It helps if folks know when, where, and how to participate. To that end, County Commissioners Wendy Pitts Reeves and Joe McCulley are sponsoring a resolution at tomorrow night's County Commission meeting to make all public notice announcements available on the county's website, including vacancies on boards, committees, and commissions.

The agenda for tomorrow's meeting is here, the full text of the resolution follows after the jump...

Rep. Joe McCord Won't Seek Re-Election to House

UPDATE: Former Sen. Bill Clabough Eyes Run for McCord House Seat

Where the Dems at?

Check this out. (I know it looks complicated, but just stare at it for a while like I did...)

Nov. 2008 election results by county commission district and party (based on Obama v. McCain*):

Aug. 2006 county commission vote by district, seat, and party:

So what does this tell us? Beats me. Except that Republicans dominate Blount County. But we already knew that.

But what I do see is that a) turnout is pathetic in off-year elections (when we elect most of our local county government), b) Democrats need to run more opposition candidates , and c) in 2006 Wendy Pitts Reeves and Dr. Bob Proffitt turned out more than half the number of 2008 Democratic presidential election voters in their districts (although it's most likely that not all their votes were from Democrats).

That last one is interesting, considering that turnout was about 22% in the 2006 county general election v. 76% in the 2008 national election.

It should also be noted that Democrats won two of the three County Commission seats where they ran candidates. Maybe that's the takeaway.

Anyway, these charts clearly show there are enough Democrats (and I count a 2008 Blount Co. vote for Obama as a hard core, yellow dog Democrat vote) to elect Democrats in almost every County Commission district if Democrats turn out the vote.

But this isn't really about R v. D. It's about good government, and not just being a rubber stamp for the County Mayor, Sheriff, and developers.

(*Note: The by-precinct numbers are slightly but insignificantly higher and don't add up to the unofficial election totals posted by the Blount Co. Election Commission on their website. I've double and triple checked, so you'll have to ask them why that is. Probably my bad, if someone can figure out why I'll be glad to make corrections.)

A $50,000 donation from Don and Carol Story, a $200,000 donation from the Charles and Sue Fouche Charitable Trust, and a $250,000 donation from PetSafe to be announced today complete phase 2.

The Maryville Daily Times has more...

We've added a box on the right with links to pages about featured candidates for the upcoming 2010 Blount County elections. We have requested info from each of the candidates, and pages/links will be updated as we receive it.

In the mean time, please consider supporting these candidates in the interest of better local government that isn't just a rubber stamp for the Mayor and the Sheriff.

We were fortunate to have lunch with Democratic gubernatorial primary candidate Kim McMillan and Blount Co. Commissioner Wendy Pitts Reeves today. Our full report, with photos...

UPDATE: Maryville Daily Times on McMillan visit...

The Blount County Election office says they are finalizing certification of petitions received as of yesterday's deadline and hope to have it completed this afternoon.

It appears that ten elections are already decided with candidates running unopposed (all Republicans). Five more elections will be decided in the Republican primary, with the winners running unopposed in the general.

In the remaining six competitive races, three Republican primary winners will face independent candidates in the general. Although independents do not traditionally do well, Howard Kerr could be the spoiler in the County Mayor's race.

Democrats put up a respectable roster of candidates for County Commission, including three incumbents. All are unopposed in the primary and will advance to the general.

It appears Republicans are not happy with some of the incumbents. County Mayor Jerry Cunningham drew a primary challenger, as did County Commissioners Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, Gary Farmer, Steve Hargis, Holden Lail, and Mike Walker.

Here's how it stands at the moment:

ELECTIONS DECIDED:

Incumbent Mike Lewis (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 2B.

Incumbent Ron French (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 9A.

Incumbent Monika Murrell is running unopposed for County Commission seat 9B.

Incumbent Kenneth Melton (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 10B.

Incumbent Tom Hatcher (R) is running unopposed for Circuit Court Clerk.

Incumbent Robert Headrick (R) is running unopposed for Genera Sessions Judge Div. 4.

Phyllis Crisp (R) is running unopposed for Register of Deeds and will replace Penny Whaley who is retiring at the end of her term.

Incumbent Bill Dunlap (R) is running unopposed for Road Superintendent.

Incumbent Scott Graves (R) is running unopposed for Trustee.

Incumbent Jim Berrong (R) is running unopposed for Sheriff.

ELECTIONS DECIDED IN PRIMARY:

Mike Caylor and Jimmy Melton will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 3B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Mark Hasty and challenger Kimberly Russell will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 4B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Scott Helton and challenger Homer Sauls will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 6B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Steve Hargis and challenger Jim Folts will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 7A and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Roy Gamble, James Taylor, and John Templeton will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 8A and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

PRIMARIES DECIDED:

Incumbent Tonya Burchfield (R) and challenger Brandon Cook (D) will advance to the general for County Commission 1A.

Incumbent David Ballard (D) and challenger Shawn Carter (R) will advance to the general for County Commission 1B.

Incumbent Brad Harrison (R) will face independent challenger Everett Hoy in the general for County Commission 2A.

Incumbent Steve Samples (R) will face independent challenger Richard Hutchens in the general for County Commission 3A.

Incumbent Peggy Lambert (R) will face independent challenger Izaak Stanridge in the general for County Commission 5A.

Incumbent Bob Proffitt (D) and challenger Richard Carver (R) will advance to the general for County Commission 5B.

Independent challenger William Hill will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 4A.

Incumbent Wendy Pitts Reeves (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 4C.

Gary Wynn (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 6A.

Linda Jo Dees (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 7B.

Independent challenger John Polk will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 8B.

Tony Webb (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 10A.

Independent challenger Howard Kerr will face the Republican primary winner for County Mayor.

COMPETITIVE PRIMARIES:

Incumbent Jerry Cunningham will face challenger Ed Mitchell in the Republican primary for County Mayor. The winner will face independent Howard Kerr in the general.

Incumbent Gary Farmer will face challenger Jerry Harvey in the Republican primary for County Commission 4A. The winner will face independent William Hill in the general.

Jerome Moon and Billy Gribble will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 4C. The winner will face incumbent Wendy Pitts Reeves (D) in the general.

Incumbent Holden Lail will compete with challengers Steve Hicks and Sheri Turner in the Republican primary for County Commission 6A. The winner will face challenger Gary Wynn (D) in the general.

Tom Greene and Tom Cole will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 7B. The winner will face Linda Jo Dees (D) in the general.

Incumbent Mike Walker will face challenger Gordon Wright in the primary for County Commission 8B. The winner will face independent John Polk in the general.

Link...

Compare counties, see how many federal and state dollars flow into each county.

These figures for Blount County listed under "Interest on Debt" are going to raise a few eyebrows.

Expenditure Object Codes Object Code Totals
Interest on Other Loans $6,482,001
Interest on Bonds $1,006,450
Interest on Notes $23,498
Interest on Capital Leases $13,638
Total $7,525,587

Joe Hultquist will be the featured guest speaker at the 2010 Annual Meeting of CAPPE (Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension, Inc.). The meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 22, from 6:30-8:30pm in the Sharon Lawson Room at the Blount County Library.

"For several years we have designed our Annual Meeting as a community education event, featuring speakers who are knowledgeable about transportation issues relevant to our region," said Nina Gregg of CAPPE's Board of Directors. "We saw a need for education and civil discussion about transportation issues and decided to devote a portion of each year's Annual Meeting to fulfilling this need."

"This year we are pleased to welcome Joe Hultquist, Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth (ETQG) as our featured speaker," Gregg said.

Mr. Hultquist, who was born and raised in Blount County, will be speaking about the future of transit in the greater Knoxville area, including the upcoming Regional Corridor and Opportunity Area Study; options for transit between the airport and Knoxville; the role of independent advocacy groups; and ETQG's perspective on transit as a component of quality growth in the region.

Mr. Hultquist is currently serving as Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth, a new organization with representation from 16 counties of middle East Tennessee. ETQG's mission is to "create a vision for quality growth through dialogue, research, and education," and to "promote and facilitate implementation of this vision through regional cooperation and local action."

Previous speakers at CAPPE Annual Meetings have included Rees Shearer from RailSolution, Cindy McGinnis from Knox Area Transit (KAT), Jeff Welch from the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Bill Dunlap from the Blount County Highway Department.

The public is invited to come hear Mr. Hultquist's presentation, which will begin at 7pm. Refreshments will be served at 6:30pm. CAPPE's annual business meeting will follow the speaker.

For more information, call Nina Gregg, CAPPE Communication Committee Chair at 977 7399.

We are excited! It's happening.

The City of Alcoa held the groundbreaking ceremony today to start the Alcoa Highway pedestrian bridge. It should be complete in September, 2010 (eight months)!

Yeah! Kudos to the City of Alcoa for continuing the legacy of parks, greenways, greenbelts, and walkability!

EIGHT ANNUAL CHILI FEST set for Saturday, February 6, 2010

CAPPE's Eighth Annual ChiliFest, which is both a contest and a tasting opportunity, is set for Saturday, February 6 from 4-7pm at Stovall Family Life Center beside First Church of the Nazarene, 1608 E. Broadway, Maryville.

The event begins at 4pm, with tasting and judging continuing until the winners are announced at 6:30pm. In addition to the different chilis and a variety of beverages, tortillas and quesadillas will be available along with a bake sale of delicious home-made treats. Everyone will be eligible to win door prizes.

Several contestants from area businesses will challenge previous winners who are defending their titles. Judges will select the winning chefs in three categories: beef, other meats and vegetarian chili. The general public will vote for the People's Choice winner. Four $50 prizes will be awarded.

To enter the contest, submit an entry form and the $20 entry fee by February 2. Each contestant is asked to bring a minimum of four quarts of warm prepared chili in a crockpot, and to provide a ladle and someone to serve.

Entry forms and advance tickets are available at Southland Books (601 East Broadway) and Waste Not, Want Not (1505 East Broadway).

Suggested donation for admission is $5 in advance and $6 at the door (children under 10 admitted free). Admission includes tastes of entries and one bowl of chili and one vote for the People's Choice winner.

For more information, call Mike Cook, CAPPE President 984 9003 or Susan Keller 982 4267.

The City of Alcoa offers electronics recycling for City of Alcoa residents.

Residential electronic scrap items such as computers, monitors, TVs, printers, keyboards and mice, scanners, fax machines, VCRs and other small consumer electronics can be dropped off at:

City of Alcoa Service Center (new building near Springbrook)
725 Universal Street, Alcoa, TN

Alcoa/Maryville/Blount County Landfill
240 Long Powers Road, Maryville, TN

Contact the City of Alcoa Public Works Department (865-380-4800) with any questions or for additional information,

There is a Health Coverage Tax Credit program that will pay 80% of health insurance premiums for workers that are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits or receiving pension payments from Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) and over the age of 55.

The IRS is holding an education session to assist eligible individuals through the process.

Crowne Plaza
401 W. Summit Hill Drive
Knoxville, TN
9 AM to 3 PM

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a benefit for individuals who have lost their jobs because of trade with foreign countries. Employers and unions file a petition with the Department of Labor (DOL) to have their employees TAA certified.

Area companies that are Trade Adjustment Assistance certified include:
Alcoa, Inc., Alcoa, TN
Newell Rubbermaid, Maryville, TN
Ceramaspeed, Inc., Maryville, TN
Key Safety Restraint Systems, Knoxville, TN
Panasonic Electronic Devices Corp. of America, Knoxville, TN
DeRoyal Industries, Inc., Powell, TN
La-Z-Boy, Dayton, TN
Bos Automotive, Morristown, TN
Berkline/BenchCraft, LLC, Morristown, TN
The Mazer Corporation, Johnson City, TN

Use the US Dept. of Labor web-site to search for TAA certified companies.

According to the Maryville Daily Times,

A Health Care Reform discussion forum will be held at the Blount County Library on January 26th at 6:30PM.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College, the Blount County Ecumenical Action Council and the nonpartisan Tennessee Health Care Campaign.

The groups "advocate for health care reform as a moral imperative regardless of the current national political debate."

Previous events by the groups were held in September, 2009, and January 3, 2010.

Cloudy skies and cold weather didn't stop anyone from coming out to the Maryville Christmas Parade in downtown Maryville today. According to the paper there were over 160 entries in the parade, and folks from all over lined the parade route. Here are some snapshots... 

(Click here for larger view)