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The Daily Memphian | The Early Word
 
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The Early Word: Was Oher blindsided? Plus, Ross family hires Crump

Can you feel it? That’s what our political reporter Bill Dries always says when important government business is about to happen. And today — Tuesday, Aug. 15 — The Daily Memphian and WKNO are co-hosting a Memphis mayoral debate. Tune in on our livestream here at 7 p.m. to hear from the candidates who are vying for the city’s top job. 

Also happening tonight: The Memphis Redbirds open a six-game home series against the International League-leading Norfolk Tides.

THE NEED TO KNOW

Michael Oher was selected as the No. 26th overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens during the NFL football draft at Radio City Music Hall April 25, 2009, in New York. (Jason DeCrow/AP file)

Was Michael Oher blindsided? Michael Oher, the former Briarcrest football star and former pro NFL player whose life story was the subject of the 2009 film “The Blind Side,” now says he was tricked by Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy. Oher claims that he never received any money for the film, was never adopted by the Tuohys and that the family has enriched itself at his expense. On Monday, he filed a petition in Shelby County Probate Court to terminate a conservatorship, which he claims the Tuohys duped him into when he was 18. In response, Sean Tuohy told The Daily Memphian that he was “devastated” at the news but would be willing to end the conservatorship. Tuohy said the arrangement was a way to appease the NCAA when it appeared Oher might play football at Ole Miss.

Crime scene tape roped off a Memphis Police Department squad car at a Midtown apartment complex on Friday, Aug. 11. (Sam Hardiman/The Daily Memphian)

Ross family hires Ben Crump: The family of Courtney Ross, the 19-year-old man who died after being detained by Memphis Police in Midtown on Friday, has retained national civil rights attorney Ben Crump. Crump is now involved in four local cases involving deaths of men in the custody of local law enforcement. On Friday, the MPD said it had received two calls that Ross was “rummaging through boxes retrieving poisonous bait for rodents,” as well as looking into mailboxes and vehicles. According to police, Ross began running when officers approached him, and after he was detained, he “appeared to be out of breath and exhausted from running.” He was pronounced dead after being transported to a hospital.

Alex Collins died after a collision between his motorcycle and another vehicle. (Rick Osentoski/AP file)

Showboats player dies in accident: Memphis Showboats running back Alex Collins, 28, has died after a motorcycle he was riding collided with a vehicle in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, on Aug. 13. Collins was a running back at the University of Arkansas before playing a total of three seasons with the Seattle Seahawks and two seasons with the Baltimore Ravens in the NFL.

At the Southern Avenue water treatment plant, overspill protection has been installed on the generator, and an external containment system is in place. (Mark Weber/The Daily Memphian)

Giving credit: Turns out Germantown residents will get a credit for the water used to flush their pipes after the city’s recent water contamination crisis. The Germantown Board of Mayor and Aldermen approved a $27.50 credit for each customer at its Monday meeting, but some residents in attendance said the amount wasn’t enough. The suburb’s Financial Advisory Commission voted against such a credit last week. After a diesel fuel spill at the Southern Avenue water plant on July 19, residents were allowed to drink tap water again on July 27. But they had to flush their pipes to rid them of contamination. The city also provided an update Monday on changes being made at that plant to prevent future spills.

Shelby County commissioners elected Democratic Commissioner Miska Clay-Bibbs as the new chair of the Shelby County Commission. (Patrick Lantrip/The Daily Memphian file)

Commission elects new chair (finally): Shelby County Commissioner Miska Clay-Bibbs has been elected as the commission’s new chair after a standoff delayed the vote for several weeks. Commissioner Charlie Caswell was elected chair pro tempore. Clay-Bibbs, a Democrat, was up against Commissioner Amber Mills, a Republican, and the voting on Monday followed party lines. The standoff over a new chair was spurred by a dispute among the Democratic majority, following the party’s split over a county wheel-tax hike in June. In other commission news, new police reform ordinances that would limit powers for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office were delayed.

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MEET MEMPHIS

Anthony Buckner, formerly an assistant chief deputy, has been promoted to chief deputy, the No. 2 spot in the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. His predecessor, Claude Robinson, retired July 25. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

As a kid, Anthony Buckner, Shelby County Sheriff’s Office’s new chief deputy, decided he wanted to work in law enforcement after watching an episode of “Cops.” He’s since put in 22 years at the SCSO with stints as a school resource officer, gang unit detective and assistant chief deputy. And now, he’s taken over the No. 2 spot in the department, following the retirement of his predecessor, Claude Robinson. The Daily Memphian’s Julia Baker takes a look at the events that shaped Buckner’s career, including a 2004 murder-for-hire case that he was able to stop. In another story, our own Jane Roberts talks to Robinson, who reflects on saving the life of an emotionally anguished man in 2019. These days, you’ll find Robinson tending to new life in the garden his family has worked for two generations.

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THE NICE TO KNOW

The gamble to move a country music format to the legacy WMC FM-100’s spot on the dial has resulted in a large increase in listeners. Performers like Taylor Swift have made country music a new mass appeal format. (Chris Pizzello/AP file)

Gone country: Audacy’s risky decision to retire WMC-FM 100 and its rock format and replace it with country station The Wolf is paying off. The Wolf garnered a 7.6% listener share, up from 3.6% in June, in July’s Nielsen ratings. But Memphis is not Nashville (thankfully), so why is this working out? One expert says the appeal of crossover artists, like Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks, could be a factor. But it’s possible some of the new listeners are also coming from outside of the city. The Wolf is now broadcasting on 300,000 watts, hitting outlying areas where a competitor station used to have the corner on country music.

Co-owners of Memphis Filling Station (from left) Scott Key, Heather Reed, Bryan Berretta and Blake Marcum pose in front of the murals off Front Street behind Soul and Spirits Brewery. They plan to open a new brewery in Midtown. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

Get your fill: Midtown may soon be home to another craft brewery. Memphis Filling Station was originally planned as a growler shop, but the idea has since morphed into a small-batch brewery when the co-founders realized their homebrew was a hit. The MFS team is currently working to secure a space in Midtown, and once open, it will focus on big-barrel beers and flavors that are hard to find in the Mid-South. (I’ll drink to that.)

The Firefighters Burn Center at Regional One Health has been accepting an overflow of Mississippi burn patients since the state’s only burn center closed. (Courtesy Regional One Health)

Burning issue: New burn centers in Mississippi are expected to help alleviate overflow at Regional One Health’s burn center. Last week, Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson announced its new burn center status, making it the second center to be granted the designation this year. Last October, Mississippi’s only designated burn center closed its doors, and patients were rerouted to Memphis.

Eyes in the sky: Drones are the latest tool in the Hernando Police Department’s arsenal. But they’re not only being used to track down criminal suspects. They also are on standby to find lost children and grandparents, like a missing, elderly Hernando man who was recently located alive and well by a DeSoto County Sheriff’s Department drone. In that incident, DeSoto used its drones to help out Hernando officers, and that influenced the city’s police department to invest in its own drones. Police also hope the drones can eventually help police evaluate and photograph traffic accident scenes more safely.

People go to Sierra Mlller’s Craze - Memphis Rage Room in Bartlett to break things and let out some aggression. Axe throwing is also available. (Brad Vest/Special to The Daily Memphian)

All the Rage: You know that iconic scene in “Office Space” when Peter, Samir and Michael obliterate the office printer with a baseball bat as the Geto Boys play in the background? Craze - Memphis Rage Room in Bartlett is like that. The 3,400-square-foot flex space is filled with old electronics, glassware and weapons (bats, sledgehammers). All you’ve got to do is suit up in protective gear, and you can smash away your feelings. (I’ve been once, and it was more therapeutic than any yoga class or meditation session.) Now, owner Sierra Miller wants to spread the Rage around.

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WHAT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT

You can’t be the GOAT without horns, right? Three 6 Mafia’s DJ Paul showed off his new tattoo on Instagram. 

Don’t forget to watch the Memphis mayoral debate tonight! 

 
 
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