Mayor Now Hires, Fires, in Charge of Discipline

With personnel issues having become the focus of our local government offices, the Board of Aldermen/women voted Thursday to shift hiring, firing, and disciplinary actions to Mayor Erwin.  Previous Mayor Mike Webb had given up these responsibilities years before and they’ve returned home to roost in the mayor’s office.

The board voted 4-0 to shift the personnel oversight back to the mayor because of the recent tidal wave of complaints about alleged racism issues, alleged workplace bullying, and alleged sexist remarks - the latter two not being discussed publicly.  Of course I emphasize the word alleged because I’m not there and only rely on newspaper accounts (HERE from DNJ) and private telephone discussions.

LaVergne’s Housing Report

Tennessee is ranked 14th in the nation for foreclosures and we’re feeling the pain of that in LaVergne.  Two of my listings are in Lake Forest.  One is on Lake Forest Drive … though it needs a little TLC, it’s a pretty home in a fantastic location.  The other is glorious inside (clean, smells great, beautiful design) but it hasn’t caught the attention of its new buyers yet.

We have dropped the price of 279 Bill Stewart to $124,900 and 221 Lake Forest Drive is now $135,000 (with a lease purchase optional).  If you know ANYONE who is considering a home purchase, please tell them about these great houses and call me!

Here are some housing numbers:

Current Listings:  440
Least Expensive: $48,900 - mobile home w/952 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths
Most Expensive: $525,000 - Hampton Road Estates home w/4500 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths

Homes Under Contract: 55
Homes Sold in April 2008:  51 ($85,000 to $380,000)
   Average Price:  $151,360
Homes Sold in April 2007: 67 ($27,500 to $364,400)
   Average Price:  $149,384

Homes Sold from January - April 2008:  175
   Average Price:  $149,221
Homes Sold from January - April 2007: 234
   Average Price: $148,383

Meanwhile, it’s time for our This is BEAUTIFUL LaVergne award.  If you’d like for Ivy and I to look at your yard, shoot us an email at kathy AT bobparks DOT com.

Brewers Need Our Prayers

Please keep Brandon Brewer and his family in your prayers right now.  I received Caring Bridge notices both yesterday and today about what’s going on.  You can read them here. 

Brandon is back at Vanderbilt Hospital and is very sick.  A family friend writes,

He has not been doing good at all for the last couple of days. Pray that the Dr’s at Vandberbilt can help him. Please keep everyone in your prayers. Brandon has been very tired lately and has required more fluids other than his TPN.

Thank you LaVergne for the support, thoughts and prayers you’ve given this family in need.

Good Morning La Vergne

Good morning La Vergne!  How are you today?  Do you remember what today is?  Well if you don’t, here is a hint; Remember your mom today!  That’s right La Vergne, it is Mothers’ Day.

Do you have something special planned?  Is there an annual tradition you do with your mom and family?  If so, what is?  What are you doing today to make your mothers’s day more special than last year?

Whatever it is you plan on doing, make sure to give mom some special attention!

Happy Mother’s Day to all the La Vergne Moms out there!

Open Thread Weekend: What Are You Thinking About?

Me first… I apologize to Green LaVergne for having promised to come help today and not showing up.  My massive migraine kept me curled up in a fetal position until about 30 minutes ago and I’m still feeling the waves of nausea from it.  Unless something unexpected happens for the next cleanup, I’ll be there.

It just bugs me when people call asking begging for information and I stop everything to try to help.  As I start to answer their question, they interrupt mid-sentence because they just arrived at a yard sale and need to hang up.  Don’t be calling me back, girlfriend, because your ringtone will be ignored. 

What are you thinking about, people of The Green?

In Which I Do a Cartwheel

It’s official!!!

KROGER

KROGER

KROGER

is coming!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

The worlds worst kept secret is now official

Kroger is coming to La Vergne, who knew? (The readers of this site, that’s who!)

http://www.dnj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080509/NEWS01/80509010

Beer Board

I wanted to post some information semi-related to the beer board meeting we had last night. The meeting has been temporarily recessed, not concluded, so I don’t want to go into specific details on a meeting that’s not official, just on hold.

A public notice was put out that the beer board was to consider taking action against some establishments whose employees were convicted of selling beer to minors. When a new establishment opens in the city, the owner of the establishment has to apply for a permit to sell beer, but the individual clerks who make the sale don’t have to come before us. So when a clerk sells beer to a minor, we cannot take action against the clerk, but only against the store owner who has the permit. The store owners complain that they cannot higher top-notch people to sell beer in a convenience store, so it’s hard to avoid violating the rules when you have an employee who isn’t interested in the long-term success of your establishment.

So here’s my question, what do we do with our laws? Should we require anyone who actually sells beer to get a permit, not just the store owners? I was talking to Seanna Moseley and I mentioned that this was the case where I grew up in Fayette County, GA. Every person had to get a badge that authorized them to sell beer, not just the store owner.

Should we still only hold the store owners liable? After all, if they can’t find good help, they should run the cash register themselves or shut-down. Maybe they should require their employees to sign contracts stating that if they sell to minors, the owner can fine them $100,000?

By the way, a special thanks to the Moseley’s for coming to the meeting as citizens showing they care about the welfare of this city. Many people consider beer to be a “gateway” for minors to get into more trouble, so I believe the more we do to enforce these laws, the better our city will be.

Have You Lost Your Pig?

I sort of live out in the country - what’s left of the country - in LaV.  The sweet gal two doors down called me tonight asking, “Do you know anyone in our neighborhood who owns pigs?”

Me, “Pigs?”

Her, “There are two pigs in my backyard.”

Me, “Hahahaha!  Pigs!  In your yard?”

Her, “They’re mostly black.  I’m afraid if they get to the road, they’ll be hit by a car.”

Me, “HAHAHAHA!  Pigs!  In your yard!” 

Her, “I wonder if they’re wild pigs.”

Me, “There’s an otter or beaver or something in the abandoned pool next door.”

After that little discussion, I called another friend in the neighborhood and she didn’t know anyone who had pigs.  As I pulled on our street, though, I saw the first neighbor in her driveway with her children.  I rolled down the window, “Did you find the owner?”

“Yes!  The guy up the street has pigs.”

Happy Ending.  I’m glad they weren’t monkeys.

Green LaVergne Schedules Clean Up

A group of citizens within the community of LaVergne have organized a group to address keeping La Vergne (The Green) green.  Green La Vergne has scheduled its first clean-up day for Saturday, May 10th at 10:00 a.m.  Anyone interested in helping should meet at the Hurrican Creek Boat Ramp off of Stones River Road.  Bring gloves, trash bags, and water.  In case of rain, the clean-up will be postponed until next weekend.

If you’d like more information or you’d like to join the Green LaVergne group, click here!