VETERAN TO VETERAN

VETERAN TO VETERAN — Standing at the podium as guest speaker, Union City Police Chief Ben Yates applauded as fellow veterans were recognized during the annual Veterans Day program Friday at Ridgemont Elementary School. Joining in were teachers Savannah Blankenship (background left) and Ashleigh Roberson. The program also featured band performances and solos by students and teachers, among them Ms. Blankenship, Mrs. Roberson and her aunt, teacher Kelly Preuett (not pictured). Yates graduated from Obion County Central High School in 2006 and joined the U.S. Marine Corps. He attended boot camp at Parris Island, N.C., and was stationed in California before being transferred to Camp Lejeune, N.C. During four years of service, he was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and reached the rank of corporal. He started his law enforcement career with the Union City Police Department in 2012 and was assigned to the 27th Judicial District Drug Task Force in 2014. He was hired by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation as a drug agent in 2019 and then was hired as Union City’s police chief in 2021.