DNJ.com - Sat Jul 04

WOODBURY - Cannon County School Board Chairman Randy Gannon said being a schools director is a lot like being a person spinning several plates on top of a pole at once.

Topix - Tue Jun 30

Editorial, By Joe WebbI have been following the story of the tragic death of Savannah Cass McMahan and the subsequent re-victimization of her family by a lazy, distracted, certainly incompetent, and probably ethically-compromised District Attorney General's office. My emotions have swung from excruciating sorrow for the young woman's family, to an almost blind fury at the notion of allowing her alleged killer to walk free. This infuriates me (fathers of daughters reading this will understand).As I read the coverage of this tragedy and the compounding epic farse that is the criminal justice system in the 9th Judicial District under Russell Johnson, something caught my eye and it added a new dimension. Maybe this is a teachable moment in our lives. Maybe there is something important to be learned in this horror. Maybe something good can come from something so terribly bad.The thought came reading Hugh Willet's excellent coverage of this story for the Knoxville News-Sentinel. In his story "Family critical of plea deal in shooting", Mr. Willet writes of John McMahan, the victim's father "McMahan said he witnessed the couple's frequent arguments and what he called "bullying" by Harvey." Willet goes on to quote Mr. McMahan "She said she was going to leave him several times before the shooting," he said. "I know that's why he shot her, because she said she was going to leave."Did you catch it? Did you see the teachable moment? I'll give you a hint: The key word is "bullying" suggesting domestic violence that just didn't get addressed in time. Tragically, many don't and maybe that lesson is the silver lining here. This tragedy may have given us an opportunity to think deeply and critically about domestic violence, and our response as a community to domestic violence. (Click the headline to view the full article)

Topix - Sat Jun 27

According to the arrest warrant: A Morgan County 911 dispatcher listened as a gunshot rang out over the phone. The mortally wounded Memford Lynn Hamby then told the dispatch employee that Heather Young had just shot him again. Two more gunshots are then heard on the 911 tape, followed by silence.The warrant further states that Heather Young confessed to shooting Hamby. Earlier in the 10-minute phone call, Hamby told the dispatcher he'd wrestled the gun from his assailant and hit her on her head with it, and that she had left to go get another weapon.