Topic: Community

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

Fuel the flame; honor our soldiers

By Christine Anne Piesyk | November 13, 2007 |

World war I officially ended on June 28, 1919, with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. The actual fighting between the Allies and Germany, however, had ended seven months earlier with the Armistice, which went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month in 1918. Armistice Day, as November 11 became known, officially became a holiday in the United States in 1926, and a national holiday 12 years later. On June 1, 1954, the name was changed to Veterans Day to honor all U.S. veterans.

Saturday, November 10, was a day of parades, ceremonies, and memorials, flags, uniforms and speeches honoring the veterans of American wars, including the current conflict in Iraq. Sunday, November 11, was the actual holiday, the Holy Day of Days for veterans across the country. So what happened in Clarksville on this Veteran’s Day?

The light went out. An unheralded extinguishing of eternal flame in downtown Clarksville, a flame that is supposed to be a blaze of fire in the night sky over the city. This darkening should be considered an insult to every person serving in the military today, and to every citizen of this country. The darkening of the flame (which has happened before with no fanfare) is also a slap in the face to the vets of Vietnam, Korea, both world wars, and every other war in our history. The fact that it happened on Veteran’s Day and as Christmas lights are being illuminated citywide just magnifies the force of that slap. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, News, Politics | 1 Comment »

What a difference a year makes!

By Christine Anne Piesyk | August 30, 2007 |

Just a year ago, on a hot muggy summer morning just like this, I was awakened by the yapping, howling, clawing of a manic, panic stricken dog who is credited with saving my life. He persistently prodded me to wakefulness as fire ripped through the central part of our house. I was able to get him out, and wake my son-in-law, who was sound asleep in another part of the house after a very late second shift night. We got out.

We grabbed a garden hose and were pouring water through the front door as firefighters arrived with bigger and better equipment. We watched as the windows that weren’t blown out were pulled out with long handled poles. It didn’t last long at all, but our losses were great and our extended family split apart.

As we stood beside the Red Cross disaster van, me barefoot in my pajamas with damaged glasses , singed hair and unsuspected burns, my son-in-law shirtless in jeans and barefoot, figuring out where we would all sleep that night, get food, clothing. The Red Cross disaster team helped pull it all together then, and the unexpected generosity of friends and neighbors and strangers did the rest. We are all okay now. And we haven’t forgotten, we still appreciate, and we will always remember.

So for all of you, and you know who you are, who showered us with kindness, assistance in many forms, shapes and sizes, I would tell you that we are doing fine. And I would thank you all one more time. From the bottom of my heart. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments

Trolley Tour highlights housing, neighborhood revitalization

By Christine Anne Piesyk | July 30, 2007 |

Seven dozen residents of the Red River and Brandon Hills neighborhoods surrounding downtown Clarksville converged at the APSU campus for a Trolley tour of the areas with an eye to redevelopment.

The Clarksville Office of Housing and Community Development sponsored the early evening event as part of a six-event series that will assess the areas and shape future development of housing and business. The first community meeting was held July 24, and additional meetings are slated for tonight (July 31), August 14, and September 4 and 18, when the final report will be issued. Clarksville Transit Authority trolleys were used to transport participants through both neighborhoods. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Politics | No Comments

‘Cooling at the Cave’ draws crowd on a sultry summer day

By Debbie Boen | July 30, 2007 |

Though day was ghastly hot, well over 100 Clarksville residents came to “Cooling at the Cave” for that natural air conditioning to be found at the mouth of Dunbar Cave. Some tables had to be moved away from the cave entrance because guests were freezing there (due to the 58 degree air coming out of the cave!).

Many people began playing board games just as soon as they found a nice table to claim for their own for the day. They knew what they were doing because they’d done it before. People played games, listened to the band and socialized. The cookies were wonderful, the lemonade great and the helpers (Friends of Dunbar Cave) attentive, refilling my cup if I even looked like I was a bit thirsty.

It was a day of nostalgia for many folks; organizer Barbara Wilbur was right when she thought that this would attract a lot of people. I heard stories about how Dunbar Cave used to be. Many visitors remember the days when Roy Acuff owned Dunbar Cave and they came to the swimming pool, bowling alley, the lake with its paddle boats, and the sounds of music at the cave. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Events | 2 Comments

Support our unsung ‘Heroes’

By Christine Anne Piesyk | May 9, 2007 |

KeyKey came to visit me today — it’s been a while. I took the out the hidden box of doggie treats, but he kept eyeing the refrigerator door, hoping for better things, knowing I am a sucker. And when it comes to him, I should be.

He was on his best behavior, all dog, all cute, panting, excited that he’s been for a ride in the car with the windows open, his ears flapping in the breeze. He likes to ride. Crazy for it. Not quite sure why he was at grandma’s house, but hey, grandma’s cool.

KeyKey was about to be photographed with me for the annual Red Cross “Heroes” campaign.

“Heroes,” for the purpose of this campaign, are the people in a community who make significant donations to support the all volunteer efforts of the Red Cross. The agency runs almost exclusively with volunteers as its life’s blood, but the infrastructure costs money to run: office space to lease, communications gear, radios and GPS equipment, computers, laptops for the field, volunteer training, community outreach, CPR and other paid classes that help support the local chapter, emergency vehicles to maintain and stock … it’s no different than any other business in that respect. Clarksville’s Red Cross is a local chapter run with local dollars. Donors wanted. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure, Issues | No Comments

From the ashes, a first hand account…

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 8, 2006 |

“Do you have a copy of …” the Red Cross worker asked.

“Oh yes, I have that … oh no I don’t; mine’s a bit charred.” I replied.

A second later, I thought to myself: “I can’t believe I am joking about this one small thing in my radically altered life.

Yes, my services handbook was toast — crisp, charred, blackened like a Cajun style catfish fresh off the grill. My family’s entire house was char-broiled, crispy, crunchy and most definitely blackened. We had a fire. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Arts and Leisure | No Comments