"Metro Water Proposes Storm Water User Fee"

The storm water division of Metro Water Services has run out of funds for past, present and future projects and might soon turn to every Davidson County property owner to make up the difference. When it rains in the 3,000 block of Dickerson Pike, parking lots flood, water rushes down the culverts and garbage floats on currents of dirty water. Metro Water Services does not receive tax money and is fully funded waters services revenue. When storm water issues occur, and they often, all over Davidson County, the department does not have the money to fix it. Sonia Harvat represents Metro Water Services. She said, “We... ... don't have a dedicated funding source or a stable funding source so currently we have about $84 million worth of projects to be done and we have zero dollars to do that with." Harvat said the complaints about Dickerson Pike and other problems areas around the city are four years old. The city has even drawn up plans to fix, they just can’t fund them. According to Harvat, the storm water budget is zero, why on February 1, the water department asked the Metro City Council to consider assessing every Davidson County property owner a storm water user fee. If passed, every property owner will pay, on average, $4.98 cents a month, every month. The $4.98 cents a month will ensure Metro Water Services continues to make sure subdivisions are designed and developed properly and make sure that homes are not build in flood planes. Paying more money to the water dept, especially if you don't have flooding issues could be a tough sell. If adopted, however, the fee would affect every Davidson County property owner, even if Metro Water Services is not your water provider. Harvat said some 800 cities around the country and many more in Tennessee, including Franklin, Chattanooga and Memphis, already have a storm water user fee. Have a comment? Think something is Messed Up? Visit www.thatismessedup.com . To watch the video CLICK HERE: Copyright 2008 by WKRN Nashville Tennessee. All Rights Reserved.

Police, Community: Guns, Bars Don't Mix"

Police and members of the Nashville community are speaking out against a bill that would allow permitted gun carriers to take their guns into places that serve alcohol. Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas said House bill 410, which would allow Tennesseans to take their guns into places that sell alcohol, just doesn't make any sense. He is one of several chiefs, district attorneys, and sheriffs from around the state who signed their names to a strongly worded letter on behalf of the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition. The letter was sent to the state’s Speaker of the House. The letter repeats the familiar statement,... ... "Firearms and alcohol do not mix” and says, in part, “It makes absolutely no sense to us to allow persons to carry guns into establishments where alcohol related fights are most likely to occur.” The letter state the passage of the legislation will "not be good for Tennesseans or our visitors." ”…If all of us think it's not a good idea, I think that should carry some weight with the legislator,” said Chief Serpas. Employees at the Wildhorse Saloon downtown hope so. Others believe the legislation will simply make legal what people are doing anyway. “I think that people that want to carry their guns in a bar are carrying them anyway,” said bar customer JD Stewart. House bill 410 doesn't just apply to bars, but restaurants that serve alcohol. The House of Representatives will vote on this issue in the next couple of weeks. The bill has already passed in the Senate and its sponsor, Senator Doug Jackson, said the Tennessee Public Safety Coalition’s letter is misleading. He said, “What they fail to point out is that the bill does not allow anyone with a handgun carry permit that's carrying their gun to consume any alcohol. They can't consume a single drop.” Jackson also points out that more than 30 states have similar laws. To watch the video CLICK HERE: Copyright 2008 by WKRN Nashville Tennessee. All Rights Reserved.

Metro school board moves director search deadline

Davidson County The Metro school board Tuesday voted to extend the application window for companies that want to help the district find a new director of schools. The deadline for applications was Tuesday, but the board extended the window to March 28 in hopes of getting more firms to choose from. Six firms submitted applications, four national and two local, by the old deadline. Board members didn't want to deter any firms from applying because of the one-week application window. Members also voted to soften the July 1 goal to sign a contract with a new director of schools. — JAIME SARRIO jsarrio@tennessean.com

Bus ridership continues surge

Convenience and savings attract riders By ANNE PAINE • Staff Writer (Tennessean)• March 12, 2008 Bus ridership in Nashville has jumped 45 percent in six years, and it is projected to keep growing. The change comes amid rising gas prices and traffic congestion, expanding public transit offerings and concerns about global warming. New converts like Marlene Alvarez are finding riding a Metro Transit Authority bus addictive — for the service and the money savings. "I thought I would use this as a backup if the weather was crummy — snowy and icy," Alvarez said, standing at an MTA stop beside Legislative Plaza downtown. Instead, she has been taking the bus "at least four days a week" since January, she said. The trend in the popularity of mass transit is seen nationally, too, with public transportation use up 35 percent since 1995, according to the American Public Transportation Association. Passenger trips nationally hit 10.3 billion last year, the highest level in 50 years. Nashville's MTA, which reached 10 million trips in 1979 before falling off, is projected to reach more than 9.4 million in this fiscal year. New buses and services that include payment, on any bus, with credit and debit cards are helping, said Patricia Harris-Morehead, MTA spokeswoman. Other innovations include a $4 one-day pass that allows a rider to get on and off buses; new, easier-to-read system maps with tourist destinations and malls; a more frequent airport-downtown shuttle and better staff training, she said. Transit center is next The next step is for a $53.6 million transit center, built with 80 percent federal funding, with climate control, restrooms and shops to open at 400 Charlotte Ave., around October. One key has been a partnership in which employers, including the state and Vanderbilt and Belmont universities, pay for bus passes for their employees to and from work. Growing groups of workers can be found after work at bus stops downtown and around the schools. Belmont also provides the freebie to its students. Alvarez waited Tuesday afternoon for the Bellevue-bound bus with Regina Ranish. Both work for the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration. "It's about a $100 a month saving in gas," said Ranish, who began riding the bus about a week ago. "It was a no-brainer. How much easier could it be?" Alvarez said she liked "being a little bit more environmentally conscious." Benefits add up The air benefits more than a little, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which promotes mass transit to curb global warming. A commuter leaving his car at home just two days a week reduces greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 1,600 pounds per year. The only complaint from Ranish and a few other riders Tuesday was about crowded buses that leave some standing. Jerry Wester, who works for the state Department of Human Services, however, said he can live with it on his bus ride to and from Rutherford County. "I don't mind standing up because of the money saved," he said with a laugh.

Metro hands Dozier $90,000 job

Fair board hires him without search By MICHAEL CASS • Staff Writer (tennessean)• March 12, 2008 Without conducting a national search or even advertising the position, the board that oversees the Tennessee State Fair gave the $90,000-a-year executive director's job to a man with plenty of political ties but no experience running fairs. The fair's board of commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to hire Buck Dozier, the former Metro council member, fire chief and mayoral candidate. Despite its name, the fair is part of Metro Nashville government. Donna Crawford, a south Nashville resident who in January wrote to city officials urging them to look nationally for a professional fair manager, said she was "just really shocked" by the fair board's choice. "I would think they would want the best person there to generate revenues," Crawford said. "I'm very concerned that they didn't take the idea of a national search." Dozier, 64, had gone back to his job at a Madison mortgage company after running for mayor last year. James Weaver, an attorney who is chairman of the five-person fair board, said Dozier is a good fit for the job and won't face the same learning curve as someone moving to Nashville would. Weaver praised Dozier's communication skills, ability to run a small government operation and passion for the job. He said Dozier proved while serving on the Metro Council — which Weaver frequently lobbies on behalf of clients — that he was "more than willing to roll up his sleeves" and tackle complex problems. And after running for mayor just seven months ago, Dozier is well known. "We could have maybe found that person in Oregon, but we found him right here in Nashville," Weaver said. "And that made more sense." Consultants hired by the fair board are studying the best long-term use of the 117-acre fairgrounds, which hosts the state fair and a flea market and rents its facilities to other groups for events. The consultants could recommend moving the fair to another Davidson County site and opening the fairgrounds property up for redevelopment a few miles south of downtown. With that uncertain future in the background, fair board members decided to look locally before they spent months searching nationally. As they asked various Metro department heads and elected officials to recommend good candidates, Dozier's name came up often, Weaver said. Janel Lacy, a spokeswoman for Mayor Karl Dean, said Dean was asked whether he thought his former rival for the mayor's office "would be a good fit," and he agreed. "Karl has said repeatedly that he thinks Buck is a solid guy and he was a good councilman and he knows Nashville, loves Nashville and would have a role to play in government," Lacy said. Lacy said Deputy Mayor Greg Hinote interviewed Dozier for the job on Feb. 20. But Weaver said he wasn't aware of that, and no one in Dean's administration pressured him to pick Dozier. "He's absolutely the right guy at the right time," Weaver said. Dozier begins today The Tennessee State Fair has been known for a history of political cronyism. Then-Mayor Phil Bredesen gradually cleaned house in the mid-1990s, replacing every board member as their terms expired. "If there was a board that was a repository of good-ol'-boy politics, that was it," Bredesen said in 1998. Dozier was a Metro councilman from 1987 to 1992 and 2003-07. He also was Nashville's fire chief from 1994 to 2000, serving under one mayor, Bredesen, before clashing with the next one, Bill Purcell, and resigning. Fair board member Katy Varney supported Dean in the mayor's race and said she doesn't know Dozier well. But she said the people she called to ask about him said consistently "that this is a man who is as honest as the day is long and completely trustworthy." Dozier, who starts work today, will face the task of making the annual fair and the fairgrounds more relevant as surrounding counties such as Wilson and Williamson put on popular fairs. The Nashville native said he will oversee 17 full-time employees and a $4 million annual budget. "We're all kind of looking with some excitement to what we can do there," Dozier said. "Times have changed, and we want to make sure we're on the cutting edge." Jim Tucker, CEO of the International Association of Fairs and Expositions in Springfield, Mo., said the fair board's decision to keep its search close to home was not unusual. In fact, the association often advises fair leaders to do that because there's a shortage of qualified executives around the country, he said. The Georgia National Fair, which says it hosted more than 443,000 people in 11 days last fall, has been looking for a new director for four months, Tucker said. "It's really hard to find folks right now," he said. "A big part of running a fair is to have someone who knows the community."

Ten apply for Davidson County judgeship

Bar favors council member Jameson By CHRIS ECHEGARAY • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • March 12, 2008 Ten candidates are vying for a seat on the Davidson County Circuit Court when Judge Walter Kurtz retires March 21. A recent poll shows Metro Councilman Michael Jameson is a favored candidate among the Nashville Bar Association. Twenty-four percent of the 1,083 bar members taking the poll "highly recommended'' Jameson. "I'm humbled by that," Jameson said. "I don't think there's a person who graduates law school that thinks about being a judge someday." Jameson, 44, a Nashville native, has been on the council for five years. Jameson specializes in civil litigation. He's a Vanderbilt University graduate and got his law degree from the University of Tennessee in 1990. If Jameson is selected, he would have to give up his seat on the council. Several residents have expressed interest in the seat, including Kenny Byrd, David Griswold, former Metro Councilman Jeff Ockerman and Peter Westerholm, a councilman at large candidate. Other bar association favorites, according to the poll, include Mary Ashley Nichols, special master of Davidson County Circuit Court, and lawyer Joseph Binkley Jr. Binkley, with 20 percent, and Nichols, with 19 percent, were second and third, respectively, as the "highly recommended'' candidates, according to the bar association's judicial evaluation poll. Other candidates are Katherine Dent "Kitty'' Boyte, an attorney with Howard, Tate, Sowell, Wilson & Boyte; Jefre Scot Goldtrap, a Joelton attorney; Amy Adams Gowen, an attorney with Hardeman & Montgomery; Marian LeRoy Kohl, a judicial clerk/special master in Judge Hamilton Gayden's office; Cynthia M. Odle, a Nashville attorney; Russell T. Perkins, an attorney in the state attorney general's office' and Sarah Stein, an attorney with Mitch Grissim & Associates in Nashville. Interviews are today The 10 candidates will appear before the Judicial Selection Commission at 8:30 a.m. today at the Nashville Airport Marriott, 600 Marriott Drive. There will be a period for public comments and then the selection panel will interview each candidate privately. After the commission picks the top three candidates, their names are forwarded to the governor, who makes the appointment. Binkley, 63, has practiced criminal defense, personal injury and divorce law in Middle Tennessee his entire career. Besides a good learned legal opinion from a judge, litigators want something else, Binkley said. Courtesy and patience are what litigants want from a judge, he said. "I know what it's like to be a trial attorney, and I will not forget that if I become a judge,'' he said. Nichols, 51, was appointed to special master in 1998. Nichols, a former reporter at the now-defunct Nashville Banner, said there are many qualified candidates in front of the selection commission. "There are many candidates who are not as well known as we are but must be recognized," she said.

"Truancy Problem In Metro Bigger Than Thought"

Metro students skipping school may be a bigger problem that officials previously thought. Last month, seven high school students were arrested in an alleged daytime burglary ring. Police said the teens spent class time breaking into houses in the Percy Priest Lake area. Officers thought they might find more suspects by checking absentee records at Antioch's Ninth Grade Academy. Police found more than they bargained for, with more than 150 students having 10 or more unexcused absences. Metro Police Chief Ronal Serpas said teens skipping school are more likely to be either victims of crime or criminals themselves. ... He said the students have learned how to work the system. “You know what they told us when we interviewed them? ‘Oh yeah, I show up for their first period because I know after that they don’t care’,” Chief Serpas said. “Now darn it, we have seen this in other examples where there is a strong head count in the first period, we're told, and then the rest of their day kids are defaulted as present even if you didn't know they were there." School officials said attendance is supposed to be taken in every class, every period and they've sent reminders out to teachers to make sure they do it. Ralph Thompson, Metro Schools, said, “If the class by class attendance procedures are taken every day, there's always an opportunity for human error, but I can guarantee you the number of truants probably would be cut drastically.” The Metro school system has 21 attendance officers. The Metro Police Department's flex unit also scours the streets from time to time looking for students who should be in school. Lt. Damin Huggins, Metro Police, said, "During schools hours on school days we send in unmarked units surveillance teams and actually go out and investigate anybody that appears to be leaving school or that is under age that should be in school." School officials believe the problem with truancy may be getting better. They surveyed nearly half of the city's schools last week and found that most of them had improved on attendance when compared to last year, some by as much as 10% To watch video CLICK HERE Copyright 2008 by WKRN Nashville Tennessee. All Rights Reserved.

Demand grows for office space in airport area

Location, price help reel in new tenants By CHAS SISK • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • March 10, 2008 The construction firm Balfour Beatty faced an unusual situation last year. Its Nashville office was out of space, and for the first time in the company's decade-long tenure in the Lakeview Ridge office park on Elm Hill Pike, there was no room to expand. "This building pretty soon is going to have 100 percent occupancy," said Edward J. Hernandez, a senior executive in Balfour's Nashville office. Such situations are cropping up in many office buildings clustered around Nashville International Airport. Long the weakest area for office leasing in the Nashville area, the airport submarket has seen some improvement lately. Vacancies are down and rents are up. A half-dozen major office leases have been signed in the past six months. Companies have renewed leases that were about to end, while others are moving into better quarters in the area. Balfour Beatty is one such company. The British construction firm has three divisions in Nashville: the construction management firm, Balfour Beatty Construction; the medical equipment planning and technology group, Balfour Resource Group; and the health-care program management and development firm, Balfour Concord. All three businesses have expanded to the point that they have outgrown the 8,600 square feet of office space they now occupy. Next month, they'll move into nearly twice as much space in the nearby Highland Ridge Tower. "We thought about the Demonbreun corridor or the downtown corridor," said Hernandez, who leads Balfour Resource Group. "But this made the most sense." Other recent deals in the area include Kroll Background America's deal to lease 86,000 square feet; ServiceSource International Inc.'s deal for 20,000 square feet; and the state of Tennessee's deal for 14,000 square feet. These have helped push the area's vacancy rate down from about 20 percent in 2005 to 15 percent at the end of last year. Meanwhile, the average rent for upscale office space has risen from about $15 a square foot to $16.50 today. The area seems to attract regional offices for companies with headquarters elsewhere, said Whit McCrary, a principal with Colliers Turley Martin Tucker, which brokered Balfour Beatty's new lease. "When you have a company that is locally based, their decision-makers live in Brentwood or Cool Springs so they want their offices there," McCrary said. But decision-makers of companies that pick space near the airport "are not necessarily around locally," and the airport sometimes makes sense because it's easy access for executives who fly in and out of town to their company's Nashville office. Site eases commute The airport office market's central location is another factor, real estate professionals said. Office workers who live in Wilson, Sumner and many parts of Davidson counties have a shorter commute to the airport than to suburban office parks in Williamson County. Finally, rents are cheaper at the airport. In Green Hills, landlords are asking $24.50 to $28 a square foot, according to Colliers Turley. On West End Avenue, they're asking $22.50 to $28.50. In Cool Springs, they're asking $19 to $24. By comparison, asking rents at the airport are $16.50 to $21 in buildings north of Interstate 40 and $16.50 to $18 in buildings south of the interstate.

Saturday Crime Update:Saturday March 8, 2008

Possible burglary attempt thwarted Nashville Metro police officers in Hermitage arrested two burglary suspects Thursday at the former Hickman Elementary School on Ironwood Drive. James Randall Smith, 19, of Mount Olive Road and Angelo Catalanotto, 25, of Antioch Woods were stopped after being spotted walking away from the school, where six windows were found pried open, according to police. Smith was charged with burglary and possession of burglary tools and was on probation for a 2007 theft at Pennington Elementary. Catalanotto was charged with burglary and marijuana possession. Nothing was taken from the building. — HEATHER DONAHOE Laptop case goes to grand jury The case of a man charged with buying two stolen laptops from the Davidson County Election Commission will be sent to the grand jury. Brent Rucker, 28, of Portland waived his right to a preliminary hearing. Police said the two Dell laptops and computer equipment were stolen on Dec. 24 from the commission. Rucker purchased the computers the same day they were stolen, according to an affidavit. The laptops, with more than 300,000 Social Security numbers of voters, were recovered last month in Goodlettsville. A forensic examination of the laptops showed that voter information was not accessed or copied. — CHRIS ECHEGARAY Last of 4 suspects in robbery arrested The fourth and final suspect in last week's robbery at a Subway restaurant in Hermitage was arrested Thursday. Lawrence Hampton, 20, of Gina Brooke Drive told police he and the three other suspects robbed the Old Hickory Boulevard sandwich shop, according to a news release from Metro police. Hampton was charged with aggravated robbery, along with Austin Beam, 19, Marc Servius, 23, and Keith Holman, 17. —HEATHER DONAHOE

Happy Day for the Students

Vivian Wilhoite(Metro Council Member District 29) and "Ozzie", the Sounds Mascot journeyed to Lakeview Elementary Design Center and Una Elementary School to read their favorite Dr.Seuss books to some lucky students today.

The children were so happy to see both of them walk in the door of their classrooms. I have never seen such happy faces in all my life. All for a good cause to strengthen the importance of reading.
























What a great day for all. All schools should promote the Nashville Sound's Reading club. For more information on how to have "Ozzie" come to your school

Click Here



All Photos taken by:
M. Schwartz
Mssphotography@aol.com
www.fullcircle-adminservices.blogspot.com

Mayor hears students' ideas to curb dropout rate

Dean says their input is valued because they're on 'front lines' By NATALIA MIELCZAREK • Staff Writer (Tennessean) • March 8, 2008 Lack of experienced teachers, informed guidance counselors and an uplifting atmosphere contribute to students' dropping out of Nashville schools. At least, that's what 300 Metro and private school students think. They shared their concerns, and some solutions to curb the dropout problem, with Mayor Karl Dean during Friday's Mayor's Youth Summit at Vanderbilt University. Dean told the young people he valued their comments because they — unlike anyone else — know firsthand what makes teenagers stay in school. Johnathan Tharpe, a sophomore at Antioch High, said he wants the mayor to live up to his promise to lower Metro's 20.4 percent dropout rate. "Nowadays, kids don't think it's a problem to drop out, but it's not OK," Johnathan said. "We have a new mayor, and a lot of things have been changing, so I figured the dropout rate would go lower, too. They brought all these kids here, so they must care." Kids not short of ideas The teenagers spent five hours talking about positive and negative effects of dropping out, life inside and outside of high school, and ways the community and family can help them succeed. Some suggested that teachers be paid more so they would come to work motivated and better prepared. Others said they wanted to see more internship opportunities to give students incentives to stay in school. Dean said he would study the comments and forward them to the members of his task force charged with studying causes and solutions to the dropout rate. "They're obviously on the front lines, so hearing their opinion about how we can keep kids in schools and why kids drop out is vital to the work of the task force," Dean said. "This is right on track with my desire to take dropout rates and truancy more serious than before."

Nashville Gas Changing Name to Piedmont Gas

Yes that right! After 23 years, Nashville Gas is changing from their parent company's name to the name of Piedmont Gas. I understand that customers will soon receive the attached letter from the Tom Skains, CEO and President informing them of the name change. Also attached is the Ad that I understand will run in this Sunday's paper. The only thing that will not change, for now, is the rates. Thank goodness! I am sure all will be fine if you have made your utility payment to Nashville Gas. Surely Piedmont will accept it. Just trying to keep my community updated. Vivian Wilhoite Dear Valued Customer: On behalf of Piedmont Natural Gas, the parent company of Nashville Gas, thank you for choosing us to provide you with clean, reliable and efficient natural gas for your home or business. We know that you have an energy choice and value you as our customer. I’m writing you today to make you aware of an upcoming change in the Nashville Gas name. Beginning later this month, we will start the process of changing the name of Nashville Gas to Piedmont Natural Gas. Piedmont Natural Gas acquired Nashville Gas Company in 1985. At that time, Nashville Gas served approximately 67,000 customers while Piedmont provided natural gas service to nearly 220,000 customers in North Carolina and South Carolina. Today, with more than one million natural gas customers in three states, nearly 1,900 employees and more than 24,000 miles of distribution and transmission pipelines, Piedmont Natural Gas is the second largest natural gas distribution company in the Southeast and one of the fastest growing natural gas distribution companies in the United States. In the weeks ahead, our fleet of service trucks and construction vehicles, employee uniforms, our bills and correspondence, and even our website will begin displaying the new Piedmont Natural Gas name and logo. These changes reflect the fact that all of us at Piedmont, no matter which state or which community we happen to be in, share a common set of core values, a commitment to providing “best-in-class” service to our customers, and a dedication to the communities we are privileged to serve. We are truly one company with one name. Piedmont Natural Gas. Again, we thank you for being our customer and for selecting clean, reliable and efficient natural gas as your energy choice. Thomas E. Skains Chairman, President and CEO Piedmont Natural Gas

Alignment Nashville Moves To Mayor's Office

Posted: March 6, 2008 11:07 PM CST (Channel 5 News) NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Alignment Nashville, a group that coordinates community organizations to help students in Nashville's public schools, will move to the mayor's office. Mayor Karl Dean and the organization's leaders hope the new partnership will help them more efficiently focus on problems such as dropout and graduations rates. The four members of Alignment Nashville will begin reporting directly to the mayor in four to six weeks. "This move makes a lot of sense. Alignment Nashville is well positioned to assist the mayor with his agenda to connect the community and public education," said Sydney Rogers, executive director of Alignment Nashville. Presently, Alignment Nashville shares office space with the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and Metro Schools. "When you get a community actively engaged in a coordinated way around youth, you can't help but have an impact on graduation rates," said Jeffrey Dotts, director of children's health initiative for Alignment Nashville. "What we need to be doing in Nashville is working to be sure that we are maximizing all the resources we have available in this community, to partner with our schools, to offer better education to our kids," Dean said.

"Homeowner Shoots, Injures Suspect In Home Invasion"

A South Nashville homeowner shot a man, allegedly trying to invade his home. It happened on Dover Road, near Briley Parkway. Reported March 7, 2008 Wkrn (Channel 2) Police say three men broke into the home around 5 p.m. Thursday. A woman was inside at the time, and called her husband, scared that someone was in the home. When he got home, the suspects and the homeowner got into a gunfight. It's not clear how many shots were fired, but one suspect was shot. "The suspect that was shot here at the scene, went a short distance, before he stopped, and was taken into custody," said Captain Randy Hickerson of the Metro Police Department. To watch the video CLICK HERE:

Man Robs Dunkin' Donuts

Posted March 6, 2008 by Channel 5 News NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Thursday morning, police said they are investigating an early morning robbery at an Antioch convenience store. The robbery happened at the Dunkin' Donuts on Cane Ridge Road around 3 a.m. Police said a store clerk propped open the back door after she took out the trash. A suspect followed her in and demanded money while holding her at gunpoint. Police set out dogs to track the suspect, but they lost his sent about 100-yards away from the store. Thursday morning, police said they are looking for a man in his late 20s wearing a dark sweatshirt with a striped hood. He's about 5 foot 8 inches and armed with a handgun.