Best Buy to cut costs and close stores

Tennessean
11:35 AM, Mar. 29, 2012 

Best Buy remained mum this afternoon on whether any of the 50 big box store closures it plans this year will be in Middle Tennessee.

“We are quite deliberate and thoughtful when we make such decisions. We are working to ensure the impact to our employees will be as minimal as possible. We will announce details about specific store locations and timing ... once they are finalized,” said spokeswoman Sue Busch Nehring.

Earlier today, Best Buy Co. said it plans to close 50 U.S. big box stores and open 100 small mobile locations in the U.S. in fiscal 2013 and cut $800 million in costs by fiscal 2015.

The news came Thursday as the biggest U.S. specialty electronics retailer posted a fiscal fourth quarter loss partly due to restructuring charges.

Best Buy, which has 1,450 locations nationwide and 2,900 globally, is focusing on closing some of its hulking stores to concentrate on smaller Best Buy Mobile outlets because of two emerging trends. Sales of TVs, digital cameras and videogame consoles have weakened, while sales of tablet computers, smartphones and e-readers have increased.

And with the rise of competition from Internet rivals like Amazon.com, shoppers aren’t flocking to big-box stores like they used to.

Best Buy is trying to avoid the fate of its former rival Circuit City, which went out of business in 2009, in part by shrinking its square footage footprint. Other retailers with large stores are doing the same. Sears Holdings Co., for example, said earlier this month it would close 100 to 120 stores to become nimbler.

Best Buy lost $1.7 billion, or $4.89 per share, for the period ended March 3. That compares with a profit of $651 million, or $1.62 per share, a year ago.

Tennessean reporter Getahn Ward contributed to this story.

Officer receives minor injuries during foot chase

WKRN Channel 2
March 28, 2012

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

A Metro police officer received minor injuries while trying to track down a suspect in Antioch Wednesday morning.

The incident began in the parking lot at Bailey's Pub & Grill at 5316 Mount View Road in the Bell Forge Square Shopping Center around 3:45 a.m.

Police were called to the scene after reports of suspicious activity.

When officers arrived, the suspect took off running. Officers swarmed the area and took the man into custody a short distance away.

The suspect was charged with resisting a stop and evading officers.

An officer scraped his elbow during the chase, but did not need medical attention.

Southeast Nashville Easter Event, NewsChannel5 Open Line on Sub Area 13 Plan and more

METRO PLANNER TIFINIE CAPEHART WILL TAKE YOUR PHONE CALLS AND ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE ANTIOCH COMMUNITY PLAN UPDATE ON NEWSCHANNEL 5+'s "OPEN LINE" PROGRAM FROM 7-8PM TONIGHT TUESDAY MARCH 27 ON COMCAST CABLE 250.
Click here for more information.
______________________________________________________________

DISTRICT 29 INFRASTRUCTURE REQUEST FORM
Ideas/Requests for Improvements for District 29
Please click on this link to help provide input for things you would like to see to improve our district
________________________________________________________________
Mark Your Calendars - PUBLIC MEETING REGARDING REVIEW PROCESS FOR NASHBORO VILLAGE PARCELS - April 12, 2012 4:00 pm 700 2nd Avenue South, Howard School Building
_________________________________________________________________
Mark Your Calendars - PUBLIC MEETING REGARDING STORMWATER ISSUES IN DISTRICT 29 - April 26, 2012 6:30 pm - Una Church of Christ, 1917 Murfreesboro Road
Antioch Priest Lake's Community Sub Area 13 Plan which guides the land use policy that decisions are based on for zoning requests and approvals is scheduled to be updated with community wide input. It is only updated every 8 -10 years and was last updated in 2003. This is a very very important process to be involved with as it determines how our community will develop and transition for the next 8-10 years. The schedule is belowApril 5 – Kickoff
Planners will explain the update process and hear initial public comments.

• April 16 – Economic Development & Retail Centers
• April 19 – Hands-On Design Workshop
  3-7 pm at the Southeast Branch Library, 2325 Hickory Highlands Drive; come for part or all of this informal discussion, and offer your ideas on how Antioch might look in the future.
• May 3 – Transportation
• May 17 – Housing & Open Space
• June 26 – Draft Policy Recommendations & Implementation
• August 30 – Final Policy Recommendations

http://www.nashville.gov/mpc/communityplans/subarea/subarea13_update.asp
___________________________________________________________
COMMUNITY FOOD DISTRIBUTION
UNA CHURCH OF CHRIST
1917 Murfreesboro Road
April 13, 2012
No Cost/No Documentation Needed
This is a perishable food distribution that will happen the 2nd Friday of each month and includes vegetables, fruit, bread, dairy products etc. The truck arrives around noon, set up begins and people can start going through the line at 1 pm
____________________________________________________________

Tennessee among worst places for women in America

Posted: Mar 23, 2012 8:44 PM CDT

By Joseph Pleasant, Reporter - bio | email

 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -

A new study released by iVillage.com, a Web site geared toward women, lists Tennessee as one of the worst states for women.

Looking at reproductive rights, health care, economic success, access to affordable childcare, female representation in government and educational attainment, the site spent four months studying each of the 50 states to determine which states were the best for women.

Connecticut ranked No. 1 in the country, while Mississippi ranked the worst at No. 50.

The study found Tennessee women lag behind the national average in pay and the number of women who complete a bachelor's degree.

According to the study, Tennessee women have median yearly earnings of $31,854, 13% lower than the national average of $36,551.

When it comes to college graduation, the study found that 23% of women in Tennessee earn a bachelor's degree. The national average is 28%.

"We have got to increase the number of our young people who are going to school graduating and receiving college degrees," District 54 State Rep. Brenda Gilmore said. "Sixty-nine percent of all households are run by women and we need to make sure women have all the tools and resources they need to take care of their families."

Rep. Gilmore said the community should encourage girls to take on challenging academic courses that boys are typically encouraged to take.

"Sometimes we challenge men and our young boys into chemistry and biology and we put women into soft courses," she said. "We have got to plant the dream in their heads that they can be what they want to be."

She continued. "They can be, if they want to be, entrepreneurs or business owners."

The study also cited Tennessee's stance on reproductive rights for women.

In particular, the study took issue with a bill introduced by state Rep. Matthew Hill.

The bill required the names of doctors who perform abortions to be published online. The measure also called for demographical information about women seeking abortions to be published by county.

While the information would not include the women's names, critics worried that in rural areas it would be possible to identify the women.

Hill removed the professions from the bill called the "Life Defense Act of 2012" Tuesday.

He said he received death threats after details of the bill made national news. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the alleged death threats.

Rep. Gilmore said the bill is an example of how women need to have a stronger voice in Tennessee.

"I think it says to women that they don't value us, that they can make decisions for us. Particularly as it regards our health and women's rights," she said.

Rep. Gilmore continued, "Women have the largest voice in terms of voting blocks and sometimes we relegate that over in terms of not going to vote or sometimes asking our significant other who we should vote for. "

The YWCA of Nashville and Middle Tennessee is working to empower girls in the state through the Girls, Inc. program.

The national program is geared toward inspiring all girls to be strong, smart and bold, according to the program's Web site.

The YWCA started its chapter of Girls, Inc. in 2008. Since then, more than 350 middle school girls have participated at seven Metro Nashville Public School middle schools.

"It is important for middle school girls to understand that as they become adults they will have a voice and they will represent their communities," YWCA Vice-President of Programs Pam Sessions said. "Middle school girls are very impressionable. It is important to establish a good foundation."

Sessions said the program encourages girls not to feel limited by their gender, when it comes to interests or professional aspirations.

"We need our middle school girls to know that just as their mothers are head of households taking care of families, they need to be in positions where they can become heads of households one day," she said. "They can be heads of corporations. They can be teachers. They can be doctors and attorneys."

She continued, "Anything a man can do these girls can do."

Sessions said the result of the empowerment of girls will be women who are a stronger force in Tennessee.

"They have to learn how to participate in their community in ways that impact not just them individually, but society as a whole," she said.

Nearby state, Kentucky ranked No. 46 out of 50 in the study.

To Watch Video - Click Here!

 

Hundreds in Nashville want justice for teen

Foreclosures Expected to Soar

Written by Bobby Allyn 

The Tennessean

Analysts predict waves of home defaults in Middle TN

Buyers hoping to pick up a bargain on a foreclosed home won’t have much luck in Green Hills or Belle Meade, where only a few dozen borrowers defaulted last year.

But homes by the hundreds faced foreclosure during 2011 in Antioch and a few neighboring ZIP codes, creating potential opportunities for deal hunters.

And if predictions hold up, there will be no shortage of deals in 2012.
Amid growing signs that foreclosures have tapered off and the local housing market is recovering, it now appears that another string of foreclosures could hit Middle Tennessee.

The foreclosure reprieve has offered a false sense of confidence to the local housing market, according to real estate analysts, since several factors expected to come together in 2012 may trigger a rash of new foreclosures.

In 2011, about 11 percent of home sales in the Nashville metropolitan area were foreclosure-related, a slide of almost one-third from the previous year.

To be sure, the national foreclosure rate was about double that of Middle Tennessee, according to Irvine, Calif.-based research firm RealtyTrac.

“2011 was a fantasy land in that the market was not dealing with a lot of the distressed properties,” RealtyTrac’s Daren Blomquist said.

“We believe waves of foreclosures are coming. Not one wave, but a series of waves, which will probably put the lid on any home appreciation we have seen.”

Home foreclosure rates around the country and in Middle Tennessee have slowed in recent years after evidence emerged that some lenders were forging documents to hasten filings.

Although single-family home sales have been up year over year for the past eight months, median home prices faltered in 2011 after showing strength for most of 2010.

The volume of new foreclosures, projected to rise 15 percent this year, is expected to be significantly smaller than during the housing collapse of some five years ago. Still, the ripple effect on the local housing market could further drive down home prices and dampen consumer confidence, experts say.

Hardest hit areas

Despite the region’s falling foreclosure filings overall, Antioch, La Vergne, Nolensville and portions of southern Williamson and Rutherford counties were still hit hard last year. Foreclosure filings include mortgage defaults, auctions and bank-owned sales.

Some working-class communities in Middle Tennessee were grossly overbuilt in the run-up to the housing bubble, and the borrowers in those neighborhoods did not have the wherewithal to cushion the blow of the housing market’s near collapse, according to Middle Tennessee State University economist David Penn.

“The affordable areas south of Nashville had a lot of sales during the boom years,” said Antioch investor Bill Hostettler of HND Realty. “The lower income brackets get hurt the worst. They don’t have a six-month reserve built in their lives.”

Antioch’s 37013 ZIP code saw 605 foreclosure filings in 2011, or one out of every 43 homes. While that was one of the area’s highest foreclosure rates, it still represented a decline of nearly 40 percent from the previous year.

Kendra Cooke, president of the local Realtors association, said the next wave of projected foreclosures could spur more sales, which have gained steam in recent months. “Many foreclosures and short sales create a buying opportunity,” Cooke said.

But Cindy Stanton, distressed property seller with Crye-Leike in Nashville, said that when a foreclosure sells, it sets off a negative sales cycle.

A foreclosure sale blights home values for comparable properties in the neighborhood, Stanton said.
“Once it starts to decline, it’s hard to recover. The depreciation of home values has a snowballing effect.”

40% markdown

Bank-owned homes in Middle Tennessee have been selling at an average markdown of nearly 40 percent from their original purchase prices, which is among the country’s deepest discounts, according to RealtyTrac.

In 2011, there were 864 bank-owned homes sold in the Nashville area, one of the highest numbers in the Southeast.

“We’ve seen the biggest discounts in metro areas where there’s a lot of older inventory,” Blomquist said. “Those properties need more repair work and rehab than your typical property,” perhaps offsetting the low price, he said.

But local foreclosure expert and short-sale specialist Jim McCormack thinks the price declines reveal how exaggerated home prices were during the boom times, not how Middle Tennessee is flush with bargain deals.

“The original purchase prices back then were phony,” he said.

Aaron Armstrong, a distressed-property expert with Nashville-based Keller Williams, said prices could fall further.

“We’re not through the thick of it yet,” he said, referring to the area’s foreclosure supply. “And as banks continue to release this inventory, it’s going to affect pricing.”

15% are underwater

Jesse Hamby, who worked for a local subprime lender at the height of the housing bubble, said he understands why foreclosures have lingered.

Communities were swiftly building homes for borrowers who were taking out no-money-down mortgage loans, he said. For years, borrowers never touched the principal balance and instead chipped away at the loan’s interest.

Some of those fixed rates Hamby saw in 2007 will expire this year, leaving homeowners with depreciated home values from overbuilt neighborhoods. Many end up with little to no home equity.

“Some people don’t realize they’re underwater until their homes are appraised,” he said.

“Every Saturday, you couldn’t traverse the roads without seeing moving vans. People couldn’t afford those properties, but they weren’t savvy enough to understand that,” he said, describing the Villa at Concord Place subdivision in Brentwood.

By the end of 2011, about 48,000 residential properties in Middle Tennessee, or almost 15 percent of all properties, were underwater, meaning borrowers owe more on their mortgages than their properties are worth, according to Mark Fleming, an economist with data tracker CoreLogic, who characterized it as a “significant foreclosure pipeline.”

Furthermore, an additional 25,000 properties were nearly underwater, according to CoreLogic’s latest report.

Drawn-out process

A settlement reached in February involving state attorneys general and big mortgage servicers has been closely watched by real estate professionals. Under the plan, the country’s largest lenders must revamp mortgage-servicing practices, allowing for foreclosures in some states to flush out an oversupply of distressed properties.

Although Tennessee is not a state in which banks are required to sue a borrower to initiate a foreclosure, lenders have moved resources to states that require court action, which has protracted the foreclosure process in places like Tennessee, according to real estate experts.

In addition, a state law that took effect in September 2010 requires banks to give borrowers a longer foreclosure notice window, granting the borrower 60 days to act before a public notice is published, which used to happen immediately following a delinquency, according to Memphis-based attorney Matt McDonald with RealtyTitle.

“Foreclosures in Tennessee happen pretty quickly. This was the state’s attempt to negotiate something short of a foreclosure,” McDonald said.

The new state rules lengthened foreclosure processing time for many lenders that were adjusting to the new requirements. But now it appears that banks are catching up, according to RealtyTrac’s Blomquist.

Loans available

Tennessee state was given $217 million last January as part of a federal loan program for high-unemployment states that may have a disproportionate number of borrowers facing foreclosure.
The loans, which can be up to $20,000 in Davidson County, carry no interest, and if the homeowner stays in a home for five years, the loan is forgiven. If the borrower sells or refinances before the five years, the loan is forgiven at a rate of 20 percent a year.

So far, nearly 1,200 loans have been given out, according to Patricia Smith of the Tennessee Housing Development Agency.

Smith said there are many other resources in Middle Tennessee for borrowers who are facing distressed mortgage situations. “Many of our programs are free, and they can be a huge help to a lot of people.”

Rezoning for asphalt plant in Antioch to be deferred

Tennessean
4:53 AM, Mar. 20, 2012 

An asphalt plant rezoning request for Antioch appears on tonight’s Metro Council agenda, but the proposal’s sponsor said he plans to defer the vote.

District 28 Councilman Duane Dominy said Monday he’s pushing off the vote “indefinitely” so he can visit an operational asphalt plant that uses similar technology to what is being proposed in Antioch.

“I want to see what the smells are from 500 feet and 1,000 feet and 1,500 feet,” he said.
Hot Mix Asphalt has requested an eight-acre residential site on Franklin Limestone Road be rezoned. The council voted 22-15 to send the proposal to third reading earlier this month after more than 20

Antioch residents spoke against the rezoning.

Dominy said he’d like to bring along residents — including opponents — to visit operational plants.
— Tony Gonzalez
The Tennessean

Extensive sex trafficking ring tied closely to Nashville

Channel 4 WSMV.Com
Posted: Mar 12, 2012 9:08 PM CDTUpdated: Mar 12, 2012 9:30 PM CDT

Reported by Dennis Ferrier - email

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

It's one of the biggest, most expensive trials you have probably heard very little about.

More than two dozen Somali men from Minnesota are charged with sex slavery, trafficking young Somali girls from Minnesota to secret brothels and hotels here in Nashville and other places.

The case includes more than 15,000 documents as 29 Somalis were accused of basically kidnapping young girls from middle schools and high schools in Minnesota.

But the whole case broke right here in Nashville after a routine traffic stop.

Officials say the suspects took girls as young as 12 years old and sold them as sex slaves sometimes to 10 different men in a day. They are accused of using a Rodeway Inn on Murfreesboro Road, a Super 8 on Royal Parkway and an apartment in Nashboro Village as their brothels.

The men are also accused of videotaping themselves having sex with 12-year-old girls and then sending them to potential customers in Nashville, as well as robbing a safe of $120,000 and stealing a car.

So, even though the men allegedly forced the girls into slavery in Minnesota, and although they all live in Minnesota, it was a case going nowhere until a Nashville traffic stop.

Then, it came to the attention of then U.S. Attorney Ed Yarbrough.

"If a crime is being committed in Nashville, and it's a federal crime, and it's an ongoing conspiracy, then it needs to be prosecuted irrespective of where else it's happening," Yarbrough said.

Next week, 15 of the 29 Somali men are set to go on trial.

And although the men have American nicknames like "Fat Boy," "Homer," "Shorty" and "Cash Money," they have insisted on being supplied English language interpreters.

And something else has turned the stomachs of anti-sex slavery advocates. The alleged sex slavers have asked for Muslim prayer breaks every day of the trial.

"I'm wondering if these traffickers, while they were selling the girls for sex all day long, did they stop to give three prayer breaks throughout the day? I highly doubt it," said Colette Bercu, from Franklin's Free For Life Ministries.

It is highly unusual for 15 people to stand trial at the same time like this, but not a single person has agreed to testify against anyone else. Whether it's cultural or gang motivated, no one is turning evidence for the state.

The penalties for these alleged crimes vary from 10 years to life in prison.

Copyright WSMV 2012 (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

Middle TN may see second wave of foreclosures

Nashville area crime 03/20/2012

3 Metro school board seats up for grabs

Redrawn districts, retirements will shape Aug. election

Database: Nashville projects by council district

Click Above to Link to Keep Updated on all Nashville Projects!

Ohio stabbing suspect is originally from Nashville

Channel 4 WSMV.Com
Posted: Mar 16, 2012 6:23 AM CDT
Updated: Mar 16, 2012 6:42 AM CDT

To Watch Video, Click Here!

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - An attack by a mentally ill man accused of stabbing four people at a downtown office building appears to have been random, authorities said.

Police charged John W. Mallett with four counts of felonious assault on Thursday. Mallett lived in Nashville, Tenn., for 10 years until a month ago, when he moved to Columbus, police said.

Armed with three knives, Mallett entered a building that houses a college and other offices on Wednesday and stabbed four men, the first an employee of Miami-Jacobs Career College, police said. Other people intervened and took away a knife he was using but didn't realize he had more, police said.

Three people were stabbed inside the college's admissions office, and the fourth was attacked outside, Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner said. He said the attack by the 37-year-old Mallett, who had no criminal record in Columbus, appeared to be random.

An aunt in Columbus told police that she thought the suspect was Mallett, Weiner said. She told police he was mentally ill and had been off his medications.

Police video of an officer's response to reports of people being stabbed shows her shooting toward the suspect within seconds of her arrival. Video from Officer Deborah Ayers' police cruiser records her firing multiple shots at a man just 11 seconds after her car stops a few dozen feet from the scene.

A passer-by pointed Ayers in the direction of the suspect, who can be seen briefly in the background.

The video of Wednesday's stabbings shows Ayers stumbling backward after firing several shots and then firing again. An officer coming from the other direction and not seen on the video used a stun gun on the suspect at almost the same time, Weiner said.

A message left with family members in Tennessee was not immediately returned Thursday, and a phone for a Columbus family member was not accepting messages.

Nashville police said Thursday that Mallett had a July 2010 conviction for trespassing and a March 2000 conviction for resisting arrest. They had no details. A charge of unlawful possession of a weapon was dismissed in February a year ago, they said.

New York state prison records, which could not be confirmed by authorities on Thursday, show robbery and attempted robbery convictions for a man with the same name, date of birth and race as Mallett.

Two of the victims worked for the college, one was a student and another worked for the attorney general's office, Weiner said.

"There were other people that were trying to subdue this individual, but that's pretty hard to do with somebody who's armed with a couple knives," he said.

Student John M. Desir was in stable condition Thursday, while school employee Donte Dunnagan was in critical condition.

Weiner said attorney Jeff Maloon also was in critical condition, though a message sent to employees at the attorney general's office said Maloon was alert and talking to his family.

Gerald Dowe Jr., also an employee at the school, was treated for minor injuries and was released from the hospital. Weiner said Dowe returned to the building to help officers with their investigation.

The for-profit trade school offers classes in massage therapy, security and investigation, criminal justice and court reporting. It was closed Thursday.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Bargains On Wedding Gowns Saturday In Nashville

Channel 5 News
Posted: Mar 16, 2012 6:23 AM CDT
Updated: Mar 16, 2012 7:21 AM CDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Organizers promise thousands of dollars in savings Saturday at Goodwill's third annual wedding gala in Nashville.

They said designer wedding gowns worth $6,000 can be bought for under $400.

Goodwill said about 300 wedding gowns, most of them never worn, are priced between $59 and $399.

Most of them were donated for the sale by bridal boutiques.

Also for sale are veils, jewelry and shoes, and dresses for bridesmaids, flower girls and mothers of the bride and groom. Prom dresses also will be available.

The sale is at the Goodwill store, 2101 Gallatin Pike, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

Centennial Medical Center to offer quit-smoking classes

Posted: Mar 12, 2012 2:10 PM CDTUpdated: Mar 12, 2012 7:38 PM CDT

Posted by Scott Sutton - email

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

Do you need help quitting smoking? Centennial Medical Center's spring smoking cessation clinic begins in April.

Organizers said the classes will help smokers to successfully kick the habit. The class addresses the physical, mental and social aspects of nicotine addiction.

Classes will be held every Tuesday from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. for seven weeks. The cost is $50.

Related Link:

www.tristarhealth.com

Copyright 2012 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

THIS IS AN OPEN MEETING TO ALL RESIDENTS OF DISTRICT 29

Speak up for your rights and save the community!

NewsChannel 5 Covers District 29 Firehall 33 Groundbreaking

To See Video Click Here!

Nashville police find 2 possible mobile meth labs

WKRN Channel 2 News
Posted: Mar 09, 2012 6:31 AM CST

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Metro Police discovered two possible mobile meth labs early Friday morning.

The first was found just before 1 a.m. when an officer was making a traffic stop on Smith Spring Road near Bell Road in Antioch.

During the traffic stop, the officer discovered the driver was wanted out of Carroll County for meth production and child endangerment.

The officer then observed indicators that a meth lab was possibly inside the trunk of the car.

He then called in Metro's Methamphetamine Suppression Unit and the bomb squad to the scene where they found a functional but not active meth lab.

That driver will be charged with initiation process of a meth lab, meth production, felony possession of meth, felony possession of marijuana, and other charges.

The driver's identity has not been released.

A short time later, Metro police were called to their own towing lot on Freightliner Driver near downtown to a possible meth lab.

Police told Nashville's News 2, there were indicators inside the car that point to a mobile meth lab, such as coffee filters and Drano.

Police will continue to investigate the car.

Local Doctor Warns Against Antioch Asphalt Plant

News Channel 5
Posted: Mar 07, 2012 10:13 PM CST
Updated: Mar 07, 2012 10:19 PM CST

By Heather Graf

ANTIOCH, Tenn. -- A group of Antioch residents fighting to keep an asphalt plant out of their neighborhood get some bad news from Metro Council, and even worse news from a local doctor.

The zoning change that would clear the way for an asphalt plant to be built on Franklin Limestone Road passed its second reading Tuesday night at Metro Council.

That 22-15 vote came despite requests from nearly two dozen residents, urging council members to vote no.

"It's unsafe, it's not a good fit, it's unhealthy," said Grace Ann Bendele, who is one of the Homeowners Association Presidents in that area of Antioch. "Lives are at stake, children's lives."

Local pediatrician Olayinka Onadeko echoed those concerns when he addressed council on Tuesday.

"When you put your child near an asphalt plant, it doesn't make sense!" he said. "These children will continue having wheezing, shortness of breath, irritation of the nose, they will be sneezing. I've lived there. "

He told council members he's lived in the Antioch area for 19 years, and has been practicing pediatrics for 22 years.

"I called the councilman and said this is a bad idea," he said at the meeting. "The fumes are very dangerous to children."

Worried neighbors say that's all the evidence they need, this facility doesn't belong anywhere near their homes.

"Well it is scary," said Bendele. "I have asthma, my daughter has asthma really bad. I've been at the hospital many times."

Neighbors say Tuesday's vote will not deter them in their fight to stop the project.

"We're going to continue our petition drive," said resident Karen Kelley. "You do not have to be in our district to do any of these things. This is a Nashville issue. If they push us around, they can push anyone around."

Councilman Duane Dominy represents the district where the plant would be built. Tuesday night, he was one of 22 council members to vote in favor of this proposal.

Dominy did not want to do an on-camera interview on Wednesday, but told us his "yes" vote means he's committed to the process, but not necessarily the project.

Since this is a zoning ordinance, he wants people to know it can be amended on the third reading, and for that reason, he says it's far from a done deal.

Dominy told News Channel 5 that an environmental impact study will be done before that third reading happens, in April. He also says he plans to visit a similar, currently operational plant himself, to see and smell how nearby neighborhoods are affected.

To learn more about neighbors' concerns or sign the online petition, click here: http://www.facebook.com/STOPTHEPLANT.

Email: hgraf@newschannel5.comFacebook: Facebook.com/NC5HeatherGraf
Twitter: Twitter.com/NC5_HeatherGraf

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