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Maury County Seeks Highway Dedication for NASCAR Legend Sterling Marlin

Maury County Seeks Highway Dedication for NASCAR Legend Sterling Marlin

Issue #542

August 31, 2025

In this What’s Up Columbia issue…

🌤️ Columbia’s Weather - Partly cloudy w/ High of 87, low of 58

🏁 Maury County Seeks Highway Dedication for NASCAR Legend Sterling Marlin

📰 Tennessee Court Overturns Ban on Guns in Public Parks

📌 9/5 - 9/7: A Weekend to Honor Maury County First Responders

🗓 List of Upcoming Events

🎵 Today’s Live Music

🗓 Know of Some Local Events Not Listed? Send us the Details!

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Maury County Seeks Highway Dedication for NASCAR Legend Sterling Marlin

Click the image to watch an overview of Sterling Martin’s historic NASCAR career.

The Maury County Commission has moved to honor NASCAR legend Sterling Marlin by requesting the state to designate a portion of Highway 31 in his name. The stretch would run from Carters Creek Pike to Raider Lane, recognizing Marlin’s deep roots and lasting impact on the community.

Marlin, who grew up in Maury County and is the son of racing icon Clifton “Coo Coo” Marlin, graduated from Spring Hill High School before launching a professional career that spanned more than three decades. From 1976 to 2010, he competed at the highest level of NASCAR, earning his place among the sport’s “75 Greatest Drivers.” He also secured back-to-back Daytona 500 victories in 1994 and 1995 — an achievement reached by only a handful of drivers — and was twice named Tennessee Professional Athlete of the Year.

Friends recalled that Marlin’s decision to pursue racing was shaped by his early experiences working in tobacco fields, which convinced him to follow a different path. Marlin himself reflected on his beginnings behind the wheel, remembering the first practice car his father bought him — a 1957 Nash Metropolitan, purchased for just $50, that he drove up and down the driveway at the age of 12.

County leaders praised Marlin not only for his accomplishments on the track but also for the way he represented Maury County on a national stage. To them, his success put the community firmly on the sports map and left a legacy worth celebrating.

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Tennessee Court Overturns Ban on Guns in Public Parks

A three-judge panel has overturned Tennessee’s law that prohibited individuals from carrying firearms in public parks.

The decision came after three gun owners and two gun rights organizations, Gun Owners of America, Inc. and Gun Owners Foundation, filed a lawsuit in February 2023 challenging the statute. The law had previously made it a criminal offense to bring firearms into parks under most circumstances.

The panel rejected the state’s arguments that the plaintiffs lacked standing and that the court had no authority to strike down a criminal statute. Instead, the judges ruled that the law conflicted with both the U.S. Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution. According to the ruling, Tennessee’s Constitution cannot provide fewer protections for the right to keep and bear arms than those guaranteed under the federal Constitution.

The court concluded that the statute effectively criminalized the act of carrying a firearm for lawful purposes, such as self-defense, rather than targeting behavior intended to threaten or endanger others. By doing so, the law was found to undermine the core protections of the Second Amendment and lacked historical precedent to justify its restrictions.

As a result, the panel struck down the law, characterizing the state’s legal arguments in defense of the statute as insufficient.

9/5 - 9/7: A Weekend to Honor Maury County First Responders

Annually, Pleasant Heights Baptist Church sponsors a Whole Hog BBQ to honor Maury County, Tennessee First Responders. This year, the hog will go on the fire at 6:00 p.m. on September 5, 2025. Stop by for popcorn and lemonade. All night long, as our men tend the hog, First Responders are invited to stop by for a burger or braut. On Saturday, September 6, 2025 at 12:30, we will host a BBQ luncheon in their honor and distribute wonderful door prizes. On Sunday, September 7, 2025, we will pray over all our First Responders, who are invited to attend in uniform.