Topic: News

County Ad Hoc Committee hears citizens redevelopment ordinance concerns

By Turner McCullough Jr. | September 6, 2008 |

“Listening to Montgomery County citizens is the purpose of county government.” - County Mayor Carolyn Bowers

The county’s Redevelopment Ad Hoc Committee  with community spokespersons met on September 3 to address concerns about the city’s redevelopment and urban renewal ordinance.

County Mayor Carolyn Bowers, County Commissioners Ron Sokol, Martha Brockman and Mark Banasiak, comprise the ad hoc committee on the redevelopment plan at the county level.

The ad hoc group met with a group of citizens representing minority community concerns. Attending were the meeting organizer, Terry McMoore, executive director of the Urban Resource Center; his wife Wanda McMoore; Turner McCullough Jr., a local community affairs and grassroots activist; Jimmy M. Garland Sr., Clarksville NAACP branch president and 3rd Vice President of the Tennessee State Conference NAACP; Candy Johnson, candidate for City Council Ward 5 and Pastor Timothy Grant, Deliverance Outreach Temple.

Mayor Bowers expressed appreciation for the group meeting with the committee to give input of citizens concerns with the redevelopment initiative underway.“Listening to Montgomery County citizens is the purpose of county government,” said County Mayor Bowers. «Read the rest of this article»

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Efforts underway to improve breastfeeding rates among black women

By Turner McCullough Jr. | September 5, 2008 |

August played host to World Breastfeeding Week during its first seven days. More hospitals are reaching out to new mothers to boost breastfeeding and their babies health.

An April report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta found that African American mothers, who are less likely than white or Latina women to breastfeed, have reversed that trend and are now doing so in impressive numbers. Sixty-five percent of black women have nursed their infants at some point. This compares to a 36 percent rate 14 years ago. Still, only 20 percent of black mothers reach the government’s target goal of exclusively breastfeeding when their infants are six months old. Breastfeeding can help address health problems that plague both African American mothers and infants alike. Breastfeeding is the most natural and beneficial way to strengthen your baby’s immune system and provide the best possible nutrition for yourself, as a mother, and your baby. «Read the rest of this article»

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Children’s Library posts Fall Schedule

By Beth Britton | September 5, 2008 |

Librarians at play

Summer is officially over and school is in session!

Now that your child is back in school you’re left wondering what to do with this busy toddler who all of a sudden has lost its biggest distraction, your oldest child. No more solitary catching up with Jon and Kate Plus 8 on your TiVo, you are faced with chasing a toddler from room to room, playing hide-and-seek games with the keys and couch cushions and did that splash just come from the toilet?

You  have more free time on your hands. Check out all the programs our local Children’s Library has to offer. There are programs for all ages, even those hard to please Teens. Maybe you don’t have older children at school. Maybe you’re a  mom  with a small baby, and you’re running out of ideas for “tummy time”? Well get that baby upright and check out the Library’s lap-sit program. «Read the rest of this article»

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Ward 8 Candidate David Cutting speaks out on public safety issues

September 5, 2008 |

David Cutting, candidate for Clarksville Ward 8 City Council, in his first position paper, targets the issues of Public Safety. Cutting is seeking the seat currently held by Councilor James Doyle.

I choose to write my first position paper, Public Safety, as a brief narrative, derived from my personal observations.

The current City Council systematically denies pay increases for our firefighters and police officers by first telling them they must accept salary reductions, so that when their current salaries remain uncut they feel good that at least they did not lose anything. However, the public loses, when seasoned officers leave for smaller cities, such as Ashland City and Oak Grove, for higher pay. We must then recruit and train replacements, at significant cost, when those funds, plus revenue from an increased property tax base (not increased property taxes) should have been used for parity increases to our already trained and devoted men and women. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, Opinion, Politics | 2 Comments

Atomic Trades and Labor Council endorses Candidate Bob Tuke for U.S. Senate

September 4, 2008 |

Bob Tuke

The Atomic Trades and Labor Council has endorsed Bob Tuke to become Tennessee’s next U.S. Senator and to defeat Lamar Alexander in November.  The ATLC is comprised of 16 international unions and 17 local unions and represents approximately 2,100 members at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex.  The ATLC joins a growing list of Tuke for Tennessee endorsers, including:

• Tennessee AFL-CIO Labor Council - Representing 340 Local Unions and 250,000 workers throughout Tennesse
• Tennessee Professional Fire Fighters Association
• Teamsters Local Union 519 – Knoxville, TN

«Read the rest of this article»

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Dems sponsor ‘Labor’ Day barbecue

September 4, 2008 |

The Montgomery County Democratic Party will host their annual Labor Day Celebration and “all you can eat” Chicken Barbecue on this Saturday, September 6th, beginning at 2 p.m. at the Charles Hand Farm at Exit 19 off I-24W.

The event, which is held one week after the traditional Labor Day holiday, is designed to honor the American workers and the Labor Unions who work in their best interests, and involves five Middle Tennessee counties.

Come out and support our Democratic Party and candidates and also enjoy the numerous VIP’s and keynote speakers and of course music and the best barbecue around! «Read the rest of this article»

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Roxy revs up for 26th season of theatre

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 3, 2008 |

John McDonald (l) and Tom Thayer in front of the Roxy Regional Theatre

The Roxy Regional Theatre’s 26th Season will enrich all the senses!

Although the 2008-09 season opens September 19, the annual gala is slated from September 20. The first play to hit the stage: The Robber Bridegroom, book and Lyrics by Alfred Uhry, music by Robert Waldman, adapted from the novella by Eudora Welty.

One of the only genuine bluegrass scores ever heard in a Broadway musical, this unusual tale of the Natchez Trace has a distinctive sound all its own. The Robber Bridegroom is the story of the courting of Rosamund, the only daughter of the richest planter in the country, by Jamie Lockhart, a rascally robber of the woods. The proceedings go awry, thanks to an unconventional case of double-mistaken identity. Throw in an evil stepmother intent on Rosamund’s demise, her pea-brained henchman and a hostile talking head-in-a-trunk, and you have the recipe for a rollicking country romp. Play dates are September 19, through October11. «Read the rest of this article»

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Those troubling tropical storms keep lining up

By Christine Anne Piesyk | September 3, 2008 |

After a slight respite of a few years, the long-forecasted flurry of increasing tropical storms and hurricanes is happening, at least for this year.

The tenth such system, Josephine, is on the map with three months left to go in the hurricane season.

As southern states and many islands learned in a painful lesson last week, a storm doesn’t have to hit hurricane strength to do its damage. tropical Storm Fay broke all records with four separate landfalls in Florida, dumping double-digit rain across the region, flooding, well, just about everything. As if storm surge isn’t enough, Fay’s copious rains brought alligators and snakes out of their normal habitat to ride the rainfall torrents all over the state. Fay was barely a blip on yesterday’s radar when along came Gustav, three years almost to the day after Katrina. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Issues, News, Opinion | No Comments