People

Brooke Pippenger has been selected as the town consultant for the town of Lookout Mountain. Prior to coming to the city, Pippenger served as the program director of the Mother’s Day Out program at Lookout Mountain Presbyterian church since 2012. Originally from Knoxville, Pippenger holds a bachelor...

A Memphis firefighter is dead after a collision that also left three other Memphis firefighters and a civilian injured.  

Memphis Fire Department Driver David Pleasant was killed in the collision in South Memphis on Aug. 10, according to a statement released by the city. 

“David was extremely...

Michael Walker has been selected as the new city manager for Lakeland. Walker has been with the city since November 2019 and has been serving as the interim city manager since the departure of previous city manager Shane Horn in April. Walker came to Lakeland as the director of finance and human...

The Tennessee Supreme Court has selected Jonathan Skrmetti to serve as the state’s next Attorney General and Reporter.

From 2018 to late 2021, Skrmetti was the Chief Deputy Attorney General in the Attorney General’s Office, where he managed approximately 160 attorneys in 15 litigating divisions...

Ken Wiles, councilmember for the city of Columbia, died Aug. 7, 2022 at the age of 77 after a battle with cancer. Wiles as appointed to his seat in October 2019 to fill the unexpired term of late Ward 2 Councilman Steve Boshers and then was elected to a four-year term the following year. In...

Jimmy Alexander, former mayor of Nolensville and at-large director of the TML Board, died Aug. 7, 2022. Prior to his public service in Nolensville, Alexander worked for the Metro Nashville Planning Commission for 42 years. Alexander moved to Nolensville in 1999 and served on the town’s board of...

Larry Wallace, the only person to be both head of the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), died after a short battle with cancer Aug. 6, 2022. Wallace was 77. He began his law enforcement career in 1964 as an officer with the Athens Police Department before...

William Barner has been promoted to town public works director for Greeneville. Barner is a longtime town employee and will lead a 42-person department that includes solid waste services, landfill operations, stormwater planning, and street and sidewalk improvements. Barner has more than 40 years...

Missy Dillingham, longtime children’s services manager with the John P. Holt Brentwood Library, died suddenly at her home on Aug. 1, 2022. Dillingham served for 38 years with the city of Brentwood, beginning in 1984 as the inaugural manager of children’s services for the Brentwood Library. In 2011...

Joe D. Casey, retired police chief for Metro Nashville, died Aug. 1, 2022 at the age of 96. Casey was a member of the Nashville Police Department for nearly 38 years, beginning as a patrolman in November 1951. He rose through the ranks to become acting chief of police in November 1973 and then the...

Elaine Brunelle has been selected as the new town manager for Signal Mountain. Brunelle retired as a commander from the U.S. Navy in 2019 after nearly 31 years of service, including being stationed in Everett, Wash.; San Diego, Calif.; and Bahrain. She holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice...

Regina Smithson, longtime commissioner and former mayor of the city of Brentwood, died suddenly on July 23, 2022. Smithson had served on the Brentwood Board of Commissioners for more than 30 years, including terms as vice mayor and mayor. During her time on the commission, Smithson served on...