41-A Bypass water main ruptures

By Bill Larson | September 12, 2008 |

Drivers on the 41-A Bypass in Clarksville had to deal with slow moving traffic as they passed through the area between Seven Mile Ferry Road and Glendale Drive Thursday afternoon. The cause was a  15 X 30 foot section of pavement which collapsed after a 12″ water main ruptured.

The leak disrupted water service to several hundred homes in the neighborhood. A Clarksville Gas and Water work crew, including supervisor Dean Fain, Dustin Jeckson, Brandon Forrest, Drew Stenle, and Russell Allen, responded and proceeded to close off two valves isolating the section of pipeline from the city water system. Then, using several pumps, they evacuated the water from the hole and with a backhoe cleared out enough room on either side of the pipe to get a chain cutter underneath.

Once the five feet of the pipe was cut away, the crew was able to place a patch on the pipe which, when bolted down, would seal the breach in the pipeline. Crews then used hydrants to flush contaminants from the line. After  verifying that there were no leaks, they reburied the pipe. A crew from Dan Meadows Construction then took over the repaving of that section of the street.

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Introducing Benjamin Jealous, the new President of the NAACP‏

By Terry McMoore | September 12, 2008 |

New NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous

Benjamin Todd Jealous is president-elect of the NAACP, the nations oldest civil rights organization. When he assumes office in September 2008, the former news executive, activist and Rhodes scholar will be the youngest president and CEO in the organization’s 99-year history.

Currently, Jealous is President of the Rosenberg Foundation, a private independent institution that supports advocacy efforts on behalf of California’s working families. Under his leadership, the Foundation has significantly expanded its support of groups working to expand employment opportunities for formerly incarcerated people, as well as those that work to make economic development in the Bay Area more accountable to local residents’ needs.

Previously, Jealous served as Director of the U.S. Human Rights Program at Amnesty International. While at Amnesty, he led its efforts to pass federal legislation against prison rape, rebuild public consensus against racial profiling in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks, and expose the widespread sentencing of children to life without the possibility of parole.

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A Candidate speaks: On Democracy

September 12, 2008 |

David Cutting is a candidate for Ward 8 City Council. This is his second position paper.

Ward 8 City Council Candidate David Cutting

City Code Section 1-204(c), as copied below, is anti-democracy, and the new members, hopefully including this writer, must vote to repeal it.

A public comment period is conducted prior to each regular session of the city council from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. Any person wishing to address the council shall make such request to the city clerk by noon on Wednesday prior to the regular session and shall submit their name and the topic of said comments. Each person shall be allowed a maximum of five minutes to speak during the comment period. No public comments concerning any zoning amendment to be considered by the city council at such regular session shall be received during this period.

We must encourage, not restrict, resident participation in our city government. It should suffice for persons to sign up for comments between 7:15 and 7:30, as they enter the meeting, and to do so without stating a topic. The council should hear the five-minute comments, in the order in which people signed in, at the end of the regular session. This will help ensure that the public will have the opportunity to address items of current concern, rather than stale issues that may already be resolved. «Read the rest of this article»

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Bredesen, Teamsters, endorse Bob Tuke

September 12, 2008 |

U.S. Senate Candidate Bob Tuke

Governor Phil Bredesen endorsed Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Bob Tuke this week in an email message to Tennessee Democrats encouraging them to donate to the Tuke for Tennessee campaign.

“I have endorsed Bob’s candidacy for many reasons, but chief among them is Bob’s capability to address the critical problems confronting Tennesseans today: bringing down high fuel prices, creating more jobs, jump-starting our slowing economy and better managing our war against terror. He is armed with a profound knowledge of today’s most important issues and a willingness to quickly and effectively achieve bipartisan solutions to help Tennesseans. I join a growing list of Bob Tuke endorsers including Former Vice President Al Gore.” ~~ Gov. Phil Bredesen

In June this year, Governor Bredesen and Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Gray Sasser held a Unity breakfast with Democratic National Committee member Inez Crutchfield endorsing Senator Barack Obama as the Democratic nominee for president. «Read the rest of this article»

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