The results of the straw poll for presidential and local office preference were announced on WGNS this morning.

Perkins noted the poll has been about 96-97 percent accurate in local races percent and 98-99 percent accurate for national elections in the past 25 years.

“There’s just such a massive cross section that comes through here,” he said. “I think it’s a good representation of the community.”

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“We are pleased to endorse Jim Tracy’s campaign,” said Jackie Coleman, Chair of the TEAM Administrative Committee.” Jim Tracy believes in the value of state employees and the service they provide daily to the citizens of Tennessee. TSEA has witnessed his commitment to improving conditions for state employees and their workplace. He understands that quality services depend on a motivated, effective and efficient workforce,” said Coleman.

TEAM, is the political action arm of the Tennessee State Employees Association, which represents hundreds of state employees in the 16th Senate District. TSEA was established in 1974. For further information, visit the Web site at www.tseaonline.org.

The Tennessee Education Association Fund for Children and Public Education (TEA-FCPE), the political action arm of the Tennessee Education Association, has announced its endorsement of Jim Tracy for the Tennessee Senate in District 16.  Senate District 16 includes all or portions of Bedford, Moore, and Rutherford Counties.  In making the announcement, TEA’s Manager of Government Relations, Jerry Winters, stated that Sen. Tracy won the organization’s endorsement based on his past support of education issues.  Mr. Winters stated that “Sen. Tracy clearly understands the problems facing public schools and has a proven record on issues facing education and public school employees.  He recognizes that Tennessee’s future depends on strong public schools, and merits the support of the education community, parents, and all others interested in the future of public education. Public schools have a friend in Jim Tracy.  We look forward to working with him again in the 2009 legislative session.”

The Tennessee Education Association is the state’s largest professional organization representing over 55,000 elementary and secondary teachers, school administrators, education support personnel, higher education faculty, and students preparing to become teachers.

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Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program recently announced the establishment of computer labs in Rutherford County’s Boys & Girls Club and YMCA.

Computers 4 Kids (C4K) is an innovative project designed to positively impact the future of disadvantaged children in Tennessee by distributing computers to children and families facing economic challenges, are in the foster care system or that struggle with behavioral disorders and other issues.
C4K will be enriching the educational landscape of Tennessee’s communities by placing computer labs in non-profit organizations that work to enhance the lives of students and families in their area. With the computer labs, these non-profit groups will be able to offer programs that teach, serve and impact youth in Tennessee.

The back-to-back events were held at the Boys & Girls Club of Rutherford County and the Rutherford County Family YMCA. Fifteen brand new Dell computers were donated to the Boys & Girls Club, while the YMCA received 10. State Senators Jim Tracy and Bill Ketron were on hand to help unveil the computer labs at both locations.

“We are proud to welcome the Computers 4 Kids program to Rutherford County,” said Senator Tracy. “This contribution will serve to help our community bridge the digital divide and give children and families access to the Internet and its many educational resources.”

“Since many of the citizens served by the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club do not have access to computers in their home, these labs will become an integral part in providing Rutherford County’s youth and their families the ability to further develop their technology skills,” said Senator Ketron. “Computers today are the highways to the future for our children! Thanks to AT&T and Connected Tennessee’s Computers 4 Kids program, dozens of lives in Rutherford County will be positively impacted.”

Computers 4 Kids also announced today the intent to establish a computer lab in the new Boys & Girls Club site of Maury County, slated for completion in January 2009. The donations to both the Maury County and Rutherford County Boys & Girls Club and the YMCA are part of a grant from the AT&T Foundation. The AT&T Foundation - the corporate philanthropy organization of AT&T Inc. - supports initiatives that help students throughout the higher education continuum: the successful completion of high school, preparation for and entrance to college and degree completion and graduation.

Connected Tennessee is a non-profit organization that develops and implements effective strategies for technology deployment, use and literacy in Tennessee. Connected Tennessee is coordinating the Computers 4 Kids project with the State of Tennessee, the Department of Children’s Services and the Department of Human Services. Through C4K, Connected Tennessee will award at least 1,000 computers per year over a three year period to children in need across Tennessee.

Wall Street uncertainty has operators hoping for upturn, bracing for worse

Nashville-area small-business leaders remain wary of the week ahead on Wall Street — keeping a tight lid on hiring and a watchful eye on the Dow Jones stock ticker as a sign of whether consumer confidence bounces back.

Over the past year, Stewart Building Supply has had to let go about 40 percent of its work force, said Bill Stewart, president of the company, reflecting weaker demand for products such as windows, roofing, siding and lumber that it sells to homebuilders across Middle Tennessee. That’s because construction of single-family homes in the Nashville area is limping along at less than half the pace of a year ago.

“They’ve got to get the financial problems worked out first before they start building homes,” Stewart said, referring to banks and other commercial lenders who deal with builders.

Longtime real estate agent Shirley Zeitlin said business is slower than last year. But she has still managed to add offices and agents and update her company’s advertising materials and brand. “You can’t stick your head in the sand,” she said. “You have to take a slowdown as an opportunity to position yourself for the future.”

Uncertainty in the credit markets and overall U.S. economy has made Pamela Little’s task of developing next year’s marketing plans and budget for her company more difficult. She’s director of sales and marketing for Cooper Hotel Properties, which operates five Doubletree hotels in the state.

Little said she’s been hoping politicians in Washington take steps to cure the ailing U.S. economy. The hotel industry has already felt the ill effects of rising fuel costs, and it’s bracing for more flight cutbacks by financially strapped airlines that could keep potential guests grounded in the months to come.

“We have to have some type of (financial) plan because people currently are in a state of panic,” Little said, referring to efforts by the Bush administration and Congress to solve the latest Wall Street crisis. “They have to take decisive action. Until that time, we’re going to be in a state of flux and people are going to be very conservative in their spending.”

Jim Tracy, owner of an insurance agency that bears his name in Shelbyville and Murfreesboro, worries about the ripple effects if Congress doesn’t manage to salve the wounds of the nation’s financial markets.

He sees the impact of consumers taking a wait-and-see approach rather than making big purchases. “If people don’t buy houses, it affects how much insurance we sell,” said Tracy, a Republican state senator in Shelbyville.

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We in Bedford County are in the enviable position of having representatives at the State level who are very competent, compassionate, knowledgeable and, gadzooks, of different Parties. Sen. Jim Tracy, Republican and Rep. Curt Cobb, Democrat. These two have a four year record , longer for Cobb, of working together for the betterment of Bedford County and the State of Tennessee. They both clearly place the welfare of Bedford Countians above Party.

These two have a symbiotic relationship when addressing issues impacting Bedford Cty. They work together and sponsor each others bills in the House in which they sit. We are the recipients of the State’s largess in many areas such as transportation and education as well as the arts due directly to the efforts of these two gentlemen. Also I suggest they are unparalleled in constituent services. If you have a state problem, they will get you an answer even if it’s not what you want to hear.

I hope all citizens of Bedford County remember these two on election day. After all there are more races that just the Presidency on Nov. 4th. I suggest to you we can do no better than return these two to their respective Houses so we can continue to benefit from their knowledge and efforts.

Sen. Jim Tracy was named 2008 Friend of the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents during its 59th annual conference in Sept. 14-17.

“I am honored to receive this award,” Sen. Tracy said in a press release. “As a former teacher and school board member, I understand the demands placed upon our education system. Teachers and administrators are on the front lines everyday and they are to be commended for their hard work. I look forward to working with them as we continue to improve education in Tennessee.”

For the past 17 years, Tracy has owned and operated Jim Tracy Insurance in Shelbyville with an office in Murfreesboro, for three years. Tracy was a school teacher and coach before owning a business.

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The committee consists of 8 of Tennessee’s 132 legislators, as well as a representative from the state’s county highway departments, the transportation construction industry, municipalities, public transportation, railroads, and the barge industry.  The group has been charged with studying the various sources of federal and state revenue used to fund Tennessee’s transportation system, investigating ways and means to enhance such existing sources of revenue, and identifying potential new sources of revenue for the future.

“The health of our transportation system is key to Tennessee’s economic health,” said Senator Tracy.  “We need sound infrastructure to attract new and better paying jobs to our state.  We must also address a significant reduction in federal road funds.”

“We have a major challenge in front of us,” he added.  “I am looking forward to being a part of finding solutions to meet Tennessee’s transportation needs in the future.”

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Did you realize that a volunteer group here in Murfreesboro builds units that allow handicapped persons in third world countries to get around. The vehicles are called PET. That stands for personal energy transportation. It does not have a motor. It is propelled by a hand crank. The same way your legs move a bicycle, with the PET–your hands crank it forward. A complete PET unit can be manufactured for $250.

The Murfreesboro Rotary Club set-up a race track, and all ages enjoyed the hand-cranked PET vehicles. The top race pitted State Senator Jim Tracy against Rutherford County Mayor Ernest Burgess. Both gave it their best, but it was Tracy who got to wave the flag with a crank down victory lane.

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Sen. Jim Tracy visited The Discovery School Sept. 16 and talked to students in the third grade.

Mr. Tracy has been a state senator for four years. He said he likes to talk to people and enjoys helping people solve their problems.

He said his favorite subjects in school were science and history.

Third grader Anna Kay said she enjoyed the talk.

“The senator is very nice and likes people,” she said. “His favorite sports are football and golf and his favorite teams are MTSU and the Tennessee Titans.”

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