Newsletters

Greetings from Your Stones River Watershed Association. March 2010.

We have two important events coming up: our Annual Meeting on March 20 and the River Relay two weeks later. Plus dates for other activities in the coming year. Hope we’ll see you at one or more.

Saturday, March 20. SRWA Annual Meeting at the historic Readyville Mill in Cannon County, 2 to 5 p.m. Owner Tomm Brady will host our event after he finishes his weekly grind of corn meal. A brief business meeting will be followed by a presentation by Beth Chesson, a certified stormwater and erosion control engineer with CEC Inc. who is conducting a study of Puckett Creek west of Murfreesboro with the goal of identifying problems and designing mitigation options. The work is funded through a grant to SRWA from the Greater Nashville Regional Council. Her presentation will consider how a stream that is now reasonably healthy can be protected from degradation as development continues in the watershed.

This event also provides the opportunity to tour the old mill, which was established in 1812 on the East Fork Stones River near the boundaries of Rutherford and Cannon Counties. If you’ve never been to the mill or have only seen it during its years of abandonment you will be amazed at the meticulous restoration that Mr. Brady has accomplished in a few short years. As an added bonus, anyone who pays their annual dues of $20 on the day of the meeting will receive a free bag of freshly milled meal! Beverages and snacks will be served and there will be plenty of time to meet other members. Learn more about the Readyville Mill and get directions. http://www.readyvillemill.com/).

As an added incentive, we will have trees to give away! Thanks to the Tennessee Dept. of Agriculture and help from Laura Alex of the Cumberland River Compact, we will have large Shumard oak trees to give away on the day of the meeting. These are 2-3 foot bare-root trees, not tiny seedlings. They are suitable for most yards and moderately dry areas. They will need to be planted soon and will require regular watering during the growing season for at least two years.

Float for the adventurous: The Annual Meeting will be preceded by a cool weather float from the Arts Center of Cannon County to the mill. This will be a trial run on the stretch of river included in the April 3 River Relay Race to the Mill (see below). Because the water may be fast and the cold, this float is restricted to intermediate and advanced paddlers. All participants must pre-register with trip leader Randle Branch (randle.branch@gmail.com). All participants must provide their own boat and have a wetsuit or other clothing suitable to the weather.

Business at the Annual Meeting will include election of the Executive Committee for the 2010-2011 year. Our slate of nominees is listed below. Additional nominations may be made on the day of the meeting:

President: Randle Branch
Vice-President: Neal Appelbaum
Secretary: Jim Barden
Treasurer: Terri Hogan

Board members:

Cynthia Allen
Warren Anderson
Gib Backlund
Richard Baines
Toby Francis
Kyle Sykes
Mayo Taylor
Greg Upham

Saturday, April 3, River Relay: Race to the Mill. This is a 22 mile fun event that will have participants running, biking and paddling from the top of Short Mountain east of Woodbury to the Readyville Mill. The course is 22 miles long — and it’s all downhill. The brainchild of Neal Appelbaum and Randle Branch, this ambitious first annual event will raise money for SRWA programs. Registration is only $25 for individuals or entire teams. You can do one, two or three sections alone or as a relay team. Participants will start at the Short Mountain Bible Camp to run/walk to Short Mountain School, where they will mount bikes for a fast pedal to the Arts Center of Cannon County. There, canoes and kayaks will launch for a final push to the Readyville Mill. Prizes will be awarded but this is not a highly competitive event. Details are on the event website: http://stonesriverrelay.com/.

Other coming events:

Saturday, April 19. SRWA will return to the Murfreesboro Civic Plaza to staff a table at the annual Earth Day event. This is one of our best opportunities to talk to people about the importance of our rivers and we get to meet a lot of kids from the community. If you’d like to help staff the table contact Mayo Taylor (mayo@stoneswatershed.org / 615-890-2081).

Saturday, May 15. Stones Throw Away cleanup on the Murfreesboro Greenway. We will partner with the Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation Department on this annual event. SRWA provides volunteers for the cleanup each year.

Stream cleanups in Smyrna: Saturdays March 20, April 10 and May 22. These events will be coordinated by the Town of Smyrna at sites to be announced. Watch for more information.

Saturday, June 26. BOAT DAY! in Murfreesboro and Smyrna. We’ve moved the date into June this year to avoid conflicts with other events and, perhaps, to have more water and less heat for the event. We will again bring our boats to the Manson Pike trailhead of the Murfreesboro Greenway and to the Stewart Creek Recreation Area in Smyrna. Watch for more details and a call for volunteers.

SRWA will also hold several fun floats during the warm months. We’ll get those dates posted as soon as the events are firmed up.