The Lebanon Democrat

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GEORGE PAGE MT. JULIET NEWS/The remains of the Mazda truck involved in Wednesday's wreck.

BREAKING NEWS UPDATE
MT. JULIET - A man from Mt. Juliet and man from Ohio have been identified as the drivers involved in a fatal collision at mile marker 226 westbound on Interstate 40 Wednesday.

GEORGE PAGE MT. JULIET NEWS/I-40 westbround remaind closed all day Wednesday aafter a head-on crash resulted in two fatalities.

Two killed in I-40 morning crash
MT. JULIET — The scene of a late morning head-on crash was “extremely violent” and resulted in two deaths and the westbound lanes of Interstate 40 shut down at Highway 109 until at least 9 p.m. Wednesday.

Oct. 10, 2010 - Home rule should rule; the people have spoken on dual offices
The dual political offices issue has hit the fan, and we will only say we predicted this and warned against it, over and over again.

We would like to wish Will Sellers well and respect that he served District 2 in many ways. He was a loud proponent for enhanced fire service, and we hope he continues to let his voice be heard in the community on this issue.
We congratulate James Maness on his election to District 2. It will be interesting to see how his presence affects the direction of this city.

Wilson Central's 'The Wall' hit by vandals
Those responsible for defacing a patriotic piece of private property could be facing charges.

Mayor Elam plans to resign, but will commissioners 'fight the will' of voters; City pays for dual office legal advice
Mt. Juliet Mayor Linda Elam said she will resign as mayor, but the question is when.

Part Two/Bullying: Today's bullies invisible while teasing, taunting; Short texts can be long-reaching
"We've got to dispel the myth that bullying is just a normal rite of passage, or an ievetable part of growing up. It's not."
President Barack Obama

Kathy, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is only in the sixth grade, but she was relentlessly propositioned via text messages. Her bully was a kid her same age.

Bully series sidebar/What can you do if you are being bullied?
You think you’re a good person and you don’t make anyone mad, at least not on purpose. So what do you do if you are bullied? Should you let it happen? Here are tips on what you can do if you are being bullied:

Cell phones and 'smart devices' in classrooms can be resources; School system researches ways to put positive spin on their use
While text messaging from a cell phone can be used sometimes in cyber bullying, Wilson County School officials hope they can incorporate communication devices as positive resources in the classroom.

Local is 'Davy Crockett' and trailblazer in alternative fuels
Dr. Cliff Ricketts lives on a farm in Mt. Juliet, where he grew up. As a child, he loved to "tinker" with things like old farm equipment. That tinkering has come a long way.

Second phase of greenway project receives half a million dollars
Just as Phase 1 of the West Division Greenway comes to near completion, the City of Mt. Juliet has received a hefty grant to pay for a large portion of Phase 2.

Suspect in Old Hickory homicide formally charged
The main suspect in Wednesday's murder in Old Hickory has formally been charged.

Editor's Blog / It just ain't right
There is something insanely wrong with this picture; careening down hills, barely hugging curves while gripping the side of the door and stomping on a non-existent brake. My right thigh is super toned these days.

Editor's blog / Sometimes it just takes an image
I was eager to hear about the stock market, if any news from Mt. Juliet beat me on the newscast and the latest on the Metro school’s director search. So when I glanced at my flickering mini-television stuck on a shelf in my bedroom – while searching for my daughter’s sweatshirt at the bottom of my closet and trying to figure out how a Velcro curler works without getting stuck – I was taken aback.
L. Everett - 3 opinions posted

August 4 Blog update to Vestiges of a vanishing nature blog
For those of you who managed to slog through the below blog I penned some time around October, you eventually read about the bedraggled turkey hen that appeared out of nowhere on my place.
L. Everett - 1 opinion posted

Nov. 10, 2020 - Page from the Playbook/Time passes and sometimes that stinks

News came about one of major league baseball’s finest and nicest guys who just went into hospice care, something about complications from dementia. The next day news was that he had passed away.
George "Sparky” Anderson, who once filled out the lineup card for the best baseball team I ever witnessed in the Big Red Machine of the 1970s.
"We averaged 96 wins in my nine years in Cincinnati,” Sparky was once quoted. “We had Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, George Foster, Ken Griffey, Dave Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo. Imagine what I could have done if they had given me some players!"
He was fired by the Reds in 1978 after consecutive second-place finishes and hired by the Tigers in June 1979. Anderson strongly implied that the Tigers would win the World Series within five years. And in 1984 they did, starting 35-5 en route to a five-game victory against the San Diego Padres in the Series.
The Tigers didn't finish first in his final eight seasons, and they contended for first in only a few of those years. In his final season, as the club rebuilt with youth, it finished fourth at 60-84.
He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000 after winning 2,194 games, sixth most in big-league history.
He told a news reporter a few years after retiring how baseball had taken a back seat to football: "I got a kick out of them when they used to say baseball is dying and football is No. 1. I hate to break the sad news to football, but nothing will ever take the place of baseball. When it goes bad, call me, because I won't be around, but I can be reached under the ground."
Time passes, and sometimes that stinks.

Jennifer Wilson Update
Former Trevecca Nazarene All-American basketball standout Jennifer Wilson spent four record-setting years roaming the parquet floor at Moore Gym while setting nearly every known Lady Trojan record.

GEORGE PAGE MT. JULIET NEWS/Mt. Juliet High Lady Bears held a full workout and scrimmage against Shelbyville on Saturday as both teams prepare for the upcoming 2010-11 season. Head Coach Chris Fryer talks to his team during the pre-scrimmage workout.

MJHS's Saturday scrimmage
Head Coach Chris Fryer of the Mt. Juliet High Lady Bears talked about his scrimmage on Saturday against Shelbyville.

Part 1: School bullying not a rite of passage to be endured
“Sue” spent more time in the bathroom at school than in class. Almost overnight the friends she had since kindergarten had turned on her. They excluded her, talked behind her back, made up rumors and called her names.
By LAURIE EVERETT - 6 opinions posted

Part 2: Never confuse meekness with weakness'
Bill Bond said the murderous episode took only 12 seconds. Three young lives snuffed, five others injured in a brief blip of time at Heath High School in Paducah, Ky., where Bond was principal.
By LAURIE EVERETT

Part 3: Bullying in school can lead to life behind bars
Lebanon resident James Keeley wore a bright orange jumpsuit when he shuffled into the office of Wilson County Sheriff Terry Ashe. He stuck out his hand for a shake then settled uncomfortably in a chair. A warden stood discreetly in the corner of the room.

Part 4: Cyber bullying emerges as deadly new rage
All of the West Wilson Middle School students (who wished to remain anonymous) interviewed by the Mt. Juliet News said the newest rage of bullying is cyber bullying.

Silent Epidemic Part 2/ Second chances: Dropouts can turn around dead ends
Part 2 in a series
Coming next week: What is the Wilson County School system doing to keep students in school? An investigation of the measures the system has implemented to keep students from falling between the cracks.
GED worth more than music awards to Wilson

Mega country music star and ninth grade dropout Gretchen Wilson catapulted to superstar status with her “Redneck Woman” hit. She lives in Lebanon and attained fame and fortune with her popular albums.
Financially, she was rock solid and knew she could provide well for her little girl Grace. However, even with the awards and adulation, Gretchen was missing something.

Silent Epidemic Part 2/ Second chances: Dropouts can turn around dead ends
Story 2 Adult High School can provide redemption
Brittney Simmons is a very pretty young woman. On this day she was warmly dressed in a sweatshirt, but there was no denying she was very much pregnant. She attended Lebanon High School, and when she was a senior, she switched to a home school program.

Wilson County Adult High School student Juan Rosas will graduate this spring and hopes to go on to college and become an air traffic controller.

Silent Epidemic Series Sidebar: Second Chance Profile Juan Rosas
Independence cost Rosas chance at high school graduation

Juan Rosas is a bright young man who dropped out of high school years ago.
Now 28 years old, he’s married with a nearly 6 month old daughter. He’s trying to raise a family as a dropout and he’s fed up.

Part 1 Silent Epidemic; High School Dropouts/The high cost of high school dropouts
In early high school, Lyndsay Cline was in the gifted program. One day in the middle of her senior year at Lebanon High School she woke up, but didn’t go to class.
She never went to high school again.

LAURIE EVERETT MT. JUILET NEWS / Everett Hurd works at Sally's Beauty Supply in Lebanon, a job he got after he obtained his GED. He's also enrolled in cosmetology school.

Silent Epidemic Series Sidebar: Second Chance Profile/Everette Hurd
Rough past leads to smoother future

Nearly every day Everette Hurd can be found working at Sally's Beauty Supply in Lebanon.

Part 1 of 4 Fire Alarm: Clearing the smoke on MJ fire protection/Evolution of fire service in MJ
Next week: How do comprarable cities provide fire service to citizens and another Firefighter Focus Mt. Juliet's swelling population caused by unprecedented retail and residential growth has fanned the flames of debate regarding whom should provide the city's fire protection. In the past 36 years, since the city was incorporated in 1972, Mt. Juliet leaders have juggled to accommodate a swelling population brought about by this growth.
LAURIE EVERETT / Managing Editor - 2 opinions posted

Part 2 of 4 Fire Alarm: Clearing the smoke on MJ fire protection/ Ever wonder how comparable cities provide fire protection?
How Mt. Juliet receives fire service is a volatile issue in Wilson County. In addition to controversy over whom should provide fire protection to Mt. Juliet citizens, the question of how it should be funded is a bone of contention as well.

GEORGE PAGE Mt. Juliet News / WEMA Director John Jewell works with the new Mt. Juliet volunteer firefighters at one of multiple meetings orchestrated by Mt. Juliet resident and firefighter Shawn Donovan.

Part 3 of 4/Fire Alarm: Clearing smoke on MJ fire protection/At the scene: The real deal on fire protection,Volunteer Fire Force born out of necessity
Lt. David Cross has been a firefighter and emergency medical technician for 32 years. He’s been fighting fires in Wilson County for 20 of those years. He’s seen it all. When he started at Station 3 in Mt. Juliet two decades ago, there were four WEMA personnel working at the station. “We were short handed then and we are short handed today, still with four people, with the only difference is that we have three other stations west of Highway 109 that would respond to us if needed,” Cross said.

DALLUS WHITFIELD A WEMA firefighter continues to fight the flames at a house fire on Belinda Parkway in Mt. Julet.

Last in the series/Fire Alarm: Clearing the smoke on fire protection/What now? An analysis of - and officials weigh in - on fire protection
December 31, 2008 - Two days ago there was a kitchen fire in an upscale home on Noel Drive in Mt. Juliet off Saundersville Ferry Road near the city limits. The homeowner later reported she left the residence, was concerned she may have left the oven on and went back. She arrived back home to face flames in her kitchen. (The probable cause of the fire was later determined to be from a candle left lit and not the oven.) She called 911 and tried to put the fire out with a garden hose while she waited for help to arrive.

December 17 In-house editorial / Now is time to reevaluate need for city property tax for fire protection
This week we present the second installment of our investigative series titled Fire Alarm: Clearing the smoke on MJ fire protection. Five peer cities, similar in size and population to Mt. Juliet were contacted and their city officials interviewed about how they provide fire service to their citizens. Four of the five provide their own fire service and the fifth contracts with a private company to provide this service.

LAURIE EVERETT Mt. Juliet News / WEMA firefighter Jamie Luffman takes a breather after fighting a massive two residence fire for about five hours in Mt. Juliet off Saundersville Ferry Road.

FIREFIGHTER FOCUS: In their own words
My name is Jamie Luffman and I am a 44 year old husband, father, son, brother, friend, and Sunday school teacher. I am also a firefighter and an emergency medical technician. I have lived in Mt. Juliet all of my life and truly enjoy raising my family here and providing life safety services for my friends and neighbors.

SUMBMITTED WEMA paramedic/firefighter Brent Dyer and son Nate.

Firefighter Focus: In their own words
My name is Brent Dyer, I am a Paramedic/Firefighter in Wilson County. I began serving Wilson County in June of 2000. Over the past eight years, I have lived in Wilson County for five of them. My wife is a nurse. Fourteen months ago, we were blessed with our son.