Looking back at 2022

Jan. 5—After taking a look back into the first nine months of the year in our editions that have published over the past week, we — the editorial staff of the Lebanon Democrat — conclude our glance back at some of the top happenings in Wilson County in 2022 by focusing on what took place from October through December.

OCTOBER

Lebanon man indicted for abortion clinic blockade

A federal indictment unsealed in October charged 11 individuals with violations of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

Chester Gallagher, 73, of Lebanon, was among those as he faces up to 11 years in prison and possible fines of $250,000 for his role in the incident, which occurred in March of 2021.

The indictment alleged that in February of 2021, Gallagher utilized social media to promote a series of anti-abortion events scheduled for March 4-7, 2021, in the Nashville area.

According to the indictment, Gallagher and 10 other individuals, aided and abetted by one another, used force and physical obstruction to injure, intimidate, and interfere with employees of the clinic and a patient who was seeking reproductive health services.

Tebow speaks at Cumberland

Tim Tebow share a life account about serving others as he spoke prior to Cumberland University's homecoming game against visiting Campbellsville (Kentucky) on Oct. 8.

The Heisman Trophy winner and two-time national champion came to Lebanon as part of the university's Rise Above campaign.

Fans lined the walkway and donned University of Florida, Denver Broncos and New York Jets jerseys to get a glimpse of the man many of them herald as a hero.

Historic Watertown stadium to be demolished

It was decided in March that the old Watertown High School football stadium will be demolished soon.

During the monthly Wilson County Education Committee meeting, Wilson County Director of Schools Jeff Luttrell indicated that the school district had received a quote for approximately $137,000 for the stadium's demolition.

Luttrell expressed concern about the prospect of transient children from the community playing on the bleachers and getting hurt, despite it currently being roped off.

Director of schools contract extension to be discussed

During October's Wilson County School Board meeting, it was noted that board members would discuss a possible extension of the contract for director of schools Jeff Luttrell.

Luttrell replaced former WCS Director Donna Wright after she stepped down in 2021.

He was signed to a four-year contract and would have two years and eight months remaining on that contract.

Over the last couple of years, WCS has seen a considerable drop in the number of individuals entering the teaching profession, a trend that Wilson County School Board chair Jamie Farough remarked also runs true in administration positions.

To remain competitive with other school districts, Farough indicated that WCS might need to "give creative accommodations to keep (its) director."

Lady Devil volleyball squad reaches state tournament

The Lebanon High School volleyball squad reached the state tournament for the first time in 21 years and the second time in program history with a 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 over Bradley Central in the sectional round.

Lebanon was under the direction of first-year coach Brooke Pickler, a former Lady Devil player.

The squad had eight seniors and finished with a 21-10 record, dropping its first two matches at the state (falling to Hillsboro and Houston).

Man indicted for September shooting

Charges related to the September incident that left a 19-year-old Wilson County man dead were handed down by a grand jury in October.

Caleb Mershon, 20, faced an eight-count indictment for his role in the shooting death of Austin Scott-Lee Gordon during the early morning hours of Sept. 10.

According to District Attorney Jason Lawson, Mershon was formally charged with reckless homicide, aggravated assault resulting in death, three counts of reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, underage consumption of alcohol, unlawful possession of a weapon, and unlawful possession of a firearm while under the influence of an intoxicant.

Individuals charged for cemetary vandalism

During meetings in October, the Lebanon City Council approved a $35,000 budget amendment to reset and repair the 118 headstones at Cedar Grove Cemetery that were damaged over the summer.

The repairs had been mostly completed by that point.

Court records indicated that the two men who were charged for the incident, Justin Emler, 31, and Jeremy Heaton, 23, both of Lebanon, had been remanded to criminal court and face charges of vandalism of more than $60,000.

Passing through for bodily autonomy

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in June, many Tennesseans were frustrated and concerned about what might be next.

After an activist announced a trek across Tennessee to raise awareness on the issue, one Lebanon woman decided that she had to help.

Francie Hunt's Walk for Our Lives campaign consisted of a 538-mile, 52-day march from Memphis to Johnson City.

Lebanon's Karen Brinker — who graduated from Wilson Central High in 2003 and is now raising a daughter in her hometown — and Laura Button walked with Hunt during her Middle Tennessee leg, passing through Wilson County in mid-October.

The ladies said that the roads in Wilson County had been some of the most treacherous that the walkers had faced to that point.

New Joint Economic and Community Development Director appointed

The search for a new director at the Joint Economic and Community Development Board (JECDB) of Wilson County ended with Corey Johns' appointment to replace the outgoing G.C. Hixson.

Johns was the director of business development, interactive and creative technology with the state of Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development.

During the JECDB Board of Directors meeting in October, Johns indicated that he would be officially stepping into his new role at the beginning of the year, allowing him time to tie up loose ends in his current job.

Sports complex breaks ground

Lebanon broke ground on a sports complex in late October that will soon have soccer, baseball and softball fields.

The complex is located on Highway 231 South, near Stumpy Lane. The city entered into a deal with RELYANT Global to build the $14.4-million complex in July. As a contingency, to account for the possibility of unexpected costs, the city allocated $15.8 million (a 10% increase on the estimated cost).

The complex presents an opportunity to relocate the fields that Wilson United Soccer Club plays its games on to a safer area.

Phase One of the project is set to include five soccer fields with LED lights, a walking trail, a playground, parking, a concession stand and restroom building, as well as a pavilion.

Lebanon Mayor Rick Bell is hopeful that the project will be completed by some time in 2024.

A squareless Halloween on the Square

Lebanon's Halloween on the Square event was missing something in 2022 ... the square.

However, all the fun was still there on the afternoon of Oct. 30 as the event took place at the Mill at Lebanon, which is within walking distance of the square.

The event — which is organized by the Lebanon Wilson County Chamber of Commerce and the city of Lebanon — was moved due to rain and threats of inclement weather.

Among of the multiple churches and 38 businesses, there were many first-time vendors involved with the event.

NOVEMBER

Investigation of officer-involved shooting

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation conducted an investigation of an officer-involved shooting that occurred in Mt. Juliet on the evening of Nov. 2.

The release stated that the incident occurred at around 11 p.m., and the traffic stop took place on Mt. Juliet Road, just north of its intersection with Central Pike.

The TBI identified the man to be 39-year-old Eric Jermaine Allen.

TBI Public Information Officer Josh DeVine stated that the officer leaned into the vehicle and ultimately entered the vehicle through the passenger side door, with the officer repeatedly attempting to get Allen to stop the car, through requests, warnings and a taser deployment. Devine indicated that the car traveled several hundred yards, and the car stopped after the incident resulted in shots being fired.

Lebanon man convicted of murder

A Wilson County Jury found a Nashville man guilty of first-degree murder in the 2021 death of a Mt. Juliet man in early November.

Jonathan Duncan, 38, was convicted on the counts of premeditated first degree murder, aggravated robbery, and first-degree murder in commission of a robbery.

The jury deliberated for three and a half hours before delivering its verdict.

Duncan was charged with the shooting of Ellis Sanders, 27, at the Rollingwood Apartments in Lebanon on May 20, 2021.

Election fills city council seats

Camille Burdine and Phil Morehead emerged victorious in the county's only two contested races involving the three cities' governing bodies on Election Day.

The races for the Watertown alderman-at-large and the Mt. Juliet commissioners were all uncontested.

Burdine — an incumbent — was elected as the new ward 3 councilor in Lebanon with a total of 535 votes. Her opponent, Shawn Hicks, received 444 votes.

Morehead is a newcomer, running against ZaBrina Seay after ward 6 city councilor Jeni Lind Brinkman elected not to pursue another term. Morehead garnered 1,689 votes, with Seay receiving 414.

County's four largest schools to compete together in football

Wilson County's four largest high schools will come together for the first time in the same football region but split in basketball as the initial district/region alignments were released by the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association (TSSAA).

The alignments will take effect in the fall of 2023 and run for two school years, through the spring of 2025.

Lebanon, Wilson Central, Mt. Juliet and Green Hill will join Cookeville and Gallatin in Region 4-6A.

In Division I basketball, baseball and softball, Lebanon and Wilson Central will be in District 7-4A along with Cookeville, LaVergne, Smyrna and Stewarts Creek.

Mt. Juliet and Green Hill will be in District 12 with Sumner County's Beech, Gallatin and Hendersonville.

Watertown moved up to Class 3A in football and was placed in Region 4.

West Elementary School gains new principal

Dr. Alexandra Juneau took over as interim principal at West Elementary School in Mt. Juliet at the beginning of the school year. Wilson County Schools announced that her position would become permanent in November.

Juneau was drawn to Wilson County Schools because the people who she knew in the district spoke highly of the ways that teachers and administrators feel supported by their central office and by their communities.

Hall, Blankenship sign scholarship papers

Lebanon High boys basketball standout Jarred Hall signed a letter-of-intent to continue his playing career at the University of Tulsa (Oklahoma) in early November, and Green Hill High girls basketball standout Aubrey Blankenship signed with Samford (Alabama) University.

The 6-foot-8 Hall — and all-state honoree as a junior — averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and three assists last season as the Blue Devils claimed district and regional championships and reached the Class AAA state semifinals.

Over her first two seasons as a Lady Hawk, Blankenship — a 6-foot guard — averaged 16.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists over 53 games. Blankenship helped Green Hill win the District 9-4A Tournament championship last season thanks to upset wins over No. 2 seed Lebanon and then over unbeaten Cookeville in the championship game.

Cumberland volleyball captures conference crown

The Cumberland University volleyball squad knocked off top-seeded Campbellsville (Kentucky) University — 25-20, 25-22, 26-24 — to win the Mid-South Conference (MSC) Tournament in mid-November.

This is the first time that the Cumberland women's volleyball program has claimed the MSC championship (and first conference title since winning its sixth in 1997).

Hazel Konkel, the MSC Freshman of the Year, led the Phoenix with 10 kills, and classmate Layla Wandel provided nine kills.

Cumberland ended its season with a three-game loss to Park (Missouri) University in the opening round of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) National Tournament.

The Phoenix finished 24-7 and reached the NAIA National Tournament for the first time.

Lebanon school board discusses adding new members

The Lebanon Special School District Board of Education discussed the possibility of adding two more board members during its November meeting.

Board member Joel Thacker collected information on population and growth within the district and brought it back to the school board.

Thacker proposed that the LSSD change the members of the board from three at-large board members to five district board members.

Superspeedway has new leadership

Nashville Superspeedway President Erik Moses resigned in mid-October and was named the executive director and CEO of the Fiesta Bowl Organization in Arizona.

Moses was hired in 2020 by Dover Motorsports to revive the Gladeville track from a decade of dormancy shortly after the company announced plans to move one of its NASCAR Cup Series races from Delaware to Middle Tennessee for 2021.

Approximately two weeks later, Speedway Motorsports announced that Matt Greci had been promoted to senior vice president and general manager at Nashville Superspeedway.

Greci relocated to Nashville shortly after the company acquired the 1.33-mile speedway as part of its purchase of Dover Motorsports in 2021. Prior to that, Greci spent nearly 16 years at Charlotte Motor Speedway, where he began his career as a sales department intern, then joined the speedway full-time as the track rental and suite coordinator for corporate sales. Greci moved to the events department in 2008, working his way from events manager to vice president of events.

Dedman steps down at Wilson Central

Brad Dedman resigned as Wilson Central High School's head football coach after 13 seasons in mid-November.

Dedman, 44, became head coach in 2010 and guided the Wildcats to a 59-70 mark. His best seasons were a pair of 8-3 campaigns in 2012 and 2016, and his Wildcats also made a Cinderella run in the playoffs in 2015, which included his only two postseason wins as they reached the state quarterfinals.

Dedman had been at Wilson Central for all but two of the school's 22 years.

Approximately a month later, Dedman agreed to become an assistant coach on Gavin Webster's coaching staff at Watertown, where he began his tenure as a math teacher this week.

Five Oaks in Lebanon to be rezoned

The Lebanon City Council unanimously passed the second and final vote on the rezoning of the Five Oaks Golf Course on Nov. 15.

The ordinance replaced the high density zoning that was in place to a protected open space zoning.

During the first vote on the issue, the council voted unanimously to pass the rezoning ordinance.

Phil Morehead, a resident of Five Oaks and president of the Five Oaks Homeowners Association, said during a previous meeting that the drainage from the golf course caused several erosion issues for homeowners. Morehead indicated that the residents believed that the Five Oaks Golf Course would still be a viable and successful golf course without having to sell off pieces of property and change the aesthetics of the course.

Annual school report card released

Both the Wilson County School System and the Lebanon Special School District received the advancing designation as the Tennessee Department of Education released its annual state report card for parents and educators.

The state report card includes information on academic achievement, growth, chronically out of school, progress on English language proficiency, and graduation rate. Based on those and other factors, each school district is assigned a specific designation of overall performance.

The advancing designation is the second highest overall.

In addition to the designation, Wilson County was recognized with the following distinctions on its 2021-2022 report card — Best for All District, Innovative School Models, Grow Your Own Educators, Reading 360, and TN All Corps Academics.

Wilson County Schools received a 2 out of 4 rating for grades 3-8, and a 4 out of 4 rating for grades 9-12. It received a 3 out of 4 graduation rate and a 3.5 out of 4 in its English Language Proficiency assessment.

The Lebanon Special School District received a 3.5 out of 4 rating for grades 3-8 and a 2.5 out of 4 on its English Language Proficiency assessment.

Stoner Creek returns to its home

More than two years after a tornado destroyed Stoner Creek Elementary School, teachers and students were finally able to return to their school on Nov. 30.

The day that the tornado hit in March of 2020 was the Mt. Juliet school's read me day. Teachers and students were dressed up as their favorite book characters, and Stoner Creek was filled with guests and a sense of community.

After the tornado struck, Smith said that teachers and staff never thought that they wouldn't be able to go back into the school.

Stoner Creek went through three temporary schools as the rebuilding process began.

DECEMBER

FCS football takes state title

The Friendship Christian School football team won the Division II-Class A state championship with a 34-27 victory over Nashville Christian School at Chattanooga's Finley Stadium.

It's the fourth state title for FCS, which also won championships in 2011, 2012 and 2017.

It was the second time that FCS finished unbeaten en route to claiming the state title, also posting a 13-0 mark in 2017 thanks to a 34-10 victory over Donelson Christian Academy in the championship contest.

FCS senior quarterback Garrett Weekly — a Mr. Football semifinalist — was selected as the game's most outstanding player. Weekly rushed for a game-high 113 yards on 17 carries and completed 13 of 16 passes for 166 yards and three touchdowns.

Junior teammate Brock Montgomery was on the receiving end of all three of Weekly's touchdown passes, finishing with seven receptions for 111 yards.

The Commander defense forced two turnovers over the final three minutes to help the top-ranked squad hold on.

Mt. Juliet celebrates golden anniversary

Mt. Juliet is celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022, with past and present mayors serving as grand marshals for its annual Christmas parade.

Current Mt. Juliet Mayor James Maness and past mayors David Waynick, Kevin Mack, Bill Staggs and Linda Elam were part of the line of the parade's grand marshals.

Books removed from schools

The Wilson County School Board voted to remove two books from school libraries during its December meeting.

"Tricks" by Ellen Hopkins and "Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts)" by L.C. Rosen were voted to be removed from Wilson County Schools due to inappropriate and sexually-explicit content.

Any citizen of Wilson County can challenge a book, which will then be reviewed by the school system's book committee.

Cubes project announced

It was announced in December that a developer plans to build a 2.5-million-square-foot industrial park on a 200-acre lot acquired in Lebanon.

The facility will be known as the Cubes, and the project is set to break ground in 2023. Current plans indicate that there will be four buildings across the 200-acre lot.

The current intention of CRG, a real estate development and investment firm, is to build and lease space in the buildings.

Kuhn named Wildcats' head coach

Green Hill High School offensive coordinator Ben Kuhn was named the head coach of the Wilson Central High School football program.

Kuhn succeeds Brad Dedman, who resigned in mid-November.

Kuhn became the Wildcats' sixth head coach as the program enters its 23rd season next fall, and he plans to serve as the offensive coordinator.

Kuhn, 35, arrived at Green Hill from Smyrna, where he served as offensive line coach (the same position he held at Franklin from 2013-15). He also had stints at Coffee County and Scotts Hill.

There were more than 30 applicants for the position.

Cumberland baseball program places turf on its infield

The Cumberland University baseball turf project was completed in December and is ready for action this spring at Woody Hunt Stadium/Ernest L. Stockton Field.

Cumberland launched the turf infield fundraising campaign this past February.

The turf is expected to allow for earlier games at home during the season, which is reflected in the team's schedule. Typically, the team will travel south during early February to play games, but now with the turf, the Phoenix should be able to play games at home in the winter month without the time consumption it takes to get the field ready to play.

The Phoenix are set to make their debut on the new turf in a weekend series against Indiana Wesleyan beginning on Feb. 10.

New Publix opened on Hwy 109

Development continued along Highway 109 as a new Publix opened to the public in December.

The new Publix will also attract customers who are commuting from other cities. It's the third Publix location in the area and one of the reasons that the project became a priority was to increase Lebanon's sales-tax base.

Due to Highway 109 being a regional route with five lanes of traffic, amenities with groceries, shopping and dining are believed to be essential.

More businesses are expected in that development along Highway 109.

Staats to transfer to Texas Tech

It was announced in December that former Watertown High School lineman Rusty Staats will close out his college career at Texas Tech University.

Staats — who is transferring from Western Kentucky University — joins the Red Raiders with one year of eligibility remaining as he will reunite with offensive line coach Stephen Hamby and offensive coordinator Zach Kittley, who both coached him previously with the Hilltoppers.

Staats closed his WKU tenure with a blowout victory over South Alabama in the New Orleans Bowl, capping a career in which he made 27 starts up front and was a two-time All-Conference USA selection. He has been the Hilltoppers' starter each of the past two seasons at center.

Staats ranked tied for seventh among centers nationally in pass blocking efficiency this season, according to Pro Football Focus, as he surrendered only one sack and had just one quarterback hit, seven quarterback hurries and nine pressures over 651 opportunities.

Football standouts sign

Mt. Juliet High School offensive lineman Ayden Bussell signed a letter-of-intent to continue his education and playing career at the University of Tennessee on the first day of the early signing period in December.

Among the other area standouts who have signed are Lebanon High quarterback Jaylen Abston (Murray State University), Lebanon offensive lineman Aidan Donald (the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga), Friendship Christian School quarterback Garrett Weekly (Stanford University), Mt. Juliet High defensive back Osize Daniyan (Yale University) and Green Hill tight end Braiden Staten (Florida International University.