Good Evening MJ:
It is 8:00 p.m. Saturday evening and I've just left this year's Halloween in the Park. What a wonderful day it was. By our count we had between 6k and 7k ghosts & goblins, princesses, skeletons, Michael Jackson look alikes, pirates and the parents they brought with them; our largest crowd ever according to Commissioner Jim Bradshaw who has been part of Halloween in the Park since the first one. Not only was it the largest but by every comment it was also the best. There are dogs trying to find a home spearheaded by Jon Gray and Marty Potts of our Animal Shelter, Mr. Buddy Brent of U.S. Community Credit was giving away popcorn by the barrel, there were lines for the best costume contests, the petting booths and our wagon ride, and overseeing it all was Mr. Rocky Lee, Acting Parks Director, who is certainly one of the best MC's around. To me "Halloween in the Park" exemplifies the great spirit of Mt Juliet. To the thousands who were there, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. I hope to see you at the 24 October Flea market, or if you want to up your calorie burn join Ms. Kat Woodson as she introduces Yoga at the Rec Center. For more info call 758-6522.
The Parks and Rec Crew have really been hustling the last few days. Yesterday the Mayor and Commissioners, Hayne and Whitfield Hamilton of the Panattoni Corporation, along with David Corlew and Angela Wheeler of the Charlie Daniels Band cut the ribbon on our new Rec Center extension building. Over a year in the making, this new, 2,800 square foot facility houses a large meeting room, fully equipped kitchen and an expanded weight room/exercise area. It is a tremendous gift made possible between a three-way partnership between the city, Mr. Charlie Daniels and the Panattoni Corporation. We invite the public to check it out.
In addition to the ribbon cutting on Friday we had a major announcement regarding higher education in Mt. Juliet. After extensive discussions with city reps over the last couple years, Dr. Harvill Easton, President of Cumberland University (CU), announced the January 2010 opening of a division of the CU's School of Nursing to be held here in Mt. Juliet. With primary classrooms done at the Shiloh Plaza on Lebanon Road, CU is also partnering with Mt. Juliet's Environmental Sciences Corporation (ESC) to conduct lab-centric classes at ESC's Lebanon Road complex. This marks the city's first permanent presence for higher education and a milestone in expanded educational, employment and professional opportunities in the community. Many thanks goes to Mr. Peter Schuler of ESC, Dr. Eaton and Mr. Joe Gray of Cumberland University, and the city's own Mr. Kenny Martin for making this long awaited initiative a reality.
Remember, to keep in touch with work on North MJ Road, check out Channel 3, where Mr. Shannon Joyner, Deputy Public Works Director for the City, posts biweekly updates. You'll can also keep abreast of other road and emergency type issues by signing up with Nixle. Just go to the city's home page and join the several hundred who get real time postings about issues across Mt. Juliet.
That's all for tonight. Take care and have a great rest of the weekend.
R. Robertson
Showing posts with label higher education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label higher education. Show all posts
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Update: 6/3/09
Good evening MJ:
Sorry to have been away for a while but I was in Colorado last week, at Fort Carson, commemorating and participating in Memorial Day activities. The 4th ID and Ft. Carson assigned units have taken some hard casualties during the War on Terrorism, so being back with and among soldiers on this special day was especially meaningful for my wife and I.
Here’s a couple quick notes about city activities. We’ve had a few callers ask about the status of the skate board park and Rec Center expansion projects at Charlie Daniels Park. As we all know May has been extremely wet; in fact I’ve heard it was the wettest May since records were kept. The bottom line is the contractor needs nearly a couple weeks of dry weather to move on the skate park. The ground needs to be dry enough to compact to nearly the industrial level as building a section Interstate highway; and it simply hasn’t been that way for a long time. Rest assured Mr. Buchanan and the Parks crew will push the contractor to move out just as soon as the ground moisture permits. It’s been about the same story for the Rec Center expansion, but with the foundation poured we have worked with Panattoni leadership (who are paying to have the facility constructed) to start laying block asap. They’ve done a request for bids to acquire the block and the mason work, and have committed to start work NLT mid June.
On another note, apparently many of you have seen the TV news article about the potential of evening nursing courses coming to MJ. We’ve been working to bring higher education to the city for some time, and hope to soon conduct an educational needs assessment of the community in partnership with MJHS. Dr. Harvill Eaton, Cumberland University’s President, is committed to bring whatever resources he can to MJ, but has indicated he needs at least 25 students to enroll in classes starting in January. If you are interested in the program please contact Mr. Kenny Martin, the city’s Economic Development Director and Liaison Officer at kmartin@cityofmtjuliet.org. This is truly an exciting initiative and on behalf of the Board of Commissioners we want to thank Mr. Martin, Dr. Eaton and a whole host of officials both here in City Hall and at Cumberland for all the work that has taken place to get to this point.
Utility work is really picking up on both the Reverse L (off Curd Road, by MJHS) and on North Mt. Juliet Road. Due to the complexity of the project and the population and building density along North Mt. Juliet Road, the widening project will be one of the biggest road building initiatives ever done inside the city limits. At last check, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will soon decide on the contractor. Once that is done we’ll be conducting more “Town Hall” sessions to keep you posted on what is happening. It truly is an exciting time for the city.
Finally, I want to commend a recent addition to the City’s Channel 3; the “Job Action Line”. Mr. Taylor, the city’s Information Technology Director, advises there are nearly 25 individuals who have already posted their resumes on the job line. Laid off? Downsized? Fired, or simply looking for a job? If you are a city resident and would like to exponentially increase the visibility of your job search, consider adding your resume on Channel 3. For info on how to do this simply check out the City Web page or call Tina at 754-2552. Happy hunting!
Take care until next time.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
Sorry to have been away for a while but I was in Colorado last week, at Fort Carson, commemorating and participating in Memorial Day activities. The 4th ID and Ft. Carson assigned units have taken some hard casualties during the War on Terrorism, so being back with and among soldiers on this special day was especially meaningful for my wife and I.
Here’s a couple quick notes about city activities. We’ve had a few callers ask about the status of the skate board park and Rec Center expansion projects at Charlie Daniels Park. As we all know May has been extremely wet; in fact I’ve heard it was the wettest May since records were kept. The bottom line is the contractor needs nearly a couple weeks of dry weather to move on the skate park. The ground needs to be dry enough to compact to nearly the industrial level as building a section Interstate highway; and it simply hasn’t been that way for a long time. Rest assured Mr. Buchanan and the Parks crew will push the contractor to move out just as soon as the ground moisture permits. It’s been about the same story for the Rec Center expansion, but with the foundation poured we have worked with Panattoni leadership (who are paying to have the facility constructed) to start laying block asap. They’ve done a request for bids to acquire the block and the mason work, and have committed to start work NLT mid June.
On another note, apparently many of you have seen the TV news article about the potential of evening nursing courses coming to MJ. We’ve been working to bring higher education to the city for some time, and hope to soon conduct an educational needs assessment of the community in partnership with MJHS. Dr. Harvill Eaton, Cumberland University’s President, is committed to bring whatever resources he can to MJ, but has indicated he needs at least 25 students to enroll in classes starting in January. If you are interested in the program please contact Mr. Kenny Martin, the city’s Economic Development Director and Liaison Officer at kmartin@cityofmtjuliet.org. This is truly an exciting initiative and on behalf of the Board of Commissioners we want to thank Mr. Martin, Dr. Eaton and a whole host of officials both here in City Hall and at Cumberland for all the work that has taken place to get to this point.
Utility work is really picking up on both the Reverse L (off Curd Road, by MJHS) and on North Mt. Juliet Road. Due to the complexity of the project and the population and building density along North Mt. Juliet Road, the widening project will be one of the biggest road building initiatives ever done inside the city limits. At last check, the Tennessee Department of Transportation will soon decide on the contractor. Once that is done we’ll be conducting more “Town Hall” sessions to keep you posted on what is happening. It truly is an exciting time for the city.
Finally, I want to commend a recent addition to the City’s Channel 3; the “Job Action Line”. Mr. Taylor, the city’s Information Technology Director, advises there are nearly 25 individuals who have already posted their resumes on the job line. Laid off? Downsized? Fired, or simply looking for a job? If you are a city resident and would like to exponentially increase the visibility of your job search, consider adding your resume on Channel 3. For info on how to do this simply check out the City Web page or call Tina at 754-2552. Happy hunting!
Take care until next time.
Sincerely,
R. Robertson
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