Clarksville, TN Online » Beth Robinson

St. Bethlehem neighborhood gets together for Great Chili Cook Off

Beth Robinson — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 20:15:28 +0000

On Saturday neighbors around Bluff Drive near Dunbar Cave Road were hosted again by Ivan & Denise Adames and his extended family, to a Great Chili Cook Off. This is my 3rd year to attend this yearly Fall neighborhood party. After dinner, brave karaoke singers volunteer to entertain.

I think it is a great service to my local community that the Adames family hosts this yearly tradition. I made some vegetarian chili to enter in the friendly competition. It isn’t about the chili, it is about saying more than just hello, and giving a brief wave to people living on our street.

My visit to Clarksville’s Farmers Market

Beth Robinson — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 19:22:27 +0000

Local farmers sell their fresh garden produce on Thursdays and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. till 2:00 p.m. at the historic L&N Train Station located at Commerce and 10th Street.

You’ll see nice people, pay fair prices, and enjoy eating fresh healthy food. I bought a watermelon, cantaloupe and tomatoes from Mr. & Mrs. Heflin. From other vendors, I also bought a dozen ears of corn, cucumbers and a fresh baked chocolate pie.

Shareholders seek to prevent Fidelity Investments from indirectly contributing to genocide

Beth Robinson — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:00:42 +0000

I tend to ignore voting on issues where I receive proxy materials in the mail for my 401k retirement accounts. However, Fidelity Investments has a proposal pending to prohibit fund managers from investing in companies contributing to genocide, or crimes against humanity. Obviously, I am not in favor of contributing to genocide in Sudan, or any place else.

This is valiant attempt by some shareholders to influence a huge corporation’s policies. This is not a theoretical proposal, you see Fidelity was one of the largest holders of PetroChina, which through its parent company, the China National Petroleum Company, is providing funding that the Sudanese government uses to conduct its genocide in Darfur.

The trustees say “Fidelity seeks to achieve the best investment results for the Fund consistent with the stated investment policies of the Fund” and “investments are lawful under the laws of the United States”. In the tangled web of huge conglomerate speak, Fidelity is saying it’s ok, because they are not directly investing in the parent company of PetroChina, which contributes to genocide, since that is against US laws. I disagree, the parent companies actions also reflect on its children. Why else would it be called the parent company?

So, I am voting in favor of this proposal, despite the Board of Trustees recommendation to vote against it. If you happen to receive similar proxy materials in the mail from Fidelity, I urge you to open it and read Proposal 3.

The deadline for this vote is July 15,2009.

For more information check out Investors Against Genocide at http://www.genocidefreefidelity.net/

Sign up for Clarksville community supported agriculture

Beth Robinson — Fri, 22 May 2009 01:49:19 +0000

Would you like to sign up for the Garden of Hope CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) Program? CSA boxes will cost $20/week for 12 weeks. You will receive a box full of fresh, seasonal vegetables throughout the growing season. The CSA boxes will be available for pick-up on the farm [860 Hornbuckle Road] each Friday from 3:00 – 6:00 pm from July 3rd through September 18th. Boxes can be paid for on-site weekly or full payment can be made in advance.

Your support will benefit Clarksville’s F.U.E.L and Loaves and Fishes programs as well as provide fresh, home-grown veggies for your family.

The Garden of Hope is a local community outreach program sponsored in part by the City of Clarksville Office of Housing and Community Development, UT/TSU Cooperative Extension program in Montgomery County, other organizations and businesses.

How can you help?

By volunteering to adopt a section of the garden and care for it throughout the garden season.
Sign up for the Garden of Hope CSA, and for a nominal fee of $20 each week of the 12 week growing season you will receive a box full of fresh, seasonal vegetables.
Shop at our Downtown Market booth on Saturdays later this season.
Shop at the On-Farm Market Stand

Would you like to help? Please contact:

Karla Kean 931-648-5725

Application

If you are interested in helping complete the following and mail to:

Karla Kean, Extension Agent

UT-TSU Montgomery County Extension

1030 Cumberland Heights Road, STE-A

Clarksville, TN 37040

Name:

______________________________________________________________________________

Address:

____________________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip:

________________________________________________________________________

Phone: Email:

________________________________________ _______________________________

I would like to: (check what applies)

The City of Clarksville Office of Housing and Community Development, Tennessee State University, The University of Tennessee, USDA and County Governments Cooperating and The Agricultural Extension Service offers its programs to all persons regardless to race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability and is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Clarksville Association of Realtors hosts second annnual F.U.E.L. fundraiser

Beth Robinson — Fri, 01 May 2009 21:47:13 +0000

Please join the Clarksville Association of Realtors for their second annual F.U.E.L Fundraiser in the Hilldale Baptist Church Gym (2001 Madison Street) on Saturday, May, 2, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. There will be food, vendors, crafts, and outside inflatables for the children (if the weather permits).

F.U.E.L. is a food subsidization program designed to feed children whose only food source may be the food they are receiving at school. They are currently sponsoring 17 elementary schools, one middle school and one high school and we are looking for more churches to sponsor children. If your church is interested please contact Denise M. Skidmore, President F.U.E.L. Ministry at 931-624-3181

For more information about this fundraiser contact the Clarksville Association of Realtors at 931-552-3567.

Garden of Hope project seeks Volunteers

Beth Robinson — Fri, 01 May 2009 05:01:57 +0000

The Garden of HOPE needs your help and support. The project will help raise funds and awareness regarding the hungry citizens in our community. Garden of Hope volunteers will plant, care for and harvest produce that will be sold to raise funds for local food programs including F.U.E.L, Loaves and Fishes and other groups feeding the hungry.See attached flier about the project. An organizational meeting is being held on May 5, 2009 at 9:30 am in the conference room of the City’s Housing and Community Development Office.

The Garden of Hope is located at 860 Hornbuckle Road in Clarksville, TN.

How can you help?

By volunteering to adopt a section of the garden and care for it throughout the garden season.
Sign up for the Garden of Hope CSA and for a nominal fee you will receive a box full of fresh, seasonal vegetables every week throughout the growing season.
Shop at our Downtown Market booth on Saturdays later this season.
Shop at the On-Farm Market Stand

Would you like to help? Please contact:

Karla Kean 931-648-5725
Carolyn Watson 931-358-0390
Marcia Huguley 931-980-0093
Angela Belcher

Application

If you are interested in helping but are unable to attend the meeting, complete the following and mail to:

Karla Kean, Extension Agent

UT-TSU Montgomery County Extension

1030 Cumberland Heights Road, STE-A

Clarksville, TN 37040

Name:

______________________________________________________________________________

Address:

____________________________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip:

________________________________________________________________________

Phone: Email:

________________________________________ _______________________________

I would like to: (check what applies)

Clarksville Downtown Market offers access to local wares

Beth Robinson — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:47:28 +0000

The City of Clarksville, Office of Housing and Community Development, University of Tennessee and Tennessee State University Cooperative Extension, the Downtown Development Partnership and the Tennessee Small Business Center have come together in a collaborative effort to create a Downtown Market for the citizens of Clarksville and surrounding counties.

Beginning June 6, the Downtown Market will be open on Saturdays at One Public Square from 8:00am to 1:00pm each Saturday during market season. The Market will feature fresh, locally grown produce, nursery stock, hand made craft items and other commodities available on a seasonal basis. All vendors and artisans meeting the attached criteria are invited to come and vend. To help kick-start this year’’s market, the cost of participating is free for a basic 10” x 10” space! We have several booth spaces left at this time but act soon as we anticipate them filling up quickly!

The purpose of this organization is to provide for orderly operation of a market for area producers, artisans, and other entrepreneurs.

The spirit and intention of the Clarksville Downtown Market Association is to:

Provide an open venue for community enjoyment;
Provide an opportunity for vendors and consumers to sell and buy in an amicable exchange;
Support local producers, encourage downtown shopping, and support local farm preservation.

For more information

Visit the Mongomery County Extension Office Web site

Or contact:

Jennifer Byard
Special Events Coordinator
102 Public Square
Clarksville, TN 37040
931-645-7476

Clarksville tax due date changed to Feb 28th

Beth Robinson — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:00:20 +0000

If you pay Clarksville city taxes there is a big change in the due date this year! Don’t forget that instead of the normal May 30th deadline, the deadline has been moved up to Feb 28th.

According to the City of Clarksville website:

“There is a change in the payment of 2008 property taxes that is significantly different from prior tax years. In tax years prior to the 2008 tax year you had until May 31 to pay the property taxes due, for the tax year 2008 the property taxes must be paid on or before February 28, 2009. The 2008 property taxes will be come delinquent on March 1, 2009. This change was necessary to better coordinate the property tax files and the administration of the city’s tax freeze and state tax relief program on a basis consistent with that of Montgomery County. To avoid interest and penalty for the tax year 2008, the payment of 2008 property taxes must be on or before February 28, 2009.”

Former slave speaks at APSU

Beth Robinson — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:00:59 +0000

Amidst economic and other problems in America we’ve forgotten and abandoned Darfur. Simon Deng, a former slave and native of Southern Sudan, was pleading with listeners to continue to take action to stop the genocide in Darfur during an event held at APSU. He said, “I’m a voice for the voiceless” and encouraged everyone to “Do your part”.

What can we do? According to Deng, one of the most important things we can do is to send a short note or email to our senators and representatives requesting that they take action to help the people of Darfur. Former Senator Paul Simon of Illinois said after the 1994 Rwandan genocide: If each member of Congress had received just 100 letters urging action, that would have been enough to get our political system to respond.

Deng is “living proof of slavery”. In Sudan human beings are still being bought and sold into slavery. He was abducted and enslaved when he was only 9 years old.

According to the Genocide Intervention Network:

At present (Jan. 2009) Darfur is experiencing the most intense fighting seen in the last year. For over 6 years, the most notorious genocide of the twenty-first century has devastated millions of non-combatant civilians in Darfur. Sudan continues to send its troops and Janjaweed proxy militias to systematically destroy the livelihoods of Darfurians by bombing and burning villages, looting economic resources, and murdering, raping, and torturing non-combatant civilians. Rebels in Darfur are also complicit in the recruitment of child soldiers and the commission of other acts of violence against civilians.

Senator Lamar Alexander, email
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Senator Bob Corker, email
455 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Representative Marsha Blackburn, email
217 Cannon House Office Building,
District of Columbia 20515-4207

President Barack Obama, email
The White House,
District of Columbia 20500

Hillary Clinton, email
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520

For more information:

http://www.preventgenocide.org/action/alerts/darfur/

http://www.genocideintervention.net/

http://www.uusc.org/content/contact_senators_representatives_darfur

Magdalene House residents to visit UU Fellowship

Beth Robinson — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:00:24 +0000

On Sunday, January 25th at 10:30, the Unitarian Universalists Fellowship of Clarksville will host speakers from Nashville’s Magdalene House. Everyone is invited to attend and learn about their program.

What is Magdalene House?

Women with a criminal history of prostitution and addiction are invited to stay up to two years in one of our homes rent free, in a community with other residents and no live-in staff.
During their stay, we provide a plan that is individualized for each woman that includes medical care, therapy, opportunities for addiction recovery, education and employment. Presently we have five houses and also provide an emergency safe house for four women. Our program also involves returning to the streets where Nashville prostitutes frequent as part of our continued outreach.

THISTLE FARMS is a non-profit business run by women of Magdalene House who have survived violence, prostitution, and abuse. Thistle Farms products are hand-made by the very women they benefit. Into every product goes the belief that freedom starts with healing, and love can change lives.

The women create natural bath and body products that are as kind to the environment as they are to the body. All sales proceeds go back into supporting the residents of Magdalene. Through Thistle Farms, the women of Magdalene gain much-needed job skills and learn responsibility and cooperation.

Products from Thistle Farms will be available for purchase at UUFC after the presentation. For more information visit http://www.thistlefarms.org/index.html and www.uua.org.

Democrats: We are beating ourselves

Beth Robinson — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:00:49 +0000

Incumbent Sen. Rosalind Kurita explains the write-in process to early voter Tom Altman

As I was campaigning for Senator Kurita to educate people about how to vote for a write-in candidate yesterday, it was clear to me that the Democratic party is wasting a lot of time, money, and energy of some of their very best people. All those loyal Tim Barnes supporters (including many good friends of mine) and all those loyal Rosalind Kurita supporters (including myself) would probably be out campaigning for Barack Obama if this controversial Democrat AGAINST Democrat race had not been instigated by the leadership of the Tennessee Democratic Party.

I believe the PRIMARY job of the Tennessee Democratic Party Leadership is to win seats against REPUBLICANS, not their own party. They are the ones that need to be scrutinized here. Who exactly hatched the plot to run a Democrat against another sure-fire winning Democratic incumbent in Senate District 22? I know about the Wilder vote; this has to run much deeper than that.

I’m working to elect Senator Kurita based on her voting record. She’s endorsed by the Sierra Club and other green organizations. She’s rated the highest Tennessee senator for supporting green legislation by the TN Conservation Voters. She was instrumental in passing the legislation to ban smoking in restaurants in the state and to increase the cigarette tax. She supported verifiable elections in Tennessee.

I feel so disenfranchised by the Democratic Party action in throwing out the Kurita election that I don’t want to go to the Montgomery County Democratic headquarters. I guess some Republicans are rightfully laughing at us all the way to the polls/bank.

NPT to screen “Kilowatt Ours”

Beth Robinson — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:54:14 +0000

Depressed about Global Warming? Using amusing and inspiring stories Kilowatt Ours teaches how you can personally make this a greener world. This 2008 updated version of Kilowatt Ours will be broadcast on Nashville Public Television, NPT Channel 8, on Friday, October 24 at 7:00 pm.

Kilowatt Ours provides simple, practical, affordable solutions to America’s energy crisis and shows how we can save electricity, save money and make a difference for ourselves and the planet. It is unique in that it is a solutions-oriented look at one of America’s most pressing environmental challenges. Yes, this film has solutions for us; it is not “this is too depressing” and it is not “this problem is too big”.

Filmmaker Jeff Barrie offers hope as he turns the camera on himself and asks, “How can I make a difference?”

In his journey Barrie explores the source of our electricity and the problems caused by energy production including mountain top removal, childhood asthma and global warming. Along the way he encounters individuals, businesses, organizations, and communities who are leading the way, using energy conservation, efficiency and renewable, green power all while saving money and the environment. For more information, visit kilowattours.org

Master Gardeners plant sale

Beth Robinson — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 21:00:15 +0000

Montgomery County Master Gardeners Plant Sale will be held Saturday, October 11 at 9:00 a.m. and continue until until sold out. The event will be held at Veterans Plaza, 350 Pageant Lane.

A wide variety of locally grown perennials, priced to sell, will be available along with advice and growing tips from Tennessee Master Gardeners.

For more information, contact 931-647-4328 or

Breast cancer: Walk for the Cure

Beth Robinson — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 20:00:46 +0000

I’m not a crier. However, my emotions ran the gamut from elation to tears as I participated in the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Walk for the Cure in Nashville on Oct 4th. As I walked the 5K race with my daughter and thousands of others, I read memorials on t-shirts such as “In memory of Mom” but also many happier phrases such as ”In celebration of my sister”. I felt overwhelmed by so many who’d been affected by breast cancer. My sister, Pam Thompson, is a survivor and is doing well. She completed her surgery, chemo, and radiation about 2 years ago.

This year’s Nashville Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure® raised over $1 million for the fight against breast cancer! It’s not too late to make a donation.

There was much celebration and hope. One of my favorite t-shirt slogans was “Cancer Sucks”. If you ever have the opportunity to participate in one of the walks, I highly encourage you to do so. It was an experience I’ll always remember.

Susan G. Komen for the Cure was established in 1982 by Nancy Brinker to honor the memory of her sister, Susan G. Komen, who died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Today, this grassroots effort is an international organization with a network of volunteers working through local Affiliates and Komen Race for the Cure® events.

Komen runs one of the most innovative, responsive grant programs in breast cancer today. In addition to funding research, the Foundation and its Affiliates fund community-based breast health education and breast cancer screening and treatment projects for the medically underserved. In 1992, the Greater Nashville area held it’s first Race at Centennial Park with 500 participants. The Greater Nashville Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure was founded in 1997.

Up to 75 percent of the net proceeds raised by Greater Nashville’s participation in Komen Race for the Cure stays in Middle Tennessee to fund outreach programs and initiatives that address the specific unmet breast health needs of our community, and a minimum of 25 percent of net proceeds raised supports the Komen for the Cure Award and Research Grant Program.

Senator Kurita launches Write-in campaign at new Madison Street headquarters

Beth Robinson — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:00:53 +0000

A large crowd of enthusiastic supporters gathered on October 2 for the grand opening of the new headquarters for Senator Kurita’s campaign to fight for her seat in Tennessee’s 22nd district. Despite Kurita’s winning the primary, the Democratic Party reversed the voters decision and awarded the victory to her opponent, Atty. Tim Barnes.

Voters picked up yard signs and bumper stickers at new Write-in Kurita Montgomery County Headquarters

This unprecedented decision prompted Kurita to support her constituents by beginning a write-in campaign. Are her supporters willing to go to the extra effort of typing in her name, K-U-R-I-T-A, on the voting machines in November? As with Senator Obama, the Democratic Presidential candidate, Senator Kurita welcomes votes from all Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who feel she will be the best candidate for the job. Her campaign slogan is “In America, we don’t steal elections.”

How To Write In a Vote for State Senate District 22 in Montgomery County for Senator Rosalind Kurita:

You will cast your vote for President, U.S. Senator, U.S. Representative and then State Senator. You will see Tim Barnes name as the Democratic nominee. Directly under his name you will see WRITE IN. Push the button beside WRITE IN.

The screen will change and the letters of the alphabet (A-Z) will appear. Place an X beside each letter: K – U – R – I – T – A . You will see KURITA spelled out in the middle of the screen.
Once you have typed KURITA just press the done button at the bottom to accept and return to the former screen.
You should now see Kurita with an X beside it underneath Tim Barnes name on the ballot. You can now continue on with the remainder of the ballot.

Remember – you can always ask an election worker to help you with this process.

Montgomery County Headquarters: 1817A Madison Street , Suite 5, Clarksville, 931-542-9912
Cheatham County: 108 Frey Street, Ashland City, 615-792-1659
Houston County: 18 Court Square, Erin, 931-289-5255

Editor’s note: Monday, October 6, is the last day to register to vote in the November 4 Presidential election. Early voting begins October 15 and runs through October 30.