Wednesday, March 31, 2010

“Bloomingdale music store has risen from the ashes (Savannah Morning News)” plus 3 more

“Bloomingdale music store has risen from the ashes (Savannah Morning News)” plus 3 more

Bloomingdale music store has risen from the ashes (Savannah Morning News)

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 05:33 AM PDT

Crossroad Music is part music school, part studio, part retail store - and a solid reminder that miracles do happen.

It stands as a testament to what faith, prayer and community spirit can accomplish, even when everything seems dark and hopeless. Owner Kris Britt watched as his business went up in flames, but today is back in a new space with big dreams for the future.

Crossroad Music had a modest beginning. "When I first started, it was just me teaching out of my home," Britt said. "I had a vision to do something bigger."

In 2007, Britt opened his business in a house-turned-office building on U.S. 80 in Pooler. With the help of his family, he remodeled the building, putting in long hours and hard labor.

To finance the school, Britt shared expenses with photographer Mark Rodocker and the Gateway Community Church, where Britt was the music pastor. Both Rodocker and Gateway used spare rooms in the building.

The business had grown and several projects were under way when Britt got a call from the security company last May 30 around 2 a.m. He still has the voicemail from the security company on his phone that informed him the building was on fire.

"My friend, Jason Simmons, who is a firefighter, was first on the scene," Britt said. "He was doing his first shift on the Pooler Fire Department when they got the call. The first thing he told me was, 'Man, it's not looking good.'"

Like Britt, Simmons is a musician. "He knew what I had in there," Britt said. "He and I pulled up a supply line and hooked it up."

The two fought the fire as best they could. "The other firefighters got there and contained the fire," Britt said. "They got out about 98 percent of the things in the building and saved about $30,000 to $40,000 worth of equipment."

But the building itself was a total loss, and many items, some irreplaceable, were destroyed. There are emotional scars, too.

"I watched it burn," Britt said. "I'm still dealing with it on a daily basis.

"There were documents that burned, things I didn't even realize at the time. I lost my grandmother's organ that she had given to me. I lost some donated pianos."

Worse, there was no faulty wiring to blame. The fire was deliberately set by an arsonist, who remains at large.

"It wasn't anything personal," Britt said philosophically. "There was a string of arson fires in Pooler at that time.

"Nobody has ever been charged," he said. "There is a suspect, but there's no proof. They'd have to catch him in the act."

The arsonist did much worse damage than destroying a building. "I had to rebuild with no money, no resources," Britt said.

"Between the economy and the fire, it tanked our business," he said. "I sent out emails to all our families in the school and said I didn't know what was going to happen to the school."

Then the miracles started happening. The Pooler Presbyterian Church offered free space for Britt to continue his lessons.

A string of e-mails back and forth between parents of students led to local businessman Ron Walker, co-owner of the Park Center Shopping Plaza in Bloomingdale. He offered Britt a reasonable lease on a 1,100 square-foot space.

"Ron called one day and said he wanted to help out," Britt said. "Without his generosity, we wouldn't be here. He gave us a deal we couldn't refuse.

"Ron is a hardcore Christian," Britt said. "He operates his business and his life that way. Without his working with us, this business wouldn't have been able to get back on its feet.

"Once we worked out the logistics of our new space, friends and families all pulled together and rebuilt the school," he said. "The only thing we paid for was sheetrock. Everything in here was done with love.

"There were lots of late nights in trying to get back," Britt said. "Today, it's a completely different business."

Crossroad Music has six teaching rooms, a large studio and an area for retail sales. "We have three different things going on at all times," Britt said.

The business is about to take a major leap forward. "We're starting a program in the fall designed specifically for homeschoolers," Britt said. "Families will get low-cost, high-quality music education."

That will mean a big increase in the number of students. "We try not to be a revolving door, but kids phase in and out," Britt said. "We have between 70 and 80 students.

"In the fall, we'd like to have 300 students," he said. "On paper, people will tell you it will never happen, but I'm going to shoot for it, anyway."

Volunteerism is a large part of the Community Music philosophy. "We're using community space to house our homeschooling program," Britt said. "Schools and churches let us use their space, and we let them know we'll help them when they need it.

"One thing I have come to believe in is community," he said. "I've been involved in church work since I was in my teens. We do lots of volunteering, giving back to the community."

Indirectly, Crossroad Music also is a counseling service. "It's not just a business, it's a ministry," Britt said. "I talk with the parents and they tell me things that help us talk to the kids.

"They'll say 'We're moving.' 'We're divorcing,' and we try to help the kids deal with it," he said. "Sometimes the least important thing we do here is music."

Parents benefit, too. "We have families going through hard times," Britt said. "Families who have been through hard times themselves can help them, but they would never be able to connect without this program."

Britt admits some of the aspects of running a business interfere with his goals. "I hate advertising, I hate talking about money, because then people categorize you as just wanting their money," he said. "But I have to put food on the table.

"My passion and calling has always been music ministry," Britt said. "A lot of our kids at this school are interested in becoming music pastors."

Britt has six teachers on staff, and he considers them partners in the venture. "We're all on the same playing field," he said.

The offerings at the school include homeschooling music programs, band, orchestra and pre-k classes, as well as group and private lessons in piano, violin, guitar, drums and voice. "It's an enormous program," Britt said.

Britt's own musical abilities were always encouraged. "My parents are musical," he said. "My dad is a drummer, my brother a guitarist.

"I play a little bit of everything. I grew up as a drummer, then learned guitar. My degree is in voice, with a minor in piano."

In earning his degree, Britt had to learn how to play band instruments. "It gives me a solid foundation," he said.

"When a student starts here, I'm able to give them their first lessons," Britt said. "Then I can call in another teacher and tell them I've got some students for them. That's good because the teacher isn't coming out here for just one lesson."

Britt is above all else a devout Christian. "I've always been involved in church, but I tell people I met music before I met God," he said. "As a teenager, I got serious about my faith and I combined my music with my faith. There's no way I could separate the two."

Some people might be bitter in the wake of disaster, but Britt relied on his faith to get him through. "Because of the fire, my faith was deepened," he said. "It wasn't shaken."

Having faith doesn't mean life is easy. "There are times in my life where I've gone through things and I've prayed and said, 'God, where are you?' I've been through some hard times in the past few years," Britt said.

"But as long as people do bad things, bad things are going to happen to good people," he said. "It's just the world we live in. What matters is who you turn to when something bad happens.

"Some people don't want to hear about my church or my faith," Britt said. "But I can't not talk about them."

The store is open to the public, and anyone can buy musical instruments and accessories there. But the main focus is providing the materials the school's students need. "We try not to make parents go anywhere but here," Britt said.

Choosing a musical program can be a challenge. "It depends on the age of the child," Britt said. "For ages 7 to 12, a group class is probably the best. They get to be with their friends and learn music, too. They develop social relationships."

Music education is vital for children, Britt said. "When you're dealing with music, there's a lot of math, science, formulas and counting," he said. "It reinforces everything they're doing at the elementary level.

"Music works with all major math systems," Britt said. "We have to teach them to think abstractly."

Many other areas of study come into play, including history. "When they learn about composers, we're talking about time periods," Britt said. "It spills over into every area, if the teacher does their job as a music educator."

Stephanie Green is a student at Crossroad Music. "I started out with voice and am moving on to piano," she said. "I don't have any big goals, but I want to be able to sing at church."

To pay for her classes, Stephanie volunteers at Crossroad. "My sister worked here for Kris," she said. "I'll clean once a week. Sometimes I help out with paperwork and run errands."

Stephanie said the cost to her is a bargain. "I feel like I'm cheating him, but I'm going to try to do more," she said.

People sometimes ask about the name of the business. "I'm nowhere near a crossroad, but I was at a crossroad in my life when I started it," Britt said. "Every time I type the name out or do a graphic, it's a reminder.

"You can't get through life without God," he said. "I've been through too much in life to believe anything else."

Today, items that once graced the entryway of the first business have been placed in the entryway of the new. Some are scarred by fire, but survived. "The parents see them and know what they mean," Britt said.

Britt worries that people remember only the fire and have forgotten about Crossroad Music. "It seems the word 'fire' with an exclamation point has followed us around," he said. "I don't want that to define us.

"Fire is one of the darkest things because it doesn't discriminate. It destroys everything in its path. We're still a work in progress.

"I want people to know what we do here," Britt said. "I want them to know we're still here, that we're stronger than we've ever been."

For more information about Crossroad Music and its educational programs, visit www.crossroadmusiconline.com or call 912-330-0985.

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Ala. break-in suspect to undergo evaluation (Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal)

Posted: 31 Mar 2010 05:52 AM PDT

Suspect claimed to be Christ

Authorities seek mental evaluation

By Tom Smith

Senior Staff Writer

Published: Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Monday, March 29, 2010 at 9:56 p.m.

RUSSELLVILLE - A mental evaluation will be ordered on a Mississippi man accused of breaking into a Franklin home Sunday proclaiming to be Jesus Christ and telling the property owner he was there to have sex with his wife and daughter.

Jean Timms, 65, Itawamba 417, Gun Town, Miss., is charged with third-degree burglary, attempted indecent exposure and resisting arrest, authorities said.

Timms is accused of breaking into a residence near Franklin 90 and Alabama 11 north of Red Bay in the Pogo community.

Investigators said the break-in awakened the property owner and his family. The owner confronted Timms in the living room, according to reports.

Reports indicate Timms did not have a weapon, but when approached by the homeowner he said he was Jesus Christ and was there to have sex with the man's wife and daughter.

After standing there for a few minutes, Timms then claimed to be Elvis Presley and pulled his pants down to this knees, according to reports.

Deputies said he did not pull his underwear down.

During this exchange, a member of the family called 911, and when deputies arrived, Timms ran out the door with his pants still around his knees and was caught a short distance from the house.

When he was arrested, Timms claimed he was the grandson of Harry Houdini and that he could escape from anywhere.

He was in the Franklin County Jail without bail on Monday.

"Just based on the circumstances of the arrest, we'll be asking the state to conduct a mental evaluation on the suspect when the time comes," said Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing. "I'm just glad (Timms) didn't have a weapon. The homeowner showed great restraint in the incident and no one was hurt."

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@TimesDaily.com

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Holt: Putting past lessons to work in Columbia School Board election (Columbia Missourian)

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 10:03 PM PDT

COLUMBIA — Dan Holt ran for a seat on the Columbia School Board in 2009 and missed becoming a board member by 446 votes out of more than 14,600 total votes cast. He applied for a seat on the board when Rosie Tippin stepped down last spring, but the board appointed James Whitt.

Now, he's running against Whitt and Jan Mees for one of two three-year positions on the board. The election is April 6.

The 2009 campaign was a training experience for both Holt and his campaign manager that year, Kevin Johnson. They learned the value of advertising by seeing how the successful campaigns used it, Holt said. Holt's campaign funding last year was so modest that he did not need to file a campaign disclosure form.

Holt said that since March 10, his campaign has received several "very generous" donations and that his treasurer has filed a disclosure form. Aside from traditional advertising, the campaign is using Facebook to communicate with voters, Holt said.

For 2010, Johnson handed the campaign manager's title over to Kevin Ventrillo, another friend of theirs who works as a manager at VAmortgagecenter.com. John Karle, another longtime friend, is campaign treasurer.

Last year's campaign taught Holt about more than fundraising. He said he got to know all of the candidates and was impressed by the absence of an adversarial tone — everyone shared ideas about what was vital to Columbia public schools, and then the votes were cast.

Holt said it was exciting to see how engaged the public became with issues and the candidates the closer the election got.

He learned to "never underestimate the public's thirst for knowledge, no matter how rudimentary," he said. "Gathering as many scraps of knowledge together, no matter how insignificant they might seem individually," was crucial to being prepared for the job.

Holt has multiple school district connections. His wife, Lisa Holt, is chairwoman of the math department at Rock Bridge High School and used to coach the girls' basketball team there. Their older daughter, Emily, now plays on the team. Audrey, their younger daughter, attends West Junior High School, where she also plays basketball. Holt's sons from a previous marriage, Dan and Kevin, are Rock Bridge graduates.

The family's basketball connection comes through clearly when Holt talks about his life. He has served as a "Team Host" for the state basketball tournament held in Columbia every spring for 18 years. The Team Hosts are part of a collaborative program between Columbia Chamber of Commerce and the Missouri State High School Athletics Association. He hosts a team from out of town every year, helping them get around Columbia, making housing arrangements and sitting on the team's bench during games to help with game-time details.

This year, he faced the prospect of sitting with the team playing against Rock Bridge — his daughter's team — during the state basketball tournament.

"That could be trouble," Holt said. Rock Bridge's loss to Kickapoo High School in the Class 5A quarterfinals prevented that.

Although that might have been a troubling scenario, it's more easily resolved than the kind of budget problems Columbia Public Schools have dealt with in the past three fiscal years. Holt's opinion is that many problems the district faces are due to the decrease in local control over public education.

When districts become too dependent on external funding, Holt said, local interests can be pushed to the side. He said this holds true for districts all over the country.

"Public schools reflect the community they are in, and are an issue for everybody, even those who seek private schools or do homeschooling," since everyone supports them through taxes, he said.

Holt said his student loan finance experience helps him understand the district's financial picture. During his time at the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority, he got the organization involved with the Missouri School-College Relations Commission, which promotes student preparation for college. Another focus of the commission is helping inform legislators about ways to more effectively fund public education in the state.

Holt said he supports the $120 million bond issue, which would provide funding to upgrade buildings and build the district's first high school since Rock Bridge opened in 1973. It will relieve overcrowding, he said, and that helps students and teachers.

"The board needs to concentrate on teacher workload," Holt said. He said three consecutive years of no raises for public school teachers has helped set the stage for teachers and building administrators to be more open to forming a collective bargaining unit through a union. In that scenario, teachers would be more responsible to the union and might be less responsive to the board and district, Holt said.

He said the Missouri State Teachers Association and the Columbia Missouri chapter of the National Education Association are working to give more decision-making power to teachers. It's important, Holt said, to give district teachers "some kind of hope that things will improve" with respect to number of students per class, salary and benefits, and being allowed more prep time during the day.

The question is, how would the district get the money to do those things in these budget-cutting days? A property tax levy increase would be one way to get the money, Holt said. But the reality is, "when the district needs money and the state and federal government do not have it, it comes back to the local level to decide," he said.

Before Holt can make decisions as a board member, though, there is the election.

"I think my message was well-received last year," Holt said, "and I think the votes reflected that."

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Iowa Legislature's record in 2010 (Quad-City Times)

Posted: 30 Mar 2010 04:56 PM PDT

What lawmakers did

* Ban texting by most drivers

* Ban cell phone use/texting for young drivers

* Pass a $5.3 billion general fund budget for fiscal 2011

* Spend nearly $6 billion overall, including one-time sources

* Authorize $150 million more in bonds for infrastructure projects

* Bar domestic abusers from possessing guns

* Reorganize state government to reduce costs

* Offer senior state workers an early retirement incentive

* Close nude-dancing loophole for minors

* Allow state regulation of animal breeding facilities

* Suspend film tax-credit program through June 30, 2013

* Establish state regulation of amateur mixed martial arts events

* Raise fees and fines for most traffic violations

* Modify Iowa's "permit to carry" weapons law

* Give state/county officials more authority to collect past-due debt

* Tighten rules for campaign contributions by corporations

* Reduce, cap and boost accountability for state tax credits

* Require hospitals to notify law officers if patient in custody is released

* Give veterans the day off on Veterans Day

* Expand various benefits for military veterans/families

* Allow Iowa microbreweries to make/sell high-alcohol beer

* Close registration loopholes for out-of-state sex offenders moving to Iowa

* Tighten criminal offense of enticing a minor via Internet or other means

* Toughen penalties for ignoring a traffic signal

* Double fines for certain crimes in disaster areas

* Discourage unreasonable insurance increases due to extraordinary life events

* Allow some underage intoxication convictions to be expunged

* Advocate for bicycle-related protections on highways

* Require back-seat belt usage for passengers under age 18

* Allow back-seat belt violators aged 14 or older to be charged

* Restrict release of genetic testing information

* Notify workers/state of 25 or more layoffs or plant closings

* Reduce cost of river dredging via pilot projects in Linn and Black Hawk counties

* Impose MidAmerican Energy surcharge to study feasibility of a nuclear plant

* Encourage local governments to use smart planning principles

* Bring candidate "drafting" movements under campaign reporting law

* Modify approved uses of state funds for home-schooling assistance

* Expand age eligibility for low-income family planning services

* Expand IowaCare program to regional hospitals/care centers

* Allow all-terrain vehicles on certain rural roads and small-town streets

* Provide protections for car dealership franchise

* Provide coverage for autism in state employee health insurance plans

* Expand grandparents' visitation rights

What they didn't do

* Authorize public vote on constitutional man-woman only marriage amendment

* Raise major state taxes

* Give cities authority to raise hotel/motel tax

* "Couple" state tax code with federal income tax breaks

* Establish public employment "fair share" nonunion dues for bargained benefits

* Legalize betting on professional sports if Congress takes action

* Place speed-monitoring cameras in highway work zones

* Mandate use of ethanol-blended fuel

* Authorize online gambling options

* Allow pari-mutuel tracks to pay to end dog racing

* Close any of Iowa's four mental health institutes

* Allow workers to accrue paid sick leave

* Bolster enforcement of open meetings/open records laws

* Base some project planning on 500-year floodplain

* Expand choice of doctor for injured workers

* Require employers to pay "prevailing wage" on government projects

* Allow major poker tournaments at casinos

* Change requirement for casino referenda every eight years

* Ease restrictions on sale of liquor at convenience stores

* Change rules for spreading manure on frozen ground

* Change school start-date law

* Require state registration of large charitable groups raising money in Iowa

* Discourage imposter musical acts with no link to original famous bands

* Allow licensing of naturopathic physicians

* Require drivers to operate headlights when raining

* Expand domestic abuse laws to "dating" relationships

* Restrict liquid propane shutoffs during winter

* Allow homeschooling parents to teach driver's education to their children

* Require "age appropriate" sex education in K-12 curriculum

* Allow medical marijuana use and create compassion centers

* Accommodate breastfeeding women who express milk at workplace

* Mandate use of 5 percent blended diesel

* Expand graduated driver's license restrictions

* Require rear license plate only on vehicles

* Tighten regulation of pay-day loans

* Create penalty for teenagers transmitting "sexting" messages

* Impose tuition limits for regent universities

* Develop/administer statewide exit test for high school graduates

* Require drug testing for welfare or jobless benefit recipients

* Ban state agencies from selling naming rights for state buildings or property

* Require safety helmets for motorized bike operators under age 17

* Create state permit for body piercing and parental consent for minors

* Increase compulsory school attendance age from 16 to 18

* Change great seal of Iowa to remove reference to soldier with "plow in his rear"

* Change inheritance and parent-child relationship law for post-humus conceptions

* Allow married couples to change prenuptial/other agreements

* Allow use of motorcycles with detachable stabilizing rear wheels

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