MIKE PIRTLE, Post Publisher
Posted: Sunday, December 6, 2009 7:45 am

Linda Gilbert brings huge assets in intellect, expertise, experience and coalition building to her new position as director of Murfreesboro City Schools after being selected from an initial field of 20 candidates in a search of many months concluded last week by the city school board.

On paper Gilbert was at least equal to any other candidate in the regional search.

And, she had an overwhelming advantage. She knew and has been long involved in this community.

That community, beneficiary of her service in innumerable programs mostly involving children, education and public welfare, repaid some of its debt with a vast outpouring of support for her for the critical city schools director position.

More than rightfully repaying a debt, the community support represented an investment.

Gilbert’s considerable involvement gives her keen insight into our community’s needs and challenges, its strengths and weaknesses, its players and posers.

She ultimately proved equal or better than the other contenders to the job, plus bringing the immeasurable but massive benefit of knowing this community, the city school system and where we have been and need to go.

Gilbert’s rightness for the job is evidenced by the unanimous support that gave her the position. For good or bad, the city board has been contentious, at times to the point of being detrimental to the system overall, in the past many months.

To see the board come together strongly for Gilbert is quite a sterling endorsement.

While certainly with its faults and weaknesses, the city school system is a gigantic asset for this community and Linda Gilbert brings a lot of qualities to take it to the next level.

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Ya gotta love Middle Tennessee weather.

Last Sunday I was running around outside in a T-shirt, comfortably. Friday I just kept adding layers and I was working inside.

In a blatant effort to drive ratings up, TV weather folk were talking about snow for yesterday (Saturday.)

I’d been saying for a couple of weeks it would be really cold this weekend. It was pretty much a lock with two clear indicators: the county Christmas tree lighting Friday night and the BlueCross Bowl.

Those always mean coooooold weather.

But, hey, until last Tuesday no killing frost had visited my house in town. The big, giant cherry tomato plant was still providing a pitiful six tiny tomatoes just like in July, the four-o’clocks along the back fence were trying to take over the world and the darn forsythia was in full bloom.

On the first day of December.

I’m figuring low 70s by Christmas.

•••

Channel 5, WTVF, last week had a fairly long story about the BlueCross Bowl, the Tennessee high school championship games, being in Cookeville this weekend after years and years in Murfreesboro (where they belong for endless reasons).

Folks there, of course, were yammering on about how much money the games were going to bring into the Putnam County community with $1 million expected from the 25,000 expected visitors.

Look this isn’t sour grapes, but if the championship football games were a big moneymaker the Rutherford Chamber of Commerce would have bid more.

Indirect reports point to the likelihood Cookeville is already figuring that out.

But, as noted here before if Cookeville is looking at the title games as a marketing tool it can make sense for that community where it wouldn’t necessarily for Murfreesboro.

While I fully expected and looked forward to covering another county team in the state finals last night as has been the case the last three years, I wasn’t looking forward to doing it in Cookeville, no reflection on that fine community, because of the travel and knowing if it is usually cold for the games here it will be really cold and maybe even snowing up on the Plateau.

•••

No, I haven’t been contacted about the open Notre Dame coaching job. I cannot speak for Stephen Lewis.