Local News

Red River Farms’ annual Sunflower Festival starts today. The three-day event on Draper Road in Springfield lets visitors pick their own sunflower bouquet and take photographs in the fields. In addition to the sunflowers, a craft fair with over 60 vendors will be available, as well as hayrides around the farm, a small petting zoo, and a kid’s zone play area.

The Kids Summer Lunch Program sponsored by First Baptist Church of Portland began this summer in June and continues until July 25, The meals are provided on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. The program was a dream of Jessica Shadowens, who became aware of the food insecurity of many children in the area, especially during the summer months. Her dream came to fruition and the program is now in its eighth year.

Newly obtained court documents reveal what evidence police gathered that led to an arrest in connection with the death of 17-year-old Trinity Bostic from Macon County. Bostic went missing on June 29. Four days later, a subcontractor with the Tennessee Department of Transportation was picking up trash and found her remains in the woods near Vietnam Veteran’s Boulevard near New Shackle Road. Hendersonville police have named 17-year-old Fernando Perales Mejia as the suspect. Phone records show Mejia and Bostic were together from around 2:30 p.m. to 10:39 p.m. the day Bostic went missing. Those same phone records also show Bostic and Mejia around the area where Bostic was found during that time frame.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has scheduled a free active shooter training on July 18. That training will aim to educate the public on evolving threats and best practices for self-defense. Lessons learned from the Covenant School shooting will also be discussed. The event is scheduled to take place from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at Longhollow Church in Hendersonville. Anyone who wishes to attend has been asked to sign up in advance. The TBI has teamed up with the security company Defend Systems, which trained Covenant staff prior to the school shooting there in 2023. Instructors say they plan to discuss takeaways from the tragedy.