Greetings and welcome to this special Mother’s Day installment of Business Pulse. Despite our fast-paced society, Mother’s Day is the one day of the year when we can stop and tell our moms just how special they are and blah, blah, blah.
I know my mom has always supported me, even when no one else would. Back when I first started writing this column, my mom was my one and only reader. After a few months, she finally convinced my dad to start reading Business Pulse and my readership doubled to two.
Now it’s estimated close to a dozen people read this column every Sunday. I probably wouldn’t be at this pinnacle of my career if it wasn’t for my loving mom.
She taught me the value of hard work by having me push mow over 3 acres of our 43-acre farm. Back then, times were tough and there wasn’t enough money in the family budget to buy a riding lawnmower. But that money magically appeared as soon as I left home.
“How does dad like mowing all that grass?” I asked with a chuckle on my first call back.
“Oh it’s not too bad with our new riding lawnmower,” mom told me.
I’m just glad I left home when I did because it probably added years to my life. In a study released Thursday by Danish researchers, it concluded that males who feel constantly nagged at home have more than double the risk of dying in middle age.
This is not to suggest I have ever been nagged at home by any female member of my family. It’s only to mention a breakthrough study which just happened to be released three days ago.
The study determined stress caused from nagging women can lead to heart disease and lower the immune system, which opens the door for an array of male health problems. Danish researchers followed 9,875 males for 11 years in conducting this study.
To put it in simple terms, the study found some men were literally nagged to death by female family members. However, researchers stopped short of concluding that nagging is the reason men have a shorter life expectancy than women.
All of this is a long way of saying Happy Mother’s Day. May your day be filled with joy.

Pretzel shop
now open

I’ve mentioned Auntie Anne’s Pretzels in this column a couple times over the past month as that new business was preparing to open inside Walmart. I’m now pleased to announce Auntie Anne’s is up and running at the old Picture Me photo studio.
I think I’ve fairly well covered the variety of pretzels available at this new store so there’s no reason to rehash all the details again. If you’d like a large pretzel or smaller pretzel bites, think of Auntie Anne’s during your next trip to Walmart.

Dr. Nuthalapaty
has new office

It took a few years, but Country Club Plaza on Manchester Highway has gradually neared capacity. The six-store shopping center has been anchored by Subway since the start and has since added Verde Valle Mexican Restaurant and now Regional Rehabilitation Center, the office of Dr. Sue Nuthalapaty.
The move makes sense because Dr. Nuthalapaty and her husband, Sam, own the shopping center. So after nine years at River Park, they have decided a change of scenery was in order. The new office opened May 1.
“I’m here locally so people don’t have to take the day off work to go to Nashville,” said Dr. Nuthalapaty, a physiatrist who specializes in helping a wide range of chronic problems such as arthritis and back, neck, knee and shoulder injuries. Her emphasis is on restoring function and improving quality of life through medicine and rehabilitation. “About 70 percent of people get better with conservative treatment and they don’t need surgery,” she said. “We offer a complete evaluation and can work with patients on exercise programs and with medication and injections. If necessary, we can refer you to a surgeon.”
Dr. Nuthalapaty served as director of rehab services at River Park for three years before opting to give up that position. “It was a lot of commitment for three years,” she said.
She likes her new location because she used to live on that side of town and enjoys the convenience of the bypass. She also has satellite offices in Manchester and Smithville with the Manchester office being much closer now.
Dr. Nuthalapaty relies heavily on technology in order to properly diagnose a problem. For example, if you come in with knee pain, she needs to know if it’s a sprain or a muscle tear. That’s why she has a fluoroscopy machine in her office for high-tech imaging. The machine also helps determine the best place for epidural injections and nerve blocks.
“We can do injections right in the office,” said Dr. Nuthalapaty. “A lot of the patients we are treating were traveling to Saint Thomas.”
She can also help people with chronic headaches by using botox injections.
“The two caveats for using botox are you have to suffer from headaches for 15 days out of the month and your insurance has to cover it because it’s very expensive,” said Dr. Nuthalapaty.
If you would like to reach her office, she has three phone numbers: 815-1616, 815-1818, and 815-1919.
As for Country Club Plaza, I’m glad to see it filling up with tenants. I’ve heard for decades about how much Warren County was going to grow on that side of the county. It’s certainly where most of the jobs are.

Pet sitter
business opens

If you’re going out of town for a couple days and don’t know what to do with your pets, Robin Fisher has the answer. She has opened a new business called Pet & Barn Sitter Solutions to help you deal with the problem.
“I really am flexible when it comes to this,” said Robin. “If you’d like me to stop by twice a day to make sure your pet has food and water, I can do that. If you’d like me to walk your dog once a day, I can do that. I just got back from staying at a home in Eaglesville on Monday and Tuesday for a lady who has four dogs and two cats and she wanted me to stay there with them so I spent the night. I’ll try to do what I can to help you out. I can also watch barn animals.”
Robin says she’s licensed, bonded and insured. She said she has long had a love for animals and grew up riding horses. She said she can care for horses, sheep and cows as long as it’s not a commercial operation because she’s not licensed for that.
Robin thinks her service will be welcomed by pet owners who don’t want to upset their pets by boarding them at a kennel when they are out of town. She said this will allow them to stay in a familiar environment.
As for another aspect of the business, she also offers dog training. Robin says she has been training dogs for about 14 years and even worked at Pup Scouts Doggie Daycare in Nashville where she dealt with many dogs.
“We would have as many as 50 or 60 dogs a day,” said Robin. “They would still display the same characteristics and form separate packs with an alpha dog to each pack. A trained dog is a much happier dog for the dog itself and the owner. They are free to be with their owner on more occasions and they are more welcomed by other people. If your dog obeys, most people don’t mind if it’s around. If it’s jumping on people and creating a nuisance, then people don’t want it around.”
Robin says her training involves the owner and the dog because the owner needs to take a hands-on approach. If you’d like to give Robin a call, her number is (615) 418-5248.

Kidz Kamp
coming this summer

Believe it or not, the countdown has started. There are just two weeks left to the school year with summer vacation right around the corner.
If you’re thinking about ways to entertain your child during summer break, daycare owners Tammy Young and Leeann Richardson have one option. They are opening Kool Kidz Kamp, an eight-week summer camp that will be held at the Go Xtreme building at 2100 Morrison Street.
Tammy and Leeann are leasing the building and say the summer camp is not affiliated with the church. Camp will be open for children ages 6 to 12 with camp starting June 2 and ending Aug. 1. It will be closed the week of July 4. The cost is $100 per week with a $50 registration fee no matter how many weeks your child will attend.
“So many kids don’t get any stimulation over the summer,” said Tammy. “They are sitting in front of a TV playing video games or they are stuck at grandma’s house. We will have a lot of activities for them to do here at the facility and we’ll go swimming at Gilley Pool. It will be like YSI, just not that extensive.”
I think the summer camp is a great idea and something that’s needed in this community. The city used to conduct a camp like this at the Civic Center five or six years ago, but decided to drop the program during difficult budget times.
The Go Xtreme building has no shortage of activities as there are video games, skee-ball, air hockey and pool tables inside. There is also a basketball goal and a large, open area for a variety of other activities.
Leeann says art projects will be stressed along with programs on nature and gardening, sewing, cooking, and trips to the nearby creek. Leeann and Tammy will both be hands-on and help with Kool Kidz Kamp. They have also hired school teachers Katie Bryant and Justin Adcock as employees.
“Warren County needs something like this,” said Tammy. “We plan on having a lot of fun.”
Camp hours will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday thru Friday. Your child can participate for one week or the whole eight weeks.
Two registration dates will be held at the Go Xtreme building. They are this Thursday, May 15, and next Monday, May 19, from 6 to 8 p.m. both nights. For more information, call Tammy at 212-6486 or Leeann at 212-3190.

That’s all folks

Remember to ask your mom if she knows any business news on Mother’s Day. Then give me a call at 473-2191.