Happy Friday

From I Can Haz Cheesburger.

Time to Vote for Ruthies!

It’s that wonderful time of year again when people are set to the task of voting early and voting often to find our Rutherford County “favorites”  … it’s the Ruthie Awards!

There are plenty of categories this year for LaVergne – though it looks like we’re sharing with Smyrna now – so click here and VOTE VOTE VOTE!

Let’s see … some categories are Favorite Elected Official, Favorite Restaurant, and … um … favorite REALTOR in Smyrna/LaVergne!  I know there are plenty of great agents around, but it would mean a lot to me if you threw a vote my way every now and then.

VOTE FOR ALL YOUR FAVORITES HERE!

LHS Choraliers Selling Citipass

LHS Choraliers at Old Timers Day 2008

UPDATED TO ADD:  All the Choraliers are selling these books. Profits go to individual sellers rather than the entire group, so contact your favorite singer with the LHS Choraliers to support them.

From our friend Tonya, the LaVergne High School Choraliers are taking orders for Nashville Citipass Books beginning today.  Proceeds from the sale will help fund their performance trip to Disney in April 2010.

Having recently been to Disney for a trip with baton twirlers, I assure you they need every penny they can get.

The cost of a Citipass book is $20 and they will be delivered on Saturday, August 1st.  I think I saw on facebook somewhere that there are $14,000 in savings in the book.  If you’d like to order, contact Tonya by phone or text at 308-8031 (I’m not adding the area code because we don’t want to make it too easy for crazy stalker types to find her!).  If you live here or know her, you know the area code anyway!

And while you’re reading this post (and before I get too blatant … which I’m sure will happen shortly), go read this wonderful post from our sister site This is Smyrna!  Your vote would be appreciated!

Restaurant Review by Thomas

From the comment section…

I tried the new Kebab Gyros that opened up by where the Heroes place used to be. It was great. They have everything that any other greek place has and then some. I noticed that you can get just about anything on your Gyro sandwich and you have the choice between fries or rice with the combo. They also sell chicken wings, chicken tenders and cheese sticks.

I talked to the man that was working when I went in and he said that business has been really slow since he opened. If we want businesses to open and stay here, we have to support them. Go check it out. It’s good!

Thank you for the review just as I’m considering where to go for lunch today.

Congratulations LaVergne! We Made a “Top” List!

CNN Money has picked the 25 most affordable places to live in the United States, saying

Residents who live in these 25 growing towns see their incomes go the furthest.

LaVergne?  NUMBER 18!

Congratulations to our little town.  Scroll through the 25 and see who the other affordable towns are. And congrats again!

HT Mark from Smyrna Bowling Center. Thanks for the heads up, bud!

Smyrna Growth Slows a Tad but Continues Its March

We had a member of the Smyrna City Council speak at our meeting this morning and heard an update on the latest growth news in Smyrna.  They do continue to grow, but some of the retail is slowing … to the point where new businesses are still coming but not opening as quickly as before.

The biggest growth will be three to four liquor stores coming – the first could open in October or November.  When the city’s residents passed the referendum allowing for liquor store sales there were several retailers already poised to move.  Stores will be located on Sam Ridley (near Publix and Home Depot), on Weakley Lane at Sam Ridley, and potentially on Lowry Street.

In addition, the Penney’s is still planned with a TJ Maxx as a possible co-anchor store, but it may be 2010 before we see these built behind Lowe’s and near LaVergne High School.

The other big news is that Jefferson Pike from Sam Ridley Parkway to 840 will be widened to four lanes to help accommodate the expected growth due to the electric car production by Nissan.  In addition, while 1300 jobs are officially expected, the Smyrna Council expects more due to ancillary business growth.

The Smyrna council member Tim Morrell said,

To prosper, we need to grow. And we need to grow in a responsible way.

How about us, LaVergne?  In addition to widening Waldron/Parthenon Road … what are we expecting?

Photo By Casey

BRILLIANT photo of Jojo v. Superman by SomeGeekinTn.com via Flickr. THANKS Casey!

Housing Numbers 2009 Year to Date

After a couple of months on again off again here, I thought it time to post an update on our housing numbers for LaVergne, though it’s still not pretty.  I keep hearing we’re at the bottom but my views are less rosy … until the job market stabilizes, the housing situation will remain where it is – or maybe dip even more.  But I’m not an economist nor do I have a crystal ball to gaze into.  Let’s hope that the widening of Waldron/Parthenon Road will bring more retail or industry to our area to make up for some of the jobs lost.

*The numbers:

Homes currently for sale in LaVergne:  311
Number of homes for sale priced at $150,000 or less:  211
Number of homes for sale prices at $150,001 or more:  100

Least Expensive:
Cricket St. , 1344 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths $39,000 (mobile home)
Willow View, 1364 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, $39,000 (another mobile home)

Most Expensive:
Hampton Road Dr., 4500 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 4 1/2 baths, $525,000 (the one with the indoor pool)

Homes Closed since January 1, 2009 in LaVergne:  230
Least Expensive since January 1, 2009: $17,000 (a burned out home actually located in Smyrna and the agent listed it in the wrong area).   Least Expensive ACTUALLY in LaVergne:  $35,000 Willow View (mobile home)
Most Expensive:  $413,765 in the Woodsong subdivision

Homes Closed from January 1, 2008 to July 9, 2008:  300.

Patience, my friends.  It’s a great time to buy.  However if you don’t have to sell I’d say hold tight, though it may be years before we get back to the prices we had in 2006 and 2007.

By the way, I saw a GREAT buy in the McFarlin Pointe subdivision.  A 1520 square foot home in that very nice neighborhood for $152,000.

*Includes all homes in areas 31 and 32 which encompasses Nolensvergne. ;)

Happy Independence Day

It’s no secret that Independence Day is one of my favorite movies.  Aliens, Will Smith, a great speech by a president … what more can you ask for?

Perhaps it’s fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom… Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution… but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: “We will not go quietly into the night!” We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!

In honor of today and my favorite movie, I give you this gem from YouTube … What if America had been founded by the characters in the movie Independence Day?

Have a safe, happy, fun Fourth of July!

I saw in the newspaper…

that TPTB  (the powers that be)  are seriously looking into widening Waldron Road?!?   It’s only needed it for 15+ years…

How can this city possibly get “places where we spend money within the city limits” without doing that?   I don’t know about you all, but I do not go into Antioch to spend my money… I go to Smyrna or Murfreesboro or Franklin.    Mt. Juliet will get my business before Antioch…

If any one wants to open a new “food venue”, Which Wich is Amazing!  Why did Hero’s lose their lease and no one else did?

Just my opinion…