Cooper, the chamber was pushing legislation to give county mayors the power to take over school boards. This move seemed to have angered Mayor Cooper, who was blindsided by the chamber’s actions. Some speculated at that time that the mayor cut the chamber’s budget by 50 percent because of that move — and as I noted in a previous letter, “The relationship between the chamber and the city was, as Councilmember At-Large Bob Mendes put it, ‘likely at a 50-year low.’”

The Nashville Business Journal reported that when it comes to the contract between city and chamber, “the city and the chamber [should be] aligned and share a vision for growth.” But from all outward appearances, and perhaps despite best efforts by the mayor, such a vision does not seem to be shared.

Further, when the Metro Council voted against bringing the Republican National Convention to Nashville in 2024, GOP lawmakers became vengeful. As reported earlier this month by the Nashville Scene: “During the three-month session, the Tennessee General Assembly passed bills cutting the Metro Council in half, abolishing Nashville’s police oversight board, restricting funds related to the Music City Center, taking over seats on Nashville’s airport and sports boards and easing the path to a NASCAR-fueled overhaul at The Fairgrounds Nashville’s racetrack.” As reported by the Nashville Post, “the state has taken an even more aggressive stance toward Metro governance, and some local officials have chafed at the chamber’s absence from some of the debates.” They feel the chamber should have been much more supportive.

“Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D-Nashville), who chairs the Nashville delegation in the state General Assembly,” reports the NBJ, “said he spent ‘an insane amount of time’ combatting state legislation aimed at Nashville — and said he could have used more help from the city’s business leaders.”

State representatives have been trying to take over leadership positions in Nashville, and rather than apologizing or stepping in to help out, Schulz has said the bill to cut the Metro Council in half “was not an issue for us to address, so they took no position on it.” Metro councilmembers work to advocate for Nashvillians across the city, but Schulz was apparently uninspired.

In the same NBJ article, Schulz essentially excused himself from not coming to the aid of business leaders — saying, effectively, if legislators are going to pass those laws (to disenfranchise and disempower Nashville’s leaders), they’re going to pass them, and the chamber could make recommendations after the fact. Way to fight for your fellow business leaders, Mr. Schulz.

In light of these and the more recent events, it’s not surprising that Mayor Cooper has decided not to include the chamber in the budget this year. If the chamber is not doing its part to help Nashville grow and thrive — and if chamber CEO Schulz, who is supposed to support our city’s business leaders, won’t step up — there’s little reason to pay out rewards.

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.

business that they have no clue as to what they are saying or doing. Health care should be available for EVERYONE, not excluding individuals you know nothing about. The idiot leaders should be working to ban the assault rifles. No, a***oles, we don’t want to take away your guns, or mine, you just need to keep weapons of war off the market. The next time you log on your computer to make your dates with teen girls, watch porn, get what I’m saying?, look up a picture of what a child looks like after being shot with one

of the long rifles. FYI, there’s nothing left of the face, the chest, the arms and legs. Is it going to take one of you to have a child, grandchild, relative, friend, neighbor to be mutilated by one of these AR-15’s or AK-47’s to slap you in the face and get you back into reality and life as it is existing in today’s world? Thoughts and prayers are not working.

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

LISA

Ralph Schulz

MNPS board passes draft of 2023-2024 budget

BY KELSEY BEYELER

On Tuesday, the Metro Nashville Public Schools board approved a draft budget to present to the Metro Council later this month. The vote was unanimous, though District 2 representative Rachael Anne Elrod wasn’t present. Once the council holds a budget hearing for MNPS and approves a city budget, the school board will vote on a finalized version in June.

Following Mayor John Cooper’s $100 million budget increase proposal for MNPS, the draft budget clocks in at around $1.21 billion. The document can be found in the MNPS board’s agenda, and new expenditures are summarized on the first page.

Nearly $42 million would be allocated for employee pay and benefit increases, including step increases and a 4 percent costof-living adjustment for certificated staff, support staff and nutrition service workers. Additionally, administration staff, such as principals and assistant principals, will see raises and expanded pay scales.

The proposed budget also includes $8 million for universal free lunches. State grants provide around $1.65 million in funding for school safety, family resource centers and school health measures. An estimated $22 million is being included for charter transfer increases, though that number could change because of the new Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement funding formula.

“Every charter school will now have a separate and distinct per-pupil amount based upon the TISA weighted student funding formula as well as the additional local revenue that we will see in our operating budget,” said MNPS chief of finance Chris Henson. “We are still working with the Tennessee Department of Education on exactly how that calculation would be made.”

The draft also reflects changes to MNPS’ substitute teacher model — an attempt to address shortages. Instead of cycling in day-to-day subs, the district is shifting to a school-based system with “classroom

associates.” These positions mean subs would stay in schools and fill in as needed so they can have a better understanding of specific schools. Director of Schools Adrienne Battle says these positions will increase sub wages and allow them to be eligible for retirement and health benefits. The budget includes a proposed $10.8 million for this program, which would add 314 new positions in addition to preexisting ones. District 9 representative Abigail Tylor asked why day-to-day sub rates aren’t increasing. Battle said the new program will “be our primary structure and strategy.”

District 3 representative Emily Masters noted that longevity pay for teachers wasn’t included in the budget draft.

“[The Metropolitan Nashville Education Association] is glad to see MNPS include step raises and a 4 percent COLA in next year’s budget,” says Michele Sheriff, president of Nashville’s teachers’ union. “We had hoped to see a greater intentional effort to retain teachers. Instead of funding the expanded bereavement leave agreement, the district has instead chosen to prioritize correcting the Administrative Pay Scale resulting in an average pay increase almost twice the average increase certificated staff received two years ago. Not everyone on this pay scale is even in a school, some are central office employees. This pay scale already includes longevity pay for administrators, which is another thing that has been a priority for teachers at the top of the pay scale for the past few years.

“Finally, we are happy to see the investment in building assigned subs,” Sheriff continues. “However, it’s only a partial solution to our staffing crisis. Day-today subs continue to be a category of MNPS employees who make less than the Mayor’s professed $18.50 minimum wage, and the district has stated they have no plans to increase day-to-day sub pay.”

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

Davidson County Board of Education PHOTO BY ERIC ENGLAND

Predators, stocked with 13 picks, looking forward to impactful NHL Draft

BY JOHN GLENNON

The last time the Predators made 13 selections in the NHL Entry Draft, the year was 2003 and the event was held at Bridgestone Arena.

That was the year the Predators selected defensemen Ryan Suter, Shea Weber and Kevin Klein in a span of 42 selections, setting the franchise up for years to come with a trio of blueliners that would eventually play a combined 1,708 games for Nashville – totaling 220 goals, 543 assists and 763 points.

The Preds certainly wouldn’t mind that

kind of history repeating itself on June 2829, when the draft returns to Music City for the first time in two decades.

It just so happens that the Predators have 13 selections, the most of any team in the NHL, and – if they use all those picks, instead of trading any – it would represent a franchise high for Nashville in a sevenround draft. The league trimmed the draft from nine to seven rounds in 2005.

The Preds’ pick total includes two firstround picks (the first is 15th overall), two second-round picks, three third-round

picks, three fourth-round picks, two fifthround picks and one sixth-round pick.

“There’s definitely a level of excitement,” Predators assistant general manager/director of scouting Jeff Kealty said Wednesday. “It’s a good challenge. You saw the young players we do have now toward the end of the season. So there’s a good base there.

“Everybody here really sees the opportunity to add to that. If we can really hit it well here the next couple drafts, particularly this year [and] add that to the young guys we do have, we’ll be in really good shape.”

A team that reached the playoffs in eight straight seasons before falling short this year, the Predators have more often than not been a team trading away draft picks during the past decade – trying to collect assets for playoff runs in return.

That’s the main reason Nashville hasn’t made more than seven draft picks over the past three years, nor as many as 10 since 2013.

But that changed this season, when Predators general manager David Poile dealt away a handful of players at the NHL trade deadline, securing five additional 2023 draft picks – one each in the first, second, third, fourth and fifth rounds – in the process.

“At the trade deadline we kind of knew we were going in that direction with the picks and the young players we added and the picks going forward,” Kealty said. “We know we’ve set things up pretty well for ourselves going forward here and we know the opportunity is there the next couple of

Ten takeaways from Titans’ 2023 schedule

BY JOHN GLENNON

The Titans’ 2023 opponents were already set.

The NFL completed the annual schedule puzzle on Thursday, announcing dates and times for all the league’s games.

The Titans will open on the road for the first time since 2020, traveling to New Orleans for what should be quarterback Derek Carr’s debut with the Saints.

Tennessee plays its home opener the following week, when the Titans host quarterback Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers.

And on October 15, the Titans will be heading to London to take on the Baltimore Ravens at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with kickoff set for 8:30 a.m. on the NFL Network.

Here are 10 quick takeaways concerning the schedule:

FEWER IN PRIME-TIME

The Titans aren’t in especially high national demand coming off a 7-10 season that ended with seven straight losses. Tennessee is currently scheduled to play two prime-time contests in 2023, both on the road: at Pittsburgh on Thursday Night Football (Nov. 2) and at Miami on Monday Night Football (Dec. 11). The good news for people who enjoy traditional football hours is that 13 of the Titans’ games are currently scheduled for Sundays at noon.

NEW QUARTERBACKS

The Titans could see the three quarterbacks drafted ahead of Will Levis

a combined five times this season. They’ll take on the Colts and Anthony Richardson (fourth overall pick) in Week 5 and Week 13, the Panthers and Bryce Young (first overall pick) in Week 12, and the Texans and C.J. Stroud (second overall pick) in Weeks 15 and 17. Levis was the 33rd overall pick.

NEW COACHES

The Titans will face three of the five new NFL coaches for 2023 — a list that correlates with the new quarterbacks item above. Tennessee will meet Indianapolis’ Shane Steichen (Weeks 5 and 13), Carolina’s Frank Reich (Week 12) and Houston’s DeMeco Ryans (Weeks 15 and 17).

COLD EARLY, HOT LATE

As far as road games played in

years to really set ourselves up.

“If you look back 20 years ago when we had the draft here, if you remember all the picks that we had … we really set ourselves up there with Ryan Suter and Shea Weber going forward. I think we look at this as the same type of opportunity, and we’re going to work now and we’ll be ready to go.”

The Predators have selected five forwards and a goalie with their previous six firstround draft picks, meaning the franchise hasn’t selected a defenseman in the first round since Dante Fabbro in 2016.

But that doesn’t necessarily mean Nashville will be looking to land a blueliner at No. 15 this year, especially in a draft that’s considered deeper in forwards than defensemen.

“We definitely talk about that stuff,” Kealty said. “I mean, that’s kind of just the way it’s fallen for us. We haven’t picked real high. So sometimes when you pick high, you probably have a little more luxury as to say, positionally, things you can try to pinpoint.

“We’ve been a little later, so you’re really focusing on the best player. With where we sit, we’ve taken a lot more forwards of late, but you probably still have to take the best player because you want the best assets moving forward.”

Whichever position the Preds choose in the first round, they will have many more opportunities to add variety to the mix.

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

inhospitable conditions, the Titans may have lucked out. Tennessee plays at its two likeliest cold-weather sites — Cleveland and Pittsburgh — before Nov. 3. On the other hand, the Titans play at the two likeliest hotweather sites — Tampa Bay and Miami — in November and December, respectively.

ANOTHER JACKSONVILLE FINALE

The Titans and Jaguars decided the AFC South — and an automatic playoff berth — in Week 18 last year, when Jacksonville rallied late for the win. The teams will square off once again in the season finale, though this time the game is at Nissan Stadium.

ROADIE, ROADIE, ROADIE

The Titans will be tested by three straight road games, when they take on Pittsburgh,

Sean Henry (left), David Poile (center), Barry Trotz PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NASHVILLE PREDATORS

Ten takaways

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Tampa Bay and Jacksonville in successive weeks in November. That will mark the first time the Titans have gone on the road for three straight regular-season contests since 2013, when they played at Oakland (win), Indianapolis (loss) and Denver (loss).

BYE-BYE, FALCONS?

The Titans will take on Atlanta following Tennessee’s bye week. That could be bad news for the Falcons and coach Arthur Smith, the Titans’ former offensive coordinator. The Titans are 5-0 under coach Mike Vrabel coming off bye weeks. Tennessee will get nine days between its Thursday night contest against Pittsburgh and its next game against Tampa. The Titans are 9-1 under Vrabel with at least nine days between games.

TWO GAMES TOO QUICKLY

The league seems to regularly schedule division opponents to play both games against one another in a short amount of time. We’ll see that again this season with the Titans and Houston, who will meet Dec. 17 and 31. What’s the rationale? If one team is dealing with significant injuries, why should

Harpeth Hall, Ravenwood earn TGLA state championships

it have to play two of its most critical games so close together — potentially deciding a division race or playoff berth because of it?

A DAY’S ADVANTAGE

The Titans will get an extra day to prepare for two early season opponents, as both Cleveland (Sept. 24) and Cincinnati (Oct. 1) will have played Monday night games before taking on Tennessee. On the other hand, the Titans will have a day less time to prepare for Houston on Dec. 17, after playing on Monday Night Football at Miami the previous week.

STRETCH DRIVE AT HOME

If the Titans can weather the challenge of playing just four of their first 10 games at Nissan Stadium, they should get a boost by playing five of their last seven — and three of their last four — in Nashville. All three of the Titans’ AFC South rivals come to town during that last four-week stretch. This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

BY LOGAN BUTTS

The Tennessee Girls Lacrosse Association crowned a pair of state champions on Saturday, both of which were Nashville-area schools.

The Tennessee Girls Lacrosse Association crowned a pair of state champions on Saturday, both of which were local schools.

In the public school division, No. 3 Ravenwood dominated No. 6 Cookeville 19-3 in Seymour, which is located outside of Knoxville in East Tennessee.

The Raptors survived a “Battle of the Woods” thriller in the semifinals on Friday, defeating rival No. 8 Brentwood 18-15. Cookeville took out host No. 7 Seymour 18-14.

In the first round of action, Seymour defeated No. 14 Page 13-5, Brentwood took out No. 13 Farragut 17-5, Cookeville beat No. 18 Franklin 8-6, and Ravenwood nearly shut out No. 22 Ooltewah 21-1.

In the private school division, top-ranked Harpeth Hall defeated No. 2 Ensworth 9-7 on the Tigers home field in a matchup between the top two teams in the state. Harpeth Hall completed their quest for

back-to-back state titles with the win.

In the semifinals on Friday, Ensworth won 10-9 over No. 4 Hutchison, while Harpeth Hall defeated No 5. Girls Prep 18-7.

In the first round, Ensworth won over No. 9 Briarcrest 22-3, Hutchison beat No. 10 Baylor 14-5, Girls Prep defeated No. 11 CPA 15-3, and Harpeth Hall knocked out No. 12 St. Mary’s 21-5.

Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery names CEO

Belmont names Lee director of corporate and foundational relations

BY WILLIAM WILLIAMS

Belmont University has named Jamie Lee senior director of corporate and foundational relations.

According to a release, Lee will support the university’s advancement team by leading corporate and foundation development activities related to Belmont’s Strategic Path to 2030.

Lee previously held various roles at the Nashville Health Care Council for nearly 15 years. Most recently, she served as the organization’s chief operating officer.

Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery has announced the appointment of Sheree Rose Kelley as chief executive officer.

Kelley, who brings 20 years of experience in tourism, marketing and management to the role, previously served as manager of the winery component of the nonprofit, according to a release. She replaces her late husband, Alton Kelley, who died in December 2022 after having begun his tenure at the West Davidson County facility 15 years ago.

The Kelleys in 2009 helped craft the organizational structure for what became Belle Meade Winery.

Prior to moving to Nashville, Sheree Kelley served as executive director for South Central Tennessee Tourism Association, the coverage area for which includes 13 counties

located south of Davidson County.

“Alton was the most effective CEO of a Middle Tennessee historic site in history,” Ridley Wills III, a historian and former Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery board member, said in the release. “Sheree has been an enormous factor in propelling Belle Meade to the top of the heap.”

Kelley said her goal is “to see Alton’s vision and the projects that we began together fulfilled. His legacy is very important to me.”

Belle Meade Historic Site & Winery is home to approximately 70 employees. The predecessor of Belle Meade Historic Site opened to the public in 1954 as a historic house/museum.

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

Parnassus Books acquires Hooks Book Events

STAFF REPORTS

Parnassus Books has acquired Hooks Book Events, a provider of nonfiction book and author programs for businesses and organizational teams.

According to a news release, Hooks Book Events was founded in 2007 in Washington D.C., and the two companies have been partners since 2012. Hooks Book Events will now operate as a division of Parnassus.

“I’ve worked with Perry [Pidgeon Hooks] and Hooks Book Events for years, both as an author and as a bookseller, and I’ve seen this company fill an important role in the business community,” Parnassus founder Ann Patchett said. “The acquisition of Hooks Book Events expands our ability to get books and authors in front of more

people in more settings, and it gives me a chance to work with one of the most innovative and dynamic people I know.”

In spring of 2020, Hooks Book Events company began delivering online programs, and now serves Fortune 500 companies, federal government agencies, and nonprofits nationwide.

“Ann and Parnassus have been supporters of ours for so long and have shared our passion for connecting people through books,” Hooks Book Events Executive Director Perry Pidgeon Hooks said. “I am thrilled to be able to continue our work as a part of Parnassus, and to serve the Nashville and Tennessee communities.”

Prior to working with the council, Lee served as the public relations and marketing manager at Cross Country Education, a continuing education company for health care professionals. She was also vice president of sales and marketing for Envision Inc., which produces educational video content for the health care industry.

Lee earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from Tennessee Tech University.

“[Lee’s] track record of success, both with the Nashville Health Care Council and beyond, speaks volumes about her expertise and network,” Belmont Associate Vice President of Development Kyle

Jamie Lee

COURTESY OF BELMONT UNIVERSITY

McGowan said in the release. “With her invaluable knowledge and exceptional people skills, we’re confident that Jamie will build powerful relationships to drive our fundraising goals to new levels of success.”

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

Tom Hanks makes book tour stop at MBA for Parnassus event

BY LOGAN BUTTS

Hanks discussed his new novel The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece with Parnassus co-founder and celebrated author Ann Patchett.

The two spoke in front of a sold-out crowd in MBA’s Curry Hall within the Burkholder Wellness Center.

The Making of Another Major Motion Picture Masterpiece is informed by Hanks’ decades-long career in the movie business. The novel is about “ the making of a starstudded, multimillion-dollar superhero action film...and the humble comic books that inspired it.”

It’s not often that a two-time Oscar winner makes an appearance at a local school. On Thursday, May 11, iconic actor Tom Hanks stopped by Montgomery Bell Academy for an event hosted by MBA and Parnassus Books.

The story is broken into sections taking place in 1947, 1970, and present day, with bonus material interspersed throughout of the actual comic books, which Hanks created himself.

Hanks was first published as an author in 2017 with a collection of short stories inspired by his typewriter collection called Uncommon Type.

PHOTO

Sheree Rose Kelley PHOTO COURTESY OF BELLE MEADE HISTORIC SITE & WINERY

Tom Hanks

PHOTO COURTESY OF PARNASSUS BOOKS

RaDonda Vaught brings civil case against Board of Nursing

BY HANNAH HERNER

Nearly one year after her sentencing, former Vanderbilt University Medical Center nurse RaDonda Vaught appeared in Davidson County Chancery Court Tuesday asking a judge to overturn a Tennessee Board of Nursing decision that revoked her nursing license in 2021, Main Street Nashville reported.

Vaught told reporters Tuesday that she did not intend to return to nursing, however, she felt some of the processes leading up to her 2022 criminal trial were improper.

In March 2022, Vaught was sentenced to three years probation after she was found guilty of impaired adult abuse and criminally negligent homicide — both felonies that could have resulted in a threeyear jail sentence. In 2017, Vaught, using an electronic medicine cabinet, overrode a function to mistakenly give patient Charlene Murphey a powerful sedative rather than an anti-anxiety medication, resulting in the patient’s death. She was originally charged with reckless homicide.

The victim’s family settled with VUMC out of court, including a nondisclosure agreement. Vaught’s nursing license was revoked by the Tennessee Board of Nursing in 2021 after the nursing board initially chose not to investigate the death.

Vaught’s lawyer Peter Strianse argued on Tuesday that a 2018 letter from the Tennessee Department of Health stating her conduct “did not merit further action” was a final decision and therefore TDH’s further investigation was improper. Strianse also introduced a letter from Dr. Terry Bosen, Vanderbilt medication safety program director, to Judge Jennifer Smith in support of lenient sentencing and spotlighting issues with the medicine cabinet.

In court documents filed in October, Strianse argued that the Department of Health violated the doctrine of res

judicata, which prevents a claim from being pursued further after it has been judged once on merits.

“The fact that the agency later chose to renege on its assurance to Vaught does not defeat the Department’s decisional finality; in fact, that’s exactly why res judicata administrative application exists — to prevent administrative agencies from abusing public resources by substantially changing previous decisions at the expense of citizens like Vaught,” a court document states.

During Vaught’s 2022 trial, prosecutors said her charges were a result of a series of errors: overriding the electronic medicine cabinet when she couldn’t find the right drug, ignoring the difference in size and substance of the drug, ignoring the warning label, administering the drug, leaving the room without monitoring the patient and not scanning the medication into the patient’s file.

Vaught took responsibility for her actions, and her defense cited systemic issues as the reason for the error.

The trial, a rare instance of criminal charges for medical malpractice, garnered national attention and a rally during her sentencing. The Tennessee Nurses Association and American Nurses Association said at the time that the verdict set a “dangerous precedent” in the profession. An online petition calling for her clemency garnered more than 200,000 signatures, though Gov. Bill Lee at the time confirmed that he would not grant clemency for Vaught.

Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal has not yet issued a ruling in the case. Vaught’s lawyer Peter Strianse did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.

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

Nurses gathered for RaDonda Vaught’s sentencing in March 2022.

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Metro Council At-Large Q&A: Russ Pulley

BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT

As of this writing, 13 candidates have qualified to run for at-large seats on the Metro Council, with 11 more having pulled petitions ahead of this week’s ballot deadline.

The campaign for at-large is unique. Because the top five vote-getters win, candidates typically remain positive, and surprising candidates can sneak into the winners’ circle.

Early voting for Metro Council and mayoral elections starts July 14, with Election Day following Aug. 3. A runoff, if needed, would come in September.

Our first Q&A with an at-large candidate is with Russ Pulley, who has spent two terms representing District 25 in Green Hills. The interview has been edited for length.

What do you want to see from the next mayor? Are you supporting anyone in particular?

I’m not really getting in that race. It’s important to let them battle it out. If you ask me today who I’m going to vote for, I don’t know that I could honestly give you an answer to that question. I’m listening to what they have to say.

Things that stand out to me are, we have a terribly fractured relationship with the state. That’s one thing that would be great, is if we had a mayor that led the charge to try and rebuild that. We don’t need somebody that’s going to acquiesce to the state. That’s certainly not what I want to see happen at all. If a mayor had [personal relationships] with the governor, and with the leaders in the House and the Senate, it’s a little harder to come and do some of the things they do to us. Maybe I’m naive, but I think that’s important and that can help us with that relationship with the state.

I also think it’s been almost six years since we’ve had our transit referendum, and

I think that’s too long. I love the fact that we’re a growing city, and we are continuing to grow. In the area of growing responsibly, one of the areas we’re sorely lacking is infrastructure and transit.

We don’t have a transit system that’s used like other comparable cities do. We need to address that in a pretty major way. The IMPROVE Act gives us ways to leverage state and federal funding to do so, and I just think it’s high time we get a mayor in there to lead the charge to get that rolling and get a good solid transit plan on the books.

A significant transit plan would likely require dedicated funding. Would the use of additional hotel and sales taxes for construction of the future Titans stadium reduce tax capacity for transit? Were you concerned about that during the stadium debate?

No. We’re adding 1 percent [hotel tax] for the stadium and we can add more. Under the IMPROVE Act, as I recall, we leverage rental car tax and other taxes that we have yet to tap into. The hotel-motel tax and sales tax were two of the revenue funding streams for the new stadium. My position on the stadium came down to a pretty simple formula. Shiny new stadium has not got anything to do with my position on that. My position came down to what was best for our taxpayers.

When you look at the nuts and bolts of the current deal we have, it’s a really bad deal that has the potential to seriously impact our taxpayers for years to come. Getting out of that deal was a priority for me. All that falls on the shoulders of the Davidson County taxpayers. For me, it came down to revenue bonds for a new stadium with potential for revenue streams that don’t come with the old one, versus general obligation bonds

and there’s no telling how much money that could cost us.

Were you comfortable in the estimates you got from the mayor’s office or the team that that was the most accurate picture of the needs and the legal liability and the financial liability? Could you have gotten more information?

I got lots of opinions. There was the mayor’s office. The team, they provide us their information, I know it’s one-sided. The administration will provide us additional information. We got information from the lawyers who are representing Metro. I looked at reports from VSG. If you look at the renovation costs, the high-end estimate was $1.9 billion, and the low-end estimates, from people who were really against the stadium, were around $300 million. My perspective is I did my best to look at the numbers in the framework of what is best for our taxpayer, and I really felt that if we hung on to this deal we’re in now, we would be in a lot worse shape financially, and our taxpayers were going to carry the burden of that obligation.

Now that it’s more or less a done deal, what do you feel is crucial to get out of the development of the campus around the stadium? Are there any must-haves?

If I were to be part of the next body I would certainly push to see the affordability component exercised there. What you’re going to have here is a really nice tract of land we need to make sure is developed in the best interest of the city, which will be done by private developers. There’s been some talk of [tax-increment financing] money. I think we need to manage that well, so that we can make sure to get our best bang for the buck. There’s been a lot of talk about infrastructure costs associated with that particular development. If we’re going to incentivize developers, that incentive needs to come with them absorbing a significant amount of those infrastructure costs.

Looking back at your term, one thing that stuck out was the 2020 budget cycle, which was a tense time with COVID and protests and a debate over police spending in the budget. You pushed to have police funding increases restored in the middle of all that. What would your message be to voters who were upset with that?

I spent 34 years in law enforcement. Naturally, I come to the council with a perspective that puts me on that side of the badge. I also know what the culture was like then, and I know what our culture has shifted to now, and I know the changes, from the perspective of someone who has done that, some of the changes that need to be made. I don’t come at this from the perspective of police are always perfect, not at all. What I keep hearing from my constituents [in Green Hills] over and over

and over is they want police to increase patrols. I firmly believe we need a fully funded police department, just like we do fully funded schools.

Things that people were arguing about where police have shortcomings, the examples I was given are in police departments elsewhere. I know we had the Hambrick and the Clemmons shootings. Some of those things [in other cities] made me cringe. When I saw the Tyre Nichols video, that right there made me think those guys were gangsters.

Although they tend to be, in my estimation, sometimes isolated, I think at the time, in the 2020 cycle, [Steve] Anderson was still our chief, and we had some culture issues within the framework of the police department that needed to be fixed. I was a little skeptical that [John] Drake would be the guy to fix them, because Drake comes from the police department and he was part of that culture. But I’ve been quite frankly impressed with the changes he’s made. The things people are saying, defund the police and put the money toward other things like mental health, I couldn’t bridge the gap. We’ve got a serious problem here. Youth gang violence was really on the rise, and we experienced some of that here in Green Hills. All the homicides we experience here in Nashville throughout the city, I just couldn’t become convinced that moving money away from the police department, putting it to these other areas, were going to help solve that problem.

If you win, you’ll go from representing one of 35 districts to representing the whole county. Do you feel comfortable that you have a full understanding of needs outside of your district?

I don’t know if this is politically the right thing to say to you, but no, I don’t. As a district councilmember, my focus was the 17,500 people who are in my district. For going on eight years now, that’s been my focus. That left me little time for countywide policy matters, although I did engage in a few.

To say to you that I know the city of Nashville, I know what the needs are throughout the city, I can’t honestly tell you I do. What I want to do as an at-large councilmember is what I’m doing now. I’m going to other parts of the city and I’m meeting with people, I’m going to community meetings. I want to educate people who don’t know me on who I am. I need to learn what’s important to people.

On housing, you worked on maximum setbacks and scaling back a proposal related to the number of unrelated people living together. None of those efforts, as far as I can tell, would increase housing stock. What sort of work do you think is necessary to do on affordable housing?

Metro Councilmember Russ Pulley

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Russ Pulley

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12

What can the council do?

Bill Barnes was a friend of mine. We served in a neighborhood association together. I spent hours in Bill Barnes’ living room talking with Bill, having him teach me about this issue. I learned so much from those conversations about inclusionary zoning, deconcentration of poverty and affordability and all of the work Bill Barnes did. I really felt like I was under-educated on those issues. There was an inclusionary zoning bill right after Bill died, and ultimately it got preempted by the state, but I was a strong supporter of that bill. The concepts behind Envision Sudekum-

Napier and Envision Cayce are very similar to what Bill Barnes espoused in the area of inclusionary zoning.

These projects with respect to inclusionary zoning, like the Envision Cayce and Envision Sudekum-Napier, are critical, and I’m glad to see us directly involved in those. I also think we’ve done a pretty good job of investing in the Barnes Fund. We’re upping the amount of money we give there, and that enables us to increase the affordable housing stock that we’re able to create annually. We’re not going to get where the estimates say we need to be, but we’re putting 4,000 units a year on the ground,

and that’s going to help us get there. The more money we can inject in this, we should.

As a supporter of LPRs, how do you explain your position to critics concerned about privacy or immigrants or other issues that have come up during that process?

We’ve got a ton of protections in this bill, more so than I’d imagine anyone else in the country. We can’t hold on to the data very long at all. The police department, they’re very restricted in how much access and for how long they have this data. It’s a helpful tool for the police, in terms of their effectiveness in solving many crimes. I asked

the other side to provide me data where these things are legitimate concerns. I just didn’t get compelling arguments that showed me these things we’re going on.

Some people were saying it would hurt marginalized communities, and people in those communities would come to me and say, “Yeah we want this.” The incredible restrictions we ended up putting on this bill, along with the impacts, and the fact that we’re really on the hook for a six-month pilot, made it really easy to support this bill. This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.

Franklin Police: ‘Threats’ against Franklin Alderman deemed ‘unfounded’

COVENANT PARENT CALLS FOR HER REMOVAL FROM BOMA

BY MATT MASTERS

Hanson told that resident that she “has met with many people in the gay community and has been made aware many of them do not support the Pride Festival, which influenced her decision to vote ‘no.”

Hanson said that after she sent that email she “noticed a significant increase in the number of emails and phone calls she received.”

On March 20, Hanson received a voicemail from an “angry female” who called Hanson a “lying bitch.”

The following day, on March 21, a Brentwood woman only identified as “Brooke” left Hanson a voicemail that said “now you’re claiming that gay people want you to take away pride,” a statement that made Hanson believe that the caller had been speaking with Porter.

threatened by the messages, law enforcement said that “the details of this case do not meet any elements of any criminal statute.”

Ethics complaints and calls for Hanson’s removal from BOMA

Hanson has been surrounded by controversy since the Franklin Pride vote, after which she appeared on a Williamson County-based podcast to discuss the issue as well as her opinions and theories about the March 27 Covenant School shooting, theories which have been called “false” by the Metro Nashville Police Department.

Hanson then appeared on SuperTalk 99.7 where host Matt Murphy criticized Hanson, called her a “liar” and called for her removal from BOMA.

elected official had the audacity to spread unfounded gossip and conspiracy theories about such an unspeakable tragedy suffered by many of her fellow citizens,” Rowlett continued. “The only reason I can think as to why she did this was to further her political career. The citizens of Franklin deserve better.”

Following Rowlett’s comments, Hanson sat in silence while Mayor Moore called for a moment of silence in remembrance of the shooting victims.

Hanson’s attack on the press

The “threats” reported by Franklin Alderman Gabrielle Hanson have been deemed “unfounded” by the Franklin Police Department, and no charges will be filed as no crime has been committed.

Hanson spoke publicly about the “threats” in several Franklin Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings in which she said she was targeted due to her position on the 2023 Franklin Pride Festival.

Hanson voted against the festival which was approved, and fellow Alderman Beverly Burger also publicly said that she received threatening phone calls, but Burger did not file a police report.

Following a public records request, The News reviewed the March 22 report Hanson filed with FPD, where she reported receiving a phone call on March 16 from a “restricted” number where an unidentified male said, “Gabrielle, you will be immortalized in death.”

On March 18, Hanson, who is a realtor, received an email from a resident and fellow realtor who told Hanson that she disagreed with Hanson’s position on Franklin Pride.

The report details that Hanson told the responding officer that she believed that the increase in what she deemed to be threatening communications were related to the resident who she spoke with on March 18, adding that she believed the the resident was “somehow working with a larger group.”

The News reached out to that resident, who we are not publicly identifying, and the resident denied that she was “working with a larger group” and said that she was only voicing her opinion to her elected representative.

Hanson also expressed that she feared that the vote on the Franklin Pride Festival, which ultimately passed, would be “disrupted by this group as well.” The vote on Franklin Pride did not see any notable disruptions to the April 11 BOMA meeting.

FPD did mark Hanson’s home, where she also operates her realty business, for an extra police patrol, but following a review with the district attorney’s office, the case is “inactive pending the discovery of additional leads or evidence pointing to a crime being committed.”

So while Hanson reported feeling

Hanson is now facing at least 59 formal ethics complaints, many of which are demanding her resignation or removal from BOMA, and now the city’s Ethics Commission is set to review the complaints on May 17, with a public hearing on the matter expected to take place on June 15.

During the May 9 BOMA meeting, Hanson faced another call for resignation or removal from the board, this time directly from a parent of a Covenant School student.

A Franklin man who identified himself as Jason Rowlett spoke during the public comments section of the meeting and said that Hanson “publicly slandered the victims of the March 27 massacre at our school. She has caused further pain and anguish to the surviving staff and families. I can personally tell this board that every detail that she talked about publicly was false.”

“By saying there was no greater threat to anyone else in the school, Alderman Hanson minimized the terror and danger our children and teachers faced on that awful day,” Rowlett said. “Every single person was hunted by the shooter.”

“I think it’s an abomination that an

Following the April 25 BOMA meeting, The News attempted to get a comment from Hanson inside of the BOMA chambers about MNPD calling her theory about the school shooting “false,” but she ignored the question.

When The News attempted a second time to get a comment from Hanson, this time in the City Hall parking lot away from other BOMA members, Hanson replied with “I will have you arrested.”

When asked what would be the cause of an arrest, Hanson said, “Harassment.”

Hanson made the comments while walking on public property to her vehicle with her husband, away from any Franklin Police Department officers who worked security at the meeting. She did not file a police report or any verbal complaint to any police officer.

Her threat to weaponize law enforcement against a free press was met with outrage online, although city and police officials declined to publicly respond to Hanson’s specific threat of arrest. Despite Hanson’s wishes, this reporter was never in danger of actually being arrested.

Franklin Alderman Gabrielle Hanson

PHOTO BY MATT MASTERS

Blood Orange & Bourbon Chipotle BBQ Roasted Chicken

BY EDIBLE NASHVILLE

We love sipping our whiskey as much as anyone, but our state spirit makes a great addition to this easy chicken dish too. And speaking of whiskey, this week is TN Whiskey Week. Check out

tnwhiskeytrailexperience.com for all the ways to celebrate. You can substitute oranges in place of the blood oranges.

ACROSS

1 “Fur thermore …”

5 Cr ustacean whose species range in size from .2” to 12’

9 Sword-wielding fighter of feudal Japan

14 “The Bluest Eye” author Morrison

15 Mister, in Münster

16 Nonstarters?

17 “Ignoring what my assistant said …”?

20 Sound of suppressed laughter

21 Use a tandoor, say

22 Soccer star Morgan

23 1971 Ravi Shankar documentar y

25 Leave the stage

27 What might be found outside a hipster cafeteria?

34 Fourth-most-common family name in China

35 Place to go in England

36 Kind of reader

37 One of three in “To be or not to be”

39 Needle

42 Celebrity chef ___ Leith

INGREDIENTS

1 cup blood orange juice (about 4 oranges)

zest of one blood orange

2-4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped

¼ cup pomegranate or orange balsamic vinegar

1. Combine all ingredients except chicken in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to simmer and cook 30 minutes until slightly reduced, stirring frequently. Remove from heat and let cool (or chill for up to 2 weeks).

2. Preheat oven to 375F.

½ cup brown sugar or honey

sea salt and black pepper

¼ cup bourbon whiskey

2 tablespoon butter

10 chicken pieces or 4 leg quarters

3. Place chicken pieces, skin side up, in a shallow baking pan. Brush chicken pieces with BBQ sauce. Sauce is not thick, so apply a few coats. Place in oven and roast 45 minutes, basting with BBQ sauce every 15 minutes. Serve chicken with good crusty bread for soaking up pan juices and a side of rice.

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.

43 Sing like Nat King Cole

45 Year, in Portuguese

46 Old Roman word of greeting or par ting

47 Wetsuit vis-à-vis a team triathlon?

52 Animal in the Har tford’s logo

53 Pinot ___

54 Rebounds, e.g., informally

57 Crossword puzzle component

59 Stager’s concern

63 Engravings, e.g.?

66 Musical ending of many a YouTube video

67 Tempeh relative

68 Take to heart

69 Orchestra section

70 Like forgiving lighting in photography

71 “Fur thermore …”

DOWN

1 Some book fair organizers, for short

2 Body par t that becomes an animal when its vowels are swapped

3 Ctr l+Z, on a PC

4 Mountain range, in Spanish

5 Life energy

6 Snoopy’s imaginary antagonist

7 Domain

8 Things you can hit or pump

9 Org. with a Sixth Man of the Year Award

10 “Don’t tr ust them!”

11 Author Gaiman

12 Precious material frequently buried with the dead in ancient China

13 V isa alternative, for short

18 Collar inser t

19 Slinky, say

24 Fancy-sounding apple cultivar

26 “Cousin ___ V isits the Addams Family” (1965 TV episode title)

27 Pizza par lor purchase

28 Wonder Woman accessory

29 Tabloid tidbit

30 Like the Mandarin and Punjabi languages

31 Wide variety

32 “___ Got Mail” (1998 rom-com)

33 Use a wheelchair’s push rims, for instance

38 Suppor tive pillows in a yoga class

40 Irregularly

41 It’s used to walk the dog

44 Co. behind the podcast “F irst Person”

48 Former T-shirts, perhaps

49 Wetland waders

50 Over-the-top sor ts?

51 “The Queen of Soul”

54 One unlikely to enjoy a dive bar

55 Trip with many stops

56 Palindromic flour

58 “___, am America” (Langston Hughes line of poetry)

60 Screenwriter/actress

Michaela

61 Snake eyes

62 Ctr l+Y, on a PC

64 Help line?

65 Superfan

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.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/ studentcrosswords.

EDITED BY WILL SHORTZ NO. 0412

PUZZLE BY OLIVIA MITRA FRAMKE AND BROOKE HUSIC

Feltus Hawkins Mint Julep Party

BY BRENDA BATEY

PHOTOS BY BRENDA BATEY

Marjorie Feltus Hawkins and David Hawkins began hosting their Mint Julep Party in 2002 and they continued the tradition on Saturday, even though David Hawkins was unable to be there.

He was otherwise occupied in Natchez, Mississippi at the couple’s historic home, Linden Bed and Breakfast, overseeing a wedding.

Dave Teckman and Bill Piper, who helped prepare the Mint Juleps for a number of years, took over and kept everyone supplied with the delicious beverage.

Artist Revi Ferrer was showing 100 percent silk scarves she made from her wonderful, colorful paintings. She also creates jackets and shirts using her artwork.

The dining room table held huge silver bowls and platters filled with fried chicken, barbecue pork, potato salad, broccoli salad, green beans, and corn muffins.

Also there was an hors d’oeuvres table

with shrimp cocktail, cheeses, crackers, fruit, pepperoni, and more.

Desserts included banana pudding, chocolate chip cookies, macaroons, and lots of other delicious treats.

Bouquets of flowers were everywhere, as were many items that carried out the horse racing theme, including table cloths, napkins, plates, place mats, pillows, towels, jockey caps, and even paintings.

Huge hydrangeas, yellow tulips, red roses, gladiolas, orchids and other blooms were beautifully arranged and placed around the gracious home.

Guests included: Susan and Bob Falk, Tom Black, Emmy Phillips, Len Smith, Pam and Steve Taylor, Joe Cashia, Angela Humphreys, Katie and Reno Benson, Ben and Mary Barton, Eleanor and Peter Cobb, Don and Joyce Friedman, and Lori and Tom Guardino.

Joyce and Don Friedman, host Marjorie Feltus Hawkins, Sheree Kelley, and Ashley Propst

Bill Piper and Dave Teckman, muddling fresh mint in pestles for the Mint Juleps. Camille and Charlie Biter

Lindsey and Kimberly Cooper, and Rose and Doug Grindstaff

Cathlin Mitchell, Revi Ferrer, Mark Whaley, and Nolan Mitchell

Ellen Crouch, Mark Whaley, and Elise and Harvey Crouch

Tara Mullaney, Pam Cherry, John Sanders, and Jeff and Irwin Fisher

Jamey Bowen and Norman Wells Welch and Anne Livingston

Barbara Browning, Sharon Piper, and David Kazmerowski

Doug and Denise McMillan Will Crouch and Kimberly Cooper

David and Shannon Perry Genevieve and Ryan McKinney Sue and Michael Minch

Morel Enoch Harvey and Geary Leathers

Brian and Kristen Junghans Sandy and Ron Pace

George and Lydia Armistead

Rae Thomas and Amy Smith

Mary Carol and Stephen Beesley, Dianne Neal, and Ted Clayton

EXCEPTIONAL LAUDERDALE COUNTY WATERFRONT 171-175 CR 29, KILLEN

EXCEPTIONAL LAUDERDALE COUNTY WATERFRONT 171-175 CR 29, KILLEN

This property features two residences located at 171 County Road 29 AND 175 County Road 29 in Killen, Alabama, sold together. Each fully functional house is 3 BR and 2 BA. The houses are situated on 2.5 +/- acres of flat land with over 400 feet of deep waterfront in a no wake zone with a concrete seawall covering its entirety. Less than a mile away from the Florence and Killen City Limits, the property is zoned in “Rural Killen, AL”. It has a covered pier with a deck on top with a new boat lift and 3 jet ski lifts. Irrigation system, underground dog fence, workshop, storage building and rustic log cabin are all present on the property. The property is very private from both the lake and road sides.

New Price

$1,890,000

This property features two residences located at 171 County Road 29 AND 175 County Road 29 in Killen, Alabama, sold together. Each fully functional house is 3 BR and 2 BA. The houses are situated on 2.5 +/- acres of flat land with over 400 feet of deep waterfront in a no wake zone with a concrete seawall covering its entirety. Less than a mile away from the Florence and Killen City Limits, the property is zoned in “Rural Lauderdale County”. It has a covered pier with a deck on top with a new boat lift and 3 jet ski lifts. Irrigation system, underground dog fence, workshop, storage building and rustic log cabin are all present on the property. The property is very private from both the lake and road sides. New Price $1,890,000.

Hope and Healing for Heros

PHOTOS BY DEAN BERNER

On Monday, May 1, The Onsite Foundation held “Hope And Healing For Heroes,” a special event for educators and staff across Nashville and surrounding counties, at the Fisher Center at Belmont University. The night of community and unity is designed to equip, encourage and uplift our Nashville school’s educators, staff, and administrators following the recent tragedy at The Covenant School.

The event provided attendees with an opportunity to connect in the community and gain tools for navigating stress, fear, trauma, and grief. Programming included musical performances by Nashville and GRAMMY-Winning Artists Lauren Daigle, Tyler Hubbard, CeCe Winans, Trisha Yearwood, and more to be announced.

The event was emceed by Miles Adcox, Chairman at Onsite, who shared words of inspiration and moderated a panel of experts in trauma-informed education and counseling services.

Other guests speakers included:

• Sissy Goff, M.Ed, LPC-MHSP, CCATP – Director of Child and Adolescent Counseling, author of twelve books including a book on anxiety, and co-host of the popular podcast “Raising Boys and Girls”

• David Thomas, L.M.S.W. – Director of Family Counseling at Daystar, author of ten books including the best-selling “Wild Things: The Art of Nurturing Boys” and “Raising Emotionally Strong Boys: Tools Your Son can Build on for Life”, and co-host of the “Raising Boys & Girls” podcast

• Madison Lawn, MSCMHC, CET-II –Group leader at Onsite, crisis counselor with experience facilitating groups for grieving children and providing weekly therapy to

students in a university counseling center

• Carlos Martinez, M.Div., MSMHC, LPC, ACS, CET-II – Lead Clinician at Onsite and Onsite Foundation’s Triumph Over Tragedy workshop, the nation’s first trauma-informed program for survivors of mass shootings

• Carlos Whittaker – Author, speaker, host of the Human Hope podcast as well as People’s Choice Award winner & social media storyteller

• Crystal Woodman Miller – Columbine survivor, inspirational speaker, author of “A Kids Book about School Shootings”, and Survivor Advisory Council chair for The Onsite Foundation

Teachers from the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Mass Shooting in Parkland, Florida shared words of hope and healing for Nashville educators including Felicia Burgin, Diana Haneski, Amy Kenny, Stacey Lippel and Brittney Thomas, a student survivor of The Heath High School Mass Shooting in Paducah, Kentucky.

Local therapeutic groups and those who are provided teachers and students with funding for therapeutic services including Daystar Counseling Ministries, Green Hills Family Psych, Onsite Workshops, and more were onsite to share information and ongoing resources.

Tyler Hubbard and guitarist

David Fischetta (CEO & Chief Creative at Go West Creative) and Laura Hutfless (CEO & Co-Founder of FlyteVu)

Laura Hutfless, Felicia Burgin, Deanna Wantz, Amy Kenny, Crystal Woodman Miller, Trisha Yearwood, Stacey Lippel, Debra Wanamaker, Diana Haneski, Brittney Thomas (student survivor of The Heath High School Mass Shooting in Paducah, Kentucky) and Miles Adcox (Chairman at Onsite)

Crystal Woodman Miller (Survivor of Columbine) and Deanna Wantz (Director of The Onsite Foundation)

David Thomas (Director Family Counseling at Daystar), Madison Lawn (Group Leader at Onsite), Carlos Whittaker (author, speaker, host of Human Hope podcast, Miles Adcox, and Sissy Goff (M.ED, LPC-MHSP, CCATP)

Beautifully landscaped home with salt water pool, screened in porch, master on the main, lots of guest parking. New kitchen appliances in 2018, Tankless hot water heater, New pool liner in 2021. Irrigation system with well.

6008 Martingale Ln | Brentwood, TN 37027

4 Beds, 3/1 Baths, 4651 SqFt $1,800,000

rent/LeAse rent/LeAse

2 bed room apt with Private entry one bath all new appliances Washing machine & dryer included 2 car parking limit walkthrough request will all be confirmed by email referrals & rental history a must. $1547/mo.

615-419-4613

1 bed room with office area, Private entry, full bath all new appliances Washing machine & dryer included. 2 car parking limit Walk-through request will all be confirmed by email referrals & rental history a must $1427/mo.

615-419-4613

THE GREEN HILLS APARTMENTS

HIstorIC CeMetery

Repair & Restoration

BRICK & STONE

Walls • Steps • Walks • Etc.

eLderLy CAre

Are you looking for a dependable caregiver or sitter. Honest, hardworking, trustworthy, reliable. Light housekeeping, running errands, doctors appointment a.m. or p.m References upon request. Ms. Batey (615) 578-8664

FLoorIng

is no longer just for retired teachers. All seniors 62 and older may apply with no fee. Efficiencies start at $500 which includes utilities.

One bedroom & studio apartments available starting at $625 per month. Must be 62 and older and live independently.

615-297-7536

greenhillsapts@comcast.net

CLeAnIng svCs.

Residential Cleaning Where Quality & Respect Come First!

www.lighthousecleaningservice.net

Build • Repair • Restore

Tuck Pointwork

Custom Entrances

Small Job Specialist

FIREPLACE REPAIR

“For those who want it right the first time!”

W.J. Miller (615) 890-0533

Buy American

P & t Concrete

Driveways - Sidewalks - Patios

Landscaping, Mulch and Bobcat Work. Free Estimates Richard’s Cell: 1 (615) 670-2273 (615) 755-3509

eLeCtrICAL svCs.

eLeCtrICIAn

Priced Right!

New Work, Old Work and Service Calls.

10% senior discount.

Licensed-Bonded-Insured (615) 522-1339

BBB Accredited with Reviews 20 year advertiser!

Hardwood floors, cleaned, waxed, buffed, sanded and/or refinished. Over 75 yrs in flooring. Corlew & Perry, Inc. (615) 832-0320

gArAge sALe

yard sale at 143 n Berwick Ln (Temple Hills), on Saturday, May 20th, from 8:00 to 2:00.

Nice glass top wicker table and chairs, Antique drop leaf table, 30/30 with scope, computer monitor, tv table, 10 x 10 canopy, several clothing items.

Belle Pointe Community yard sale!

Saturday, May 20th (8 am - 1 pm)

*Bellevue entrances on: Belle Pointe Drive & Barlin Drive*

Complete Home repair & Improvements

Native Nashvillian in business since 1992.

Additions, Decks, Window Replacement, Furniture and Playground

LoCKsMItH

green Hills Lock & Key Servicing the area since 1974!

Deadbolts Installed Locks Re-keyed • Lockouts Locks Repaired & Serviced (615) 269-3616

MovIng/HAuLIng

I HAuL AnytHIng - since 1990Deliveries, Estate Property Clean Outs, Brush & Appliance Removal, Construction Waste, Demolition & more... No Job Too Small!

Wyatt Mallonee (615) 499-2218

PLuMBIng

Mt. Juliet Plumbing and Leak Detection

“Beariffic Plumbing Repair Service!”

Local Licensed experienced Plumbers (615) 733-5665

Carter Plumbing

Commercial & Residential New Installation & Repair Service

Drain Cleaning Service

Licensed, Bonded & Insured

All Work Guaranteed! (615) 232-9051

PrAyer

need Prayer?

If you are in need of prayer, call 888-388-2683

The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association will have prayer partners available to talk with you 24/7.

Pressure WAsH

rooFIng

r. H. Callis & sons Inc. Roofing, Siding, Metal, Slate, Flat Roofs. 38 years experience 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

eric’stree service

Big, Tall or Small, We Do It All!

Insured • Free Estimates Call Eric / Owner (615) 779-1870

top notch tree service

Kyle’s Pressure Cleaning Property Pressure

Washing:Driveways, Back Decks, Front Porch, Swimming Pool, Concrete & more. (615) 424-5354

Topping & trimming, deadwooding, removals, brush chipping, stump grinding

Insured & Free Estimates Call Mike (615) 834-6827

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

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

Clearview Window Cleaning Serving Nashville Area for 53 years. Pressure Washing, Janitorial, Window Glazing, Gutters. Free Estimates (615) 973-4486