Spring Hill, TN – With the 2023-2024 K-12 school year almost here, we wanted to remind the motoring public of applicable law relating to school buses. Tennessee Code Annotated 55-8-151 states in part, “The driver of a vehicle upon a highway shall stop the vehicle before reaching the school bus. The driver shall not proceed until the school bus resumes motion or is signaled by the school bus driver to proceed or the visual signals are no longer actuated.”

Depending on if you are traveling on a two-lane road, multi-lane road, or divided highway will determine if you need to stop or not. On a two-lane road, everyone stops. On a four-lane highway with a center turn lane, everyone stops. If the four-lane has a divider, like a median or an unpaved area at least 5 feet wide, traffic in the opposite direction can proceed cautiously. Only traffic behind the bus must stop.

In 2022, five collisions in the City of Spring Hill directly or indirectly involved a school bus. Please do your part this upcoming school year in keeping our children safe.

Spring Hill, TN – The City of Spring Hill emergency services (police, fire, and EMS) are dispatched through the Williamson County Emergency Communications Department in Franklin. This includes ALL of Spring Hill, both the Maury and Williamson County sides. The Williamson County Emergency Communications Department has announced that “Text to 911” is available in Williamson County (including the Maury County side of Spring Hill).

Williamson County Emergency Communications and the City of Brentwood Emergency Communications have launched their new collaborative “Text to 911” system, in which users will be able to send text messages to 911 dispatchers, enabling them to request help when a phone call isn’t possible.

This means that if you are within the Williamson County limits, you will be able to text 911 in an emergency. This includes Brentwood, Franklin, Fairview, Nolensville, Thompsons Station, unincorporated areas of the county, and the entire city of Spring Hill, even areas of that city that are in Maury County.

“Calling 911 is still the fastest way to get help,” said City of Brentwood Emergency Communications Supervisor Kathleen Watkins. “Texting takes longer than talking on the phone, and location tracking technology is not the same with texting 911 as with a phone call. Also, voice calls allow for dispatchers to hear background noise that could provide critical information.”

“However, there are many situations where someone is unable to make a voice call for help, and that’s where Text-to-911 comes in,” said Williamson County Director of Emergency Communications Kristy Borden. “Text-to-911 is a great resource for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, have a speech disability, or having a medical emergency where they are unable to speak on the phone. It is also helpful for situations where it may not be safe for someone make a voice call because it would attract attention, such as during a home burglary or domestic violence situation.”

How it works:

• Enter the numbers 911 into the “to” field.
• In the first message, text the location and type of emergency.
• Text in plain English, without abbreviations or slang.
• Respond to questions from the 911 dispatcher.
• Follow instructions the same as a voice call.

For more information, including other frequently asked questions, visit https://williamsonready.org/1944/Emergency-Communications.

Spring Hill, TN- Door-to-door solicitation season is here. We want to take the time to inform citizens about what we can and can’t do regarding solicitors who come to your door. Some neighborhood Home Owner Associations (HOA) have placed “no soliciting” signs at the entrance to these neighborhoods with the expectation that we can enforce these signs if a solicitor enters the area. Unfortunately, we can’t enforce these signs if the solicitor has a permit issued by the City.

Spring Hill Municipal Code Title 9, Chapter 2 requires that any peddler, canvasser, solicitor or transient merchant wishing to do business within the City of Spring Hill obtain a Solicitor/Transient/Vendor Permit. These applications can be found here. These applications are sent to us, and we verify the information the applicant provides. If the City approves the application, the solicitor is issued a permit. If the solicitor has a permit issued by the City, we can’t stop them from soliciting in an HOA neighborhood with a “no soliciting” sign.

Information on the City solicitor permit process.

Now, if the solicitor enters your home without your permission, harasses you, or remains on your property after being told to leave, depending on the facts, we may be able to take enforcement action, depending on the facts.