Spring. How we love sneezing from all the fresh pollen and holding our breath to prevent the obnoxious smell of Bradford Pear trees from entering our noses. At least the blooming trees are pretty and spring is the best shade of green. And the rainbows aren’t half bad, either.
While we run through meadows of yellow and purple flowers, our elected officials and department directors are struggling to define the most urgent projects that need to be addressed in the 2012-13 budgets. According to the city web page, two workshop meetings are scheduled in the coming weeks. On Thursday, March 22nd and Wednesday, March 28th at 1:00 p.m. both days, the board is gathering to talk about budget items.
Personally I do not envy them the decisions they must make. Yes weather sirens were all the talk last year. Although I heartily agree that the city needs a warning system, now that the disrepair of the CAD system has come to light it is an enormous relief that money prioritized for the system is now available for a working 911 system. Meanwhile, kudos to the board for agreeing to install CodeRED – a phone alert callback system that can notify households in a specific path of an oncoming storm or area in danger. This is LaVergne will publish all information as it becomes available about how to sign up your cell number for calls, texts, and other available notifications.
There has been much discussion about health care costs being paid by the city for employees. It’s important to bring to light one aspect that everyone tends to forget. It is not free for employees. You read that right. While the initial insurance premium is paid by the city, employees do pay plenty out of pocket. First there is an annual deductible of $300 for employees, and $1,000 $600 for families. After that deductible is met, the employee pays 10% of expenses and the city pays 90% – and that’s IN-network. If an employee goes out of the network, those expenses go up significantly. Also noteworthy is that the insurance amounts paid are topped out at a certain point, so once the set-amount is reached, the employee pays everything out-of-pocket. I will ask my sources what those amounts are next week, but one *police officer told me that he and his family paid well over $3,000 (maybe even $5,000) last year. And remember, where the pay of city employees is low – below the living wage level for anyone with more than one person in the home – that the city does offer to pay the initial insurance premium for workers really helps to attract qualified employees.
Speaking of police officers, the Fraternal Order of Police now has a fundraiser going on for Club Knockout.
Club Knockout sponsored by our very own F.O.P. has started a Pizza fundraiser!! For anyone interested in purchasing a Little Ceasar’s Pizza Kit just stop by the gym (on Buchanan Street next to Old Waldron Rd.) or talk to your favorite Club Knockout boxer! We will be selling them through April 2. Delivery of the kits will be April 12 @6 at the gym. So stop by and purchase your pizza kit anytime between now and April 2 from 5-7pm Mon-Fri.
If you’re interested in supporting this great cause that helps give teens something to do besides going all gangsta, comment on the FB page link and someone will get in touch with you.
My sources tell me that the FOP may be having a bucket fundraiser in late April where they’ll be accepting donations at the intersection of Murfreesboro Rd. and Stones River Rd. one afternoon. Watch for more information here!
Meanwhile if you like bowling and you like helping people in need, there is a great event planned next weekend where you can do both! Candice Stacy is raising money for “Team in Training” to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. “Bowling for a Cure” will be held at the Smyrna Bowling Center at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 25th. The cost is $12 for two games and shoes. You can rsvp to candi @ inbox . com or call 507-4916. Also you can donate online here.
Has anyone noticed that the Daily News Journal no longer covers LaVergne at all? Well, unless it’s unavoidable like the lunatic man that stabbed his wife’s girlfriend. Personally, I don’t miss their slanted editorials.
What’s on YOUR mind this weekend?
*Said officer did not know he was talking to the mysterious enigma that is Lola D.
Wonder why Alderman Waldron wasn’t helping work on the advertised budget meeting they had Thursday? He was seen at the grocery store instead of trying to work on the budget. I guess this means we can expect his infamous NO vote on the budget along with his response of its always been tough even when er had money we didn’t have any money. We can see how much he cares about the city!
I’m sure he will leak some half a$$ed information to his personal PR person Angie and she will do a “press release” on drowning greyhounds or something absurd like breaking into his junkyard so he can get some tv time before the election…….. Thanks for nothing DENNIS
Since you asked whats on my mind this weekend. What do we have to do to get the LaVergne Codes dept. To get off their butts and enforce the codes that are on the books? I am not against a parking ordinance but what’s the use? They don’t enforce no parking on the sidewalk or junk cars already… If they would start enforcing what is already there it wouldn’t look near as bad in town. How many people work in codes enforcement? Do they live in town? Maybe they live in a different city and just don’t care about is! Who knows…….I guess you can’t fix lazy. Kinda like you can’t fix STUPID!
Has anyone noticed that its getting election time and I use this term loosely….Alderman Waldron….has decided to step up and save the citizens!! Yet he hasn’t had a single idea in almost 2 years. Now Alderman Broeker is being attacked for not being there for the citizens. If he hasn’t been there fighting then who was that person who looked and sounded just like him fighting for everyone since he was sworn in????
Way to try and secure a vote DENNIS! I guess this will work for the elderly you have continuously kept the wool pulled over their eyes for years….
Hi, I live in Bellevue and for the past several years, i’ve been thinking about doing a website all about Bellevue MUCH like what you’ve done with your website. When I told a coworker the kind of template I was looking at, he said that’s just like “This is La Vergne”… he sent me the link and I was amazed that I had something very simular…especially the attitude of the site. I plan to be witty, quick, and get people to laugh while learning about their town. Anyway.. I wanted to introduce myeslf just and thank you for giving me some more ideas for my site.
I have to agree with neal-n-bob on this one! I have not seen Mr.Waldron at many workshops and his main comment at any of the meetings is “When is the next ham breakfast?” In fact, if he cares so much about the citizens why doesn’t he clean up that eyesore of a junkyard right in the middle of the city that pollutes the vision of every single motorist passing it??? Funny how the interview on the news he didn’t say how/why he was part of the reason our water rates are where they are now! You will NOT get my vote Mr.Waldron I see right through you!!!
Thank you YOYA! At least someone else can see thru the BS to see what he really is! The budget has always been hard my A$$! What he meant was its always been hard to understand what they were hiding. Because it was already done whem they went into the meeting and they ran through it and basically rubber stamped it.
OK here I go again beating a “dead” horse but why didn’t alderman and once again I use ALDERMAN loosely Waldron not ask to add more money to the non profit group he is so for??? I watched the video online and he didn’t say a word…….yet the vice mayor was wanting to cut a lot of other non profits to give to ones that help LaVergne. Just my observation.