February 2008 Archives

By request I am starting this thread

Hi all. I was wondering if you could possibly start a thread regarding zoning issues in the city limits. I moved out here from California almost two years ago, and one of my big draws to this area was the land. So I bought a house and 5 acres, with the intention of allowing my children to raise a couple of animals for livestock shows, and for my family to have a handful of chickens for eggs.

We had asked our Realtor to check the zoning, and she claimed she did (my fault completely for not checking myself.) ~ To make a long story short, I have asked our City Council to take into consideration changing the zoning to allow for livestock with limitations (like the zoning for horses that just went into effect) ~ I am just trying to get a feel for what all of you think. Thanks for listening.

Tanya

Mandatory Retirement For Public Safety Employees

Jody has raised an item for discussion and one that we have debated over the last couple of months; and that is mandatory retirement for public safety employees.
There are many particulars to this plan, but the sum is, age 60 would be mandatory for most positions and at age 55 some would be able to retire; the city would have to pick up some of the cost until age 62.

Good Morning. This is my very first post. Thank You Charlie for allowing me to participate. My name is Lee and my wife is Shelia we have been married 38yrs (I think) and we have 2 children (22yr old twins) our son Alex is in the Air Force station in Oklahoma City and his sister Brianna is slightly handicapped and will be moving to Portland with us. We are very lucky that we can retire at 58 at the end of March. We currently live in the central valley of California and will be moving there in April. We have a Motor Home and love to travel and see the sites. Well thats about it for now I just wanted to introduce my self. I look forward to reading and participating in this blog and learning more about the wonderful town of Portland Tennessee. Yes we have already bought a house on the north side of town. Once again thank you.....

Just a quick comment for feedback! A few of us councilpersons have requested information on possibly installing disaster warning sirens in the Portland area. It was mentioned in the legislative committee that every household paying a couple bucks a month for 3 or 4 months would generate the money to have it completed. How does this sound to all you bloggers? Thanks in advance for your comments, Jody Mc

With all the hoopla surrounding the "stimulus package" that was recently signed off on by the Congress, the Senate and the President, I am curious to know what everyday folks are actually planning to do with the additional money. And if people decide to pay bills or save it for a rainy day, rather than going on a spending spree (which is what the politicians are hoping for), what good is it going to do?

Does anyone really believe this will thwart a recession?

From the left, retired doctors Ralph Simonton, Albert Dittes and James Ladd in 2006 at the farewell reception for Tennessee Christian Medical Center.

Both Portland newspapers headlined this week the sad passing of Dr. Ralph Simonton, a retired doctor who started his practice in Portland in 1949 and took over the practice of his father. He died in a house fire on Monday.
In a hallway of Portland Medical Center there are portraits of three doctors: Dr. Albert Dittes, Dr. Ralph Simonton and Dr. James Ladd. Dittes passed away in 2006 and Simonton died this week. Ladd lives in a retirement home in Hendersonville. These three doctors delivered many babies, saved many lives and provided incredible Christian service to the community. They didn't just leave work at 5 p.m. and spend the rest of the evening relaxing at home. They responded to house calls at all hours of the night and often would bring patients into the hospital in their personal vehicles. They could have made a lot more money and had a much easier life had they gone to work in a larger city. These men instead chose to serve the Portland, Tenn. area and went way beyond the call of duty in that service.

As reported by local media, the possiblities of casino gambling at Kentucky Downs is growing closer.
A link to the story by the Herald-Leader is provided within.
News4 also did a segment on this last evening.

If this should be passed what affect, if any, do you think it will have on our area?

Post your thoughts about News worthy articles, events, happenings, garage sales,and general information regarding our town.

Want to talk about something specific, post it here and one of the blog authors will start a topic for you!

Happy Posting - Judy

Our sympathies go out to those who were affected by the storms last night in Sumner County, Macon County and the rest of Tennessee. Sumner County Schools are closed Wednesday, February 6, 2008. The Tennessean is reporting five dead in Sumner County and multiple fatalities in Macon County.

Usually I am quite happy when new businesses come to town. I however am not very enthusiastic about Walgreens coming to Portland. I'm not against them setting up business, I just wish we had some other business opening up at that location. First, I dislike the fact that we lost that beautiful Ponderosa building. I was really hoping another restaurant would open up at that location. Second, I'm concerned about the impact that it will have on other Portland pharmacies, especially the locally owned ones that have been in Portland a long time and are very generous to youth leagues, newspapers, and other community organizations and businesses. Third, big chain businesses often make very little attempt to contribute to the surrounding community. Does Portland need a Walgreens? They will generate sales tax revenue for the city, and hopefully a lot of that will come from people who would have gone to Wal-Mart in Gallatin or Franklin. I will continue to go to Pharmacy Express or Village Drugs when I have prescriptions or want to buy greeting cards. I may go to Walgreens for photo services or household items.

Are there any Portland area bloggers out there with blogs on public sites like Blogger or individual URLs? One of the best Tennessee blogs out there is Volunteer Voters, which is on News 2 WKRN's website.

Any other local favorites? National favorites? International favorites?