The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 9

mirwq L0CA1 MONDAY, JUNE 2, 2003 Tennessee celebrates statehood on musical note -11 kJ' ir T' IVr-v' 1 By KELU SAMANTHA HEWETT Staff Writer About 500 people gathered yesterday afternoon at downtown's Bicentennial Capitol Mall to celebrate Statehood Day and the addition of a 96th musical belL The new "answer bell" is across the street on Capitol Hill and is visible from the park's other 95 musical bells, known as the Tennessee Carilloa "The mall's themes are the land, people and music of Tennessee," said architect Kem Hinton, whose firm, Tuck Hinton Architects, took the lead in designing the mall for the 1996 bicentennial. "We have a visual connection to the (nearby) Capitol, and we wanted there to be an acoustical connection, as welL" The new bell now rings once an hour in response to the mall's hourly chimes but that schedule has not Purcell were on hand for the bell dedication. The festivities included free food and drinks, state flags, a number of musical acts, including Gary Morris, who is best known for hi song Wind Beneath My Wings. "We never get the opportunity to come down, and we thought today would be a nice day to come," David Kopko of Gallatin said. "It's fabulous," said Kopko's wife, Jennifer.

Some visitors said they would like to have seen more information there on statehood history. Tennessee became a state when President Washington signed the bill in 17. "I think they could have done a better job letting the children know" about Tennessee's journey into the United States, festivalgoer Allyson Sneed said. "I think a lot of people don't realize what it's about" "The mall themes are the land, people and music of Tennessee. We have a visual connection to the (nearby) Capitol, and we wanted there to be an acoustical connection, as well." Kem Hinton, architect been finalized.

The bell sits atop a 23-foot pavilion inspired by the Temple of Winds in Athens, Greece. It symbolizes the Capitol's answer to the people, who are represented by the carillon Gov. Phil Bredesen and Mayor Bill hii i iniiitlaB imriHlttiilnnMf iriinirr mi maim ilii --i SHELLEY MAYS STAFF Dana Stem, right, comforts Patricia Barrette after a neighbor ran over his 11 -month-old daughter with his car in Antioch, an apparent accident Barrette called 911 after her husband, Mike, ran to the scene. alanpuizner Robert and Kisa Etowens celebrate Statehood Day with their 3-year-old daughter, Chloe, at Bicentennial Capitol Mall. BEST BRIGHTEST I TOP HIGH SCHOOL GRADS OF 2003 Child dies after hit by father's car Trauma nurse, others try to save 1 1-month-old girl -d 5 By KELU SAMANTHA HEWETT Staff Writer An 11-month-old girl died yesterday at her Antioch-area home after crawling behind her father's Mustang as he backed out of their garage.

Esther Isabella Allison died before noon at her 3725 Seasons Court home, after being hit by William Jeremy Allison's car, Metro police say. "We're not finding anything improper; we're not finding any alcohol or anything," detective Brad Corcoran said. "It does appear to be an accident" Vanderbilt trauma nurse Cynthia Madden responded moments after a neighbor came to her house for help. "I started running," said Madden, her skin and clothes still covered with blood. "There was a small child lying under the car.

I did CPR for about 20 minutes. I did my best I tried to keep her breathing, but it just didn't work." The neighbor and Metro police Officer Edwin Krenk helped Madden after his daughter told him of the accident "(The) mom was there, and she was upset" Krenk said "I think (the) dad was more shell-shocked." As police officers searched the scene, neighbors gathered outside, passing along the news to others who walked or drove past "Oh God, it's heartbreaking," neighbor Connie Vance said. The Allisons had just moved into the quiet well-manicured neighborhood. They have only been here a couple of months," said Patricia Barrette, whose husband, Mike, first saw what had happened. "We didn't even know their last names." Other homeowners said they have long worried about the safety of several dozen neighborhood children because of speeding cars.

"We always thought if something happened, it would be something in the road," resident Nicole Alvarez said. Property tax rate may jump 27 cents Rutherford County faces tough choices By IAN DEMSKY Staff Writer MURFREESBORO The Rutherford County property tax rate will go up by 27 cents or almost 11 if the budget proposed by this year's Budget Committee is passed by the County Commission this month. However, even with the first tax rate increase since the 1997-98 budget the County Commission faces tough decisions in several critical areas: County workers are essentially getting their pay slashed as their share of health insurance premiums climbs but salaries stay fixed. As the county continues to grow, county services will have to be stretched further, though the number of workers wont increase. Rutherford County schools also are suffering budget woes.

Even with 15 cents of the proposed tax rate increase earmarked for schools, the new budget is $700,000 short of what the director says he needs. Spending levels already are $600 less per pupil than the state average. The budget was proposed after a series of hearings that culminated with department heads explaining their needs before the Budget Committee last week. Before the committee looked at the budget County Executive Nancy Allen recommended more than $11 million in cuts to departmental budget requests. The committee voted to propose a 10-cent tax rate increase to cover the remaining $3 million deficit "It's frustrating to identify the immediate needs, make cuts and still be $3 million out of balance," Allen said.

The 27-cent increase would bring the county's property tax rate to $278 per $100 of a home's assessed value. Faced with the unpopular option of raising taxes and the difficult job of "selling" tax increases to the full commission and the public, Commissioner Robert Peay quoted Benjamin Franklin at the signing of the Declaration of Independence "Either we hang together or assuredly we will hang separately." One of the most difficult challenges the committee faced was to compensate for insurance costs, which increased for the county and for workers. Because the budget was stripped of all pay raises, higher insurance rates will mean county workers will take home less money next year. "I was hopeful to be able to get the pay raises back in," Allen said. "I still havent given up on it" Workers paying for individual insurance can expect to pay $465 more next year; workers paying family insurance premiums will see a $386 increase.

Historically, the County Commission has lowered taxes after reappraisals every four years, so that residents would not nave to pay more for higher property values. If property taxes had not been lowered last year after an appraisal the county would have had $82 Please see BUDGET, 12B 4 Here's a glimpse into the thoughts of Midstate valedictorians, salutatorians Looking for Gail? Gail Kerr is on vacation, so her column wont be appearing today. Her By NICOLE GART0N Staff Writer Seth Chadwell is confident he will find a job. He may be walking into college on the heels of nationwide layoffs, but he believes the years of study ahead will land him a Wednes- O. ifh oays.ouii- i davs and Mnndavs.

returns this More inside Language barriers, ADHD, military dreams meet five outstanding high school achievers. On 48 and 5B What is it about Tennessee colleges that keeps the smartest grads in-state? On 38 A directory of valedictorians and salutatorians from 37 Midstate counties. On 58 Wednes day. three-fourths will remain in Tennessee. Medicine remains the No.

1 career of choice for these students, three-fourths of whom say they spend at least an hour a week volunteering. Their personal convictions echo the conservative values of their peers from the previous seven years of the survey. There are exceptions in every category, but for the most part these students don't drink, want to pray in school and don't plan to play the state lottery. While more than a third are withholding judgment on party politics, another third say they're Republicans, compared to 20 who identified them well-paying career, regardless of the economic state. "If I try my best and really work for it, I will get one," says the valedictorian of Cumber Looking ahead How do these promising students think they'll fare compared to their parents? Economy: Same, 42 Environment Worse, 70 Crime: Worse, 61 Wealth: Better, 62 Happiness: Same, 59 than the economy.

And the economic woes of the past year haven't stopped them from making plenty of college plans. Since 1996, The Tennessean has surveyed these high achievers about their home fives, their school experiences and what they believe This year, 97 of students responded to the unscientific poll which gives a fascinating peek into some of Tennessee's sharpest young minds. Almost all of these 244 girls and 134 boys will tote tneir backpacks across college campuses next year, and nearly I Best LJ and Brightest Class of 2003 selves as Democrats. Most gave President Bush their stamp of approvaL Nine out of 10 said he has INSIDE Midstate 2B Obituaries Weather J2B EACH WEEK Sunday: Meetings calendar Wednesday: "Learn Nashville" Friday: Road construction Saturday: Faith Values TO REACH OUR NEWSROOM E-mail: newstipstennesseancom land County High. Meet the Midstate's 378 top high school graduates, an optimistic bunch of valedictorians and salutatorians from 142 public and private schools in 37 counties.

Though they're one step closer to the job market they're more worried about terrorism done a good or average job with the war on terror ism, while 78 gave a nod to his handling of Please see BEST, 3B irmteflnessessicofti.