Sugar and spice...and video

 

This video goes along with a nice article on the subject.

Fireworks

The fireworks we see require a lot of preparations and you might enjoy this video from a Smyrna fireworks show setup from the early 90's. Note that this setup is for hand igniting, and not the electronic style now used here.

Jobs coming to Smyrna

The Obama administration announced that Smyrna would be one of three sites getting a pile of money for retooling.

$1.6 billion to Nissan North America to retool their Smyrna, Tennessee factory to build advanced electric automobiles and to build an advanced battery manufacturing facility.

Another article said that this could bring a thousand new jobs to our town. How many will be filled with the temp-to-full workers is unknown, but jobs are jobs.

A $1.6 billion federal loan for Nissan North America Inc. to build a zero-emissions electric car and battery packs to power them could eventually create more than 1,000 new jobs at the automaker's assembly complex in Tennessee.

The batteries will be built in a new plant to be constructed here in the near future.

Maybe they can

I like when people leave comments as it shows that we get one or two readers a day. One comment from earlier this month has stuck with me and I have pondered if I should reply in this manner. What the heck I say. Here goes.

I posted on the town's seeming inability to post online the hot topic Package Liquor Ordinances in draft form so people could view them before the final council vote. I stated the following...

I'm not sure what pisses me off more. The fact that such a simple act as posting draft ordinances online to show respect to the residents of Smyrna is not done, or the fact that I have brought this to their attention several times in my column and here and they still do not do it.

That pretty much sums up my view in a nut shell (where the heck did that saying come from?).

An Anonymous commenter said the following.

...if you put a draft ordinance on the city's website, people take it as gospel. It doesn't matter how many warnings you put up on the page to let them know it's just a draft.
--------
I know Metro puts these types things on their website and I like the way they do it, but THIS ISN'T METRO.

While this is nice in theory the truth is that Smyrna does put online in draft form non-hot topic drafts.

Like this one that is on the website as I type. Two versions of subdividion changes and regulation for people to view before the final vote.



This is a draft ordinance in two different layouts. At 230 pages plus each I feel that ordinance changes of 10 pages could just as easily be placed online.

Smyrna can do it for the business end of the town government, then they should do it for all of the town ordinances and codes changes.

The next part of his comment said this.

It drives me crazy when people compare smaller cities to Metro. They have many more resources and employees than the smaller cities. Of course they are going to have more.

The problem with that is Smyrna does compare itself to other towns so why shouldn't I? Smyrna looks to nearby towns to see what they are doing for guidance...I simply did the same.

Smyrna can and does put online drafts, but they do not post online ordinance drafts such as the package liquor sales and that is a failing in my view.

ignore any grammar errors as my MS word is not working.

New Farmers Market is open

The new facilities for the Farmers market in Murfreesboro is open and from the pictures posted on WGNS website it looks nice.

The market is open from 6:00 am to 11:00 am on Tuesday and Friday of each week (including holidays) from the 2nd Friday in June through the last Friday in October. It is operated from the Lane Agri-Park Community Center located at 315 John R. Rice Blvd. in Murfreesboro. Vendors sell locally grown produce, plants, and certain processed foods. Contact the Rutherford County Extension office (615-898-7710) for operating guidelines or other Farmer's Market information.

I wonder if they will sell chickens there?

Community yardsale for a cause

A letter from a reader about a big yard sale with charitable overtones.

Hi --

It would be a huge help if you could post this!!!

My 6 year old son has a developmental disability that mirrors autism at about 90% - but because he doesn't fit neatly into any diagnostic categories, the therapies and testing that he needs are not always covered by insurance. Our medical bills, understandably, tend to get out of control. We are trying to catch up on medical bills and pay them off (or at least get back to zero so we can start all over again!), and to that effect we are having a multi-family yard sale on Saturday June 13th on Stonemark Trail (across from La Vergne High School, off Chaney.)

Included in the yard sale:

boys clothing, age 4 to 7 (school clothes AND play clothes)
girls clothing, age 2 to 6
several girls party dresses, age 2 to 6
baby clothes -- mostly girl
women's clothing - L and XL
men's clothing - L and XL
shoes: girls, boys, women's

a Boppy
an Eddie Bauer infant car seat with two vehicle bases
toddler ride-on toys
golf clubs
lots of children's books
VHS, DVDs, and books
stereo with two speakers
2 table lamps
Precious Moments wedding figurine
Fisher Price Shake & Go Speedway + 2 cars
and lots of other random stuff!

Shoppers will also have an opportunity to buy Lance Armstrong "Livestrong" bracelets for 50 cents each. My bike-riding husband is participating in the LIVESTRONG Challenge in Austin, TX in October. Proceeds from bracelet sales will go directly to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

Thanks, and hope to see you on Saturday!!!

The cause is good, so go for it.

Weekend events...

Well Summer is right around the corner but with the weather nice and hot, there is much events going on this weekend. If you notice more traffic than normal this weekend this is why. As most of you know starting on June 11Th it's the annual CMA Music fest in the downtown Nashville area with over 50,000 fans descending on the area. Also gates open at 7am on June 11Th for the biggest party in the south. That's right, it's Bonnaroo time!. Make sure you plan for travel delays if you heading south on I-24 towards Manchester Tn. Also there is another event going on in our great town which is expected to bring about 1,000+ visitors to Smyrna. It's the annual Tn Top 5 YABA bowling tournament over at the Smyrna bowling center. This where the top 5 out of each division from every bowling center in the state are coming into town to compete to see who is the best! We are gearing up now to have over 52 lanes full on Sat and Sun starting at 8am both days! Stop by and show your support for your local bowlers!

I hear major business is leaving Smyrna!

I have heard that 2 businesses are leaving one area of Smyrna and one is moving to the new shopping center by Toot's but one isn't renewing their lease! World Finance on south Lowery and the Kroger's next to them won't be renewing their lease because of plumbing problems and they aren't happy with backed up toilets and sinks. this is a sad day in Smyrna since the owners of this shopping center won't fix the problems. I love going to the Kroger's on south Lowery because it's not very busy and I know where everything is! I will miss you guys!

Next Thursday

Next Thursday there is going to be a fund raiser in town that you might want to take your kids to.

My name is Kim Manning, I am doing a fundraiser for The Domestic Violence Program in Murfreesboro. My fundraiser will be June 11th (thurs) 12:00pm-7:00pm at Jumper's Playhouse located on Murfreesboro Rd. in Smyrna. Jumper's Playhouse is owned by Sgt. Jeff Lucas of Smyrna PD and he is donating some of his proceeds to domestic violence that day. I am a Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultant and I will be doing free facials at 12:30, 2:30, 4:30 & 6:00. I really want to make a difference and I am donating a portion of my proceeds as well. I also have a list of needed supplies and I have contacted some local business and asked them to donate what they can. I hope you guy's can get involved in anyway that you can. I am going to place an ad in the Rutherford Times to advertise. I strongly encourage you to pass this e-mail to any woman that would participate in a free facial, they can bring their kids and all is for a great cause. I am also hoping to have a local beauty salon donate a free hair cut & color to raffle off.
Thank you for your time and I hope you can help.

Good luck.

FYI

Two polls - Two towns

I was looking something up and came across an eye opening poll. It was where it was at that surprised me.

The Lavergne town website has on their front page a poll that asks the following.

Do you think the city should take the TDOT stimulus money for the Waldron Road project or should they not and seek other ways for funding such as raising property taxes?

Right now the results are running as such.

Take the stimulus money. 135 votes / 67%
Look into other funding. 32 votes / 16%
Raise property taxes. 23 votes / 11%
I do not care. 12 votes / 6%

Smyrna does ask their residents the big and important questions of the day. While not on the front page they do ask this.

MicroPoll
Channel # Music Poll:

80's Music
Classic R&B
Easy Listening

Total Votes : 30

...and to think I feel they don't reach out to the people on the hard hitting issues of the day.

Package liquor application and a rant

The town has posted online the package liquor application(PDF) for people to apply to open stores. The application is 25 pages long but all is not as it seems.

Only the first 10 pages are the true application. The remaining pages are the ordinances themselves on the process and restrictions on selling package liquor. 15 pages of well studied ordinances.

Well studied by the town government...but not us. For the entire time the process was going on not a single draft of the ordinances were online for people to peruse. Only AFTER did a copy come online for people to see what the town government has decided is good for us. So benevolent of them.

I'm not sure what pisses me off more. The fact that such a simple act as posting draft ordinances online to show respect to the residents of Smyrna is not done, or the fact that I have brought this to their attention several times in my column and here and they still do not do it.

When I went and had my two head moment at the town council one of the reasons they turned my idea down was the local towns. Other localities were not doing it, so why should Smyrna. A bad premise in my view, but let's use it in this case as they seem to like it.

The Nashville government has a section called "Ordinance index" where the full wording of most ordinances are posted BEFORE the finally pass. ORDINANCE NO. BL2009-480 is a good example. Here is the posted history of the item.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Introduced: June 2, 2009
Passed First Reading: June 2, 2009
Referred to: Planning Commission
Planning & Zoning Committee
Passed Second Reading:
Passed Third Reading:
Approved:
By:
Effective:

And here is the proposed ordinance in full.

As hot an issue as the package liquor sales were I was very disappointed that a proposed copy was not put online for people to read. While I was disappointed...I was not surprised. That bothers me the most. When you hope they do it but know deep down that it's not going to happen. I dislike such a pessimistic view when it comes to local government action.

The top google searches for things in Smyrna Tn.

I see that there are several google searches everyday for things that interest people in our great town. Here are some of the things that people are searching for and end up on our site.


The Gregory Mill Splash Pad:

Open to the Public
Hours of Operation: 10am to 6pm Monday thru Sunday
Ages 12 and under must be accompanied by an adult
Swim Diapers required

Head over to the city website and click on Depts.

The Great Tn Airshow:

Our City holds the airshow about every 2 years so I believe that the next airshow will in 2010. check out the airports website to see when they list the next dates.


Willies Wet Spot

A great neighborhood bar with local flare. Lots of live music plus Karaoke. Come on down to wet your whistle!

"Humanity in Motion"- Smyrna Rotary Club

Should I?

I say a new button on the Blogger dashboard that was titled "monetize". A quick look showed me this.



Just to say that I might in the future offer some small ads on the side that I directly sell to local businesses, but no more than that. I also hear that by not selling ads you are protected more legally as you are not running a business, but instead are technically an open forum.

I Love rumors

I just heard that Al Gore was ticketed going 97 in a 70 here in Tennessee last night. (*now the rumor has him getting the ticket in Wilson county somewhere) Sadly the other news services do not have anything on it, but I would love to have trumped them. Ha.

Now we will see if the rumors are true as the day goes on. Smoking Gun here I go.