By PATRICK HALL
The Gallatin News

Sumner County will celebrate Memorial Day on Monday, remembering and honoring the men and women who sacrificed their lives in the service of our nation with several ceremonies and events across the county.

The American Legion Post 17 in Gallatin, will hold a special service at Sumner Memorial Gardens at 9:30 a.m., to honor those fallen soldiers buried in the local cemetery.

“We’ll have the posting of colors, the Pledge of Allegiance and a pianist will play God Bless America,” said Connie Presley, officer manager for the Legion.

Presley said members of the Post will lay wreaths in honor of the fallen military personnel and Post 17 Chaplain Jim Huffman will give a special benediction.

The ceremony will take place close to the mausoleum and Presley said everyone is invited to attend and pay homage to the sacrifices made by the men and women in our armed forces.

“Everyone is invited, the more the merrier,” she said.

By CODI KIRK
The Gallatin News

Nothing but excitement, praise and accolades were expressed by all who attended the grand opening and Gallatin Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting ceremony celebrating the relocation of County Emergency Services and first-responders into their new facility on Airport Road in Gallatin on Monday.

“This is the best money we’ve ever spent, the county commission, really,” said District 10 Sumner County Commissioner Jo Skidmore.

Emergency Services Director Keith Douglas was giving District 18 State Senator Ferrell Haile a personal tour through the facility, stopping in the training room that boasts a drop-down projector and screen.

“In our other building, we could seat probably 12 to 15 people comfortably and now we can seat 40 to 60,” said Douglas.

“This is good,” said Haile, ”Great investment, great investment.”

“It’s fabulous, it’s very nice and lots of room to grow,” said Sumner County Attorney Leah May Dennen.

By JOSH NELSON
The Gallatin News

Gallatin City Council voted at their work session last Tuesday night to open up a job search for a Director of Codes and a Director of Planning separately.

Previously, one person oversaw the two departments.

Mayor Jo Ann Graves had nominated interim-Codes Director Addam McCormick to take over the singular position vacated by Tony Allers, who retired last month.

“He has 12 years as Director of Codes and Planning at White House,” Graves said of McCormick. “He and (interim-Planning Director) Katherine Schoch are working extremely well together – in fact, it's the best I've ever seen that department function.”

The discussion immediately turned to whether the departments need to stay combined or whether they should be separated as they were before Allers’ hiring.

District Three Councilor Jimmy Overton asked the mayor her opinion on the matter. Graves said she could envision the departments staying combined.

By JOSH NELSON
The Gallatin News

Gallatin Mayor Jo Ann Graves has opened a job search amongst city employees for the city's Human Resources Director position after City Council opposed her nomination of interim-director Amy Summers to have the interim tag removed at last Tuesday's council work session.

The position was opened with the retirement of Dave Crawford last month.

Graves nominated Summers for the position due to her experience in the department.

“We always try to promote from within,” Graves said. “She does a good job. She undertook some certification(s) that make her very qualified to fill this position.”

“One of the things that I think Amy brings particularly to the job is she's worked there for eight years – she knows the department heads and she knows the people and she knows the procedures, and that is definitely a plus for us to be able to move in that direction,” she said. “And not only that, (but) her boss, Dave Crawford, who was here 12 years, recommended Amy very highly.”

By CODI KIRK
The Gallatin News

The sixth annual Taste of Gallatin will celebrate and highlight the many eateries in the community tomorrow with plenty of food and fun.

"This is the 6th annual Taste of Gallatin, it has become a much-anticipated annual event for Gallatin,” said Gallatin Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Paige Brown.

“It's a great opportunity for people from around the area to sample the great taste of the line that our restaurants, caterers and groceries offer. It's also a great opportunity for them to showcase some of their best items. It has proven to be very successful for many restaurants in the past and a fun event for families to attend,” Brown said.