Monday, December 9, 2013

2013 Snow Ball

Here is a great event for adults to swing in the new year, and dancing is involved.

The 2013 Snow Ball
Date: 12/31/2013 TO 1/1/2014
Time: 8:00 PM TO 1:00 AM
100 Sam Ridley Parkway East
Smyrna , TN 37167
Phone:
(615) 785-0282
Event Description: The 2013 Snow Ball is hosted by the Smyrna Rotary Club. Come join us December 31 at 8 p.m. to celebrate the New Year with your friends and neighbors at the Smyrna Town Centre to benefit the Sam Davis Home! Tickets for this New Years celebration are $50 and are available at the Smyrna Town Centre. Tickets include: Cocktails Hors d'oeuvres Live Music Rides home if needed Tickets also include a free session with the National School of Dance in Murfreesboro. A group lesson will also be held at 7 p.m. the night of the ball! For more information, please call (615) 785-0282 or email smyrnasnowball@yahoo.com Smyrna Town Centre 100 Sam Ridley Parkway, Smyrna, Tennessee 37167 View Map · Get Directions
Directions:
Smyrna Town Centre's address: 100 Sam Ridley Parkway East, Smyrna, TN 37167 

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Take me home and love me please.

PAWS, Pet Adoption and Welfare Services is the counties animal program, and they have a pet of the week. With the holidays coming up, if you feel a pet is appropriate, please look into a PAWS pet and not one from a breeder.  

They also have PETS OF THE WEEK. These are healthy, cared for, and adoption ready.
P.A.W.S.
Animal Services is working in partnership with the community to create a safe, healthy and caring environment for both our citizens and animals through education and courteous, effective enforcement of the laws relating to animals within the Tennessee Code Annotated.
Location & Hours
P.A.W.S. is located at 285 John Rice Boulevard in Murfreesboro, TN. We are open for adoptions, reclaims, and animal viewing Monday through Friday from 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. We are open for pet surrender Monday through Friday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. The shelter is closed on Sundays and holidays.

Darn adults and their educational stuff

Didn't you hate it as a kid when adults would try to sneak education into fun events and mess up both for you. Doing it with the subtlety of a rock against your head.

Well now it is time for you to do it to your own kids. HAHAHA.

Here is an event that fits nicely into the fun and educational category...and it's free.

Get MAD! (Migrate, Adapt, or Die)
Date: 1/4/2014
Time: 11:00 AM
697 Veterans Parkway
Murfreesboro, TN 37128
Phone:
615-217-3017
Event Description: How do wild animals survive the winter? Do they all move away to a wildlife condo in Florida? Maybe they simply put on their long-johns and build a roaring fire to keep warm. But what about finding food? If they can’t find food or a water or a warm place to live do they die? Come to the Wilderness Station to find out what our local critters do to make it through the coldest time of the year. Registration is required. Ages 8 to 12 years. Free.
Directions:
Wilderness Station, located in Barfield Crescent Park. Exit 81A towards Shelbyville on I-24. Turn right on Veterans Parkway, then left into the park. The Wilderness station is in the back of the park. 

It is a hint early to post this event, but it requires registration, so I want to give you the chance not to be late. Events like this fill up pretty quick.

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Reminder - It was a Christmas of Remembrance

Don't forget that in one week the Sam Davis home will be hosting a Christmas program for those interested.

The Sam Davis Home will host a living history Christmas tour during the event It was a Christmas of Remembrance on December 7, 2013.  Briefly step into 1863 as the Davis family mourns the loss of son, grandson, and brother, Sam Davis.  Let their memories of past Christmases before the Civil War transport you to Christmas in 1860. Visit the historic house and watch the Davis family prepare their home for a jolly Christmas free of war woes.  The youngest children play a special Christmas game while the older boys head outside to shoot mistletoe down from the tree limbs above.  This event is $5 per person and is only offered one day!  Please contact the Sam Davis Home at (615) 459-2341 or visit www.samdavishome.org for more information. 
Although this living history event will occur only on December 7th, the historic house will remain decorated throughout the Christmas season beginning the day after Thanksgiving.  

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Campfire cookout and recreation

The Parks and Rec department sent out today this update.

We would like to announce the Smyrna Parks Campfire Cookout this Friday, November 15, 5:00pm-7:00pm, Sharp Springs Natural Area Park, Smyrna.

Cost for the event is $3.00 per person, that includes hot dogs, smores, hot chocolate, campfire, hayride, campfire music and a night walk through a corn maze.  We request that you register in advance and you may do that by completing the attached form and send it back to Smyrna Parks & Recreation.

Also, applications are being taken for the Kenneth “Coon” Victory Lifetime Service Award and the Young Leader Award.  Applications are due no later than this Friday, November 15.  Information and criteria for both awards is attached.  For additional information and questions, contact me at 615-459-9742 X2612; monty.perkins@townofsmyrna.org.  
Click to enlarge and apply

The beginning is over

The DNJ has spoken on the subject of the proposed new town manager. I am not sure what I can add to what they said that would not be biting.

The decision is over and I hope he can do the job good, but he will have to perform miracles to make a massive difference in a time of short funds, slow growth, and a town that views the Town leadership as suffering a bad case of cronyism.

I wish him the best in his position...he's got a lot on his plate.

Money!!!!...and stuff

The Krogers on Sam Ridley Parkway is really making this week fun for you and I figured to share it. It falls within the rules for Grand Openings for advertising as it is a re-grand opening, and it is free stuff.

First I noticed on another community FaceBook page, Smyrna Heart of Giving, that they were giving away Turkeys this morning. Cool. I checked out their weekly ad and saw this.
Gift Card Giveaway
You are automatically registered when you shop with your Kroger Plus card at your 463 Sam Ridley Parkway West, Smyrna, TN Kroger store through November 23. Drawing November 25. Gift Card Values $2,500 $1,000 $500 See store for details for entering without shopping with your Kroger Plus Card
Okay! That sounds easy, and while I normally don't go there, I might for the near future.

On the Heart of Giving page someone said this.
 They are doing a grand re-opening. Each day this week is a different freebie. I'm glad you got it!
MORE FREE STUFF!!! The turkeys today were limited to the first 300 people after 6, so if you are an early bird (no pun intended, but funner either way), take the time and check them out early in the morning if you are up and see if you win.

The giveaways are not as good as they were today. Orange Juice tomorrow, A 2 liter on Thursday and Friday it is a bag of oranges, but the card drawing is for all shoppers.

Money!!!!...and stuff, but mostly money!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Tonight is the night

Tonight the Smyrna Town council will meet for the first time since the interviews last week. Unlike the interviews, the meeting tonight will be broadcast for your viewing enjoyment and we might have a new Town Manager by the end.

My column for this week will be in the Smyrna AM, and I address the town’s seemingly inability to understand the position they’re in and how to deal with it. The problem is that the interviews, held last week, were recorded according to the person in charge of media for Smyrna, but was not shown on Channel 3 cable or online, nor will it be put online for you and I to view.

Thanks Smyrna!

Now you could have gone and seen it, at 9am, and lose some time and pay from work, or we can purchase the video on DVD,s, but you have to pick it up during regular business hours as they do not mail them, so more time lost.

Right when they need to be as open as humanly possible, they step back and make it difficult to watch the process. I’m not a very smooth talker in life, so I have to edit myself in my newspaper columns, but I don’t need to online.

A lot of questions arise. What did we miss? Was this a love fest for Henry Gill Jr.? Were the questions balanced? What about things as subtle as body language?It is kind of damn hard to know because the video is not easily available. Color me unimpressed.

The town of Smyrna has stumbled over and over this year, from Gatlinburg, to the tax increase that was excessive, to the way Mark O’Neal was handled…and now this.

I have not heard the phrase ‘throw the bums out’ or versions of it more than this year and people are most definitely meaning it. To be honest turnovers on the council have mostly been due to resignations. In the last 8-9 years only one person was voted out. Next year might be a very different ballgame for the incumbents.

Tonight the Town Council meeting is scheduled, and I recommend to all you watch it because near the end of the posted agenda this one line item might seem small, but it is very large for our future.

h. Consideration of Town Manager appointment.  

6pm tonight on Channel 3 online or on your cable TV.

Lend a hand please

Our local Fire Department is hosting a food drive for the Smyrna/LaVergne food bank. I know that it might not seem a lot, but a few cans from you, multiplied by many Smyrna residents, can make a big difference in someones life. The holidays are here and no one should have to worry about being able to put food on the table during these holiday seasons.
The Smyrna Fire Department and the Smyrna/Lavergne Food Bank have teamed up for the 12th Annual Fire Fighters for Food Drive. 
The Smyrna/Lavergne Food Bank assisted over 16,000 individuals last year. Please help us make sure that no family in North Rutherford has to go hungry this holiday season.  Help us help those in need. 
The Smyrna Fire Department will collect any non-perishable / non-expired food items Monday, November 11th through Sunday, November 17th. 
Donation Ideas: 




Food items can be dropped off at one of the following locations:

Fire Station 1:  401 WEST ENON SPRINGS ROAD
Fire Station 3:  630 EAST ENON SPRINGS ROAD
Fire Station 4:  145 SOUTH LOWRY STREET
Fire Station 5:  2200 ROCK SPRINGS ROAD
Fire Station 6:  3640 MORTON LANE

Saturday, November 9, 2013

It was a Christmas of Remembrance

The Sam Davis home has a planned Christmas program and it sounds like fun.
The Sam Davis Home will host a living history Christmas tour during the event It was a Christmas of Remembrance on December 7, 2013.  Briefly step into 1863 as the Davis family mourns the loss of son, grandson, and brother, Sam Davis.  Let their memories of past Christmases before the Civil War transport you to Christmas in 1860. Visit the historic house and watch the Davis family prepare their home for a jolly Christmas free of war woes.  The youngest children play a special Christmas game while the older boys head outside to shoot mistletoe down from the tree limbs above.  This event is $5 per person and is only offered one day!  Please contact the Sam Davis Home at (615) 459-2341 or visit www.samdavishome.org for more information. 
Although this living history event will occur only on December 7th, the historic house will remain decorated throughout the Christmas season beginning the day after Thanksgiving.  

I will post an event reminder one week before it happens. Have fun and a happy holiday season.

Friday, November 8, 2013

Take a hike

The Smyrna Parks and Recreation has planned for tomorrow a Wilderness Walk. You are invited.
Wilderness Walk
Saturday, November 9th
10am - 12pm
Sharp Springs Natural Area, Jefferson Pike Entrance
FREE Family Program 
*Fish release by T.W.R.A
*Nature Walk, Hayride
*Wildlife Demo
*Crafts
*Lunch Provided 
For more information contact Monty Perkins at 615-459-9742 ext. 2612
It is a stroller friendly event, so bring the little stinkers.

Local jobs

I received this email and it looks like a local company is hiring for those interested.

Hi my name is Jamie Pollard and I am the Employee Relations Coordinator for Volt Workforce Solutions.  I was reaching out to you because I came across your blog as I was looking for local job fairs so that we could get the word out that we are looking for individuals to come work for us at Schneider Electric on 330 Weakley Blvd.   I was wondering if it was possible for you to write up something on your blog to give our local community this opportunity to come work for us.  If so, please contact me or Amanda via e-mail or call 615-459-8446.  Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you,

Jamie Pollard
Employee Relations Coordinator
Schneider Electric was in the news last year due to their large solar power system they had installed. Go give them a try.

Tomorrow!

Tomorrow in remembrance of Veterans day a local scout troop will be giving out poppies for those interested.
In observance of Veteran’s Day, Scouts sponsored by the Smyrna VFW Post 8422, will distribute “Buddy Poppies”, this coming Saturday, November 9th. In the morning, Cub Scouts and Webelos from Pack 842 will be handing out the poppies. That afternoon, the Boy Scouts of Troop 422, will also give out these patriotic reminders for the community to wear. The poppies are to serve as a reminder of the sacrifice of Veterans for our country. 
All donations received will go to the VFW, for assisting local Veterans and their families. 
Poppy locations are: Kroger - Sam Ridley, Smyrna. Lowe’s - Sam Ridley, Smyrna. Tractor Supply - Lowry Street, Smyrna. Bumpus Harley-Davidson - Broad Street, Murfreesboro. Tractor Supply - Triune.
The idea of poppies are old some say, but this section of lines from 'In Flanders Field'.

"In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up your quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields."

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Event reminder

In two days StoneCrest is hosting their big party to celebrate one decade of service to our community. Be there for fun and friends....and BBQ

TriStar StoneCrest 10th Anniversary Community Celebration
Date: 10/26/2013
Time: 11:00 AM TO 1:00 PM  
200 StoneCrest Boulevard
Smyrna, TN 37167 
Phone: 615-342-1919 
Event Description: TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center invites the community to a free tenth anniversary celebration on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. on the hospital campus. Festivities will include BBQ, music, family activities (including bouncies!) and commemorative photos. “Ten years ago, TriStar StoneCrest opened to a growing community in need of its own hospital,” said Mark Sims, CEO, TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center in Smryna, TN. “As we mark a decade of service to Smyrna and surrounding communities, we want to thank those who have supported us and who continue trusting us to meet their own and their family’s healthcare needs.”  
Directions: The event will be on the TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center Campus near the foundations. Plenty of surface parking is available. TriStar StoneCrest 200 StoneCrest Blvd. Smryna, TN 37167 

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

New business in town

I'm leery about posting new sales positions on the site where you have to have a party or something to sell items. I always get a painful peer pressure vibe from such gatherings. I do on the other hand enjoy the heck out of putting up information on new businesses and new professionals in town.

One such person is Callie Leasure. She recently graduated from the National Academy of Sports Medicine and is a certified personal trainer, and she is more proud to put herself on her brochure of what she can do, and would like to do for you.


That is a one year difference for her.

She said in an email to me that..
I am a certified personal trainer who has a passion for health, nutrition and fitness.  However, at one time I wasn’t always following a healthy lifestyle.  In the past year and a half I have lost 100 pounds and I still have a few more pounds to lose  I know firsthand what it is like to struggle with being overweight, eating right and exercising. 
I also know what a great sense of accomplishment you get when you reach goals you thought you would never be able to reach.  With my professional knowledge and personal experience, I can help you accomplish those goals of living a healthy lifestyle.  I am proof that it can be done!
She has a Facebook page for those that might want to drop by there.

Her husband is Steve and he runs the website Smyrna Weather, for those who want to know the numbers down to the second.

If you have a need, give her a call.



Meeting about I-24

I'm not sure if the meeting will address the issue of the proposed new I-24 intersection with Smyrna, but some of you might like to know the details of this meeting.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC MEETINGS
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is conducting a study to identify improvements for the 185-mile Interstate 24 corridor from Kentucky State Line to I-75 in Hamilton County. TDOT will conduct a second series of public meetings to present the identified transportation deficiencies, discuss project rankings, final reports of study and receive comments from public and key stakeholders.
The second set of meetings will be held in separate locations in Region II and Region III of the state during October; each meeting will run from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM. The specific dates and locations of these meetings are listed below. During each meeting, there will be a formal presentation to provide the background and current status of the project. The public is invited to ask questions and make comments during the meeting. Information gathered during these meetings will be considered in the prioritization of potential solutions. Anyone with questions regarding the meetings should contact:
Joan Barnfield, Project Manager
Tennessee Department of Transportation
Suite 900, James K. Polk Building
505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243
Joan.Barnfield@tn.gov
Phone (615) 253-2418
Fax (615) 532-8451
Meeting Locations and Dates:NashvilleTuesday, October 22, 2013Crossings Event Center5380 Hickory Hollow Pkwy.Nashville, TN 37013
A court reporter will be available to receive oral statements to be included in the project transcript. In addition, comment sheets are available for those who prefer to make written statements. Written statements and other exhibits to be included in the project transcript may be submitted within 21 days after the meeting date to the following address:
Project Comment
Tennessee Department of Transportation
Suite 700, James K. Polk Building
505 Deaderick Street
Nashville, TN 37243-0332
Tdot.comments@tn.gov

The proposed and semi-planned intersection is either viewed as a good thing or a coming social and neighborhood disaster for Smyrna. This might be the meeting where you can give your views on it directly to the state.

Good luck.

So many colored dots.

What color dot are you? This is a hypothetical question as it does not need answering, but I found a website that visualizes the many colors of Smyrna. Smyrna, in a phrase I use, is white bread. Yes there are people of other ethnicities, but for the most part this is a Caucasian community and it is hard to argue against that point.

If you look hard you can find some of the ethnicity that I feel makes a community better. There is a small Buddhist run restaurant in town and if you go there at the right time you will see a metal serving tray out by the bushes. When I saw it the tray had a few bowls of noodles, a couple of bowls of fruit and a small sweet. When I asked the hostess she said it was an offering for the spirits. White bread doesn't do that now days.

There are of course white churches and black churches, but there are also churches populated by Karen refugees from Myanmar. The All Saints Episcopal Church one time they had a great garden behind their church along Nissan blvd that was tended by these refugees.  I’m not sure if they still do it, but it is something to look into if interested.

Now to know they are there is different from seeing them and getting to know them as people. That is a step that is up to you, but you can visualize them through the modern science of cartography…map making. The website "The Racial Dot Map" is something that I find fun to look at and see how the numbers look.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

This is Smyrna broken down with about 25,000+ small dots, each one representing a person. It is pretty close to reality with just a small issue of the Nissan Plant. It seems that they have about 100 dots evenly scattered across the Nissan Plant area...I hope Nissan knows they might have illegal squatters.

The numbers and information used to create this grand map is from the 2000 census. At the time Smyrna had a population of 25,569. We are currently up to 40,000 plus and rising.

Wiki gives the ethnic breakdown as this.

87.23% White
7.82% African American
0.29% Native American
1.21% Asian
0.08% Pacific Islander
1.81% from other races
1.56% from two or more races
Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.31% of the population.

Somewhere in this one dot per person map there might be a dot for you. I find the patterning interesting as you can see the fields, the largest apartment complexes, and the general neighborhoods that are going towards a non-white majority.

Take a moment if you wish and find a restaurant that puts food out for the spirits or has food that is hard to pronounce. Find the richness of Smyrna one colored dot at a time.

Saturday, October 12, 2013

A decade in a few weeks

Stonecrest hospital has been active and up for business for a solid decade in a few weeks and they are having a party...and you're invited.

TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center invites the community to a free tenth anniversary celebration on Sat., Oct. 26, from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. on the hospital campus. 
Festivities will include BBQ, music, family activities and commemorative photos. Free parking is available. 
“Ten years ago, TriStar StoneCrest opened to a growing community in need of its own hospital,” said Mark Sims, CEO, TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center in Smryna, Tenn. “As we mark a decade of service to Smyrna and surrounding communities, we want to thank those who have supported us and who continue trusting us to meet their own and their family’s healthcare needs.”
It sounds like fun, and as someone that has been in their ER two times in those ten years, I can say the service I received was superb.

Details as follow:

TriStar StoneCrest 10th Anniversary Community Celebration
Date: 10/26/2013
Time: 11:00 AM TO 1:00 PM  
200 StoneCrest Boulevard
Smyrna, TN 37167 
Phone: 615-342-1919 
Event Description: TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center invites the community to a free tenth anniversary celebration on Saturday, Oct. 26, from 11a.m. to 1 p.m. on the hospital campus. Festivities will include BBQ, music, family activities (including bouncies!) and commemorative photos. “Ten years ago, TriStar StoneCrest opened to a growing community in need of its own hospital,” said Mark Sims, CEO, TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center in Smryna, TN. “As we mark a decade of service to Smyrna and surrounding communities, we want to thank those who have supported us and who continue trusting us to meet their own and their family’s healthcare needs.”  
Directions: The event will be on the TriStar StoneCrest Medical Center Campus near the foundations. Plenty of surface parking is available. TriStar StoneCrest 200 StoneCrest Blvd. Smryna, TN 37167 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Local job fair this week.

Here is a job fair in Murfreesboro for those that do not mind a short commute to work. It is being hosted by state Senator Bill Ketron.
Rutherford County Job Fair
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Blackman High School
3956 Blaze Drive
Murfreesboro, TN 37128
Hosted by Senator Bill Ketron
Contact Debbie Mullins at 615-202-9855
I don't have much more information than this, so I wish you luck and hope it works out for you.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Free this coming Sunday

Sam Davis home is hosting their Birthday party with a free day...and you're invited.
SAM DAVIS HOME AND MUSEUM
Celebrate Sam Davis’ Birthday! Visit the Sam Davis Home for FREE.

SMYRNA, Tenn.- Help Sam celebrate his birthday with a visit to the Sam Davis Home & Museum on October 6, 2013 with FREE admission and family fun from 1-4 pm.

Families will experience a day in the life of Sam Davis through games, toys, storytelling, chores, and hands-on activities. Families will learn how to play games such as Graces and Croquet, make a 19th century toy, and learn a lesson from the McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader. They will also have the opportunity to learn about 19th century toys with our “What? No Batteries?” program and hear stories about Davie Crockett and other legends that Sam would have heard and have the chance to practice gathering eggs from live chickens before leaning about the anatomy of an egg.

Free admission. Please contact the Sam Davis Home at (615) 459-2341 or visit www.samdavishome.org for more information.

The Sam Davis Home is located at 1399 Sam Davis Road, Smyrna, TN 37167 and is a non-profit, historic house and museum.  For more information, including hours and admission rates, please call (615) 459-2341 or visit the website at www.samdavishome.org.
Free is good!