Portland, Tennessee Blog

I guess when ever a topic turns political the mud slinging has to start. If you want to talk about something else LET'S HEAR IT!!! I have asked until I am blue in the face and never a word of suggestion. If you don't like what you see, then contact Charlie and ask to be put on the blog as an author, then you can write about what ever you like.

I like reading some of the posts and there are others I just skim across. Would someone like to talk Knitting?? That should be a real thrill!!

Apparently, it is. I'm not sure when I've seen a bigger ego.....he needs to start his own blog somewhere.

Is this blog site becoming Chuck Siniff personal political site. Wish someone would ban him from being a author.

Charlie biggs is old news and haven't heard much positive about it yet.

GREAT NEW place to chow down, Charlie Biggs Chicken is Now OPEN!! (Food Lion Plaza)

Finger lickin good chicken, fried mushrooms, tater logs, chicken fingers, byby Hills Deli!
Eat in or Carry it out! Give it a try & see for yourself!!

A few months ago, there was a discussion about the possibility of the city purchasing a siren system to alert our residents of approaching tornadoes. I could not find the original blog, and was wondering if any decisions had been made regarding the system.

I was against it, and maintain my position that there are more effective ways to warn the public. I came across an article this morning that confirms many of my original concerns and thought I'd post the link here. Seems that many cities with these systems are encountering a number of problems. One system failed to alert people despite a $300,000 UPGRADE. Not installation, upgrade. Here's the link:

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/storms/tornadoes/2008-05-29-sirens_N.htm

Antioch Baptist Church's Youth Group will be hosting a yard/bake sale on June 7th in the parking lot of Farmers Insurance in Portland (across from Portland Middle School). Donations are appreciated! Please contact shelly_gregory2003@yahoo.com if you have any items to donate (such as yard sale leftovers). Please come out on June 7th and help support our church youth group. We will also have information about our upcoming Vacation Bible School! Thanks!

No, I haven't been to Chaney's, but I bet it's yummy. Every time we go past, we have usually just eaten in Bowling Green, and can't bear the thought of eating more!! We used to go to a place like that (where we used to live), called the Hayloft. Great ice cream for a special treat, that's for sure.

Tim...point taken.

As far as the Comfort Inn, I say that is fantastic. It's obvious that Portland isn't ever going to become aggressive about developing our side of 31W next to the interstate. Maybe we just need the Robertson County side to step up.
One more thing...that huge EMPTY factory sitting on the left of 52 just past Godfather's Pizza/BP as you are coming into town. What was that? I remember it being built, and it seems as though whatever it was that moved into it was gone in no time, leaving us with a big fancy, empty building, just like in several other places in our town. We have so many empty warehouses. I am talking about places like the old Faultless, the Sofa place, Petals among others. Why do we keep allowing these factories to build when we have countless others just sitting and rotting?

DA - I saw a sign on the old Hong Kong House restaurant, that says....Best Donuts in the World, or something like that....looks like we may be getting a donut shop..........

As for ice cream, have you ever been to Chaney's near Franilin or Hollywoods in White House ?
Both are great and have home=made ice cream.

A Denney's would be great! Speaking of places to eat, it has always seemed odd that there aren't more ice cream places around the area. I'm from a much colder climate than Tennessee, but there are lots of DQs, Tastee Freeze, or other places to get a quick treat on a hot day in the summer. I guess it's Sonic or McDonald's, but I really don't think of them as ice cream places; guess I'd better rethink that!

A bakery would be nice, too. Miss having a donut and a cup of Joe on Saturday morning!

Sonny's BBQ .... is the BEST !!
I ate at one of their restaurants in Florida.
Hopefully, it won't be long before there are more choices in Portland.

Talking about Portland....I saw a "new look" for Portland that made me realize it's beginning to get out of it's old ways....it was so good to see the ballroom dancing at the Strawberry Festival...
new things are coming and looks like we ARE growing in the right direction...I, too, was so proud of Portland at the Festival. I talked to several people who drove up from Nashville, who also were very impressed !

A Denny's would be fantastic!! Most are open 24 hours & serve breakfast all day along with a great variety of lunch and dinner meals.. whoohoo... Now if we could get a Sonny's BBQ I'll be all set!! Love their salad bar!

mg62- Glad to be back... mom's recovery is moving along great, Thank You!

A Denney's would really be very nice....isn't Denny's a restaurant chain that stays open 24 hours ?? And they have a great menu, too !
I didn't see it in the paper, but I sure it materializes.

Did anyone see in the Robertson County Times that Comfort Inn is going to build a new hotel off exit 117? It should be completed by Feb. 2009 and may possibly include a Denny's. While it's not an O'Charley's or a Logan's, at least it will provide a little different variety.

Welcome back, Judy. Hope your mom is well on her way to recovery.

You're right--we may whine (because it's our nature), but we have a pretty good life here. I recently visited where I used to live in Northern Illinois--hadn't been back there in 10 years. Didn't like it anymore now than I did when I left (except that they do have better shopping now). I have never once regretted moving to Tennessee.

I sadly missed all of Strawberry Fest, but enjoy reading what everyone has to say about it.

I just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in Central Fl as I was helping my mom after surgery. During this time I actually had to live the life like I lived there, grocery shopping, running errands, banking, eating out, etc etc...... I wasn't a tourist on vacation. I realized Portland is a much nicer & pleasant place to call home than I had previously given credit for. There truly is no place like home!! The grass may look greener else where but we have alot more to be thankful for than some realize, and I "was" one of them, now I'm HAPPY to be home! Besides that.... it is way tooooooo hot down there!! :)

If you missed any of the events of the Festival week, keep an eye on Channel 3. Yesterday I saw the Beauty pageant, the parade and the Gospel Singing. How Cool! Where did they come up with all this video? Someone had the right idea!!

Mack, I was, but honestly if you ask many of the people at City Hall, when I was alderman I had to be guilted into doing it. I hate being on display and on "parade". But everyone said that people would think that there was division on the Council if I didn't walk, so I did. You may find this hard to believe from somone who has worked on the radio, newspaper, and on the City Council, but I hate being the center of attention. It is just something I have to do sometimes to get the ideas discussed that I think should be discussed. Now I am not attacking you, and I took no offense to what you said, but obviously I didn't make it clear what I was complaining about.

The fact that the politicians were walking was not my gripe. It was the pace at which they were walking. And I can understand their problem. If they don't stop to shake every extended hand, that may cost them a vote. That's what I meant by "glad-handing." But it also slows the parade down to a crawl. Kind of a catch 22. I don't have the solution. That's why I said it needed to be discussed.

It's funny how the people in the parade get all the smiles and waves, but when you think about it, it is the people in the crowds and the people in the staff shirts that are earning them. They make the Festival what it is. Leave everything else the same, without those people, there is no festival. So once again, good job people.

The parade was slow for a few reasons. A train held the parade up, the politicians that were walking were way to slow, and the shriners routine took forever.

Weren't you one of those politicians walking in the parade a couple years ago? I have no problem with seeing our elected officials and those running for office in the parade. It's better than all the local businessmen driving their expensive vehicles with their company name slapped on the side and nothing more!

I did see some people walking up to the floats and the vehicles to shake the hands and talk to their buddies who were in the parade, often bringing that float/vehicle to a complete halt, so maybe that is why the parade would slow and stop at times....

Enjoyed the festival mostly, but not the parade at all.

One last thought about the parade...please bear with me while I vent. We were sitting just a couple of blocks from Main Street, a fairly well-filled area of spectators along the street. A young man who looked to be in his late teens or early 20s came up with a couple who seemed like they may have been his parents. He sat down on the ground and was smoking--a joint. Right among the kids and parents and grandparents...right there in public. The man (who might have been his father but I couldn't say for sure) caught my stare at the joint and told the boy to put it out of sight, so he tucked it under the edge of his leg and finished smoking it slyly.

I suppose I could have tackled him or verbally abused him about it, but I was first of all at once stunned by his brazenness and sickened by his lack of regard for the children and for everyone else present, and secondly I realized that giving him attention was exactly what he was seeking (why else would you smoke a joint in so public a venue?), so I chose to keep my mouth shut. Had I made a scene about it, the children and others who had not seen the joint would have had their attention drawn to it, so not doing so protected their innocence of the event.

Call me naive, and I'm guessing he's probably not the blog type to read this here, but I want to use this forum to tell him that he should really reconsider his actions because apparently the drugs have already damaged the brain cells that govern common sense and decency and he is well on a path that will destroy not only himself but will traumatize those who love him.

The festival was great this year. I can't tell you the number of people I have heard talking about teh world's largest strawberry shortcake, the kids in my class all came in bragging about the carnival, and my buddy who was in from Knoxville was very impressed by the firework show in the park. He described in as par with what many of the bigger cities have.

Having said that though there is some room for improvement in the parade. After 45 minutes, all I had seen was politicians and shriners. I don't know if it was all the politicians at the front of the parade "glad handing" that slowed things up or what, but we left before the best part of the parade got there just because it was simply taking too long. I'd love to discuss some ways to tighten things up and speed them up.

What struck me the most about the festival was how suprised people who used to live here were when they come back and see how big it has gotten. I have been going to these things for a couple of decades now and I can't remember the excitement ever being greater. Great job and keep it up to all those involved.

I was glad to see the turn out it seemed large this year. I wish there was more stuff to do on the day of the festival. Where were the strawberries this year? As far as the parade it was way to long. I thought they were going to tighten that up this year.

I thought last year's parade was much better organized. Once again, this year there were big breaks in the parade, and kids and people were standing/running/walking into and down the street. One kid ran right out in front of one of the cars in the parade right in front of the small Farmers Bank. Also there were several times in the parade where it just stopped for several minutes. The parade lasted over an hour and a half. Way too long. I may sit out next year's as I really didn't enjoy it as much as last year.

The festival itself was fine, not much different than years past. I agree there needed to be more trash cans and the music that was blasting in several places was just downright annoying.

Some thoughts on the Strawberry Festival--overall an excellent event, beautiful weather...

About the parade--still need to do something about so many "runners up" riding on separate cars in the parade. Since many were babies, it's obvious they don't care about this at all--parents, there will be future years when your child will actually be old enough to appreciate being in the parade. Otherwise, if you must put runners up in the parade, put them all on a group float or two.

Secondly, while we appreciate the Shriners groups coming and being part of the parade, they just took too long. It was probably a good 10 minutes that they occupied the entire block in our viewing area. People in the area where we were watching the parade simply got bored and distracted and some left. The kids especially were bored. Not that they didn't like seeing the motorcycle patterns, they just wanted to see what was next... If they did just a few less patterns, the parade would move at a more exciting pace.

Still in all, a fun time, and we look forward to it every year--wish we could actually fit in a few more of the activities to our schedule.

I agree this was the best ever and I have been to almost 30 of them. Only complaint was the lack of strawberries and I agree about the music on market street. It was awful.

This truly was the BEST Strawberry Festival EVER !
To all those who worked so hard to make it the super success and something to really be so proud of.........THANK YOU !

The new ampitheather at the park is so nice...I'm sure we can look forward to many great events that will be held there in the future.

The concert was awesome...I was so impressed with the ballroom dancing part....the mayor and his wife are wonderful dancers, as was the whole group..I just had no idea that we'd see ballroom dancing !!! It was simply beautiful.

The Strawberry Festival was totally awesome!!! I, and my family that came from out of town, were very impressed with the security, the EMS, the free water and the free food! Also, how nice all of the "staff" were to everyone. I will definitely plan to attend again next year. I would like to see more trash bins around and more seating. It is difficult for a lot of people to do a lot of walking and a bench here and there would really come in handy. There were bleachers behind the Sumner Employment building and port-a-potties, but I noticed there were no trash bins/cans and a lot of trash was just getting left on the bleachers or on the ground.

The concert was just as much fun as the parade and the in town activities. The city did a really great job with organization, offering rides from the parking area to the concert area and general "taking care of visitors." Congrats to the City of Portland! In my opinion the Festival was a HUGE success. "Thank You" Portland!

You can search for sex offenders in your area on this TBI website. You can search by name or just location. You'd be surprised by how many there are around here!

http://www.ticic.state.tn.us/sorinternet/sosearch.aspx

There is a violent sex offender in your area. I know him very well. I fear he is a threat to your young girls. Please, if you wish more info. wearitwell54@aol.com There are young people at risk, in your area, if he is still there. My oldest is one of his victims.

The strawberry festival was the best ever, a few things could be better like the music on Market Street, more craft booths, and more strawberries. Btw Kid Town USA was awesome. Way to go Portland Chamber.

We came, we saw, we ate the shortcake! Way to go, Portland.

I have lived in Portland for a long time and last night was one of the proudest days to be from Portland, Tennessee. Thanks to everyone that had a part in this event as brought back a lot of memories for what the strawberry festival was like years ago.

The Strawberry Shortcake contest was one of the most fun things Portland has done in connection with the Strawberry Festival...Ever!

I believe it was 325 feet long...and it was even covered on Fox 17 news tonight. After the cake was measured, everyone who was there got all the strawberry shortcake they could eat !

What a fun event......thanks to everyone who had a part in it.....it was a great success !

The world's longest strawberry shortcake should have been presented and served on Strawberry Street!

The World's Longest Strawberry Shortcake will has been moved to the high school tonight at 6 PM due to the weather. Everyone please come out and take part in this event. After the ribbon cutting, the record shortcake will be served up. See you there.

Does anyone know if there is a rain location for the giant strawberry shortcake this evening? Hopefully it won't rain, but things are not looking too promising on the radar just now.

Looking at Channel 3 right now.....yes....it's really nice.....especially the backgrounds they are using for the Strawberry Festival and the City Council.

Has anyone noticed the way Channel 3 has been "spruced up"? It looks good, with all the color backgrounds. Glad to see the Strawberry Festival events displayed so nicely.

Hello all...it has been a while since I posted and took part in the blog and I have to say I have missed it. My Mother recently passed away (in February) and it has taken awhile for me to get a grip on my brain and my heart. But, as the saying goes, "slowly but surely." Anyway, I have lived in Portland for four years, but this is the first year I am planning to actually attend the Strawberry Festival. I also have family coming up from Cookeville, Madison, White House and Franklin, KY to attend. We are all looking forward to a fun day. We are especially excited about the Ronnie McDowell concert. Could someone enlighten me as to what a good time would be for a large group to head over to the park to get a good seat. I know music will be going on the square til' 6:00, then the concert is at six. Will there be food vendors at the park or should we bring our own drinks? We are all planning to bring our own chairs, as I did not see any seating at the concert area.
On another note, I heard on Channel 5 this morning that gas went up AGAIN! The average in the Nashville area is about $3.61 per gallon...I'm scared to go fill up ! I work in Nashville, about 50 miles from here, and am very strongly considering changing my schedule to 4 ten hour days just to save on gas...it is killing me! Also read where the head of OPEC said he could see crude oil up to $200 per barrell by this summer, SCARY! What would that mean, about $7 a gallon for gas? Don't know about all of you, but I'm having to make some serious cut backs, according the the gov the country may not be in a recession, but gw sure is! Ya'll have a good day...see ya at the festival Saturday.

Tim,you're right about needing to look our best for the Strawberry Festival. Personally, I think it's rather a shame that the property owners and business folks don't feel the same way....and the mayor has to resort to using prisoners to clean up our town so it's presentable....but it gets the job done, so Kudos the the mayor....it'd been nice if a group of volunteers could have been organized to help with that, I think.

I think it's great about the concert for Saturday night and the strawberry shortcake event. It sounds like this Strawberry Festival is going to be the best EVER !

See ya at the Festival events !!

The Mayor deserves kudos for getting the County to send some of the "jailbirds" to help clean up for Strawberry week. I saw them out working along 109 this morning with weed trimmers, and it is really looking nice. We need to look our best for all the people coming to the Strawberry Festival.

I have heard many people planning on making the trip to Portland this weekend. I was talking to some college students from Bowling Green the other day and they had heard about it and are coming down. Who knew?!?

DeeAnna,
I like the idea about painting the concrete.
Anything would be an improvement......

DA,
Obviously you have misconstrued my remarks; because someone does not have a use does not mean they do not support it.
I am a supporter of the Library.
I have been using the Internet and FTP since the DOS days and I have access to all the research I need (me personally, when I need a book I go buy it).
But I know many do not have the same opportunity; therefore I see a need and support that need. Books and programs are great, but I do not use them now.
I also support our schools, but I do not have a (personal)use for them now either.

Nothing sad, just the truth.

P.S.
No teeth on edge here, I frankly enjoyed the lighthearted humor that occurred during and after that meeting. Undo stress is brought on when the wrong things are taken too seriously.
The idea was to fund the Library, not worrying how to pronounce it; but sometimes people just have a difference of philosophies…;)

Just a quick question. As you watch the City Council meetings, and talk to people around town, does it set anyone else's teeth on edge when a building full of books is referred to as a "Liberry" instead of a "Library"? Same goes for "Feb-yu-ary" instead of "Feb-ru-ary".

I also want to remark about how sad it is that Councilman Callis doesn't feel that anyone at his house needs the library because they have Internet access. People, the library is SO much more than a place to check on your email!! It is a treasure trove of items relating to our history, our interests and current events. Our libraries and newspapers are very important ways to preserve our culture. I wonder how, in 100 years, people will read a disc that they find in Grandma's attic? Think about it.

Happy Mothers Day!!!!

Thanks, Councilman Callis....for replying to my question. Ok...well.....maybe strawberries could be painted on them or something to make them "pretty".....you think ? LOL LOL

The city is at the mercy of CSX railroad. The Mayor has been working hard to resolve this issue, but they [csx] are in no hurry.
Right now our plans are being reviewd by a CSX engineer for approval.

LOL.....spoken like a newcomer to town !!

Welcome to Portland !

True....signs would be useful to remind people that they are supposed to turn their lights on when their wipers are on...that's in the driver's manual, I believe and I thought it was the law.

Something I've been wondering about.....

How long are those awful concrete baracades going to be at the end of Main Street ? Is any progress being made to get that resolved ???

Just wondering, why during a daytime downpour, like the heavy showers around lunchtime today, are there so many drivers in Portland without their lights on? It makes them hard to see when you are trying to pull out of a side street, and the rain is coming down. Something as simple as turning on your lights could help prevent an accident. I think we need the "Lights On When Raining" signs that you see in some towns.

Second, only about 61% of Portland drivers use turn signals. And by using a turn signal, that doesn't mean turning it on right when you are stopped and turning.

Many thanks for the notice on the main page about the spring band concert at the high school. We don't have kids of our own in the school system, just friends, but we do try to support the bands and we really enjoyed the concert last night, particularly the high school band's performance of a Sousa march--there's just something about hearing a marching band play an actual march. We attended the pre-Christmas concert too and it was great to hear the vast improvement the students had achieved in these past few months. Looking forward to next school year!

Daniel,

I just wanted to say that we all miss you. Your stories and editorials in the Progressive each week made me want to read the paper. Sounds like your in the big time now. Good luck and much success!!

Hey Daniel....good to hear from you. Sounds like you are being kept busy...Portland is still Portland! Of course we have the big Strawberry Festival coming up, I'm rather looking forward to that..seems like the Strawberry Festival is really the only thing that wakes Portland up! Otherwise, seems to be just a sleepy little town, but that can be a good thing!
Take care and stay in touch! gw

Umm Daniel....

Covering Barack Obama? Swamped with presidential visits? Doesn't sound like New Albany's news events have ANY similarity to Portland's! LOL!

We are still trying to get people to quit throwing junk out in front of their businesses here!

Anyone Know when Mr Wok is going to open.

Hey Portland, how's everything? I haven't been able to see a paper since moving so what's the big scoop around the city?
I've been covering mostly city government here in New Albany and they have some similiar issues as Portland in terms of growth and the like. I got to cover Barack Obama last week when he was in town as we have been swamped with presidential visits in recent weeks. One more year till Portland has another election...any big news on that yet?