Good morning, Shelby County! It’s Wednesday, Nov. 13, and I hope you’re ready to get buck wild because Buc-ee’s Gallaway — that’s the one planned for Fayette County — will break ground this morning. Beaver nuggets, here we come!

The Greater Memphis Workforce Development Board is scheduled to vote today on whether to remove its director, Amber Covington. She’s been asked to resign, but just like Jennifer Holliday in that song, she says she’s not going. 

The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Los Angeles Lakers in a revenge game last week, but the two teams are back at it today in California. And the Memphis Tigers women’s basketball team is in Indiana to play Ball State. For a different kind of competition TV, you can catch a rerun of Good Fortune Co. co-owner Sarah Cai on “Guy’s Grocery Games” on the Food Network late tonight.

THE NEED TO KNOW

“I’ve never heard of a community being in direct opposition to an educational institution,” said Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins. (Benjamin Naylor/The Daily Memphian file)

School’s out: The Memphis City Council voted down a permit Tuesday for a new Memphis-Shelby County Schools high school on Fischer Steel Road in Cordova. Some neighboring business owners opposed the plan over traffic concerns, and some worried the site’s past uses could have left the land in a hazardous state. Council members also questioned whether the school system even has the money to build the school. In other council news, members talked about a game plan for city gun reform. And one council member called for a boycott of Paint Memphis over a rat mural in her district. In more news, the City Council got an overview Tuesday of a new, multimillion-dollar plan to help 10,000 young people head toward economic mobility.

Memphis 901 FC’s Dylan Borczak fought for control of the ball in September at AutoZone Park. (Greg Campbell/The Daily Memphian file)

901FC leaves 901: Memphis’ soccer league is reportedly moving after the city’s plan for a permanent soccer stadium didn’t pan out. Memphis 901FC has transferred its ownership rights to Santa Barbara, California, and that club will replace Memphis in the United Soccer League Championship for the 2026 season. The city had originally planned a 10,000-seat, soccer stadium as part of a larger sports venue plan, but the state funds instead went to the renovations of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium and FedExForum.

“This is not unusual. This is a struggle with penal institutions all over the United States,” said Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner about a drug smuggling case in the jail. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

More arrested in jail smuggling scheme: Inmate Romarus Turner, 33, and his girlfriend, Katurah Lewis, 33, have both been arrested in a Shelby County Jail smuggling scheme that saw two corrections deputies arrested last week. Deputies Lillie Pittman, 31, and Joshua Williams, 30, are charged with possessing weed and other contraband in a penal facility, among other charges. Turner, who was already incarcerated on a first-degree murder charge, and Lewis face similar charges. At a presser on Tuesday, Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner said he was especially disappointed over Pittman, who was the class president during corrections officer training. 

Mike Fletcher

Stepping down: The city’s deputy chief legal officer, Mike Fletcher, will retire at the end of the year. He’s held the position since former Mayor Jim Strickland’s first term in 2017. Attorney Odell Horton Jr. has been tapped to take over. In other news of big job changes, Cathy Pope, the president and CEO of the Mid-South Food Bank, announced this week that she’s leaving her role and heading back to her native Georgia. Pope took over at the Food Bank in 2019, just a few months before the pandemic hit and demand for food from the organization tripled. Pope says she’s moving home to be closer to family and friends, and her last day will be next week. 

QUOTED

“It’s not right for our community, and it’s not right either for Memphis to have to pick up the slack.”

— Bridgewater resident Donna Barber
A proposed agreement between Memphis and Shelby County’s fire services could impact which department responds to fire calls in de-annexed neighborhoods around Cordova. Currently, the Shelby County Fire Department responds to calls in those areas, including Bridgewater. But Memphis Fire Department stations are closer. Still, some residents worry the city’s fire services would be lacking.

THE NICE TO KNOW

The former Commercial Appeal building’s office space at 495 Union Ave. will be auctioned on Ten-X starting Monday, Dec. 2, until Wednesday, Dec. 4. (The Daily Memphian file)

Extra, extra! The office portion of the former Commercial Appeal building on Union Avenue will be auctioned off to the highest bidder in early December. The starting bid is just over $1 million. The warehouse portion of the building has been sold to a subsidiary of California-based Global Storage Partners for just over $3.7 million. Read more about that in Inked, plus an auction for the Thousand Oaks Business Center and a new home for A2H Architects. 

Corky’s BBQ offers smoked turkeys and hams for your holiday table. (Courtesy Corky’s BBQ)

Talking turkey: It’s only a matter of days until we’re sitting around the table stuffing ourselves silly with turkey (or Tofurky) casseroles and pies. Because there’s no better way to express one’s gratitude than with a gluttonous feast, am I right? If you’re doing the cooking, we’ve got you covered with Thanksgiving recipes, including the late Jennifer Biggs’ turkey instructions, in the latest guide in our Holidays in Memphis series. And if you’re more inclined to let the pros do the cooking, here’s where you can get Thanksgiving dishes to go.

Yellow card: The DeSoto Central High’s boys soccer team is on probation after a student from Hernando High School was allegedly allowed to try out for the team. That student, Callaway Metzger, is the son of DeSoto soccer coach Josh Metzger, and the elder Metzger said his son was not trying out but rather just visiting the school. He called the allegation a personal attack. The Mississippi High School Activities Association issued the one-year probation penalty and a $100 fine after it found DeSoto Central officials were negligent by not following student-eligibility rules.

Nick Robbins (left) and Chad Lindsay are in a runoff for Alderman Position 3 in Collierville. (The Daily Memphian files)

Pause on apartments? Alderwoman Maureen Fraser, who was elected as Collierville’s new mayor last week, is planning to implement a moratorium on new apartments. The pause would give officials time to study the town’s housing mix and possibly revise its 2040 land-use plan. And both Chad Lindsay and Nick Robbins, the two candidates facing a Dec. 10 runoff for Collierville’s position 3 alderman role say they’d support that a moratorium.

For the children: Alliance Healthcare Services plans to build an $11 million children’s mental health center on Broad Avenue. The center will be next door to its newly built $34 million adult crisis-intervention center, and it will be open 24/7 to treat children with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, drug-induced psychoses and other issues. “We’re going to work with all the hospitals, including Le Bonheur, to be sure that families do not wait in the emergency room for mental health care,” said Alliance’s director. 

WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT 

IMAKEMADBEATS is dropping a new album, “Wands,” on Saturday, Nov. 16, with a laser show at the Pink Palace’s Planetarium. He made a strange promo reel for the album on Instagram, starring Memphis Mayor Paul Young.

Have a great day, everyone!

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