Topic: Public Square

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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Beauty bubbles up on Public Square!

By Turner McCullough Jr. | July 30, 2008 |

A sparkling new addition adds charm to downtown landmark!

Public Square's new fountain offers a cooling place on a hot summer day

For those who may not have visited Public Square of late, take note! There’s a new addition to ‘The Square’ and it brings added beauty and charm to the vaunted strip of real estate. Plus it has soothing sounds and is well lit at night. Courtesy of Farmers and Merchants Bank, otherwise known as F&M Bank, the City of Clarksville now has a brand new sparkling decorative water fountain gracing Public Square. «Read the rest of this article»

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Unlit flame on July 4th a symptom, could it be Clarksville just does not care?

By Turner McCullough Jr. | July 6, 2008 |

The Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire  aka the Eternal Flame was conspicuously AWOL on July 4th! Our Eternal Flame seems to spend most of its time unlit. What does this signify about our dedication to “Supporting Our Troops!”

As the Independence Day weekend moves on, the smoke from fireworks has dissipated and the residue from our recent fireworks show have been cleared away. The traffic jams cleared up, and we each go on our merry way. Yes, the city’s celebration was quite a sight. And as noted in previous coverage here, the Pillar of Cloud, Pillar of Fire Eternal Flame Memorial was burning bright and strong at 11:30PM on July 3rd. The flags at City Hall were still sadly un-illuminated but the eternal flame did shine for that night. Hallelujah!!!

Alas, it was too good to last. It was not burning during the daylight hours on our nation’s birthday, and when the evening of July 4th dawned upon us the flame was still NOWHERE TO BE SEEN. It was AWOL again! We took date stamped photographs to verify this.

Are our public officials really committed to keeping our pledge to light the flame, and in doing so honoring our fallen military personnel? Or is this just a “showpiece” there only to be utilized during special promotions and city events? «Read the rest of this article»

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A simple thing proves to be beyond us!

By Turner McCullough Jr. | May 26, 2008 |

Lighting a flame is just too much to ask. Even during Memorial Day Weekend, the flame is out. Yet “We support the troops!” claims and stickers are everywhere. Who’s foolin’ who?

Yet another national observance dedicated to honoring the nation’s debt to its military forces, past and present, is upon us. Flags are flapping in the wind. Boy Scout Troops are preparing to descend upon various cemeteries to place small flags at veterans graves. Politicians gear up to make patriotic oratory praising America’s military forces and the noble sacrifices made by them and their families, past and present. Even the president has reminded us to remember the veterans as we celebrate this weekend. All of these annual gestures of reverence are expected and applauded

But there is an affront to all this staged posturing in our community. For quite some time now, Clarksville has been playing footloose and cheap with its symbolic gesture to military honor and sacrifice- the eternal flame on Public Square. The flame has been unlit for most of this year. Citizen inquiries have resulted in a myriad of replies, to include being told that, “Surely, the wind must have just blown it out!”

«Read the rest of this article»

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