However, sometimes a corporation strips away the cynicism and really shines as an example of doing things right.  It pleases me greatly to acknowledge  Firehouse Subs and the Firehouse Subs Safety Foundation as a good corporate citizen.  In addition to offering some really amazing sandwiches and a spiffy coke machine that lets you pick the special flavor of your drink, they allow customers to round-up their bill and then use these (and other) funds to give grants to emergency services groups around the nation.

Recently the Firehouse Subs restaurant in Smyrna (even though we’d like to claim it as our own for LaVergne) sponsored the city to the tune of a $16,000 grant.  The city purchased a six-wheel Polaris Ranger rescue vehicle with the money and now the north end of Rutherford County will have the ability to go to hard-to-reach places where people are injured and pull them out without having to wait for help to come from Murfreesboro.  The photo of the Polaris is from a great story that ran on Channel 4.

For this, we thank FIREHOUSE SUBS.  Mark Watson, his wife, his staff, and everyone affiliated with the Firehouse Subs Safety Foundation, we want you to know how much we appreciate what you have done for our town and our citizens.

I will go out of my way now to eat at Firehouse Subs because they care.  They care about me, they care about my family, my neighbors, my city.  Other corporations located in LaVergne should take notice of this powerful and extraordinary testament that our 32,588 residents are real and have value.  Retail and businesses located next door should also take heed that reaching out to your neighbors by supporting our community is a smart move.

There are plenty of opportunities for industry and businesses to step up in support of the city.  I think having a playground named after you would be swell.  How about a walking trail?  An entire park?  A community center?  Despite a limping economy, our residents DO spend money. We buy clothes, food, new tires, books, cars, and other items.  Who we buy them from could be up to you.  Being a good corporate citizen to your own community or to people who bring you half your business should be a no-brainer.

If you work at one of our local industries (Nissan, Bridgestone, Ingram, General Mills, Cardinal Health, etc.) then I ask you to take a moment and share this link with your company. Ask them to be a good corporate citizen on behalf of LaVergne.

So let’s go back a few months. Last summer there was much talk about a warning alert system for the city. When taxes were increased, this system was one of those items in the budget and it amounted to about one cent of that increase. In the end, the brakes were put on the system when it was learned that grant funding was a possibility to help pay for it.  This had not been disclosed to elected officials previously.  When Homeland Security grants could potentially pay for at least half the system, it made good financial sense to table the system on behalf of taxpayers to investigate a secondary funding option.

So the original one cent tax collection is still alive and well and unspent in the budget.

Remember that taxes went up 50 cents total?  What were the other 49 cents earmarked for?  Yes, there will be road repairs that will begin this spring, now that taxes are being collected. Yes, the city is purchasing some much needed equipment, including a street paver.  Also of note is that the 50 cent tax increase also was so budgeted in order to buy new police cars that would be cycled out through a lease system.  I understand that several years ago, the vehicle cycling program was started, but leadership never followed through with it.  As a result, significant funding has instead been spent on repairs.  I saw the chief driving a car over the weekend that literally had a wooden wedge stuck in a back window that was holding the window up. If our fleet was a human, you could diagnose it with kidney failure and the dialysis is barely keeping it alive.  How expensive is dialysis?  In the case of our fleet, the city paid $300,000 in vehicle repairs last year alone.  So yes – to prepare for the inevitable complete failure of the fleet, city officials HAD to raise taxes.

During the life of the lease, the cars would be under warranty.  At the end of the lease, the city could opt to purchase them outright or cycle them out. Yes it is an expensive endeavor in the beginning of the cycle, however (and this part is important to note), in the long run it will save the city thousands and thousands of dollars.  To me – and again this is my opinion – I would rather make this investment in public safety to adequately equip our police to protect and serve than to keep them driving in cars that are literally falling apart.  When repair work costs more each year than a vehicle is actually worth, that is a problem.

What do we do with the run-down vehicles once the new cars arrive?  Sell them on govdeals.com. The city web page has a link to city property that is no longer of use.  And hey if you go there right now, you’ll also see boxes and boxes of books for sale right now.

We also have a failing CAD (or computer aided dispatch) system. Chief Walker has stated it would cost $800,000 to replace it.  It might cost that. It might cost less than that.  The good news is if it costs less than that, we have $500,000 that was originally available for a warning system that went unspent, but taxes are still being collected for it.

Again my personal opinion, but I am all for making sure 911 calls are not lost.  I am just not willing to take the chance (even when it’s a tiny itty-bitty chance) that a life or death call will be lost.  Dispatchers type addresses in via keyboard as they gather information.  If an officer has been dispatched and asks again, “repeat the address” and the CAD system has lost it, then we depend on the memory of the dispatcher to repeat the address if the system hiccups.  In human terms, we now have kidney failure (police cars), plus congestive heart failure (the CAD system).

Let’s talk about the number of officers we have next.  Starting pay is just over $13.00 per hour for LaVergne police officers.  A meter reader on average according to salary.com earns $12.70 per hour.  A front office clerk is paid $14.50 per hour.  A dental assistant makes $12.50 per hour.  A roofer makes over $14.00 per hour.  We are so lucky in LaVergne to have police officers so dedicated to us that they do not jump ship and go to other jurisdictions. Yes, they give tickets. Yes, people get mad at them.  But they were hired to uphold the law and they do just that. If you don’t like a particular law (for example, I hate the 35 mph speed limit on some roads when really it should be 40), talk to the lawmakers. No, they will not fix your ticket, but they have the authority given to them by majority vote of the people to change laws.

But we’re talking about the police now.  Let’s face it.  LaVergne has a pretty crappy reputation for crime.  But we also have a highly trained police force including a crime suppression unit, SWAT team, criminal investigators, and patrol officers who are dedicated to reversing the reputation.  We have already seen a reduction in crime from 2010 to 2011.  And to use Chief Mike Walker’s words, more boots on the street mean less crime.

Here’s another little gem to consider.  That tax increase?   It allowed for more police to be hired.  So again, the money is there.

Taxes are being collected to improve this city.  Let’s allow the city to grow up and make these improvements.   Go ahead and ask questions because it’s our right, it’s your right. But keep an open mind and consider that perhaps the department directors know what they’re doing when they ask for equipment. Consider the police know what they’re saying when their cars are limping along. Consider that these elected folks really are working toward making this a better place to live.

From the City:

(La Vergne, February 18, 2012) It only took 37-seconds for an armed man to rob Jimmy’s
Tobacco Outlet at 7:46 p.m. on Saturday night, February 18th. Wearing a blue hoodie, blue
bandana, and light leather work gloves, a black man between 5’7” and 5’11” stormed the store
located at 400 Old Nashville Highway and got away with approximately $300. The robber fled
on foot.

Detective Konrad Kaul emphasized the left-handed robber was holding a black pistol grip pump
action shotgun. “If this is a left-handed pistol grip shotgun, it would be unique. If you know of
anyone matching this description, please call the police.”

The armed robber was also wearing white tennis shoes, a white undershirt, and black jeans.
Police are asking the public for any information they may have to identify the suspect. You can
make an anonymous call to the LaVergne Police Department at 793-7744.

If that sounds like a good work out, if you want to see nice things in the city, or if you like getting your hands dirty, there is an opportunity TODAY to help out. Last week the big trees in front of the police station were removed. They had gotten so big that as the needles dropped, they landed on the roof and were causing problems.  Also the roots were beginning to cause cracks in the foundation.  (SEE THE PHOTO ON THE RIGHT… you can see how big the trees are and how close they were to the building.)  To preserve the building, the trees were removed and the Garden Club is in the process of helping with a new, aesthetically pleasing garden design for the front of the station that won’t harm the building.  But first, we clean!

From 12:00 noon until ?? (3:00 p.m. perhaps?), volunteers are needed to help clean up in front of the police station.  Bring your gloves, bring a rake if you have one. Or just bring yourself and we can put you to work.

My sources tell me that while you’re at it, you can get a close up look at the fleet of police cars that are parked and ask some questions about the CAD system.

The next meeting of the Garden Club is March 28th at 6:00 p.m.  The meetings are held in the Board Room at City Hall (we have a city sponsor and the work is being done on behalf of the city).  The LaVergne Garden Club will officially be introducing its operating ByLaws at that time, electing officers, and establishing annual dues. This is a prerequisite in order for our local club to be a member of the state and national clubs.

Please consider joining… stop by and say hello and help out if you’re free today.  We’d LOVE to see you there!

And now photos from the Fall clean-up:

Master Gardener Sara Smith not only has great design vision, but is a master weed whacker.

A rake-wielding Alderman Tom Broeker.

Box 100 weather spotter Richard Long pauses just long enough to check his phone.

Mayor Senna Mosley was there helping, too!

Don’t take a shower this morning… sweat a little!  Bring some work gloves. Come get to know some of the volunteers in the community.  Say hello to our police officers as they come in and out. Take pride in your city!  This is a great way to do it! And if you can’t do it today and here, my sources also tell me there will be another clean up day in March by the Hurricane Creek preservation area.

Congratulations to the winners! I will be running around this weekend giving certificates to the winners AND the nominees! Thanks to everyone who helped by nominating folks and to all who voted!

MIDDLE- AND HIGH-SCHOOL STUDENTS EXCEL AT 6th ANNUAL MTSU LINGUISTICS OLYMPIAD

(MURFREESBORO) – Middle-school and high-school students from middle and east
Tennessee competed in the Sixth Annual Linguistics Olympiad at MTSU on Saturday,
Jan. 28. More than 80 students representing schools from Knox, Rutherford, Sumner and
Williamson counties, as well as Metro Nashville, sharpened their language analysis skills
by tracing the roots of modern English words to their Proto-Indo-European ancestors,
building the longest English word following a set of rules, and solving linguistics
problems on Hungarian and Welsh, as well as exotic languages, like the languages of the
Māori people of New Zealand and of the Dyirbal tribe in Queensland.

In the high school team competition, the victors were: first place, Ravenwood High
School team of Sean Yao, Zach Glick, Austin Hetherington, Simon Lowen; second place,
Franklin High School team of Kenzie Bottoms, Sydney Fobare, and Ella Durman; third
place, Ravenwood High School team of Jeri Timmons, Christopher Nicastro, Stanley
Xiang, and A.J. Wei; honorable mention, Siegel High School team of Brooke Barnes,
Maria Garcia, David Qu, and Heather Delbridge.

The winners in the high school individual competition were: first place, Brennan
Langebach of Centennial High School; second place, Lakin Elliott of Blackman High
School; third place, Jacob Berexa of Ravenwood High School; honorable mention,
Kristin Warf of Blackman High School.

Capturing top honors in the middle school team competition were: first place, Sunset
Middle School team of Jolene Lei, Amy Ouyang, and Sonal Khedkar; second place,
Greenway School team of Abbey Huber, Rachel Anderson, Will Kersey, and Jake
Green; third place, Heritage Middle School team of Julie Chapman, Gillian Lozak, and
Samantha Elleman; honorable mention, Blackman Middle School team of Savannah
Phillips, Rachel Stroud, Hailey Lopez, and Gayle Manacsa.

The winners in the middle school individual competition were: first place, Micah
Mickbel of West Valley Middle School; second place, Daniel Adunas of West End IB
Middle School; third place, Swasti Mishra of Head Math and Science Middle Academy.

LINGUISTICS

Linguistic Genius awards for best problem solution were awarded to the Franklin High
School team of Craig Jones, Jessica Smith, Emily MacLeod, and Mandy Tennille; the
Central Magnet School team of Raleigh Butler, Rory Butler, Nausheen Qureshi, and
Hayley Klumpe; the Franklin High School team of Lauren Souter, Hannah White, Laura
Bentley, and John Yim; the Siegel High School team of Keaton Davis, Joe Cahoon, Ian
Delbridge, and Katie Gregory; the Siegel High School team of Hannah Fry, Jade Brewer,
Ciera Cope, and Nikita Engineer; and the LaVergne High School team of Kimberlee
Cooper, Brennan Foy, and Richard Maradiaga.

The MTSU Linguistics Olympiad is sponsored by the MTSU English Department under
the direction of Dr. Aleka Blackwell, associate professor of linguistics. “Our mission
is to share our love for linguistics with middle- and high-school students in Tennessee
and to provide them with an opportunity to immerse themselves in this field of inquiry,”
Blackwell says. “With many languages on the verge of extinction, we also hope to inspire
students to become involved in efforts to preserve endangered languages.”

This year’s competition was supported by the MTSU Public Service Committee and
the MTSU Richard and Virginia Peck Fund Committee. MTSU faculty from the
departments of English and Psychology and graduate students from the Ph.D. Program in
Literacy Studies served as judges at this year’s competition. More information about the
competition can be found at www.mtsu.edu/lo.

Way to go, LHS!

But I digress. The reason I was at the Steering Committee meeting last night was because Commissioner Rhonda Allen was presenting a proposal to establish a new committee to study Road and School Board Zones, which is an issue that has become near and dear to me. During the last meeting of the Redistricting Committee, the recommendation to change the Road and School Board zones was voted down. The sticking point, it seems, was that the issue was moving too fast and was being shoved down everyone’s throats, as was stated at that meeting. To be fair, I can see that.

Luckily, we have Commissioner Allen and also Commissioner Shafer (who also sent in a proposal if I heard correctly but he was not at last night’s meeting) on our side, and they are making good on their promises to not let the issue die. I received a copy of Commissioner Allen’s proposal as well as a map she had drawn up that clearly shows the problem with the zones in La Vergne.

Take a look at this: road and school board zone study committee proposal 2.6.12

Please forgive the wonkiness of that .pdf, my scanner hates me.

The long and the short of the proposal is this- Allen sums up the problem which is that the zones do not respect political boundaries (city limits) and that they do not follow the principles of compactness or contiguity. While these zones are not required by law to be contiguous, it is not ideal by any stretch of the imagination. Her request was that a new committee be appointed to study the Road and School Board Zones, and that it include at least one board member from each: Road Board, School Board, and County Commission; one person who is not an office holder from each of these communities, appointed by their respective Mayors: La Vergne, Eagleville, Smyrna and Murfreesboro; and two citizens from unincorporated areas of Rutherford County who apply and are voted in by the Steering Committee.

The members of the Steering Committee then discussed how they felt that the Redistricting Committee did a really good job of making sure the compactness, contiguity and respect for incumbency was looked at when they worked on County Commission lines. However, they did not do such a good job of doing so when looking at the Road and School Board Zones. Funny, I thought, they didn’t look at them at all, as far as I can tell.

Commissioner Jordan then stated that the fact that there is an island with one of the zones is not illegal. It troubles him, but it is not illegal. He said that they can’t promise anything but that they would look at it pretty soon. And then he stated that he wasn’t sure how he felt about “solving problems I’m not sure is a problem” but he said he would like to see if it could at least be looked at.

Commissioner Allen stated that she wanted to make sure incumbency was respected by ensuring there was a phase-in date, possibly by 2018. That way, there would be enough time. She said she couldn’t see how there was any harm in putting together this committee to study the possibility of redrawing these zones.

Commissioner Stevens then made a motion to establish the committee as outlined by Commissioner Allen. Commissioner Jordan seconded and then discussion ensued. Commissioner Coggin then said that Commissioner Shafer had sent in his own recommendation for the committee, which was similar to Allen’s. He suggested 2 County Commissioners, a Road Board member, a School Board member, representatives from each city voted on by each respective city’s council/board, someone from the Steering Committee and a citizen at large voted in by the Steering Committee.

There then was a discussion about how Commissioner Black had originally suggested adding a Road and a School Board member to the Redistricting Committee. It had apparently been voted down. Everyone seemed sorry that had happened. Commissioner Black stated he likes the idea of putting together a new study committee and that he was intrigued to support it.

There was some more discussion that I missed because Mayor Burgess whispered to a guy behind my that the island problem cannot be solved, not with the way the County Commission districts are laid out. And then 10 seconds later, he said, “Well, I guess you could fix it.” So I missed the first part of what Steve Sandlin was saying, but when I could hear him again, Sandlin stated that he would love to form a committee like this, as long as we sleep on it for a month because, I don’t know.

Then there was a confusing bit, where Sandlin goes back and forth with himself about how the new study committee should be the same as the Redistricting Committee. But no, he doesn’t want to be on it. Commissioner Black looked confused, so I know it wasn’t just me.

I have four pages of notes about the next bit of discussion, but it all boils down to this: Commissioner Sandlin throws all kinds of questions in to confuse the issue, aided by Commissioner Gooch. Allen and Stevens answer them, aided, sort of, by Commissioner Jordan. Commissioner Jordan also did come confusing of the issue, but generally he stayed on track and asked good questions.

Mayor Burgess asked what the name of the Committee would be. Allen stated that she thought the Road-School Board Zone Study Committee would work for the name. Burgess asks what happens if they cannot make a recommendation within the allotted six months. Allen said she didn’t really know, that she had thought of that. Burgess asked if the recommendation was that there was not a recommendation, would that work? She said yes. Which, I’ll be honest, that makes me a little nervous. If there are a whole lot of argumentative people on that committee, that could be a very real possibility.

Then Road Board member Keith Bratcher got to speak. He said he is not in opposition to a study committee, but the Road and School Board zones have different perspectives. He made a very good point that most of these cities, like La Vergne and Smyrna and Murfreesboro take care of their own roads, but in unincorporated areas, the Road Board is all that is in charge of those roads. Schools, however, are in all areas- less so in Murfreesboro who has its own City School District. He said he would like to see the same amount of people from unincorporated areas as from municipalities.

What he said caused two questions in my mind- one, can the Road and School Board zones have different lines? And secondly, what is the amount of population in unincorporated areas compared to those in municipal areas? And does it matter? If there is one representative from Murfreesboro and one from Eagleville, those areas definitely do not compare, population-wise.

They then have a big long conversation about parameters for this committee. Stevens tends toward as few parameters as possible while it sounded like Burgess and Sandlin would have loved to load it up with as many parameters as possible. Sandlin started saying this all needs to be held off until next month. Don’t worry, y’all, I have nothing else better to do next month.

Discussion ensues some more about the parameters, and bringing the Election Commission director in on this. But, Sandlin said, it is an election year and she is very busy, so…. yeah.

Sandlin finally adds an amendment to the motion on the floor (remember that? about 600 words ago?) that the motion is deferred to the next meeting. It passes, with everyone voting yes except Commissioner Stevens. Commissioner Allen asks exactly what she needs to find out before next month. Sandlin told her to go to the Election Commission director and get some guidance from her.

So, this issue is not dead, however, it has been shipped to next month’s meeting. I’ll be there, these meetings are more interesting than television, I tell ya.

See Previous Posts About Redistricting:

The First

The Second

The Third

At the centers, you can sign up for workshops, learn how to build a resume, or simply apply for open positions.  If you are a job seeker, visiting your closest career center should be a TOP PRIORITY.  Here’s a link to the Murfreesboro location that includes hours of operation, and more.   Or simply call (615) 898-8050.  It may take awhile to get through because this is also where unemployment claims are made, so you know they are super busy.

My sources tell me that a major company is on the verge of a making a formal announcement regarding jobs that are coming to LaVergne. Positions are being hired through the Career Center, so get there as soon as you can if you are seeking a job!  Stay tuned …

While the New England Patriots and New York Giants face off at the Super Bowl this weekend, the LaVergne Police Department will be on patrol looking for drunk drivers. Using grant funding for overtime pay, more police officers will be on the streets throughout the weekend conducting alcohol saturation patrols.

Officers will conduct aggressive patrols to search for alcohol violations between 5:00 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. throughout the Super Bowl weekend. In addition to seeking out people who are driving under the influence, police will also be looking for underage possession or consumption of alcohol and open alcohol containers.

“The LPD is working in conjunction with other area law enforcement agencies as part of the Governors Highway Safety Office efforts to find and remove drinking drivers on the highways,” said Chief Mike Walker. “We will also be doing bar checks and working with other agencies on sobriety check points.”

The LPD is working with Smyrna Police Department, Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office, Murfreesboro Police Department, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol in Rutherford County.

If you drink, remember to have a designated driver. “Booze it and lose it.”

LaVergne is crawling with police tonight, so if you’re a drinker I’d take them seriously!

Now for some fun with links!

Ugliest tattoos ever!

Planking. (Seriously? Do you really have NOTHING to do?)

Speaking of police, here’s what NOT to say to a cop!

Really bad haircuts gallery.

Pitfalls of autocorrect!  (Caution, STRONG language!!!)

Boomshine.  How to waste some time!

A link to the funniest web sites on the internet.

What are you doing this Saturday Super Bowl Eve night? Who’s your team?

You can vote once daily, in any category or all the categories, but not more than once in a 24 hour period. I took the top three nominees in every category except a few I cut out due to lack of interest. Voting closes at midnight on February 13th, the winners will be revealed on February 14th, because this is La Vergne LOVES! and we LOVE all of you guys. (even the people who don’t love us, truly) All nominees will receive a certificate, the winners will receive a slightly better certificate!

Thanks for voting!

Food and drink:

*Not in my hand, personally. I don’t drink at all. However, Willstan’s and El Rodeo were the only other nominations so I thought that answer was amusing.

People:

*Kathy Tyson was heavily nominated for this category. However, she has recused herself as she feels her association with This is La Vergne would give her an unfair advantage.

Services:

Kids:

I ended up removing this category because the nominations were very slim, only one school had more than one teacher nominated. Next year I will just put “Favorite La Vergne Teacher” and go on with my day. I *know* there are a lot of excellent teachers out there, two that come to mind immediately are Ms. Okain at Roy Waldron who heads their drama program and puts in tons of extra hours to really help these kids shine and Ed Freytag, who is an amazing band director over at La Vergne High School. And if I sat here for much longer I could go on and on and on. I have been lucky to have had kids in La Vergne Primary, Rock Springs Elementary, Roy Waldron, La Vergne Middle and La Vergne High School. I feel they are getting an excellent quality education and my hat is off to those educators who give La Vergne an extremely important gift.

And Finally…