NMWVFD to host free concert

New Market Volunteer Fire Department will host a free outside live music event at the New Market Roadside Park featuring Connie Lowe & the Dixie Rose band.

The event will be Saturday, July 1 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Concessions will be provided by Buford’s Food Truck.

Watson’s Fireworks Tene will be available to purchase fireworks. For more informatin call, 865-475-4064.

TWRA recovers abandoned caimen, stresses responsible ownership

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) responded to a request for assistance Wednesday, June 21, from the Knoxville Police Department (KPD). Knoxville Animal Control received a call around 8:30 a.m. of an abandoned caiman in a mid-sized aquarium left on the loading dock of a local business. TWRA coordinated with KPD to take possession of the animal and deliver it to a facility that is experienced in handling caimans.

While it is legal to own caimans in Tennessee, TWRA is reminding captive wildlife owners to not abandon them, as doing so poses serious safety and biological threats to humans and the ecosystem. Captain Rusty Boles, TWRA Captive Wildlife Coordinator, says, “Spectacled caimans, which may grow up to eight feet in length, pose a serious threat to human safety. Whenever exotic species are released into the environment, they can negatively impact native wildlife. Releasing captive wildlife is not only illegal, it’s very irresponsible.”

Captive wildlife also poses a safety threat to local law enforcement officers who are often called to the scene where exotic animals are present. “When kept in non-native environments, this type of wildlife presents a legitimate potential danger to law enforcement and the general public,” says KPD Public Information Officer Scott Erland. “It’s important that these animals are possessed by responsible and knowledgeable individuals who understand the inherent risks and care they require.”

Meredith turns 90, urges people to fight crime by obeying Ten

Commandments

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — James Meredith knew he was putting his life in danger in the 1960s by pursuing what he believes was his divine mission: conquering white supremacy in the deeply, and often violently, segregated state of Mississippi.

A half-century later, the civil rights leader is still talking about his mission from God. In recent weeks, he made several appearances around his home state, urging people to obey the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule in order to reduce crime. On his 90th birthday on Sunday, Meredith said older generations should lead the way.

“Old folks not only can control it — it’s their job to control it,” Meredith told The Associated Press in an interview Sunday after an event honoring him at the Mississippi Capitol.

Meredith is a civil rights icon who has long resisted that label because he believes it sets issues such as voting rights and equal access to education apart from other human rights.

During the event, Meredith fell while trying to stand and speak. He leaned on an unsecured lectern, and it crashed forward with Meredith on top. People nearby scrambled to return him to a wheelchair.

Meredith suffered no visible injuries. An ambulance crew checked him later, and then Meredith went to his home in Jackson to have a birthday celebration with his family. His wife, Judy Alsobrooks Meredith, said Monday that he was spending time with grandchildren and showing no signs of pain.

In October 1962, federal marshals escorted Meredith as he enrolled as the first Black student at the University of Mississippi, while white people rioted on the Oxford campus. Mississippi’s governor at the time, Ross Barnett, had stirred mobs into a frenzy by declaring that Ole Miss would not be integrated under his watch.