By SABRINA GARRETT
The Wilson Post

Lebanon High School’s new, state-of-the-art, $48 million facility opened as the city’s crown jewel in August; however, the 2012-2013 school year came to an unfortunate end with what Lebanon Police Chief Scott Bowen called “a big, black eye” this past Saturday.

Lebanon High School teacher Lindsay Mosley appeared before the Wilson County School Board Monday, June 3 to provide a public explanation for the confusion surrounding graduation that infuriated many school parents. Mosley, who serves on the Graduation Committee, said that, in short, fear of severe weather caused officials to “abandon” their original plan to keep graduation on the football field – which is a longtime Blue Devil tradition.

The set-up, which originally took over four hours to organize on the football field, was moved into the gymnasium by faculty and staff in an hour and a half – leaving graduates and special visitors in a state of chaos when it was determined that the 2,000-seat gymnasium could not accommodate all of the guests. Other guests were ushered to the cafeteria or commons area, which were set up with video of graduation – but lacked audio.

Unfortunately, some parents did not even make it that far due to traffic conditions backed up on both South Hartmann Drive and West Main. “Obviously there was not a traffic plan. The department starting receiving calls from citizen around 4 p.m. saying that traffic was backed up,” Bowen said. “There were people getting out of their cars on South Hartmann Drive, trying to run into the school to see their kids graduate – and that is a big safety issue.”

Bowen, who is a LHS graduate, was unable to see his son graduate due to the limited space. “I dropped my wife off and she was able to run in and clap for him when his name was called but me and my in-laws, who drove from Alabama to see this, were not able to get in,” he said. “Why not go ahead and have a plan B in place? You are going to have to call it. The school should have said by noon - we are going to limit it to six people. To me it is just a failure. I don’t care what they had to do – nobody should have to miss their child graduating.”

Director of Schools Mike Davis announced at the School Board Meeting that each student would receive a DVD of their graduation, free of charge.

Mosley noted that the school is currently discussing improvements that can be made for future graduations. She told board members that schools such as Wilson Central High School have opted to have an off-campus indoor graduation, but it was not an unflawed solution.

“They pay about $9,000 to have it off campus now,” she said, adding that many LHS students have trouble meeting the current $50 graduation fee and were unlikely to afford an increase.

Another reason the school has not sought an off-campus graduation is because the city does not have an indoor venue that could house the number of expected guests. “We don’t want to see another county collect that revenue,” she said. 

Lebanon-Wilson Chamber of Commerce CEO Sue Vanatta said that this is just another case where the city shows the need for an event center. “All of the money that is being spent by the high schools going to their proms and graduations out of the county – we could have an event center that could accommodate all the needs of our students.”

“It would have been nice to have that option to schedule our graduations here locally and having a facility that would accommodate them,” added Lebanon Mayor Philip Craighead, who has promoted building an event center in the new Cumberland Center off Highway 231.

“It is time for Lebanon and Wilson County to think ahead and to make a center like the event center become a reality. We are missing out on so many possibilities. The investment in a center will have a major return on our investment for jobs and revenues,” he said.

Plans for the proposed center project arena-style seating that could hold 4,500 or 6,500 with standing and floor-seating. “We will need to be looking at legislation this next year. There are a few options available and I am looking at them. I am looking forward to meeting our new Director of Schools (Dr. Tim Sutterlund) and talking with him,” Craighead said. “An event center would be an extension of our educational capabilities. I want to hear his thoughts and hopefully garner his support, along with the school board. I want a center that will meet the needs of our high schools.”

By SABRINA GARRETT
The Wilson Post

A lease agreement with the Tennessee Board of Regents that will transform the vocational facility on the former Lebanon High School campus into a career technical center was approved by the Wilson County School Board with a 5-0 vote at their meeting on Monday night.

County Attorney Mike Jennings said that discussions with the TBR have been ongoing to find a solution that would address the concerns of both parties involved. “I think we have done the best we can to deal with these issues,” he added of the stipulations set forth by the board during their May meeting.

These issues included the safety of students that will be educated at the center, a yearly assessment and guaranteeing that spots would be available to Wilson County students – since recent numbers show that about 40 percent of seniors who are graduating this year do not intend to go to college.

During an earlier interview with The Wilson Post, TBR Vice Chancellor James King said that he believes a technical center will greatly benefit students in the community. He said that America is in an era right now when having a marketable skill – such as those learned at career technical centers – is extremely valuable.

“There are a lot of people right now with a generic degree (from a four-year college) who are struggling to find jobs. Ninety percent of students graduating from our centers are getting jobs in their field,” he said.

 For more, see Wednesday’s Wilson Post.

From Post staff reports

Donations for a family who lost their home and belongings in an early morning house fire in Old Hickory are being accepted at Benson Orthodontics and the Lebanon and Mt. Juliet offices.

The fire broke out around 2 a.m., Monday, at the home in the 5600 block of Scenic Ridge Drive. Jeff and Tina Crosslin, the parents, escaped, and their son, Cade, 17, jumped from a second story window. Another teen, identified as Mason Dimitroff, 17, also escaped the blaze.

According to reports, the family was awakened by a loud explosion, possibly from a gas line to a grill. There was concern about some ammunition inside the home being detonated by the fire, also.

Friends of the family said the two teens, who were transported to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, were in critical condition and expected to be in the hospital for about a week being treated for smoke inhalation.

Officials at Benson Orthodontics, where Mrs. Crosslin works, said they will accept checks/prepaid card donations for the family.

The office’s locations are at 11462 Lebanon Road, Mt. Juliet, phone number 541-1444; or at 723 West Main Street, Lebanon, phone number 

A single-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Nashville this past week was unsealed Monday, charging 24 defendants with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distributing diverted prescription pills, announced  David Rivera, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.

 The diverted pills contained the controlled substances Oxycodone, Hydromorphone, Oxymorphone and Buprenorphine. The respective brand names for the pills containing those controlled substances are Roxicodone, Dilaudid, Opana, Oxymorphone and Subutex.     

 “Prescription drug abuse and diversion is an epidemic facing our nation,” Rivera said. “The vast number of people addicted to painkillers and the increasing number of overdose deaths attributable to these illegally obtained drugs is unacceptable. We must continue to combine the resources of our law enforcement agencies and engage our communities to reduce the number of illicit pills available to the public.

“The diversion and abuse of prescription drugs in Tennessee is presently the number one drug threat in the state,” said Michael Stanfill, assistant special agent-in-charge of DEA in Tennessee. “This investigation is an excellent example of federal, state, and local agencies combining resources to attack this issue.”

 Local, state and federal law enforcement officers, Monday morning, began arresting those named in the indictment and were executing nine federal search warrants in connection with the investigation.  

Those charged in the indictment are: 

1. Kenneth Edward Stafford, 26, of Lebanon

2. Kacee Anne Breeden, 28, of Lebanon

3. Rashad Woodside a/k/a “Goma,” 37, of North Miami, Fla.

4. Nicholas Adam Young a/k/a “Nick,” 26, of  Lebanon

5. Michael Jordan a/k/a “Billy Bob,” 26, of Watertown

6. Ronnie Dustin E. McCulloch a/k/a “Dustin,” 24, of Watertown

7. Dereck Scott Weatherspoon, 27, of Mt. Juliet

8. William Chad Nixon a/k/a “Chad,” 26, of Lebanon

9. Michael Chad Corley a/k/a “Chad,” 31, of Lebanon

10. Phillip Wayne Allen, 36, of Lebanon

11. Fletcher Denning, 22, of Mt. Juliet

12. Amanda Meyers, 28, of Lebanon

13. Tammy Bristow, 33, of Castalian Springs

14. Anthony Lee Collins, Jr. a/k/a “TJ” 27, of Lebanon

15. Marcy Jo Pickler, 32, of Lebanon

16. Kyle Oakley, 27, of Mt. Juliet

17. Amy Nichole Murphy, 34, of Lebanon

18. Caitlin Michelle Gibson a/k/a “Katie Bug,” 21, of Lebanon

19. James Lester Massey, 43, of Castalian Springs

20. Thomas Roberts, 41, of Lebanon

21. Robert Anthony Taylor a/k/a “Tony,” 27, of Lebanon

22. Sammie Lanette Crutcher, 28, of Lebanon

23. Peter Lewis, 31, of Lebanon

24. Ryan Moore a/k/a “Rhino,” 23, of Lebanon

The charged offense carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lebanon Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Mt. Juliet Police Department, the Wilson County Sheriff’s Department, the Franklin Police Department, and the Clarksville Police Department, the Crossville Police Department, with assistance by the U.S. Marshals Service. The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent A. Hannafan.

An indictment is merely an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

By SABRINA GARRETT
The Wilson Post
Two Gallatin residents were charged in Lebanon with cruelty to animals after authorities reportedly found three dogs locked inside a parked vehicle at Lebanon Premium Outlets shopping center on Monday.
 
The two people charged were Phyllis Borden and Shirley Borden, both of Gallatin.