Page 2 The Tri-City Reporter, Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Insight & Opinion Better get ready for changes
Clayburn Peeples reports: I can still remember the first USA TODAY newspaper I ever saw. I was off somewhere on a trip, and the hotel where I was staying provided one free of charge. Today we take it for granted, but when it first came out, 25 years ago, USA TODAY was absolutely eye popping. Even back then, it had terrific color photographs, a vast improvement over other papers, most of which never did color, and even the ones that did, never seemed to print them correctly. The format seemed revolutionary too. It was broken down into four broad category sections, “News�, “Money�, the business section, “Sports� and “Life�, which was devoted to stories reflecting popular culture. It even had a nugget of news from every state in the union in it, every day. I remember being amazed to read an account of the previous day’s election back home in Tennessee. The articles were all short, which meant there was space for more of them, and like very many people, I was delighted with it.
My “real� newspaper friends didn’t think much of it however. They called it “McNewspaper� because of the short articles. One of them referred to it as “journalistic fast food.� But apparently America didn’t agree, or if they did, “fast food� was what they craved, because while many of USA TODAY’s “real� competitors have fallen by the way over the last quarter century, or are breathing their last breaths, USA TODAY is still going strong. It is, as a matter of fact, the most widely circulated print newspaper in the country, and it is available everywhere. How “good� a newspaper it is may still be debatable, but it is read by more people in America than any other paper, so when its editors surveyed their readers (5,869 of them, at any rate) about the important events in their lives over the last 25 years I was curious as to what this cross-section of America would have to say. “What invention,� the paper asked its readers, “has changed your life, for the better, over the last 25 years?� Home computers (78%), the
Internet (77%), cell phones (64%), email (62%) and digital cameras (51%) led the way, but voice mail (33%), DVR (28%) and GPS devices (24%) were in the pack as well. Interestingly, I read an article last month in which the author speculated that seven of those eight of those electronic marvels would soon be phased out and packaged into one single unit, and that would be the cell phone. How about that? Remember the first cell phones, how clunky they were, and how we made fun of people who used them in public. Showing off, we said. Now everybody uses them everywhere, for all sorts of things. And the Internet? In the early days the joke was that the Internet enabled you to do the same amount of research on the Internet in an hour that it would have taken you at least ten minutes to do at a library. But that was then. Now when people go to the library to look something up they usually do it at one of the computer terminals there with Internet access. Or maybe they just look it up on their phones in the parking lot. To the question, “Which famous person’s passing in the last 25 years had the most profound affect on you?�, one out of three respondents named Princess Diana. Seventeen percent named John Kennedy, Jr., both of whom had near zero real accomplishments, of any kind, but who were attractive
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April Jackson Publisher ajackson@hchronicle.net
The
from page 1 pay homage to one of our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most prominent symbols of freedom. The New York trip will not only highlight the talents of these students but will also provide an opportunity for the students to visit and tour many of our nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most valued historical venues. As the students begin their tour, they will explore the lights and magic of Times Square and top that day off with a Broadway performance of The Lion King. Day three of the trip will allow the students to visit Lincoln Center, Central Park, St. Patrickâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cathedral and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. There will also be a little time to explore fashionable Fifth Avenue before ending the day with a concert by the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Day four will begin with a visit to Liberty State Park followed by the student concert. Later that day, a visit to the Financial District, Wall Street, Chinatown and the Empire State Building will be highlighted with a stop at Ground Zero. The final day in New York will take the students on a tour of NBC Studios and Rockefeller Center. March 11, 2010
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Cindy East Managing Editor ceast@tricityreporter.net
TRI-CITY REPORTER
BY MICHAEL ENOCHS Lifelong Dyer resident and former owner of Dyer Motor Company, Bobby Robinson, in conjunction with Will Wade, of Wade Grain Company, have purchased the property that was formerly the Pinecrest Country Club. The new business will be known as Pinecrest Golf Course and will be open to the general public with golf memberships available along with seasonal swimming pool memberships. Pinecrest Golf Course will carry on the tradition of the original establishment by providing an excellent golfing layout on 154 acres rivaling the best golf courses anywhere. The capacious facility offers an excellent atmosphere for recreation with an upscale bar and grill, called Tavern on the Green, providing the best in dining and entertainment. Pinecrest Golf Course project manager, Norman Robinson, related, â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to preserve this place as an asset to the community. It has had an influence on all the surrounding communities both economically, and socially since being founded in 1959 by various people from Dyer and Trenton. We want to preserve that tradition, and make it open to the public to enjoy good food, good friendship, and good golf.â&#x20AC;?
Michael Enochs Reporter menochs@tricityreporter.net
cupcakes had been around longer than that. No surprise regarding favorite books. The three top vote getters were Harry Potter, The Da Vinci Code and The Bridges of Madison County. The â&#x20AC;&#x153;leastâ&#x20AC;? favorite fashion trends of the last 25 years? Tattoos, by a landslide, followed by body piercing and the grunge look. Oddly enough, saggy pants did not make the list at all. Favorite movie? This surprised me. Forest Gump won, followed by Titanic and The Shawshank Redemption. I might not agree with USA TODAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s readers on all, or even perhaps on most of their answers, but clearly they have put their collective finger on
Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pulse during our recent past. They missed on some, for sure. Apparently no significant number of them mentioned DNA testing, video games, mp3 players (although several mentioned iPodâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s) or memory cards, and who knows what other new things are out there today that we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even know about that will dominate the next 25 years of our lives. We donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know, but one thing is for sure. Things will be different in big ways. In a world of more uncertainty than most of us have experienced at any other time in our lives, the certainty of change is the one thing we can predict with complete confidence. Better get ready.
Top TCR stories of 2010
Pinecrest Golf Course to open
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and glamorous and frequently on the tabloid covers. Ronald Reagan, Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II, at eleven, 9 and 8 percent, respectively, barely edged out Michael Jackson, who was named by 7 percent. Go figure. Favorite song of the last quarter century? One in five named Whitney Houstonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s version of â&#x20AC;&#x153;I WillAlways Love You.â&#x20AC;? Nearly as many picked Celine Dionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;My Heart Will Go On.â&#x20AC;? The only other song to break double digits was U2â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s â&#x20AC;&#x153;I Still Havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Found What Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m Looking For.â&#x20AC;? Favorite food trends of the last 25 years included blackened fish, tapas, gourmet coffee and cupcakes. Funny, I could have sworn
The facilities and golf course will continue to be under the direction of golf pro and general manager, Webb Webster, while his wife, Melanie Webster, will remain the food and beverage manager. Pinecrest Golf Course does adhere to a dress code requiring proper golf attire for the course. Collared shirts must be worn. Blue jeans are permissible. The course will be open on March 13, while the facilities continue a complete renovation.
Lady Pioneer Heather Butler is Miss Basketball nominee BY LORI CATHEY Lady Pioneer Heather Butler has accomplished two more milestones in the last three weeks of her high school basketball career. Butler has been named as a Miss Basketball Finalists for Class AA. This is the highest individual honor that you can achieve in high school basketball. She became only the second Lady Pioneer to be nominated for this award. Butler, along with Heather Griffin and Aubry Reedy, Gibson Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Big Three Seniors, all signed to play collage basketball with UT Martin. The senior guard is a four-year starter who averaged 25 points and 5 assists per game. She is the Lady Pioneers leading scorer and has helped lead Gibson County to their second straight state tournament trip. Gibson County coach David Russell said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Heather is the best guard that I have ever coached. She is a outstanding young lady and I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think of anyone else more deserving than her for Miss Basketball.â&#x20AC;? The Miss Basketball winner will be announced at the conclusion of the Class
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Heather Butler
Turnaround vote passes $35 wheel tax increase BY STEVE SHORT County Commissioner Mark Flake of Milan changed his mind Monday morning and the result could impact what you pay for your car license tags. Flake cast the decisive vote March 8 to increase the wheel tax increase by $35, a 100 percent increase of the current $35 rate. It would go to $70. The vote passed 17-4, just getting the two-thirds majority needed. A second vote will be required in May. Voters will then have 30 days to petition against the wheel tax increase before it goes into effect probably in September. Flakeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vote was a dramatic turnaround. Earlier Monday the wheel tax hike failed 165 as Flake voted against it. But Flake made a motion to reconsider and voted in favor of the tax increase. The second vote came after County Clerk Diane Taylor talked about business tax revenues being far below projections because of changes in the tax collection system. continued next week
PINECREST GOLF COURSE UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP â&#x20AC;&#x201C; The Pinecrest Golf Course will open for business on March 13th under new ownership. Bobby Robinson (right) and Will Wade (second from left) partnered to purchase the prestigious course. Norman Robinson (left) is project manager. The golf course will continue under the management of golf pro Web Webster (center) and his wife Melanie Webster (second from right) is the food and beverage manager.
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AAState championship game March 13 at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro. Butler also recently scored her 2,000th point.
Lee Ann Butler Bookkeeping
lbutler@hchronicle.net Published each Thursday by American Hometown Publishing 618 South Main, Dyer Tenn. 38330 Phone 731.692.3506 Fax: 731.692.4844 news@tricityreporter.net