Rep. Joe Pitts

On Monday, the House voted to bring thousands of new jobs to Tennessee with the passage of a bill that guarantees incentive grants for Volkswagen and Hemlock, two companies scheduled to build new manufacturing facilities in Chattanooga and Clarksville.

“As many states in our nation struggle to survive this current financial crisis, we in Tennessee continue to lure new job opportunities to our state and provide a light at the end of this dark economic tunnel,” said State Representative Joe Pitts (D-Clarksville).

The new Volkswagen car manufacturing facility will be located in the Enterprise South Industrial Park, located 12 miles northeast of downtown Chattanooga. With the new plant, Volkswagen is expected to create about 2,000 direct jobs, and will add a significant number of jobs in related sectors. The 1,350-acre site is expected to have an initial production capacity of 150,000 vehicles, with production scheduled to begin in early 2011.

Hemlock Semiconductor, one of the world’s largest makers of polycrystalline silicon for solar cells and semiconductor chips, is investing $1.2 billion in corporate investments to Clarksville. The new plant is expected to bring over 500 jobs directly to the area, with a potential for related jobs throughout the region.

“These investments are giving Tennessee a fighting chance at beginning our economic recovery,” said Pitts. “We have to continue to work to bring more companies to our state and show them why our citizens continue to be some of the best workers in the world.”

The bill passed overwhelmingly in the House by a vote of 88-7-2.

Legislature Passes Bill to Protect State Jobs

Also on Monday, the House and Senate passed key legislation designed to protect state workers from mass layoffs while still giving the governor opportunities to make necessary budget cuts.

“Before this bill was passed, the governor had two options for dealing with budget shortfalls when it came to state workers: raise taxes or cut jobs,” said Pitts. “Thanks to this new legislation, we can now consider alternatives to layoffs, like furloughs for example, and keep more people working in Tennessee.”

With passage of House Bill 419, as well as the passage of President Obama’s “American Recovery and Reinvestment Act,” Governor Bredesen can now begin formulating a final draft of the upcoming state budget.

“Keeping the people of Tennessee working is the key to economic recovery in our state, and this bill is one way Democrats are continuing to keep people in their jobs and working families in their homes.”

The governor is expected to present his budget later this month.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the Urban Resource Center and its director, Terry McMoore, in partnership with the Center for Community Change.

Over the next 5 years a half a billion dollars in job training money will be coming to Clarksville. Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC) will open a new plant in Clarksville that will hire over 1,000 construction workers to build, and provide over 800 permanent high paying jobs when they open. HSC will be one of the richest employers in Clarksville’s history since the arrival of Fort Campbell in the 1940s.
Under the President’s Economic Recovery Bill, states and counties are poised to receive significant federal funding to stimulate the economy and put people back to work. These are just some of the issues that will be discussed at this community forum.

Initial response from the community and some elected officials has been strong.  community and several elected officials who will be in attendance, including State Senator Tim Barnes and NAACP President Jimmie Garland Sr. are planning to attend this session.

McMoore was asked to hold this meeting by the Washington D.C.-based  Center for Community Change, who will be facilitating most of the meeting.

Ms. Evonne Tisdale, the South East Regional Team Leader for the Center for Community Change, is  in Nashville and has already touched base with the Governor’s office on this issue; she held a  meeting with Nashville Mayor Karl Dean,  who is eagerly awaiting the final plan and proposal from the Nashville African American community.

New job opportunities for Clarksville-Montgomery County targeted populations include:

• High School graduates
• College graduates
• Veterans or members of the reserve forces
• Homeless individuals
• Non-violent ex-felons
• Low-income individuals

This falls right in line with the recently signed into law Economic Recovery Bill. Under the President’s Economic Recovery Bill, states and counties are poised to receive significant federal funding to stimulate the economy and put people back to work.

McMoore wants the community to understand that this bill is intended for all Americans and this meeting is open to anyone who wants to attend. It took people from all races and nationalities to get this far in first ending slavery, and years later stopping Jim Crow laws which eventually led to the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The country came together to say “enough is enough.” That demand for change resulted in the election of the first African American president in the history of our nation. But there is still work to be done, and by community dialog and working together can we will someday achieve the true meaning of our constitution.

Pastors, Business Owners and the Community-at -Large: are you prepared to have a place at the table right now while there are still jobs and money available? How and what this money is spent on is important to the survival of our communities; these are the jobs of the future and they pay good salaries.

Contact Person for this release is Mr. Terry McMoore at  (931) 378-1999

Ms. Evonne Tisdale, South East Regional Team Leader, Center for Community Change can be reached at Email: or at (615) 469-5220 in Nashville, or at
http://www.communitychange.org/

NASHVILLE – On Monday, State Representative Joe Pitts (D-Clarksville) and members of the House and Senate were presented with Governor Phil Bredesen’s seventh State of the State Address.

“These economic times are tough on everyone, especially working families,” said Pitts (D-Clarksville). “Governor Bredesen made it clear in his speech that while we need to make some tough cuts to our budget, laying off workers and cutting education funding is not the way to bring us through this financial crisis.”

During his speech, Governor Bredesen announced his desire to maintain our education funding for K-12 and Pre-K classrooms, as well as challenged the Board of Regents, the University of Tennessee Board of Trustees, and the Tennessee Higher Education Commission to “step outside the box” in trying to find ways to make higher education more affordable.

“Now, more than ever, is the time that Tennesseans need to be able to afford a college education, said Pitts. “When the economy begins to turn around, our citizens need to have the skills and resources necessary to earn those new jobs that will be created.”

Finally, the governor spoke about working to make Tennessee the home of green technology research, specifically in the area of solar energy. With the recent announcement of Hemlock Semiconductor investing over $1.2 billion into a new solar panel plant in Clarksville, as well as the continuing development of cellulosic ethanol plants throughout the state, Tennessee has the potential to become the national leader in green technology.

“Like Michigan and the automobile industry in the early 20th Century, Tennessee could become the home for green technology manufacturing in the United States for the 21st Century,” said Pitts.

Governor Bredesen will again come before a joint session of the House and Senate later next month to present his budget.

House Members Begin Adjustment to New Bipartisan Committees

This week House Democrats and Republicans met for the first time to begin committee meetings under the new leadership announced by Speaker Kent Williams.

“As with any new experience, these split committees will take some getting used to,” said Pitts (pictured at right). “However, I am confident that we can put the people of Tennessee first and leave the partisan politics at the door.”

Of the thirteen standing committees, seven have Republican chairs while six are Democrats and all but two committees have evenly split memberships. The Government Operations Committee has a one-vote majority for the Democrats, and the Calendar Committee has the same split for the Republicans.

“These new bipartisan committees will give us the chance to really hone our skills as legislators and find ways to compromise and cooperate with each other so that we can do what’s best for Tennesseans,” said Pitts.

The schedules for all committee meetings and floor sessions can be found on the Tennessee Legislature’s website at www.capitol.tn.gov.

Over the next 5 years a half a billion dollars in job training money will be coming to Clarksville. Hemlock Semiconductor (HSC) will open a new plant in Clarksville that will hire over 1,000 construction workers to build, and provide over 800 permanent high paying jobs when they open. HSC will be one of the richest employers in Clarksville’s history since the arrival of Fort Campbell in the 1940s.

Under the President’s Economic Recovery Bill, states and counties are poised to receive significant federal funding to stimulate the economy and put people back to work.

To learn more about the coming opportunities, join in a Community Discussion titled  “How Will President Obama’s Economic Recovery Bill Affect the African American Community?” to be held on  March 5 at the Montgomery County Public Library, 350 Pageant Lane, Clarksville, from 6-8 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the Urban Resource Center and its director,   Terry McMoore, in partnership with the Center for Community Change.

New job opportunities for targeted populations include high school graduates, college graduates, veterans or members of the reserve forces, homeless individuals, non-violent ex-felons, and low-income individuals.

These are some of the questions:

• Pastors: Are you educated enough on the new job issues to help your congregation?
• Business Owners: Do you know the steps in getting funding for training under the Green Jobs Act?
• Community: Are you prepared to have a place at the table right now while there are still jobs and money available?

How and what this money is spent on is important to the survival of our communities; these are the jobs of the future and they pay good salaries. Don’t wait until the last minute.

In large organizations, whether public or private, teamwork is often talked about more than actually practiced.  From day one of this administration, Governor Bredesen has insisted that all departments work together to maximize the effectiveness of state government, and hopefully achieve goals that benefit all of Tennessee.  Here at TDOT, we continue to enjoy extremely productive relationships with other departments and are constantly searching for innovative methods of integrating teamwork into the business we do everyday.

Commissioner Matt Kisber and his team at the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development have brought many new and exciting industries to our state, along with thousands of job opportunities for our citizens.  We have striven to provide the transportation components which supplement the state’s efforts to recruit manufacturers like Volkswagon, Nissan, Denso, and most recently, Hemlock Semiconductor.  Through TDOT’s State Industrial Access program, the department can help facilitate the development of industry by building access roads or even interstate interchanges.  The goal of this program is to efficiently invest budgeted program funds into the state’s economy to advance growth and the local economy while providing new employment opportunities.

The Tennessee Department of Transportation also wants to do everything it can to support state’s tourism industry.  To that end, we work with Commissioner Susan Whitaker and the Department of Tourist Development in such projects such as production of the state map and visitors guide or placing tourist-oriented guide signs along our roadways.  We also partner with the Department of Tourist Development in the construction and maintenance of Tennessee’s 15 Welcome Centers.

TDOT has worked closely with the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation to improve the environmental permitting processes. In November, 2007 Commissioner Jim Fyke and I signed the Tennessee Environmental Streamlining Agreement which is designed to mitigate potential delays to transportation projects.

We are also working more closely than ever with our partners at the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency to coordinate efforts during emergencies.  Upon the request of TEMA Director Jim Bassham we have a TDOT employee permanently assigned to TEMA. This embedded presence at TEMA proved invaluable in responding to the deadly tornadoes that swept through the state in February 2008.

When we have incidents on our roadways, the Department of Safety works to makes sure the most current and accurate information is relayed to TDOT’s 511 Motorist Information line and to the TDOT SmartWay website.  In the state’s urban areas, our HELP operators assist the Tennessee Highway Patrol and local law enforcement in clearing accidents.  Commissioner Dave Mitchell and THP Colonel Mike Walker realize that this relationship is a vital component of our efforts to keep traffic moving on our highways.

In today’s difficult financial times, state departments must rely on each other more than ever.  Through teamwork, we can face these challenges together and work to keep Tennessee in motion.

US Army Corps of Engineers logo

Although announced earlier this year as a project ready to get under way, the proposed Clarksville TEPPCO Refined Products Storage Terminal has yet to begin site construction. The project has not yet applied for a US Army Corps of Engineers Permit. This delay is unexplainable from the USACOE standpoint. While they have yet to receive the application, they do expect it to be submitted by year’s end (ten days from now).

According the USACOE, the permit process will be the same for the TEPPCO terminal as the Clarksville Marina Fairgrounds Redevelopment Project. Upon receipt of a complete application, an application review will be conducted, a public notice will be issued and public comment period would be declared where public questions, objections and concerns will be studied. Following the resolution of the public comment and issues, an environmental assessment will have to be conducted and any issues and concerns resulting from that analysis would have to be resolved. The USACOE would then consider issuing a permit.

In May, TEPPCO announced selecting Clarksville as the location for its West Tennessee distribution terminal. The terminal is to be a one of two such facilities TEPPCO Partners plans in Tennessee, along with a third site that present a $75 million dollar investment. TEPPCO’s press release stated that the Clarksville facility, along with another to be constructed in Clifton and a third to be located at a site yet to be determined, “represent the continued successful implementation of our strategy to develop a network of refined products distribution facilities along inland waterways in the southeastern United States.” All three sites, only two will be here in Tennessee, are touted as ventures “that will supply markets in Western Tennessee.” Also, “Combined the three new terminals are expected to have 800,000 barrels of storage capacity for gasoline, diesel, and biofuels and offer improved trucking logistics with supply provided by barge transportation.” And, “The initiative is projected to be completed during the first quarter of 2010.”

Clarksville City Water Intake Facility

At the outset, announcement of the TEPPCO terminal did raise citizens concern about its proximity to the city’s water intake point on the Cumberland River, the sole source of our drinking water supply. Citizens and residents of Beacon Hills had formed an opposition group to the terminal, questioning the site’s suitability and TEPPCO’s record of spills and contamination incidents and EPA fines. Prior to announcing its Clarksville selection, TEPPCO had paid six years of outstanding EPA penalties and fines in February. There was also concern about the capability of the 41-A Bypass to handle the increased heavy trucking traffic which would result from the terminal trucking operations. TDOT has declared that there are no plans to upgrade or otherwise fortify the roadway. TEPPCO did state that the terminal would not bring a large number of jobs to the community.

With the Marina Project and its newly added amenities, the acquisition of Hemlock Semiconductor and the vast investment they have committed to our community, the TEPPCO terminal could add to economic growth of the city. With the citizen objections raised at the outset, the status of this project stands as uncertain. As more information becomes available, Clarksville Online will endeavor to present it to our reading public.

See: “Location! Location! Location! Fuel storage on the Cumberland”

As I listened to the announcement of the Hemlock Semiconductor plant about to settle in northeast Clarksville, and of the need for not only scientists and technologist but pipe fitters, electricians and other skilled trades, I couldn’t help but think once again of a glaring gap in high school education in Clarksville: vocational education.

Once upon a time “voke” ed meant studies in hairdressing, cosmetology, food service, and basic automotive.

I spent most of my life in New England, where trade schools exists in virtually every city. Not a “token” technology center or a single woodshop class, but an entire dedicated  school with a curriculum that includes at least six major trades and a courseload of “applied” studies in math, English and other subjects that are directly linked to both the physical training and base knowledgeable applicable to  real world jobs upon graduation. Students are bused to voke schools, not left to figure out how to get to an out-of-district school every day.

In Vermont, students board the school bus that runs their district; buses meet at predetermined transfer spots where students hop on the next bus to get to schools either across the city or in many cases other counties. It can work, if the motivation to make such investments are present.

I have watched 15-year-olds mastering CAD-CAM (computer-aided design and computer-aided manufacturing), 17-year-old chefs turning out gourmet meals, a cadre of teenagers mastering automotive repair including the complex electrical systems (car dealerships donate new cars to the schools for student to tear down and rebuild as part of their training). Building a home, from construction, electrical, HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) and plumbing, was a senior year requirement in the building trades. The builders were 17- and 18- year-olds.

More than that, I watched my own brother, Michael, shift  from poor elementary student to shining high school graduate in welding and metal fabrication, moving  straight from high school to apprenticeship and ultimately licensure at a fairly young age. It’s his responsibility to ensure that manufactured parts — some large enough to live in — are safe and structurally sound.  He began learning his trade at age 14. In a voke school. He makes what he calls “a damned good living.”

While I remain a huge supporter of higher education ( with two grandchildren attending APSU) and applaud all efforts to develop college programs to fuel new hi-tech and energy-saving green industries and the skilled workforce they require, I simply suggest that there are many other skilled jobs which could be fueled and filled by  a true vocational education at the high school level, and those graduates would emerge at 18 with specific technical skills and be poised for good-paying jobs and apprenticeships and then, perhaps, additional high level technical study; these voke grads could also fill needs across the state of Tennessee.

It baffles me that in Tennessee so many students must wade through college prep or white-collar business studies when they are more suited to applied subjects and specific training in 21st century vocational trades.

Vocational Schools, like magnet schools, have a specific role to play in our educational system. I would simply like to see that kind of education happening here, in Clarksville, Tennessee.