Germantown News

     The University of Tennessee at Martin softball program will host a pair of summer camps at Bettye Giles Field in Skyhawk Park on May 30 – 31 and June 13 -14. UT Martin softball coaches Donley Canary, Sarah Daws and Kayla Joyce will offer instruction along with current and former UT Martin players. Donley Canary Special to Germantown News                                              For the full story please see the March 29 edition of Germantown News.

     Future Engineers, an award-winning online education platform that hosts national innovation challenges for K-12 students, announces the eight finalists for the Mars Medical Challenge. Sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Foundation with technical support from NASA, students were tasked to create a digital model of a medical or dental object that could be 3D printed by an astronaut to maintain physical health on a three-year, round trip mission to the red planet. Crystal Yang Edwards Special to Germantown News                                              For the full story please see the March 29 edition of Germantown News.

     (Photo by Ron Brewer)      As I write this, it is a little chilly. Just yesterday my fishing partner and I were in shorts and T-shirts at 7 a.m. and chunking for bass on a 40 acre lake I fish a lot in Fayette County (March 21). The bass seemed to be a little lethargic when we started but as the sun got up, everything including the fish began to warm up! The bite began to turn on for us. Steve Craven Germantown News                                              For the full story please see the March 29 edition of Germantown News.

    Coming off an up and down season in the powerful Class 6A Region 4, the Germantown Red Devils had a successful signing day with five players inking National Letters of Intent to play football at the college level. That brings the total to 12 players in two years under Head Coach Chris Smith.      “Everyone across the country knows how good this level of football is in Memphis, so a ton of teams come to our campus to recruit every year...they see the brand of football we play here and they know our players are prepared to take that next step and benefit their programs,” said Smith. Chris Smith Special to Germantown News                                              For the full story please see the March 29 edition of Germantown News.

It’s spring! The first family of all seasons. It’s the first week of spring. The trees are budding. The flowers are blooming. The birds are chirping. The rain is falling. The winter has ceased. The grass, is growing and love songs fills the air. This sounds like, The Song of Solomon; “For behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land”. (Song of Solomon 2:11-12). See the complete column on family by Linda Reaves in the 3/29 edition of the Germantown News.  

Letter to the Editor Gentlemen, The article “America’s Youth suffer from a Historical Amnesia” was on point but the fault should be placed where it belongs - that is our liberal “school system” controlled by liberals who do not want the people to know their own country’s history and to be able to think for themselves. See the complete Letter to the Editor from T. Tarry Beasley II on the Viewpoint page of the 3/29 edition of the Germantown News. 

According to a tech guru, Shelly Palmer, the No. 3 job that robots will take over next is journalists, authors and writers.  .... Well, here’s why I think he’s wrong: He doesn’t realize that part of being a journalist, part of getting the story, part of encouraging community interaction is based on being personable. Robots aren’t going to be able to interact with city aldermen and have relationships with the people they cover.  See the complete column by Rebekah M. Yearout on page 6 of the 3/29 edition of the Germantown News. 

The folks at Landmark Community Bank presented Nancy Grider with a retirement gift last week.  Earlier this year, Nancy closed her popular Old Germantown store, Checkerberry Shoppe at 2247 S. Germantown Road.  See the complete story and photo in the March 29 edition of the Germantown News. 

     Last month in Northwest Tennessee, the Davis P. Rice Memorial Youth Waterfowl Hunt celebrated its 9th year and marked its 1,000th youth to participate. The weekend remembers Rice, who tragically passed away in 2007, through his favorite pastime and fosters appreciation for wildlife conservation in youth from across the state. Nate West   Special to Germantown News                                               For the full story please see the March 29 edition of Germantown News.

MEMPHIS – Continuing a tradition launched following the celebration of its 150 th anniversary in 2014, First Tennessee is once again promoting “March of Service” projects to benefit local nonprofits. The annual volunteer effort is a call to action for First Tennessee workers to invest in their communities. Each March the company’s 4,300 employees pitch in to participate in service projects as departments or in small groups. And as First Tennessee prepares to celebrate its 153 rd anniversary on March 25, the company’s legacy of commitment to the communities it serves is stronger than ever. During 2016, First Tennessee’s employees logged more than 23,000 hours of volunteer service at charitable and civic organizations, and participated in more than 4,700 unique volunteer events. First Tennessee employees also served as board members of more than 130 nonprofit organizations. In Memphis and across West Tennessee, hundreds of employees rolled up their sleeves last year to create

You are cordially invited to the Shelby County Republican Women's Club luncheon and general meeting on Tuesday, April 11, 2017 at Germantown Country Club, 1780 Kimbrough Rd. in Germantown.  Social time is at 10:30 a.m. and meeting begins at 11:00am.  Our speaker is Barbara Trautman, national and state officer of Federated Republican Women. For Lunch Reservations, please call 901-754-6209 by April 5, 2017.

Due to press issues, we had to send all the pages for the 3/29 issue today, so the story on the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting that usually runs the Wednesday after the meeting will NOT be in the print edition of the paper. In lieu of that, I will cover the story and post it online here and link to the story on Twitter. The story won't be up until tomorrow (Tuesday). Apologies!

On March 24, Superintendent Jason Manuel announced that the district will discuss and vote on a contract to purchase real estate next month from Broer & Schaeffer , owners of the adjacent properties south of the intersection of Forest Hill Irene and Poplar Pike. School officials plan to build a new elementary school on the 38-acre plot of land to accommodate 750 students.  The facility could include 110,000 square feet with design plans to house approximately 40 classrooms. Discussions on this agreement have been in process for a period of time with both school and City officials investigating possible sites for the new school.  Citizens were also given a chance to voice their opinions through survey work and a series of town hall meetings organized by the school district.  Citizens, the City and the schools have been working toward a solution that benefits the community as a whole.  The Germantown Municipal School Board of Education is expected to vote on the agreement at

On Saturday, April 1, 2017 , history buffs, community leaders and the R. E. Lee Camp S C V of Germantown will team up with the Civil War Trust at more than 130 sites in 30 states to answer the call to service on Park Day. Celebrating over 20 successful years, Park Day has attracted volunteers of all ages and abilities bound by their dedication to serving their communities at historic sites nationwide. In Germantown the R E Lee Camp will host a Park Day event beginning at 9:00 a.m. Needs range from marker cleaning to brush removal. Refreshments will be provided free of charge thanks to Jody's Donuts & Bakery of 420 Germantown Pkwy.   A local historian will also be available to describe the park’s significance. For more information about Park Day at Fort Germantown Park, please contact Tarry Beasley 901/240-2014. WHAT:         Park Day volunteer event at Fort Germantown WHEN:         April 1, 2017 , beginning at 9:00 a.m. WHERE:       Meet at Fort Germantown

Throughout the month of April, St. George’s Episcopal Church will be honoring church youth by showcasing their artwork in the St. George’s Art Gallery.   About 25 young members, ages 3 to 17, participated in workshops conducted by Memphis professional artists Joy Phillips Routt and Missy George. Many will be exhibiting their artworks in the show entitled “Tomorrow’s Promise.”   The exhibit is free and open to the public.   Art Instructor. Joy Routt stated, “The kids were so enthusiastic about the project.   We found some real talent in the group.” The exhibit will run April 2 through 23, from 10 am – 4 pm, Monday through Friday, and Sunday from 9 am to 12:30 pm in the St. George’s Art Gallery, 2425 S. Germantown Road, Germantown.   Participating artists for the program are Joy Phillips Routt and Missy George and youth directors Kim Norment and Callie Smith. Photo: " Geometry and Color"  " By Robert Dyson