The Veterans Upward Bound program at APSU is looking for veterans. A flood of veterans, actually. Veterans who do not have a baccalaureate degree (BA/BS) are eligible for their services. The veterans college/technical school prep outreach seeks to assist veterans return to higher education studies. Dr. Arthur Neal heads up the operation, which is located on 219 Castle Heights Drive along the rear boundary of the APSU Intramural Sports Field.

The program provides academic, counseling and cultural events services for veterans. Assessment testing, remedial skills building techniques, computer-aided instruction and testing and personal counseling are all part of the outreach program’s structure to help veterans in their return to higher education and college studies. If the veteran did not graduate high school, assistance in obtaining a GED is also available for those needing it. Once the GED requirement is met, the technical school or college admission and education pursuit process can begin. Guidance and counseling continue as the veteran pursues his/her studies. The objective is to aid the veteran to a successful graduation.

Veterans in Montgomery, Stewart, Dickson, Chetham, Robertson, Metro-Nashville/Davison, Houston and Humphreys counties in Tennessee, and Christian and Todd counties in Kentucky, are included in Veterans Upward Bound’s service area. For more info, visit them at 219 Castle Heights, Clarksville, TN 37044; or call- Phone: (931) 221-7600, Fax: (931) 221-7598. Contact them today! Get YOUR future on.

Incumbent Senator Roslaind Kurita campaigns outside St. Bethlehem Methodist Church Thursday, August 7.

Nineteen votes. That narrowest of margins gave victory in the District 22 Senate race to incumbent Rosalind Kurita, who spent election day campaigning at wards across Montgomery County and the rest of the district that continues to support her. District 22 includes Montgomery, Houston and Cheatham counties. Sen. Kurita was unable to be reached prior to posting the election result.

Kurita defeated challenger Atty. Tim Barnes by 19 votes, a true “horse race” as elections go, with each candidate taking turns at the lead post until the final count gave victory to Kurita. Barnes has said that due to the closeness of the race, he will request a recount.

Voter turnout, including both early voting and the actual Thursday primary, was 11.86%. A total of 5238 Montgomery County voters cast ballots in the two-week early voting period, while another 4486 voted in the August 7 primary.

According to the Montgomery County Election Commission website (10 p.m. 8/7/08), Montgomery County voters favored Barnes 52.02% to 47.96% or 3369 to 3106. District wide, the numbers were Kurita 4477 (50.1%) to Barnes 4458 (49.89%).

Tim Barnes and supporters campaign at St. Bethlehem School on Wilma Rudolph Boulevard

At the Riverview Inn in downtown Clarksville, Barnes and his supporters waited for two and a half hours as the tally trickled in, first with a victory in Houston County. As the numbers were crunched in Montgomery County, though, the range between the two candidates was at most a one percentage point difference. Kurita ahead by 64. Barnes ahead by 110. Kurita trailing by 20 votes. Barnes ahead by 10. A true horse race between veteran campaigner and the new kid on the political block.

As the final numbers trickled in, victory was momentarily declared in the Barnes stronghold, but moments later a re-check of the numbers brought defeat by the slimmest of margins: 19 votes. A collective exhale sent the air from the room and the initial euphoria of victory died.

This young lady watches as the intricacies of a voting machine are explained

Challenger Tim Barnes, a local attorney, ran a challenging campaign that came to a head earlier this week when a series of controversial oversized postcard ads began arriving at the homes of local voters. The ads challenged Barnes’ legal practice and said he worked on behalf of criminals (drunk drivers, domestic abusers) via his representation of the defendents in such cases. Thirty-eight local attorneys came to his defense (and the defense of a Constitution that guarantees fair and equal treatment under the law), citing Barnes work as an adoption attorney and the rights of all people to a legal  defense.

In other races, 7th district incumbent Rep. Marsha Blackburn won an easy victory over opponent Tom Leatherwood, 1880 to 330, while incumbent John Tanner, 8th district representative, retained his seat with a 1590-5 vote.