Duct tape incident stirs controversy
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And the calls haven’t been pleasant.
In the interest of time and space, I won’t share with you all the wonderful thoughts which have been aimed in my direction. But it is sufficient to say last week’s stunt of placing a computer-generated piece of duct tape over the mouth of my charming 1-year-old son was not well accepted. In fact, if I had to think of a word to describe the reaction, “outrage” would come close.
The magnitude of my actions really hit home when President Bush himself made a visit to McMinnville to lead what I can only call an anti-Clark rally. Bush ignited the frenzied crowd gathered at Warren County Administrative Offices by declaring the Business Pulse column a member of the Axis of Evil, saying it is a threat to national security. I found myself hurled into a pack of hostile protesters, most of whom wanted to duct tape my mouth.
I was able to fight my way to the podium and compose myself enough to make this speech. I’ve reprinted portions of it here so the people who weren’t at the protest can read my words of apology.
It was an emotional speech. I had to fight back tears on several occasions, but I managed to stumble through the humiliating situation and feel I’m a better man for it.
The speech:
“Ladies, gentlemen, and most of all, President Bush. I speak to you tonight with a heavy heart, deep regret, and fingers still a bit sticky with duct tape residue.
For those of you enraged by last week’s column, I wish to extend my sincere apologies. A weak attempt at humor instead turned out to be insensitive and not the least bit funny.
I realize child abuse is indeed a serious issue threatening our nation. And I would never actually duct tape the mouth of my son, or any child for that matter – although there are a number of adults I can think of who would be good candidates.
To my Cupcake, I truly do hope you reconsider filing those divorce papers. I’m sorry you felt obligated to change the locks to our home and not give me a key, but I do appreciate you leaving my underwear and toothbrush on the front porch where I could find them. If you’d also place the TV and VCR on the front porch, that would be even better.
In closing, I would like to again emphasize my remorse. I do not support or endorse duct taping the mouths of children. That is not the type of person I am. I only hope we can all put this incident behind us and not have it taint my spotless, squeaky clean image as a great American and caring father.”
Business Pulse note: For those of you wondering, President Bush did not actually visit McMinnville and I didn’t really give a speech in front of a crowd of protesters. That’s all just part of the Business Pulse babble. The rest of this column, however, is right on the money.
What’s happening at Wal-Mart?
It’s been a refreshing change to receive some Business Pulse questions over the last week. The past few weeks, I haven’t gotten many business nibbles, leaving me to wonder if everyone in Warren County had gone on vacation.
Several folks have asked me about the construction taking place at Wal-Mart. According to building permits issued by the city of McMinnville, the construction is for a new greenhouse/ garden area projected to cost $127,000.
“It’s going to take a lot of concrete removal and plumbing work,” said Wal-Mart co-manager Jeff Porter. “There’s probably still another six to eight weeks of work left to go.”
Jeff said when construction is complete, the garden center area outside will all be enclosed under a hard plastic greenhouse cover. There will also be a watering system installed to water the flowers and shrubs automatically without having an employee do it all by hand.
So if you were wondering about all the jackhammering and construction work at Wal-Mart, you now have your answer.
New trucking company to roll into town
I had a request to find out about the expansion taking place at the office center which houses Elaine Rains Construction and Burk Insurance. The office center might not immediately come to mind, but I’m sure most of you have seen it on the corner of the bypass and Old Shelbyville Road.
Elaine says the new office space will be occupied by Northland Express, which is a trucking company that serves as a broker for other trucking companies. Since I’m not in the trucking business, I don’t know exactly what that entails, but that’s what will be housed in the new office space.
As for future expansion, Elaine said that’s highly possible.
“We want to keep building on up the hill,” she said. “That’s what we’re hoping for.”
Tractor dealer plows into town
Glen Hibdon knows a thing or two about tractors. He bought his first tractor when he was 16 and has been working with them ever since. Now he’s 60 and has just moved his tractor business, called Hibdon Farm Equipment, from Smithville to Centertown.
He’s been open for about a week and has about a dozen tractors on his lot. He hasn’t sold one yet, but says he has unloaded some of his farm equipment already.
“Now is not the best time to sell farm equipment because everybody has already bought what they need,” said Glen. “But I’ve already sold a few things and got a couple tractor prospects. I’m a one-man operation and I can sell you a piece of equipment cheaper than anybody. If I can’t do that, I don’t need to be in this business.”
Hibdon worked third shift at Century until 1997. The job allowed him to tend to his part-time tractor business in the day while also holding down a full-time job at night. In 1997, he retired from Century and went to operating the tractor business full time in Smithville. After five years, the commute to Smithville got a little too long for Glen’s liking so he’s decided to move the business to Nashville Highway, just a few minutes from his home.
“I can get whatever a man wants and most of the time have it here the next day,” said Glen, who sells new and used equipment. “And when it leaves this lot, it’s right.”
Glen said the great thing about being a one-man operation is it keeps expenses low. In his travels, he says he’s been to tractor dealers with grand showrooms and fancy salesmen running all over the dealership and that only serves to drive up the cost.
“If you look around and wonder who pays for all that stuff, the answer is you,” said Glen. “It’s the customer who ends up paying for all those people and all that fancy stuff.”
If you want to visit Glen’s lot, it’s on the right-hand side of the road about a half mile after you leave Centertown heading toward Woodbury. His phone number is 939-4999.
Cantrells have started two new businesses
If you’re tired of answering to a boss, maybe you should get a few lessons from Chuck and Kari Cantrell. The couple has started two separate businesses and now work for themselves.
Kari has opened a beauty shop called Tangles, which is located next to their home. Chuck has gone into business with Stacy Turner and started Cantrell’s Septic and Backhoe Service.
Kari has been styling hair for 11 years and previously worked at Images before going out on her own. She does perms and coloring and cuts hair for men, women and children.
Asked what she likes best about the job, Kari didn’t hesitate. “I like talking to different people all day long,” she said.
Chuck has his own version of Kari’s conversations. “Not only is she a hairdresser, she’s a psychologist,” said Chuck. “She tries to help everybody with their problems.”
As for Chuck and Stacy, the two are both former DeZurik employees. When the plant closed, Chuck went to Smithville to learn backhoe work, while Stacy went to Carrier. Now they’re working together again, only in a much different line of work.
“This job isn’t for everybody,” said Stacy. “When you pop that lid off the septic tank pipe, most people would go running.”
Chuck said he just recently bought his own backhoe and finished his first job with that backhoe last week. He had been renting a backhoe to do septic tank digging prior to that.
If you need septic work done, give Chuck and Stacy a call at 934-2977. Their motto is, “We’re No. 1 in a No. 2 business.”
That’s all folks
Give me a call with all your business tips. I’ll either be here or at the house getting rid of every roll of duct tape I own. You can reach me at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].
PHOTO INFO:
The notorious duct tape incident in last week’s column led to a Business Pulse protest this week in McMinnville which included an appearance from President Bush. I had to take a moment to compose myself while giving a brief speech and when I did, the President took the opportunity to lash out against me. At least that’s the way it appears in this graphically altered picture.