The Murfreesboro Pulse

12/03/2025

Dec. 6 – Santa at DoCo 🎅🏻🍩📸

Santa Claus visits Donut Country (1311 Memorial Blvd. in ) on Saturday, Dec. 6, for the annual photography and doughnuts event in partnership with Little Tots Photography. For more information, visit linktr.ee/donutcountrymurfreesboro or find Donut Country on Facebook.

More Community Events 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/12/december-2025-community-events/

12/03/2025

City of files lawsuit to prevent BFI From circumventing state law and eliminating local review and public comment on significant vertical expansion of Middle Point Landfill

BFI has chosen to attempt to circumvent the normal statutory and regulatory obligations required by law and has filed an application with the Department of Environment and Conservation (“TDEC”) for a significant vertical expansion of Middle Point Landfill. This vertical expansion requests placing a 70-foot high landfill on top of the existing landfill, adding an estimated 19 million tons of waste to the existing landfill. According to BFI’s projections, this would extend the site life of the landfill by an additional 14 years to 2046 and result in 39 percent more garbage being added to the landfill.

In filing this application with TDEC, BFI has circumvented the statutory process which allows for local review and public comment. In turn, BFI has effectively deprived the citizens of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County to weigh in on this vertical expansion, which is the very community this expansion would affect.

📸 WGNS Radio

12/03/2025

🥃🦝 Something You Don’t See Everyday: Raccoon ransacks Virginia liquor store, passes out in the bathroom

12/02/2025

🚫 CLOSING: Owners of Hickory Falls Wood-Fired Grille & Bar - Smyrna, TN announced that the restaurant’s last day in operation will be Saturday, Dec. 27.

“A Letter to our Hickory Falls Family:

Dear Friends,

For the past 21 years the Smyrna community has supported us through thick and thin, and we will never be able to thank you enough. After an incredible run filled with more joy and memories than we ever dreamed possible, we have made the very personal decision to retire and close Hickory Falls at the end of December 2025.

This restaurant has never been “just a business” to us—it has been our home, and you have been our extended family. From first dates to rehearsal dinners, baby showers to retirement parties, little-league victories to quiet Tuesday nights with your favorite server. We have been honored to be part of your most important moments.

None of this would have been possible without the most remarkable team anyone could ever ask for—our managers and crewmembers. For over two decades they have greeted you with real smiles, remembered how you like your steak and your drink, talked you into that first life-changing bite of our carrot cake, and turned strangers into lifelong regulars. They are the heart and soul of Hickory Falls, and we could not be prouder of them.

We will stay open through December 27th (closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as always) and would love nothing more than to cook for you one more time and say thank you in person.

A special note for those of you who have a Hickory Falls gift card, please come use it soon—we can’t wait to see you.

Again, thank you for all of your support from the bottom of our hearts. We hope to see you soon!

With all our gratitude for 21 unforgettable years,

— Peter Kehayes, Mark Robbins and Paul Kehayes (Founders & Owners) and the entire Hickory Falls crew”

12/02/2025

A meal at Andrea’s Home of Breaking Bread, a small eatery in downtown Smyrna, , may feel like a bit like a homecoming for anyone who misses Grandmama’s cooking, or who has ever been in a small-town Southern lunchroom.

If you’ve been hankering for a wholesome, meat-and-three, country-style lunch spot, check out this modest, weekday-only establishment, serving home cooking, quick, that tastes like it came straight from Mema’s kitchen.

“Do you remember your grandmother’s food? And how nobody could make anything that tastes like it? Well, that’s what this is. Food that lets you revisit the days you thought were long gone,” Breaking Bread patron Joe Williams said. “I really like this place.”

Situated in one of the old buildings lining Smyrna’s Historic Depot District, the lunch destination welcomes customers with a cafeteria-style line. The setup is not fancy, but the food packs serious flavor and the hot, already prepared food makes a very quick lunch option ideal for those who don’t have a lot of time to waste during their lunch hour.

More 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/11/our-daily-bread-breaking-bread-cooking-up-down-home-soul-food-standards-in-downtown-smyrna/

12/02/2025

Dec. 5 – Rutherford County Christmas Tree Lighting 🎶🎄🎅🏻

On Friday, Dec. 5, gather around the historic Rutherford County Courthouse for the annual lighting of the Rutherford County Christmas tree. Parking in the Public Square will be closed at 5 p.m.; free parking is available at the Civic Plaza and County Judicial parking garages. Beginning at 6 p.m., enjoy activities around the courthouse (crafts, free hot cocoa and small games), carriage rides for purchase and choirs performing around the square. Stage performances featuring School of Rock student rock bands, Rutherford County and Murfreesboro City School Elementary Choir, Center for the Arts performers and The Dancer’s School begin at 6:30. Performers will then welcome Santa onstage and turn on the lights for the Christmas tree. Afterwards, from 7:30–8:30 p.m., activities will continue around the courthouse such as carriage rides, more choir performances, and free pictures inside the courthouse with Santa. For more information, visit mainstreetmurfreesboro.org/celebrate-christmas-downtown or call 615-895-1887.

More Community Events 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/12/december-2025-community-events/

12/01/2025

Located in , McNeilus manufactures refuse and recycling collection vehicles, parts and technology. Their trucks include front loaders, side loaders and rear loaders. The McNeilus Volterra ZSL recently won the 2025 Coolest Thing Made in Competition, hosted by the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Tennessee Manufacturers Association, and the UT Center of Industrial Services. The Volterra ZSL is North America’s first fully integrated electric refuse and recycling collection vehicle. It combines zero-emissions operation, a driver-first design, ergonomic cab, outstanding visibility, and advanced safety and productivity features, according to McNeilus.

More “Made in Murfreesboro” 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/11/made-in-murfreesboro-a-look-at-area-manufacturing-and-the-wide-variety-of-products-produced-in-rutherford-county/

12/01/2025

Grand Marshall of the 2025 Christmas Parade is Mr. Bill Allen, Navy Veteran, D-Day survivor and hometown hero.

Mr. Allen's remarkable story has been shared with our community throughout the years and he has lived a truly inspirational life. He continues to lead with a servant's heart, and has for more than 100 years.

Mr. Allen worked at the Murfreesboro Electric Department for 32 years, served as the Chairman of the Murfreesboro Golf Commission for 30 years and was instrumental in the development of the Old Fort Golf Course, served on the Parks and Recreation Board for 20 years, was PTA President at Hobgood School, Riverdale Band Booster Vice President, MTSU BRAA member, a member of the old Timers Baseball Hall of Fame, Babe Ruth League baseball coach for many years and also was a Deacon at First Baptist Church and worked at Woodfin Funeral Chapel for many years, even after retirement.

The Murfreesboro's Christmas Parade, "A Sweet Christmas" will be kicked off by Grand Marshall, Mr. Bill Allen on Sunday, December 14 at 2 p.m.

📸 The Tennessee Magazine

12/01/2025

Happy First Day of December! 🎁🎄❄️

12/01/2025

A tragic multi‑vehicle crash closed a stretch of Interstate 24 Eastbound near Old Hickory Blvd. in Davidson County early Sunday morning, Nov. 30. The collision occurred around 3:26 a.m. at mile marker 62.6, closing all eastbound lanes (toward Chattanooga).

Metro police confirmed that two people lost their lives in the wreck. One victim died at the scene, while another passed away later at a hospital. Authorities also reported additional injuries, though the exact number of those hurt has not yet been released.

TDOT SmartWay cameras captured images of the crash, showing that an Amazon tractor‑trailer rig was among the vehicles involved. The severity of the incident prompted a full closure of the interstate in southeast Nashville, leaving drivers stranded in the early morning hours.

By 8:15 a.m., crews had cleared the scene and reopened all lanes of I‑24 near the Rutherford‑Davidson county line, restoring traffic flow after several tense hours.

Rutherford-Davidson County--A tragic multi‑vehicle crash closed a stretch of Interstate 24 Eastbound near Old Hickory Boulevard in Davidson County early Sunday morning (11/30/2025). The collision occurred around 3:26 a.m. at mile marker 62.6, closing all eastbound lanes (toward Chattanooga). Metro...

11/30/2025

The Gift of Healing: Stranger Delivers Supernatural Miracle to Man at Coconut Bay

The main figure in the story is a gentleman by the name of Doug Dennis. Doug was born in 1952 and grew up in Gainesboro, . He actually went to a one-room school. His first grade class only had two students.

He and his family later moved to Millersville, just north of Nashville, and then he went to White House High School. In 1970 Doug started college at MTSU, where he met his wife, Cathy. He began working at Shoney’s on Broad Street here in Murfreesboro as a bus boy. He graduated from MTSU in 1974 and he and Cathy married in 1975. They began growing their family in 1979.

After working at Shoney’s, Doug went on to become a manager of Pizza Hut here and managed several stores in 2001. It was around this time when his life changed forever.

You see, he had gone to Atlanta for a business meeting. He had to use the restroom and noticed afterwards that there was a lot of blood left behind. Doug got in to see a gastroenterologist and had a colonoscopy done. He found out that he had adenocarcinoma, which is a form of colon cancer. The doctor told him he’d probably had it for years. This was October 2001. He proceeded to have 14 inches of his colon removed, but did not have to have a colostomy. Over the next several weeks he had 28 treatments of chemotherapy and radiation. Doctors also found cancer in his lymph nodes and they showed up in protein in his blood.

As you can tell by the story so far, things aren’t looking too good. But here is when the good parts of the story start to happen. On April 14, 2004, after getting all of the bad news mentioned above, Doug and Cathy, along with some of their motorcycle riding friends, decided to go to Coconut Bay Cafe here in Murfreesboro to try to refocus on what to do next. While there, a gentleman tapped Doug on the shoulder and told him he had a gift for him. Of course, Doug thought this was crazy and said, “How do you know I need a gift from you?” But the guy said “I have a gift for you” and told Doug to hold his hand up in front of his hand. Their hands never touched but Doug said he felt heat from the stranger’s hand and the man told him that he would not die from cancer. At that point Doug’s anxiety he had had concerning his well-being left him and never returned.

More From Mr. Murfreesboro 👇🏻

https://boropulse.com/2025/11/the-gift-of-healing-stranger-delivers-a-special-supernatural-miracle-to-murfreesboro-man-at-coconut-bay/