Rustic America

Rustic America
Originally uploaded by Black Cloud Photography

Some lovely images from our area from Flickr.

Rustic America

Rustic America
Originally uploaded by Black Cloud Photography

Some lovely images from our area from Flickr.

Event reminder

Today is the kickoff for Marc Adkins election run for the Smyrna Town Council.

Please join us for our campaign vist and fellowship at Gregory Mill Park on September 28th, on a Tuesday evening from 5-7. Very laid back. Enjoy seeing some of your Smyrna friends and neighbors! Meet and greet!

Enjoy the gathering.

Event reminder

Today is the scheduled meet and greet with Lance Lee for the 2010 election.

You are invited to attend our Meet n Greet on Saturday, September 25th from 4:00 to 6:00 pm at the Rockin' Chair Cafe located at 208 Jefferson Pike (in Gil's Shopping Center). Please bring your friends and neighbors.

Bring a friend.

Smyrna Bank Robbery

Smyrna has had a bank robbery and the police hope you can help.

I hope you can help us out with this one by putting the information out to the public.

Around 9:15 this morning (September 24) the Green Bank off of President's Place in Smyrna was robbed. The suspect, wearing a white hockey mask, presented a large, black framed, semi-automatic handgun at the teller and demanded cash. After receiving the money, the suspect left the bank and fled the scene in a white, early 2000 era Chevrolet Impala.
The suspect appears to be a caucasian male who was wearing long blue-jean shorts, a red t-shirt, green baseball cap and black shoes. If anyone has any information regarding this robbery, they are urged to contact the Smyrna Police Department at (615) 459-6644.

Thank you for any help you may provide,

Sergeant Bobby Gibson
Smyrna Police Department
(615) 459-9742, ext. 2536
bobby.gibson@townofsmyrna.org

Correction:

I need to make a correction about the last email regarding our bank robbery suspect. I listed him as a caucasian male. Witnesses at the scene advise that the suspect is a light - medium toned black male.

"Re" a drop of golden sun

This is the secong group of show dates for The Soundof Music.

The Sound of Music
September 24, 2010 - September 26, 2010
Held at the Lamplighter's Theatre, 14119 Old Nashville Highway, Smyrna. "My Favorite Things," "Maria," "Do-Re-Mi," "Climb Every Mountain," "Edelweiss,"...the hills are alive with the Sound of Music. Friday & Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m., Sunday performance at 4:30 p.m., Tickets: Adults-$10, Seniors (55 and up)-$8 and children 4 to 12- $5. Contact: (615) 534-0148
www.lamplighterstheatre.net

Please support your local theatre.

Event reminder

Today is the meet and greet for H.G. Cole for the 2010 election and you are all invited.

H.G. will be hosting a “meet and greet” at Gregory Mill Park on September 23, 2010 at 5:30 PM. Join him for food and refreshments and be entertained by recording artist Declan McGarry. Residents new and old are invited to attend. All are welcome and encouraged to bring a friend.

Prepare for Fire Prevention Week

The Smyrna Fire Department is supporting the national Fire Prevention Week and having an open house for those with kids..or not. Simply put, most kids would lose their minds to get a chance to get near a real firetruck, Give them that chance and a little education.

What: Smyrna Fire Department Hosts Open House
in recognition of Fire Prevention Week
Where: Fire Station #1, 401 Enon Springs Road
Smyrna, Tennessee
When: Sunday, October 10th
1:00pm – 5:00pm

It's time for Fire Prevention Week, and from October 3rd thru 9th, The Smyrna Fire Department is joining forces with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) in promoting “Smoke Alarms: A Sound You Can Live With!” as the theme for this year’s Fire Prevention Week campaign.

The Smyrna Fire Department offers the following tips for making sure smoke alarms are maintained and working properly:
• Test smoke alarms at least once a month using the test button, and make sure everyone in your home knows their sound.
• If an alarm “chirps,” warning the battery is low, replace the battery immediately.
• Replace all smoke alarms, including alarms that use 10-year batteries and hard-wired alarms, when they’re 10 years old (or sooner) if they do not respond properly when tested.
• Never remove or disable a smoke alarm.

NFPA and The Smyrna Fire Department agree that interconnected smoke alarms offer the best protection; when one sounds, they all do. This is particularly important in larger or multi-story homes, where the sound from distant smoke alarms may be reduced to the point that it may not be loud enough to provide proper warning, especially for sleeping individuals.
The Smyrna Fire Department will be hosting an Open House at our Station #1, 401 West Enon Springs Road on Sunday, October 10th from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m.

Some of the activities at the Smyrna Fire Department’s Open House:
Fire Safety Smoke House, Internet Safety, Jumpers, 911 Emergency Call Simulator, Children Finger Printing, Balloons, Blood Pressure Checks, Car Seat Safety, Hot Dogs/Pop Corn/Drinks, Home Safety and Memory Pictures.
Fire Prevention Week is actively supported by fire departments across the country. For 88 years, fire departments have observed Fire Prevention Week, making it the longest running public health and safety observance on record.

This is a free service from the town of Smyrna that could save your life.

Lance Lee campaign kickoff

Incumbent Lance Lee is having a meet and greet for his campaign and you are invited.

Lance Lee, who is running for re-election to the Smyrna Town Council, is hosting a meet and greet on Saturday, Sept. 25 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the Rockin’ Chair Café located at 208 Jefferson Pike (in Gil’s Shopping Center).
.....
“Please join me and my family as we visit with friends, past and present," Lee said. "If you are new to Smyrna, I welcome the opportunity to meet you.”

This is an indoor event so inclimate weather should not be an issue.

Marc Adkins campaign kickoff

Marc Adkins is having his first big 'meet and greet' of the 2010 election year for the Smyrna town council and everyone interested in invited.

Marc Adkins is hosting his Smyrna Town Council campaign kickoff on Tuesday, Sept. 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Gregory Mill Park on Enon Springs Road.
....
Adkins has been very active in his volunteer service to the Town of Smyrna over the past 15 years. He has served on many of the town's boards and committees that include the Smyrna Planning Commission, Historic Zoning Commission, Industrial Development Board, and the Board of Zoning Appeals. He was the designated Smyrna representative for the Metropolitan Study Committee done for Rutherford
County. Adkins has served as Smyrna Town Councilman since 2009. He and his family are 40-year residents of Smyrna.

Marc stepped up in 2009 to fill the position that Tony Dover opened when he took over the Mayoral seat due to the illness of Mayor Bob Spivey.

H.G. Cole Campaign Kickoff

H.G. Cole will be having his first big meet and greet at Gregory mill park on the 23rd and you are invited.

MEET AND GREET SEPTEMBER 23rd (5:30)
H.G. will be hosting a “meet and greet” at Gregory Mill Park on September 23, 2010 at 5:30 PM. Join him for food and refreshments and be entertained by recording artist Declan McGarry. Residents new and old are invited to attend. All are welcome and encouraged to bring a friend. H.G. is looking forward to reconnecting with old friends and being afforded the opportunity to even make some new ones.

This week is truly busy with election gatherings and more are planned.

A column and a cause

I write a bi-weekly column for the local newspaper and I stick to subject matters of government for the most part. In the years I have written about the town government and council I have had I think two turned down and one of them I simply re-wrote from a different viewpoint. One that was not published was due to timing. It specifically mentioned a town council member by name that was running for re-election and a comment they made did not set to my liking.

On Facebook I came across something that made me decide to publish the column here with the council members name deleted so you can see what I was trying to say and what is an example of the problem as I see it.

I’ve had something rumbling around in the back of my head and it simply has not settled down. A statement made in the [redacted] Smyrna Town council meeting needs to be addressed. I was surprised and a bit disappointed to hear what [redacted] said that evening.

The Division Street church of Christ is moving ahead with its plan of moving the "Tipperary" one room school house to a town property to preserve it. [redacted] commented that the town was of the mind that the church was just in the informational phase. It seems the church is moving forward with fundraising to move the building and now the town is in the position of not having budgeted the money to deal with their end of this historical preservation project.

It was during Council member [redacted] addressing the issue that [redacted] said “a lot of the people that have called me didn’t feel like that the parks were a place to put it, a lot of them indicated that they felt like that the building, as a whole, not just the back portion of it, held historical significance sitting just exactly where it is and the way it is, and it’s not..it’s not for us as the town of Smyrna the council or whatever to tell anybody what they can do with their property or whatever…”

I’m happy that a private organization is attempting the use private money to save part of the history of Smyrna I was rather bothered by the last part where the innocuous comment that the town does not tell people what to do with their property flies in the face of reality.

During the recodification of 2007 the town seemed to be an a regulatory ‘buzz’ passing new laws left and right telling us what to do with our properties. They told us what to do when they added bush height limits near windows, and parking vehicles on certain material. They really enjoyed the governmental ‘high’ of running tow trucks off of people’s property and making people moves their own school buses behind their houses.

Of course controlling items ON a property is much different then controlling the property itself. There was the case of a landowner near Front Street who was not allowed to rezone her property to allow a lawyer’s office to move in, thus quashing her sale of the property. They have made so many rules telling us what to do with our properties that one member of the council found himself in violation of some of the sign ordinances and property ordinances during the package liquor campaign.

Maybe some council members feel that they do not tell us to do with our properties. Maybe they say that to their selves as a way to feel better about all the ordinances that they have passed to make Smyrna into Brentwood-lite, but do not expect me to sit and agree with you. You cannot control the minutia of our lifes and then claim not too…that doesn’t pass the sniff test.

Now understand that I'm not talking piles of trash, or a person who decides to open a junkyard in their backyard...but items like this from Facebook by county commissioner Rhonda Petty Allen.

I disagree with the Town regarding their interpretation of a zoning ordinance that prevents the return of our weekly produce vendor to The Market. Respected unnamed Town Officials agree with me that there is a flaw in this ordinance. If you would like to see produce return to downtown, please make your feelings known to the Town Planner or any Council Member. Hopefully, this will expedite amending the ordinance.

Everything has to be put into neat controllable columns for the town so in my view the town DOES have a desire by act to control our property.

My humble rant for the day.

'Do' a deer

Our local theatre is hosting a production of "The Sound of Music and you might want to drop by and give it a listen.

The Sound of Music
September 17, 2010 - September 19, 2010
Held at the Lamplighter's Theatre, 14119 Old Nashville Highway, Smyrna. "My Favorite Things," "Maria," "Do-Re-Mi," "Climb Every Mountain," "Edelweiss,"...the hills are alive with the Sound of Music. Friday & Saturday performances at 7:30 p.m., Sunday performance at 4:30 p.m., Tickets: Adults-$10, Seniors (55 and up)-$8 and children 4 to 12- $5. Contact: (615) 534-0148

Fight back

The Smyrna Police Department is offering self defence classes for women interested in the subject.

RAD stands for Rape Aggression Defense and it is a self-defense program designed for women only. People can go to the website www.rad-systems.com and learn more about the RAD program.

The RAD program consists or a 12 hour course, broken down into 4 separate, 3 hour classes. It teaches women how to not only physically defend themselves if attacked, but also teaches them how to recognize and avoid dangerous situations.

Below is the September and December schedules for the RAD classes. All classes will begin at 6 pm and end at 9 pm. Cost for the class is $25.00. Mother/daughter students are strongly encouraged. The minimum age for taking the class is 12 years old. Anyone interested in taking the class should contact me via email bobby.gibson@townofsmyrna.org or by phone at (615) 459-9742, ext. 2536.

SEPTEMBER
The 20th, 21st, 27th and 28th.
DECEMBER
The 1st, 2nd, 8th and 9th.

"Raise the Roof"

• 
  
  

After 8 months of hard work following the roof collaspe at the Smyrna Bowling Center we are about ready to re-open "This End". The center has been open all this time while we have been working hard to get things back to normal. We have brand new 40 inch flat screen monitors now, new carpet being installed, and a much larger meeting room. October 30th is when we plan to have our grand re-opening of "This End". The event will be a huge event with many vendors outside in the parking lot, while those that come inside will get "One free game and shoes"! I am currently looking for a few more vendors that have something for the young people to do. We are asking that the children come in costume so they can trick or treat outside with our vendors. This is going to be as family event for all!!

Vendors that are attending:

Smyrna Fire Dept.

D.A.R.E

National Guard (rock wall)

P.A.L.

Pony rides

inflatable

Divilla's chocalote

Ron Knight Art

Chris' Gifts

and

much much more

Make plans now to attend this event starting at 11am and running until 6pm on Oct. 30th

The final concert

One of the highlights of the parks programs have been the Music in the park. This coming Friday will be the final concert and with the evenings becoming cooler should be a nice way to end the summer.

Music at the Mill
Concert Series at Gregory Mill
Sept 17 6:30pm - 8:30pm
Enjoy the 80's tribute band "Bueller" again for our last concert of the year.

Enjoy the night wiith family and friends.

Open a mind to the world

For the kids a book is a gateway to another world.

Reading Rally
Join us for our annual Reading Rally, a midday festival to celebrate the written word, following a day of reading in all the schools in Rutherford County. This free festival will be held 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on September 18 at Linebaugh Library, Smyrna Library, and LaVergne Library. We'll have visits from your favorite storybook characters and other special guests, plus storytelling, music, activities for children, face painting, free snacks and $1 pizza, and door prizes. Co-sponsored by Read to Succeed.

The Smyrna Public Library has many other services besides books so drop by and give them a once over.

Hey Smyrna, Who Are You?

Hello Smyrna! My name is Amber and a few months back Gunner was nice enough to grant me access to be an author on this blog. I was so excited!! Then I realized that everything I know about what is going on in Smyrna comes from Gunner on this blog. Uh-oh!! What on earth did I have to contribute?!? Well I've thought about it and asked around and I've finally come to the conclusion that I want to know more about the people of Smyrna. I want to know who you are and what you do and why you love this little community. So I am going to start doing semi-regular posts on people around town. If you would like to be featured or would like to nominate someone to be featured then leave a comment with your contact info or send me an e-mail at amberandjohnv@comcast.net. I can't wait to get to know you!!

A free health service from Stonecrest.

Free is good and it could be a life saver.

Free Prostate Screening: The NFL is encouraging men to be as passionate about their health as they are their favorite NFL team and to "know your stats" about the second leading cause of death for men: prostate cancer. Free Screenings at StoneCrest - September 16th. Registration required - call 342-1919.

Found this on facebook.

Local business in the news

This is about Spotlite dance studios in Smyrna Tn this story was on FOX 17 News

If they said it is it true?

The "National Motorists Association's National Speed Trap Exchange" released their list of 'speed trap cities for the Labor Day holiday. Damn nice of them in my view. The Tennessean put the whole list in a nice slide show and for Tennessee the winners are.....drum roll

Nashville (Worst Overall)
Smyrna (Worst under 100k)

Honest.



I might try to do a rebuttal as my column for next week in the Smyrna AM. Like the romour of our high property taxes that was just that...rumors. I might try to disproove this claim also.

A 14 year dream

The Boys and Girls club center is open and Smyrna now has a great safe place for kids to go for fun.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County opened the doors to its much-awaited new Smyrna unit. The organization broke ground on the 23,000-square-foot facility last fall and opened about eight weeks behind schedule due to weather during the fall and spring.

Designed to handle 625 youth, it is located at 198 Culbertson Street.
.....

Amenities in the facility include a gym, stage, picnic areas, art and learning centers, game rooms, teen center, cafeteria and kitchen. Rubin said the facility will be home to a music studio. Though it’s currently bare, the room is already prepared acoustically. Photography lessons and cooking classes will also be offered.

Plus an interview with the new director.

Do Lions play golf?

Maybe not, but they can sponsor a golf tournament here in Smyrna this coming Friday for those interested.

The Smyrna Lions annual Golf tournament will be held on Friday September 10th, 2010. This years event will be held at Cedar Crest Golf Course, Tee time is 1:00pm with lunch service starting at 11:30am. This tournament is limited to the first 36 paid and registered teams. Your entry fee includes, Lunch, Green Fee's Cart, Range Balls and Great Prizes. Also your entry fee is tax deductible with all contributions going towards the Smyrna Lions Charities. Teams may pre-register on or before September 3rd, 2010. All of this years proceeds will go towards Kids Sight Outreach and other Smyrna Lions Club Community Projects.

For more information please contact Project Chairperson Jerry Oxsher @ 615-330-6505, fax 615-459-6951 or via e-mail joxsher@comcast.net .

Enjoy.

Fried meat.. Mmmmmmm!

This coming weekend is the big Rotary clubs Fish fry.

Wings of Freedom
Fish Fry
September 11, 2010
Gates open 4:30-11:00PM
Corporate Flight Management Hanger at Smyrna Airport
The Francis Family Musical Group
Music and Dancing by Rode West
View Corporate Flight aircraft
Enjoy good food and fellowship

I'll be there and so should you. Tickets are priced as such

ADULTS $40.00 PER PERSON
CHILDREN AGE 6 - 12 $20.00 PER PERSON
AGE 5 & UNDER FREE

See you there I hope.

Welcome home!

The individual that was sought as the shooter of the young boy is back in town.

Chris “Gong” Nachampasak was formally charged with first degree murder this week after Smyrna detectives traveled to Minnesota to take him into custody.

Nachampasak was arrested Aug. 7 by the Prior Lake Police Department in Prior Lake, Minn., on an outstanding first degree murder warrant for the May 16 murder of 14-year-old Rachan "Micky" Chatree.

I'm glad he was caught and this did not drag out an unreasonable amount of time.

Co-blogger leaves Tennessee

David Goodman was a recent co-blogger here who did a few posts on art and his garden...and one 'guest post'. He commented as VIDAD mostly and was a good person to know and a strong supporter of 'Chicken Wednesdays". I recently received this email from him.

I'm gone! I've moved back to Florida. And I just ordered chickens in the mail. Heck with Smyrna laws...
.............
How's that for a "Chicken Wednesday?"

I wish him well down in Florida and hope he enjoys his backyard chickens.

Chief

Kevin Arnold recently won an award as the Police Chief of the Year from the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police.

The award is given to a police chief from West, East and Middle Tennessee.
Arnold, who was nominated by another Middle Tennessee chief, received the award on Aug. 13 at a chiefs of police conference in Knoxville.

“I give all the glory to God and these men and women who work here,” said Arnold, who has been Smyrna Chief of Police since March 29, 2007. “It was very nice. It was very unexpected and very humbling.”