Five interviews down, WCS decision ahead

James Wilson, former Fulton County, Ga. superintendent who during a brief tenure with Williamson County Schools was Centennial High School's first principal and oversaw its construction, was the final of five candidates interviewed this week for the open Director of Schools position.
The school board will meet at 6 p.m. tonight before its regularly scheduled work session to discuss the candidates and decide on its next course of action, which reportedly will be to select who they want to bring back for a final round of interviews.
I wasn't able to make the Wilson interview, but both Williamson A.M. education report Maria Giordano and Williamson Herald reporter Donna O'Neil have spent the last three nights at the county's administration building and have filed stories on the proceedings.
Here are links to check out their reports:

From Williamson A.M.:
School board could narrow director pool tonight: http://tinyurl.com/BWwcssupe5
From the Herald:
School board completes first round of director interviews: http://tinyurl.com/BWsupewh1
School Board faces tough decision after interviewing five superintendent candidates: http://tinyurl.com/BWsupewh

Scroll down to find more links in past postings and my own report from Monday nights interviews with Interim Superintendent Dr. David Health and Dennis Dearden.

Final superintendent interview tonight

Candidate gives Marines credit for success
I wasn't able to make Tuesday night's interviews of Barry Carroll of Limestone County Schools in Athens, Ala., and Mike Looney of Butler County Schools in Greenville, Ala., finalists for Williamson County Schools' Director of Schools' position. But Williamson A.M.'s Maria Giordano was there and reports the dark and stormy night didn't keep the school board from the task at hand.
Read her report at http://tinyurl.com/BWwcssupe.
The interview process ends tonight at 6 p.m. with James Wilson, former superintendent, Fulton County School System, Ga. in the Carolyn Campbell Room in the Administrative Complex, 1320 West Main St., in Franklin. The school board will decide who to bring back for final interviews at a public work session Thursday.
For background on all the candidates, visit http://tinyurl.com/BWsupebios.

Sonic news hard to swallow
Also in the news, today's 'A Closer Look' column in The Tennessean's business section includes information on what fast food restaurants are "Tasty" in this recession -- in other words doing well, and what one's are "Nasty."
Included on the Nasty side was Sonic. "It specializes in things like cherry limeade and tater tots, which hard-pressed consumers have cut back on," the features states.
Obviously no one talked to the folks at our three Brentwood Sonics. It took me three circles to find a spot at the Wilson Pike Circle restaurant during Happy Hour last week, and it wasn't the first time. But I'm never deterred, nor does anyone else seem to be.
Guess I'm not the only one with a passion for Route 44 diet cherry limeades.

Other Brentwood stories to check out:

• Citizens for Brentwood Green Space pushes for open space measures: http://tinyurl.com/BWgreenspace
• Mooreland Estates seeks city's help with road repair: http://tinyurl.com/BWmooreland
• New Vanderbilt Home Care venture will be Brentwood based: http://tinyurl.com/BWwalgreens

It's Tuesday morning and all is well

Good morning Brentwood!

Coming later today is an exclusive interview with Brentwood Police Chief Ricky Watson on his department's work over the weekend that led to five arrests in our rash of home burglaries. But he tells me residents should not let their guards down. Check back to find out why not.

Also coming, a report from last night's City Commission meeting, where it was announced a jury ruled against the city in an eminent domain case, a decision that will cost the city some big bucks if it decides not to appeal.

And while you're waiting for these postings, I need you to be thinking about what you would like to see and read in an online "newspaper" for Brentwood, whether you are a resident or someone who works here. Big things are happening at the BrentWord home office but we need your input and ideas to make them the best they can be.
Perhaps you have story idea to share. Maybe you're involved with a religious, civic, sports or community group that needs its events and honors publicized. What is other local media not covering that you want to read about? What about business coverage? How would you like it presented and what most interests you?
Please send your thoughts to brentword@comcast.net or feel free to leave a comment below. Pass along this link to your friends, neighbors, co-workers, bosses and coaches for their input.
And stay tuned for more information in the weeks ahead.

Here are a few interesting links from today's Williamson A.M. and The Tennessean's Sports sections with Brentwood ties:

• Dog fight isn't over in gated Brentwood community; Owners sue homeowners' board members who wanted pit bulls banned http://tinyurl.com/BWpitbulls
• For scuba instructor, job is never-ending adventure
  For past decade, Brentwood man has happily made a living underwater http://tinyurl.com/BWscuba
• Ron Crawford faces a new challenge as he heads into the 2009 season at Brentwood. (Don't be fooled by the "Hillsboro" headline. Scroll down to find news on BHS team.) http://tinyurl.com/BWfootball

Sports links and a Dear Abby plug

During a quick perusal of Williamson A.M. this morning, I discovered two sports stories by Chip Cirillo I thought Ravenwood parents and students might like to read in case you missed the printed version. I'd also like to take this opportunity to say so long to Chip, who is leaving the Williamson County sports beat to return to The Tennessean's home office on Broadway in Nashville.
Chip's sports feature writing brought a wonderful dimension to Williamson County sports coverage and will be missed. The good news is that he will be covering prep sports so I'm sure we'll be seeing Brentwood datelines a lot when he covers Brentwood and Ravenwood high schools along with Brentwood Academy and the other private schools that draw student athletes from our city.

In the meantime, here are Chip's stories today:

• Manning turns corner; Ravenwood junior wins state amateur: http://tinyurl.com/BWManning
• Ex-Raptors coach takes Florida job: http://tinyurl.com/BWRaptor

Dear Abby, Dear Abby I have no complaints....
John Prine is my all-time favorite singer-songwriter bar none. Sometimes I wonder what he would write about life in Brentwood. We'll have to wait and see. But in the meantime, Dear Abby herself has an interesting series of letters today, page 5D of The Tennessean's Life section, that provide a perfect reflection of our life in the bubble.
The topic, living in affluent communities, really hits home. This is a constant source of discussion among my friends, my Parents of Teens Sunday School class, and my family.
Check it out. Would love to know what you think. Don't have the paper? I also found it online at http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/

Links, laps and Joe Lassus

Among stories and commentary published on Brentwood over the weekend was Williamson A.M.’s “Your Voices” column which asked readers to weigh in on Brentwood’s choice to promote itself on the web versus making a sizable donation to the Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
I’ll be honest, I have mixed feelings about the issue. Too often I believe our city does operate in a vacuum when it comes to working with our county and the other municipalities near us on issues that affect us all. On the flip side, say Williamson County Tturism and what springs to mind. Might it be … Franklin?
I’d be interested in your thoughts. And in the meantime, here’s a link to the W-AM piece in case you missed it: www.tinyurl.com/BWtripweb.

Congrats Stingrays, swimmers
My new swim team correspondent Deb Phillips emailed this over the weekend from the Williamson County Championships held at the Indoor Recreation Center on Heritage Way:
“The results are in! In the Single A division, the Brentwood Country Club Stingray’s avenged their second place trophy in the regular season by winning the first place trophy in the County Championship over the weekend. Coach Will (Drumright) motivated his team by shaving his hair into a Mohawk which he dyed green and then drew a Stingray on the bald area!”
I know Will. Why does this not surprise me? And to all of the local kids who participated in the meet, congratulations! Complete records and results from the meet can be found at www.tinyurl.com/BWswims.

Can you spy Coach Will in the picture? Look closely at the heads and he's pretty easy to find!

Repeat of a football classic Wednesday
Speaking of sports, can’t wait until high school football season starts again? Well, the county’s WC-TV-Comcast Channel 3 offers both a peek into the past and one into the future this week.
This week’s WC-TV classic football game of the week features the Ravenwood vs. Brentwood Academy showdown that took place Aug. 26, 2005. The game will be aired at 9 a.m., 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday, WC-TV’s Williamson County Schools Sports Connection show features guests Page High Football Coach Jack Daniels and Ravenwood High Football Coach Tom Shuman. It airs at 1:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Update on Joe Lassus
Mike Walker shared last week that Planning Director Joe Lassus has completed his radiation treatments for the brain tumor discovered several months ago. “He will continue on chemo for the next month. It is my understanding that they cannot do an MRI to determine the status of the removed tumor until early August so that will be the next big medical date. He visited City Hall a few weeks ago and looked good physically.
“However, prayers for a full recovery are still needed.”
Let’s all stop and say one for Joe and others in need of healing. Unfortunately there are too many of them to list individually here.

Congrats to Buntin, Dove; other recent links

Congratulations to Brentwood High's Amy Buntin and Brentwood Academy's Sam Dove for being named All-Williamson A.M. softball and baseball players of the year.
Buntin, the Lady Bruins' catcher, had 11 triples, 16 doubles and 59 RBI's according to Chip Cirillo's story, published Sunday. She's headed to the University of Notre Dame.
Shortstop Sam Dove helped lead BA to the team's second consecutive Division II-AA state title. The Georgia Tech signee had a .496 batting average, had 34 RBIs and four home runs, Cirillo reports.
Read more about Buntin, Dove and all the other members of the All-Williamson A.M. teams, including many others from Brentwood, at:
http://tinyurl.com/BWDove
http://tinyurl.com/BBteam

http://tinyurl.com/BWBuntin
http://tinyurl.com/SBteam

And in case you missed last Friday's BrentWord feature story on the city's newest firefighters, here's a link: http://tinyurl.com/BWnewfire. Two of the three's college degrees have more to do with film than fires, all have West Coast ties, and one worked side-by-side with local firefighters for years ... without ever fighting a blaze.

Big day for Brentwood news....

Not sure about your house, but the Leathers received a Williamson Herald in the driveway this morning, right along with The Tennessean. So glad we did. LOTS of interesting Brentwood news, and an exceptionally nice special section by the Herald in recognition of Brentwood's 40th birthday.
Here are some story links in case you haven't seen them:

Hardscuffle community reunion recalls city’s black community
http://tinyurl.com/hardscuffle

Ready to ride: Brentwood boys, cousin trek across America on bikes
http://tinyurl.com/bwbike

Town Center evolution awaits infusion of capital, cohesion
http://tinyurl.com/townctr2

And a related story off of last week's TIF meeting, Town Center financing meeting raises questions, some answers
http://tinyurl.com/townctr

City commissioners hear residents’ concerns on issues
http://tinyurl.com/bwcity

And in today's Williamson A.M.:
Do pay, benefits motivate municipal candidates?
http://tinyurl.com/boardpay

Can't help you with the special section, but look for Herald newsracks around town or give them a call at their office to see if they have extra copies.

Of course, I hope BrentWord is your first -- and favorite -- choice for our hometown news! And be sure to check out my earlier posts on the TIF meeting, City Commission meeting and more.

So much news, so little time....

I've been out of the "home office" all day and am supposed to be breezing down to Cool Springs as I type. But here are a few morsels and links to read until I have time for a proper post:
Roger Shirley, a fellow Emory & Henry College alum, passed along this email to constituents from school board member Terry Leve:

On another note, I am pleased that my expressions of concern to the Central Office have led to the immediate removal of the Young Adult Library Services Association's (YALSA) Best Books for Young Adults list as the recommended summer reading guide at both Ravenwood and Brentwood high schools. YALSA's list does not reflect the recommended reading list published by Williamson County Schools. To be perfectly blunt, many of the selections were extraordinarily salacious, sensual and sensationalistic. Out of deference to those who do not wish to be burdened with more specific particulars, I choose to refrain from providing greater detail; however, for those who are concerned, I will provide examples of titles, authors, publishers, ISBN numbers, summaries and/or selected passages to those who individually request such information of me. There is no secret here. Rather, I believe many would prefer not to have such information sent to their home or work e-mails.

I have definite opinions on this but no time to share them at the moment. Stay tuned. In the meantime, Maria Giordano, Williamson A.M.'s ace education reporter, has already posted a story on it. Check out the link:
tennessean.com/article/20090520/COUNTY09/90520032/+Salacious++book+list+removed+from+school+web+sites


Also, Mitch Kline has this update on Timothy McGowan, the Ravenwood senior killed earlier this week in a car crash:
tennessean.com/article/20090520/COUNTY09/90520017/Update++Funeral+set+for+Ravenwood+student+killed+in+crash

And finally, I understand Ravenwood had another loss today, a beloved substitute teacher. Again, let's keep that entire community in our prayers.

Teens, rules and the ALC

For weeks, the alleged actions of several Ravenwood High School students at an off-campus, YMCA-sponsored event have kept tongues wagging, parents in an uproar and resulted in an increased law enforcement presence on the campus. They have also brought to light questions about the county's Alternative Learning Center.
And for the record, Ravenwood's not alone. Several Brentwood High students have been arrested in recent months for off-campus activities as well.
Today's Williamson A.M. features a story on the ALC from the perspective of its teachers and students. The section also has a Letter to the Editor from a friend of the students who were reassigned to the ALC after the incident.
Here are links to the stories:
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090423/COUNTY090101/904230321/1164/COUNTY09
http://www.tennessean.com/article/20090423/COUNTY09010501/904230323/1164/COUNTY09
If you have experience with ALC, positive or negative, please share your thoughts. If you are a parent, student or law-enforcement officer with an opinion on the recent events or related topics, please share. If you don't want to post a comment, send me an email at brentword@comcast.net.
I'll write more on this, and share my thoughts, in the next few days.