City Councilors, Judge Smith to take oath of office on New Year’s Day
The Clarksville City Council will meet in special session on January 1 at 10 a.m. at City Council Chambers, 108 Public Square, to administered the oath of office to the city’s recently elected city council members and a city judge.
Mayor Johnny Piper will swear in the following: James Lewis, Ward 3; Wallace Redd, Ward 4; Candy C. Johnson, Ward 5; David Allen, Ward 8; Joel Wallace, Ward 9; and Jeff Burkhart, Ward 12. City Judge Charles W. Smith will also be sworn in. The election of a Mayor Pro Tem will follow. [Read more]
Red Cross: “You have the power…”
The Clarksville Montgomery County Chapter of the American Red Cross wants you to know “you’ve got the power.”
Learning basic first aid and CPR/Automated External Defibrillator (AED) can quite possibly mean the difference between life and death for someone suffering from Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) or other medical emergency. The local Red Cross advises that being able to administer first aid and CPR/AED during the first few minutes of a medical emergency is crucial to the survival and recovery of a victim. Having these skills allows you to become a vital first responder when help is needed.
“The Red Cross wants the public to know that everyone has the power to save a life. At least one person in every household and on every office floor should be trained and certified in first aid and CPR/AED,” says Patricia Brown, Health and Safety Director of Clarksville-Montgomery Red Cross. “On average, it takes emergency personnel 12 minutes to arrive on scene. For someone who is choking or has stopped breathing that may be too late. By learning simple rescue skills, you can go from a helpless bystander to a person with the ability to take control help someone during an emergency.” [Read more]
A children’s tale for Christmas Eve
Merry Christmas from the staff of Discover Clarksville.
As Christmas Eve settles over us, families gather and children, well, children have their eyes on the skies for that hoped-for glimpse of St. Nick, the reindeer, and the sleigh filled with delights to be found under Christmas trees the following morning.
For that perfect video rendering of that bedtime story on Christmas Eve, we turn to William Goldstein’s whimsical version of Clement C. Moore’s classic poem (the text follows). Goldstein’s sets the poem for Orchestra, Chorus and Narrator. [Read more]
Making memories is a “Scrapper’s Delight”
Carol Miller creates "torn papers" for scrapbook pages
Imagination. That’s the only limit to what you can create at Scrapper’s Delight Etc., a year-old locally owned Clarksville business that just moved and reopened in a new Fort Campbell Boulevard location in time for the holidays.
When owner Connie Parkerson wanted an investment, she turned to the booming business of memories and to store manager, Carol Miller, whose passion for the craft of making memory books was the perfect match. Miller’s son, Jonathan, also works at the store, handling a myriad of tasks including an increasingly popular online scrapbooking network.
“Scrappers” are the millions of men, women and children captivated by this craft.
“People scrapbook for all kinds of reasons and use all kinds of forms,” Miller explains. “Hobbies. Memories. Making gifts. Some people don’t use pictures. instead, they use recipes, or work on tins or boxes.”
Hemlock to invest $1.2 billion for polysilicon plant
Shining Today — To Energize Tomorrow. That slogan blazed across the stage as the vintage vinyl tune “Here Comes the Sun” played to a packed house at the APSU Communications Building Monday afternoon.
An SRO crowd at APSU gets offical word on a $1.2 billion industrial development megasite
A “Who’s Who” roster of state, county and local government officials and business leaders from Michigan and Montgomery County gathered on the Austin Peay State University campus for the “historic” official announcement of Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation and Hemlock Semiconductor LLC multi-billion dollar development at Clarksville’s megasite in the northeastern edge of the city.
This is a “watershed of economic development in Tennessee,” said Matt Kessner of the Economic Development Council. “New jobs in the development of sustainable energy.”
After a two-year global site search, Dow Corning and the Hemlock group opted to make an initial $1.2 billion initial investment in the construction of a new polycrystalline silicon (polysilicon) manufacturing and development facility. Polysilicon is key to the development of solar industry. Groundbreaking on the new plant is expect early in 2009, creating up to 1,000 jobs in construction and related crafts during the building phase; the facility is earmarked to open in 2012.
Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen joined Hemlock’s CEO and President Rick Doornbos in making the announcement. “It’s the right company in the right community at the right time,” Bredesen said of what will ultimately be a $2 billion investment. “What they make is what has to happen to make solar energy. The numbers are staggering.” Bredensen noted that t is not simply the immediate creation of new job but the ability to also attract related industries and suppliers to the state and the region.
“This announcement offers solar industry leaders confidences that polysilicon supply will be available as the solar and electronics industries continue to grow and innovate. The exact scale of this investment will be determined by market conditions. Making this investment in today’s volatile economic climate is a testament to both the long term outlook of the solar industry, as well as Hemlock Semiconductor’s ability to add capacity to meet the needs of customers.” — Rick Doornbos
Doornbos said his frm looked at “over two dozen sites around the world” before settling on Clarksville and cited the importance not just location but the community itself as key to the final decision.
Polysilicon is used in the production of everything from cell phone and computers to solar panels. The total investment by Hemlock in Clarksville will be at least $2.5 billion and at its onset of production will initially produce 1o,000 metric tons of capacity at the site, with the potential to expand to a production level of 21,000 metric tons. When the site is ready in 2012, some 500 permanent jobs will be created, with a potential increase to 800 when expanded. Construction of the site will employ 1,000 workers over a five to seven year period.
Most of the polysilicon produced at the Clarksville site will be consumed by firms in the solar industry but the facility will also be capable of producing pure silicon for the electronics industry as well as solar-grade material. The energy required for polysilicon manufacturing will be recouped “eight to fifteen times over” in future use and applications, Doornbos said.
Stephanie A. Burns, Dow Corning’s President and CEO, said her company was “committing our resources, know-how and technology because we are confident that solar technology represents a tremendous opportunity for both clean energy and economic growth.
In conjunction with this new industrial development, APSU has received a $6.4 million grant to develop and implement training programs in related fields from microbiology to engineering.
“We are (making this investment) for a 21st century America. We will retrain workers. We will encourage solar investment and call for a national commitment to environmentally responsible and renewable energy goals.”
Clarksville Mayor Johnny Piper thanked the hundreds of people involved in bringing this industry to the city.
During the announcement, Hemlock and Dow Corning presented two checks of $25,000 each to the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System and to the Imagination Library as an indicator of the start of their investment in the social fabric of the community.
Partners in this business venture are:
Hemlock Semiconductor Corporation headquartered in Hemlock, Michigan. The company has produced high-purity polysilicon for over 45 years.
Henlock Semiconductor LLC is a newly formed venture between Dow Corning Corporation, Shin-Etsu Handotai, and Mitsubishi Materials Corporations.
Dow Corning Corporation is a global leader in polysilicon innovation and technology. Dow Corning of Midland, Michigan, which manufacturses more than 7,000 products and services, is a joint venture owned by Dow Chemical Company and Corning Inc.
Dover resident wins F&M Bank $100,000 sweepstakes
Tension built at Governor’s Square Mall in Clarksville on Saturday as fourteen finalists in the F&M Bank $100,000 American DreamStakes took their turn —choosing a key and trying to unlock the door that would determine the grand prize winner. At the very end, Ronnie Murray of Dover, the 14th and final contestant, unlocked the door and walked away with the $100,000.
“It’s going to make Christmas a lot easier this year,” confessed the 28-year-old Murray, who said his church would be the first recipient of his good fortune. He plans to write them a $10,000 check. Murray, along-side his wife, Carrie, said he had never won anything. “This is amazing, “ he exclaimed. [Read more]
Great holiday gifts come in “small packages”
“Small Packages” — a showcase of affordable art perfect for holiday gift giving — is on display at Silke’s Old World Breads, Bakery, and Cafe 1214A College Street in downtown Clarksville. These “small packages” will be highlighted during a holiday reception and “Evening with the Artists” to be held on Saturday, December 13, from 7-8:30 p.m. when the public is invited to enter Silke’s cafe and gallery, enjoy the holiday reception, sample the many delectable treats from the kitchens and peruse the gallery for the perfect gift for that someone special in your life.
A sneak preview included a sampling of small paintings, unique pottery, and other craft items retailing for $100 or less. Many lovely items were priced at significantly less.
The charm of Silke’s is the mix of great sandwiches, unique pizzas, amazing desserts with a sampling of art and photography by multiple talents in the greater Clarksville Area. Approximately six times a year, Silke hosts an art open house showcasing local artisans and artists. The Christmas event comes with a twist: the “small packages” designed to be given as gifts.
F&M Bank named to Tennessee Business Hot100
F&M president and CEO Sammy Stuard
F&M Bank has been named to the 2008 list of Hot100 companies to watch in Tennessee by BusinessTN magazine. The 102-year old F&M ranks as one of the state’s top 20 independent banks. With assets exceeding $700 million, F&M Bank operates offices in Montgomery, Rutherford, Wilson, Sumner, Robertson and Stewart counties.
“Being recognized by BusinessTN as one of the Hot100 companies in the state is evidence that businesses and individuals in middle Tennessee appreciate F&M’s unique brand of banking,” remarked Sammy Stuard, F&M president and CEO. “I think it also speaks to the fact that today, people are placing greater trust in their local bank rather than the larger financial institutions that are making so much of today’s negative economic news,” he continued. [Read more]
Our quest for spiritual nourishment
For spiritual nourishment, I attend public worship services, view given religious programs, and read uplifting literature.
A few words about uplifting literature: In my spiritual pilgrimage I am discovering my faith rekindled through reading newspapers, magazines, books (fiction and non-fiction), and The Upper Room, a daily devotional guide published by the United Methodist Church.
Today, through prayer and thought the conclusion of the Upper Room devotional energized and encouraged my faith in our Lord. [Read more]
What would the Apostles do?
WWJD is sometimes singled out as a standard for measuring moral beliefs and moral decisions. Perhaps we can receive spiritual motivation, too, by asking “What would the Apostles of the New Testament do?”
One Friday morning during my solitary time in fellowship with God, I read a passage of Scripture that spoke to me from Acts 4: 32-37. Verse 34 summarizes the result of corporate and united action taken by the disciples: “There was not a needy person among them.” The context sheds light on the meaning of the verse. The disciples shared their time, skills and talents as in response to God’s call. They sold their houses and land and shared everything. [Read more]
