| 2009: A year when the winds blew ill |
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Posted: Sunday, December 27, 2009 7:52 am
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Staffer Michelle Willard caught the Good Friday Tornado ripping across town.
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2009 was a year to be remembered.
From tornadoes to a changing of the guard in the city, here are the Top 10 (11, because so much happened) stories of the year.
1. Good Friday Tornado
By far the No.1 story of 2009 was the EF-4 tornado that touched down God Friday, April 10 in Rutherford County.
On the tornado’s 23-mile path, more than $42 million in damage was caused, 117 homes were destroyed, 845 houses were damaged and two people lost their lives.
In the days following the tornado, city and county departments, along with 15 private contractors, removed more than 21 million pounds of debris from the tornado’s path. That total doesn’t count what individual volunteers removed from damaged homes and businesses.
Many of our most read stories dealt with first-person accounts, like that of David Young who was running on the Thompson Lane Greenway when the powerful twister passed directly overhead.
“I was lying on my side wrapped around a tree like a koala bear looking straight up into the eye of an F-4 tornado. And the debris at the top of the funnel looked just like angels gracefully performing ballet,” Young wrote about his experience.
2. Gordon announces retirement
After a quarter century in the U.S. House of Representatives, Bart Gordon announced earlier this month he will not seek re-election in 2010.
“When I was elected, I was the youngest member of the Tennessee congressional delegation; now, I’m one of the oldest,” Gordon said. “In fact, I have members of my staff who weren’t even born when I took office. That tells me it’s time for a new chapter.”
Gordon’s retirement leaves the field wide open for the 2010 congressional election.
Several Republicans, including state Sen. Jim Tracy, State Sen. Diane Black and local Lou Ann Zelenik has tossed their hats in the ring. On the other side of the aisle, no Democrat has officially announced.
3. Blue Raiders bag the Eagles in New Orleans
Middle Tennessee's football team made the 2009 season the greatest ever since joining FBS competition and arguably the best in school history.
The Raiders won their first FBS bowl game, 42-32, over Southern Mississippi Sunday, Dec. 20 before a national television audience on ESPN in a game that proved to be an entertaining, offensive show.
In addition to their historic bowl win, the Blue Raiders of Coach Rick Stockstill also notched a record Football Bowl Subdivision 10th win, finishing the season with seven straight wins and a 10-3 record.
4. Economy hammers state and local government budgets
Falling revenue from diminished sales tax and other fees led Tennessee, Rutherford County and Murfreesboro to slash fiscal year 2009-2010 budgets.
Rutherford County had to take it a step further and raise property taxes for the second year in a row.
The state, county and city also continued hiring freezes to keep budgets in check.
Because of cuts at the state level, MTSU offered a voluntary buy-out plan to help reduce the university’s budget, along with eliminating some majors concentrations and consolidating other areas.
5. City schools names new director
With strong community support, Linda Gilbert was selected from a field of more than 20 candidates to be the next director of Murfreesboro City Schools.
The MTSU professor and former MCS music teacher vied for the top stop after Marilyn Mathis stepped down from the post in October for a job in the public sector.
6. Feds indict gang members in ‘Boro murder
Gang members accused of murdering two people and shooting at four homes during a four-month spree from November 2007 to February 2008 in Murfreesboro were indicted by a federal grand jury In October.
Nine members of the Vice Lord Gang based in Chicago were indicted for charges including murder, kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon, attempted murder, conspiracy to possess firearms in relation to violent crimes, the use and carrying of firearms in violent crimes and conspiracy to distribute drugs, reported U.S. Attorney Ed Yarbrough during a press conference at his Nashville office.
7. City names new manager
When longtime city manager Roger Haley announced his retirement in August, the Murfreesboro City Council embarked on a national search to replace him that didn’t get out of town.
In a surprise move during an update on the national search in May, Councilman David Edwards moved to end the search in it’s beginning stages and appoint Deputy City Manager Rob Lyons to the post after his performance during the Good Friday Tornado.
“Tragedies beget heroes and heroes become leaders,” Councilman Tobey Gilley said that night about Lyons.
8. Woman convicted of killing former state trooper
In February Tina Williamson was found guilty of second-degree murder and felony murder of former state trooper General “Jack” Rains.
The jury convicted of shooting Rains five times in the back of the head Aug. 31, 2007 at his 106 McFarlin Ave. home off Old Woodbury Highway. He was a state trooper in the 1950s.
She was sentenced to life for felony murder, a murder committed during a robbery, but has filed a motion for a new trial.
9. Unemployment hits double digits
In June, Tennessee’s unemployment rate jumped 0.8 percentage points to 10.7 percent.
The last time Tennessee’s unemployment rate was as high was November 1983.
According to the Business Survey, 6,300 job gains occurred in leisure and hospitality; 3,900 in administrative, support and waste services; and 2,300 in local government.
Major employment decreases occurred in most sectors with the biggest declines in durable goods manufacturing and construction.
10. Nissan plant puts RuCo back in forefront
Rutherford County’s unemployment rate has hovered around 10 percent for the last half of the year with job losses across all sectors.
But the tides may be turning in the manufacturing sector with Nissan staging a massive plant expansion for the assembly of electric vehicles, which will begin within the next two years.
The automaker plans to retool and expand its factory by 1.3 million square feet for the production of zero-emission electric vehicles and in turn create around 1,700 jobs.
The plant expansion could indirectly produce 10,708 jobs in addition to the Nissan jobs, which can produce approximately $525 million in wages and $11.3 million in new local taxes.
11. Ex-detective speed at 62 mph when girl hit
In October it was revealed that former sheriff’s detective Ron Killings was going an alleged 71 mph two seconds before he struck an 11-year-old girl July 17, 2007 on Bradyville Pike.
Tennessee Highway Patrol testing of a computer in former Killings’ car showed “his speed was 62.8 mph” when his air bag deployed after striking Lakeisha White, said appointed prosecutor Joe Baugh of Franklin.
The trial was continued until February.
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