Portable Potty

We aren't talking about the kind of potties that those whacky teenagers tip over while being used by construction workers. What we're getting at is the school board is considering funding over $180,000 to put bathrooms in the portables at area schools.

Here's the link from the Daily News Journal.

The school board is also considering a 2.5% raise for teachers! I think they DESERVE a 25% raise, but I know we really can't afford that. Shame.

We're Number One - District 1, that is

The Daily News Journal had an article today about incumbent Doug Shafer and his opponent Debra Heughan. Click here for the article.

I get so sick of politics because so much of the time, candidates get nasty - they work hard to build themselves up by attacking the character of their opponent. They beat the drum about why you should not vote for a person rather than what they can bring to the table. Well, Mr. Shafer will not speak negatively about his opponent, and that is something I greatly admire. He is a man of strong moral character to refuse this, even though I received a postcard from Ms. Heughan this week "shaming" Mr. Shafer. He has stated he will not and does not do nasty politics. I think had I not received the postcard and had I not seen her signs strategically placed to block his, I may have given her some thought as a candidate. But at this point, my vote is going to Doug on August 3rd.

Regardless of who you vote for, JUST GET OUT AND VOTE! Make your voice heard!

Dear City Hall,

Hey gang, Ivy here again! (again, no blaming Kathy for this post!)

Since we have the attention of City Hall, I'd like to put in my 2 cents' worth about city issues.

On one hand, I love the whole, "No parking in the street" rule because when you get a bunch of people parking in the street, it is hard to navigate down the street, because our streets aren't exactly the widest streets ever.

However, then you get a bunch of people parking in their dinky yards and it looks downright trashy. Plus, a lot of people that park *constantly* in their yards end up having no grass, which drives down property values for everyone.

My suggestion to y'all is, can we have parking on *one* side of the street in residential neighborhoods? I think this would help alleviate the parking in the yard issue, and still leave streets open for driving on as well.

While I'm suggesting things, I'd like to ask for a community pool. If funds are an issue, why not throw a big city-sponsored fundraising party?

Of course, if we get the community pool, we WILL have to name it La Vergne Lake, yanno. As ever, I am

Truly yours,

Ivy B. Bad, esq.

Couple of News Links

Here's a couple of stories that were published in today's Rutherford AM of the Tennessean:

Old Timers' Day 2006 Gears Up

LV School Pods Need Potties
(and I must say that that's one catchy headline!)

Transit opportunities are gaining favor
(a "metro" or high speed rail would be a great way for Rutherford County residents to travel into Nashville, Murfreesboro, etc.... especially if there are several stops in the downtown area. I'd ride it to the museum, the GEC, Ryman, etc.)

While you're on this blog, go read Vice Mayor Erwin's comment about Ivy's post (below). :)

Ronnie Erwin: A good guy

Hey y'all, Ivy here. (Just to let you know that this post is not Kathy's fault)

;)

I first met Ronnie Erwin when he was the assistant coach for my son's basketball team. Before I ever talked to him, I knew he was a politician, and I have a general distrust of politicians, so I figured the only reason he was coaching was to get votes.

Boy, was I wrong. This man coached basketball not because he wants votes, or because he is a fabulous basketball coach, or because he was bored. Nope, I think he was coaching because he truly loves his son.

Now, I don't know about y'all, but that kind of love for a child goes a long way in my book. I talked to Mr. Erwin a bit more during the season and found that he is a really nice guy in addition to being a man who loves his son. I am going to vote for Ronnie Erwin for mayor. I hope you consider doing the same.

This is why I love blogging. Freedom of speech, baby! This is citizen journalism at its finest. ;)

NOTE EDIT: Kathy reposted this for Ivy because some skank commented on how to get to a porno site. Unfortunately, since this blog is still fairly new, I deleted her original post so we could also delete the comment. From now on, any anonymous posts will have to be "previewed" by the moderators. They will all be approved unless you're trying to spam the site.

Public Service Announcement

Do you know where your kids are going to school this year? Do you know what you need to buy? Do you know what bus your child(ren) will ride? If so, where is the bus stop?

Fear not my friends. I have wonderful news. No, I didn't just save a ton of money on car insurance either. However, here is a wonderful websited that can tell you all you need to know(well maybe not all, but it's a start) Rutherford County Schools have a website. You can checkout schools find your bus number and stop information(although the times are not always accurate.)

Most likely if you live in La Vergne, your kids will either go to La Vergne Primary, Roy Waldron, La Vergne Middle, or La Vergne High School.

I almost forgot, thanks Kathy T! If you are near Old Nashville HWY, you'll be going to cedar grove and Rock Springs elementary or Rock Springs Middle

Getting Ready for Oldtimer's Day!

From LaVergne's very own Angie Mayes:

I don't know the history of Old Timers' Day except to tell you it was started as a homecoming event in 1973 (the city was incorporated in 1972) and has been going on ever since. This is the 34th year for the festival. In the beginning, festival goers and participants dressed up in "Old Timey"(read: 1800s) costumes. It was a big deal back then to dress up. And it was in July at times! Can you imagine wearing corsets, hoops, etc. in the July heat? Now it is always the third Saturday in September. This year it's on Sept. 16. Quite a few festivals across the country -- including ours and the one in Manchester -- have Old Timers' Day festivals. It's a popular name for events such as ours, even though it has evolved from it's original roots.

This year is going to be a big event because of the election. We have three people running for mayor and I believe nine running for aldermen. The business tent is already full. We still have arts/crafts/sales and food booths available. I urge people to sign up for booths on-line.

If there's anything else I can answer for you, please don't hesistate to contact me at amayes@lavergne.org or this address. I can be reached by phone at 287-8690.

Angie Mayes
Coordinator
Old Timers' Day 2006

Thank you Angie! You're always so helpful. We are looking forward to September 16th!

Oops... edit! I forgot to post these photos for your viewing pleasure!

Big Apple: It Ain't New York

There's more than one Big Apple in this country and we have one right here in LaVergne. It's LaVergne's very own Chinese buffet restaurant. Why it's called the Big Apple, I don't know. They could have called it LaVergne Lake Chinese Restaurant and it would have made just as much sense (because it's next door to the post office whose parking lot could be called LaVergne Lake when it rains). Didn't I hear recently that we're getting a new post office? But I digress...

I ordered carry out tonight and it was sure good. We got the pork with mushrooms, the sweet & sour chicken, the chicken with broccoli, and the chicken-on-a-stick (for the husband who's into low-carbs). The guy running the cash register / take-out window / telephone orders threw in a couple of egg rolls on the house. He got a nice tip for his effort! Does anyone else tip carry-out windows, even fast-food? I do try to give a couple of bucks here and there at the fast-food places, especially when it looks like someone could use a little extra help.

Again, I digress. I think the cost of the evening buffet at Big Apple is a bit high, especially since I don't eat the crab legs. I wish they'd offer two buffet prices (with crab legs and without). Regardless of the price, however, the food has always been good when I've visited. BUT the carry out is much more affordable and you can eat on it for days!

With tonight's meal, I didn't like one little glob of fat in the pork, but otherwise it was scrumptious! And I love their rice! The best rice will always be Basmati rice (with Indian food), but there's certainly no shame in the Big Apple rice. The egg roll was a little hard on one end, but the rest tasted great. The mushroom pork was loaded with other veggies, too, including water chestnuts, carrots, and baby corn (the kind you want to pick up and nibble around but know that would be silly). I didn't eat the sweet and sour nor the chicken broccoli, but the kids didn't complain.

My fortune cookie said, "Your happiness will always be determined by your outlook on life." Too true. I think we can all take the to heart.

Big Apple is located in front of the Food Lion shopping center on Murfreesboro Road. You can call for carry-out at 213-2521 . If you haven't already (and I can't imagine that anyone living in LaVergne wouldn't have), climb out from under your rock and give Big Apple a try!

Rolling Out the Sidewalks

GREAT ANNOUNCEMENT in today's Daily News Journal: LaVergne is building sidewalks! The money has been approved, the easements have been approved, and they city will seek bids hopefully in the Fall to begin building sidewalks along Murfreesboro Road and up Stones River Road. This is wonderful news!!!

Kudos to Ronnie Erwin and Jerry Gann for their hard work on the Greenway Committee. This is the committee that is making the sidewalks happen. Our appreciation also goes to the behind the scenes folks (committee members and city staff) who were involved. Thanks guys. You definitely get my two thumbs up for this!

More on Race for Mayor

The Daily News Journal wrote a more detailed article on the race for Mayor of LaVergne in today's paper. I was pleased to see all the candidates running for alderman. So here's who we have to choose from:

FOR MAYOR
Vice Mayor Ronnie Erwin
Alderman Senna Mosley
Mary Ellen Harrigan
Chris Spradling

FOR ALDERMAN
Alderman Jerry Gann
Gwen Anthony
Bill Campbell
Matt Church
David Driggers
Brian Hullett
Kathy Morgan
Doug Salisbur

I recognize several of these names. I'm hoping we will have the opportunity to read about or hear debates for the issues these folks support. Again, I extend an open invitation to any of these candidates to let us know what they're all about .... we'll post your submission here on our wildly popular blog! However, candidates should please note that I will not post personal attacks about your opponent. We want to hear why we should vote FOR YOU, not why we shouldn't cast a ballot for another candidate. We hope to hear from you!!! Send me an email!

Internal Investigation Announced

The LaVergne Police Department has announced it is conducting an internal investigation of one of it's own, according to today's Daily News Journal. Let us hope for justice, either way it goes.

Spewing Thanks

It has recently come to my attention that someone in our fair city has issues with (and dare I say it?) doesn't like this blog. I'd like to take this opportunity to address some of the concerns of our reader(s).

First and foremost, this is a blog. It is not a newspaper. It is not a corporation. It is not a part of any government operation. It is not run, administered, or sanctioned by the city or any of its officials or employees. It is written by three people who live in and enjoy this community. It is open for comments by anyone. We think LaVergne is a dear town inhabited by lovely, caring people. We want to share information of value about this little city to our residents. We have restaurant reviews. We talk about politics. We provide bad news (officials under investigation) AND good news (officials cleared of wrongdoing).

But we've been accused of (and I quote) "spewing out false facts" and were told to call our city officials because "They're the leaders of the city. They have to answer to you. Their email addresses and phone numbers are on the La Vergne web site. Maybe you should look at that at one time or another." If you'll please note, we do actually have a link to the city and encourage any reader to go there for information. And yes we read the city's web page. How else would we have known that the city had posted something on July 7th, June 30th, and in February. The error here was that there were also posts on April 12th and May 30th that weren't mentioned.

But let's get back to this thing you said about "spewing false facts." What exactly was false in our post? Smyrna residents were invited to the Smyrna event. LaVergne residents weren't invited to the Smyrna event. We said LaVergne could follow Smyrna's lead and (oops!) didn't realize LaVergne already had an event like this planned (LaVergne's shindig was posted TODAY on the city's official website). We said it would be a good idea for LaVergne to have one. Is that a "false fact"?

We mentioned LaVergne has an Oldtimers Day. This, too, is true. That nothing at Oldtimers Day is free except the music and the goodies handed out at the business booths. Is there something else free that we missed? Oops again - forgot to say that it's free to get in.

We had a post about one of the police officers in LaVergne. That came from Channel 2 News (and the link is there to Channel 2 for anyone to read). We didn't make that up. In fact, we encouraged people to use the County's convenience centers in that post rather than trespassing. In another post, we talked about what a good man our county commissioner is - that he has integrity and is running a positive campaign by not smearing his opponent. That's not spew. Let's see, the kids have to hold their pee until they get out of their portable classrooms because there is no running water (or toilets) in them. True or False?

Okay, here's some real spewing, but I don't think it's "false facts." We do not like the name LaVergne Lake Elementary School. But I would be shocked if more than 200 people in this city like the name. The name (in my opinion) is a bit goofy. Because there is no "LaVergne Lake." Now parts of this city (Jones Mill Road and part of Lake Forest subdivision, for example) hold water (in fact hold even more water than the bladders of our wee kids in the portables) when we have a lot of rain.

I worked with government officials for years and years and years and years and years. Personally, I really like the idea of the brochure/pamphlet/newsletter-but-not-news-piece that was produced. Although I didn't read it cover-to-cover, I did offer some suggestions for future articles, but certainly do not consider making suggestions as "spewing false facts."

The times they are a changin' and the Internet and blogging are the future of mass communication. This is a forum that allows everyday people like me, like you, like your neighbor, like your colleague, etc. to speak up. A phone call is not mass communication. Once you hang up, the call is over. The ideas may linger from the call, but they too are over unless someone takes action. This is a resource that's readily available for the general public. It is here after the office is closed. We welcome any updates you can provide or that anyone who cares about this community can provide! For example, Terrie B's comments were awesome. She gave us information we were missing.

I think your heart is in the right place. I think you are very loyal to this community and your colleagues. Also, I applaud you for standing up and letting your voice be heard! I think we should be thanking you because you're raising awareness about our concerns at city hall by telling them about this blog. And in the last two days, the city added FOUR new posts about upcoming events.

As a side note, I apologize for having edited this post a couple of times because I want to encourage more comments rather than discourage them by being negative.

Sherry Green to be "Former Mayor"

Our mayor, Sherry Green, has decided she will not seek reelection as mayor and has decided instead to seek the office of alderman. I think Sherry has done her best as mayor and I admire the fact that she wants to continue her involvement in city government.

According to the Daily News Journal, voters will pick from Vice Mayor Ronnie Erwin, Alderman Senna Mosley, Mary Ellen Harrigan or Chris Spradling as the next mayor. So it's time for each of them to step up to the plate! Let's hear who's interested and why they would benefit the city! Let's hear something POSITIVE from them... we don't want to hear attacks on other candidates!!!

Let's help our candidates for mayor out and give them campaign platforms! For example:

1. Build sidewalks around Roy Waldron School and LaVergne Primary School.
2. Develop a plan to build LaVergne a community swimming pool.
3. Step up to the plate and help us get the name "LaVergne Lake Elementary School" changed to something that makes sense (Stones River Elementary School is my personal favorite).
4. What are their plans for helping alleviate the traffic that goes in and out of Lake Forest?
5. What's being done at the water treatment plant to ensure no more blue or purple or orange water?
6. Would they step up to the plate and push the zoning board to require sidewalks on both sides of streets?
7. Could we look into getting some federal money to build a real sewage system rather than ditches in front of houses?
8. How about a new zoning law that will require builders to run power lines in the BACKYARDS of new homes rather than stretched along the front in their full ugly glory.

Gosh I'm getting just giddy with excitement about all these possibilities!!! If any of our four aldermen who are eligible would like me to post their position (again, no attacking another candidate), shoot me an email, yell giddy-up, and hang on tight! We'll post it!

Sorry, We're Not Invited

There was a flyer in my work mailbox this morning. I'm sorry to say that LaVergne residents aren't invited, but maybe our own city will follow the lead in this and have our own day! Here it is verbatim (minus the snazzy flyer layout and logo):

"Give Drugs and Crime a Going Away Party"

Who: Smyrna Residents
What: Night Out against Crime/Drug Prevention
When: Tuesday, August 1st 5pm to 8:00pm
Where: Lee Victory Recreation Park

There will be ice cream, beverages, entertainment, crime prevention booths, children games and an opportunity to meet with local businesses and other residents of Smyrna as well as Town Officials and members of the Police Department.
Don't miss the annual softball game between the Smyrna Police and Fire Departments beginning at 7PM.

Sponsored by the Smyrna Citizens' Police Academy Alumni Association

I think this would be a good thing for LaVergne. Of course we kind of already have a day out like this with the Oldtimers' Day events. Except nothing is free there except the music and the giveaways at the business booths. I've been thinking about hosting a booth myself (I did the year before last). If I do, anyone want to volunteer to "staff" it with me?

Use the "Convenience Centers" People!

I hear that LaVergne has a police officer whose name keeps cropping up as "trouble." Now I certainly don't want to cross him, especially since he seems to arrest folks for seemingly silly things. The latest, he arrested a woman for throwing her trash in a dumpster where she didn't live. Here is the STORY from Channel 2 News.

Apparently two other officers tried to write a citation for a misdemeanor, but Officer Tartt didn't think that was good enough. He had a warrant issued for her arrest and tracked her down. Okay, that seems pretty frickin' extreme to me. Arresting her for dumping her trash in a dumpster illegally (I guess it was the trespassing into the apartment parking lot that he didn't like). In Officer Tartt's defense, the apartment complex did ask him to be vigilant about keeping his eyes out for this exact thing. But come on... arresting her??? That seems extreme to me.

You can bet I drive my trash to the FREE convenience center located on Sand Hill Road. Jeepers..........

Monthly Blogger Meeting Coming Up!

From our sister site, This is Smyrna:

The next Middle Tennessee Blogger and Podcaster's Group Meeting will be held next Saturday, July 22nd at Mothership BBQ in Nashville. Please bring your appetite and money! Since the Mothership reportedly closes at 2:00 PM, which is the time at which we generally convene, the meeting will begin at 11:30 (ish). Look for the short fat chick in glasses with the Gateway laptop!

Mothership BBQ is located at:
2806 Columbine Place
Nashville, TN 37204
(615)269-7150

What is the purpose of our gathering? It has always been my goal to network with other bloggers, share knowledge about technology, tools and geekiness so-forth. Often times our discussions go into the political spectrum and on many occasions there are children afoot. In my opinion, one needs to create their own opportunities and that is what I am trying to do with this blog and with the Middle Tennessee Blogger and Podcaster's Group. I'm all about bringing people together and creating opportunities.

There is a wide spectrum of things we drone on about so something for everyone. In case you didn't read or listen, the Middle Tennessee Blogger and Podcaster's Group has also sent an open invitation to anyone running for Governor to join us at one of our meet ups. We've interviewed Marivuanna Stout Leinhoff and we hope that others will take us up on the offer to come out and speak.

If interested, please let us know by way of comment or feel free to email me at dailydiablogger@gmail.com. What a tremendous opportunity to reach a community that is well connected and can help spread your message!

Since Dr. Funkenswein has to be sure to cook up enough meat, leave a comment if you're coming.

My Vote for Doug Shaffer

I love a democracy! I love voting!

I want to speak up for my friend Doug Shaffer who is running for reelection to be County Commissioner, District 1. He is facing opposition from what appears to be a well-funded opponent. When I asked him about his opponent, Doug said, "I will not run a negative campaign and speak against someone."

Wow! What integrity!!!! To me, that speaks volumes! Doug always researches every issue before he places his vote. His vote may not always be popular, but it is based on real information rather than how someone else is voting.

Doug is a person with a good heart and a good head. I will cast my ballot in his favor with no hesitation!

Portable Classrooms at LaVergne Primary

LaVergne Primary School is in the news on WKRN because of its whopping 25 portables that will be used this school year... with no water or plumbing. Sorry kids, you'll just have to hold it!

Here's the video... Portables at LaVergne

Update Already!

Today in the mail we recieved a wonderful little brochure. It's about 8 pages all black and white. This little booklet was sent to us from the City of La Vergne. Wahoo, some information please!!! As I scanned through, I seen nothing that fancied my reading eye. Do you know where it went? The trash can.

Knock Knock, is anyone home? Sure we have many new residents in this little big town called La Vergne, but do you actually think many people looked at this? I beleive mostly went to the garbage. What a waste of money!

Now, on the other hand a few people may have actually scanned through it(like me), and some may actually read it. If the purpose was to draw one person to an event then the city may have accomplished something.

What bothers me, and this is why the topic says "update already", is the fact that the city is either paying for a website hosting service, and paying someone to keep it up to date, and it's just sitting idle.

lavergne.org isn't kept up-to-date. There's a post dated July 7th, June 30, and I seen something as far as February. Our city leaders aren't using our money wisely in my eyes.

What say you?

M'Boro Carrabbas Review

Okay, I know Carrabbas is not in LaVergne. But those of us in LaVergne don't have a whole lot of fine dining choices and often travel outside our fair city for meals. The first time I ate at Carrabbas was in Ft. Collins, Colorado last summer on a business trip. I had a wonderful time with three other real estate agents in my office and one spouse. We had wine, ate, laughed, etc. Fond memories. I was very excited to hear about the Carrabbas opening in Murfreesboro!

It's easy to find. From I-24 East, take the Manson Pike exit (76, I believe). Turn left and follow until you cross over Thompson Lane. It's on the right. We checked in and were told that our wait would be approximately 35-45 minutes since we requested a table for 5 in the no-smoking section. The hostess explained it would take a tad longer since we had to have a table rather than a booth. Well, that was fine. After an hour, though, I told my husband to ask how much longer because I would not be very pleasant. He asked. They said "Soon." We waited another 15-30 minutes. Finally they figured out that they had forgotten us... our name was so high up on the list that they just didn't see it anymore. I had steam coming out of my ears by that time, but was by-gosh determined I was going to eat there that night!

Thankfully, the manager intervened. She saw there was a problem and really stepped up to the plate. She was so gracious in her apology, then her next words were music to my ears, "The appetizers and desserts for your whole party are on the house tonight!" Ahhhhh... all was well again in Kathy-Land.

We ordered the appetizer sampler which had tasty bruschetta, ordinary mozzarella sticks, and rubbery calamari. We also had the new fried zucchini which was quite tasty, if a bit greasy. The bread was warm and soft, so was quite delish dipped in the virgin olive oil.

My salad had the house parmessan dressing which was on so thick that it really took away from the crispness of the lettuce and carrots. I was very jealous of my husband and mother in law's salad... they ordered vinagrette which also included tomatoes, onions (I would've picked off) and croutons. For dinner, I ordered a daily special - the pork chop in a marsala and mushroom sauce. It was superb. It came with fresh, grilled vegetables (a nice mix of yellow squash, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower). All the veggies except the broccoli and cauliflower were crisp - the others were a bit on the mushy side. I also had a side of an angel hair pasta with a tomato sauce. It was really good, especially with the fresh parmesan that was sprinkled on top. Husband had a scallop dish, mother-in-law joined me in the pork chop (but didn't eat it), one daughter had the pizza, and the other daughter had the kid's spaghetti with a giant meatball on top. We all had to pack up leftovers in the to-go boxes.

Dessert was very nice. They didn't embarrass anyone with an idiotic birthday song. A single candle on the terimasu was more than adequate. The terimasu was okay... it had too much rum in it for my taste. I did enjoy my mother-in-law's chocolate brownie concoction and a daughter's cake with fresh fruit. The canoli my other daughter ordered wasn't my favorite either... it is just not a dessert that appeals to me.

Overall, I'd definitely eat there again. But next time I won't be as patient for a table and will be ordering chocolate for dessert. You just can't go wrong with chocolate.

LaVergne Officials Cleared

According to the Daily News Journal, there will be no charges filed against four city officials for accepting tickets to a race from one of our local corporate giants. The story hit today's newspaper, much to my personal relief. I've met several of these folks and it really appears that they want to serve the city and our residents in a fair manner. Here's the link to the article:

Officials cleared of race-ticket wrongdoing

My advice to them in the future: Do not accept it even if 1,996 other people do. Especially when you're in any type of public position - there will always be someone watching you. It's an unfortunate by-product of public service.

Fire at Smyrna Pizza Hut

There's a fire at the Pizza Hut in Smyrna. Lots of fire trucks and police cars. An agent came through my office saying they had to put holes in the roof to fight the flames. I drove by about 15 minutes later on my way home and could see the building is still standing, so hopefully the fire was brought under control early.

News Blogger

WKRN television (aka Channel 2) has announced they will be accepting news and feature videos from the blogging community. It was announced by the general manager last night at the oh-so-fun party. Here's a link to Bill Hobbs post with the skinny on the details, etc. So look out for people wandering around with hand-held video cameras! You might show up on the news!

Help Wanted ...

Not a full-time type position, but I need to find a handyman who will:

1. Strip wallpaper, patch, sand, and paint kitchen (this will be a devilish job because the wallpaper was applied directly to drywall rather than drywall that was previously treated).
2. Crawl around roof or ceiling to figure out where leak is coming through into kitchen. Then make the repair.

Not too much but more than I care to do myself. I've been stripping the wallpaper for about six months now and have only finished one wall. In fairness, I only worked on it one day about six months ago. It didn't take me long to learn that stripping wallpaper is definitely not my thing. Please reply if you can recommend someone good and fair-priced!