The Tennessean from Nashville, Tennessee • Page 14

School news The shadows know all about careers 4B LOCAL NEWS Meetings 2B I Deaths 5B B-C Weather 6B JLP MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2001 Sewanee grad scales magazine heights ByMICHARCASS Staff Writer SEWANEE, Tenn. When Jon Meacham was growing up in Chattanooga in the 1970s and '80s, Newsweek and Time were essential to his sense of the world With 24-hour cable news and national newspapers not yet in full force, the news weeklies offered Meacham his only clear window onto national and global events. The magazines were responsible for "a lot of what I remember from the Carter and Reagan eras," he said writings about the civil-rights movement "It's one of the few common cultural denominators." Meacham's meteoric ascent began shortly after he left Sewanee where he got an English degree, edited the student newspaper and made Phi Beta Kappa and started working as a reporter for The Chattanooga Times in 199L By 1993, he was co-editor of The Washington Monthly, a small but influential political journal he discovered through a Sewanee contact. He made just $10,000 a year and "worked like a dog," but he called his two-year stint "the best experience I could possibly have had" "It really taught me how to put a magazine together," he said After meeting Jonathan Alter, a Washington Monthly alumnus and senior editor at Newsweefc, Meacham was able to move to Newsweefc as a national affairs writer in 1995. Then, when the national affairs editor left a few weeks later, Meacham was one of several people asked to "keep the chair warm" for Please see MEACHAM, 2B Now, as the second Bush era begins, Meacham is helping to shape the same kinds of coverage each week Just 31, the graduate of The University of the South is managing editor, a job he's had for more than two years.

He couldn't be happier. "I still pinch myself every day that I'm part of what I consider one of the great cultural institutions," Meacham said the day after arriving at his alma mater in Sewanee to sign copies of the new book he edited an anthology of JOHN PARTIPILO STAFF Newsweek Is Jon Meacham between book signings at his alma mater. 1 ryo Treatment key to successful probation mm By KATHY CARLSON Staff Writer Some succeed and turn their lives around Some go to jail. Each month, more than 200 bench warrants go out to pull some of Metro's probationers back into court to explain why they haven't complied with the conditions of their probation, which can include drug testing, electronic monitoring or education programs, a Metro probation official said The noncompliance takes a variety of forms and doesn't necessarily entail new criminal charges. The warrants point out the fact that many people can't or won't take advantage of probation, which lets qualified offenders stay in the commu- nity under supervision instead of going to jaiL For many offenders, their troubles are rooted in alcohol or drugs.

"You can't teach anybody anything when they're actively involved with chemicals," said LL Mondelli, probation director with Metro's General Sessions courts, which handle misdemeanors. For many misdemeanor probationers, perhaps 75 to 80 by Mondelli's estimate, drugs or alcohol helped get them into trouble. They may not be addicts, he said but they have enough substance-abuse issues to get them arrested and into the court Please see METRO, 2B 'CS3k Grant lets Nolensville hire full-time officer PHOTOS BY JOHN PARTIPILO STAFF Lincoln County High School junior Tara Warren, 16, sits on a stretcher pulled by Falcon 1 to test how much weight the student-created robot can tug. Adviser Mike Rizar of LTV Copperweld lies on the floor to repair a broken tread while other members of the student team watch the proceedings. Robot energizes Lincoln High team -7 Students hope their creation is slam dunk i vk' fca II 11)1 By KATHR1N CHAVEZ Staff Writer NOLENSVILLE A $75,000 Community Oriented Policing Services grant will soon allow Nolensville to hire its first full-time police officer.

The federal grant, announced last week by U.S. Rep. Bart Gordoa pays up to 75 of a new officer's salary and benefits over three years. The hiring will not be immediate. The town has not received the money, and much paperwork still needs to be worked through, said Town Recorder Cindy Lancaster.

Mayor Charles Knap-per also wants to discuss the matter with the Municipal Technical Advisory Service and the Williamson County Sheriffs Department Nolensville began a part-time police force in August 1999 with three officers work II 1 ftvJT It ing a total of about 30 hours a week. At the beginning of this fiscal year, which started July the coverage was increased to 48 hours a week. The Sheriffs Department has provided police coverage for the town of 2254 residents since Nolensville's incorporation in 1996, and it still covers the hours when town officers are not on duty. Most of the work for the town's officers has focused on traffic particularly enforcing the speed limit on busy Nolensville Road Last year, officers gave 218 citations and 161 warnings and investigated five accidents. The COPS program was created in 1994 and has allowed the hiring of more than 110,000 state and local officers, Gordon said in a news release.

answered soon when a group of Lincoln County High School students enter their creation in the annual FIRST Robotics regional competition A regional tune-up contest will be held in Richmond, Va, in March, with the national competition in April in Orlando, Fla FIRST is an acronym: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. It is the brainchild of Dean Kamen, the New England inventor who recently made headlines with cryptic revelations about his latest invention nicknamed Ginger. While the world will have to wait to find out what Ginger is, Kamen's FIRST Robotics is a known commodity. Since 1992, the competition has generated interest in science and engineering careers among Please see ROBOT, 2B By LEON ALU GOOD Staff Writer FAYETTEVTLLE, Term. Matt McDougal sat on the floor, eyes focused on the contraption in the center of the classroom.

At first glance it appeared to be a square of plywood on wheels. On top of the wood was a maze of wires connected to thin black boxes. In McDougal's hand was a joystick, which he tugged gingerly left and right, up and dowa Wriirrrrrrrrrrr, the plywood square responded scooting about the room at the young man's directioa "It works," he said But can it dunk a beach ball? That is the $34,000 question to be With dinner in his mouth, Curt McDow gets ready to help conduct a test of Falcon 1 in the shop at Lincoln County High School. Look to Mother Nature for sure-fire signs that spring is just around the corner 7 fH Gail Kerr -3 'm was only in love with himself and spent hours staring at his reflection in a pool of water. When he died Venus turned him into the daffodil She's not so romantic when it comes to squirrels, which get very active as spring moves closer.

An advantage of bare trees, Perry said is that you can really see their nests. But do you want to? "Squirrels are a lot like college men" Perry said They don't want their deposit back. They urinate in the nest until they can't stand it and then they move on and build another nest." Maybe we can skip the pig out during the Super BowL They're just cold, and they puff up to stay warm, and that makes them look fat Things don't look much like spring. Dead stuff is everywhere, but there are a few green spots that signal spring. Chickweed a ground-cover type plant, is growing.

Many trees, especially dogwoods, are showing buds. "Buttercups are starting to come up," Perry said pointing out just one or two little green shoots. One of her favorite stories is a myth about Venus, who wis in love with Narcissus. But Narcissus Last week we had one of those quirky, wonderful Middle Tennessee weather moments, when the sun comes out and the days warm up in the middle of winter. One day if 60.

The next day, snow and winter weather are back in the forecast It gave me a bad case of Spring Fever you too, if elevator conversation is any indication Too soon it will be back to griping about cold winds and gray skies. Shiver, huddle. Gripe, gripe, gripe. Remember Spring is coming. In fact, a few signs are already around if you know a common redheaded woodpecker as I would spotting a $L000 bill on the ground The first place Perry hears spring: the pond where upland chorus frogs and spring peepers live.

"The frogs are out, and calling in the morning and at dusk," Perry said "Sometimes they're saying, 'Hey, Baby! Just wait until Birds, she said tell us spring is coming even more than frogs. Most of our feathered friends are "still lying in the sun" on a beach down south. But "purple martins started migrating home from Brazil on Christmas Day. They'll be here soon" Around Valentine's Day, woodcocks will begin "their whole mating thing." Great horned owls "are already doing it. They started that in December.

It's the cycle of birth and new life." There is one spring thing that Perry puts to rest the Big Bird Myth. We all think when we see the red red robin come bob-bob-bobbin' along, spring is here. Not "They are hanging around here on any given day. They chill out this time of year, but they never go away." If you see some really obese red robins, they didn't squirrels' nests. But tadpoles are fun a smattering of them are swimming around That's a big sign of spring because their pond froze over in December's frigid wave, and most of the little tadpoles "died" Nature has her ways to bring them back.

"There's one! Look at him! He's just a little guy, but he's saying, 'I'm going to make Perry said "Spring is going to come I tell you, it is. And it is going to be wonderful and beautifuL" Gail Kerr's column runs on Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. She can be reached at 259-8085 or gkerrtermessean.com what to look for. I asked the folks at Warner Park's learning center to show me signs of spring. "Nature is in transition" said naturalist Heather Perry.

"But we've got a lot of things that say spring is coming." Perry is the perfect person to point out signs of spring. She gets as excited at spotting OnHne today Chavez says fl Black History Ur- I Month hurts Photo Editor Tom Stanford, 726-5901 DesignGraphics Editor VinceTroia, 726-5950 NightWeekend Editors: Dwight Lewis, 726-5928 George Zepp, 259-8091 To reach our newsroom: Phone: 259-8095 E-mail: newstipstennessean.com City Editor Thomas Goldsmitti, 259-8095 Regional Editors: Frank Gibson 726-5907 LaW MacGregor, 259-8095 Ellen Margulies, 726-5977 Jennifer Peebles, 259-8074 Fernando Pizarro, 664-2194 Robert Sherborne, 259-8080 Mike Srerman, 259-8899 National Teacher Training Institute workshops set for March 3 at VU National Teacher Training Institute, a national program that teaches techniques fa using technology to spark learning, will be offered March 3 at the Vanderbilt Learning Technology Center. The workshops, sponsored by Nashville Public Television, are open to K-12 teachers, media specialists and librarians from any area school. Call 259-9325, Ext. 242, for information about i-ijc more than It helps Library seeks volunteers to teach software basics The Nashville Public Library is seeking volunteers to teach Word, Excel and PowerPoint classes to the public.

All classes are held at the library's Computer Learning Lab at the Looby branch on Metro-Center Boulevard. Opportunities are available weekdays, evenings and Saturdays. For more information, call Chris McMeans at 862-5754. cause of social yi inc4jsion. www.tennesseanxoni wwwJsmesseskconi.