Philip Fairbanks

David Denton is retiring from his role as director of McMinnville Animal Control after nearly three full decades of working with the city.

Dr. Candice McQueen, former Commissioner of Education for the state of Tennessee and current President of Lipscomb University, spoke to the McMinnville Noon Rotary Club about the importance of STEM training to keep the US competitive in the realm of innovation, technology and health sciences. Since the rise of the Cold War, an emphasis on science and progress led to the US being a major world player when it comes to cutting-edge discoveries.

A coyote was spotted in the restroom at a Predators game a few years back, but a string of recent black bear sightings began around South Nashville in June and since continued throughout Middle Tennessee. Sightings are occurring closer to home in recent weeks, including one in Viola. Some of the most recent sightings in the vicinity were in Spencer.

It’s been a couple months, but I am thinking back to one of the few emails I received from District Attorney Chris Stanford in response to multiple requests for comment and clarification on stories. Stanford cited his “overall priority of ensuring our community’s safety” as reason for not replying. This implies my reporting is a danger to citizens.

Magness Library has a couple of major milestones coming up. Director Brad Walker will be celebrating 30 years at Magness Memorial Library this month. This July, the library also celebrates 110 years of continuous service in McMinnville and Warren County.

Along with planning the budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the City of McMinnville has also recently released its Strategic Plan for 2023-2024. Many of the issues brought up in Finance Committee meetings and recent meetings of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen show up within the Strategic Plan. Retention of qualified city staff and first responder candidates has been an issue of importance since before the new Strategic Plan was unveiled but remains a looming concern.

Currently, there are two TDOT projects under construction near Three Star Mall in McMinnville. Dement Construction Company LLC is doing work on a Warren County SR-1 (US-70S) and SR-380 intersection improvement and S.I.A. to Motlow Advanced Robotics intersection. The contract completion date was expected to be on or before Oct. 20 of this year, but the contractor submitted a letter just last week regarding some delayed signal items.

Charlie Hatcher, D.V.M., Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture spoke to the McMinnville Noon Rotary Club this Thursday about family farms, woodlands, commercial producers and the current prospects of Tennessee’s agribusiness industry. Hatcher is a 10th-generation American farmer and fifth-generation Tennessee farmer and served as Tennessee’s state veterinarian for 10 years. In the early 1990s, Hatcher began running a veterinary business near the family dairy farm.

James “Mickey” Gwyn, director of the Black History Museum, spoke before a special session of the Board of Mayor and Alderman previously and also presented Monday, July 17 to the Warren County Commission. Gwyn shared preliminary plans for an expansion and revitalization project to take place on the east side of McMinnville. The program would be overseen by the Black History Museum.

Inflation has been hitting everyone hard in recent years. Travis Powers from Douglas & Lanier Insurance in McMinnville offers advice from the perspective of an insurance agent. Inflation is affecting individuals as well as entire industries and small businesses are some of the hardest hit by inflation.