Maury County School Board Denies Charter School Application in Close Vote

COLUMBIA, Tennessee – The Maury County Board of Education narrowly rejected the application by American Classical Education to operate a charter school in the county in a vote of 6-5. 

An application review committee made a presentation about the different strengths and deficiencies of the school’s application in three different areas of qualification. The committee found that the school’s academic, operational, and financial plans only partially met the criteria of the rubric and thus recommended that the board deny the American Classical Academy Maury’s initial application. 

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American Classical Education Announces Intent to Apply for Charter Schools in Five Tennessee Counties

American Classical Education (ACE) informed the Tennessee Department of Education and school boards of education in five counties – Rutherford, Montgomery, Madison, Maury, and Robertson – in separate letters last week it intends to apply for public school charters to operate classical schools in those five counties.

“We’ve filed our letters of intent with the school districts and the department,” Dolores Gresham, an ACE board member, former Tennessee State Senator, and former Senate Education Committee Chair, told The Tennessee Star.

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Representative Cepicky and Senator Hensley Request Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to Put Hold on Landfill Development Plans

State Representative Scott Cepicky and Senator Joey Hensley announced that requested the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) to hold off on plans to put a massive landfill in Maury County, Tennessee.

In a letter to the agency, State Representative Scott Cepicky stated, “Myself and others have concerns about the new permitting at the Monsanto land. It’s been almost 10 years since we fought the mega dump in Maury County. We must protect the duck river and our water source for southern middle Tennessee. Senator Hensley and myself have sent this letter to the TDEC asking for everything to slow down and perform town halls in Maury County to get the opinions of the locals. We will stay on top of this from the state level making sure everything in process is transparent.”

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Vetoes Budget Citing Negative Impact of Tax Increase

Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles sent a letter to Maury County Commission Chairman Don Morrow in which he vetoed the proposed Maury County budget for the next fiscal year citing the negative impact of the proposed tax increase as citizens deal with the Biden administration’s inflationary policies.

“I have spent a great deal of time reviewing the budget in context of the greater economic factors that are occurring in United States, from record fuel prices, inverted yield curve, collapse in commodities such as copper, and record low consumer sentiment just to name a few; some analysts are speculating that the impending recession could be worse than 2008,” said Ogles in his letter.

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Sources: Andy Ogles Will Focus on TN-5 Congressional Bid and Not Run for Re-election as Maury County Mayor

Sources close to Andy Ogles tell The Tennessee Star that he will announce later this week that he will focus on his bid for the TN-5 GOP nomination and will withdraw as a candidate for re-election as mayor of Maury County.

First elected mayor in 2018, Ogles is currently the GOP nominee for Maury County mayor in the Aug 4 county general election, which is scheduled to be held on the same day and in the same Maury County polling locations as the TN-5 GOP primary election.

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22 Charged with Drug Distribution Crimes in Maury and Lewis Counties

man in handcuffs

A lengthy investigation by federal and local law enforcement has resulted in the indictment of 22 individuals for illegally distributing substantial amounts of controlled substances in and around the areas of Maury County and Lewis County, Tennessee. According to a press release by the Middle District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office, the last of three federal indictments returned last month was unsealed Tuesday, and all but one charged defendant have been taken into custody.

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Declares State of Emergency in County to Protect Health Care Workers’ Rights

Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles — flanked by several state legislators — declared a state of emergency in the county at a press conference  on Thursday.

Ogles said the U.S. Constitution entitles health care workers to religious exemptions and other rights of conscience to refuse the COVID-19 vaccine. He also said the U.S. Constitution protects those workers from harassment or even job loss.

The Biden administration now mandates that healthcare workers vaccinate themselves against COVID-19, and Ogles warned his constituents Thursday that more than 1,000 local health care employees in Maury County could lose their jobs.

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Nashville Area’s Population Approaches Two Million People

The Nashville metropolitan area was the 20th-fastest growing statistical area in the country since 2010, according to data released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

With a growth rate of 20.9% from 2010 to 2020, the Nashville area now is the 36th-largest metropolitan area in the country with nearly 2 million residents. The census numbers showed the metro Nashville population increased by 343,319 people to 1,989,519.

Tennessee’s population grew by 8.9% between 2010 and 2020; lower than the 11.5% and 16.7% increases during the previous two census counts. Four of the past six census counts have shown double-digit increases in Tennessee’s population growth.

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Calls for Tennessee to Dump Any State-Held Equity in Big Tech Companies Over Censorship

Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles is calling on the Tennessee General Assembly to dump any state-held equity and debt in the Big Tech companies over their “war on freedom of speech.”

Ogles made the announcement on his Facebook page Wednesday, available here. It is addressed to Governor Bill Lee, Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge), House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and the other members of the Legislature.

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Forms ‘Andy’s Army TN’ Facebook Group to Promote Liberty

Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles formed a Facebook group called “Andy’s Army TN” for “patriots and Fans of Andy Ogles who believe in taking a stand for our Constitution and Liberties.”

The private group’s page is here. Since it is a private group, people have to request to join. Facebook showed the membership to be approximately 1,800 as of Monday.

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Tennessee Board Approves $35M Grant to Retrain GM’s Spring Hill Employees as Part of $2B Deal to Produce Electric Cadillac Vehicles

A state board on Tuesday approved a $35 million jobs training grant to encourage General Motors to retain workers at its Spring Hill plant as the company looks to invest approximately $2 billion to produce electric vehicles, including the Cadillac LYRIQ.

The State Funding Board approved the FastTrack Job Training Assistance Grant. More information is available here.

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Tells Bill Lee and John Cooper That it’s Time to Open up Tennessee

 

Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles said Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and Nashville Mayor John Cooper can heal an economy wounded after COVID-19, and Ogles said now is the time to do so.

Simply put, Ogles said Middle Tennessee is Tennessee’s economic engine and what happens there reverberates throughout the rest of the state. He also said it’s time for the state to go back to what life was like February, before COVID-19 impacted the United States. Ogles also said it’s safe to do so.

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Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles Formally Asks Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to Fire Penny Schwinn

Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner (TDEC) Penny Schwinn must leave, said Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles on Wednesday.

Ogles posted on his Facebook page that Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee must remove Schwinn. Ogles said he formally called on Lee to do this only hours after he read Wednesday’s Tennessee Star article that quoted three former TDEC higher-ups. Those former employees, speaking anonymously, denounced Schwinn and her alleged on-the-job behavior. They said she falsified government records, ridiculed Lee at TDEC staff meetings, and lied to avoid appearing in public alongside U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.

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