What a magnificent day in the foothills of the Smokys.

Lots of bluegrass music.

… with crafts, demonstrations of sorghum making, quilting, weaving, antique tractors, and more.

Hope you visited. Sorry if you missed it.

If you did miss the Townsend Heritage Festival, you can still make it to the Nawger Nob Arts and Crafts Festival in Townsend today, September 30, 2007.

More photos after the jump...

Meet the luckiest bear on earth!

photos at Link...

story at Link...

Way to go guys! Amazing work you all did to save this bear.

Our hosting service provider will be moving this site to another server starting sometime after 7PM tonight (Friday, Sept. 28).

The old site will be here until everything is pointed to the new server. If you post anything after 7PM during this move it will be stranded on the old server and lost (user registration, blogs, comments, anything), so wait until we get the all clear to resume posting.

Thanks!

UPDATE: Site move complete. Let us know if you notice anything weird.

In Blount county, would Democrats get more support/votes by focusing on candidates or local corruption and preservation issues?

In either instance, one would help the other, but which should be promoted to the larger Blount County audience?

On September 24th, the Cities of Maryville and Alcoa are once again requesting residents to voluntarily conserve water.

At this time, the cities are asking their customers and those of Tuckaleechee Utility District (which purchases its water from Alcoa) to voluntarily conserve water. Reducing water use will help ease the demand on each of the water systems which, in turn, eases the demand on the river. Specific suggestions include:

• Stop irrigation of plants, trees and landscaping
• Refrain from washing cars
• Fix all leaky plumbing fixtures, including outdoor hoses
• Run washing machines and dishwashers only with full loads
• Use a broom instead of a water hose to clean sidewalks and driveways

For now, water conservation is still voluntary. However, if the area does not receive any rain in the next few days, mandatory restrictions may be implemented.

Link

The Knoxville News Sentinel has an article about Judge Young in today's paper.

It basically says that he asks for patience until he can tell his side of the story. According to the article, the Judicial Code of Conduct prevents him from talking about it until thirty days after the hearing.

There are also remarks by a representative from the Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.

Commentary after the jump...

The Maryville Daily Times reports that local TWRA officers may have been involved with hunting bear over a baited spot up on Chilhowee Mountain.

That's bad enough, but then today's poll is "Should bear baiting be legalized?"

Say what? Why not just allow hunting at the zoo?

These aren't the mountains you remember as a child? Apparently, shit flows uphill.

This is Sevier County. But it shouldn't be OVERLOOKed here in Blount.

Monroe Count Sheriff, Bill Bivens' Country Cook Out.
Celebrating Sheriff Bivens' his first anniversary (one year) in office.

On Saturday, October 6, 2007, a pleasant drive less than an hour south of Maryville in Blount County, the Monroe County Sheriff, Bill Bivens, is celebrating his first year in office. To mark his first year as Monroe County Sheriff, he is repeating the Country Cook Out which he sponsored last year as part of his campaign. This years cook out will be from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and all visitors are invited.

The cook out will be on the 50 acre Bivens farm at 162 BIVENS RD, TELLICO PLAINS, TN 37385. Phone: (423) 253-7758

Here is a map from Maryville.

The farm is a short drive south on US 411 into Vonore and then left on US 360.

I called and spoke with Bill Bivens and asked him a few questions to better get to know him and report to Blountview readers on the Sheriff to our south and his Country Cook Out.

I heard Commissioner Wendy Pitts Reeves say something the other day and it really is worth talking about. While I can't phrase this the way she would, I will go ahead and ask the question.

What is so special about Blount County? Where or what are our favorite places? The places / things we most want to protect? The places or things that are at greatest risk of being lost?

Before everyone logs in and says the GSMNP, I want to point out that it is part of Blount County but that is not in our control. So what other places or things do we have here that really need protection and why?

In this thread Link... local quoted this from TN Democrats Creed;

We will be faithful stewards of our economy by supporting sound fiscal and energy policies that will create opportunities for all citizens now and in the future;

I gave this as a suggestion for sound energy and conservation;

Think BIG! Ethanol is created by using corn and “stills”. Link... I would say in Blount we already have both. This would enable Dems a policy of “functional” preservation. Lease large farms on a long term (100 yrs?) basis at a fair price. Grow as much corn as you can utilizing farms that won’t have to be turned into sprawl. Make land valuable for something other than development. Link... Once you have established production, the savings on county vehicles should enable a quick return on investment. Most automakers are promoting E85 Link... If production has surplus, sell to McNutt, Downey and Pilot Link... and use these funds for education and/or more preservation.

DT wrote today that Monroe County is doing this; Link... I know in the above I promoted corn, but I have no problems with switchgrass.

I know there are those who write hear who fear the ecological impact of ethanol. Worse comes to worse, we stop the project, the fields rot, and some land has some nice compost.

If not, whats the altermative?

The most serious charge made in the affidavit — one termed by Copeland’s attorneys as the “subornation of perjury” — was that James claimed prosecutors told her to change her story and to “testify to what (another witness) said happened and not what she (Ashley James) said happened.”

Link...

What does this all mean?

Does it never occur to anyone in the GOP to actually prove a point rather than just waxing endlessly about it? This is hardly rocket science, but bare with me;

Her most recent filing with immigration services and the Department of Homeland Security was dated Aug. 8, 2007, and is reportedly valid for 18 months.

As reported by Rick Laney here, Link...

Mr. Calixto freely admitted that he had no legal status while Ms. Calixto attempted to show Judge Young proof of a work permit.
The work permit was out of date and Judge young made note that both parties were apparently here illegally and could therefore be deported.

As stated by Mike Hickman in a LTTE here; Link...

This means one of three things. (1) Ms. Calixto showed Mr. Laney a different document other than the one she brought to court or (2) Mr. Laney is not telling the truth or (3) Mr. Hickman is not telling the truth.

If either source (or anyone for that matter) has a copy of Ms. Calixto's work permit, please state you have it and Mr. Neal will hopefully get the document from you for a post.

As of now, if I had to pick between a justice system that deems it needs no court reporter for records or a local reporter who catches hell from the GOP machine including his own boss' - I'll go with Laney. But ultimately I hope we can prove here what seems easily provable.

Joe Gallagher has this letter to the editor in today's Maryville Daily Times re. the Judge Young v. immigrant situation:

I would like to learn all the facts of this story. Let’s hear Judge Young’s side of what transpired. Rick Laney’s account said, “numerous calls to young’s office and home regarding the Calixto case were not returned.” Judge young owes it to his own reputation and to the image of Blount County to clarify this situation.

Read the whole thing.

Change is in the wind folks. Sit up, speak out and hang on! Three important dates to talk about.

Monday night, Sept September 24 at 6:30 P.M. in the Blount County Public Library will be the third and final Plans Review Citizen Imput session. Plans as in Blount County Planning. As in what YOU want for the future of Blount County.

This final public session falls between the Planning Commission's completed worksession on Water Quality Plan and EHAT action plan and discussion of further review activities and the September 27 meeting when they begin the plan revision process. That is right. This Thursday the revision process begins and then it will be quickly followed by a rubber stamp Commission session.

Lots of black smoke over Alcoa north of us, maybe in the vicinity of East Hunt Road? Lots of scanner traffic from Alcoa FD positioning equipment. There are apparently some problems rerouting traffic around the scene.

Story as it unfolds after the jump...

Smoky Mountain Pet Fair activities held all day, exhibits, vendors, rescue groups, food, music, silly pet contest. Check out the link for schedule, participants, and sponsors

Location: Springbrook Park in Alcoa.

Raising money for the Blount County Humane Society no kill shelter effort.

Tonight at the Blount County Commission, citizens witnessed a shameful act.
At the motion of Commissioner Steve Samples, the Blount County Commission suspended the rules to consider a vulgar resolution.

I attended the second of four Streams Done Right Seminars presented by the Little River Watershed Association and the University of Tennessee Environmental Landscape Design Lab. It was a wonderful seminar held on a magnificent day in the park.

This is a result of a project of the Blount Soil Conservation District, supported by Blount Parks and Recreation as well as the Little River Watershed Association, the University of Tennessee Environmental Landscape Design Lab, the City of Alcoa, TVA, and the ALCOA Foundation.

The project is to return some stream banks to a native habitat. It is a pleasure to see all of these organizations working together to better our environment. UT helped out with providing students on “service learning” projects. In addition, a UT intern was retained to maintain the new plantings through the summer.

The seminar was held along the stream in Springbrook Park where a portion of the stream is in the process of being restored to a native habitat. Apparently the project has already been in progress along a portion of the Blount County Green Belt bike trail. The next project is in Farragut.

Lance Coleman over at BlountToday has an interesting new twist on the upcoming race for Blount County Circuit Judge. Link...

Maryville attorney Craig Garrett has dropped out of the race to unseat Circuit Court Judge Mike Meares.The person who is considering replacing him on the Republican ticket is recently-elected General Sessions Judge Mike Gallegos.

There's a public input meeting tonight for residents in the Maryville High neighborhood to discuss future plans for the school. The meeting is at MHS, 7PM tonight (Monday the 17th).

As noted here by Amber Proffitt, there are also School Board meetings and forums tomorrow regarding this and other topics. Check Amber's post for the schedule and more details.

Depending on which plan is selected, the MHS expansion could have a huge impact on the neighborhood around the existing school. The Knoxville News Sentinel has an article about it in today's paper.

See this earlier BlountViews post for photos from around the neighborhood and some of the historic homes that could be affected.

The Maryville Daily Times has this news brief about the upcoming meetings.

It's only anecdotal evidence, but Blount County seems to be benefiting from biker tourism.

We were over at the new Ruby Tuesday on Alcoa Highway this past Friday evening. We were sitting at the bar with three couples who had flown in from California (Monterey area) to go ride in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the "Dragon" on US129.

They seemed like really nice folks. We chatted a bit with one guy, and he said they flew in, were staying at a local motel (they walked to Ruby Tuesday), and were renting motorcycles locally.

I mentioned that I hoped they were renting bikes with stock pipes and mufflers. He said he hoped so too (he rides a BMW, which is probably quieter than my car). He noted that Harleys were the only kind of motorcycles they could rent locally, and he was a little surprised by that.

Maybe there's a business opportunity there for Honda and/or other dealers?

I told them about the stepped up enforcement, and suggested they should be careful because there are lots of crazies up there.

Anyway, they seemed like responsible folks who should be welcomed, along with their tourist dollars. It would be good if we could attract more bikers like these. Maybe the local bike shops could help promote more of that and less of this.

The Daily Times is now charging to view those archived articles we have all grown to know and love. Will $2.95 an article save the way local politics are handled?

According to this link Link... the Daily Times is owned by the Horvitz Newspapers Inc.

They also own The Peninsula Daily News. You will notice that our local Daily and this Daily out in Washington have very similar websites. Link...

There is a difference since Port Angles readers still have free access to the archived articles.

So, here we are. They want us to shut up and go away. Y'all think we should do that?

If you caught the article in The Daily Times on September 11 entitled "Maryville Schools to Reach Capacity in Ten Years", and actually got past the misleading (yet comforting) title, then you may be aware of the critical situation that Maryville City Schools finds itself in Link... . As the title implies, MCS will reach capacity in ten years, however three of its schools are already past their maximum capacity. The future of the school system really is being shaped at this time, with decisions to be made about how to handle overcrowding and growth, and also with the retirement of Director of Schools, Mike Dalton.
I have blogged here before about the importance of maintaining small schools and I strongly believe in this. I believe that small student popultations are one of the most important factors in providing a quality educational experience for children. I would like to see MCS make this a priority for the future as well. If you agree, I hope you will make the time to support quality education in your community (whether you are a parent or not) and come give voice to your questions and concerns at one or all of the upcoming meetings. Here is the announcement:

The Maryville Board of Education is working to develop plans for facilities throughout the Maryville City school district to accommodate students both now and in the future. We are seeking input and invite parents and all public education stakeholders to participate in these public forums:

September 18
9:00 AM
Maryville Municipal Building

September 18
7:00 PM
Foothills Elementary

September 24
7:00 PM
John Sevier Elementary

Also, you may be aware that Dr. Dalton, our Director of Schools, will be retiring in December. The Tennessee School Board Association will lead a series of discussion groups on Tuesday, September 18, 2007. Throughout the day, employees and other community members will participate in input sessions. The public is invited to attend the session scheduled on September 18th at 5:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at Maryville High School. We hope to hear from parents and the community about their views on issues and challenges facing our school system and our new Director of Schools.

Please come and help shape the future of education in Maryville!

The next Blount County Commission meeting is less than a week away, September 20, 2007.
Support your Democratic County Commissioners by showing up.
When: The third Thursday of every month at 7:00 PM.
Where: The Court house at 359 Court Street, Maryville TN.

Visit the county web site at: Link...
to learn about the districts and find your Commissioners. Each district has two.
If your not happy with how things are going in Blount County, if you think there should be change, giver your Commissioners a call.
The phone numbers are listed at Link....

Rules for how the meeting work are at:
Link...
Learn the rules and take part in your community by participating.

The CNN report on Bush's speech Link...
reads remarkably like the Onion article who's title is "Thousands More Dead In Continuing Iraq Victory" and can be found at:
Link...

The Bush Cheney misadministration is lying. The Government Accounting Office figures show no reduction in violent deaths in Iraq. The misadministration rationalize a way not to count some of them SUCH AS IED DEATHS since they claim they can not be proven sectarian deaths and so are not sectarian deaths.

Bush and Cheney (and the claims of the Petraeus report) are deliberate lies.

You can find the GAO report which says in summary, "
It is unclear whether sectarian violence in Iraq has decreased--a key security m it is difficult to measure whether the perpetrators' intents were sectarian in nature, and other measures of population security show differing trends."
At: Link...

What is clear is that the number of deaths is not down. Got that? Bush Cheney just cook up a way not to book them as deaths they have to count.

If you are not outraged you are not paying attention.

Don't you just love it when you don't hear about changes in our local utilities until after they have been approved?

On Aug 2, 2007 SBU went before the Utility Managment Review Board seeking to extend their services to include sewer systems. It was approved. The hearing this Thursday is just a dog and pony show because according to the UMRB permission has all ready been granted by the State. Now all SBU needs is the farce of a public hearing and the mayor's signature.

Remember who elected him? This is a developer's dream come true.

Back when the Sports Complex was such a hot issue the topic of on-site wastewater systems came up. Folks complained about this and that and the fact that the county has zero control over them.

We still don't.

Just because SBU has been granted areas which can amount to the rest of Blount County as a sewer district ( for areas not covered by any other wastewater utility) does not change a thing with all those systems currently in place. Unless of course those privately held companies either sell or give the systems to SBU.

GIVE? I nearly dropped the phone when the gal at URB in Nashville told me that. This does make sense in case a small utility fails and can not pay for repairs. Then again, the TRA is responsible in making sure that does not happen.

Why do I call this a developer's Christmas? It is. All wrapped up in a bright red bow. When dealing with these smaller private / public utilites the developer is the one who pays for all the equipment then the developer has to give that to the utility. With SBU being the utility they will have the authority to set the rules on who pays for what.

Can I make this any clearer? Nothing has changed the face of Blount County the way on-site sewer systems have. Mountain top development was nearly impossible on the scale we see it today.

I was ask if it is possible that SBU can make the developers pay for the building of these new on-site and other type of wastewater treatment facilities then the developer would give the system to SBU to operate. Yes. They could.

That is the one of the questions we all need to ask. How will SBU work to control urban sprawl in Blount County?

UPDATE! This Thursday there is a public dog and pony show on whether South Blount Utility will get into the sewer games!

notice of public hearing on supplemental petition of south blount county utility

district of blount county, tennessee, for authority to furnish sewer and sewer disposal services
all members of the public take notice that a public hearing will be held on september 20, 2007, at 5:30 p.m. eastern daylight time, in the county commission courtroom, 4th floor, blount county courthouse, maryville, tennessee on the supplemental petition of south blount county utility district of blount county, tennessee for authority to furnish sewer and sewer disposal services pursuant to t.c.a. § 7-82-302 (e). the address of the principal office of south blount county utility district of blount county, tennessee is 808 w. lamar alexander parkway, maryville, tn 37801
all interested members of the public are invited to appear and participate in the hearing.
jerry cunningham, county mayor of blount county, tennessee
sept. 13, 2007

Well look who is getting into the on-site sewer bid'ness.

Link...

4. PRELIMINARY PLAT: HICKORY COVE SUBDIVISION; TAX MAP 25 &
36, PARCEL 218; 112.5 ACRES AND 127 HOME SITES; ZONED R-1,
RESIDENTIAL AND AGRICULTURAL; HOLROB – HOWARD MISER
STATION PARTNERSHIP; VISION ENGINEERING

There will be a decentralized sand filtration sewer system that is going to be maintained by the South Blount Utility District.
A home owners association will be created to maintain the common areas of the development. The interior roads of the subdivision will have sidewalks, which will hopefully be able to connect with Middle Settlement Elementary on the western side of the property. Mr. Wantiez stated that the Blount County Street Department would not

Here's the link: (Link...)

If I were John Loope, I would find the report of the Louisville City Atty/Ethics officer very unsatisfactory. Here's the full text:(Link...) Page 8 of the pdf (numbered page 6 in the document) says basically that all the allegations were dismissed as untrue in the report just because the accuser didn't provide all the evidence. Could it be possible that accuser expected the person tasked with investigating the complaint to uncover and examine the evidence? I mean, when I think of an "investigator," I envision someone in a trenchcoat who can get to the bottom of a matter. Not some attorney who says he took it upon himself to write a report and then declares the conclusion at the beginning. The attorney further says something like: "That [meaning that the accuser didn't provide all the evidence], in and of itself, should end the investigation and result in a finding of no ethical violations. However, since the investigation has the further function of allowing the accused persons to have their say and exonerate their names if there are no facts, I am continuing with the investigation."

So he says right at the beginning of the report that the only purpose of the report is to give the accused their say and that the conclusion has already been made based on lack of evidence PROVIDED BY THE ACCUSER. Not that I'm saying the lack of evidence provided automatically means the accused are guilty, either. But if I were going to be exonnerated in something, I'd hope it was a more ringing endorsement than this.

I'm glad the police investigators don't operate that way.

Hey, folks-

I'd like to invite all of you to join me for a Constituents' Coffee to be held next Tuesday, September 18, from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Montvale Elementary. Click here for more info.

Hope you can come!

~Wendy

Wendy Pitts Reeves, L.C.S.W.
Blount County Commissioner, District 4