While our current climate draws all kinds of imagery of justice, our remembrance will almost always drive us back to a blindfolded, scales holding Lady Justice.

A cynic would say "blind justice is passé." Cynics would say, ours is "the best legal system money can buy". Cynics would say you have to "pay to play". Cynics would say, "that's just how it's done".

Link...

Oh yes, one Principle Note, the Campaign has decided to make an ethical statement by not accepting donations from attorneys! The mark of a good judge is one who will rule against his former lawyer friends when they are wrong and rule for his former rivals when they're right. Don't take this the wrong way. I'm the son of a lawyer, married to a lawyer, nobody loves lawyers more than me, but the public needs to understand that justice isn't for sale to the lawyer who contributes the most to the judge's campaign.

Judge Mike Meares is not a cynic. Thank you for restoring this voters faith in the system.

The Second Annual Boys & Girls Club Motorcycle Ride will benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Blount County.

Saturday, April 12, 2008, 2:00PM. Registration from 12:30 to 2:00PM at Smoky Mountain Harley Davidson Entry Fee: $20.00 per rider ($10 is tax deductible). Entry Fee includes ride, one free T-Shirt for the first 150 registered riders, and a meal.

Sponsorship opportunities are available. Brochure here. For more information:

Bill Kilgore—865-388-7258
Gary Honaker—865-982-3830
Anna Beth Meccia—865-544-3825 x 221

Boy, Commissioner/Planning Commissioner Scott Helton doesn't miss a trick when it comes to helping out the Mayor's biggest contributors: (Link...)

This is like a big ole Christmas present to people who already received ill-advised RAC status. Note the key words "AND existing commercial development." (Emphasis mine.) There's a big difference between clustering commercial only at key intersections on 411S and at existing ad-hoc industrial parks/metal dumps all along the "scenic" highway.

The Planning Commission seemed to reach a consensus on language suggested by the Hunter Interests Growth Study to recommend clustering of commercial sites on U.S. 411 by zoning at key intersections and existing areas of commercial development.

County Commissioner Scott Helton didn’t want the language to just include key intersections.

“I just didn’t want us to be handcuffed down there,” Helton said.

The proposal had generated discussion about what direction was wanted for the development of U.S. 411 South.

“We have a desire not to have a strip mall all the way down the road to the county line,” Planning Commissioner Rick Brownlie said.

Yes, Heaven forbid we should limit ourselves to the recommendations we paid so much for.

No truer words were ever spoken, than by Bob Kidd re: the win of Jerry Cunningham in the primary for Mayor: (Link...)

"Tonight was a vote for pro-growth," said Kidd, who did not seek re-election. "Put that in your paper."

Just want to say that The Daily Times was spot on in the endorsement for Fred Thompson for president on MAY 20, 2007. First, ole Fred had not even declared that he was running for president when the sterling endorsement was made (he was too busy finishing up his TV appearance). Second, the declaration date was not even close to a primary. Third, it goes to show how idiotic the editor can be at the daily times. I DEMAND A RETRACTION OF THE ENDORSEMENT!

I would link the article but I'll be damned if I'll give a cent to the DT for retrieving archived articles. Someone can if they have access.

The Mrs. was at the drug store picking up a prescription for me yesterday (thanks!) and there was a woman in front of her with six prescriptions to fill. The clerk was going over the cost of each prescription with her, so she could decide which ones she would have filled. She couldn't afford to pay for having them all filled.

It is immoral and just plain wrong that anyone in America has to make decisions like this. Yet millions do every day.

I just wanted to note that anecdote, but it also reminded me of the BlountRX program.

The Montessori Middle School, located on Louisville Road, will be opening in August 2008. There will be an informational meeting at the Blount County Library, today, Tuesday January 29, 6:00 - 8:00 PM. For more information visit www.discoveret.org/mms or call 985-8900.

SPEAKER: Al Wiberly, a First Friday regular (except for summers when he is in Maine) since our beginning 4 years ago. Al's topic will be THE ENVIRONMENT--the big picture. He will discuss "Why the environment is going to hell."

Friday luncheons are held on the first Friday of the month, 11:30 am at Ryan's Steakhouse at Hunter's Crossing (Walmart) in Alcoa.

Citizen groups are welcome to join us at all First Friday Luncheons. Our programs tend to be non-partisan with an emphasis on good government and honest officials--both elected and appointed

Blount County Democratic Party Friday Luncheon
Ryan's Steakhouse at Hunter's Crossing (Walmart) in Alcoa
11:30AM TO 1:00PM

goes to Dean Stone????? Sure, he's a staple for Blount County history, but old Dean has also come out in strong support of the Pellissippi Parkway Extension and the Southern Loop (which the Raven Society is adamently against). And Booty giving him the award seemed kinda ironic.

Early voting has been underway in Blount Co. since Wed. Jan. 16th and ends this Thursday, Jan. 31st. Through last Thursday Jan. 24th, only 1,378 people had voted early. This is about 2.3% of the registered voters in Blount Count.

Voting picked up a little on Wednesday and Thursday after Thompson dropped out. Apparently some people were waiting to see what he would do before voting.

Fine Arts Blount ArtSpace Gallery is hosting the Last Friday Art Walk.

Take a walk in downtown Maryville today, Friday the 25th, from 5:30PM to 8:30PM, and visit local businesses with displays from local artists (paintings, sculptures, glass blower, photographer, ceramics, and wood block prints).

Live music, Robinella, at Tomato Head.

Maps of participating businesses are available at Fine Arts Blount ArtSpace Gallery, 301 Church St. E, in downtown Maryville (865-982-0898).

Then, later if you are so inclined, head over to Music Row of Maryville for line dancing and square dancing from 8 to 11 PM. $5 admission. Music Row (865-983-8259) is at 2808 E. Lamar Alexander Highway (321). I believe Music Row is approx. 3/4 mile past Blount Memorial Hospital on the right.

That's what Robert Wilson suggests in this Knoxville News Sentinel article.

Actually, it sounds about right if you think about it. Ron Paul is a nut who appeals to less informed voters and is running on a platform of dismantling the federal government and all our social safety net programs, deregulation and corporations gone wild against the interests of middle-class working people, and he has the support of anti-immigration and white supremacist groups.

What's not to like? </sarcasm>

The author of "The Ages of American Unreason, Past and Present." will be visiting Tennessee.

Feb 3rd - Susan Jacoby - RET Public Mtng
Award-winning author, Susan Jacoby, will address one of the most thought-provoking issues of our time in an appearance at Pellissippi State Technical Community College on Sunday, February 3 at 1:30 p.m. in Goins Auditorium. Jacoby will discuss “The Ages of American Unreason, Past and Present.” Arrive early for coffee, refreshments and socializing. Stay late for Susan's book signing session.

Her topic, the subject of her upcoming eighth book, “The Age of American Unreason” (Random House 2008), is the widespread new cultural phenomenon characterized by the decline of reading and the rise of scientific and historical illiteracy.

For more information about the book and directions to the event visit the Rationalist of East Tennessee web site at: Link...

There will be a limited number of books for sale which the author will sign.

The Tennessee Republican Party has been throwing accusations at some of their own.

TNGOP called the 2007-2008 budget a "folly" and "reckless" after forty-seven Republicans voted in favor of the plan including Senate Speaker Sen. Ron Ramsey (R-Blountville) and House Minority Leader Rep. Jason Mumpower (R-Bristol). Rep. Glen Casada (R-College Grove) piled on the acrimony claiming out-of-session spending (which is approved by Senate Finance Chairman Sen. Raymond Finney (R-Maryville) and passed with the same 47 Republican legislators in the FY07-08 budget) contributed to "exorbitant spending" in the state.

-This came from the TNDP

Judge Mike Meares is touring Blount County and he want to meet YOU, your friends, family and neighbors. The tour is kicking off this Saturday, January 26, 1pm, at Bob's Mountaineer Restaurant on Chapman Hwy in Seymour. The Seymour Herald is going to be covering the event.

See the Elect Judge Meares website for more upcoming events.

Maryville Daily Times: New regional development program launched

The Blount County Chamber of Commerce and five other regional economic development agencies have formed Innovation Valley Inc. to encourage successful regional development and bring more businesses to East Tennessee.

Memphis Business Journal: First Tennessee to downsize Maryville center:

First Tennessee Bank is cutting 28 jobs at its operations center in Maryville, Tenn., according to the state's Department of Labor and Workforce Development.

According to the article, layoffs will begin Feb. 15th. First Tennessee will be closing the operations center and moving into a smaller space.

Check it out

Link...

It's 30 degrees and raining. Our driveway and the street out front are a sheet of ice.

It's time for Blount County Commission to ensure the safety of citizens who attend and wish to speak at commission meetings. As more is revealed about the threat by Sheriff Berrong against an elderly citizen at last week's commission meeting, ALL should be calling upon the Commission Chair to take action. See the entry at: Link... It appears the blogger interviewed the elderly man about the threats. Chairman Ramsey, and other commissioners should contact this man for a full accounting of what he was forced to endure.
Commission must go on the record, that citizens are welcome in the "publicly-funded" county courthouse for all public meetings without fear of being threatened, harassed, or followed home by marked, or unmarked sheriff's vehicles. Chairman Ramsey, with the backing of EVERY commissioner, needs to show leadership and put Berrong on notice that this WILL NOT be tolerated. Berrong does not run this county, NOR does he run the commission meetings.
Furthermore, citizens must remember THEY PAY BERRONG'S SALARY! If he, or his thugs threaten, follow, or in ANY WAY attempt to intimidate, or harass, REPORT THEM! Contact the Tennessee State Police AND the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and file an OFFICIAL report.
Perhaps it's also time for Ramsey to seek legal guidance on what needs to be done about this. It's gone on for too long. It's frightening to think Berrong has repeatedly pulled these tactics on people attending public meetings and to date, NOTHING has been done about it.
Heads up, Commission and Chairman Ramsey: Get control of the courthouse, and if the sheriff can't conduct himself professionally, kick his can out of there!

The Judge Mike Meares campaign has launched their official website at www.mearesforjudge.com. There's a lot of good information, including an interesting "voter education" section on how the court system works. Check it out.

Also, the Committee to Elect Mike Meares is now accepting contributions. You can send your contribution (up to the maximum of $1,000.00) to:

Committee to Elect Mike Meares
c/o Martha Meares, Treasurer
212 High St.
Maryville, TN 37804

An invitation to people concerned about the future livability and economic vitality of our community:

Visions for Blount County's Future: Balancing Growth and Quality of Life

Sunday, January 27, 2 – 3:30 pm
Blount County Library, Sharon Lawson Room

A program sponsored by The Raven Society
Guest speaker: Bridget Jones, Ed.D., Executive Director, Cumberland Region Tomorrow, a non-profit organization working to support and encourage quality growth in a 10-county region of Middle Tennessee through improved planning and coordination between public and private sectors, with emphasis on land use, transportation and rural preservation. Link....

Quality of life is key to both our economic health and our personal well-being. We know that high quality communities do not just happen. They require thought, effort, vision, collaboration and commitment.

Residents of Blount County value the small-town character of their communities and the open landscapes of their rural heritage, yet we must respond to the pressures for intense economic and population growth. The reality is that growth brings costs as well as opportunities. It requires both expensive new infrastructure and improvements to the old.

By planning for growth and guiding it, we can keep and enhance our county’s economic health and also maintain our unique assets.

This program will give an overview of quality growth: what it is, why we need it, and resources to help us plan for it. Please join us for this important program.

You are invited to stay for a brief Raven Society business meeting immediately following. Refreshments will be served.

Please forward this invitation to others. For more information call 256-8262.

When did the Prez. ask us if we wanted to Borrow Money to Pay for an Oil War? I don't remember that. I do remember a bunch of hyped-up gun slinging Texans hollerin' about non-existant Weapons of Mass Destruction in a country far away that never meant us any harm. If you recall, Kuwait perfected the technology of Horizontal Drilling and was sucking al-Qaeda Juice across the Iraqi border, and when Hussein revolted against the theft of the Kuwaitis, we invaded. But now, we're borrowing money from the Chinese, Saudis, and Japan to pay for an occupation on a wing-and-a-prayer that whoever's left in Iraq will give Exxon, Shell, Chevron, and BP THEIR Oil?

It isn't that difficult to e-mail your Congressman and Senator. Heck it's even quite simple to e-mail anyone's Congressman and Senator. Take some time from your day, and e-mail to demand IMPEACHMENT. The elitist new Democrats in Washington will not do it, unless we drag them to it, kicking and screaming.

These Texo-fascists have wrecked our economy spending like drunken sailors on an un-ethical evil theft of others' resources WAR, and it is NOT American. It is NOT American at all, and all of the Texo-fascists responsible for this debacle, should spend the rest of their days in Guatanamo Bay, behind barbed wire, so they can count their Halliburton Stocks in peace.

On the Local Level, if these Tennessee Whackos think that pouring more asphalt as part of some Pellissippi Parkway Extension will help us, then they too are equally Nuts. If the State is so dead set on spending more money here in Blount County, then they should get us a Light Rail Transit system going, so even poor folks, like myself, will be able to get to work, once the price of Gasoline prohibits us from driving.

P.S. Me gets mad and spout angry rhetoric every once in a while.

This article really hit me the wrong way (Link...).

No matter what your position on the fluoridation of water is, I doubt you will agree that such an important decision should be made based purely on decree of the Mayor and professional fatigue:

“After the careful consideration of a request from the Blount County Mayor’s Office to reconsider fluoridating the county’s water system, SBCUD felt it was no longer in our best interest to exhaust the time and efforts of our executive staff in another public fight over such a divisive issue.

“We understand that our decision will be disappointing to many of our customers and for that we are very sorry. We regret that we are not able to meet the individual desires of each of customers on both sides of the issue.”

Lemme guess: the Mayor is the one who appoints members of the Utility Board and he made it clear he could replace folks who didn't go his way. Is there a copy of the "request from the Blount County Mayor's office"?

While undeniably controversial, the South Blount Utility Board's decision NOT to fluoridate was entirely defensible. There is plenty of evidence to the potential dangers. Not to mention that years of committee/community work had gone into making and evaluating the decision. Then all efforts were undone by a single megalomaniac who can't leave anything up to the people responsible for it?

Perhaps the Mayor never saw this video, from a state legislator who has such items as these on his curriculum vitae:

Fellow, American Academy of Family Physicians
Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians
American Medical Association
Tennessee Medical Association
Lewis County Medical Examiner
Lewis County Health Council

While the Mayor is out and about making decrees, perhaps he will also decree that all families in the South Blount Utility District receive the warning that baby formula should NOT be prepared with the new fluoridated water and that these families must now invest in bottled water or ready-to-eat formula? This is according to the American Dental Association: (Link...). Oh, and while they still promote fluoride in the water the CDC agrees with this assertion that infants are receiving too much and goes on to say that 33% of children in the U.S. have very mild to mild fluorosis and that they've recently discovered this effect is on the permanent teeth as well: (Link...)

It now appears that the amount of the fluoride contained in the water used for mixing infant formula may influence a child’s risk for developing enamel fluorosis, particularly if the child’s sole source of nutrition is from reconstituted infant formula.

Maybe I'm oversimplifying, but it seems to me it is far easier to provide annual fluoride treatments (and virtually all toothpastes on the market are fluoridated) to the underprivileged than it is to provide bottled water or ready-mix formula to the underprivileged.

When I was a kid, a hundred years ago, they actually gave out fluoride treatments to kids who qualified at school. Don't they still do that?

From the DT Link... :

In September 2006, the county’s undedicated fund balance, its equivalent of a savings account, had dipped to just about $800,000 because of the spending of previous commissions.

“That was frightening,” Cunningham said. “We were in precarious financial shape as related to our rainy-day fund.”

Because of spending restraint and other measures, the fund balance now stands at about $3.2 million and is expected to reach about $6 million next fiscal year, Cunningham said.

“We’re moving in the right direction,” he said. “We need to continue building this fund (to about $9 million). I’m asking your help in doing that.”

The mayor also went on at length about having a ridiculous arrangement with an insurance policy that cost $300K a year, had a $250K deductible and only paid a max of $1million. He stated we had never paid more than the deductible (although we are a couple of broken arms away from it staying that way) Smartly, we dropped that policy and are now self insured.

The mayor also stated the "rainy day fund" was needed in case of a catastrophe. The question: Why do we need two different "insurance" policies?

At any rate, would it be more likely that Blount is going to have a "catastrophe" or a certain bank will get $9million dollars richer?

Wouldn't you trust yourself with your money in case of a "catastrophe" more so than you would trust Blount County's fiscal governence? "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you." used to be a joke. I don't think many local and national leaders get it anymore.

Given some of the recent discussions here, you might find this interesting.

Our favorite bank hits the news again!

(Link...)

Better read it quickly before they retract it.

Some people have had a chance to read the latest State Audit Report on Blount County. Funny thing - it does not say what Finance Director (and political machine Chairman) Bennett claims. See Link... for the real story.

For more information call 865-524-3074. Remember to leave 56 days between donations.

For more information call 865-524-3074. Remember to leave 56 days between donations.