Upper Cumberland Camera; #1137

Good evening and welcome to the upper Cumberland camera. Tonight Dr. Barbara Runnels dean of the Tennessee Tech School of Nursing will show you some tips on how you can quit smoking. And Norman aquatics director of the Y will tell you about this morning programs. Name. One Living south as compelling. We'll talk to Representative Jerry Hargrove unhealed most names a visionary of this project. But first this story. What is country music star Charlie Daniels have in common with actor Danny Glover and songwriter John Berry. They're united together in the fight for literacy. We don't believe that we don't seem to really understand that there are people there's so many people in this country whose lives are defined and limited. By the fact that they can read. And that's when it

is it's a limitation. It doesn't allow you to manifest your dreams or to to be to be full of home. So learning to read is is it's life affirming I consider to be life or from. I've been a longtime supporter of adult literacy programs and currently serve as chairperson for stars that support Tennessee adult readers. When I was asked if I'd do a song with John Berry about a literacy I jumped at the chance. I'm glad that country music can be used to help adults improve their lives through radio. As a songwriter I'm dependent upon the written word. I can't imagine how empty life would be without words. This cassette which is a partnership between Liberty Records and corps literacy pass it on or raise money nationally for adult literacy programs so that any adult who wants to will have the opportunity to learn to read. This past summer all three were on hand in Nashville at fanfare to promote the Corrs literacy campaign. Pass it on. We hear.

Ya. The movie we're going to hear where America. The air. The area can carry the opera there where someone who has a camera could see it there can come over here people are hooked here of course about there's a program that's going to pass and if you get here from here back with you it was a young woman speaking very much. I have a vested interest in this program because

I'm dyslexic so learning to read was a very difficult and challenging and very painful. Endeavor for me. I could have been one of the many statistics. One of the many men and women who basically do that when able to are are unable to achieve their own self-worth and to grow and develop into pursue their dreams because of the inability to read in Putnam County hope Lancaster is the coordinator for adult education. She hopes this record The bottom line will bring new attention to the wonderful programs available for non readers. We have a pretty comprehensive adult education program here in Patton County and we offer services for it all to you have not graduated from high school. Well there are several different parts to that program we have. A very large GED program here where students come and prepare for their GED. We have basic skills classes. We have an adult

high school where students can come and actually pick up the credits that they missed in high school and get a fully accredited high school diploma. Part of that program is part of the adult education program is a new family literacy program where parents and children preschool children come and learn together. We also have a jobs program where the students learn basic job skills as well as their academic skills. We have sign language classes we have English as a Second Language classes. And we have a very comprehensive adult reading program for adults who can't read. Yes that's impressive. A lot of that is quite a large program we serve about 700 students a year in our program. That's how many you're serving but how many more are out there that you could serve. There are approximately 40 something percent that that are over the age of 25 that could benefit from our program either they don't have their high school diploma or their academic skills they

may be below a 12th grade and even though they have their diplomas they may be eligible to come back and study and upgrade their skills so we have a pretty large population here. What sort of needs do you have. Try and track those other day. Just getting the word out and we appreciate this opportunity to be able to let people know especially for our adult anon readers. It's hard to let them know that we have this problem they're not reading our printed material but we just need for people to be aware that we have this program that can help them we need for employers to be away or so that I can tell their employees that might need to go back and upgrade their skills. We need for agencies to know so that their clients could they could let their clients know and it might make them more employable and help the ones that maybe that are on welfare improve their situation by improving their education. And just particularly to let the people themselves know that that we have this help that they can come back and learn to radar they

can get their GED or get their high school diploma and all of our services are free to them. So it doesn't cost them does not cost them anything. They just call us here at the Board of Education and we can tell them about the problems that we have a viable and send them to the appropriate class. If you this is since this is a free service and you have all these great different a variety of kinds the kinds of classes that will meet different needs. What's the biggest drawback for a student not come. What's the hardest thing for them to decide to make that step to join a class. Well there really are several factors. Sometimes there's an embarrassment factor people don't realize how many other people are in their same situation and I sometimes feel I'm the only one that didn't get my diploma or they can't read or whatever. And you know they hesitate to make that step to come into a program but realizing that we have seven to eight

hundred people that come here that's one factor. Tam is also a factor of you know adults have jobs and they have families in that it's really hard we track to accommodate they about offering classes in different locations throughout the canyon at different times we have day afternoon and evening classes. So we try as much as we can to accommodate the adult schedules but those are some really major problems that we have. Now there isn't a new song with the album yes that is really exciting that addresses the fact of someone not being able to read a thing called the bottom line. That's right. Tell us about that. OK. There is a national promotion between Coors and the Liberty Records and they just really want to make people away or raise awareness about the problem of illiteracy. And I published a tape called banding together for literacy. There are several popular country music artists on this type I think there are six songs on the tape. The bottom line is one of the songs on that taken it is a song about illiteracy.

It just wants to let people know that yes there is a problem. And it also helps us to get the word out that we have programs they can help. Thank you. Thank you thank. You. Thank you. Thank. You.

At least. What I just want to encourage everybody to their employees know their friends and their family members know that we're here and that we're free program and we can help anybody with and you know that made any of our services within adult education all of the counties within this region and I know you serve several regions other than Putnam County every county has an adult education program and they can call their board of education and find out about the adult education program. And here in Putnam County our numbers 5 2 6 9 7 7 7 we just want everybody to call and and refer their friends or family members or call and roll our program if they need our help. The banding together in the fight for literacy cassette featuring the bottom line can be ordered through the Putnam County Board of Education.

Proceeds from the cassette will be used for the adult literacy campaign in Putnam County. For the tape called Hope Lancaster at 6 1 5 5 2 6 9 7 7 7. After January 1st. The holidays are a great time to visit the YMCA but did you know that you can be a part of their swimming program in January to learn more we spoke with Ann Norman director of aquatics and physical sports for the Google YMCA. We have a lot of out of town guests for the holidays we have a lot of senior members that bring in grandchildren and this is a nephews and other people bring cousins and brothers and sisters and we get to meet a lot of families during the holidays. Its a lot of fun. Give us this time to do some additional time. Trying to have a. Right to run a holiday camp. And we've also used this pit weeks to run a junior lifeguard camp which is something we've never done before but

we designed this program in an attempt to teach the younger the younger junior high kids about the responsibilities of being a lifeguard and also to prepare them physically for some of the skills then Durrance feels and the other skills are quite difficult. And if they don't have any preparation and they go directly into lifeguard training it's really difficult. So this was an attempt to prepare them. It's gone really well. What are some of the things that we saw the girls do earlier. They did introduce the Strad jumping 3 which they're supposed to do and keep the victim inside so their head stays above water and they did a couple of tired swimmer assist. And then we saw them doing some of their competitive swimming strokes. Both of the young ladies they were on camera pointing. So they were practicing some of their swimming skills as well. Now

a lot of folks would think that January is a time you could take swimming lessons. But it is the best ride it's it's never too cold and the walk never took all that the way the air temperature here on the pool deck is between 92 and 94. The polls 88 and the locker rooms are between 75 76 degrees. So it's a it's a perfectly safe place to bring your child and let him slam a lot of people like to dramatize him on the day and then go home. So this perfect place to go swimming at the time. What kind of class do you offer in the winter. We offer everything in the winter that we do in the summer. Of course our numbers are is great but we offer everything from the water baby classes which started six months and I include the parent in the water until the age of 3 and then we have the preschool program that goes from three to five and then we have our school life program that goes from 6 to 14 and all the preschool classes and all the adult

classes are all for morning and evening course our school age classes are offered only in the evening. But the schedule in the afternoon goes 3:30 to 6:00 schedule in the morning starts at 9:00 and goes to a want to clock. What's an advantage for a parent to enroll their child. Swim class during the winter. A lot of times from summer to Summer Of course I have children that I've had for year after year after year and they do progress from year to year but it's amazing what they forget from year to year and especially I've seen it since we've had this indoor pool will have a talent swimming lessons for the summer. They come back to swim with cats or sycamores ESPN and they jump in and expect to do what they did in the summer and they can't. It's like basketball or football or softball or any other skill that you don't perform the skill you lose some of it. So continuing to the winner helps the child retain those skills and build on them every year rather than just maintaining a minimal level of proficiency and just try to regain that everyone would love to see more people out we

have a great style the beginning swimmers in Putnam County the whole point. We have a lot of people in here but I know there are a lot of people that do not swim and we'd love to have. We've never no one has ever left this while not learning to swim. If they decided they wanted to. So that's a pretty good record and we'd like to reach more people. If you'd like more information about swimming lessons at the YMCA call 5 2 1 1 3 3. If your number one resolution for 1995 is to quit smoking then the contents of this little box could be a good friend to you. The freedom from smoking program is sponsored by the Tennessee Tech School of Nursing. It uses education as well as emotional support to help you quit smoking for good. There's no fees no dues and no hassles if you don't quit. To find out more about this program we

spoke with Dr. Barbara Reynolds dean of the Tennessee Tech School of Nursing. The no smoking program it's called the freedom from smoking group. And we meet every Thursday from 6:00 to 7:00 Cookeville General Hospital. This is a group act that sponsored by the school of nursing. And we have been doing this now for about three years. We started when I could feel community clinic was and was going on and the physicians there particularly Dr. Chuck Womack. Said that there were so many people that he was discovering that had problems related to smoking that we just had to do something about it so he asked me if school and nursing of our faculty and our students might try to have a program that would be helpful to those people who were interested in stopping smoking so the physicians were pushing it. And that was a big help and so for the years of the Cookeville community clinic was going up. We held it right up there in the in the clinic on Saturday mornings but then. After the

clinic folded it was because of tender care and it wasn't needed anymore. We decided to continue at the School of Nursing decided to continue it and so we have been having that now for about a year and a half over in the conference room be near the cafeteria at koko General Hospital. When a person first comes because we have three facilitators there and sometimes four. Then the new people tend to be moved aside to another part of the room and they get the introduction of what this is about it and some information taken about their smoking habits and they fill out a form about how many cigarettes they're smoking and when they started smoking and so we get a little history about them. And then they're asked to write down some of the reasons that they want to stop smoking and they'll write down things like. I'm coughing a lot. My doctor said it would be better for my heart if I didn't. I'm having bronchitis

every every winter. I've been in the hospital. I don't I get winded when I go up stairs and so forth and so. These are the folks that write down one of the problems and they may say because my spouse doesn't like me to smoke or my business is down or they're in the Clean Air Act and they're not letting any smoking in their company anymore. And so we put down all these reasons that people want to stop. I want to smell better. I don't want to have it stink you smell or my teeth are yellow or my hands are yellow and I want to give up some of those things and so we really encourage them to write as many reasons down as we can because we think that's going to help them as they go along. Some of the suggestions that we make are that. People keep a record of when ever they smoke and that we aim for a day maybe three weeks later. And up to that point that will be the quit date. Three weeks after that

point they become very conscious about their cigarette smoking. Because as I said it's such a habit that people just pull the cigarette out without even thinking. And so so the things we suggest as they wrap up their package of cigarettes and a piece of paper with a rubber band. So that when they want a cigarette they have to unwrap it. And then they have to write down this piece of paper. The time they want a cigarette. What what their stress level is where they are at the time. And then they have to wrap the cigarette back up again. And put it back in their pocket. Doing that helps them to be aware of. I am taking a cigarette. Something I think we've suggested is that. One of one of one of my friends found that it was helpful. To leave her cigarettes in the basement so she had to go to the basement and she smoke standing

by the laundry. It was a different place and she usually smoked in so she had to go smoke there. And made it very clear what she was doing. Other things that are helpful I think is is to try to avoid people that you've relaxed with over cigarettes or to tell them that you are giving up cigarettes and carry with you a half a straw if that's what you do and second the straw Well you. Well you have a coffee or a drink with someone. Very often coffee and cigarettes or a drink. And cigarettes of liquor or wine or beer tend to be associated. And so it's helpful to try to reduce those associations as you get into this process of moving toward your quit day. Other things of course are. Eating celery and crunchy things or

popcorn. Things that give you that gratification oral gratification and those things are sometimes helpful. If it's a cigarette before you get up in the morning go suggest you go brush your teeth have a drink of cold water. Drink lots of water because you want to flush your system out. Have your coffee standing up there does a lot of different things that you can suggest to people that change the pattern or change the habits that they have and each person has to decide what works best. But we we come in with the suggestions and and they take those suggestions. I think one of the things that that is helpful in one of our. Group sessions we have a husband who's coming who's trying to help his wife as he was saying he used to nigger on it. Well I guess if nagging helped we'd have clinic or groups to help people neg better.

But it doesn't help and so. Anybody who is listening who has a smoker in the house who's trying to give up smoking. Let me suggest to you that you encourage them because if they're trying to give it up and they have a slip they're going to feel guilty enough they don't need another layer of guilt. And so to say to them when they go without a cigarette for a while. You're doing real well you're just doing fine. You can make it. You can do it. And that kind of encouragement I think is helpful to the smoker. One of the things I think that's been a saving grace for us has been the nicotine patch. If the person has a personal physician then that physician will prescribe the patch if they're going if they're under 10 care they can get the patch prescribed in one of the 10 care settings. Look at the patch the patch looks like this.

And you pull it off and wear it. No other. Some people have thought well if they just wear it for 12 hours and then they don't need to sleep with it they'll put the other half on will that ruins it. It's got to be kept in one piece. The patches which are fairly new within the last maybe five years. Generally help the person to get through the first part of their addiction. Addiction is. Probably only a third of the problem. Not only is addiction but it's a habit. And it also is a psychological emotional. Release. And so we have to deal with both things. If we put if people go on the nicotine patch. They go on a patch for this larger amount 21 milligrams. For about four to six weeks and again that's up to the doctor or the patient who gives an input and

says Well I think I could go from the 21 down to the 14. And so then they go to a 14 milligram patch which is less than 21 so they're doing decreasing the nicotine. And then after another four weeks they go down to a seven milligram patch which is even less nicotine they're getting into their bodies. And we think that is absolutely essential that they go to a support group at the same time they have a buddy system that they have some people that kind of report to. At that same time they are talking about how they're dealing with stress or how they're dealing with anger. What are they doing instead of smoking. Are they getting more exercise. Are they eating properly. Are they getting lots of fluids. All of those things help to improve the person's general life. And this is the 21 milligram and the other ones are just a little bit smaller. It's important a person finishes using the patch that they put it away they don't leave it around where where

children are. Animals can get it so they it's a good idea to keep the package came in and wrap it up and throw it out. The patch provides a constant blood level nicotine level so that there is nothing up and out of the cigarette smoking. If a person is on cigarettes then they take the nicotine in and its brings the blood level up for a while and then it goes down and they need another one and so you see this kind of blood level occurring with a nicotine patch the blood level nicotine level is pretty much level across a 24 hour period and that helps a person not have that tremendous drive that craving for the cigarettes Tenn care will pay for drugs for emphysema for bronchitis. For all these treatments but not for patches which you know it says a lot about our system which focuses on treatment and prevention. We have some money left over

from the quote field clinic that is in it. In an account so that we can provide patches to people who don't have insurance to cover it who rent and care. What can you say that it could really encourage people to stop smoking. I think I would tell about the patches that the patches really make it easier for people that if they've tried to quit before without the nicotine patch. They might want to try the patch. That they also need it with a support group and there is a support group and people have been very much helped by having both the support of the patch. It's got to come from those people though. I mean a legging doesn't do it. This is said earlier. Everybody knows that smoking is bad for you. And I think that people want to they need the encouragement they need to know where to go and that they will be received even if they have a slip or relapse that they will

get some help and that there is a group of people willing to help with it with it. I guess that's what I would say it's got to come from them that that first step has got to come from the person him or herself. And then we can help them after they have the freedom from smoking program. It's Thursday evenings from 6:00 until 7:00 p.m. It could be General Hospital in conference room be if you'd like more information you can call 3 7 2 3 2 1 3 or 5 2 hate 5 1 7 6. For many years the completion of Highway 111 or CT or J has been anticipated by the residents of the upper Cumberland earlier this month with section of 111 which runs from Dunlap over the mountain into Chattanooga was dedicated. We

had the opportunity to talk to State Representative Jerry Hargrove about the dedication. When we met him at the cityscape ceremony last week and because of the things Mr. Hargrove has to say Don and Richard Castle traveled to Sparta to talk with her old Mose Sims about his vision for the region but first representative Hargrove Representative Roy Hargrove. I understand that you participated last week in an exciting event. A I guess dedication of quarter j. That's right Ana last week we finally opened the last leg of quarter j I want to live and you can now travel over to a Soddy Daisy without all the winding roads and it makes obviously it's going to cut down on the time. But it's also a very beautiful drive and we were able to do that last week it is the dream come true for a lot of people and unfortunately a gun record cannot be there he was called away at the last minute too. A little chat he needed to have with President Clinton that day everybody probably knows about by now and he was not there but that's one of the things that he had very nearly worn to be it was the opening

of I want to leaven which was by the way one of the things when he first was elected he said he would do which was to open up 111 all the way across or quarter j o b across from the Kentucky border down to Chattanooga and that was the last leg of his to complete. Now I understand that one of the reasons that they wanted Coretta JM 9/11 of course we all love not having to go over Signal Mountain anymore. But one of the reasons is to open up economic development like in Sparta and McMinnville and some of those areas. That's exactly the reason behind that kind of develop in the rural area was to bring the infrastructure to the places that were neglected in the past. And if you look at the map other than course Chattanooga would benefit a big metropolitan area but the rest of the towns and communities along the way are are the more rural areas. And what was the last to do it would allow the trucking industry to come right to the door of these smaller factories that are already in the smaller communities and hopefully will encourage others to locate there because they get their product a verse about two thirds of the United States within just a matter of hours

by using that that quarter as the first leg on the way to the market. Now I understand that this was the dream of a spider resident a long time ago. Well that's true of most CMs who was at the ceremony and pissed by Didn't help cut the ribbon along with some other people. Thirty years ago or more I had a dream that they could bring or of a road like this to the upper Conlon area and they set down around coffee and with different legislative bodies no travel to Washington and to put it mildly it was a dream come true for Mr. Solmes and and his other compatriots for over the years and he was very very proud of it in an hour course load and I want to say his praises today because it without thinkers like that. Back then we wouldn't have this and I'm mad I had to Moe's it is still thinking about highways for this region and has an idea about two major interstates coming north and south right through using part of these roads to completely and further open up other rural areas of this upper Hermann region to commerce and I understand he was at the dedication

also. He was at the dedication and someone asked me as a DJ and he was willing to tell I won't say because he acts and looks much younger than what he is but he said he was. But yes he was there and I know with a great deal of pride he and the others it really thought this up and dreamed about it a long time ago. I'm sure they all were very glad to see it happen. Mr. Simms I guess last week was the relation of a dream for you when 111 was completed from at least all the way through the state of Tennessee. Yes it certainly was. We go back to 19 and 63. When we organized a group of us. Association here called up a common Development Association which later on as you know became the upper common development district. Which functions today. And the whole idea was to. Pull together as many counties as we could. So we could have some sort of

influence. On the state government as well as the federal government. And get as much federal funds state funds as we could to improve conditions throughout the upper common. And. We went to Washington for a trip in 1990 was 1963. And we were. We went down to see. The undersecretary of commerce at that time was Franklin D Roosevelt Jr.. And at the at that time President Kennedy was. This was before he of course died and. Was working on the Appalachian program. Program stretching from New York down through through Tennessee. And we were sitting around his desk. About 12 of us from the upper common region. And as I remember the group.

Included and. Hubert Bennett of Coke bill. The judge at that time Jimmy Mosher. BILL TURNER a year from Monterey. And Lester from Livingston. Talked to hock Howard from Livingston. And Peter one from neighboring St. who became there was a mayor. And we had from Spada Bill Mitchell JD haste and. You call Mark. Warner and Jim and others. And we were. Talking about the possibility of this Appalachian program. Of what it would do. To. Our. Area in the upper common. At some point during the conversation Mr. Roosevelt was called out of the office for some reason. And we looked over on his desk. Ben and I did

and there was this. Amount A tender scene. There was a red line coming right down through it looked like our area. We couldn't tell very much about it but when he came back Mr. Roosevelt came back in the office. Ask him. What the mout. Portrayed there what was a map about. And I said is that a new highway and he turned the map over and said No no it's Ed. just somebody's imagination. So we're not thinking about highways in the program. We left there and we call Governor Clement. You would you have been there and we called him immediately and just see if he knew anything about a proposed highway and you said no he did not. And he called Mr. Pack. Who was commissioner of highways at that time and he knew nothing about it. I guess six months after that or it might have been a year. Mr. Rose about came down to Tennessee. To talk about the Appalachian program at this

time. President Kennedy had agreed to go forward with it. And they held a conference over in Knoxville in the Andrew Johnson Hotel. And we took a delegation over to that meeting. And Hubert Bennett and I were sitting. On the aisle. And Mr. Pack David Pack commissioner of highway just. Came down the aisle with an old friend of mine. And I hadn't seen in about two years. His name was Sylvester Ridge. And Mr. Ridge. Was assigned to my office in the Taliban during World War Two. He was a road engineer and he was with the Bureau of roads at that time in Washington. And he was sent to Brazil to oversee. The numerous. One way is that we were building to ferry airplanes over to Europe and through the Far East into China. And.

I got to know him quite well and saw him frequently in Washington after the war. And I they took a seat maybe three or four rows ahead of us and I went down and. Tapped him on the shoulder and I said Sylvester What are you doing in the mountains of Tennessee. He turned around and you said what I was hoping to see you. And you said I've been made vice chairman of highway. Or the Appalachian program. And I said you're the man we want to talk with immediately. And we did set up a meeting. He didn't go to the launch that Governor Clement was holding for Mr. Roosevelt. And we had a meeting in one of the rooms of the hotel. And we pointed out to him that this highway should come down. Through Tennessee. Through. Pickett County Overton County. Quiets. Going to Van Buren Sequoia. And

Hamilton. And he said well we haven't decided exactly where we're going to put this highway. We we called it corridor J. And these record doors that they have built from New York. Down through Pennsylvania West Virginia Virginia Kentucky and Tennessee. He said Have you got a map can you show me what you're talking about. We didn't have a map so I sent. You a mortar and Jimmy about to get a road map and I got a road map and came back. And he said OK. If anybody's got a pen or a pencil. Draw a line and tell me where you where you're taught what you're talking about. So J.D. Hasan had a pencil one of these sayings and had three or four corners in it. And we drew a red line. From Pickett County down to Hamilton County. And we said you have a highway already with US Highway 1 2 7.

What we need to do is bring this. As centrally located as you can between Boston and Nashville where to observe the greatest number of people. He didn't make a decision there and he said Well we look at it and we give it consideration. Well that highway we opened as you know last Wednesday. And it's a beautiful highway. And now. We're looking toward. Hoping. To create two alternate understated ways. One would be alternate 6 6 5. It would probably come down from Louisville. To Salonika to Gainesville to Cookeville Sparta. Spencer Dunlap and Chattanooga. The other alternate way would come off. At Mt. Vernon Kentucky.

And come down through. Albany. Into Pickens County town. Livingston Cookeville Sparta. McMann Vale. Tell the Houma Manchester and tell the Houma. Lincoln County. Go into hospital. And from Huntsville over to Decatur and go down to the Gulf Coast on 65. I 665 you're leaving Chicago or Atlanta or Florida would reduce the mileage by 100 miles. If you're coming down 75 775 coming off in Mt. Vernon. And going to the Gulf Coast and your brain if you reduce the mileage by 50 miles. This would relieve the congestion and the pollution. That the problems that you have now in Nashville and Knoxville. And Chattanooga. We believe. That there is a great marriage in these two

proposals. Exactly of what the new Congress will do. The course is anybody's guess. The Democrats want to cut. And reduce the expenditures of the government. They're going to cut the Department of Transportation. Mr. Clinton says. And of course Republicans want to do the same thing. But. The important thing is the problems that exist in Nashville and Knoxville and Chattanooga are not going to go away. In fact you're here. You're going to build more automobiles where you've got more people coming. Into the world. So they're not going to go away. You're somebody is going to have to do something about it. Exactly what that would be is in dividers yesterday. The moment. That's where we are today. Why do you think highways are important to our region. Well just to give YOU WANT TO example. The.

Recumbent development district which is headquartered in Cote Vale. Has kept statistics on the job. New jobs created in this area. And would you believe that 14000 new jobs have been created since we opened up sections of want to happen. How have you seen Sparta changed over the years and the opera company and in general as a result of progress. And do you think progress is necessary. Well. As long as you're going to increase the population. You've got to have something. For those new children to do. I think we I don't know exactly what the number of graduates are in our high school. In the 18 of these 13 counts. But it runs in two to several thousand. Sure you have to

progress. What are they going to do for a living. You can't stop and say well there should be a full country here we don't want to disturb it. It's environmental they valuable. But. That's not going to give jobs to these young people coming out of high school or college. You either move forward our. Guess or stop having children. Which. I primarily came down today to talk to you about the highway but of course once I arrived I realized what a distinguished career that you've had. And I wondered if you know we've had presidents recently that have not really survived over one term. And you started your diplomatic career and Franklin Roosevelt. And of course he had but four terms in office a clear figure that is possible today for a president. I don't know it's a very interesting question. And.

You have Mr. Carter serving only one term. You had Mr Bush serving only one term. And with the speed with which information travels today by your TV station. Radio. It could be that we may be in a position today in a situation where it very much like the British. If you have problems with the parliamentary system in Britain. The president and the prime minister may serve only six months. And he's gone. It could be that. When the. Great information and knowledge that comes through the TV. Programmes today we may be in a situation where. You're looking at every detail of what the president does. And. It in lightens the people. It forces

knowledge to them that they've never had before. And it could be that we may be in a in the future in a situation where a man serves only four years and he's out. Horses are very common in Britain. He could serve two years he can serve one year or he could serve six years. If they can't agree. The House and large in the House of Commons. Goes for prime minister. I don't know whether we're coming to that or not. As I said you know you started your diplomatic career under under Franklin Delano Roosevelt and then you continued through a number of presidents. Perhaps as a New Year's. Treat for our viewers you might give us a little bit of what you thought about each president. Well I was in the career service and you take an examination for that. And in the career service you're not a political appointee.

Is your career service just like the military. And you serve the president whoever he is regardless of whether you're Democrat or Republican. You're you're duty you're stupid. And. It makes no difference. Political wise you have NO NO interest in the party you may want to vote Democratic or Republican that's your privilege but you serve whoever is the president. And. I served under Roosevelt under Mr. Truman. Streisand How are there Mr. Kennedy. And Mr. Johnson. And. Mr Nixon. And they are all different people. They're different people. The one president that impress me. With.

Being absolutely conscious of the importance of what he was doing was Mr. Truman. Several times I went to the White House with problems that we had it only he could make the decision. We would we would run a run up against a dead wall and we'd have to take it to the president. He would make that decision. But he always made in favor of the OF THE NATION. Of the people and by the might be tough. He might be a member he made a decision there devolved a poker playing friend of his. Very close friend. But he made the decision. Mr. Nixon I worked with him when he was vice president. And. He had I believe the most return to of mine that I've ever seen in any individual. You could tell him something

and. He would remember it weeks later. You could give him a document you don't give the president a piece of paper more than two or two and a half paragraphs he doesn't have time to read a whole sheaf of papers. And you've got to boil it down and get to the very point. Mr. Nixon when read a document maybe two or three paragraphs. And I've seen him get up and repeated almost verbatim. Just like that. I've never seen an individual with a retentiveness that he had. In his head. Mr. Eisenhower was not an easy going person he was an easy going person yes. Very friendly very outgoing. And. I served as his layers on officer. At the heads of state meeting and the U.N. in New York. Which involved all the heads of governments around the world. Remember that's when cruise ship

took his shoe off and beat on the desk. To make a point. But he handled there used people. These dignitaries. King princes prime ministers. With great ease. It was impressive. Never raised his voice. But if he had to say something. That involved some kind of a problem that we had with a huge chip or someone else. He would do so. But. He did it in such a way that the other person. Would accept it. Mr. Roosevelt was. An outgoing person. He had a great smile and he gave you a hand shake it you would remember. And if you know he couldn't walk. Which you never saw a

photograph. Of Mr. Roosevelt being carried by two Secret Service people. You never saw that. But that's how they moved him from one point to another. I don't know they were all different people that I work with. Each one was different from the other one. In the way they did things. But it was a great experience. And. I look back on it with very fond members. You served in many different countries of the world and of course in this room we can tell that you served in Africa for 10 years I think you said. Yes. Why do you think about the status in Africa and the Sanaa and we went over there and tried to help and evidently we really couldn't apparently help much and had to come back. Do you think that we need to continue in that row or or how has Africa changed since you were there. Well I knew Africa when the when the colonial powers

had control. Metropolitan powers in Europe. And that was Great Britain and France Portugal. And Spain and Belgium. And France. That's all changed now. And all of Africa is independent. The problem in Africa today. And for. The next century perhaps. Is that. 1000 dialects about 1000 acres are spoken in Africa. There is no common language Mike like in America. Where we speak English like in Britain or others we speak English unlike in France where they speak French. There is no common language. There is Bantu there Swahili there's there's a Pele. The dictionary is Bantu and it's about that thick. Swahili

is about like that and there's a. Few pages. Of house and capella. Your problem is that the people in Cookeville don't understand the people who live in Crossrail. There are tribes. And the people who don't understand the people who live in McMinnville. And because of this is very difficult to have unity. This is why you have the tribal wars. This is why you have the situation and Rwanda why you have the problem in Somalia. You had it in Ethiopia. You having it in Liberia. And it's going to continue or you're going to continue to have this. Until they themselves are Africans going to have. Some sort of. Unified language that they can converse with each other. They can use in their politics they can use in

commercial economic their economic work. We don't have that. And I don't know when you're going to have it. This is the main problem of Africa. They don't understand each other. This creates rivalry. And rivalry leads into conflict. And that leads into you know fighting each other. That's your main problem in Africa. Why should we continue. Yes we should continue. Africa contains are all resources that we don't even have in this country. You don't grow rubber and in America. You don't have any iron ore left in America. We don't have any diamonds in America. A few. And we don't have much gold left in America Africa has all to us. Are you going to turn your back on the Contras. We're dependent upon them. They have oil. Our already is

depleted. Except for the offshore oil. Is rapidly becoming depleted. So you don't turn your back on Africa. They have the raw resources that we need. I guess we can live without chocolate candy but they grow cocoa. We don't. So it would be I think somewhat suicidal if we turned our back on Afghanistan you know. I forget I'm. Sure we're spending money we're trying to help and we're making some progress. But it's slow. It's rational. And it'll continue to be that that way. But I don't think you can walk away from it. What is your prognosis of the world in general and maybe. America the United States continuing in this role hopefully. Of a leadership role in. The world. Were no threat to the world and they know

that. The Russians now know that. And this is why I think you have this relationship very good relationship between. Yelps and and. Our president. Mr. Clinton. And there's hope that that can continue. But still you have people. Like several of our show I think his name is in Russia who is advocating your nomination of free democracy. He wants to turn the world back to the Communists. You know you had out of Hitler. One man you know what he did. There's still that possibility out there. And the world will never run you know like this is going to. Be bumpy. You have problems. If they're not in Africa they're going to be in South America or in the Far East.

But let's hope. That there can be stability. And that's what we were seeking what we tried to achieve. I guess that sums up my philosophy. Finally I guess one of my questions might be is why the young man from Sparta that went off and had the experiences that you had you didn't turn your back on far to either or the Afrikaner and then you came back and tried to do what you can do. For this area. Yes. I retired after 35 years in the Foreign Service. And. We have a young family and we want to put America down with them. And. I said to my wife one day we looked at retirement. Places around the country and they were not. Exciting and sometimes depressing. And I said let's go back to spot our hometown

because she's from spot also. And she said Well do we have to do that she lived in Washington and London and. And Italy and. Travelled and I said well you know. It's a great place and we've got a lot of deep roots there. And. We thought about it and she finally agreed and we came back to Sparta. And I didn't know what I would do. I had no plans. I just thought well maybe I can do something. That would be progressive or constructive. Maybe I can do something to help. Build a better town and a better County. And we did start that. We started in the common development. Association. And. That led into the upper common development district which we have now. We were a part of a

program for the Appalachian program program. And. It has been. Very rewarding. We have been very happy and satisfied our children which school here. And. Somehow there I was elected mayor I don't know how but everybody ought to be mayor wants. Then you wouldn't get mad at city hall or say. Well we've enjoyed it and. And we're still working. And hope in a week and I continue to do so. If your New Year's resolution is to lose a few pounds you'll want to tune in next week as we speak to YMCA board member Lisa Carter. She talks about how you can turn your New Year's resolution into a solution.