Wow! Does anyone monitor Channel 4’s discussion boards? Their television discussion board is slightly hilarious. People are saying things like:

“I’ve met Demetria [Kalodimos]. She is the single meanest, least pleasant person I’ve ever met.”
[Demetria Kalodimos] “is a victim to spousal abuse.” (referring to Demetria’s broken arm, actually caused by an auto accident)
“Did I actually see the friday 10pm news with TWO people doing the weather??Bill Hall turns to a female partner to help him with the weather. What is this “Tag-Team” forecast??? WOW!!!!”
“Demetria [Kalodimos] can’t dress. Dan [Miller] has a “hardware store owner” vibe around him. Bill [Hall] is as old as dirt. I don’t even bother thinking about Rudy [Kalis].”
“Pretty soon “Coverage You Can Count On” will be replaced by some other meaningless slogan the station has paid their consultant for.”

(All the above comments represent the views of channel 4 viewers and should not be considered my views). Actually all I watch is channel 5.
And you know the single greatest thing about the snow coverage a couple of Thursdays ago? More special snow reports by Victoria Hansen. I was at home all day that snow day (my blessing for not having a job). Victoria is singly the most beautiful thing on Nashville television, right ahead of the Watson girl.
Meanwhile, Channel 2 WKRN is using the same free message board software I’m using on the church webpage.
So I’m going to Corinth Church of Christ in Portland tomorrow for a camp meeting. I help out with their summer camp. Sorta an inheritance or something. The Mt. Juliet remnant remains.
I’m sure the camp director, Mark Sexton, will have a lot of things to discuss. Mark’s a good guy. Never had a problem with him. He’s been very encouraging to me. Down to earth. Easily approachable. His kids are cool too.
The kids have told me of various improvements they’d like to see at camp. “More games of wink.” You got it. 9 hour wink marathons. “Better, faster, longer slip-n-slide.” Since I’m not in charge of slip-n-slide maintenance, I’m not sure if upgrading the slip-in-slide to bionic proportions, which Steve Austin would be afraid to ride, is even a possiblity. In short we just don’t have the technology. I suppose if we make it too long, some of the kids would slip right off into the woods. And that would be a bad thing. Skinned knees are always a bad thing.

This news story just won’t go away.

by Brooks Franklin
The Lebanon Democrat, January 24, 2003
Supporters of a Mt. Juliet church music minister facing federal firearms charges have established a website seeking donations for a newly formed defense fund.
Green Hill Church minister of music, Mark Lancaster, 40, is free under bond after being arrested earlier this month on charges of illegally possessing machine guns.
A member of the church, Brian Copeland, said he developed the website at the urging of other friends of Lancaster “to get the word out” about his case.
“It’s just an opportunity for people to tell Mark that they love him and that they support him,” said Copeland, who develops websites professionally.
Launched only Wednesday, the site is located at www.freemarklancaster.com. Many of its pages are still under construction, but already operational is a method for contributing to a fund being established to aid Lancaster financially.
Copeland said he has “spend some time” with Lancaster since his release following more than a week in federal custody, describing the music minister as “spiritually renewed” and in high spirits.
“He recognizes that at times like this you depend on God,” Copeland said.
During his incarceration Lancaster “got to witness to others in custody, Copeland said.
“To him it was just an awesome experience. Of course you don’t like the circumstances, but that’s not up to you, you let God use you wherever you’re at,” Copeland said.
The case has been closely linked in court documents to the church, with affidavits from an agent stating that a search warrant for Lancaster’s home was obtained based on information received from three people “associated” with the music minister through Green Hill Church. The agent also testified he met the three at the church early in the investigation.
Some friends of Lancaster have alleged that the ATF was contacted about his gun collection because of a church budget dispute which put him at odds with some church leaders.
Earlier this week a Lancaster friend who had been a member of the church’s congregation since 1982 flatly accused church leaders of orchestrating the charges against the music minister.
“This was done underhanded, to get rid of Mark…I guarantee you it was,” said Rusty Roberts.
He and other members of the church spoke out strongly on behalf of Lancaster, describing him as a dedicated music minister who continues to be well liked among the congregation despite the charges against him.
The leadership of the church has repeatedly refused to discuss Lancaster since his arrest. Numerous telephone messages seeking comment form the church officials have drawn no response.
Copeland, a member of the church for the past year, said he believes “caution” is the reason church leaders have declined to discuss Lancaster’s case publicly.
“I think caution is the word of the day,” Copeland said. “I don’t know what their motive is, but we’re less concerned about that than making sure the church follows through on what the Bible tells us to do in times like this.”
Agents seized 15 machine guns from Lancaster’s home. Some were described as World War II era weapons while others were said to be manufactured in recent years.
Though Lancaster held a license as a collector of curios, authorities said that did not entitle him to possess the machine guns.

The Lebanon Democrat has no website. We’ll provide a welcome wagon when they venture into the 21st century.

by Brooks Franklin
The Lebanon Democrat, January 22, 2003
His supporters say a church music minister charged with illegally possessing machine guns is not only a far cry from the man portrayed by authorities, but also a victim of infighting within his church’s leadership.
Three members of Green Hill Baptist Church spoke out in support of music minister Mark Lancaster, 40, of Mt. Juliet on Tuesday.
Lancaster was freed from federal custody under a $50,000 bond Friday, over a week after authorities seized 15 allegedly illegal machine guns from his home.
Though church officials have steadfastly refused to comment on Lancaster, his friends within the congregation described him as a “great guy” and a “loving man” interested primarily in “the work of the Lord.”
They also said Lancaster’s gun hobby was well known to his church congregation and may have been used as leverage to remove Lancaster from his leadership role amid a heated budget dispute.
“I would be willing to leave my kids with him right now and wouldn’t worry for a minute about them,” said Mt. Juliet’s Kevin Costley. “I wouldn’t say that if I thought he was any kind of danger whatsoever. It’s just not true.”
An Old Hickory man who is also part of Green Hill Church’s congregation, Blake Wylie, called Lancaster “a great friend.”
“I don’t think he has an evil bone in his body,” Wylie added. “Everything I know about him is positive. There really isn’t anything negative you could say about him.”
Rusty Roberts, a member of the church since 1982, described the music minister as “a great guy, a real loving man who wants to do the work of the Lord.”
Robers said Lancaster is in “high spirits” since his return home, buoyed by considerable support among his friends and fellow church-goers.
“He’s doing great,” Roberts said. “he’s got a lot of people who support him who have called on him to let him know they’re praying for him.”
At the time of his arrest agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said they raided Lancaster’s home based on information from three informants, described in affidavits as people “associated” with the music minister through the church.
Agents said a telephone tip led to their investigation of Lancaster, with a caller describing him as an emotionally unstable “Nazi buff.” Agents said after his arrest, however, that they found no link to Lancaster or any hate groups.
His friends scoffed at the notion of Lancaster as a person with any interest of Nazis outside of his usual fascination with American history.
Two of them, in separate interviews, said Lancaster participated in a World War II reenactment over the summer in which he was asked to wear a German uniform.
Saying Lancaster is something of a “history buff,” Costley said. “That whole Nazi thing was just ridiculous. When 9-11 happened he led a special aptriotic ceremony that really moved a lot of people. He does special things for Veterans Day every year, that whole Nazi thing really blew my mind, that anyone would even say that.”
Wylie said he had participated in such a reenactment with Lancaster, like Costley describing the music minister as a “history buff.
“Someone is just taking his interest in history and just twisting that around,” Wylie said. “Basically he has a very strong interest in history especially World War II, and somebody, being very malicious, is making it sound like something it wasn’t.”
At the time of his arrest authorities said Lancaster did not have the proper license to possess machine guns, though Costley said his friend was “in the process” of obtaining such a license.
“I don’t know how far along in the process he was, but I do know he was in the process of getting a license,” Costley said.
Lancaster, according to authorities, held a license as a collector of curios but that did not entitle him to possess the machine guns. Some were described as World War II era models while some were said to have been manufactured in recent years.
“He had a hobby of collecting guns and like a lot of people, I’m sure, he never even though about getting into any kind of trouble for it,” Costley said.
All three men said they believe Lancaster enjoys strong support among members of the church’s congregation despite the charges pending against him.
“I think as far as the people go, everybody is pretty much in support of him,” Wylie said.
But both he and Roberts said they believe a church dispute may lie at the heart of Lancaster’s legal woes.
“I can only say there have been some recent issues dealing with the budget,” Wylie replied when asked if Lancaster had been at odds with anyone within the church in recent months.
Roberts was more blunt, saying flatly he believes someone within the church turned Lancaster over to authorties as a result of the budget dispute.
“This was done, underhanded, to get rid of Mark…I guarantee you it was,” said Roberts who estimated that “probably 90 percent of the members” knew about Lancaster’s gun collection.
Roberts said Lancaster “really didn’t want to say anything” about the church budget dispute but eventually did so because “he’s the one that will stand up and tell you what his beliefs are…He told it like it was.”
Both Roberts and Wylie indicated the dispute center over how much the church should budge its leaders for expenditures such as equipment.
Roberts said he believes the dispute and Lancaster’s subsequent arrest mean the music minister will never be allowed to return to the church in the same capacity.
“As for the congregation, most everybody wants him back, but the staff and church council are totally against him,” Roberts said.
Repeated attempts by The Lebanon Democrat to contact church officials for comment since the arrest have been unsuccessful. Telephone calls to church officials on Monday and Tuesday were not returned for this story.
Church leaders obtained a temporary restraining order barring Lancaster from church property shortly before his federal court hearing last week. The attorney who represented the church in obtaining the retreating order, Larry Crain, has been out of town and was unavailable for comment this week.
Roberts said he believes many members of the church’s congregation are both saddened and puzzled by their leadership’s continued silence over Lancaster.
“They (church leaders) have turned their back on their brother is what they’ve done,” he remarked.

What do you do with shirts that say “Tennessee Titans: 2003 AFC Champions?” They will be boxed up and destroyed. Wow. America at its worst. Thousands of homeless people without adequate warm clothing and they are destroying misprinted merchandise, all in the name of capitalism. I suppose they could send it off to some remote 3rd world country which we’d never see the natives wearing this misprinted merchandise. Not good enough. Too expensive in transport cost.
So I guess the people who bought the “Oakland Raiders: 2003 AFC Champions” shirts paid extra to offset the cost of the extra printing of the Titans shirts. All this so that they could be the first ones on their block wearing the hot merchandise.
So the snow is gone. It melted mostly yesterday. Still there are plenty of schools that were closed today or went late. Mostly it’s those counties like Pickett and Overton. Get a little snow and they’re closed for 2 weeks. When do these kids get out for Summer vacation? July? I guess they don’t have adequate snow removal equipment. That coupled with being some of the more poorer counties with small populations…doesn’t let them improve the situation much in spending.
I would strongly encourage these counties to go to year round schools. Perhaps even having a few weeks off in January/February to offset the inevitable snow day.
My contact at NewsChannel5 said they put news reporters up in downtown hotels during this snow storm. So that’s how they do it. It is interesting that the newsreporters were able to get around in the snowstorm…seemingly everywhere….schools with snowbound kids w/ no buses…. Interstates which were inpassible. Yet buses weren’t able to get kids home and snow plows were unable to get to icy roads.
Johnny Cash does a superb cover of Nine Inch Nails’ song “Hurt” ( smaller version of the video is here ). That’s what makes Johnny Cash so cool. He’s covered hard rock songs from NIN and Soundgarden. Still cool after all these years.
School District Stays Open on MLK Day. Says King thought education was the great equalizer.