Mayor's weekly letter
Friday November 30, 2007 - Friday, December 14, 2007
Greetings from the Mayor's office. I hope your Christmas season
is off to a good start, and that all your parties and dinners
with your friends and families will go well. We attend several
gatherings during this season, but our favorites still are
getting together with our family. Our kids and grandkids, and
our nieces and nephews really make Christmas worthwhile at our
house.
I am sorry that I have gone a little long in getting my letter
on the site this week. Sometimes it is difficult to get things
together in time to get it on every seven days. This letter goes
back for two weeks. I appreciate that you take time to read my
ramblings, and I really enjoy keeping you up with what is
happening in our community, and what is going on with the Mayor.
Be sure to contact me for any reason.
Friday night, November 30, Kay and I attended Dr. and Ms. Sahu's
annual dinner at the Spice of India Restaurant in Madison. The
dinner party included friends and colleagues of the Sahus, and
it was held in a private dining room of the hotel where the
restaurant is located. A good crowd was present and everyone
seemed to enjoy the food and fellowship.
The dinner was buffet style, and we enjoyed a variety of Indian
dishes, including chicken and lamb. We seldom eat lamb and this
particular dish was very tasty. I really enjoyed the way the
vegetables are prepared, and one dish I ate, thinking it was
chicken prepared similar to Chinese style, turned out to be
cauliflower. It was delicious.
After dinner Dr. Ravi entertained with several jokes and funny
stories related to the medical profession. Dr. Qureshi and
several others told humorous stories about the profession, or
about Dr. Sahu. We enjoyed the dinner so much. The Sahus are
gracious hosts, and really try to please the group by providing
great food and enjoyment.
Today was the 46th anniversary of the death of our brother,
Bobby Craddock Williams. He died about a month short of his 22nd
birthday. He was a lineman for the Athens Electric Department,
and died from an accidental electrocution. It surely doesn't
seem to be that many years since the incident occurred.
Saturday morning we ate breakfast at home. I later went uptown
to see how the Chamber of Commerce open house was progressing.
It seemed that a good crowd was there throughout the day.
Kay, Dinah, and I ate lunch at Lawler's today. After lunch we
went to Charles' house, and I helped him rake and bag the leaves
that had fallen in his yard.
At 5:00 p.m., the Christmas Tree Lighting took place. The band,
Atomic Noise, performed to begin the program that was held on
the south side of the Courthouse. This is a great band of young
guys who have been together for about two years. The second part
of the event had a group of Clements Elementary School singing
Christmas music, and the crowd enjoyed it. The big tree was then
lighted by David Seibert and Santa Claus, and the program was
completed. David had snow machines blowing snow from the
Courthouse steps. Two of our grandkids were with us and wanted
to go to McDonalds after the tree lighting. We got them supper
and went home for the night.
Whitney called for us to come see their new Christmas tree, so
we drove over. She, Dinah, Heather Whitt, and Joy Whitt were
decorating the tree.
Sunday morning we attended Church and Sunday School. The kids
came to our house for lunch, and we had a quiet afternoon at
home by ourselves.
We got Capt. Dee's fish for dinner and had it at Whitney's
house. Whitney had purchased a family feast, then I went and got
one and carried to her house. Holly Whitt later came by and had
known we were having Cpt. Dees, so she purchased one. We had
fish flowing out the door, and we will be eating some left-overs
later in the week.
Monday morning I attended a ribbon cutting at the Waddell
Medical Center. We not have two doctors that have opened a
practice there. The hospital staff did a good job with the
opening for this clinic. Gina Hanserd, Felicia Lambert, and
Barbara Ferguson always pay attention to detail, and I enjoy
anything that they plan.
I went to the City Hall Fire Station at lunch today and
presented a Retirement Certificate to Wayne McCurry. Wayne
worked for our City from November 18, 1985, to December 1, 2007,
a total of 22 years. We all wish him well in his retirement.
I met with our City Attorney and Public Works Director at lunch
today to discuss some important issues that we may be facing in
the City in a short time. It is difficult to keep up with
everything that is happening because many times we have little
or no warning before someone wants to do something that has the
potential to upset a lot of folks.
Kay and I attended the funeral of Marjorie Beasley Williams this
afternoon at Limestone Chapel. My sister Joan and two of her
children also attended. We were not related to Marjorie, but she
and our Mama were the same age, born in Salem, and enjoyed being
life-long friends. They grew up together, went to school
together, and visited as often as they could. They also had long
telephone visits after Marjorie moved to Miami. Marjorie passed
away in the Miami area where she had lived with her daughter,
Ellen, for the past ten years. Marjorie was like a member of our
family, and we grieve with her dear family for the loss of our
family's dear friend. Brother Calvin Havens, Pastor at
Friendship Methodist Church spoke at the funeral. She was buried
in the Athens City Cemetery. Marjorie was the aunt of Martha
McCracken, Mary Will Johnston, and Betsy Carter.
I mailed a flag that has been flying over City Hall for some
time to Iraq this afternoon. Last week, Debbie Chamberlain came
to the office and said her husband, Gunny Sgt. R.L. Chamberlain,
a Marine serving in Iraq, wanted me to send a flag for him to
fly in Iraq, certify that it had been flown there, and send it
back to be displayed in City Hall. I appreciate Debbie bringing
this request to me, and I will let you know when the flag is
displayed. The young man at the post office, who also is a
Marine from Sgt. Chamberlain's unit, said it would be January
before the flag gets to Iran. This young man also served in Iraq
in 2005-06.
We went to Don and Linda Ricketts' home tonight for our annual
Christmas Dinner with them, Larry and Linda Hicks, Al and Susan
Todd, and Wayne and Vonnette Harper. We had a great dinner with
Christmas desserts. We stayed a good while and talked about our
parents, our children, and the good times we had growing up in
the South.
Tuesday morning was spent in the office doing the administrative
duties of the Mayor's office. There is always a lot of work that
has to be done in order for the City to operate lawfully.
Tuesday afternoon I was involved in a meeting that concerned
business of our Community. There are always events occurring and
things taking place that require attention from those who serve
in public positions. These things have to be attended to, and we
would not be serving the public properly if we did not see to
them.
Tuesday night Kay and I stayed home and had a quiet evening to
ourselves.
Wednesday morning I met with some of our Councilmen about
several different items of city business. I have Council members
visit with me quite often about city business, but we follow the
law and do not have more than two present, and we do not decide
how the Council will vote. I know some folks feel every decision
is made behind closed doors, and out of site of the public, but
I can tell you that we do not do business in that manner. Every
Council meeting that we have requires votes of the Council, and
much of that business is very routine and non-controversial.
There are items of business on the Council's agenda from time to
time that I have no idea how they will vote, even after talking
to them.
I went to choir practice tonight. We had a good practice, but
I'm not sure how well everyone knows the words to the music. We
are supposed to memorize it, but we just have two more practices
before the program on Saturday and Sunday, December 15 and 16. I
hope some of you will be able to attend.
Thursday morning I met with several people to look at
information regarding an automatic meter reading system. This
doesn't mean that we are going into this system immediately,
because they are costly. We are looking at it because it is the
way we will do things in the near future, and we have to be up
to date on what systems are available.
I later attended the Civitan Christmas party for the local
Mental Health Counseling Center. This was at the Friendship
Methodist Church Activity Center, and a large group of patients
from the center were present for a great meal, and entertainment
activities. Roan Bradley, a local Accountant and community
activist, assisted with this program. Roan does an excellent job
of helping folks in our community, and she and her family are
members at Friendship.
I later met with Tom Hill about a possible Industrial prospect.
We have many folks who come to Tom looking for a site to locate
industry. They always seem to have many sites in several states
that are being considered, and that makes a good bit of hard
work for Tom and the Economic Development Association.
I went back into the fire station at five o'clock this afternoon
to meet Larry Gooch, who is our longest serving fireman, to ride
in the Christmas Parade on our old 1935 Pirsh fire truck. Two of
my grandkids, Asa and Alex, were with me, and Luke came to the
High School staging area later to be with us. There were about
130 units lining up behind the high school as we arrived, and we
got a preview of the parade as we drove past all of them to get
to our place near the front of the line.
I certainly want to give credit to those involved in lining up
this parade. I know we sort of take the parade for granted, but
it is a massive undertaking to build and decorate all the floats
and vehicles, get everyone on board at the proper time, space
the bands and walking groups properly, and kick-off the parade
at 6:00 p.m. They are providing a great service to our
community.
We started the parade right on time, and when we got in front of
City Hall, a huge group of kids piled on the fire truck to go
the remainder of the way with us. We must have had twenty before
we got to the end of the parade. We came back to City Hall, and
I was able to see a big portion of the parade pass by.
After the parade, Kay and I were invited to the Police
Department's family Christmas party at the First Baptist Church
Family Life Center. They had a big crowd attending with their
families, and it was come-and-go for our policemen. Debbie
Smith, Vonnette Harper, Cindy Pugh, and all the other ladies
connected with the Department, served up a great supper of
delicious finger foods. They had everything to eat, and everyone
ate up. Several of our retired personnel came by. I saw George
Clem, Wiley Russell, Ken Williams, and Jerry Crabtree enjoying
the food.
Kay and sat at the table with Amanda Garland and her husband,
Josh. Josh is one of the younger members of our Police force.
They are a young couple, and have built a new home up on
Edgewood Road. He is from Tallassee, and she grew up in
Huntsville. She works in Decatur for the Morgan County System of
Services as a grant writer. They are a nice young couple, and I
am happy that we have them as members of our Police Department
and community.
Our four children were at our house when we got home. We had a
good visit with them and four of our grandchildren.
Friday morning I was in the office early doing some work. I went
to the TVA Credit Union on Hobbs Street for a ribbon cutting to
celebrate their opening. They are in a former bank building in
the Athens Shopping Center. This business was originally the
credit union for the Eton Corporation, which eventually moved
its business to Mexico. Through a series of mergers, it ended up
throwing in with TVA, and the branch is managed by Gail
Williams. It is a nice place, and a group of lovely ladies are
working with them.
Kay and I joined Mark and Phyllis Whitt at the Oasis for lunch
today. This is the first time we have eaten there, and I enjoyed
my Red Snapper sandwich. The restaurant has been renovated well,
and it looks to be a cozy, quiet place that folks can enjoy.
There was a big lunch crowd while we were eating.
I met this afternoon with LTC Buxton, Battalion Commander of the
National Guard MP unit here in Athens. This was my first time to
meet him, and I was impressed with this young soldier. He is
interested in getting the local Unit more involved in the
community. We had a great conversation, and we are going to
follow up with more contact. I think we will hear more from our
local Unit with him as the Commander. I sent him to visit our
local Veteran's Museum, because I think he will be impressed
with it, and it is one avenue where he can lend us assistance.
I attended a meeting late this afternoon at the Veteran's
Museum. This was a group of young students from Athens State
University who have studied the current situation of the museum,
and made several suggestions about how the museum could be
operated more efficiently, and how we can better secure the
future of the museum.
Kay and I attended our Sunday School Party tonight at the First
Baptist Church Family Life Center. We had a good crowd,
outstanding food, and we played the dirty Santa game of swapping
ornaments. Evelyn Culberson is the dirtiest player that I have
ever seen in this game. She always steals everyone's gifts.
Saturday morning we had a late breakfast, and I ran a few
errands uptown. Kay went to Giovanni's at lunch for her
classmate's monthly luncheon. They have been doing this luncheon
for several months, and they all seem to enjoy it.
I attended the open house at the Houston Library this afternoon.
They had a Santa for the kids, and refreshments for those
attending. Betty Turner, Judy Davis, and Louise Steele seemed to
be handling the crowd with ease. I saw and visited with Ruby
Jean and Robert Allen Tinnon at the party. They seem to be doing
well. Mr. Tinnon is a former Mayor and Councilman in Athens.
I had a call this afternoon from Tom Hickey who lives around
Griffith, Indiana. Tom was in the Athens Bible School graduating
class of 1957 with my brother, Bobby. That has been fifty years,
and I have not seen Tom since that time. He and Bobby were a
couple or three years older than me, but I remember him well. He
came to Athens and boarded with the Brackeen family to attend
the Bible school. He has been a Church of Christ minister since
he was in high school. He was calling to get a copy of a CD that
has songs recorded around fifty years ago by Bobby, Judy
Rollings Bradford, Gwen Creel Dula, and Gerald Robinson. When
they were in school, they had a singing group called the
Stereos. They did gospel and pop singing, and they were
excellent.
I enjoyed catching up on Tom and his life. I remember him as a
good guy who was liked by everyone. I'm sure he has remained the
same for these many years. I hope he will come through Athens in
the near future to visit for a while.
Two of our grandchildren came to our house for tonight. We went
to Wendys for supper, then watched Christmas programs on
television.
I attended Sunday School and Church today. We had a guest singer
at Church today who was one of the best I have heard. His last
name is Cross, and I have forgotten his first name. He was one
of the biggest stars in Christian Music in the 1990's. I enjoyed
his music.
We went to Whitney's house for lunch, then Whitney and Dinah
went to visit Daniel and his family this afternoon.
I went to a special called Choir practice tonight after Church
services. We had most of the choir present and had a good
practice.
Monday morning I was in the office getting ready for tonight's
Council meeting. There was a lot of business to do today. I also
met and talked with a couple of Councilmen about the business of
the City.
Kay spent some time this afternoon getting some more Christmas
shopping done. I guess most of our presents have been purchased,
and we are now deciding when and where we will have our family
times this year.
The City Council met for a regular meeting tonight and covered
several items of business.
A. A Public Hearing for the amendment to the Zoning Ordinance
was held and the Council passed this amendment. There have been
changes made to the ordinance which will allow Loft Apartments
to exist in our city. The Council's agreement to allow this type
apartments will not compromise the International Building Code's
fire codes. This is the code which the Council adopted in 2003
to deal with building and construction in Athens.
Resolutions and Ordinances:
The Council passed a Resolution to set a Public Hearing for the
rezoning request of Billy Cannon, the Cannon Family and Mr. Dick
Chittam for property located at 2030 Highway 72 West.
The Council passed an Ordinance to amend Section 50-78 of the
City Code, relating to meter tap impact fees.
The Council passed a Resolution concerning the refund of certain
fees for the Water Department.
The Council passed an Ordinance to approve the Water and Sewer
Revenue Series 2007.
The Council passed an Ordinance to issue a franchise for
operation of a horse- drawn carriage service to Jeff Markham.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve the purchase of six
(AED) Automatic External Defibrillators for Athens Fire and
Rescue.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve the purchase of a
Fire Truck for Athens Fire and Rescue.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve the purchase of a
Test Bench for Athens Fire and Rescue.
The Council passed a Resolution to adopt revised job description
for Relief
Dispatcher/Parking Enforcement Officer and Dispatcher for
the Police Department.
The Council passed an Ordinance to amend Ordinance 888 for the
Police
Department.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve the purchase of a
fingerprint system for the Police Department.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve the upgrade dispatch
radio console
for the Police Department.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve the final results of
the FY 2007 Gas
Department budget.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve
purchasing/procurement policies for
CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) projects.
The Council passed a Resolution to approve Diesel and Lola for a
“retail table wine for on and off premises consumption” alcohol
license.
There were several citizens who came to speak to the Council
about concerns they have about their neighborhood.
Kay and I attended our Church Choir party tonight after the
Council meeting. It was held at the Valley Event Center, and the
food was provided by Laurie Cannon and her staff. It was a
delicious dinner, and everyone enjoyed it. Frank Travis was the
entertainment. He did several poems and skits for us that were
from the time period of slavery. They were well-recited and
enacted by Frank. He is a master of this type entertainment, and
always makes a point through his program.
Tuesday morning I went to my regular radio talk show at WKAC to
discuss the events at last night's Council meeting. We did not
have any calls, but we talked about several subjects of interest
concerning our City.
Later I met with a group to discuss events that are occurring in
our community.
This afternoon David Seibert and I attended a meeting of the
Rural Transportation Committee at the TARCOG agency in
Huntsville. This was a short meeting and just involved some
amendments to the bylaws of the organization.
I came back to Athens and attended the Planning Commission
meeting. There were only two items of business on the agenda, so
the meeting was very short.
Kay and I later went to the Middle School auditorium to hear the
Christmas concert of the Middle and Intermediate school bands.
Our grand daughter, Alex, plays Sax in the Intermediate
Beginning Band. I was amazed at how well they played, since they
have only been playing since August. They played six songs, and
I recognized all of them. I look forward to hearing her play as
she grows up and progresses in school.
Wednesday morning I spent the morning catching up on things at
the office. I went to Giovanni's at lunch with the Chamber of
Commerce Board, and we were treated by Mark Zirble. Mark is the
owner of Calvin's Cleaners, and he has recently sold his
business. He plans to stay with the business for a period of
time, then will find other activities to do. Mark will remain in
our community, and will continue to be a positive influence as
he has in the past.
Keep in mind our City's Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
Service on Monday, January 21, 2008. It will begin at 9:00 a.m.,
on the south side of the Courthouse Square. The crowd will march
to the Veteran's Museum at Pryor Street, and the program will
begin at 9:30 a.m. This is a good event to attend, and
refreshments will be served.
I went to Choir practice tonight for another run through our
songs we will be singing at our Athens Christmas this Saturday
and Sunday night. I hope any who has opportunity will come and
hear the concert. It begins at 7:00 both nights. We will have
our dress rehearsal tomorrow night at the Church.
Thursday morning I spent time in the office catching up on
correspondence and taking several calls and visits from
citizens. I met with David Seibert and two folks from the Kidney
Association to talk about problems with liability insurance on
the volunteers with the association. This is quite complicated,
and it is very important because around fifteen to twenty
patients and their families depend upon the association's
transportation services.
I attended the annual Christmas holiday social at the law firm
of Jim Moffett and Chad Wise. They always have a large turnout
for this event. I see folks there that I have not seen for quite
some time. They had a good spread laid out for their friends and
customers. There were many items of delicious finger foods. The
ones I liked best was the big shrimp that had been tossed in a
creamy dressing, and the fresh green and white asparagus with a
dip. It was really good.
I left the party and attended another Choir practice tonight
from 6:30 to 9:00. This is our final practice before our program
on Saturday and Sunday night. We did pretty good at this
practice, but I am still having trouble with memorization of the
words to all these songs.
Friday morning I had breakfast at LuVici's with Evan Thornton,
Jarrod Hester, and Bill Matthews. I really enjoyed spending time
with these young guys and finding out what is happening with the
young set in our community. Jerrod is an investments counselor
with Edward Jones, Bill is a local attorney, and Evan is our
general fund Finance Director. We had good conversation and good
food. The new restaurant seems to be doing well, and we wish
Jerry Sandlin and his family much success. This restaurant is a
great asset for our city.
I am including the Chamber of Commerce schedule of events that
will be taking place in our community during this month:
15-Dec at 7:00 PM - Gospel Christmas Show at The Athens Opry
(formerly George’s Good Time Jamboree), 24861 Airport Road,
Athens, AL. $5.00 admission. Chamber members free - 256-216-1151
16-Dec at 6:00 PM - Children's Christmas Musical at Lindsey Lane
Baptist Church, Athens, AL, 6-232-0020,
www.lindsaylane.org
19-Dec at 7:00 PM - Adult Choir Christmas Concert at Lindsey
Lane Baptist Church, Athens, AL, 256-232-0020,
www.lindsaylane.org
31-Dec at 7:30 PM - New Year's Eve Celebration Service at
Lindsey Lane Baptist Church, Athens, AL, 256-232-0020,
www.lindsaylane.org
Pickin’ & Grinnin’ at Ardmore every Thursday night at 6:30 PM at
the Ardmore TN Annex Building, 256-423-7588
Pickin’ & Grinnin’ at Elkmont every Monday night at 6:30 PM at
the Elkmont Depot, 931-427-6296
I guess this is enough for this time. Take care and I'll see you
next time.
