BrentWord 'vacating' for a few; other news

Today's posting will be short, as the BrentWord office is closing for a few days in order to help best friend Eve Solomon celebrate her 50th on the campus of Emory & Henry college in southwest Va. It could be dangerous. Good thing the ol' campus cop Casey is no longer prowling the place. Or maybe it would be a good thing.
By the way, E&H is included in the Colleges That Change Lives directory (http://www.ctcl.org/; http://www.ehc.edu/). The CTCL college fair is coming to Williamson County Thursday, Aug. 20. It will be 7-9 p.m. at The Factory at Franklin. If you aren't enamored with UT or other big state schools and are looking for a unique college experience for yourself or your child, mark your calendar and check it out.

Here are a few Brentwood-related news links to check out:
From today's Williamson Herald:
Don't miss Kiri Walton's story on Alecia Venkataraman. This young woman graduated from high school at age 16, Belmont University at 19, and at only 24, is working on her MBA and already out of an abusive marriage. She also just started Make It Beautiful, a Cool Springs non-profit. http://tinyurl.com/WHbeauty.

Kiri also has a Brentwood business story: Fox+Kolb accounting firm brings a woman's touch, strong skills to the bottom line. http://tinyurl.com/fox-kolb

And in today's Tennessean, check out John Glennon's story on Brentwood ice hockey player -- and Preds prospect -- Blake Geoffrion. http://tinyurl.com/TNhockey

Speaking of the Herald, I learned yesterday that Kiri is no longer writing for the Franklin-based weekly. This is a huge loss for Brentwood. She's really covered the city well during her brief tenure and was responsible to a large degree for the recent 40th anniversary special section the paper published. However, I know that she has far better things in front of her and I look forward to seeing how far she can go.

(Another) sad day for journalism
And on personal note, though I don't know if the paper will report it, The Tennessean is laying off another round of employees today. In December, I lost my editing job there, ending a 27-year career that spanned four papers in four states, during a previous round. This will affect my friends and former co-workers. As a person who loves newspapers and the vital role they play in society, I'm heartbroken. There is no way no matter how they spin it that news coverage will be better, streamlined, more efficient, whatever.

That's why I started this blog (see my first post for details: http://brentword.blogspot.com/2009/04/new-day-dawns.html. In coming months it will take on a new life as an online "newspaper" for our city. If you have thoughts about what you would like to see included and covered in this new venture, please email me at brentword@comcast.net, or leave a comment below. This will be YOUR community newspaper, just online instead of in print.