Portland, Tennessee Blog

Would anyone be able to tell me about renting out the TGT Clubhouse? Is it private or can anyone rent it? Also, who do you call to find out rates/available dates?

hello gorgeous has gone out of business. However the wonderful girls there have all moved to other local salons. April R. and Michelle have gone to Cutting Edge 325-7691 and Amy has gone to Hair express. all of these girls would love for their wonderful/loyal clients to find them at their new locations. the salon abruptly closing after its recent move to S. Russell has been devastating to them this Christmas season.

Thanks for the info on Hello Gorgeous! I'll have to try the other places that you all mentioned.

I was thinking Hello Gorgeous moved over on South Russell, their phone # still works........

Several people went to Total Image too out on Hwy 109.

Hello Georgeous went out of business. All the stylist went elsewhere. I think some went to His & Hers and I know Amy went to Hair Express.

Here's to another year of zero commercial growth and rising sewer and utility bills as a result!!!

Thanks, but I knew they were there, now that place is up for sale and empty. Thought someone might know what happened, where the went, etc. Guess I'll just have to find another hair salon!

I think they moved into the house beside City Hall and next to the lawn mower shop on South Russell.

Does anyone know what happened to "Hello Georgeous" Hair Salon? Did they move somewhere or go out of business?

In the last sentence of the previous post, I intended to say: It is a "public" road, not a private driveway and improper maintenance is unacceptable.

South Russell is narrow,congested and has drivers who travel over the speed limit as well, and isn't any better in terms of safety . . . it too has a blind curve on a hill.

How would one access Butler Rd. coming from Fowler Ford / Tom Ferrell? I don't know for certain, but I don't think it's possible.

And the only other option would be to drive into town and work through three school zones. That is just . . . well, I'll just leave that alone.

I understand that residents would prefer for the traffic to be re-routed elsewhere, but the school's phyical location, the way the school system is zoned and continued growth of the student population creates problematic traffic conditions.

This is yet another demonstration of a lack of adequate planning for growth and it's "overall" impact. Regardless of whether the residents care about road conditions or not, the city or county, whichever, has a duty to maintain roads condusive to the safe passage of all vehicles. It is a private road, not a private driveway and improper maintenance is unacceptable.

Tom Ferrell Road is a neighborhood street that used to go no place except to the homes in this subdivision, one way in, and one way out. About 5 years ago they connected it by paving the narrow farmers gravel access road (county) part to the northern most end (city) where the subdivision is. This is why there are no speedlimit signs, I encourage the city to post the 15mph speed limit signs that are in all neighborhoods and then have them enforced. This may stop all the thru traffic that shouldn't be going thru there. Then our neighborhood will return to resident only traffic. I don't think the people who live there have a problem with the road conditions, at the least it discourages others from using our subdivision as a cut thru.

DebraP perhaps butler road or south russell depending on where you are coming from would be a safer route to Clyde Riggs, leave a few minutes earlier to allow for the extra time needed. I would think if you have that much concern your childs safety would be better served by traveling another route plus that would be one less vehicle traveling where it shouldn't be.

PS: Judy The 3 property owners in the curve were offered by the City to be annexed into the city limits a few years back, but I don't think they wanted it, can you blame them if they didn't, they still get most all services and don't pay the extra City tax!

RE: Tom Ferrell Road

Yes it is being used for a cut thru to get to Clyde Riggs, even the busses now use it. How do you think the residents along this road feel about this traffic, since it has been paved on the back end the traffic has trippled. Used to be a nice QUIET area with very little traffic except for those of us that live back in that area. Now there has been wrecks on that road, people run off the road, and very few abide by the speed limit. There is a BLIND hill there that one day is going to take someones life because people just don't slow down or stay in there small little lane! That curve where the road is crumbling I believe IS in the City limits, It was incorporated over the past 3 years, the county starts just past the curve on the left and right. I just might follow up with PW to verify.

I received a response from the public works dept. about Tom Ferrell Rd. I was surpised and pleased. Most emails I send to the city get ingnored.

Here is the response:

Thanks for your comments. In reviewing annexation records, this portion of Tom Ferrell Road appears to be outside the City Limits of Portland and under Sumner County Government jurisdiction. We have placed a call to the Sumner County Highway Department to verify this and will be making a determination Monday on who has maintenance responsibility for this area. If you have any questions I can be reached at (615)325-6776 or via E-mail.

Thanks
Brian Goodwin
City of Portland
Public Works Director

The problem with the atheist movie isn't the fact that our kids can't recognize that it is against their beliefs, it's the fact that by paying to watch the movie you put money in the pocket of the atheist. You can't, and shouldn't, sheild your children from the world's differences, however, I do feel you can choose to not support differences with which you disagree.

I want to complain about a road here in Portland. It's Tom Ferrell Road. There are no road or speed limit signs anywhere on this road. There is a bad curve over a little creek that is crumbling on one side so this makes it one lane. Some trees and bushes need trimmed or cut down on this curve so you can see what is coming in the opposite direction. I have almost been hit or run off the road, in this curve, several times. This road also needs to be widened in several spots.

Tom Ferrell Rd is used as a cut thru to get to Clyde Riggs schools. It is very busy between 7:00 am and 7:30 am. Also in the afternoons between 2 and 3.

The city needs to give this road some attention before there is a serious accident.

I am also sending a copy of this to the Public Works Dept.

I like Tim's idea. We have to do something different, schools aren't up to par anymore.

About the schools:

As far as the schedule goes, I know several kids and parents that like the "year round " classes. My son attends school in an adjacent county where thay do an "alternative" schedule and he like getting a fall break, an extended winter break and a spring break to boot. I think I would have like it too. Maybe I wouldn't have had to bust my butt in the tobacco field, hay field and garden all those summers!!

But my main question concerns the building program. As much trouble as it seems to be to find affordable land to build a school, why cant we try offering night classes to those students that might like to try it. I asked my son how he felt about it and he said it sounded pretty neat to him. That way he could sleep later. And with todays society that has parents working 24/7, it may be a help to them too. Just a thought.

I voted for the Lottery because I think it's fun.
Same reason I like to play slot machines...it's fun to win money and, at the same time, maybe it goes for a good cause....maybe not. Same as our other tax dollars...we don't know where it goes....and when special projects are done, it's because of someone's connections to those those in power..so I don't worry about that part. It's just fun. The politics of it is beyond my control, although I DO vote.....who knows who's doing the counting ??

I lived in Illinois when they first instituted their lottery (can't remember exactly, but must be 15-20 years ago now). They too promised that this was going to bring in much money for education. The fine print there was that for every dollar the lottery brought in for education, they subtracted money in the state budget allocation for education. Consequently, education more or less broke even, rather than getting more money--and nobody could ever figure out why the state budget didn't look better, given the dollars they were no longer allocating to education because of the lottery money.

The only reason I voted for the lottery was because I thought it would help our schools. I didn't read the fine print. I will know better next time.

Thanks SG for the heads up on the movie. Didn't like what I read.

SG, It's funny that you brought this up today because my 2 oldest kids were talking about this just last night. (they were also talking about it in school yesterday)

They found it lacked credibilty that an atheist would write a book about killing God because in order to kill Him, the atheist author would have to acknowledge His existance.

Like all books, movies. music and video games, it is important to monitor what your children are being exposed to so that you can make informed decisions. Unfortunately, we can't shield them from everything, but we can take the time to discuss these things with our kids and guage the extent of the impact these things have on them.

My personal issue isn't with the content as much as it is with the individual child's ability to differentiate "entertainment", "fantasy", etc. . . from reality. After my discussion with my oldest kids last night, I am not worried in the least that this one story/movie is going to negate eveything I have taught them since they were little, yet I will not be allowing my two youngest to see it at this point in time.

I appreciate the fact that you brought this up because I am sure that many parents aren't aware of it's highly controversial content and it presents people the opportunity to make a decision that is right for them and their family.

Having watched part of this week's town council meeting and read today's newspaper article regarding such, I am just not convinced that the money is well spent on "Main Street" development. We're talking about a one-block stretch of road that is not going to make or break the financial fortunes of Portland--even if all of the businesses there thrive and increase their growth 200%. There are no businesses there presently that would ever be likely to entice hordes of visitors to town to leave their money here. Please do not misconstrue that--these are very nice businesses and good businesses for Portland but none are tourist magnets, nor will they ever be so. We need to focus our time and our money on improving the parts of this city that are likely to do so. The money would be better spent to raze empty, outdated, dumpy buildings along Highway 109 to allow newer, modern buildings to be built to provide services and goods that we normally have to leave Portland to buy--or here's an idea--how about we put the money into repaving present streets, putting in much-needed sidewalks, or extending city utilities out 52 toward the interstate, which I understand is one hindrance towards development there. We need to be cognizant of our past and our history, and I am all for preserving it, but I believe there are more important ways for us to spend our tax dollars to preserve our future.

Let me just follow up by saying that I do not know anything other than what has been posted about this movie, but I thought that people should be aware of what is being said about it in case they haven't heard. My intentions are NOT to start a debate of any sort, just passing on information.

I know this is off the subject, but I heard this about the new movie coming out and wanted to check it out myself. Please spread the word.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp

With regard to Lottery funds, my wife and I researched this extensively when it was up for vote and the biggest problem we had with voting the lottery in was in the fine print, (where few ever read) it stated that the lottery money was going to be used to fund college scholarships and college criteria, NOT public schools. This is why we voted against it. Would have voted for it if the money were going to local public schools, but it does not. The lottery folks were very sneaky about this and assumed most would not read the fines print, which obviously most did not.

Hello.. This is Angela... I am the school nurse for Clyde Riggs, PMS, and PHS. I am new to this Blog. I had a friend tell me about the situation and the topics being discussed regarding the scratched face. Well, there seems to be several questions regarding the purpose of a school nurse. Our function is to preform daily procedures for students that attend the schools (example: Diabetics). We are called if there is an emergancy situation or to answer medical questions that arise if we are not at that particular school at that moment. We are very busy throughout our days (I know I am). I can't comment on the scratched face because I didn't see it. Did it require medical attention (stitches)?
I hope this helps answer the question: "What is a school nurse?"..
Thanks..

One more thing- the lottery paid for my oldest daughter to take college English (dual enrollment in high school and college) this year and is going to provide around $4,000.00 toward her college tuition next year. Personaaly, I am thankful for the program.

Tennessee is also using some of the lottery funds
to pay for the pre-K programs. We have one such program here in Portland at Wiseman.

Info- for those who have kids in high school who are having difficulty in Math (basic math through calculus) Portland High School has a "math lab" 7am-7:45 Monday-Friday, and 3:00-4:00pm Monday- Thursday and it's free!

My middle daughter is a freshman and she made a D the first 9 weeks. Since she started going to the math lab, she has gained a better understanding and her grades have improved significantly.

KUDOS to Portland for providing this service!

Regarding the Lottery Funds

I am not sure I am correct but I thought that some of the funding that comes from the lottery is replacing funding that was taken away, never really paid much attention when or where I heard that, all I know is my conclusion was that the schools were no better off after the lottery than before. But I believe the major portion of lottery funding is for scholarships. Florida has the same thing with their lottery but has been more successful in funding schools first before scholarships

I've never understood the lottery scholarship program. Wouldn't it make more sense to use that money to improve our primary and secondary schools? Our schools are in desperate need of an overhaul, not only aesthetically, but the curriculum needs to be completely revamped. We have kids that can't read or do simple math graduating.Perhaps if they had a better education at the beginning, they could qualify for other scholarships that are available on their own.

Talking about education, I would like to know just how much of the Tn Lottery money goes towards our schools. Do not count the scholarships, which is great. I am talking about the individual school systems.

Must not be much.
1. Sumner County can't even afford to be in the Pre-K program that is offered.
2. Children going door to door to sell useless items.
3. Some schools are run down and in need of repair.
4. To get sports equipment they have to rely on people to turn in their grocery receipts.
I could go on and on.

The lottery has more than enough money to help the school systems out more than they do.

Deanna-anytime. We have a great past, but you have to evolve or you'll be left in the past.

Thanks, Daniel for sorting that out for me...I didn't understand exactly how that went last night in the meeting.

And, you're so right about education and the state of our country.........we can't keep doing the same things we've always done. There's a saying that says....if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll get what you've always got, or something like that......

Deanna-actually, a portion of that is going to apply for a grant, part of it is to hire a traffic engineer to get Main St. open and the rest is going towards the study.
SC-You know what, you're right. Let's keep doing things like we did the past 100 years and not change anything. No wonder Portland has 13,000 people and as many places to eat as Westmoreland.
As I said before, there are always some who will excel no matter what, many of the doctors you speak of however went to private schools. Many of the rich people you refer to capitalized off an economy that has now turned global and we are falling behind in. Why do you think the American dollar is losing its value? When OPEC dumps our dollar and we go back into a depression, maybe we'll start to understand that the past was great but it has nothing to do with the future.

A bit off the subject, but talking about tax dollars and little or nothing......are Portlander's tax money of $35,000 really going to be spent on a "study" from a consulting firm to show us how Main St. can be nicer ????

Hmmmm.....

So all those years past that kids went to school and got summer breaks produced nothing but lazy adults? What about all the teachers, professors, Doctors, scientists, nurses, inventors and milionaires in the past 100 years? Certainly taking off 2 months in the summer didn't affect their learning did it (some of them might not even have finished school at all)? If I took off 2 months for my job I certainly wouldn't forget how to do it, I'm smarter than that. I would find it more distracting taking a couple weeks off every few weeks. I wouldn't concentrate on my job because I'd be too anxious looking forward to my next 2 weeks off!

So now you are lumping all those who fail in class as coming from bad home environments? I wasn't trying to lump anyone into any category, as I said, the numbers speak for themselves. Not just in this county, but statewide. Sorry if that offends you, maybe it should. Maybe it should offend all of us. I'm offended when I see my tax dollars are going for little if nothing.

It was not just one student,I was only using her as an example.My problem with your post was that you lumped all Sumner County students into one group,failures.Yes there are bad students and there are those who can't make it in college.But work ethic is not something that is a result of the school system,it is a result of the home environment.I am in favor of the year round proposal,it makes very good sense.Just stop acting like if you're a product of Sumner County you're not up to par.

Well, you are half right. They'll do it cheaper and better. Plus, the jobs you're refering to are physical labor. I'm talking about engineers and the like. Why do think American made doesn't mean much anymore? Why do you think we owe China so much money? I'm not saying working 300 days a year is good for anybody, but it is the reality of the world. Plus, going to school year round would still give kids as much time off as a summer break but it would come in smaller portions instead of two and a half months and I stand by my statement, there's hardly anything you can do well if you take two and a half months off from it a year. Anything worthwhile that is. There will always be a few children who can excel no matter what, but not the majority. Look how many college graduates these days don't have a job or have to settle for a field they didn't major in. Our system is failing students and in the global marketplace, businesses don't have to hire someone just because they are from America. So continue to enjoy your two and a half months off a year(plus two weeks for Christmas, a week for fall break, a week for spring break...five days for Thanksgiving..etc...etc...etc..)and see how much worse things get.

Great point SC about the outsourcing of jobs. They like the cheap labor. I do agree with Daniel the education in Sumner County definately needs some changing. We have principals who are basically waiting out for retirement. I have had plenty of teachers tell me that when the kids get to the high school, they are so behind. I believe the middle school is the key and there needs to be a big change.

Kids who go to school 6 days a week 300 days a year???!! What kind of childhood is that? What ever happened to kids getting a summer vacation? I know when I was in school I certainly never "forgot" everything I was taught the year before. I think kids need that summer break, no wonder kids are under so much stress these days that they turn to drugs, alcohol and shooting their fellow classmates! Is that what we want our kids to be? So stressed out they have a hard time functioning. They go from year round school to year round work...sounds like fun.

And the outsourcing of jobs isn't because those people in other countries are so much smarter than us and have so much more education....it's because they will do the work CHEAPER.

One student out of how many in the county? I'm not calling anyone in the county stupid, you put those words in my mouth, but I think the test scores speak for themselves. I can name you several kids who graduated from PHS who were on the honor roll all four years and then failed out of Vol State within two semesters. This is not just a Portland, Sumner County or Tennessee issue, it's a global one.Students are having to compete against peers from around the world now, not just in America, and most of those kids are going to school six days a week over 300 days a year. That's why so many of our jobs are being outsourced. Are there talented students in Portland, you bet. Are there more bad cases than good? Absolutely. Kids in America(including my generation) have it easy, asking them to go to school year round so that every child can adopt good working habbits is not much to ask.

The few gifted students will have no problem no matter what the school's schedule. I think what we are talking about here is the general student population....the schedule should be of benefit to the most students. Daniel makes a good point.

Daniel,I usually respect your opinions and the things you say,don't always agree with 'em,but I do respect 'em.As for your last statement,I neither agree with nor respect it.Do NOT generalize the students of Sumner county.There HAVE been and CONTINUE to be some very gifted minds not only count ywide, but also here in Portland.There was a young lady this past year who turned down numerous scholarships from other schools to attend Yale and become a surgeon,God,how stupid.If the students are so ignorant, why do they keep receiving scholarships from institutions nationwide.Might want to rethink that one Dan.

If you took two and a half months off from your job, would you be better or worse at it? If Tiger Woods took two and a half months off from golf, would he still be the greatest in the world? If Ronnie McDowell didn't sing for two and half months, would he still be able to carry a note?
Then why do we think kids and teachers are any different? Most teachers will tell you the first 2-4 weeks of a new school year are basically a wash because it is all review and let's face something else here. Sumner schools don't exactly have the best rep for putting out scholars. Maybe it is indeed time for some sort of change just to stay legitimate.

I have a question and a comment that are related...

Is this schedule going to be a straight nine week on and two week off schedule with no extended summer break, or would it be like Simpson County, which they call a modified year-round schedule? In that schedule the take one week from the traditional 3 week breaks in a year-round schedule and add it to the summer break so they still get a decent summer vacation.

I taught in Simpson County and found this schedule to be great. During the two week break, a student who had fallen behind could go the school a half day each day for "enrichment" to help get them caught back up to the rest of the class. The breaks were also a great way to break up the year keeping both students and teachers from getting burned out. I loved it.

Jessica Escue;
There is a very simple solution for the problem of making sure children on a 9-week school schedule get enough sleep. Put them to bed at the same time, whether there is school the next day or not. Yes, they do better with routine. Part of our job as parents is to provide (and enforce) a schedule for them.

As far as the school schedule question --- I lived in Franklin for a short time and my children loved the school schedule. I was concerned at first, but my children (who were both in elementary school) adapted just fine. The providers in the area do accomodate the school schedule so I do not believe it would be an issue. Not that we ever took a vacation during the fall break, but I know a lot of parents did and loved the fact that they could travel during the "off season" which was more economical and less crowded. I would definitely support the idea of the schedule coming to our schools here.

My son goes to Watt Hardison and we have never had a problem. There has always been a nurse there when he has been sick. They always take his temperature. I agree that this was an unfortunate thing. I would calling someone and letting someone know.

My children have attended Wiseman. In fact, one still does. I've never had a problem with them handing out band-aids, if one was needed. I agree with the person that stated that it was just plain negligence. I've never had a problem with them before.

You're right, Jazzy, makes no sense at all to me, either. I suppose it's so they can say they have one. That way they have to only pay one salary and satisfy a requirement that a school nurse be "on call" or something. I don't know what her real function is...but I do know there is one circulating around between schools.

What good does it do to have a school nurse circulating between schools? She sure wasn't around when this little boy got hurt. Makes no sense at all!!

All the schools have latex gloves, first aid kits etc. in the office and they all have phones with which they can call a parent in an emergency.

Maybe the teacher didn't think it was a big deal and didn't send your child to the office to be looked at. ??? But, I would definitely contact the principal on Monday,state your concerns, and let him know you expect things to be different if and when something like this happens again. Dale Wix is very approachable and reasonable.

A child can't be given medication unless the parent has signed a release and provided the medicine they are to be given (Tylenol and other OTC medications must be in a new, unopened package and labeled with the child's name.) There is an additional form for precription medications that must be signed by a doctor and they must be in a bottle provided by the pharmacy. (ask the pharmacy for an extra bottle for school and they will provide it for free in most cases.)

Item #1: My children and now my grandchildren attend school in Franklin KY and they have always been on the 9 week schedule. I liked it when mine went and my daughter likes the schedule for herself and her kids. The kids have no problem...they like the more frequent breaks and I think school age children need the breaks as well...I was skeptical about the schedule when I first started my kids in it, but it really worked out great. There are issues in any schedule to be addressed, but overall, I much prefer the 9 wk schedule.

Item #2: Jessica - the very idea that a child was injured to the point of bleeding and a teacher not addressing the problem is unforgiving. I would be on that phone first thing Monday morning with the Principal discussing the unnecessary negligance in regard to allowing your son to bleed and not even wash his face or put a bandaid on it. If the teacher is restricted from attending to these types of injuries, the parent should be notified immediately. While there was no life threatening injury involved, the point is, our children are in the care of others and they should either take the best care possible of the children, or call the parents when they have done all they are allowed to do. This infuriates me!

There is a school nurse, but she circulates around between schools. I have met her at Watt-Hardison before when I've been there doing some volunteer work.

I can't buy that about not cleaning the cut --- children have nose bleeds, etc....they have to be able to handle things like this.

I think this was simply a matter of a teacher or principal not doing their job to care for this child in this case. The parent should have been called if they couldn't do anything to help this child that had been hurt.

I'm almost sure none of the schools around here have a nurse and the teachers or office staff are not allowed to give any type of medicine unless it is prescribed. But they can put on a band-aid. My grandson has come home with band-aids before. He goes to Clyde Riggs. As for cleaning the cut, that can be because of their exposure to the blood for health reasons. It is probably not in the budget to buy latex gloves.

You need to call the principal!! The school should have called you to come and pick him up early.

Jessica -- your child sustained a deep cut under his eye and the school didn't even call you ??

The teachers are forbidden to clean a cut ???

Wow-- I would be mad as H*** and I'd be seeing someone right now about THAT policy .

How could they have a policy like this ????

I have a question..My son recently started attending Wiseman for pre-k and on Friday, a little girl from his class scratched his face, causing a deep cut underneth his eye. When I picked him up at 1:30, there was blood all over his face and the wound was still bleeding and this had happened an hour earlier..the teacher told me that the school did not have a nurse and she could not clean it or put any medication,nor a bandaid on it. How can that be? Why doesn't the school have a nurse present??

I am not sure how I feel about this idea..I think it would be hard on the children to keep schedules..especially the younger bunch. Keeping on a strict schedule is key for children when it comes to getting enough sleep which flows into the education perspective,which should be the most important issue and I think that what is proposed may be confusing for kids.

We have a number of friends in other counties that their schools have done this for years and they love it. Child care isn't a problem because the children are the day care providers business and they adapt to whatever the school schedules are in my findings.

The longer nine weeks rather than six allows the children to learn more and the repeated breaks helps them get a break without being overloaded.

Aside from the gripes of any inconveinence it may cause the parents, I've never heard a bad word with this school schedule. Wish we would have had it way back when I went to school!

The Sumner County School system is thinking about trying the "go 9 weeks, off 2 weeks". Will child care be a problem? Is 2 weeks too long for a child to be gone? Will the child have problems picking up where they left off?

I have talked to friends in Franklin Ky, where this is practiced, and they do NOT like it.
I don't like it either.