| Mike West: Residents need to look outside our community |
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Posted: Sunday, July 26, 2009 7:53 am
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So often Murfreesboro residents don’t really know how the rest of the region and nation regards our community and surrounding area.
For example, despite the national economy, Rutherford County and Murfreesboro remains one of the fastest growing areas in the nation.
The announcement came this week that the Davis Groupe will manufacture, prototype and distribute 30 different types of LED lights under the Aladdin Mantle Lamp Co. name.
Up to 250 jobs could be created within 18 months, but in phases two and three of the project some 2,000 jobs could be created over the long term, said state Sen. Bill Ketron (R-Murfreesboro).
Jimmy Davis, chief manager of The Davis Groupe, said those looking for jobs should remain patient. Information about jobs, which will first include assembly jobs, will be available on the company's Web site www.davisgroupe.com.
LED lighting is currently becoming the new source of lighting preferred by municipal governments and private developers. LEDs are a more sustainable, environmentally friendly method of lighting. The LED lights have been proven to last longer than traditional lighting methods and reduce energy costs.
That’s great news. LEDs are state of the art lighting. Stuff of the future.
One point that makes our part of Tennessee very distinctive is the fact we maintain the past while looking to the future.
That makes Nashville, Murfreesboro, Franklin and other Middle Tennessee communities a bit different from much of the nation.
Recent articles in Preservation and Hallowed Ground point to that.
In October, the 2009 National Preservation Conference is meeting in Nashville.
As the brochure for the event says, “take advantage of the opportunity to explore and learn from the preservation challenges and successes in Nashville and the communities and countryside that surround it. Pasts filled with frontier hardships, Civil War battles, civil rights struggles, and the development of American music are blending with New South energy and thriving Main Street communities. The unfolding stories are told through plantations and farms, town squares, battlefields, city streets, historic African-American institutions, 19th and 20th century neighborhoods, and music venues from intimate bars to the world-famous Ryman Auditorium.
“See for yourself how Nashville and Tennessee are national leaders in developing sustainable and cultural tourism. Top it off with the influential role that Nashville has had on the development of American music and you will see there is no place like Nashville to celebrate and enjoy our pasts!”
Wow, but what does that have to do with Murfreesboro?
Hmmmm, event participants will be coming to the ‘Boro to see history in action in our downtown. You see, MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation is playing a very active role in the national conference.
Meanwhile, Stones River Battlefield rated a field report in the Civil War Trust’s publication, Hallowed Ground.
The article recounts efforts to clean up the damage from the April 10 tornado that rendered $40.5 million in damages in Tennessee.
Stones River was particularly hard hit by the storm, which left a mile-long, quarter-mile wide swath of fallen and damaged trees.
While much of the park reopened within days, repair work has continued throughout the summer thanks to crews from Big South Fork, Great Smokey Mountains, Mammoth Cave and the Natchez Trace Parkway.
Much of the damage has been repaired, but some trails are still closed. For an update on Stones River, check out http://www.nps.gov/stri.
On the back of Hallowed Ground are the winners of the Civil War Preservation Trust’s 2008 photo contest. A photo taken by Kisha Tracy of the Hazen’s Brigade Monument at Stones River is included. The picture won first place in the 2008 contest under the “threats” category.
As we deal with the day-to-day challenges of a growing community in the midst of a historic landscape, we need to recognize a lot of people are indeed looking at us to see how a lot of times we do it right.
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