The difference between a cap and crown
|
To me, this seems a very straightforward and simple lesson. But there are always those people who have to learn the hard way and that?s why the Taser was invented. The Taser is supposedly a more humane way of handling unruly people, as opposed to beating them with a nightstick.
Officials in Saginaw, Mich., probably never expected to have to use a Taser when they made a simple request to Charles Littleton, 22, to remove his cap during a recent city council meeting. The city has a law against wearing caps during official meetings.
The sensible thing for Little to do would have been to remove his cap. You can probably guess he didn?t do the sensible thing.
After ignoring requests, pushing a police officer, and then resisting efforts to remove him from the meeting, Littleton was finally Tasered. Now he?s mad.
?It means more than just a hat,? Littleton said. ?It?s like my crown. It?s like asking a king to remove his crown.?
My guess is the king will soon be asked to spend time in jail.
Since I?m on the topic of criminal behavior, when did prison inmates begin to think they are entitled to so many privileges behind bars? The latest problem, as you might expect, involves cellphones. Anyone who has read this column knows my thoughts on cellphones. They are the devil with a ringtone.
Even though cellphones are strictly forbidden inside almost all correctional facilities, inmate cellphone use is reportedly widespread. Gee, that sort of reminds me of Warren County High School where cellphones are forbidden yet 9 out of 10 students can produce one at any time during the school day.
As for the prisoners, one Maryland inmate reportedly used his cellphone to call a guard and lodge a complaint.
In Texas, a warden reported getting a call from the mother of an inmate, demanding the warden do something to improve cellphone reception in the prison so she can chat more easily with her son. The next thing these prisoners are going to demand is home computers.
Actually ? hold that thought.
An Associated Press investigation has revealed at least 30 Texas death-row inmates have personal pages on dating Web sites. And in case you?re wondering, the murderers describe themselves in glowing terms.
One described himself as ?a big kid at heart? and a ?hopeless romantic.? Another said he enjoyed soft music and carriage rides.
I guess it probably is best to leave out that insignificant detail about killing someone. But that?s enough silliness for today. Now it?s time to get down to business.
Chico Jacobs
announces retirement
It was billed as the formal welcoming ceremony for new First National Bank president Tom Vance. But the announced retirement of CEO Chico Jacobs grabbed a large portion of the attention Friday afternoon. That tends to happen when you?ve been with the bank for 38 years.
?I kind of wanted to slip out of here,? said Chico during the reception. ?I didn?t want anything like this.?
Whether it was to say goodbye to Chico, or grab a free lunch, hundreds of people showed up Friday at First National. In between shaking hands, receiving hugs and even getting a few gifts, Chico was gracious enough to take a few moments to tell me about his 38-year career. And he?s a pretty good storyteller.
One of his more memorable moments came during his first year on the job when he had to handle a repossession. But it was no ordinary repossession.
?We had to pick up a herd of cattle in Altamont,? said Chico. ?It?s not much fun trying to load black angus cattle, especially when the farmer is right there telling you there?s not going to be one cow to leave his property.?
Chico also has the unfortunate distinction of being on the wrong end of a robbery. Well, I guess technically speaking, both ends of a robbery are the wrong end.
?I was working by myself at the Viola branch around lunchtime and talking to Rabbit Sullens on the phone,? recalled Chico. ?That?s when three armed men came in and robbed me. They grabbed money from every place we had it and they made me get on the floor before they left.?
Chico said back in those days, robberies and burglaries were all too common.
?I got on a first-name basis with the FBI,? said Chico.
He said at one point the FBI received a tip that the bank would be robbed on a certain day. Chico was told to report to work as usual so as not to draw suspicion.
?It?s awful hard to go to work when you think the bank is going to be robbed,? said Chico. ?But the FBI had people all over the place.?
Fortunately, that robbery didn?t materialize.
As you might expect, Chico says technology has changed the banking industry much like it?s changed the rest of the world. He says few things are done by hand anymore. When you open your monthly statement, he says your eyes are the first set of human eyes to look at the paper.
Competition has also become fierce, and not just from Warren County institutions.
?Because of the Internet, around 40 percent of all home loans are now made by companies that are not even in Warren County,? he said.
From all of us here at Business Pulse, I?d like to take this time to congratulate Chico on a fine banking career and wish him the best in retirement.
Hillis Market
closes its doors
There are few mainstays in the Centertown community that have been as long-standing as Hillis Market. For volunteer fire department members, they jokingly called it station 3 for all the time they spent talking at the market.
For Baxter Hillis, who has owned the store for the past 26 years with his wife Linda, it?s been a place to swap stories and visit with friends ? all while making a living.
?It?s been a local hangout and I?ll miss it, no doubt about it,? said Baxter. ?There have been some hilarious times here. But I?m 68 years old and it?s time to turn the page. So I?ve put it up for sale and we?ll see what happens.?
Last Sunday was the last day of operation. When I stopped by the store Friday morning, there were still several people who pulled into the parking lot, noticed the closed sign, then pulled back onto Nashville Highway. One trucker made it all the way to the door then let out a moan when he saw the sign.
?You?d think people would know by now,? said Baxter. ?I was catching it from all sorts of people in town this morning.?
I?ve heard several Warren County residents openly complain about the growing number of people of Indian descent who are buying all the convenience stores around town. It?s with that in mind I asked Baxter if he was going to be somewhat selective about who buys his store.
?Money is money,? said Baxter. ?I don?t care who they are if they?re willing to pay my price.?
My guess is someone named Patel will own the store in the near future ? and that?s said with no disrespect to folks named Patel. From everything I?ve seen, they?re hard-working people. It?s simply a prediction. Sports writers predict football games. I predict business owners.
?It?s not a bad way to make a living if you don?t mind working 12 to 14 hours a day,? said Baxter, who pointed out his store was open 15 hours a day, seven days a week. ?We had it going on here and it can be going on again if somebody wants to work it.?
Anyone interested in buying the store can contact Baxter at 939-2067.
Hobbs Greenhouse
has a new owner
After 46 years, Glen Hobbs has sold his greenhouse and Sue Scholl is the proud new owner. Sue brings no shortage of plant-related experience to her new business, beginning with a job at the Tennessee Nursery Research Center where she is currently employed.
Her interest in the nursery industry began to sprout when she was a college student at Cornell University and she started to do student work in greenhouses. A job at the Nursery Research Center is what brought her to McMinnville around six years ago.
Sue didn?t realize Hobbs Greenhouse was for sale until she heard about it from realtor and County Commissioner Morris Bond, who comes from a fine family I might add. The rest, as you can say, is history.
?I like plants and I like the work,? said Sue. ?Now the hard part is going to be selling them.?
Even though it?s a bit nippy outside, it?s like a summer wonderland inside Sue?s largest greenhouse. There are ferns and beautiful plants around every corner, and she wants people to know she?s still open even though it?s winter.
?He was known for ferns and we still have plenty of ferns,? said Sue. ?Everything he carried before, I?ll still carry. The only difference is I might add a few flowering shrubs and see how that goes.?
In addition to ornamental plants, Sue will also offer a wide variety of vegetables in the spring ? particularly tomatoes.
?We?ll have 30 varieties of tomatoes,? she said. ?We supply a lot of the hardware stores around town.?
On a personal note, I first discovered Hobbs Greenhouse about 10 years ago from Miss Daisy, the lady who wrote a green thumb column for the Standard many years ago. It?s been so long ago, I can?t even remember Miss Daisy?s real name, but I did take her advice to try Hobbs Greenhouse and have always been well pleased.
Sue says to expect the low prices and much of the regular day-to-day business to remain unchanged. Carl McGinness is staying on board and he is familiar with the operation.
Hobbs Greenhouse is tucked away at 107 Bell Street below West Riverside Church of Christ. The phone number is 473-3800.
Fisher now an
affiliate broker
For Debbie Fisher, a career in real estate always seemed like a natural move.
?I?m a people person,? said Debbie. ?I love to talk to people and I love to look at houses so this is a good combination.?
Debbie has become an affiliate broker at Colonial Realty after getting her real estate license at the end of November. She?s by no means new to the business. She first started to work for Colonial Realty owner Sally Steakley around 15 years ago.
For those of you who are wondering, Debbie is still going to work full time with special education department in the Warren County School System. This will be a second job for her on nights and weekends.
You can give Debbie a call at 473-9567.
That?s all folks
If you don?t remember anything else from this column, remember to listen to police officers and remember to phone in your business tips by giving me a call at 473-2191.