Latest news with #ShelbyCounty
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
What ex-MSCS Superintendent Marie Feagins said in court about her controversial firing
Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the end of the court hearing and final statements made. Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Robert Childers allowed former Memphis-Shelby County Schools Superintendent Marie Feagins to amend her legal complaint against the school board, during a hearing on July 22. The new, amended complaint alleged similar violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act and also included defamation claims against school board member Towanna Murphy. Childers then allowed witness testimony related to Feagins' claims in her suit for a preliminary injunction. A preliminary injunction would allow Feagins, whose contract was terminated in January, to return to her role as superintendent of MSCS amid the remainder of the court case. Several witnesses, including Feagins, took the stand during the hearing. No ruling on the preliminary injunction was given during the hearing on July 22, but Childers said one would be issued soon. What was said about Marie Feagins' firing in court? William Wooten, Feagins' attorney, called Deidre Malone, who owns the consulting and communications group The Carter Malone Group, as the first witness. The group worked with the school board for five months, starting in November 2024. Wooten questioned Malone intently on her work with the board and what it included, as well as the billing statements for the group's work with the school board. Malone said that two days before the vote to terminate Feagins' contract, she aided in helping now-interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond's information to be introduced to Matthew Hiltzik of Hiltzik Strategies. Malone said she did it because she 'had his information,' and not because she knew he would be the next superintendent. During cross-examination, Robert Spence, representing the school board, focused on Malone's knowledge of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. Malone served on the Shelby County Commission in the early 2000s. Malone said that during her meetings with Shelby County Schools board chair Joyce Dorse-Coleman and vice-chair Stephanie Love, they did not discuss the actions of the board but discussed communications strategy and talking points for the board. Feagins took the witness stand after a lunch recess and recounted much of the information in the initial and amended complaint. Feagins said she first found out about the possibility of her being fired in October 2024. She also heard of a lunch meeting between Dorse-Coleman, Love and now former MSCS board member Althea Greene in August. The meeting was discussing the possibility of firing Feagins, she claimed. During Feagins' testimony, Spence took aim at some of her claims, many of which were claims Feagins said she had heard from others, not directly witnessed herself. At one point, Spence asked Feagins what facts she had that there were violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. Feagins suggested reading through parts of her affidavit. "Your affidavit has many paragraphs in it based on what other people, as you said, shared with you or told you...I wanna know, can you tell us today when did the board deliberate or make a determination that violated the sunshine law? What facts do you have that support that claim?" Spence said. Feagins said that "personal knowledge" is just like when someone is made aware of something and it becomes someone's "personal knowledge." Why is Marie Feagins suing the school board? In January 2025, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools Board voted 6-3 to fire Feagins from her role as superintendent. Board members said she had violated multiple clauses in her employment contract. Shortly after her firing, Feagins filed a lawsuit, alleging the board fired her after illegal meetings and violations of the Tennessee Open Meetings Act. She has since updated her lawsuit and added a defamation case against Murphy. In a court filing from June 23, Feagins had also asked for the judge to reinstate her as the superintendent of MSCS swiftly and throughout the future court proceedings. This is a developing story and will be updated. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Marie Feagins-MSCS lawsuit: What the ex-superintendent said in court Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Here are all of the dates Memphis-Shelby County Schools students will be off this year
The start of the 2025-26 school year is officially here for Memphis-area students. For students enrolled in the largest school district in the state of Tennessee, Memphis-Shelby County Schools, they have some days to look forward to if they are already craving another break. In total, MSCS students will have plenty of days off between Aug. 4, 2025, and May 21, 2026. Here are the dates that MSCS students will not be in school this upcoming school year. What days are MSCS students out of school? MSCS students will begin school on Aug. 4. The school year will end May 21, 2026. They will be out of school for the following days: Sept. 1: Labor Day Oct. 13-17: Fall Break Nov. 10: In-service day Nov. 11: Veterans Day Nov. 24-28: Thanksgiving Break Dec. 22-Jan. 5: Winter Break Jan. 19: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Feb. 13: Professional development day for teachers Feb. 16: Presidents Day March 16-20: Spring break April 3-6: Spring break II This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis-Shelby County Schools holiday, vacation dates: See the list Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
5 days ago
- Fox News
Bodies of 3 men recovered from Mississippi River after fishing and swimming
The bodies of three men were recovered from the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tennessee, after they went missing while fishing and swimming on a sandbar Tuesday. (Credit: Shelby County Sheriff's Office)
Al Arabiya
6 days ago
- Al Arabiya
Three men who went missing while fishing and swimming in Mississippi River found dead
Memphis, Tennessee – Three men who were reported missing while fishing and swimming on a sandbar in the Mississippi River have been found dead near Memphis, Tennessee, authorities said Wednesday. Search and rescue teams with the Shelby County Sheriff's Office and other Memphis-area agencies began looking for the men Tuesday evening after they were reported missing near a boat ramp at Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park, authorities said. The search, which included aircraft, rescue boats, and the use of sonar, was suspended Tuesday night because of darkness. It resumed Wednesday morning, the sheriff's office said. The first two bodies were recovered about 11:00 a.m., and the third about 12:45 p.m., the sheriff's office said. A cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner. The three men were described as Hispanic, ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s, the county fire department said. Officials say the area has become increasingly popular for recreation at the state park in Shelby Forest, located north of Memphis. But the river is treacherous, with several hazards present, including strong currents, submerged items, branches, and debris. 'There are eddy currents that can pull an Olympic swimmer under. You can be drawn into the channel and find yourself staring at a 24-unit barge that's the size of a skyscraper on its side coming straight at you with no way for the barge crew to have any idea that you are there,' the fire department said on Facebook. Authorities are investigating what happened to the men.
New York Times
6 days ago
- New York Times
3 Men Who Disappeared While Fishing in Mississippi River Are Found Dead
The bodies of three men who were believed to have disappeared on Tuesday evening while fishing and swimming in the Mississippi River near Memphis were found on Wednesday, the local authorities said. Three men were reported missing about 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday and were last seen on a sandbar south of a boat ramp in Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park in Shelby County, Tenn., its sheriff's office said in a statement posted online. Two bodies were found on Wednesday around 11 a.m. south of the Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park boat ramp, the authorities said. A third was found in that same area around 12:45 p.m. The three bodies are 'presumably' those of the men reported missing, the sheriff's office said, and awaited identification by next of kin. Their names have not been released. The local authorities searched for the men on Tuesday night until 10:30 p.m. and resumed on Wednesday around 9:40 a.m. Three boats were in the water searching within 45 minutes of receiving the call that the men were missing, according to Jonathan Hanks, a battalion chief of the Shelby County Fire Department. The three men ranged in age from their 20s to 50s, Chief Hanks said. The investigation into their deaths is continuing, and the cause will be determined by the medical examiner, the police said. The stretch of the Mississippi River where the men disappeared, about 13 miles north of Memphis, has become a popular area at the state park in Shelby Forest, according to Brent W. Perkins, a Fire Department spokesman. But there are eddies — currents that flow in a circular upstream direction — that can 'pull an Olympic swimmer under,' Mr. Perkins said. The barges that travel up and down the Mississippi are the size of a skyscraper placed on its side, he said, and there are also submerged items, branches, debris and other hazards that people in the water can become entangled in. He implored people to avoid wading into the river. 'These places are not conducive to survival,' Mr. Perkins said. 'Once you get into that water, you cannot get out of the Mississippi. It will take you.' Several agencies helped with the search for the men, including the sheriff's office's search and rescue team, the county dive team, the Fire Department, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the police said. The sheriff's office and the neighboring Tipton County Fire Department used advanced sonar technology to search the area, and the Memphis Police Department used thermal imaging cameras to search the air and water for a heat signature, Chief Hanks said.
