Just a note to let you know that perseverance does pay off. Had my final court date today. The dog owner has paid all my out of pocket expenses through the criminal court in restitution. He has also provided certification of vaccination status on the dog, which is still alive and kicking. It’s been a long road, but staying the course was definitely worth it.
If you see those dogs continuing to run loose on Posey Hill road, PLEASE call animal control to report them. I hope this owner has learned his lesson.
On another note, there is a workgroup meeting on Tuesday evening, Feb 9, at the county courthouse in the county commission conference room 2. The purpose of this group is to write a proposal for implementing a system to quarantine dogs that bite. This resolution will be going before the full commission, but I’m not sure when. Will know more after Tuesday. The meeting is at 5:30 if you are interested in attending. I am going to be making a statement during the comment phase. This is a first step toward overhauling the county animal control program.
We are going to get this fixed!!! Good things are happening - we just need to hang in there and stay strong!
A Montgomery family has lived at the same Cunninham address for almost a quarter century.
Suddenly, unexpectedly, important bank information started getting lost.
According to Kristie Sullivan, the envelopes had her correct name and address, but for some reason, the post office was covering her correct address with a yellow sticker, then forwarding the mail onto Fort Campbell.
The Sullivan family complained to the postal carrier, to their local postal representatives, and to the bank sending the correspondence.
Everyone said they would fix the problem, but the family tells Messed Up, the problem continued.
Kristie Sullivan says it began roughly a year ago, after a Fort Campbell family that had been staying with them, moved onto the post, and had their mail forwarded there.
The family’s last name is Williams. Mr. Sullivan’s first name is William.
Could something so innocuous be the cause of the mix up?
It turns out the answer is yes.
Beth Barnett at the Nashville Post office tells me, it was a perfect storm of mis-information.
Barnett says the problem starts with the banking institution and the way they are addressing their labels.
Barnett called the data on the envelopes “noisy”.
She says the high speed scanners used by the P.O. scan 35,000 pieces of mail an hour. Because of the way the information was placed on the mailing labels, and the way it is read at the post office, Barnett says, for lack of a better term, the scanners were confused. Add to that, Mr. Sullivan’s first name is the same as the last name of the Williams family, and you have a recipe for lost mail.
Barnett says if Mr. Sullivan’s first name was Bob, this would never have happened.
All the same; Barnett says the problem is fixed, and the post office is working with the banking institution to correct the noise in their mailing labels.
“We have tried everything. The bank even called. One statement went back to them as undeliverable and unknown address,” Mrs. Sullivan says holding multiple envelopes addressed to her, but containing forwarding stickers as well.
Sullivan says nobody could fix the problem for almost a year. Messed Up makes a single call and the post office says the matter is cleared up.
Another year has come and gone in the messed up department. You viewers sent us 1000’s of emails and we told hundreds of your stories.
Hello 2010.
But before we tackle the next decade, a quick look back at some of the Messed Up stories that were. The idea was to give viewers a top ten list so they could vote for their favorite messed up story.
It was hard to pick just 10 stories from an entire year. I went through each month picking entries that seemed memorable, or interesting, or where we helped someone. I easily had over 30 possible candidates for a top ten list.
So how to narrow it down? Well, I went to the people who are with me day by day in the messed up trenches.
Vince and Kinsey in Art. Christian in the internet department. Trusty photog Al Devine.
Garth Brooks: This was the story about the mother who tried to buy her daughter tickets to a Vegas show. There was a major credit card snafu and she ended up with no tickets. Messed Up got involved, called The Wynn Hotel and now the family is heading to see their favorite performer early next year.
50-dollar ticket for warming up car: A Madison mom is taking her infant son to the doctor. It’s 17 degrees outside, so she warms up her car, unattended. She gets a ticket.
Rutherford Co. Landfill. Local officials complained of constant dirt, mud, muck coming off on the road and fences near the landfill. After Messed Up gets involved the landfill pledges to hose truck tires off and clean up the surrounding streets.
Guns in state legislature: One of the more volatile issues we covered. Legislators vote on two controversial gun bills that would allow guns in restaurants and parks. Messed Up questions whether guns should also be allowed on Capitol Hill.
Wheel Chair Ramp. A Murfreesboro strip mall is built before handicap accessible ramps are required. Wheel chair bound woman complains to Messed Up and we get the property owner to fix the problem.
Music Boxes. State workers at Charlotte and 6th complain that music is too loud. Public Works turns the music off. 800 votes later, the majority of viewers say turn the music back on.
Cat Man. Maury County man baits traps to catch stray animals. The man is breaking no laws; many of you still felt it was messed up.
Black Friday. Woman purchases 700 dollar Sears Washer/Dryer on Black Friday. After months of getting the corporate run-a-round, she calls Messed Up. In a few days we not only get the woman her product, but Sears agrees to upgrade her to a more deluxe model at no added cost.
Church hit and run. Someone drove their truck into the side of a small Maury County Church. There was a lot of evidence left at the scene, but deputies were stumped. Messed Up airs the story, and the case comes together. The suspect apologizes to the community in an interview with that is messed up.
Left for dead. A man is riding his bike in Lavergne. A vehicle hits him and knocks him a cold ditch. He is found barely alive. Messed Up tries to find the hit and run driver. So far we have been unsuccessful.
This story barely beat the guns in legislature story, by the slimmest of margins, 6 votes!
The update here:
Though she was issued the citation in February, Jenn George tells me that she didn’t pay the ticket for 8 months. She says Metro lost her ticket. Hmmmmm. That was the focus of another Messed Up story, where Metro Traffic officials say, clerks hid almost 4,000 tickets.
Once found, the tickets were mailed out to everyone, including George.
Now with a 2nd baby in the house, I asked Mrs. George if she still warms up her car unattended.
She surprised me by saying; “yes,” adding she keeps her eye on the driveway now, in case a cop drives by.
You may remember at the time, area Councilman, Mike Craddock equated the ticket to a ticket quota. He vowed to pass a new law that would clarify this one issue.
By email; Craddock tells me:
We introduced a BILL and deferred it indefinitely because there were a lot of logistical problems with it such as do we allow homeowners and not apartment dwellers? Or another one is just private property? Every store or shopping center is private property. We’ll have to sort through all of those questions before we can pass a good bill.
Michael Craddock Councilmember District 4 michael.craddock@nashville.gov home
226-0521 office 862-6780
Have a safe and UN-MESSED-UP 2010 EVERYONE!!
I received a call from Tera Swafford, of the Swafford Law firm who represents USPO, an affiliate of Adventure Sports and Igovincent. USPO is the company that does business in Tennessee having had a drop zone in Clarksville and now Waverly, Tennessee.
Ms. Swafford indicated that her client gives the stickers/signs to its customers. She asked whether her client could have a month to remove the signs, and asked for a continuance of tomorrow’s trial. She’s also ask for a list of all the locations where the signs have been posted.
I shared with her that Metro’s primary concern is having the signs removed, and I agreed to share our lists and pictures to help her accomplish the sign removal. I also indicated that Metro would oppose her motion for a continuance unless we could nail down an agreed order setting a minimum number of signs to be removed each week with periodic status hearings set for Environmental Court until all the signs are removed. Ms. Swafford indicated she thought her client would agree to that and she’d speak with them further today about entering an agreed order to that effect. I’m sending her a draft agreed order to include the relief Metro is seeking and proposed status hearing dates.
Susan T. Jones
Assistant Metropolitan Attorney
Metropolitan Department of Law
We spoke with residents who were upset to see stickers for a local sky diving company vandalizing public property throughout Hillsboro Village.
Since our report, Metro Legal has compelled the company featured on those stickers into court later this week to answer some questions. On top of that, Metro Legal says they have witnesses who they hope will help the city put a stop to the alleged vandalism.
Shelbyville residents say smoke billows across their neighborhood every day.
Residents say the smoke makes them sick and burns their eyes.
Residents tell Messed up the smoke comes from a nearby pallet company that burns waste wood adjacent to their homes.
Jay Wolfe is 61 years old. He is a Vietnam Vet and two time Purple Heart recipient.
The Shelbyville resident says the smoke is so bad in his neighborhood it has become unbearable for him, for his ailing wife, and for his neighbors.
Residents describe running in and out of their homes, quickly slamming doors to keep smoke from getting in. Neighbors describe beautiful 70 degree days when they want to open windows but cannot. Residents tell me that their neighborhood smells like a campfire night and day.
I call multiple agencies in Shelbyville about the company.
Brian Nicholson is the fire marshal. He tells me he has been to the incinerator and it does not pose a problem and the owner does not need a permit to burn the waste wood inside the city limit.
“They are not required to have a permit,” Nicholson says. “They are burning in a container manufactured for the purpose. We are aware of it. It is no fire hazard whatsoever.”
What about smoke I ask?
“That is an EPA issue,” the fire fighter counters.
David Langford is a city codes official. He tells me that he has been to the incinerator because of complaints from residents.
“I did smell the “pungent” smell of smoke,” he says. “I said let me call Brian Nicholson and see what his fire inspections show. Brian told me the epa had been out there before, the incinerator has a bag system, and at times, if the bag system is too full and not cleaned out it will puff out, smoke will come out.”
I call the air pollution division of T.D.E.C. which tells me that burning waste wood is EXEMPT from any regulatory authority in the state of Tennessee.
While that may be the case, PIO, Meg Lockhart tells me that the agency is investigating whether the company owner needs a permit to operate the incinerator due to the size of the machine and the fact that it runs on gasoline or diesel.
I go to the company for answers. The owner does not wish to go on camera, but by phone he surprises me, telling me that the reason his incinerator is not burning on the day I visit is because he has stopped burning for good.
The owner tells me:
He is looking at ways to sell the waste material rather than burning it.
He is tired of complaints from the neighbors and visits from city officials and Messed Up reporters and he wants to be a good neighbor.
He says he would rather have everyone happy and be a good business man.
I tell neighbors of his decision and they applaud.
The issue is very complex and Meg Lockhart with TDEC sends me a thorough note to explain what has transpired and what might happen in the future. Here a few bullet points from her note:
Complaint filed Oct. 1 with the Division of Air Pollution Control / Columbia Environmental Field Office
Investigation found owner once transported waste wood, but started burning it because it was cheaper. That prompted many neighborhood complaints.
The state’s air quality act says: burning of wood waste is exempt from TDEC’s regulatory authority
The owner did not have a permit to operate the incinerator. TDEC is investigating whether that is a violation.
State lawmakers have asked TDEC to investigate whether laws governing wood waste burning should be strengthened.
According to the Metro Health Dept, the Kirkpatrick Elementary re-inspection (11/9/09) found the following:
the leaking pipe in the boiler room has been repaired.
middle tn exterminating co serviced the school on 10/15/09 no live insects observed
some roof work has been done.
damaged / unsafe picnic table s have been removed
grass and weeds are starting to get high trash is gone from under portables
trash, debris and old post have been removed from the playground area
playground tarp is gone/covered. Ditch is still present rocks in ditch are covered with the leaves and mulch. Hole under fence is partially filled with old concrete.
there is still an odor under the hand sink in room 114. An air freshener is present.
There score improved significantly. You can read our past stories drawing attention to the school’s condition:
After Messed Up gets involved, there are some productive changes at an East Nashville Elementary school (read previous story).
At Messed Up’s urging, The Metro Health Department inspected Kirkpatrick Elementary school. Inspectors found a number of problems. Officials with the health department say they plan to reinspect the school again on November 9th.
The most noticeable improvement is the playground. What was once filled with rocks and sticks with a dangerous trench running down the middle of the yard has been transformed. Before our story, teachers told us the playground was so dangerous, Kindergarten and Pre-K children were not allowed to use it.
After our investigation, the playground was smoothed over and playground mulch put down.
It was a bright sunny day when we notated children on the swings and monkey bars.
Teachers tell us the children noticed the difference immediately.
Parents tell us they are pleased the children can play outside safely.
School officials tell us that there are plans to remove the portables and put a brand new playground in by the Christmas Holiday.
Hundreds of you have written and called the Messed Up Department here at WKRN. You had problems, people wouldn’t listen to you, and you demanded accountability. You just wanted life to be normal again.
We answered your call, and Messed Up got results, lots of results.
Tonight at 10 p.m. tune in to WKRN for a 15 minute Messed Up special featuring several of your stories and the Messed Up results we got for you.
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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.
by
Here’s a nice Messed Up Update to a story we brought to you last September of dog bite victim in Wilson County. Nancy Andrews was training for the upcoming Cedars of Lebanon Triathlon when a pit bull attacked her. She’s had her day in court and says “perseverence pays off.”On another note, there is a workgroup meeting on Tuesday evening, Feb 9, at the county courthouse in the county commission conference room 2. The purpose of this group is to write a proposal for implementing a system to quarantine dogs that bite. This resolution will be going before the full commission, but I’m not sure when. Will know more after Tuesday. The meeting is at 5:30 if you are interested in attending. I am going to be making a statement during the comment phase. This is a first step toward overhauling the county animal control program.
The Shelbyville resident says the smoke is so bad in his neighborhood it has become unbearable for him, for his ailing wife, and for his neighbors.
