Local News
A new bill from Maury County Rep. Scott Cepicky the “Mathematics Supports Act” will look at how the state can improve math outcomes for students. , Cepicky said the state has not paid the same attention to the way math is taught in Tennessee as it has to reading. He reiterated the lack of retention in this bill, saying because math is taught in two-year cycles in building block fashion, it would more likely have a mechanism that takes advantage of summer school, which is already built into the budget each year.
For 48 years, Rita Shacklett has called the libraries across Rutherford County her home. Now Shacklett has decided to step down and retire, saying it was her granddaughters that led her to this decision. She says their birthdays are approaching, and it feels right to spend more time with them. Shacklett will officially retire at the end of February. She’s hoping whoever is selected as the library systems’ new director will look into helping the Eagleville Branch get a new building and adding a new branch to the Blackman community in Murfreesboro. A national search is underway as the Rutherford County Library Board works to select the system’s newest director.
The City of Mt. Juliet has changed its food truck law after being sued by a group of food truck operators and the Beacon Center of Tennessee. The food truck debuted during COVID all over the Midstate. One of those places is Mt. Juliet, but when the COVID crisis ended, Mt. Juliet decided to charge food trucks outside of Mt. Juliet with a 100-dollar-a-day permitting fee. Most cities charge 100 to 150 dollars a year for a food truck license. This week, Mt. Juliet removed its $ 100-a-day free for out-of-town food trucks. The Beacon Center has kept its lawsuit in place until Mt. Juliet reveals its new policy for out-of-town food trucks.
A former Lebanon High School teacher Michael Hargis is serving time after he was convicted for the statutory rape of a 14-year-old student student. Hargis was sentenced to six years in prison for the crime and four years of supervised probation for a charge of sexual battery by an authority figure. The total sentence will run for ten years. Hargis will be placed on the sex offender registry as a violent offender.