Would you like cheese on that water tower?
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So city leaders should have expected I would chime in with my 2 cents about the new look of the downtown water tower. It?s BORING!
For all the talk about neat designs and giving the water tower a paint job with Warren County flavor, the final decision was made to paint the tower light green with the words ?City of McMinnville? written on the side.
Wow, such creativity astounds me. It?s the work of genius. I?m only thankful we didn?t pay a consultant $10,000 to come up with such an idea.
Personally, I was hoping for a little bit more from this decision. I say paint the water tower like a double cheeseburger and it would have been a better choice. Actually, based on this artist rendering done by our graphic designer Seth Wright, a double cheeseburger water tower looks like a delicious choice.
But I guess I can understand the decision to go with a drab, lackluster water tower design. After all, if the city went with something a little more flashy, it might stop potential industry from locating here.
And since I feel like ranting about a few things today, I want to know why there?s suddenly an influx of ergonomically designed toothbrushes on the market. I bought an ergonomic toothbrush the other day and it?s the most annoying new product I can remember. The handle is so fat it won?t even fit in my toothbrush holder.
I understand the need for ergonomically designed tools and work stations. For people who do the same motion for eight or 10 hours at a time, such designs can help reduce wear and tear on the body.
But is this really necessary for a toothbrush? Are folks spending that much time brushing their teeth? I?ve long been a supporter of good dental hygiene, but I don?t see people spending eight hours with their toothbrush. If you do, seek help.
I realize I?ve gotten off track a bit with this week?s Business Pulse by talking about cheeseburgers and toothbrushes, so I want to drop back to an old favorite, the dumb criminal. This week?s dumb criminal, Steve Swoboda, 19, of Washington state made the ill-advised decision to steal a donut truck last week.
Note to criminals: If you?re going to steal a vehicle, DO NOT steal a donut truck. It?s a sure-fire way to have the police on your tail faster than you can say ?lemon filled.?
To say officers with the Benton County Sheriff?s Department reacted quickly is an understatement. They went so far as to issue an all-points bulletin for the donut truck, something almost unheard of for a missing vehicle.
The donut truck was spotted and Swoboda was arrested in under an hour. And in case you are wondering, the donut truck was returned full. Officers have not revealed if they received a share of donuts for their work.
WastAway has skilled labor jobs available
Folks frequently tell me I need to focus more on the new jobs that are coming to McMinnville in this column. I need to tell people what?s happening with the Carrier building and the other empty manufacturing facilities around Warren County.
So I will address those questions now. I don?t know of any new jobs coming to McMinnville or any major industries that are interested in locating here. But there is one exception.
If you are an experienced sheet metal worker, a CNC operator, a painter, an electrical assembler or an electrical engineer, Bouldin & Lawson is in the process of hiring up to 15 people for first and second shift. Bouldin & Lawson is gearing up to build the six WastAway production lines that have been sold to Aruba.
Savvy manufacturing veteran Larry Flatt is overseeing production and he says everything is proceeding as planned.
?We?re excited the WastAway project is coming to fruition,? said Larry. ?We?re on target to meet all our deadlines with equipment ready to send in February.?
WastAway president Floyd Bouldin is a man of great ideas. He?s not ready to stop at the WastAway concept of turning trash into treasure.
?It?s a big world out there and we have a lot of things pending,? said Floyd.
WastAway is in the process of bringing a gasofier to its plant in Morrison. The gasofier will allow WastAway to turn the fluff it manufactures from garbage into energy.
?It will produce steam and in turn produce electricity,? said Floyd, who fully realizes the energy crisis this country is facing. ?Our timing is excellent.?
I?ll keep you posted on more WastAway developments as they become available.
School is here and so is Homework Connection
Monday is the first day of school for most Warren County students, including one very special boy in the Clark household who begins his first day of kindergarten tomorrow. Just like that, Benjamin has turned 5 and he?s ready to head off to big-boy school.
My point in all this is not to try and sort through my emotions about my son beginning kindergarten. Rather it?s to tell you about a great new business that opens with the beginning of this school year.
It?s called Homework Connection and it?s being operated by Warren County Middle School teacher Diane Bryant, who has 18 years experience as a teacher and another five as a teacher?s aide. Every day there is school, Homework Connection is open from 2:45 to 6 p.m.
Diane says her business is not geared toward being a babysitting service. Rather she wants to provide an environment where kids can do their homework, read, and play educational video games.
?Instead of just running rampant, this is an environment that allows kids to get started on their homework,? said Diane. ?I know so many parents that as soon as they get off work it?s time to run the kids to dance, karate, or whatever. If we can get them started on their homework right after school, it?s a lot less stressful.?
Homework Connection is open for students in grades 1-6. Diane has a comfy area for students to delve into their accelerated reader books that?s furnished with several bean bag chairs. There is a separate computer area and separate recreational and gathering areas.
?I?ll have projects planned for days when there?s no homework,? said Diane, who has a master?s degree in education psychology. ?And I figure one day a month we can just sit back and watch a movie.?
Homework Connection is located at 312 E. Main Street across from the fire department. Diane says she will limit class size to 20 students and the cost is $50 a week. To find out more information or to register your child, the phone number is 507-7505.
Dale Gribble can remedy your wild animal troubles
Animals can sure be cute and cuddly when they are family pets, but I think most of us are familiar with what a nuisance even stray dogs can be if they are hanging around your property.
Dogs are nothing compared to the damage some wild animals can inflict. I?m talking about animals such as coyotes, beavers, muskrats, raccoons, groundhogs and bobcats.
If wild animals are causing you fits, then you need to call outdoorsman Dale Gribble. He can get rid of your problem with his new company called Tennessee Wildlife Animal Control.
?I?ve trapped and hunted all my life,? said Dale, who is also known as a pretty good fisherman. ?The TWRA is really backing me on this because they?ve been getting so many nuisance calls and they?re not really set up to remove animals from people?s property.?
Before you start rounding up animal traps and planning a career in animal control for yourself, it?s not that easy. Dale is fully licensed and insured, and he just received his certification Aug. 4.
TWRA officer Joey Wray has known Gribble for 17 or 18 years and doesn?t hesitate to vouch for his qualifications.
?He probably has more experience trapping and handling wild animals than anyone I know,? said Wray. ?I know he has been successful at assisting landowners across the county in handling problems with beavers, otters, muskrats and the occasional coyote.?
Wray said TWRA officers have to spend so much of their time working on law enforcement type issues, they can seldom respond to calls where someone has a wild animal problem on their property. That?s why he?s hoping to get the word out about Dale and send some of those animal problems his way.
Dale says he catches between 200 and 400 beavers a year and recently caught 107 that were inflicting serious damage to property owned by a timber company. He says beavers can get nasty and has even killed one as large as 78 pounds. He says the majority of beavers he catches are between 50 and 60 pounds.
Coyotes are even worse. Dale says they kill cats and dogs just for fun and can terrorize a property owner and his personal animals.
Dale charges a fee per head and there is also a mileage expense depending on how far he has to travel, and he says he?s ready to travel all over the state. His phone numbers are 686-4020 between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. and 212-2204 in case of emergency.
Video production company relocates to Warren County
Believe it or not, this community now has a full-service video production company. Brian and Sara Covert have recently relocated to the Morrison area and have brought their considerable video production experience with them. Their business is called Covert Productions.
Brian was a broadcast journalist in the Army and worked for a production company in Nashville. They?ve been operating in Warren County since June.
?We?ve done a couple of pageants and done some weddings,? said Brian, who indicated his specialty is making workplace training videos. ?We often work with human resource directors or training specialists. Companies that want to create a customized, consistent, convenient and cost-effective training environment will ask us to create programs that will not only tell, but show their employees what to expect to get their jobs done.?
Video programming is 100 percent customized to each client. The video can address skills needed for assembly line production or reinforce ways for employees to improve their customer service.
?With many nurseries and factories in the area, local companies employ thousands of individuals,? said Sara. ?It?s impossible to give one-on-one training to each of them so training videos are a great supplement to hands-on training.?
Covert Productions has produced training and promotional videos for companies including Dollar General, Shoney?s, Captain D?s, and the city of Gallatin.
To reach Covert Productions, the number is (931) 743-0140.
That?s all folks
Give me a call with your business news at 473-2191.
Quote NOTEBOOK
?Rule No. 1: Never tell everything at once.?
? Ken Venturi
?Those who can laugh without cause have either found the true meaning of happiness or have gone stark raving mad.?
? Norm Papernick
?On my income tax 1040 it says ?Check this box if you are blind.? I wanted to put a check mark about three inches away.?
? Tom Lehrer
?Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.?
? Evelyn Waugh
?Politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it whether it exists or not, diagnosing it incorrectly, and applying the wrong remedy.?
? Ernest Benn
?Youth is a wonderful thing. What a crime to waste it on children.?
? George Bernard Shaw
?I believe people would be alive today if there were a death penalty.?
? Nancy Reagan
?I am prepared to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the great ordeal of meeting me is another matter.?
? Sir Winston Churchill