Friday September 11th: 1000’s of rockers pack River Front Park for Buzz Fest 2009.
The first few bands play, but then a major storm rips through Nashville and the show is canceled.
The problem is the crowd hangs around in the driving rain for hours and concert promoters never inform fans what is going on.
Is the show on? Is it delayed? Is it being postponed? What about these tickets that say: RAIN OR SHINE?
The problem is communication. The crowd never gets told anything and many leave angry and wanting answers.
DJ Adkins is a Belmont Student who stayed for hours in terrible conditions. He says an announcement by concert promoters would have eased a lot of the tensions.
“What was the crowd reaction?” I ask.
“They were too angry,” the guitar major says. “People in the crowd started throwing stuff on stage. They acted too violent. The stage was littered with bottles and stuff.”
“Did your ticket say rain or shine?”
“It did. My only solace was I knew it would dangerous to play. That much rain, cause there is a risk of electrocution. I don’t have problem with the musicians. I have a problem with the people who put it on. Without one person to say “OK,” here is what is going on. I mean three hours we are out there like what is going on here?”
The concert featuring Mudvayne and Alice In Chains was put on by radio station 102.9 the Buzz.
Troy Hanson is operations manager and program director.
“Everything started great. Nobody saw anything on the radar. Then Mother Nature took over and was more violent than we were prepared for.”
Hanson tells me that they put concerts on in the rain all the time, but in this storm, buckets of water poured into equipment, frying 2 sound boards. That made playing a concert impossible. It also made it impossible to use the P.A. system to tell the crowd what was going on.
“The most frustrating thing, not being able to communicate with the audience. We couldn’t tell them what was going on, we didn’t have the ability to. Believe me, I felt the frustration. We all did. I was on stage.”
Hanson says the radio station is in discussions with headliner Alice in Chains about a make up show:
“So what are we are doing, we are working with Alice in Chains. I don’t have an announcement right now, but we are working on something, so everyone will be well pleased. I am negotiating. It takes 6 ½ months to put Buzz Fest together. We can’t recreate it in 2 ½ weeks and we will have an announcement shortly, so what we are telling people is: hold on to your tickets! We will take care of you. For those of you saying I was there, and my ticket was drenched. Hold on. We have a plan for you too. We will take care of our listeners.”
Hanson says if he has learned anything, it is to bring a bull horn with him, just in case.
We received an update from TDOT Spokesperson B.J. Doughty on the story we brought you yesterday about a bridge in Cannon County. We’ll keep you informed as progress is made to protect citizens from people throwing things off the bridge into traffic.
TDOT has made and will soon install signs that say:
“UNLAWFUL TO THROW OBJECTS FROM BRIDGE. VIOLATORS WILL BE PROSECUTED.”
This is just the first step.. discussions continue on other possible solutions.
A Cannon County man is demanding action after his car windshield is destroyed by an object thrown from a 50 foot high bridge.
According to the Cannon County Sheriff’s office, someone threw a shopping bag containing water balloons from the bridge that crosses SR 145.
The bridge is 50-60 feet high and the car was traveling at 50 mph when the impact occurred.
David Vance says it was dark and had just begun to rain. He says it sounded like “someone shot out his windshield.”
Though it was wet and dark, Vance says he was able to keep his Audi under control on the narrow, winding road.
Vance says he turned around and went up on the bridge, but the culprits were gone. He called the sheriff’s department which responded, but had few clues to go on.
According to Cannon Co. Sheriff Billy Nichols, items are thrown from the bridge all the time, but this is the first time he can recall a vehicle being hit.
Mr. Vance says he has seen pumpkins and computer monitors and car batteries smashed below the bridge. The sheriff says he has seen air conditioners and even refrigerators thrown from above.
It is for this reason that Mr. Vance is calling for action.
The sheriff says he can step up patrols, but with only 2 night time deputies working a large county, babysitting the bridge is not possible.
The County Executive, Mike Gannon says he is concerned about the incident and the issue. He tells me that he has been in contact with TDOT to see what if anything can be done.
Gannon says he is considering cameras and lighting as a preventative measure.
Mr. Vance is no bridge engineer but he knows what he would like to see - a barricade, similar to the walking bridges that cross highways. Vance says that would discourage people from throwing items onto vehicles.
“Personally I don’t know why they can’t put a pedestrian fence system up. You have people leaning over painting this thing. And the state has to cover it up. There is money they are spending they would not have to spend if they had something up here to keep that from happening.”
A TDOT spokesperson tells Messed Up it’s not that easy.
The fence is not practical, nor a good use of tax payer money. The spokesperson tells me this is a law enforcement issue, not a TDOT issue.
Additionally the spokesperson says, because of the height of this structure, the only way to maintain the bridge is to drive a bucket truck onto the bridge, and then lower a crew over the side in a bucket to get underneath. A fence would severely hamper that type of maintenance operation, the official says.
When I inform Mr. Vance of this, he responds by telling me; “They have the money. If we had a big car plant here, and all that money that goes into roads, they would have had this done. But it’s Cannon County. We don’t throw much money to the tax base and it’s being ignored.”
The TDOT official responds; “TDOT’s primary concern is for the safety of the motoring public. One of the most important functions of the department is the inspection of every bridge in the state. Fencing or barriers can create serious difficulties for our inspection teams, and can hamper maintenance and repair work. That being said, TDOT will continue to work with the Cannon County Mayor and local authorities to find a solution to this problem.”
With Swine Flu floating around seemingly everywhere, how safe are you when you fly?
You are trapped inside a sealed sardine can for 2, 3, up to four hours with strangers, many of whom are sneezing, coughing and hacking.
Does your mind start wondering? How pure is the air in this cabin?
According to the Air Transport Association, which represents the airline industry; air on airplane is actually many times safer than the air you breathe at work or home.
Both the world health organization and the center for disease control and prevention report that airline travel remains safe for passengers and crew.
The air onboard a commercial aircraft is cleaner than that in most public buildings. Fresh air enters and exits the cabin on a continuous basis. The air inside an airplane is completely exchanged with outside air 10 to 15 times per hour. The air in the average office building is exchanged only once or twice per hour.
Numerous scientific studies prove that aircraft ventilation systems protect against the spread of disease. There is no evidence that cabin air quality poses health risks to passengers or crew. There have been no documented cases of any passenger contracting h1n1 from an airline flight.
Most commercial aircraft use hospital-grade HEPA air filters to remove viruses and bacteria from the cabin. These are similar to the filters used by hospitals to clean the air in organ-transplant and burn-unit wards.
The cabin ventilation system is designed so that air supplied at one seat row leaves at approximately the same seat row, minimizing front-to-back air movement. This minimizes the possibility of airborne contaminants moving through the plane.
Travelers can protect themselves and others by following simple steps aimed at preventing the spread of infection. The center for disease control recommends washing your hands often and covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
According to Vanderbilt infectious disease expert Dr. Bill Schaffner, airlines do a good job purifying air on your flight.
Schaffner: “Influenza is heavier than air. So gravity pulls the germs down and they fall quickly. But if you are within 3 to 4 feet of the infected person, you are in that zone.”
ATA officials say 50% of the air is brought into the cabin through the engines at 36,000 feet. Officials say the air there is pure as air can be.
Schaffner agrees with that, but what about sitting on the tarmac prior to departure. Have you ever noticed how hot and stuffy it can be? That is a time when Influenza can move more readily through the cabin.
The other good news according to Dr. Schaffner, pillows and blankets and head rests are not a source of infection.
“It is the breathing, in and out of the flu virus itself,” the infectious disease expert says.
And what about wearing masks?
“There is no good evidence that masks work,” He says. “In a confined space the transmission level goes up. It depends on how long you are in that confined space and how close you are to an infected person. That is why children spending all day long in schools, enhances the level of transmission.”
Today’s email of the day comes from a parent who says a particular pharmacy is going to kill somebody if they don’t double check their work. The pharmacy’s name was removed from this email.
This is so messed up!! My 2 year old has a minor immunodefeciency which requires him to be on antibiotics quite often. About two months ago, I got his Omnicef (antibiotic) filled. The medication comes in a box, which is stapled in a pharmacy bag when you pick it up. Being a busy mom of 4 boys, I did not look at the medication while at the pharmacy. Got home and all I had was powder, no water had been put in the bottle to make the proper consistency. Took the meds. back, talked to the pharmacist and went on about life. This past Saturday, 9/18/09, we had to get another bottle of omnicef filled, fogetting about the last incident, checked the medication upon arriving home and the same thing had happened. My husband took it back and talked with the pharmacist and store manager, letting them know this is unacceptable. The problem rectified and brought the medication home. Three days later, my husband said he did not give the baby his medication this morning because the bottle said to give it one time per day. Having given this medication many times before, I knew this wasn’t right. Upon checking the box, it had my child’s name and proper medication instructions. But upon checking the bottle, it had another child’s name with different instructions. It became quite clear to me the instructions on the bottle were for an infant or very small child, and my child was getting the improper consistancy for what he should be getting, on top of the fact that there would not be enough medication for my two year old. So, back to the pharmacy I go. I let them have it in as nice a way as possible. There is another child out there getting more medication than his/her little system should be getting. As I said to XXXXXX, they are messing with people’s lives. They are going to kill someone at this rate.
This is so messed up! What happened to people taking their job seriously and caring about the lively-hood of others?? I have since called the Board of Pharmacy and left a message, but no one has called me back yet. FYI-I left my last pharmacy because of medication screw-ups. What is wrong with this picture???
Whose fault is it? That’s a question being asked by a Nashville couple whose basement flooded with raw sewage.
It all begins Saturday September 12th.
That’s the day the commode in the Percy Priest Lake residence of Arnold and Tina Bailey begins bubbling over with raw sewage.
The Bailey’s show me pictures of a basement mud room that is blackened by the disgusting mess.
On the day Messed Up arrives, Mrs. Bailey is packing her trunk with suit cases. The woman tells me she has respiratory problems and the on going environmental disaster is forcing her to stay with relatives in Kentucky.
Her husband, Arnold stays behind to manage the hideous mess.
The retired military pilot says dealing with metro has been messed up, so much so, he wrote this letter to Mayor Karl Dean.
My name is Arnold Bailey. I live Clearlake Dr west. On Saturday public works was cleaning sewer lines next to my house at the sewage pumping station and back flushed raw sewer water into my home. They started cleanup late Saturday night, ran blowers and drying equipment, and tore out walls and contaminated items and were going to remove contaminated tiles and clean the air ducts. This afternoon they pulled out the workers and said they were still investigating who was at fault for this problem. This was and is a very serious health problem. They told me to contact my insurance company for repairs. It was a metro pump truck that was blowing the lines at their pumping station. My wife has acute asthma and could not be in the house so we slept in our Motor home. The motor home went for maintenance today so she left to stay with relatives until work is complete. I am staying in the house but am not comfortable with it. Metro caused this problem and they need to take care of it. This pumping station has been a problem for the 25 years that I have lived here with spills, overflows, smells, noise and chemical sanitation blocks hanging next to my pool and patio. I am requesting your help in solving this problem as I have run into a solid wall and they are treating me poorly and seem to think that it is my problem not theirs.
When he gets nowhere with the city, Arnold Bailey calls That’s Messed Up.
I call his Councilwoman, Vivian Wilhoite who tells me she has all ready been investigating the matter. She tells me that Metro should be more responsive to her constituent’s needs.
“They are trying to tell me that this is an act of God. Don’t ever tell me that it is an act of God for him to put poop in a man’s house.”
Wilhoite tells me she tells water department officials to handle this matter now, because she doesn’t want to see it show up on her council desk later, with much heftier price tag.
“This better not end up on my desk. Approve his claim. Take care of this now. It’s only right. I’m not so sure Metro isn’t at fault. That goes along with running Metro Water. If Mr. Arnold was in his yard and did something to the line, that is one thing. But in this situation, he was in his house, and poop comes back up the line.”
The councilwoman indicates that Metro Water was pulling out its crews and limiting the city’s financial responsibility in the matter. She says she told them to reevaluate.
“I asked they open this back up. This makes no sense. It makes no sense. Look back at this and provide me a reason why he should not be compensated. I better not see this a year from now when it could have been resolved on the front end.”
I talk with Sonia Harvat who represents the Metro Water Department.
Harvat says the Bailey’s troubles begin when a sewage pipe is blocked in the neighborhood.
Harvat says the pipe is blocked with house hold materials including grease, which neighbors have been dumping down their drains over time.
According to Harvat, Metro crews pumped the line clean, and when they did, there was a sudden surge that forces its way through the pipe, that pressure rushed to the lowest point, which just happened to be the commode in Arnold Bailey’s home.
“Metro Water Services is paying for the initial clean up,” Harvat says. “Our priority is health and safety. Our system was not malfunctioning, our system was not broken. It was nothing inside our sewer system causing the back up it was grease! Metro will look to see if there was negligence on the part of metro water services. Did we break something that caused the over flow, but there was no negligence and that is what claims will look at it to see who pays for it.”
Bailey says the city did initially hire a company to clean up the filth. But after a few days, the city pulls the plug and the cleaning stops. Thanks to Messed Up and Councilwoman Wilhoite, the city has reconsidered its position.
An attorney for Metro Legal tells Messed Up, the city will pay for the clean up as long as it is deemed reasonable.
A water department official tells Messed Up “We don’t want to build the Taj Majal, but we will pay for the mess.”
Arnold and Tina Bailey say that’s the least the city can do for what they have been through.
Today’s Messed Up Email Of The Day comes from a viewer who wants to make sure the bright line between children and inmates stays there.
I was pulling back into my neighborhood this morning and there was a inmate work crew mowing the grass of a median. It was on Blackwood Dr in front of the Food Lion off Stewarts Ferry Pk. Not only are prisoners in my neighborhood a little disturbing, there were children waiting at a school bus stop less than a block away. That really doesn’t seem safe to me. I was more than a little concerned for those children and luckily the bus was pulling up right behind me.
Can you check into this and see why an inmate work crew would be sent to work in a neighborhood? Obviously there are plenty of children running around and this just doesn’t seem safe. Thanks for listening!
Today’s Messed Up Email Of The Day comes from a top floor apartment dweller who feels they are being unfairly targeted for walking so hard the neighbor claims stuff falls off their walls. The apartment complex and phone number was deleted.
I live in a high-end apt. in Goodlettsville, called XXXXXXXXX. I am on the top floor and have been there for over 3 years. My neighbors below me are complaing that stuff is falling off their walls when I walk across the floor. I have tried to get the management to come and figure out why my apt, has stress cracks, and creeky floors and why it is causing such an issue. I am a christain who doesn’t drink, smoke , have parties, and i work 12 hours a day, and Im not even home much. When I do get my grandson or family to visit, or just clean or open and shut a door, the police are at my door. I am being harrassed and nothing is being done. I have even been threatend with a noise evection notice if it can’t be resolved. What am I to do? They won’t come see if there is a structure problem no matter how many times I have asked, and I refuse to pay over a 1000.00 a month and have to tip toe, and not able to live in my own home. Please help me. Please feel free to call XXXXXXXXX and let them know that I am taking this to the next level.
Here’s a Messed Up Update on the story Barbara and Richard Arnold shared with us earlier this month. The couple was told by Metro that their front porch was violating codes and needed a handrail. Metro threatened fines, and the couple paid nearly $1,000 to have the railing fabricated. The only problem is the couple didn’t need the railing in the first place. The couple sued Metro and here’s the result:
We “settled” with a check for $825.00 with attorney’s Roberts and Layman at the helm. Metro denied any fault whatsoever, but offered this “settlement” (for what it is worth) if we would not refile in state court. We considered it a win, although they didn’t reimburse us! Thanks for your help with this matter.
A Columbia mother may have lost in court, but she vows to keep fighting.
Amy Beechum called Messed Up after a teacher at Columbia Central confiscated her daughter’s cell phone.
Beechum told Messed Up at the time; she is ok with the school policy, but she believes the school should notify parents when a phone is confiscated. She says the phone should be returned to parents, especially if they own the phone, which Beechum says she does.
Beechum argued that this is the only means of communication she has with her child. She says if the school keeps the phone for 2 weeks up to a month, that puts her child’s welfare in jeopardy.
Beechum took the issue to court and lost.
According to the columbia Daily Herald: Judge Robert Holloway Jr. cited a Tennessee Attorney General opinion in his ruling and stated: “Due process was provided by notice and an opportunity to be heard. The case is dismissed and all cost taxed to the Petitioner.”
Beechum tells Messed Up, she didn’t realize how complicated a proceeding this was till she arrived at the courthouse.
“I didn’t know it was a trial, until the day I got to court,” she says. “They had witnesses and principals and school board members, and I just had myself.”
The single mother tells Messed Up she was surprised how big an issue this has become in Maury County.
And as it related to her daughter’s cell phone being confiscated; “The teacher testified in court that my daughter’s cell phone was off. She was not using it. But they still took it. It is in the court papers. You can read that testimony for yourself.”
We asked if this has been worth the effort.
“It’s never been a hassell,” she replied. “I am glad I did it. So many people out there are depending on me to win it. They’re urging me to go on go on.
I’ve had nothing but support. This is wrong keep fighting it.”
Beechum says she has ten days to file an appeal, and this time she plans to fight it with legal representation. According to Beechum, 2 attorney’s have contacted her and are willing to handle the case for free because the attorney’s believe in her cause.
Judge Robert Holloway Jr. cited a Tennessee Attorney General opinion in his ruling and stated: “Due process was provided by notice and an opportunity to be heard. The case is dismissed and all cost taxed to the Petitioner.”
The opinion was based on Laney v. Farely, where a U.S. District Court found that a school could hold a cell phone without violating the constitution.
Holloway ruled that because the school system gave notice of the policy Beecham was “in no condition to complain.”
Beecham will have to pay for the school’s court fee.
by
Troy Hanson is operations manager and program director.
According to Cannon Co. Sheriff Billy Nichols, items are thrown from the bridge all the time, but this is the first time he can recall a vehicle being hit.
Mr. Vance is no bridge engineer but he knows what he would like to see - a barricade, similar to the walking bridges that cross highways. Vance says that would discourage people from throwing items onto vehicles.
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With Swine Flu floating around seemingly everywhere, how safe are you when you fly?
According to Vanderbilt infectious disease expert Dr. Bill Schaffner, airlines do a good job purifying air on your flight.
On the day Messed Up arrives, Mrs. Bailey is packing her trunk with suit cases. The woman tells me she has respiratory problems and the on going environmental disaster is forcing her to stay with relatives in Kentucky.
Wilhoite tells me she tells water department officials to handle this matter now, because she doesn’t want to see it show up on her council desk later, with much heftier price tag.
