Local News
It’s currently legal for two first cousins to marry in Tennessee. But soon, that will likely change. Thursday, the General Assembly passed a bill banning marriage between ‘lineal descendants of a grandparent.’ Currently, the law only outlaws marriage between just the ‘children of a grandparent.’ Rep. Gino Bulso filed an amendment to protect cousin marriage if couples see a genetic counselor. The rest of the house rejected that idea.
A man who allegedly terrorized several Madison businesses and attacked people and police was arrested on Saturday night. Workers caught video of a string of attacks. A video shows a man bashing a wooden club into the side of a food truck on Saturday night. People said the situation only got worse with time. The man was identified as 52-year-old James Childress. Police said before Childress came to the food truck he broke into the Aldi a short distance away. After Childress was arrested, he allegedly kicked an officer in the chest, spat on paramedics, and assaulted a nurse. Childress is facing multiple charges for assault, vandalism, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
A Mt. Juliet Police officer is being called a hero after he saved a man’s life in a Waffle House parking lot. Cpl. Fialkowski jumped without any hesitation to perform CPR on a man outside the restaurant on South Mt. Juliet Road Wednesday afternoon. Witnesses say the officer was conducting a traffic stop in the parking lot when the man’s wife ran up to him asking for help. The man was having a medical emergency, and Fialkowski resuscitated him and cared for him until medics arrived. Mt. Juliet Police is working to connect Fialkowski with the victim’s family so they can thank him for his life-saving actions.
Tennessee lawmakers have not debated the Governor’s voucher expansion plan for the third straight week. Senate Republicans — in addition to 20,000 school vouchers for public school students to transfer into private school — want students to be able to choose their own public school as well, regardless of their school zone. But the House doesn’t like the idea. The House wants to reform the public education rules, which include way less standardized testing, but the Senate doesn’t like that. Both sides claim they’re optimistic they can coalesce around one unified version.