TDOT is holding meetings across the state as part of an I-40/I-81 corridor study. This study will identify 'improvements' for the 550-mile Interstate 40/81 corridor between Bristol and Memphis. See Link...

Among the alternatives under study is the benefit of shifting freight to rail vs. adding new lanes to I-40 and I-81.

In Virginia, a comprehensive study of using rail vs. interstates for freight along I-81 will be released in May. Norfolk Southern is willing to share their data with state Departments of Transportation along the I-40/I-81 corridor.

We need to encourage TDOT to review the Virginia data before reaching any conclusions about what will be best for Tennessee. TDOT is currently relying on flawed analyses from over three years ago. And TDOT is already saying that widening the interstates will be more cost effective than shifting freight to rail.

Some observers think TDOT intends to avoid thorough environmental analysis of the major transportation options for the I-40/81 corridor. For example, if they segment the widening of I-40 and I-81 into dozens of small construction projects these will have NEPA clearances under categorical exclusions.

A full-corridor environmental impact statement is necessary for the rail alternative to be properly defined and a full accounting of costs and benefits done. In a thorough benefit/cost analysis, adverse environmental impacts are recognized and accounted for even if, in some cases, you cannot put a dollar value on them.

Please attend the Knoxville area TDOT meeting and urge TDOT to look at Norfolk Southern’s data. The Knoxville meeting is Monday, April 7, 5-7pm in the auditorium at TDOT headquarters, 7345 Region Lane, Knoxville (this is at the Strawberry Plains exit of I-40).

Written comments will be also accepted within twenty-one (21) days after the workshop date to the following address: Project Comments, Tennessee Department of Transportation, Suite 700, James K. Polk Building, 505 Deaderick Street, Nashville, Tennessee 37243-0332.

Friday, April 4 will be a dynamite "First Friday Luncheon."

There will be a roundtable discussion featuring Howard Kerr, one of Blount County's most distinguished citizens. Howard Kerr has served our community in many ways, including terms in the State Legislature. He competed for the Republican nomination for Mayor in 2006, finishing 2nd in the primary to Jerry Cunningham.

Others on the panel will be: Jim Folts, Chair of "Citizens For Better Government." Mr. Folts retired after founding several computer companies; Arnold Klugman, an engineer who retired as head of Worldwide Manufacturing for Motorola. Mr. Klugman is active in community affairs and is trying to bring industry to Blount County; and Commissioner Wendy Pitts Reeves.

The panel will lead a discussion dealing with "Blount County's Future."

The First Friday Luncheon meets at Ryan's Buffet Restaurant, Hunters Crossing, Alcoa--near Wal-Mart. We meet at 11:30AM for lunch. The dynamic program will begin at 12Noon.

Remember--this Friday, April 4 at Ryan's.

Blount County Ethics Committee Meeting

Tuesday, April 1, 2008
6:00PM
Blount County Court House
Room 433 (County Commission Room)

Be there!

Newly appointed Knox County commissioner Victoria DeFreese is not going to hand over the names and contact info of citizens who have contacted her about the p-card audit, despite Mayor Ragsdale's request that she do so. Off the top of my head, I think she's doing the right thing.

Looking at this through the filter of Blount County politicians and their recent actions, I'm thinking that if fellow elected officials are treated so badly for asking questions, I would truly hate to see what the local machine would do to mere citizens.

Did I say "would do"? How about allegedly done to? Link...

RNeal's blog from Knoxviews: Link...

Volunteer TV News: Link...

WATE TV: Link...

WBIR coverage: Link...

Hang on to those papers, Ms. DeFreese. At minimum, you open your constituents up to "spam." At maximum, intimidation.

Residents invited to Annual Earth Roundup. The 2nd Annual Earth Roundup will be held on Saturday, April 19th beginning with the Little River Clean up that begins at 10 a.m. and lasts until 2 p.m. Call Keep Blount Beautiful at 681-4809 for more details. Then, beginning at 4 p.m., bring your family to Maryville College for food, activities, and information about a variety of environmental subjects how you can take steps to improve and conserve our most precious resources such as our rivers, air, and electricity. For more information on the entire event call, Cathy Rhodes, Little River Watershed, at 980-2130.

I came across this at the City of Maryville website and thought it worthy enough to post here. Link...

Decisions by the Knoxville Regional TPO influence TDOT planning and affect Blount County. They are seeking input for their long range plan. Go fill out this short survey.

2007 population estimates put Blount in Tennessee’s top 10

With an estimated 119,855 residents, Blount County grew by 1,921 people from the 2006 Census estimate of 117,934 residents — an increase of 1.6 percent. Blount was also 10th out of the state’s 95 counties according to the 2006 population estimates.

WUOT radio is saying they need all blood types.

Maryville Daily Times: Deputy files action against official

French confirmed that Pitts Reeves told him outside of a commission meeting on Feb. 21 that "she wouldn't talk to me because I was probably wearing a wire." He said his complaint states that Pitts Reeves also made a statement to him concerning "a Mr. McTigue," who was allegedly followed home one night after a commission meeting.

The article says Chief Deputy Jeff French filed the complaint against Commissioner Wendy Pitts Reeves with the Blount County Ethics Committee on Tuesday.

Doesn't Blount County government have more important business to take care of? And why is Wendy Pitts Reeves such a lightning rod for controversy regarding local establishment politics? Is it because she asks questions?

BIG UPDATE: More on the "other" ethics complaints, with some actual, like, reporting and stuff.

Do you think our Planning Commission will start addressing the concerns of the citizens on this issue? (from The Daily Times, March 26,2008)

The Blount County Planning Commission might end up taking a stand against the continuing strip commercialization of U.S. 411 South if a statement added to the draft county Policies Plan is ultimately approved.

The principle is a recommendation from the Hunter Interests Growth Study. County Commission Chairman Robert Ramsey expressed surprise that it wasn't being enforced.

Those are words on paper," Planning Director John Lamb said. "Nobody is following it. ... The Planning Commission has been recommending (the rezonings) and the County Commission has been approving them."

I've got a feeling that a lot of the people are not really happy with what's been done on 411," Planning Commissioner Bill Proffitt said.

Not that anything here is surprising, I mean, do we ever get thorough investigations. However, I thought this pretty much summed up the quality of the American Society of Civil Engineers assigned by the government to investigate the World Trade Centers and the levees in New Orleans:

The group of 140,000 member, based in Reston, Virginia, sets engineering standards and codes and publishes technical books and a glossy magazine.

Wasn't sold on 140,000 members, but the glossy magazine?

Sold!

While driving to and from Virginia last week I stumbled across some radio programs on a public radio station WETS at 89.5 MHz.
I can get the station here in Maryville, but just barley. If I had not saved the channel frequency while I was still up in north east Tennessee I am sure I could not have found it again.

I really liked the 6:00 PM program from Democracynow.org.

I listed to over an hour of testimony from the Winter Soldiers.

Forrest Erickson

Just got back from Florida. Here are some photos...

Our education system is preparing students for jobs that do not even exist.

Link...

Finally, somebody said this out loud. We need to get wise about manufacturing. As if to understand, there won't be much of it here in the future. Globalization is here, and has been here since the web has had a presence. Americans like to use terms like free trade and globalization. What many don't understand, this is a race to the bottom. Bottom being the cheapest. If virtual design, virtual engineering and virtual meetings can all be done here, but China can make it, where do you think it's going? At $160 Link... per month, do we really think their labor rates are going to rise to ours anytime soon? If theirs don't rise, how do we get fair trade? The answer is - we don't.

We should be setting up our kids for knowledge based and service skills. Skill sets that are proprietary to them. Setting them up to make widgets is setting them up to be jobless.

I'm actually against Free/Fair trade with impunity with those countries that are communist and/or have no desire to fulfill their end of the agreement. Remember, NAFTA was going to "fix" the environmental disaster that is Mexico. Remember China was going to improve it's human rights efforts? How are those things working out?

Look at this way, if Levi's was still here, a worker might make $20 an hour. The locally made jeans in a store would cost $60. Outsourcing pays a foreign worker $4 dollars an hour (figure shipping/handling) to make the jeans. Now the jeans can be sold in the store for $20. Problem is, the $20 per hour factory worker is now at one of the discount big box stores making $7 per hour.

See the paradigm shift? The jeans are going to be three times your hourly wage regardless. But all that assumes the basis of our economy remains Materialism/Consumerism. What happens when or if this ceases to be the case? Suppose we are not buying or manufacturing? The answer is - have a skill or knowledge you can sell anywhere in the world. BTW - prepare your kids for transatlantic flights when they are ready to fly away from the roost.

That's my take. I know there will be many here to tell me how I've got this wrong. Trust me, I look forward to it.

We've lost 2 dogs from our farm last night (3/23), a male 4 y.o. choc lab and a 1 year old male saint bernard (has collar) should be travelling together. Both have never left before and are very lost and confused, but friendly. PLEASE call (or email to Snickersgd@aol.com ) if you've sighted them. REWARD. (865)995-2879 or 679-9777.

Feds open Alcoa bribery probe

Federal prosecutors have launched an investigation into allegations that Alcoa Inc. and affiliates bribed officials in the Persian Gulf country of Bahrain to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments.

The U.S. Justice Department asked a judge to halt a federal civil lawsuit against the Pittsburgh-based company that accused Alcoa of bribing the officials through secretive shell companies in Asia and Europe.

[..]

Alcoa conducted a review, he said, but found no evidence of wrongdoing and planned to vigorously defend itself.

The Bahrain government was seeking more than $1 billion in damages in the lawsuit blocked by the DOJ.

I never thought the Olympics should be held in China because of their tendency to gross human rights violations. Now, the crackdown in Tibet: Link....

Do you think we should boycott?

I would truly hate to disappoint our US athletes, most of whom would never have another chance at Olympic gold. Is it too late to MOVE the Olympics to somewhere reasonable?

(Link...)

“The beneficiary of this redevelopment is the community,” Coplean said. “We see it as a compliment to the new Pellissippi Research and Development Center.”

Can someone explain to me how a local beef jerky maker can justify spending money to go to Argentina to investigate their beef, sample their beef, then come home and decide to buy their beef when we have some many frickin cows in Blount County?

Link...

On top of that their jerky now has nitrates and MSG, something the owner has said they did not want to do in the past. Well, if you import beef from Argenitina then it needs to be preserved.

I would think there are farmers in Blount County who would love to produce beef for this guy. I mean, come on, it's BEEF JERKY!

The owner must have talked to Sandy Beal about managing a company....

cutest white puppy with black spot

Let's look at that wonderful new firing range Blount County is getting. The DT says Link...

The agreement between the two allows for joint use of the facilities and gives the Guard priority use to meet state and federal mobilization requirements.

Buried in the Budget Committee Package Link... are a couple of interesting items on this contract. Now, I ain't no contract lawyer but I am still a taxpayer and on pdf page 26 the request for Budget Increase / Decrease it says the reason for the request is " The Sheriff's Office in cooration with the Tennessee Air National Guard will enhance our current target system with 100% funding for the target system from the Guard Bureau"

FREE! I love free! Who does not love FREE?

Oh, wait.. always a catch, eh?

Scroll on down to pdf page 32 and look at the Estimated County Share. Is that $2,100,000 I see? Really? Free cost two point one million? AH, I can't be reading this correctly can I?

Continuing to pdf page 33 I see under Project Scope, item C that someone has to provide 3,500 sq feet of dedicated space to the ANG in the new Operations Building.

Since the full contract is not included in this month's County Commission package I think it is fair to simply ask what the $2,100,000.00 is all about. Someone better ask!

UPDATE- version two of the CC info package is now online and this contract is now included in the package. No new data, simply the contract is now added.

bobtail orange kitten. Needs a home

The League of Women Voters of Blount County is sponsoring a program on "Selecting State and Local Judges: Election, Appointment, or Other Alternatives?" on Monday, March 24 at 7:00 pm in Lawson Auditorium.

Dr. Otis Stephens, U.T. Dept of Political Science, and Professor Penny White, U.T. College of Law and former member of the State Supreme Court, will lead a discussion on this topic.

Come prepared with questions and participate in this important discussion.

Lawson Auditorium is in Fayerweather Hall at Maryville College.

The same Mayor who thought it was okay to dig into the files of a private citizen for apparently political purposes, thinks it is a crime for another elected official to bring forth legitimate questions from her constituents?

Link...

Perhaps we have become that which we feared: a subdivision of Russia where people can be arrested for asking questions about the powers-that-be.

This popped up on the DT website, not sure what time: Link...

The only surprise here is that the other people he spoke about at the Support Rally haven't filed suit also. Hopefully, the county mayor's attorney won't be billing the county for defense of Cunningham in his individual capacity. Wonder who he'll hire?

UPDATE:
Found the audiotape of the meeting, so you can hear the episode and judge for yourself - if you think you can handle hearing the phrase "testicular fortitude" all over again. Link...

What do you think of this tape? Does it make any difference that Cunningham said he was not speaking as Mayor? I'm guessing that if he were an average Joe, he wouldn't have been as likely to be asked to be the keynote speaker, nor would it have been as likely that any of the press would have covered the story if he had spoken. Is it possible that his office added to the weight of his words?

Do you think YOU could have found out in a *SNAP* the sorts of things that Cunningham "said" that he did? And how would you feel if the Mayor of a neighboring town accessed your divorce file (exactly where did he get it, anyway? If I went to the Justice Center, would they give it to me?) and gave a little speech on it in front of a room full of "office-holders," a state representative, several lawyers, another judge, etc.? Not to mention a Senator who was apparently there in spirit. And what would lead a former US Attorney to believe it was appropriate to comment on pending litigation in such a setting, anyway?

Not to mention coming right out and saying Ana Calixto "ain't legal."

Could this be construed as a discussion of county business without public notice?

The EPA issued new ozone standards on Wednesday. The new standard is not as low as what EPA scientists and public health specialists recommended in 2006, but the new standard will have an impact on transportation and land use planning in East Tennessee and the rest of the state.

A press release from the Southern Environmenal Law Center says,
"To improve air quality, Tennessee must focus on strategies to reduce how much and how far its citizens drive such as investing in transportation alternatives and coordinating transportation and land use planning to reduce sprawl."

See Link...

PUBLIC MEETING:

March 13, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. in the gym at the Everett Recreation Center. Review of site plans for the new intermediate school on Sevierville Road.

So when Nike came calling, offering incentive money if the school would buy their new uniforms, shoes and equipment from Nike, it was an easy decision for the coach.
...
He won't say how much extra stuff the incentive money will buy, only that it will make a difference.

They learn so young how important it is to be influenced by corporate America. Is it any wonder most of our young players have such attitude when they move on to the next phase of their lives?

I first received this via alert from the Sierra Club. Now, from the Daily Times: Link...

According to the General Assembly's Fiscal Review Committee, however, removing these waters from regulation by the WQCA places the state in conflict with the federal Clean Water Act and will place approximately $2.1 million in federal funds in jeopardy.

But don't worry, he isn't really trying to do this:

"We're not really trying to make the definitions lax. We're just trying to get a definition. The uncertainty of what is or is not a wet weather conveyance has caused this problem to be inconsistently enforced. We're just looking for consistency. We're not trying to get away from it."

This comes before the House Environment and Conservation Committee on March 12th.