Business Pulse: Burglar thinks he sees a human head
I lead off this week’s Business Pulse with breaking education news sweeping Tennessee. State Board of Education officials, not about to set their sights too high, have announced they want 60 percent of all high school students to graduate.
I’ve heard the old saying commitment to excellence. And I’ve heard about commitments to mediocrity. But this should be called a commitment to embarrassment.
Said board of education vice chairman Fielding Rolston, “This is going to strike a lot of people as a joke.”
To be brutally honest, yes it does strike me as a joke. Our state goal is to have only 60 percent of our high school students graduate. That’s only 10 percent more than half. What about the other 40 percent of the students?
But I guess I should expect such low-reaching high school goals when considering the unethical crook that was recently removed as president of UT. Yes, I’m talking about John Shumaker.
Now I realize we are all up to our eyeballs in Shumaker news and how he threw away thousands of dollars on rugs and drapes and all kinds of stuff. But the expense which has me the most puzzled is the line item which indicates he spent $717 for a mailbox.
Back in high school, I drove cars that weren’t valued at that much. For many, many Tennesseans, that’s more than two weeks pay – for a mailbox. The only thing I don’t understand is how Shumaker is avoiding criminal charges because he robbed Tennessee taxpayers of their hard-earned money.
And since we’re on the topic of crime, I’m going to end this week’s babble with a story about a British thief who called the law to the very house he was burglarizing. According to police reports, the burglar was stealing items from the home of artist Richard Morrison when he decided to look in the fridge for a snack.
Inside the fridge, the intruder saw what he thought was a human head inside a large pickle jar. He was so spooked, he called police to the house thinking Morrison might be some psychotic murderer.
Turns out, Morrison was simply working on an elaborate art project and the “head” was only some bacon wrapped around a wire frame floating in formaldehyde. Now if all criminals would only be so helpful and call police on themselves.
Killebrew bids farewell to The Collection
Here’s a bit of business news that had managed to slip under my radar. Rachel Killebrew had been trying to sell her Main Street business, The Collection, for the last couple years.
I never knew about Rachel’s desire to sell until the transaction was already a done deal. But I can bring you the final result – Rachel has sold The Collection to a New York man named David Vaughan.
David has relocated to McMinnville from New York City where he had an office with a view of the Empire State Building. He says buying The Collection was no snap decision, and one he researched thoroughly.
“Most of the businesses I was looking at were in the downtown area of their towns and all of those towns were suffering from what I call the Wal-Mart syndrome,” said David. “Most of those towns realized they had to do something to bring business back downtown, but they didn’t have any idea what to do.
“This town is past that stage. They have committees, they have plans already in place, an most of all they have the money. And they are ready to get started in March. It’s really a great fit.”
Killebrew said selling The Collection has been a fairly long-range goal. She was just waiting for the right situation.
“I had been looking for a long time for the right person to buy it and expand it and I think I have found that person,” said Rachel. “David is a vibrant person and he’s already making great changes. I was really running myself ragged and I didn’t have the time or the energy to do it myself. I’m really tickled to put it in the hands of someone who wants to do so much with it.”
Rachel has been running The Collection since 1992 and was anxious to get back in her field. Considering her field is aerospace and aviation, I can see why she wanted to return.
As for David, he just made the trip from New York to Tennessee last Saturday. And in becoming one of McMinnville’s newest residents, he also may be one of the only ones who is driving a Honda hybrid electric car which gets about 60 miles per gallon. So far, David said the tiny two-seater has elicited a few comments from folks who have never seen a hybrid electric car before.
His mode of transportation aside, David wants to capture the attention of Warren County by expanding the foods offered in The Collection’s restaurant and by expanding the hours of operation. I really like his idea for a Sunday brunch, especially since there are so many big churches located downtown.
“We’re going to have big, groaning tables filled with food for the Sunday brunch buffet,” said David. “And I might even offer a discount for anyone who brings in a church bulletin.”
Sounds like a winner to me.
Another Mexican restaurant is on the way
You might remember it was a few weeks ago when I told you about the addition taking place at Northgate Shopping Center across from Hastings. I also told you that a new Chinese restaurant was interested in the space, but that nothing had been finalized.
Well now a deal has been finalized and it’s a Mexican restaurant that has signed a five-year lease to occupy the space. That will probably come as welcome news for the Hastings manager who recently told me he was really hoping for a restaurant in that spot.
The owner is Manuel Ochoa, who plans to open what will be called La Cazona in mid-November. For those of you wondering what La Cazona means, you have come to the right place. Remember, I took Spanish in high school. Depending on your translation, it either means the big house or the grand house.
As for the restaurant itself, Manuel tells me it’s going to be top-shelf all the way. He says it will have an open kitchen so customers can see their food prepared, it will have a substantial-sized bar, it will have authentic tables and chairs purchased straight from Mexico, and it will feature a chef who is coming all the way from California.
“It will be very, very nice,” said Manuel, who said it will be a more traditional Mexican restaurant. I also understand he has hired an engineer from Chattanooga to perform all the interior design work.
What I’m curious to know is how this town is going to support two more Mexican restaurants. I realize Fiesta Ranchero does a mean business in Plaza Shopping Center, but it’s also expanding to a second location next to Auto Zone on Chancery Street. That restaurant is expected to be open in October.
I know folks in McMinnville are generally known as a taco-eating bunch, but I just wonder if the market might not be getting a little too saturated. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Former McMinnville man makes it big with Nationwide
I just love local success stories and that’s indeed the case with former McMinnville businessman Drew A. Vaughn. Drew has been promoted by Nationwide Insurance to a senior management position in Atlanta, Ga.
Drew began his Nationwide career as an agent in McMinnville. He has since held various sales management capacities in the company’s home office and in South Carolina and Florida. He had also been sales director for the states of Mississippi and Arkansas.
Nationwide sold its first auto insurance policy in Columbus, Ohio in 1926. The enterprise now has assets totaling some $125 billion.
Drew is a son of Ben Vaughn of McMinnville and the late Jimmie Sue Vaughn.
Security Federal bridges language barrier with new employee
Officials at Security Federal have announced the addition of Victor Gomez to the staff. Gomez, a native of Torrance, Calif., will work as a teller at the bank’s main office on W. Main Street.
“The addition of Victor underlines Security Federal’s commitment to serve everyone in our community,” said Security Federal president Joe Pugh. “Victor understands the needs of our young citizens as well as the Spanish speaking population. Young or old, English of Spanish speaking, Victor can relate to all of our customers and help them with their banking needs at Security Federal.”
Victor resides in McMinnville along with his parents, one brother and two sisters. And I should say his addition to Security Federal is much-needed because of our growing Hispanic population and bank officials were wise to address this need.
For me, the addition of Spanish speaking bank tellers only means there is now one more way for me to find out I don’t have much money. If I don’t like hearing those words in English, someone like Victor could come over and say, “Senior, yo no tengo dinero.” Don’t forget I took Spanish in high school.
That’s all folks
Give me a call with your business tips. The phone number is 473-2191 and the e-mail is [email protected].