Author: Erica Walters

Agent Melissa Hayes says she can thank Uncle Sam for helping her sell 25 houses to first-time homebuyers last year.

“Even in this economy, business has been steady,” the Crye-Leike agent said.

To help prop up the beleaguered housing market, the federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 initiated a tax credit for first-time homebuyers of up to $8,000 or 10 percent of the purchase price of the home. Condos, townhouses, mobile homes, and houseboats up to $800,000 all qualified as long as they were used as a primary residence.

To qualify for the credit, first-time homebuyers had to earn less than $75,000 annually if single and less than $150,000 if married and could not have owned a home in the past three years.

“The majority of the people I worked with have been first-time homebuyers,” Hayes said. “The houses they’ve purchased have been around $120,000 to $150,000.”

After hearing about the program, Bryan Tushek and his fiancée Storey Rowe decided to purchase a four-bedroom home for $200,000 in May.

“It was probably around March of last year when I heard about the credit,” Tushek said. “I was already thinking about purchasing, but that jump-started it. We decided to purchase earlier than we had planned.”

The program was set to expire in November of last year, but Congress extended it through April and expanded it to include existing homeowners.

“We saw a push when people thought they had to close by the end of November,” Hayes said. “But now people who own homes are excited.”

Along with the other changes to the program, a first-time homebuyer now can earn up to $125,000 a year if single and up to $225,000 if married.

Existing homeowners wanting to take advantage of the $6,500 tax credit must meet the same salary requirements and have lived in their current house for at least three years.

Although the extension expires at the end of April, binding contracts to purchase houses made by April 30th will be eligible as long as the closing dates are by June 30th.

At Carriage Rides of River City, the diamonds are definitely in the rough.

“We have the only barn where you can find diamonds and manure,” says David Sydnor, owner of Carriage Rides of River City in Memphis.

River City is the home of a new gold carriage decorated with more than 2,000 imitation diamonds and other jewels, red and gold garlands, and dozens of angel figurines. The carriage’s lavish decorations began more than six months ago for a wedding. Since then, the carriage has gotten even more elaborate.

“We added the angels for the hell of it, because it was a Catholic wedding,” Sydnor says. “The carriage is finished, but we’ll be fixing decorations continually.”

After adding the angels — including two imported from Italy, others came from Family Dollar — Sydnor didn’t stop decorating, eventually working on the carriage for more than 200 hours.

As the horses pull the carriage around the city’s streets, visitors often take pictures. Sydnor says men especially notice the carriage.

“This is a pretty, but masculine, carriage,” he says. “If this carriage was a scent, it would be English Leather. Men are more willing to ride around in English Leather than Chanel No. 5.”

After adding the angels, Sydnor submitted paperwork to copyright the angel carriage’s unique design.

“We’re happy to inspire other companies in town, but that’s about it,” Sydnor says. “Without prejudice, each of our carriages are distinctly different from the other carriages in Memphis.”

The angel carriage will remain a permanent fixture in River City’s fleet for the rest of the year. “When you come to Memphis and get a carriage ride, it’s different than any other place,” Sydnor said. “People say they’ve never seen anything like it.”

After Judith Dierkes’ watched The Future of Food, a
documentary about genetically modified food, she decided to spread the
message.

To do so, she transformed her white Subaru station wagon into a
traveling corn on the cob. She painted yellow kernels on the front of
the car and a green husk around the back. She even covered the seats in
yellow fabric and painted the inside yellow and green.

“I see a lot of people with cell phones taking pictures,” she said.
“I have yellow pieces of paper — my kernels of truth — that
are cut in the shape of corn to hand out to [people who] ask about the
car. It gives me an opportunity to share my thoughts about [genetically
modified corn].”

Because corn is pollinated by the wind, genetically modified corn
can “infect” other corn crops. Dierkes thinks the agricultural company
Monsanto eventually will put small farms out of business. She also
believes that genetically modified corn has contributed to a rise in
childhood diabetes.

In what she calls her “a-maize-ing” Subaru, Dierkes is a one-car
parade. She plays “You Don’t Own Me” by Lesley Gore and wears yellow
loafers, yellow pants, and a green sweatshirt.

“Corn is in everything. And to think that we have this contaminated
product?” she said. “Monsanto’s genetically modified corn is infecting
other corn.”

The auctioneer sounded off words in a melodic way: “$16,000, now 17,
now 17, will you give me 18?” And with that, owning a big rig or a
police car with shattered windows — broken glass included —
became possible.

Last week, Roebuck Auctions sold used Shelby County vehicles and
items seized by the West Tennessee Drug Task Force.

“It’s a fairly good turnout,” said David McGriff, director of the
West Tennessee Drug Task Force.

Around 9 a.m., cars began to line the roads near Jail East for
registration. As the auction began, mothers with young children and
older men in overalls followed the auctioneer from item to item. Other
bidders sat on the lawn near the things they wanted: buses, tractor
trailers, police cars, and motorhomes.

“There’s more than cars,” McGriff said. “Ninety-nine percent of what
we’ll sell has been property seized and awarded by the court.”

Most of the vehicles seized by drug task force agents were used to
transport illegal drugs. Revenue from the seized property will benefit
the West Tennessee Drug Task Force, whereas money from the sale of
county vehicles will go to the county’s general fund.

Truck driver Darrell Thurman took advantage of some big-ticket
items.

“So far today I’ve only won this trailer,” he said. “I got it for
$3,250. It normally costs $5,000.”

With the win of the trailer under his belt, Thurman’s eyes moved
toward the motorcycles.

“I’d like one of those Harleys,” he said. “But I’ll probably finish
[the day] with a little generator.”

With the day winding down, Lorry Anderton of Collierville and her
husband made their way to the auction looking for a good deal on a
motor home.

“We go to about every one of [the auctions],” she said. “We
purchased one of our cars from an auction.”

They still were pleased with the purchase, but Anderton said there
were obvious signs of the vehicle’s previous life.

“You can see where they removed the panels looking for something,”
she said. “I’m not sure what they found.”

In recent years, ad campaigns have asked the public to call 911 only
in case of an emergency and not to use the number to ask general
questions, get directions, or find out the score to a sporting
event.

Now, new campaigns are dialing in on cell phone use.

“The 911 District is attempting to educate the public and make them
aware that when you call 911 from a cell phone, it is different from a
wired telephone in a residence or business,” said Raymond Chiozza,
director of the Shelby County Emergency Communications 911 District.
“Seventy-two percent of all 911 calls that are answered by the Public
Safety Answering Points throughout Shelby County originate from a cell
phone.”

Radio and television spots began to air this month on local
channels. The ads stress that people should be able to tell dispatchers
their location.

“When calling from a wired telephone, the location and name are
delivered to the appropriate dispatch center that serves that residence
or business,” Chiozza said. “Cellular calls are often not automatically
routed. Often you may need to be transferred to the proper agency in
the area.”

In addition to the ads, the 911 District is also developing comic
and coloring books for children.

“The comic book is intended to educate children on when and how to
use 911,” said Ken Woodmansee, director of corporate communications at
cs2 advertising. “The book follows the day-to-day actions of the 911
Responders, a group of four superheroes whose mission is to provide
kids with guidance when they need to call 911.”

Since 2004, the local 911 service has worked to make response times
faster. The initiative began after two men, including former Memphis
mayor Wyeth Chandler, died after confusion ensued over whose
jurisdiction they were in. In Chandler’s case, 12 minutes passed before
he received medical attention even though there was an ambulance two
minutes away. In another case, it took 30 minutes for an ambulance to
reach Jim Wagner even though there were multiple ambulances within five
minutes of the pool hall where he suffered a heart attack.

In addition to reworking how ambulances were dispatched, emergency
services tried to stem the number of frivolous calls to 911 that
blocked the phone lines for other callers with legitimate
emergencies.

A list of what should be known when calling 911 from a cell phone is
posted at ShelbyCounty911.org. Topping that
list is knowing the emergency agency needed and the address and cross
street where the emergency occurs.

Somewhere between TheatreWorks productions such as First Site
and the middle school drama club, 7th-grader Deidra Shores has gone
missing. Where in the world is she?

The Colonial Middle School student is in New York City, sitting
alongside Natalie Morales, Al Roker, and Ann Curry, in hopes of winning
the Today show’s “Kid Reporter” contest.

After promotions about the contest began airing on Today in
early October, Vanessa Conner, Shores’ mother, mentioned the contest to
her daughter.

“It took me two hours to shoot the video,” Shores said. “I was
running around Memphis like a mini paparazzo.”

In the third week of the competition, Shores became a semi-finalist
with her parody of Today‘s popular segment, “Where in the World
Is Matt Lauer?”

From those 16 semi-finalists, Shores became one of four finalists.
And, with that, she made her way to the Big Apple.

During her first trip to the Today show, Shores met singer
Rod Stewart, the entire cast of Today, and the other
finalists.

“I wasn’t really nervous, just mostly excited. Ann was the first to
talk to us,” Shores said. “They showed us a room full of submissions
from the contest.”

Shores will be on Today Thursday, November 5th, and Monday,
November 9th, when the finalists will each report a news story. Judging
will end the following day.

While the contest hasn’t convinced her to become a news anchor,
Shores has taken a liking to the camera.

“I like to do anything to help with my talent,” she said. “I could
do anything, but acting is really cool.”

erica walters

Authors Barbara Prescott and Lora Jobe

After being friends for 14 years — six of them while serving
together on the Memphis City Schools board — Lora Jobe and
Barbara Prescott decided to form a new partnership.

While at dinner together one night, Jobe coined the term “heart
marriage” to describe couples who are all but married. The conversation
became the basis for the pair’s new book, My Heart Got Married and I
Didn’t Know It: Unspoken Vows and Shattered Dreams, about couples
who short-circuit the process of getting to know each other.

“It’s about people who have been together for 10 years and get
divorced after their first year of marriage,” Jobe said. “They ignore
red flags early on.”

Using real-life examples, the book helps couples recognize a heart
marriage, decide whether to end the relationship, and take steps to
prevent a heart marriage from occurring.

In addition to being former school board members, Prescott has a
doctorate in counseling, with a concentration in marriage and family
counseling. Jobe worked as a nurse before becoming a field
representative for U.S. senator Lamar Alexander. And both women have
had friends and family members involved in heart marriages.

Along the way, the pair found one successful marriage.

“The writing process was amazing,” Prescott said. “Not one
disagreement in three years.”

The women edited each other’s chapters, but the voice is the same
throughout the book.

“I kind of remember the first chapter I wrote, but after that I’m
not sure who wrote what,” Jobe said. “We happened to be thinking the
exact same way.”

Prescott and Jobe said their relationship has always been strong,
even while they were school board commissioners.

“We didn’t always vote alike,” Jobe said, “but there was a respect
for the other’s opinion. In general, we had the same heart and
idea.”

Prescott said the book has taken their friendship to a different
level.

“It has deepened our friendship, love, and respect for each other.
It’s a good marriage,” she said.

My Heart Got Married and I Didn’t Know It can be purchased at
bookstores or at myheartgotmarried.com. Prescott and
Jobe also will do a reading Sunday, October 25th, at First Baptist
Church of Memphis on Poplar.

“It’s a blessing to have a friend like Barbara,” Jobe said. “To
develop a friendship to this level is huge.”

erica walters

Artist Jonathan Brilliant, 32, goes through at least 50,000 coffee
stirrers a month. While he likes coffee, he’s not stirring lattes; he
uses the stirrers to weave landscapes.

Brilliant, an artist from South Carolina, has been inspired by both
coffee shops and found objects. In his The Goldsworthy of Coffee
Shop Project, an installation made of wooden coffee stirrers, he
combines the two. The site-specific installation will be on display at
U of M’s Jones Hall Gallery until October 30th.

Flyer: When did you start building landscapes out of coffee
stirrers?

Brilliant: I began working in this way four years ago. I
gathered materials in my natural environment, which I saw as a coffee
shop, and used them to create an installation.

Is the wood tough on your hands?

[The stirrers are] the kind you find at high-end coffee shops, not
something in the office normally. Since I’ve started, I’ve only had one
splinter and that was this week. The work I do gives me really strong
hands.

How long does it take to complete an installation?

It has taken a week to complete this installation. I worked about 10
to 12 hours a day. The Memphis piece is the eighth installation I’ve
done since I began. I will be doing eight more within the next 10
months.

How do you start a project like this?

I started weaving around the top first. Then I moved to the bottom.
From there, it was easy to join the top and bottom and fill in the
rest. I know beforehand what kind of volume and weaving is needed for a
piece.

What should people see when they look at your artwork?

What I see is an experience. My artwork is an active experience [so
that] you want to move around the space. None of my installations are
the same. The Memphis piece was made specifically for Memphis.

Colorful lights flash and Middle Eastern beats pound as almost 20
bare-bellied women seductively move their hips from side to side.

The belly dancers of the Memphis Raqs twirl around the stage of the
Bartlett Performing Arts and Conference Center during a recent
performance, incorporating canes, finger cymbals, and veils.

But the best prop of the night — and the reason the Memphis
Raqs began — is a 15-year-old, 8-foot boa constrictor named
Sandy.

Liz DiMaggio, Sandy’s owner and the founder of Dance Oasis, became
interested in belly dancing when she was a student at the University of
Memphis.

“I started an anthropology class in 2003, and one of our assignments
was to research an element of a foreign culture,” DiMaggio says.
“Someone jokingly said that I should belly-dance with my snake.”

DiMaggio enrolled in a belly-dancing class and liked it so much that
in May 2008, she opened her own studio in Bartlett.

“Belly dance is unlike any other style of dance,” she says. “The
movements and philosophies of belly dance appeal to everyone, no matter
your lifestyle. Every woman can belly-dance.”

Onstage, the Memphis Raqs show off the skills they’ve learned from
DiMaggio and pose for pictures. In pairs, they smile at one another and
seem unconcerned about the extra jiggle that happens with some of the
shimmies.

“Belly dance is definitely a great workout,” DiMaggio says. “You’re
using muscles that we don’t use in our everyday life. You’ll feel the
burn in your glutes, abs, thighs, and even upper body as we add arm
movements.”

DiMaggio offers several classes each week. Newcomers are welcome
each Thursday at 6 p.m. and classes cost $15.

The Memphis Raqs’ next performance is October 24th at a secret
location, revealed only after a person has bought a ticket. “We’re
hosting a side-show-style event called ‘Pandora’s Box’ with Desert Rose
Dance,” DiMaggio says. “We’ll have fire, snakes, swords, pirates,
burlesque, and all manner of things fun and freaky.”