Smyrna rescue squad in the news

National Census Day

The census will be having a get together you might be interested in.

Thursday is the big day and if you haven’t completed and mailed your form, there’s no time like the present.

To commemorate National Census Day, Rutherford County government is celebration from 3-6 p.m. Thursday at Smyrna Recreation Park on Enon Springs Road.

National Census Representative Cameron Parrish will making the opening remarks at 3:15 p.m. to be followed by the Smyrna High School ROTC Color Guard, National Anthem, remarks by public officials and cake.

Sounds interesting.

Dang good question

A few days ago in the Stones River a man drowned after the boat he and two others where in sunk. 911 was called and the rescue services were sent in, but now questions are being asked about why some where not.

The accident occurred in Smyrna and Smyrna has the Smyrna Rescue Squad...but instead the Rutherford County Special Operations Team from Murfreesboro was called in. There are no accusation that this puzzling slight against the rescue squad could have changed the outcome, but it does raise questions in my mind on how the rescue squad is viewed.

SMYRNA, Tenn. -- Smyrna Rescue Squad Chief David Manning said his phone started ringing Tuesday with people asking the same question.

"We have drag bars on all the boats for recoveries. We have a dive platform for divers," said Manning. "Why we were not out at West Fork Boat Ramp searching and looking for the gentleman?"
..........
"If we are not familiar with their safety training or their dive training, in this case, then we are not going to put them at risk," said Randy White, Rutherford County EMS/EMA spokesman. "This is a very dangerous job."

Smyrna Rescue said they have an underwater camera as well.

"It's not just a toy we bought to play with down here; we bought it to put to work," said Manning. "They just look at us like we are volunteers, and yet they say they are paid professionals. Well, we are all professional down here, too."

Smyrna Rescue has about 30 volunteers, they said, with more than 400 years of service. They receive some funding from Rutherford County and hold fundraising events to supplement that.

The rescue squad is volunteers...that does not mean amateurs. I think a few harsh questions should be asked of the ones who made the call on who to send and why the rescue squad was not part of the call out.

You might remember the rescue squad being in the news a couple of years ago when their building was almost sold out from under them so a local church could have more parking spots. This did not go down well with one town council member or ANY of the rescue squad members. This ended up with the town giving the Rescue Squad a lease (PDF COPY)that lasts until April 2017 because of the bad feeling and feedback.

I hope this service and tradition does not get dismissed in the quest to have a more professional system in the services we provide. The people make up the town and ones who get involved are hard to find. Do not push them to the side.

County commission moonshiners?

I dropped by YouTube today and had a good laugh at the expense of the county commission. YouTube has a section where they recommend for you videos related to the subject matter of other videos you've watched before. At one time I had watched "County Commission Meeting - December 17, 2009" of the Rutherford county government. YouTube somehow saw our county government meeting and recommended this video as being related.

Marvin "Popcorn" Sutton was a famous moonshiner until his death in 2009. The quality of his product and his extreme desire to be left alone made him a legend in his own lifetime. This video interview was by Johnny Knoxville of 'Jackass' fame.

Now I know that local politics can be a bit backwards in some areas, but for YouTube to view our county meetings and connect them to moonshiners just made my day and gave me a good laugh. Thanks YouTube.

Thida Thai

For good Pacific food in Smyrna you would normally think of Omni Hut, but their is a Thai restaurant that is going to give them a run for their money. Thida Thai is a new business that started just last year and is in the process of gaining a growing following. Not only is their food good, but the service and prices follow suit. I've been several times and have not been disappointed once.

Yesterday my wife and I went and she ordered this food item. A fried rice dish served and cooked in a whole fresh pineapple. why is it in a pineapple is beyond me, but the shrimp/chicken/pineapple rice dish was very fruity and she enjoyed it. I had an order of skewered chickens with peanut sauce.

One useful and customer friendly item that stood out the first time I went was the menu. Dishes were listed and each listing fully describes what is in it. No guessing what something has here. Not only that but when they have pictures they include pictures of their own cooking and not some stock photos from a catalog. Often you can see the dish and know all the items in it before you order, a nice consideration for people trying out oddly named dishes.

If you go early for lunch you might find something odd there. The establishment is family run and they are practicing Buddhists. Each morning they take a small amount of food and drink and set it in dishes outside the front of the building for the spirits as part of their belief system. These are brought back in by noon. The time I noticed it they had about six small bowls with sliced bananas and a bowl with a noodle dish, plus a glass with I believe water. The addition of this practice to the growing richness of Smyrna is simply wonderful in my view.

Take some time and eat some real good food. I recommend the Chicken Delight as a good starter dish.

Thida Thai
721 President Place, Smyrna, TN 37167
(615) 220-7573‎ – (615) 220-7574‎

Here is a review site image of the same dish that my wife had from Thida Thai that is more in focus.

Auctions running NOW

The town auctions are up and running and they have a whole bunch of vehicles, from a rough and tough 1990 GMC SIERRA work truck with a tool bed installed to a very sweet 1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX GT. Right now all of the vehicles outside of the road grader are parked behind the old police station and you can drive up and view them at your leisure. To view the engine or get in you need to make an appointment...or have a slim jim. That might be frowned upon so make an appointment just in case.

Easter Egg Hunt

Here is the information for this weekends Easter egg hunt in Smyrna.

Hunters Needed!
It’s Egg Season! Bring the family to Smyrna’s Lee Victory Recreation Park on Saturday March 27th at 1:00 pm as the Town of Smyrna hosts its 2010 Easter Egg Hunt. Children from one to twelve years old will hunt the eggs, and the kids will be divided into age groups:
1-2; 3-4; 5-8; and 9-12.

Fun and Memories
Make sure the kids bring something to collect their eggs! And bring a camera…The Easter Bunny will make an appearance!

Twenty Prize eggs will be among the hidden treasures. These Prize Eggs will be redeemable for Easter Baskets full of goodies!

The Annual Smyrna Fire and Police Department Easter Egg Hunt is sponsored by the Smyrna Natural Gas Department. In case of inclement weather, the event will be re-scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd, at 1pm.

I hope you all have fun.

100 plus teams

Run for the hills! Smyrna is about to be invaded by over 100 soccer teams and the Soccer moms and their minivans of doom will bring chaos and destruction to our fare cottages...or not.

The Stones River Futbol Club will welcome 118 soccer teams from throughout Tennessee and the Southeast to its Spring Shootout 2010 on March 26-28 at Rotary Soccer Park in Smyrna.
....
The town of Smyrna allows the club to utilize fields at Smyrna Middle and Elementary school and Lee Victory Park to make room for the large number of games this tournament brings each spring. Local restaurants, hotels, retail stores and others will benefit from the players, coaches, teams and tournament officials, who also bring along their families to this three-day tournament

sounds like a nice boost towards local businesses.

DNJ roadshow

The main county newspaper, the Daily News Journal, is going to have one of their open editorial meetings in a week and have invited the community to come by and visit with them.

"The DNJ Editorial Board is set for its second “road show.” The board will meet at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 30, at Jeff’s Family Friendly Restaurant on Hancock Street in Murfreesboro. The public is invited to attend."

I'll report this and their invitation for people to apply to be on that same said editorial board in a week or so to remind you of the event.

Daily News Journal Editorial Board

The DNJ is giving us another chance to have a say in our community and the time is now for those who might be interested.

Anyone interested in serving on The Daily News Journal Editorial Board should contact Opinion Editor Sam Stockard at 615-278-5165 or send an e-mail to stockard@dnj.com. The board is responsible for forming editorials published each day in The DNJ and on dnj.com. Roundtable meetings are held each Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. and last about one hour. If you have questions, call or send an e-mail.

Getting involved is fun...it's that simple.

Library to be closed next week

The Smyrna Town library will be closed most of next week.

Fast Facts about the Closing
Smyrna and Linebaugh Libraries will be closed some dates in March and April for installation of RFID and other system upgrades.
Smyrna Library will be closed Monday, March 22, through Saturday, March 27.
......
The Christy-Houston Foundation awarded more than $280,000 to LPLS for the implementation of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology, to help boost efficiency and allow staff members to spend more time working one-on-one with its patrons. RFID will allow for materials to be checked out and returned faster, which helps put the items into the hands of library patrons more quickly. RFID will also enable the library system to exercise better control of the materials in its collection, by allowing it to more easily conduct inventory. During the above dates, library staff will be working to re-tag library materials for use with the RFID system and will be installing new equipment.

The library has set up an FAQ page with information on this closing and how it will effect its customers.

GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP EVENT

From Storm Water Management Coordinator Greg Upham of the Smyrna town government

Because of late grant and contract approval, our first ever tree planting event is scheduled for two Saturdays from now (3-27) at the conveniently located intersection of Sam Davis and Old Jones Mill roads. We are in the process of reforesting an abandoned borrow pit that the town owns. Through a TWRA Tree Planting grant/contract, we have bought 100 indigobushes, 100 overcup oak seedlings, and 100 nutall oak seedlings, which we would like to plant all in one day. As these trees and bushes (top of bank stabilization) grow, this area will be come an arboretum/natural area conveniently located next to the greenway.

Please make every effort to join us. We'd love to see you again and have your assistance in this very worthy effort. Dwight Barnett, a TDF forester will be in charge of the planting, so that all are done correctly.

Here is a copy of the flyer for this years outreach events.

AS PART OF THE NATIONWIDE GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP EVENT

**********

TREE PLANTING DAY MARCH 27TH

(WEAR OLD CLOTHES & MEET US @ OLD JONES MILL & SAM DAVIS ANYTIME FROM 8AM UNTIL NOON, OR LATER)
[“THIS PROJECT IS FUNDED UNDER AN AGREEMENT WITH TWRA”]

STREAM CLEANUP #1 APRIL 10 (4-17-10 makeup date)
STREAM CLEANUP #2 MAY 22 (5-29-10 makeup date)

ALL SATURDAYS 8AM – NOON

YOUTH GROUPS, SCOUT TROOPS, CHURCHES, & INDIVIDUALS ARE ALL WELCOME
HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO TRY OUR EQUIPMENT
“FUNDED UNDER AN AGREEMENT WITH TWRA”

STREAM CLEANUP MEETING SITES:
TO BE ANNOUNCED

FOR MORE INFORMATION & TO SIGN-UP
CALL GREG @ 355-5701 ext:5701

Greg puts a lot of hard work into making the storm water program work for the people of Smyrna. while the parks get most of the spotlight the streams and waterways are getting better and better due to the work that he puts into his job. This and other events are why I am so happy to be part of the Storm Water Advisory Committee.

M&V's Famous Soul Food Restaurant

A 30 Second Student Commercial on a local restaurant. Pretty well made in my opinion.

Smyrna youth fire, police academy

From the town website.

The Smyrna Fire Department and the Smyrna Police Department are proud to announce a joint effort for the children of the Town of Smyrna. On the dates June 7 - 11th, a Youth Academy will be held at the Smyrna Fire station #2 located on Fitzhugh Blvd. The sessions are from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M., Monday through Thursday and 8:00 AM. to 12:00 P.M. on Friday. Graduation will be at 11:00 A.M. on Friday. A fee of $30.00 is required and the participants will be provided with lunch Monday through Thursday. Checks can be made out to the Town Of Smyrna. The sessions will be in a summer camp type agenda mixing outside and inside activities. The purpose of the academy is to interact with the children in a positive way and to demonstrate to the children the activities that both departments use on a daily basis. The number one focus, however, is safety in the daily lives of these children in various situations involving both fire and police services. The academy will use the officers and division personnel to incorporate “hands on” of various skills that the participants will find both challenging and fun.

I enjoyed greatly the Smyrna citizens police academy and if this is anything like it then I cannot recommend it enough.

Local Theatre

This month in theatre.

Anne of Green Gables
March 19, 2010 - March 21, 2010
March 26, 2010 - March 28, 2010
Held at the Lamplighter's Theatre, 14119 Old Nashville Highway, Smyrna. Since its release in 1908, Lucy Maud Montgomery's beloved novel has sold more than 50 million copies, been translated into 36 languages, been twice adapted for the silver screen and has even been made into a popular anime cartoon in Japan. Tickets: Adults-$10, Seniors (55 and up)-$8 and children 4 to 12- $5. Contact: Lamplighter's Theatre, (615) 534-0148

Sounds like fun for the family.

Art at the airport

There is going to be a display of local artists at the Smyrna airport and if you feel up to it you're invited to submit some for presentation. I'm presently seeking more details on dates, times, and contact information, but this is a continuing effort by a local art activist to keep pushing for a better Smyrna.

Update:
I heard back from Christina Cudworth and she said this.

I am looking at April 10th for final considerations to begin with. I am really needing portfolio's, pictures, websites to consider stat. Spread the word! I appreciate it! All my info is ok to give.

Her email address is chris_cudworth@yahoo.com . Drop her a line and have fun.

Update 2:
A bit more information

Art displayed and for sale. I need to reveiw artists to make sure it is ready and professional for sale. Reviewing portfolio's gives me a starting pool of artists to pull from for this gallery. All art displayed is to be up for sale and rotated monthly. The sooner I get artists the sooner in April I can get some art in there.

Suggest a link

Is there a blog, website, or important link that you feel should be added to our sidebar? If so please leave the link information in comments and we will do our best to quickly add it so others can find more information on our great town.

With that said there are two small limitations.

One is that the website should not be a business for the most part. It would not be fair to have one companies info or link and not another. This is why for the most part I limit posts on companies to going-out-of-business posts, reviews, grand openings, or the more important charity events.

The other is I would like to make the linkage to be associated with Smyrna for the most part. There can be some leeway on that. The link to the Rutherford County 4-H club blog is close enough in my view, but the closer the better.

So please take a moment and look at your favorites and see if there is one you'd like us to add to help Smyrna.

Tennis?

Good news for some.

Smyrna Parks & Recreation is pleased to announce the opportunity for tennis lessons of all ages and levels. Lessons will be offered by contacting Lindsay Wayne at 615-785-0447. Lindsay has over 20 years experience in tennis. She received a full tennis scholarship to Eastern Kentucky University where she held the number one position. Lindsay was selected on the All Ohio Valley Conference Team for two years and has been the Tennis Coach at Stewarts Creek Middle for four years. Private lessons and group clinics are available. For additional information, contact the Smyrna Parks Athletics Office at 615-459-9742 X2612/X2622.

I'm not sure the cost, but this is another great service for Smyrna.

Inauguration of Mahmood Mosque

MASJID MAHMOOD - SMYRNA , TENNESSEE
Originally uploaded by Citizen of Two Worlds

The local Mosque is having their official inauguration and sent me this email. Since it does say 'and your friends' I thought to share this news with you. My last trip to their open house was very pleasant and I think it might be a good experience for you and your children to meet with a part of what a growing town like Smyrna entails, the introduction of many people of other faiths, customs and cultures to our community.

Dear Sir,
Official inauguration of Mahmood Mosque in Smyrna is scheduled for March 20th. The program is as follows:

12.30 Lunch (Indian Food)
2.00 Gathering
2.10 Introductions
2.20 Guest Presentations
3.15 Question/Answer
4.00 Thankyou

Ahmadiyya Muslim Community respectfully invite you and your friends to join us in this celebration.

Lutf Rehman
President
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Middle TN

I'm withholding a reaction right now on another issue, but I saw on the sign of the Higland Heights Church OF Christ that it is having a 5 hour long seminar this weekend on Islam. I'm not sure what that includes and have recieved back no replies after several attempts to contect them to ask about this meeting and its contents. I hope it is not in reaction to the mosque coming to Smyrna.

Chicken Wednesday - Sort of

A few articles from the last couple of days to attempt to show that backyard chickens are a viable and growing movement in America...just not here in Smyrna.

In Georgia the state is attempting to bypass resistant and stuck in the mud local governments and allowing sensible backyard agriculture.

The bill would allow homeowners to have chickens, milk goats and rabbits -- as well as sizable fruit and vegetable gardens -- so long as the goal would be to feed their families.

Local governments wouldn’t have much room to object, unless they have complaints about things like noise or odor that they're willing to take to court. Subdivision covenants would still apply, said Rep. Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta), sponsor of the “Georgia Right to Grow” bill.

Of course the locals are upset...local governments that is.

Officials representing cities and counties -- including Atlanta -- told members of the House Agriculture Committee that the bill would usurp local control.

“These decisions are best made locally,” said Tom Gehl, deputy director of governmental relations for the Georgia Municipal Association.

'best made locally' means local governments can look at the issue and quickly dismiss it like Smyrna did.

In North Carolina they are using the backyard chicken coops as an educational tool.

Chicken owners in Raleigh will open their coops on Saturday, May 15, for the fifth annual Hen-side the Beltline Tour d'Coop event to benefit Urban Ministries.

Participants will allow people into their backyards to view how they keep chickens in an urban environment.

In previous years, chicken owners have said they raise the animals to teach children where food comes from. Others have said they keep chickens because “chicken manure makes great compost” or because they want "to live a more sustainable life," according to the event’s Web site.

Our education is "this is how a government says 'no'".

In South Carolina they are struggling through the process of writing the laws.

A proposal to allow chicken keeping in Columbia is moving forward, but not without obstacles.

At a March 3 meeting, Columbia City Council gave initial approval to an ordinance that would allow up to four hens per household. However, some council members still want more detail in the law about how coops are built, fearing people won’t build safe, tidy enclosures for their birds — or, as the official March 3 motion puts it, “to ensure proper security and aesthetics.”

Council will also consider mandatory training for those who want to keep chickens.

I have to laugh. You need no training to bring a kid into this world, but a few chickens and they demand regulations and training...I'm in awe at the government mind set.

In Oregon the politicians have asked the people their views.

The debate has been hashed over in several Willamette Valley municipalities of late: Do we allow or not allow chickens?

Independence is bringing it to residents — or at least bringing the decision whether to debate the ordinance.

Residents have been asked to weigh in with their thoughts via utility bills or through an e-mail response.

"The city has sent out a ballot to the residents asking if the city council should consider changing the current development code to allow chickens in the city," said City of Independence Deputy City Recorder / Management Assistant Amanda Rice.

Of course the wording could say everything. The petition I will submit to the council was signed by most who when faced by the simple line "my neighbor can have three big hulking dogs that bark...why can I not have 5-6 chickens?" and as they looked at the chickens right in front of them being very quiet and happy the reality is that there was no real problem.

Pardon my high level of snark and sarcasm, but some days I should not address issues that deal with bureaucracies.

Welcome to our nation wide visitors.

Here is the post from http://smyrnabowling.com/news/?p=115 for the tournament this weekend and I want to take this time to welcome all to our great little town.

On March 12th – 14th some of the top ranked Women’s College bowling teams will be coming to Smyrna Bowling Center to participate in the Vanderbilt Women’s Home Bowling tournament – the Music City Classic. This years tournament will have 15 of the top ranked women’s college teams in attendance. Among the teams will be Nebraska, last years NCAA champion; and 2nd place team Central Missouri. Vanderbilt’s Women’s team will have 3 seniors that this will be their final tournament in their black and gold uniform. Vanderbilt is currently ranked number 2 in the nation behind University of Maryland -Eastern Shore.

Friday’s bowling will start at 11:00 am and end sometime around 5:00 or 6:00p.m. Saturday will start after the Youth bowling leagues have finished (approx. 12:00pm) and the lanes have been re-oiled with the NCAA pattern. Sunday the tournament will finish and a champion crowned. Good Luck to all the teams and I hope that you have a safe trip to the tournament.

Smyrna auction coming soon

The town put their auction button up on the town website and it look like they'll be selling surplus items in the near future. Might be a number of good deals there for those interested.

County Clerk's Office closed

A note. The DMV County Clerk's Office is closed this week as it is in the process of moving to Weakly lane near the marta testing station.

Local event for a local person

The rescue squad is something that has always stayed very connected to the people of Smyrna, and one way they have is to always be there when a place is needed to host an event such as this one. take a moment and if you have time please drop by and enjoy some pasta.

On Saturday, March 13 at the Smyrna Rescue Squad, 203 N. Front St. from 12:00 PM - 4:00 PM, a group called Neva's Angels in conjunction with the WMU of Stones River Baptist Church will hold a spaghetti dinner fundraiser for Neva Gronowski.
Neva is a 43 year old Smyrna resident who has been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
ALS is a disorder of the motor neurons, nerve cells in the brain and spine that control voluntary muscles. For people with ALS these nerve cells gradually die and the muscles they control can no longer function leading to total paralysis and eventually death. There is no known cure for ALS at this time and life expectancy is 2-5 years.
Neva's Angels is a group of people that volunteer to help Neva and her family with day to day chores, tasks, rides, meals or whatever other needs they can help with to make the struggle with this disease a bit more tolerable.
Neva is an incredibly positive, strong, faithful woman, however, she can no longer climb the steps in her home and renovations must be made to allow her to bathe and sleep on the lower level of her home.
Neva's Angels invite you to come out to meet her and share a meal, enjoy some live music preformed by Spencer Ezell and show your support. There is no charge for the dinner but Love Offerings and Donations will be accepted and appreciated.
Anyone wanting to make a donation to Neva's Angels Spaghetti Dinner through the RCCRA should make your check out and mail it to

RCCRA
PO Box 1561
Smyrna, TN 37167

I'm proud and happy to post events like this.

The county election as of today

In the local county election for August a couple of more names have been added. It is a bit hard to find direct links for some, so if it is not a professional site I do not directly link with their name, but afterwards.

The deadline is April 1st so I will do one near the end of this month and then I hope that I can get a good number of these people to agree to do guest columns for our website or even email interviews or personal interviews. With the struggles the economy is in the ability of the county government to fiscally function is made harder and harder each day. I'd like to see how each would approach these issues and others or feel they should be addressed.

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3 WILL P JORDAN 1/8/2010
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3 JAKE T ROBINSON (youtube/resistnet)3/4/2010
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 3 ZACH L WHITE 2/10/2010

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 9 STEVE SANDLIN 1/8/2010

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 10 WALTER L FARMER (meetup) 3/2/2010
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 10 ANTHONY R JOHNSON 1/8/2010
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 10 BRAD TURNER(facebook link) 1/11/2010 certified on 1/19/2010

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 11 CHRISTOPHER S DEAL 1/21/2010

COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 12 RICHARD B HALL 1/13/2010
COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICT 12 ROBERT STEVENS 1/4/2010 certified on 1/7/2010

I'm hoping to get more candidates to look into non-main stream media arenas such as blogs as a form of reaching out to people.

Just Hours left

The clock is ticking down to the deadline to apply for town boards, commissions and committees. I hope that some of you have thought on the issue and are wanting to make the leap into this level of community involvement.

There is a little issue on the deadline on the date. While the PDF form say the deadline is March 3rd, Mark O'Neal stated in the February town workshop that they would take them up till Friday March 5th...TODAY.

I just dropped mine off and I applied for a different committee than I have been on. I have served 3 years on the Storm Water Advisory Committee and have had a ball learning about the water ways and issues with our town. While I still have a year left on my second two years I have decided to apply for the town planning commission.

Planning Commission – The Planning Commission reviews all development plans, annexation and rezoning requests. The Commission makes reports and recommendations relating to the planning and development of the Town. The Board consists of seven (7) members, all citizens of Smyrna. Six of those members are appointed by the Mayor; the seventh is a member of the Town Council, appointed by the Council. Term of service is two (2) years.

Mayor Tony Dover informed me that Ed Davenport and Sam Coleman were at the end of their two year term of service, and while it is not known if one or both will ask to be kept on, I figured it was time for me to step up and apply. I have decided that I need to get more involved and I hope this is the right direction.

My wife and I have talked on the issue at length we feel this is the right thing to do. While that sounds ominous you need to understand that because of my column there would be a possible conflict of interest because of the subjects that I write about the the issues in front of the commission and the odds are I would need to step back from the column totally or mostly. Wish me luck.

If you're in a rush you can even just drive up to the window and drop your easy to fill out form off to the nice person and have them give it to Ms. Peppers.

Sparks to run

It is now official. Michael Sparks has announced that he is going to run for the 49th state district seat currently held by Kent Coleman.

Commissioner Mike Sparks plans to file papers in the coming days to serve as state representative for District 49. The seat is currently held by state Rep. Kent Coleman, a Democrat, who was elected in 2002.

Sparks was elected to represent county District 11, which covers central Smyrna, in 2002. He defeated then-incumbent Jimmy Woods. A lifelong resident of Smyrna, Sparks said he was approached by the Republican party to run for the state seat that same year.

“I didn’t feel lead to run for it at that time. Since then, I’ve been on the county commission, the Smyrna Municipal Planning Commission and I’ve been a business owner. I feel like I’ve gotten some good experience,” said Sparks, 39. “I feel like now I can bring another conservative voice to the state legislature.”

That leaves Chris Deal as the only contender for Mike Sparks county seat.



House 49

2010 Census "It's in Our Hands"

The Rutherford county government has started to put their meetings on YouTube for easier viewing. While this does not allow bookmarking sections in meetings as agenda items come up, it does allow more people quicker access to them. The county commission put this video out and I thought sharing it would be proper.

Golf Scramble

I don't play golf, but I do know that the 'shop with a cop' program is a fine quality local effort to make a difference and worthy of free publicity. If you feel you or your business might want to be involved in this give them a call and make a difference where it counts.

The Smyrna Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association(SCPAAA) will be hosting the 11th Annual Golf Scramble on May 7,2010.This event enables the Association to support community programs such as Shop With A Cop,Citizen Police Academy,National Night Out Against Crime and The National Law Officers Memorial Funds.The scramble is a 4 person Best Ball Format with a shotgun start at 1pm. Fees are $300 a team which includes green fees,lunch and dinner.Hurry get your teams in ASAP spots will fill up quickly. You can contact Tom Harmon at 615-785-0260 or email him at carzfrm60s@comcast.net or myself at 615-299-6913 or email hampton6264@aol.com.

Have fun people.