Opry manager a fire victim two times

While investigators in Brown County still haven’t determined what caused a fire at the Little Nashville Opry, 24-Hour News 8 has uncovered new information about the co-owners of the property.

The fire department said this is the third fire at Little Nashville Enterprises property. The company, owned by Esther Hamilton and Jim Bowyer, has nine properties.

Fire investigators, representatives with the State Fire Marshal's Office and federal investigators including the ATF from the National Response Team called by the Fire Marshal to assist in the investigation were on the scene Tuesday.

24-Hour News 8 was told they were waiting on heavy equipment to move the debris, but the equipment never showed up. And neither did the co-owners of the property, Esther Hamilton and Jim Bowyer.

24-Hour News 8 learned that Hamilton and Boyer haven’t paid back taxes in excess of $68,000 on the property.

Monday afternoon, 24-Hour News 8 spoke to Jim Bowyer. He said he was only the manager of Little Nashville. But, 24-Hour News 8 learned he is a co-owner.

When 24-Hour News 8’s Gene Rodriguez asked Bowyer, “Did you pay taxes during your management time here?” Bowyer answered, “Well, I never paid taxes.”

Morgan County investigators said that Bowyer is no stranger to fire. They said fire destroyed his home down a Morgan County gravel road two times: once in the late 80s and another three to five years ago.

Brown County Volunteer Fire Department has also responded to other fires at Little Nashville Enterprises properties, a storage building in 2002 and a log cabin in 2005. Investigators were not able to determine the cause of those fires.

When asked how common it is that a company has three properties lost to fire, Mark Imhoff of the Brown Co. Volunteer Fire Department said, “Yeah well, I guess, you know stranger things have happened. Yeah, but I really wouldn’t want to speculate on you know what it could or couldn’t have been.”

24-Hour News 8 called the Morgantown Fire Chief to ask the cause of the two fires at Bowyer’s home and left messages. However, the chief did not return the calls.