A Nashville puppeteer visited the Spring Hill Public Library and performed a shadow puppet show for children to teach them about poetry. The 45-minute performance used puppets and stories to engage the kids and tie themes back to rhythm, rhyme, images, and narrative structures in poetry. Officials in Maury County are also challenging residents to collectively lose 8,000 pounds by Mule Day in April to promote community health.

1. In the
shadows
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Nashville puppeteer Matt Sandbanks brought his shadow puppet show to the Spring Hill Public Library last week to
educate local children about poetry. One of Sandbanks’ vignettes paid tribute to the late Shel Silverstein’s poem, “The
Crocodile’s Toothache.” (Staff photo by Jay Powell)
BY JAY POWELL
jpowell@c-dh.net
Shadow puppetry is
one of the oldest forms of
storytelling and Nashville
puppeteer and poet, Matt
Sandbanks, brings the
centuries-old tradition to
children in a new way.
Sandbanks visited The
Spring Hill Public Library
on last week and brought
his “A Wild Goose Chase!”
performance to a crowd
of around 50 children and
parents. The 45-minute
performance was told
in a series of vignettes,
often tying back to the
themes of rhythm, rhyme,
image and narrative. It
is designed to teach kids
the basic key elements of
poetry in a fun and engag-
ing way, Sandbanks said.
“It is a semi-interactive
show, there’s lots of ‘call
and response,’ and it’s a
big push for the 811 sec-
tion of the library,” Sand-
banks said. “I try to get
kids to try poetry when
they may not have been
thinking about it, especial-
ly in this case with winter
break.”
The performance
included a number of off
the wall characters and
Nashville man
teaches poetry
through puppets
See SHADOWS, Page 3A
Mayor Charlie Norman has joined in this effort
by signing the Team of Mules health initia-
tive proclamation on Dec. 22 with Lydia Jolly,
Community Partnerships and Outreach Direc-
tor and Lindsey Howell, Program Director of
the Wellness & Aquatics Complex to inspire
others in Maury County to take part in the
challenge. (Courtesy photo)
Losing the weight
In an effort to create a healthier commu-
nity, officials at the Maury County Wellness
and Aquatics Center are challenging county
residents to lose the weight of a team of 8
mules — 8,000 pounds — by Mule Day on
April 11.
Residents, officials pledge to
lose 8,000 pounds
See WEIGHT, Page 3A
From Staff Reports
Haslam prepares for second term, reflects on first
Tenn. Governor
discusses health
care, education
NASHVILLE — In a
first term packed with his-
toric changes in Tennessee
K-12 education, state civil
service, lawsuit awards
and other areas, Gov. Bill
Haslam says it’s another
one of his achievements
that he sees rising to No. 1.
“I’d put Tennessee
Promise at the top,” the
Republican said of his
program offering all state
high school graduates free
tuition at 27 two-year pub-
lic community colleges and
technical schools.
The governor’s com-
ments came in a wide-
ranging Christmas week
interview with the Times
Free Press. In it, he
reflected on his first-term
successes, lessons he’s
learned during his first
four years, the challenges
he faces in his second term
that starts Jan. 17 and what
his political future might
hold.
Asked to name his top
three accomplishments,
the governor cited Ten-
nessee Promise, the often-
controversial changes he
pushed in K-12 education
and an overhaul of the
state’s civil service system.
Citing the long-term
impact of the Tennessee
Promise and K-12 educa-
tion reforms, Haslam said,
“I really think that will
create a different business
environment and employ-
ment opportunities for
people down the road.”
“But,” the governor cau-
tioned, “you’re not going to
see the impact next year or
the year after that.”
Haslam said that while
Tennessee Promise,
enacted last spring by
state lawmakers, is just
now taking applications for
its first class, the “chance
to dramatically increase
the number of students
who go to school beyond
12th grade, I think, is a big
deal.”
Tennessee students
apparently think so, too.
Of the state’s 65,000 high
school seniors, 56,000 have
applied for Tennessee
Promise scholarships. The
scholarships, which are
funded by interest derived
from a special education
lottery reserve, will be
awarded for the first time
to the Class of 2015.
Not all those who have
applied will go — maybe
half, state officials esti-
mate — but for Haslam
that represents a real
stride in his “Drive to 55”
program. That’s his focus
on pushing the percentage
of Tennesseans with tech-
nical school certificates,
two-year community col-
lege and four-year univer-
sity degrees from the cur-
rent one-third of adults to
55 percent by 2025.
Tennessee Promise has
drawn national attention,
and Haslam in December
outlined the initiative in a
White House summit on
college education.
State House Minority
Leader Craig Fitzhugh,
D-Ripley, was complimen-
tary about the program but
noted that Democrats in
the past had discussed put-
ting more of the lottery’s
huge reserves to use.
“It’s his program —
don’t get me wrong,”
Fitzhugh said. “But the use
By ANDY SHER
Chattanooga Times-Free Press
“I don’t think you should
be governor for more
than eight years.”
— BILL HASLAM, governor
See HASLAM, Page 5A
Despair fades with repair to woman’s home
V
icki Miller checked
her bank account
balance the morn-
ing after Christmas. The
voice over the phone came
back with
a startling
response:
Negative
$12.
The
Columbia
senior care-
giver was
hoping she
would have a
few dollars in
her account.
She wanted
to buy milk and tea for her
29-year-old special-needs
son, Daniel, after spending
Christmas inside their three-
bedroom mobile home in
Countryside Village.
“I thought my check
would post at midnight,” she
said. “It didn’t, so we went
without. I thought to myself,
what else can go wrong?”
Miller, 58, a 6-year of
Columbia, was about to find
out.
Around 7:30 p.m. Dec.
27, the Millers were play-
ing Facebook games online.
Daniel stood up and walked
into the living room. Sec-
onds later, Vicki heard a
crash louder than thunder.
“Everything shook, and
things were flying off
shelves,” she said. “I walked
around to see if anything
had exploded or caught on
fire. I was checking to see if
Daniel was all right.”
Miller looked outside and
saw a neighbor, who broke
the news. A van had crashed
See REPAIR, Page 3A
James
Bennett
Editor’s Notes
Neighbors rally
around Columbia
homeowner
Vicki Miller’s damaged mobile home is towed away from Countryside Village in Columbia.
The home was damaged after a neighbor’s van hit it. (Staff photo by James Bennett)