Local News
The 113th Tennessee General Assembly begins today. Lawmakers from across the Volunteer State are in Nashville to start the legislative session. Some bills proposed include measures on deaths in corrections facilities and a measure to reduce the number of members allowed on city councils down to 20. Lawmakers are also considering trying to legalize some marijuana use.
A third book may be removed from high school shelves in Wilson County. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is the latest book to join the discussion. There was supposed to be a discussion about the book at a school board meeting last night, but it was postponed due to illness. The famous title has been turned into a movie since its 1999 publication. The debate comes after two books were already removed last month after being deemed inappropriate.
A Clarksville Police dog is retiring from the force after more than five years of serving the community. Officials say K9 Officer Vader put in hundreds of hours of training and patrol work since 2017. Due to medical issues, he is leaving his career behind, now adopted by his handler, Officer Casey Stanton.
The Montgomery County Habitat for Humanity will soon be accepting applications from people interested in becoming homeowners. Applicants must be a resident of Clarksville-Montgomery County for at least a year. A person’s need, ability to pay and commitment to work with Habitat are all taken into consideration. Applications can be submitted from February 1st through the 28th at: Habitat MCTN-dot org.
Nearly 200 million lightning strikes hit the United States in 2022 and over four million of those were in Tennessee. Tennessee ranks as the 18th state with the highest number of strikes last year at four-point-two-million. Texas leads the nation with over 27 million lightning strikes in 2022 followed by Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Mississippi rounding out the top five.