Topic: City of Clarksville

City to unveil Strawberry Alley fountain

November 20, 2008 |

Mayor Johnny Piper and members of the Clarksville City Council will unveil the new fountain on Strawberry Alley on Tuesday, November 25, at 4 p.m.

Installation of the fountain has been ongoing for several weeks, with large blue and green tarps encasing the multistory structure., which cost approximately $125,000. The fountain was purchased for the city by an anonymous donor and will be dedicated in honor of a former Clarksville citizen during the unveiling next Tuesday, November 25.

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Reflections on an election

By David Cutting | November 19, 2008 |

David Cutting's election campaign was a family affair

In my recent stand for a seat on the Clarksville City Council, I spent $790, or $1.25 for each vote received, and the winning challenger spent $6,740, or $2.68 for each vote received. He and I both wanted to win, worked hard at it (he much longer than I did), and saw a real need to replace the incumbent.

The defeated incumbent, similarly to me, spent less than $1,000 on his campaign, but unlike me, did not work hard at it. The winner received $4,740 in campaign contributions, and a $2,000 loan from himself to fund his campaign. I neither sought nor received contributions, and if the incumbent did, they totaled less than $1,000, or he would have had to file a report. The local newspaper reports none of this public record data, and it is not on the Internet. «Read the rest of this article»

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When to replace a city government

By David Cutting | November 17, 2008 |

Several decades ago, as a public elementary school student, I learned that the purpose of government is to provide for its citizens those essential services that we cannot accomplish individually, such as police and fire protection, public education, and public libraries.

For the Clarksville city government, meaning the elected mayor and the elected city council, building a water park, placing cameras on traffic lights, and building a separate city council structure violates Jeffersonian democracy to the point that we should vote them all out. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Opinion | 2 Comments

City, Jaycees to co-host Christmas Parade

November 1, 2008 |

From the 2007 Parade: Santa meets a fan.

The City of Clarksville has partnered with the Clarksville Jaycees to co-host the 49th Annual Christmas Parade downtown.  The night-time parade featuring lighted floats and entries is scheduled on December 6, starting at 5 p.m.

Toys collected during parade check-in on December 6 will be distributed to families in need in the Clarksville/Montgomery County area before Christmas.

Parade entrants are asked not to exceed the $20 value per toy, but you may donate more than one toy in the same price range. «Read the rest of this article»

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Festive ceremony opens Strawberry Alley

By Christine Anne Piesyk | August 31, 2008 |

Hundreds of Clarksville residents converged downtown Friday for the festive dedication of the city’s newest development project: Strawberry Alley.

Mayor Piper wields the scissors, cutting the red ribbon to officially open the rebuilt "Strawberry Alley"

The project has tied up traffic, rerouted buses, and clogged streets for several months during the redesign, which included new, wider sidewalks with brick pavers, new plantings, a vintage style clock, and angled parking. The original lighting plan, which was overkill and required the wearing of sunglasses at night when it was first lit, was tampered down, with a number of the new lighting fixtures removes at the 11th hour and re-installed on a section of North Second Street. It was a wise decision, and did a lot to balance the appearance of the street. The much-discussed $100,000 custom  fountain is scheduled to be installed in November, in time for the holiday season.

Strawberry Alley is the westerly portion of the former Legion Street. Officials took the portion of Legion Street from City Hall to North Second Street, renaming it after the wife of former Clarksville Mayor James Elder, whose strawberry patch at that location was paved over as the city expanded. «Read the rest of this article»

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Legion Street, new “Strawberry Alley” to reopen in formal ceremony

By Christine Anne Piesyk | August 23, 2008 |

The City of Clarksville will host a grand-reopening of Legion Street and the new ‘Strawberry Alley’ on August 29th from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The street will formally re-open less one of its new attractions: a unique $102,734 fountain. Lest you think the addition of the fountain has been discarded, think again: the custom made fountain will be installed in November.

This photo of the new "Strawberry Alley" only hints at the true glaring brightness of the new lightning on this reconstructed downtown street.

The $1.2 million price tag in the contract for the Legion Street/Strawberry Alley work included $75,000 for a fountain, $27,000 short of this one-of-a-kind fountain’s actual cost. The difference in the fountain cost plus installation expenses will be made up from a $250,000 “contigency line item” in the contract with Roy T. Goodwin. The original designated maximum price allocated for the fountain has fallen by the wayside. «Read the rest of this article»

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CAMTAN addresses HIV/AIDS pandemic in seven county area

By Turner McCullough Jr. | August 19, 2008 |

Local ministry effort confronts HIV/AIDS pandemic. Offers general health advisories and assistance to those suffering from the disease.

Five years ago, a meeting of local area ministers resulted in the founding of the Clarksville Area Ministers Technical Assistance Network, CAMTAN. A non-profit group organized to provide mental, physical, and spiritual assistance to those confronting an HIV/AIDS infection. CAMTAN also seeks to provide capacity building faith-based responses to HIV/AIDS. The organization furthers seeks to combat this disease with a prevention education outreach campaign as well.

Dispelling the vast amount of misinformation and simply false data about this disease that is circulating within the community takes a considerable amount their time. CAMTAN’s client service area includes the city of Clarksville; Montgomery, Robertson, Chetham, Dickson, Stewart, Houston and Humphreys Counties. Clarksville is the central operation base.

«Read the rest of this article»

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Flying the U. S. Flag at half-staff is no grandstanding gesture

By Turner McCullough Jr. | August 18, 2008 |

City and County Mayors’ Proposal, while noble, oversteps the authority of their office. The U. S. Flag Code delegates half-staff order authority to the president.

Clarksville High School Color Guard post The Colors during Memorial Day Candlelight Vigil

Recently our city and county mayors announced plans to fly the national flag at half-staff on a monthly basis. They proposed to do this in honor of our fallen soldiers. The gesture certainly strikes an undeniably appealing accord. It is, without a doubt, noble in its initiative.

It would unquestionably be a notable, emotional salute to our military personnel, especially in light of the fact that soldiers from Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division are facing daily peril in the Iraq and Afghanistan war theaters.

However, upon closer review, there is cause for reconsideration of this action. The flying of our nation’s flag is governed by specific and strict protocols that must be observed. «Read the rest of this article»

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