Fair gone but silly names remain
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It seems like it all happened so fast but the 2007 Warren County A&L Fair is history. For all the anticipation, the fair zoomed by faster than a ride on the Himalaya.
With the excitement still fresh on my mind, here’s an unofficial, unsanctioned and unsponsored one-minute fair analysis:
‘ Best attraction ‘ Karaoke. More people packed the grandstand to see their friends sing than they did to hear Four on the Floor sing.
‘ Worst attraction ‘ The self-proclaimed 29-inch woman who sat the entire time. Even sitting down, she looked about twice that tall.
‘ Best fair sandwich ‘ Philly cheese steak at Covenant Academy.
‘??Best fair dessert ‘ Brownie sundae at Boyd Christian.
‘ Worst behavior ‘ Fights erupted all over the fair, proving once again that candy apples and carnival rides somehow induce violence.
‘ Worst accident ‘ A woman left by ambulance after riding the Himalaya. She was complaining of dizziness. I’m not kidding.
With the fair a thing of the past, it’s time to examine odd, strange and curious news for the week. First off, I have to stand up and applaud the Venezuelan government for proposing a ban on ridiculous children’s names such as Edigaith and Superman. But alas, it’s difficult to protect people from themselves and after much-expected controversy, the government has removed this proposal from the table. There won’t be a ban on absurd names.
Truth be told, removing the proposal is the right thing to do because people should be free to name their children whatever they want. At the same time, some of the names dreamed up today are downright ridiculous.
What triggered the idea in Venezuela is the fact two people are officially named Superman. Others are named Orlayny, Edis and Maikel ‘ names which are extremely difficult to pronounce and equally difficult to determine if the child is a boy or a girl.
For today’s final tidbit, let’s visit the great town of Englewood, Colo., where a man used a note to demand money during a bank robbery. In itself, that’s not so unusual.
What is strange is the man used the back of one of his own checks to write the note. Realizing bank officials might be able to determine his identity, Forest Kelly Bissonnette, 27, went to the trouble to mark out his name, although FBI officials were still able to read it.
I would think if a person is going to the trouble to plan a bank robbery, they could at least find a piece of paper that didn’t have their name on it. How lazy can you be?
Plus, in the brief time before Bissonnette was arrested, he reportedly bragged to a friend that he had just stolen $5,000 in a bank robbery. Folks, this is a man who is just not very smart.
Hubert King announces retirement
As a spry 60-year-old, Caney Fork Electric general manager Hubert King doesn’t look like a man who’s about to retire in three weeks. But he is.
After 35 years of service, Hubert’s retirement will be effective Dec. 31. However, due to accumulated and earned leave, his last day will be Oct. 5.
‘I’m fortunate because I still feel good and I still have my health,’ said Hubert. ‘I hate to go but it’s time to do something else.’
He’s served at Caney Fork general manager for the past 11 years, overseeing some 31,000 cooperative members in eight counties. Caney Fork serves Warren, Van Buren, White and DeKalb counties, as well as parts of Grundy, Putnam, Coffee and Cannon counties.
Hubert says his worst horror story is the ice storm of 1998 when 75 percent of Caney Fork customers lost power. Even worse than the ice storm was the timing.
‘It happened on Christmas Eve and I didn’t think anyone would want to come and help us out at that time,’ said Hubert, indicating electric companies provide workers to other electric companies during extreme power outages. ‘But the phone started ringing and people started coming. I think we had 84 employees at the time and there were over 200 people in here helping us. And we had everybody back on in three weeks.’
It was a grueling stretch with Hubert saying he slept on a cot in his office. Workers were often taken meals in the field so they wouldn’t have to waste valuable time leaving a site and then returning.
As for advances in the electric business, Hubert says there have been many. Among the most recent is an automated meter reading system that means an employee doesn’t have to drive to your home and look at the meter. Instead, a pulse is sent through the electric lines, it reads the meter and then sends that information back.
Hubert says about one-third of Caney Fork customers are on the automated meter reading system. On the horizon is technology that will allow Caney Fork to cut off electricity to a customer who doesn’t pay without leaving the office. When fully implemented, both those systems will result in a huge fuel savings.
Hubert also said the equipment has undergone a significant change. In the old days, mules were used to pull utility poles and employees dug holes by hand. Those days are long gone.
Hubert said the Caney Fork employees and coop members are two things he’s going to miss most.
‘Our employees are the best in the business,’ said Hubert, whose retirement plans include spending time on the lake and the golf course. ‘They don’t mind working. If there’s a problem, they’re ready to go.’
From the folks here at the Standard, I’d like to take this time to thank Hubert for his years of service and to wish him a happy retirement.
Assistant general manager Bill Rogers will serve as general manager on an interim basis.
What’s happening at LaCazona?
LaCazona was closed on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday which prompted several questions about the restaurant’s status. Was it closed for the fair or was it something more?
Turns out, it was both.
LaCazona needed to do some kitchen remodeling to prepare for what owner Manuel Ochoa hopes is an upcoming expansion. Manuel said fair week was the perfect time to do it.
‘We’re expanding our kitchen to get ready for more business,’ said Manuel. ‘We need more space and we’re still hoping to add a banquet room. The way the fair takes business away from restaurants, we decided now was the time to do it.’
LaCazona has entertained expansion plans for some time. If you recall, it was about 18 months ago that Factory Connection toyed with relocation ideas and LaCazona eyed expanding into that spot. I’m not sure if that idea is once again on the drawing board or if Manuel has other plans, but he seems determined to make his restaurant larger.
Fair not so much fun from business end
LaCazona’s owner touched on it in the previous segment when he talked about how the fair really devastates the local restaurant business. Restaurants aren’t alone. Pretty much any shop owner will tell you that business is brutally slow during fair week.
One restaurant owner I talked to Friday said fair week is a double whammy. Not only does he donate hundreds of dollars worth of food to a fair booth, but then he also loses a week’s worth of revenue in the process.
To him, the fair is not the nostalgic week-long event I’ve grown to love. It’s a week of virtually no income for him and his employees.
Truth be told, I don’t know how much I would like the fair if I didn’t get a paycheck during fair week. In fact, I think it would significantly impact my view of the fair.
Compounding matters is the fair has a sort of hangover effect. So much money is spent during fair week that folks watch what they buy for the next couple weeks.
So what can we do about it? Well, probably nothing. Maybe all the businesses which take a big hit during fair week should simply close and take a vacation ‘ if they can afford it.
Lively Building for sale on Main Street
I think it’s a shame the city spent over $5 million restoring downtown only to have empty buildings fill Main Street. That’s why I’m trying to talk to the owners of some of these empty buildings to find out the reasons why they are vacant.
Last week I talked to Karen Kerce Browning, who owns the Lively Building located next to First National Bank. The building has been empty for years and years and years. Karen says she’s finally ready to sell it if that will help McMinnville move forward.
‘I bought it to preserve it and I had planned to start a business there,’ said Karen. ‘But I had a change of plans. I got married and now I live an hour away and I really don’t see starting anything there at this time. For the sake of McMinnville, I’ll sell it if it will bring a new business downtown. I’m very workable.’
Karen says she’s had a great deal of work done to the three-story building with 2,300 square feet on each floor. However, only the first two floors represent usable space. If the third floor is used for anything other than storage, it will require a sprinkler system to be installed.
Karen said the building has all new plumbing and electrical work but still needs new floors.
‘It’s just cosmetic stuff at this point, down to the easy stuff,’ said Karen. ‘If someone is a handyman, they can probably do the rest of the work themselves. It’s past the pro stuff.’
Karen said the building has great history, which is why she bought it. She said Dad Lively invented flash photography there in his second-floor studio.
‘I have mixed emotions about this because I really wanted to put a business in there myself,’ said Karen. ‘If somebody is interested in looking at it, they can holler at me.’
Karen can be reached at 409-7858.
McMinnville’s biggest bank expands to Murfreesboro
First National Bank is already the largest bank, based on insured deposits, in Warren County. Now First National has spread its wings and opened a loan office in Murfreesboro with Randy Fletcher overseeing the operation.
‘Our board is pleased to open a loan production office in the vibrant Rutherford County market,’ said First National president and CEO Tom Vance. ‘Randy and I have both been lenders for over 30 years and are quite familiar with the business community in Rutherford County. First National Bank is well positioned from a capital standpoint to lend substantial dollars to borrowers in the Murfreesboro area as our lending limit to any one customer at present exceeds $8.5 million.’
For more information on the Rutherford County office, call (615) 893-1228.
That’s all folks
With the fair out of town, perhaps I can get some spectacular business news for next week’s column. If you have any such information, give me a call at 473-2191.