Topic: Community

House Democrat Review for 03/27/2008

By Tennessee Democrats | March 29, 2008 |

The House Democrat Review is a weekly feature that gives Tennesseans an in-depth look at what our Democratic state legislators have been working on this week, and a glimpse into what’s planned for the coming week at our state house.

Precious Metals Theft Bill Overwhelmingly Passes Out of House
New Legislation brings much needed regulation and tougher penalties

NASHVILLE (Mar. 20) – This week the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a bill that brings new regulations to the scrap metal industry and tougher penalties on violators.

“With the price of copper going up over 400% in just five years, scrap metal theft has become the new way to score big bucks,” said Chairman Mike McDonald (D-Portland), prime sponsor of the legislation. “This new legislation will significantly limit a thief’s ability to sell the metal he’s stolen and, if he still tries to do it, we’ll be able to track him down pretty quickly.”

Under the new legislation, scrap metal dealers who buy and sell in precious metals may not buy or otherwise acquire metal from anyone who does not present a valid state or federally issued photo ID and may not sell to anyone under 18. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Politics | No Comments

Justice Department asked to investigate Chad Youth Enhancement Center

January 29, 2008 |

[Nashville TN] A black human rights organization in Nashville has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a criminal investigation and initiate civil litigation against a Middle Tennessee juvenile prison where two teens have been choked to death since 2005.

The organization, Power to the People, in a complaint to the special litigation section of the DOJ, charges that children detained at the Chad Youth Enhancement Center are subjected to “horrid” conditions and “cruel mistreatment.” Located in Ashland City, the juvenile prison houses about 90 troubled youth between the ages of 7 and 17, a large number of whom are black. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: News, Opinion | No Comments

A letter from Clarksville NAACP President, Jimmie Garland

By Jimmie Garland, Sr. | January 23, 2008 |

Thanks Clarksville Online for your support. Your devotion to covering events hosted by the Clarksville Branch of the NAACP throughout the city of Clarksville this weekend was unparallel. We, as the sponsor of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative celebration, salute you and your staff on making our programs more available to those who desired to partake.

The MLK holiday for some was just a day-off, but for members of the NAACP, it was a day-on. By this I mean a day set aside to pay homage to a man who made a tremendous difference in the way we live today. Believe it or not, there were some who chose simply to forget the contributions he made to freedom irregardless of race, creed or national origin.

We, the NAACP, chose to devote quality time to keep the dream alive by attending religious services, preparing and presenting workshops and marching. Although the march was symbolic, it had its relevance to society as we know it today. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion | No Comments

DDP redevelopment meeting canceled; Piper to recommend amendment

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 9, 2008 |

Failure to use due diligence, failure to follow state law cited…tumbles “blight” ordinance…

Coalition group to meet 6 p.m. today in APSU’s Clement Auditorium, in lieu of the previously planned city meeting…City Council members invited to attend…

Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper, has taken a bold step and reversed direction on the “blight” ordinance. He has decided to cancel a community meeting that was scheduled for Thursday evening at Austin Peay State University, where members of the Downtown District Partnership were to review the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan. The meeting was planned to allow the DDP the opportunity to inform property owners in the redevelopment area about the plan that they developed and recommended to the City Council.

“I have great concerns about how this was handled and presented to the City Council by the DDP,” Mayor Piper

The Mayor’s office has received many phone calls and comments from concerned residents over the past few weeks on this issue. In addition, the formation of the Clarksville Property Rights Coalition (CPRC), fueled by angry residents of the downtown area, and two standing room-only grassroots public meetings, provided a highly visible evidence of public discontent with the ordinance and the way it was developed and presented. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues | No Comments

Development on steroids: Rethinking urban planning for a city on the grow

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 7, 2008 |

It is with a walloping dose of dismay, a meager bit of optimism and sometimes amusement that I follow stories of the city’s intent to address planning and development issues, including signage, as Clarksville braces for the transition of Gateway Medical Center from Madison Street to the St. Bethlehem area, and push forward development issues that affect the entire city. But let’s start with signage.

Signage. No kidding. Someone wants to talk about signs? It’s about time, though it is only a starting point. When the city refers to “blighted” areas, it refers to areas not meeting a maximized tax potential. Your property is worth much less in tax revenue as your home, and so much more (to the city and developers) as a revenue-generating business-zoned cadre of condo’s, apartments, another mini strip mall or as part of the growing Austin Peay State University campus.

In recent months we’ve heard talk of redevelopment, urban blight, and all manner of things relating to zoning and design. The fact is, when I consider what constitutes blight in Clarksville, it’s not just Emerald Hill or Red River or Brandon Hills or any of a half-dozens areas that may or may not be blighted in the usual sense of the word but which trigger dollar signs in the eyes of developers. To see blight, all I have to do is drive down Fort Campbell Boulevard or Wilma Rudolph Boulevard and look out the car window. Blight. One big wall of urban blight in the guise of revenue-producing business districts. The heck with aesthetics.

Face the fact: the view is UGLY. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Opinion | 1 Comment »

The road home: A journey of memory, hope

By Rev. Charles Moreland | January 6, 2008 |

While in the U.S. Army for 20 years, I identified my home of record as St. Louis, Missouri, where I was raised on the south side in a home where my parents both worked full time to make ends meet. Life wasn’t a battle for survival, but it was a struggle from pay day to pay day.

Though now a Tennessee resident, when I speak of home I still focus on Missouri, especially the Ozarks where I was born and spent six formative years of childhood.

Recently I returned to the Ozarks near Fort Leonard Wood. There for three days, I faced an epiphany, an experience of both sadness and joy. Experiences that brought me closer to reality. Something happened that was unforeseen and unanticipated, something that wasn’t on my list of objectives for this trip. The result was a new personal “awareness” and sensitivity toward my own well-being. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Spirituality | No Comments

Community meeting to explain method behind the madness of “blight”

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 4, 2008 |

Officials for the City of Clarksville will hold a community meeting to discuss the Clarksville Center Redevelopment Plan on Thursday, January 10th at 6p.m. in the Clement Auditorium at Austin Peay State University. Missy Graham, Communications Director for the City of Clarksville, said that the meeting location was selected because APSU is located in the Clarksville Center Redevelopment District. APSU is the only property to be exempt from in the newly designated “blight” area.

According to Graham, “several details of the plan have been misrepresented in recent weeks and the Mayor and City Council are hosting this event to help residents understand the objectives of the plan. The Downtown District Partnership worked on the plan for several years before presenting it to the City Council in the fall of 2007. The City Council voted on the plan on two separate occasions and did not receive any opposition from the public.”

Clarksville Property Rights Coalition members maintain they were unaware of the details and language of the ordinance that has lumped all of the downtown area (except APSU) into a “blighted” category for purposes of redevelopment. Participants in these meetings felt “blindsided ” by the blight designation and were quick to line up and sign postcards addressed to their legislators protesting the the ordinance. The anger crossed boundaries of race, gender and income, unifying residents who were seeking answers and explanations. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues | 2 Comments

Replace those resolutions with goals, objectives and dreams

By Christine Anne Piesyk | January 1, 2008 |

New Year’s Resolutions. We’ve all made them. Lose weight. Save money. Eat healthy. Buy a new car. Some happen. Most don’t. I gave up New Year’s resolutions a long time ago. I work with a difference plan now, and its not limited to just one year.

That down time between Christmas turkey and the glitter of the New Year (which I usually view through closed eyelids), is the time I set aside to assess, re-assess, red line discontinued items and add to an ever shape-shifting list of — dreams.

Dreams are just plans that haven’t come true yet. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Spirituality | No Comments