would like to invite you for a
Meet & Greet
Fundraising Reception

Thursday, September 9th
5:00 to 7:00 PM
Blackman Community Center
4310 Manson Pike
Murfreesboro

Suggested Contribution $100
All Contributions Appreciated

for more info please call Will Fields at 615.481.0522

]]> http://www.rutherfordcountydemocrats.org/2010/08/debbie-matthews-fundraiser-september-9th-at-blackman-community-center/feed/ http://www.rutherfordcountydemocrats.org/2010/08/coleman-appointed-to-criminal-justice-coordinating-council/ http://www.rutherfordcountydemocrats.org/2010/08/coleman-appointed-to-criminal-justice-coordinating-council/#comments Tue, 10 Aug 2010 22:51:17 +0000 admin http://www.rutherfordcountydemocrats.org/?p=2303

Rep. Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro)

NASHVILLE—Tennessee House of Representatives Speaker Kent Williams (R- Carter County) has appointed Rep. Kent Coleman (D- Murfreesboro) to the Tennessee Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, which will enable him to continue his efforts to protect the public through improving the state’s criminal justice system.

The Council is charged with collaborating with and coordinating the services of state and local governmental agencies and non-governmental entities in the criminal justice system to increase public safety, according to the enabling legislation, HB 3792, signed by Governor Bredesen on June 9.

Coleman is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal law in the state, as well as law enforcement agencies and individual property rights.

“I am deeply honored to have been considered for this position by Speaker Williams,” Coleman stated. “And I am very excited to work outside my normal role in the legislature to make our state a safer place for its citizens.”

The Council’s main role is to conduct planning, research and evaluation activities to improve operations and coordination within the criminal justice system.

“I’m proud of my work as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to protect the people of Rutherford County and Tennessee as a whole by passing legislation to increase public safety,” Coleman added. “Now I get to follow up that legislation by making its application as effective as possible statewide. I’m grateful to the people of the 49th District who have made this opportunity possible.”

Rep. Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro)

MURFREESBORO – New legislation co-sponsored by state Rep. Kent Coleman to toughen the penalties on those committing the most heinous crimes came into effect this July.

The law, HB2693, makes the murder of a pregnant woman an aggravating factor in the consideration of the death penalty in first-degree murder cases.

Coleman is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal law in the state, as well as law enforcement agencies and individual property rights.

“We have the death penalty in place in Tennessee to punish those who commit the most unforgivable crimes in our society,” Coleman stated. “The taking of two lives, one yet unborn, is without a doubt a truly unconscionable and unpardonable act.”

Democrat Truman L. Jones, Rutherford County Sheriff

In response, Truman again took the high road and remained positive despite the constant attacks.

WSMV Channel 4 has the story:

Rutherford County’s Republican Party has asked for Sheriff Truman Jones to resign or be removed.

The party unanimously passed the resolution, which says Jones doesn’t meet minimum and legal requirements to serve in or run for his position.

Republican sheriff’s candidate Robert Arnold gave the Election Commission a stack of documents stating why he felt Jones is disqualified as a candidate.

Jones said he will “continue running my race. I’ve complied with everything that was required to stay certified to run for sheriff” in response to Arnold’s claims.

(FYI to Mr. Colbert: President James K. Polk, of Columbia, was a Democrat whose mullet was considered rather fetching at the time, and Channel 4 News’ call letters are WSMV)

Rep. Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro)

MURFREESBORO – New legislation co-sponsored by state Rep. Kent Coleman to protect those suffering from domestic abuse came into effect this July.

The law, HB2780, allows a petitioner for an order of protection to request that the respondent be prohibited from coming about the petitioner for any purpose, in addition to more specific prohibitions like telephoning or otherwise contacting the petitioner.

Coleman is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal law in the state, as well as law enforcement agencies and individual property rights.

“Someone suffering from domestic abuse should not have to worry about being approached by the person who abused them under any circumstances,” Coleman stated. “This small adjustment to the law can make a huge difference in people’s lives.”

In addition, the law provides that all courts with jurisdiction of orders of protection must use a common form for petitioners to apply for the orders. This simplifies the process across the state.

“It is an honorable function of government to provide safety to those whose own homes have become unsafe,” Coleman added. “Being able to help those in need is a large part of why I love serving Rutherford County as a state representative.”

Father Francis J. Reilly stands in front of the county's first Catholic Church built in 1929 on the corner of University and Lytle despite objections and a ‘torchlight march’ by the Ku Klux Klan. This picture was taken in 1947, five years before the structure was sold and converted to a private residence.

A Union general, a New York donor and the Ku Klux Klan were involved in the early years of the Catholic Church in Rutherford County.

According to local church history, the first Catholic mission into Rutherford County was by a Father Jaquette in the “early 1840s.” Nashville Diocese records indicate that a Father Orengo visited the area in 1856 and “said mass at the home of John Stanfield.”

Stanfield was a jeweler from Hertford County, N.C. His wife is acknowledged as “the first Catholic to come to Rutherford County.” The Stanfield home, where mass was held “once or twice a year,” was in the Bethlehem community “a few miles southeast of Murfreesboro.” (”Bethlehem” does not appear on either modern or 19th century maps, but family name records place the Stanfield home on the east side of Manchester Pike just south of the Dilton-Mankin Road intersection.)

During the Civil War, a substantial Catholic population resided within the county. Most notably, Union Gen. William S. Rosecrans, commander of the forces that defeated the Confederates at the Battle of Stones River and occupied the area from January 1863 to the end of the war, was a “devout Catholic” according to biographer William M. Lamers.

Rosecrans converted to Catholicism while a cadet at West Point. (He also persuaded his brother, Sylvester Rosecrans, to convert while a student at Kenyon College. Sylvester was later ordained and ultimately became the first Catholic bishop of Columbus, Ohio.)

As commander of the U.S. Army of the Cumberland, Rosecrans recruited his own personal “confessor.” Father Jeremiah Trecy not only looked after the general’s spiritual needs while camped in Rutherford County, he also rode with the general under fire and tended to the wounded and dying during the Battle of Stones River and throughout the Tennessee campaign.

First and second generation Irish, German and Italian immigrants accounted for the high percentage of Catholics under Rosecrans’ command. The mostly Irish 10th Ohio had its own Catholic chaplain, Father William T. O’Higgins. Nineteenth century church records note that Rosecrans “edified the army by attending the holy sacrifice of the masses.” (To “edify” — an archaic term-means to “instruct or improve morally or spiritually by good example.”)

During the war years, Fathers Cooney and Walsh, apparently from Nashville, continued to conduct mass periodically at the Stanfield home. This practice continued after the war with priests coming from Chattanooga and Nashville. Following the death of Mrs. Stanfield, her daughter (married to J. Lawrence) continued to host the religious services in the family home.

By the 1890s a small group of Catholics, including a Soule College faculty member, was meeting for mass in the Lawrence home or in the Odd Fellows’ Hall in Murfreesboro whenever a priest was available. During this period, the Paulist Fathers, based in Winchester, began serving the Rutherford congregation, a relationship that lasted for several decades.

In or about 1900, Addie Collins, a devout Catholic from Nashville, moved to Murfreesboro and married S. B. Christy, a wealthy businessman. Mrs. Christy joined the small group of Catholic worshippers, and after the death of Mrs. Lawrence, services were moved to the Christy home on University Street in Murfreesboro. In 1918 the expanding congregation leased space in the Masonic Building on North Spring Street, but soon moved to a larger space in the Murfree-Clark Building on the Square. Over the next few years, the small group moved about the Square— to the Butler Building (”where the only window was a skylight”), and then to the Cannon Building.

A New York couple, Mr. & Mrs. Francis Hoffman, stopped in Murfreesboro on a train trip in 1925. During the layover, they searched in vain for a Catholic church and mass. “Some months later Bishop A. J. Smith in Nashville received a gift to build a chapel” in Murfreesboro. Mrs. Hoffman requested that the new place of worship be named for her patron saint, Saint Rose of Lima.

While Mrs. Christy and her fellow parishioners rejoiced and made plans, others were not pleased by the anticipated construction of a Catholic church. The local and vocal chapter of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) took exception.

The original Klan was organized in 1865 by veterans of the Confederate military. (The name was taken from the Greek word “kyklos” which means “circle.”) According to the World Book Encyclopedia, the KKK was originally meant to be a social group without organizational hierarchy. The local chapters, however, soon became involved in the political and social turmoil of Reconstruction. These groups were voluntarily dissolved under pressure of federal enforcement in the 1870’s.

In 1915 the so-called 20th century KKK was established at Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, by William J. Simmons. One of the organizational catalysts was the massive immigration of that period from the largely Catholic countries of eastern and southern Europe. This new Klan preached racism, anti-Catholicism, nativism (favoring of native inhabitants over immigrants) and anti-Semitism. It was organized at a national level and flourished particularly in the Midwest where it took control of several state governments.

Membership peaked in the early 1920s at about four and a half million members (one of whom, Hugo Black, was elected to the U. S. Senate and later appointed to the U. S. Supreme Court).

“You have to understand that in those days almost everyone of importance belonged to the KKK,” says Sam Woods, a retired Rutherford veterinarian now living in Florida.

A lot on the northeast corner of University and Lytle was purchased for the new church from Helen C. Earthman on April 25, 1929, for $2,500. The deed specified that any new structure had to face Lytle, and that a driveway on the north side was to be shared with the adjoining property owned by the Ridley family.

This plan to construct the county’s first Catholic Church was the target of a local KKK protest march. Woods was only 7 or 8 years old when he and his brother watched the “torch light” KKK march through downtown Murfreesboro.

“The march began at the A.L. Todd place on Manchester Pike,” remembers Woods. “I do not know that the Todds had anything to do with the KKK, but that is where the march started. They came into town on Maney Avenue, then turned onto East Main to the courthouse.”

Andrew L. Todd was a Murfreesboro attorney and “Farm Loan Correspondent” for the New York Life Insurance Co. in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia. (Todd advertised in the 1920s that his firm loaned “millions of dollars to farmers annually.”) He also owned half of the Home Journal Publishing Co., and is believed to be the only person to have served in the Tennessee Legislature as speaker of both House and Senate. Todd lived on Toddington Farm, his Manchester Pike estate located just south of what is now the Middle Tennessee Boulevard intersection. Known for its prize-winning black angus cattle, Toddington Farm filled the area between the Manchester and Bradyville Pikes, including Todd’s Lake.

C.B. Arnette, 93, a local historian and former auctioneer, also remembers the KKK march. He was at the time making deliveries for his father’s store just off the square on Mink Slide. “The marchers wore hoods and robes,” remembers Arnette. “All you could see was their shoes.”

“Back then times were hard and only people with money had more than one pair of shoes — everyday shoes and Sunday dress shoes,” explains Woods. For that reason, an individual could often be recognized from his shoes. Arnette recalls seeing the high-polished black shoes of a local physician. Woods and his brother spotted the shoes of Oscar Noland, “preacher for the Church of Christ on Academy and Main Street” and called to him by name.

Undaunted by the KKK objections, the local Catholic leadership completed their construction and dedicated their first “regular meeting place” on Sept. 15, 1929. Bishop Alphonse J. Smith from the Nashville Diocese dedicated the new facility, and Father Malone from Winchester held mass. Mr. and Mrs. Francis Hoffman, the New York donors, were in attendance.

In 1953 the local Catholic congregation moved to new facilities and the original church was sold to the James A. Ridley family. The church steeple and portico were removed and the remainder of the structure was converted to a private residence, which continues to be owned and maintained by the Ridley family.

Rep. Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro)

MURFREESBORO – On Monday, State Representative Kent Coleman announced the fifth annual Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday would take place beginning Friday, August 6 and continuing through Sunday, August 8. Tennessee shoppers will have three full days of tax breaks on clothing, school and art supplies, and computer purchases.

“This annual opportunity for parents and students to save money on school supplies helps put dollars back in the pockets of working families,” said Rep. Kent Coleman “However, everyone in the state can take advantage of the savings and that’s what makes this weekend great for all Tennesseans.”

The holiday begins Friday, August 6 at 12:01 a.m. and ends Sunday, August 8 at 11:59 p.m. During the designated three-day weekend, consumers will not pay state or local sales tax on select clothing with a price of $100 or less per item, school and art supplies with a price of $100 or less per item, and computers with a price of $1,500 or less, a savings of nearly 10 percent on exempt items.

Examples of exempt items include:

· Clothing: Shirts, dresses, pants, coats, gloves and mittens, hats and caps, hosiery, neckties, belts, sneakers, shoes, uniforms whether athletic or non-athletic and scarves
· School Supplies: Binders, book bags, calculators, tape, chalk, crayons, erasers, folders, glue, pens, pencils, lunch boxes, notebooks, paper, rulers and scissors
· Art Supplies: Clay and glazes; acrylic, tempera and oil paints; paintbrushes for artwork; sketch and drawing pads; and watercolors
· Computers: Central processing unit (CPU), along with various other components including monitor, keyboard, mouse, cables to connect components and preloaded software (Note: While the CPU may be purchased separately, other items must be part of a bundled computer package in order to be eligible.)

“People all across Tennessee could use a financial break and this sales tax holiday provides that relief,” said Rep. Kent Coleman “The Tennessee Sales Tax Holiday helps put taxpayer money back into the pockets of taxpayers and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.”

Please visit the Sales Tax Holiday Web site at www.tntaxholiday.com to learn more about the items exempt from sales tax. The Tennessee Department of Revenue also assists consumers via e-mail, Salestax.Holiday@TN.gov, and through its toll-free statewide telephone hot line, (800) 342-1003. Staff is available to answer questions Monday through Friday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time.

David Laroche is challenging Republican Joe Carr for 48th District of the Tennessee House of Representatives.

MURFREESBORO-Last week the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance released the second-quarter financial reports of all Tennessee House of Representatives candidates. The report revealed that political newcomer David LaRoche raised $42,200. Of LaRoche’s 212 contributors, 78% gave $100 or less. This sum far surpasses the $3,000 raised by his incumbent rival during the same quarter, and is the highest sum raised by any candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives in the second quarter of 2010.

“I am very pleased that so many people, Democrat and Republican, have stepped forward in support of my campaign,” said LaRoche. “I believe it is because of my honest and dedicated commitment to advocate for the best interests of Rutherford County that I have been so blessed. We have a long way to go, but this is an excellent start. My campaign slogan is ‘New Energy, New Ideas,’ and my fundraising success indicates my supporters’ desire to bring forth positive change in the state legislature. ”

According to Murfreesboro attorney and LaRoche campaign treasurer Bricke Murfree, “What is most significant about David’s fundraising is not the number of dollars he raised, but rather the number of individual contributors. More than 167 people gave David’s campaign $100 or less, and most of those were Rutherford County residents. The people I have spoken to know that David LaRoche has the desire, work ethic and intellect to be a truly great representative for our county. Most of these early contributors have known David for a long time and are very excited about this opportunity to help him serve the community.”

David LaRoche is a candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives, 48th district. He is a long-time resident of Murfreesboro and a local attorney.

Rep. Kent Coleman (D-Murfreesboro)

MURFREESBORO – New legislation co-sponsored by state Rep. Kent Coleman to ease the transition into civilian life for honored veterans of America’s wars came into effect this July.

The law, HB3819, provides “preference points” for honorably discharged veterans of past or present U.S. conflicts and their spouses who apply to continue to serve their country through work in the government’s civil service system. This applies to veterans of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard.

Coleman is the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over civil and criminal law in the state, as well as law enforcement agencies and individual property rights.

“Our nation’s veterans have already rendered the greatest service to their country by taking up arms in its defense,” Coleman stated. “When they come home from war and decide to continue their service to the public as a civilian government employee, they deserve special consideration.”

Previously, the law applied only to veterans of declared wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict, the Lebanon Expedition, the Grenada Expedition, the Panama Expedition and Operation Desert Storm, and did not include Coast Guard veterans. The current law removes those restrictions, allowing veterans of the ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to benefit from its provisions.

“Tennessee is the Volunteer State, and Middle Tennessee is home to so many brave individuals who put their lives on the line to protect the freedoms we all enjoy,” Coleman added. “It’s a great joy to me to play even a small part as a legislator to give those men and women the honor and respect they so richly deserve.”

Bill Hobbs & Robin Smith, Republican Congressional Candidate in the TN 3rd District

from “Bill” billhobbs@meshmediastrategies.com
to administrator@rutherfordcountydemocrats.org
date Tue, Jul 13, 2010 at 5:05 PM
subject RCDP CONTACT: blog entry about me

The intro you wrote to this blog entry about me several months ago is false - and therefore slanderous. I was not convicted.

Take it down or be sued

Mr. Hobbs refers to a story on the RCDP site that stated he was “convicted” of domestic assault. It has been determined that Mr. Hobbs is technically correct. Mr. and Mrs. Hobbs were ordered to attend marital counseling in order for the charges to be dismissed. The story has been corrected.

It is flattering to know that Mr. Hobbs reads our site so religiously, and we hope the marital counseling has gone well and will help keep his wife, Anne, out of the hospital for injuries like those she reported in her sworn affidavit complaining of Domestic Abuse.

Residents wanting to watch the virtual press conference through a streaming video and audio on Ustream can go to the following site: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ben-leming. Members of the media and residents can go to the URL listed here to view the event where they can establish a log-in with the website to use the “chat” function and ask Leming questions. The press conference requires a “Ustream” account which is free and very easy to obtain.

Leming, who’s seeking the Democratic nomination for the 6th Congressional District in the upcoming Aug. 5 primary, will talk in detail about his approach to creating more jobs throughout Middle Tennessee and in turn boosting the country’s economy.

“Jobs are the single most important issue facing this district and this country,” Leming said in the news release. “Any representative in Congress needs to have a plan to address this issue. I’m excited to share my plan with Middle Tennesseans.”

If Leming wins the primary, he’ll face the Republican nominee and several independents competing in the Nov. 2 election. This will be the second press conference convened by Leming and a great opportunity for media from around the district to speak with him, the news release states.

The press conference will begin promptly at 1 p.m. with a statement by Leming. Media, supporters, and concerned citizens will then have an opportunity to have their questions answered live by the candidate.

Leming, a Marine Captain, Naval Academy graduate, and Iraq War helicopter combat veteran, is running for the seat vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Bart Gordon, D-Murfreesboro.

The campaign to elect David LaRoche for State Representative, 48th district, had a great Independence Day weekend. David and his supporters spent Friday afternoon and Saturday morning canvassing the Sportscom and Reeves Rogers precincts. Since his June 12 kickoff, David has knocked on over 1000 doors. David spent some of the weekend with his family, who were all proud to wear his T-shirts at the Rockvale picnic on Saturday, and Murfreesboro firework show on Sunday.

David is pleased to announce that Emily Flattery has come onboard as his campaign manager. Emily was most recently a clerk for the State Senate. Emily is the most recent member of her family of Iowa Democrats to get involved in political advocacy. Emily will be maintaining David’s campaign office at the new party headquarters at 105 North Maple. Emily@DavidLaRoche.com

Ben Leming, Democratic Candidate To Tennessee's 6th Congressional District being vacated by retiring Congressman Bart Gordon

At this time each year we celebrate the birth of our nation, and we commemorate the moment in time that America stood up and made a declaration to the world that shook the very foundations of established government. We honor the legacy of Thomas Jefferson and the men of the Continental Congress when they declared, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

This radical proposition, that all mankind should be free to pursue their individual passions, literally changed the course of world history. We celebrate not just that single moment in time or that stroke of a pen, but we honor and cherish the 234 years of trials, faults, and triumphs that followed.

The pursuit of freedom and liberty is never finished. Jefferson believed that each generation must take up the banner of liberty and begin the work anew to guarantee that all citizens enjoy those basic rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence.

America is not great simply because of the achievements of previous generations. We are great because the American spirit is always about looking forward. The great work of liberty is never finished. It is time for us to honor the past while continually looking forward with ambition, confidence, and pride to that great undiscovered future that we must forge together.

Now it is time for my generation to pick up the banner and charge forward on behalf of our country. We will fight to protect the rights of all Americans and must always ensure that the voiceless have a voice in their elected leaders. I am humbled by the support you have given me so far and I’m emboldened by your words of encouragement and your prayers. As we move forward, may the “spirit of ‘76″ inspire us to lead with courage and responsibility. Let’s fight together for Middle Tennessee and for America.

MISSION FIRST, POLITICS LAST

Semper Fidelis,

Ben Leming

Carr even posted it on the “Endorsements” page of his website. Tom Humphrey was not amused and made Carr remove it and apologize. Check out his classic explanation to the Knoxville News Sentinel:

“That’s not at all an endorsement,” said Carr when contacted. “I understand that and it’s my fault. I didn’t even think about that when we put it under endorsements.”

DId you get that? He didn’t realize listing something under “Endorsements” meant that it should actually be, you know, an endorsement.

This certainly pales in comparison to Carr’s earlier fleecing of Tennessee’s taxpayers through phony per diems he claimed were completely “inadvertent”. So “inadvertent”, in fact, that he even inadvertently picked up the checks, inadvertently signed them, and inadvertently cashed them. The only deliberate thing Carr did was keep the money, even when Channel 4 asked him to give it back.

This newest, albeit lesser, embarrassing episode did not escape fellow capitol hill reporter Jeff Woods at The Nashville Scene, though:

State Rep. Joe Carr has done it again. Caught doing something really stupid, he’s claimed he didn’t know he was doing it when he did it, thereby proving himself to be even dumber than we thought. We love this guy. He’s hilarious.

After per diems, moonshine, and now this, what will Carr think of next?

UPDATE: A commenter on the Nashville Scene article just about sums up what the whole state must be thinking of Rutherford County:

“Rutherford County sent the very bright Kent Coleman to the state legislature, and then it sent this clown and Donna Rowland and Bill Ketron. One out of four is not so good.”

In one of the most hilarious twists of irony in recent memory, Jim Tracy and the GOP have been ‘outed’ by attorneys representing Rutherford County’s Regional Planning Commission as the reason Murfreesboro’s proposed Islamic Center will be built. It turns out Tracy and about 20 Republican Senators and Representatives co-sponsored the Religious Freedom Act last year in the Tennessee General Assembly, forcing local governments to approve site plans for religious institutions across the state. Whoopsie!

Folks, if you could make this stuff up, you could make a fortune writing scripts for daytime TV.

Apparently, Rutherford Republicans Jim Tracy, Bill Ketron, and Joe Carr didn’t read their own legislation. The only expected turn of events is that they’re all quickly backpeddling. The DNJ quotes Bill Ketron as saying the bill was not intended for Jews, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Bahai, Zoriatrians, Dao, etc, etc, etc…

“It’s a pro-Christian bill,” Ketron said. “It was established to protect the First Amendment to keep the federal government from coming in and making a decision on whether or not the church qualified or not to be a church.”

Who knew the First Amendment didn’t protect Jews? Ketron vows to get to the bottom of it…

Ketron said because of the one incident involving the Islamic Center of Murfreesboro, “I would like to go back and look at the law.”

The GOP might want to go back and read the constitution and maybe even their own bills next time.

See also DNJ Story “State Law Backs Up Religious Land Use”

UPDATE: Jeff Woods chimes in at The Nashville Scene

UPDATE: J.R. Lind picks it up at Post Politics