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Blount Today had excerpts of a public letter from Judge Mike Meares to David Black in response to a personal letter Black previously sent to Meares and also copied to Blount Today.

The full text of Judge Meares' letter is attached.

Another excerpt:

I believe in the principles and ideals of our Constitution and our legal system and I will do more than anyone else to bring those high ideas into practice. Almost every day now I read and re-read Canon 2 of the Judicial Code of Conduct and question myself about whether my actions will promote "public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."

These are the values Blount County citizens and voters should seek in our judges.

Early voting for the Blount Co. General and State Primary election, through Jul. 29th: 3217

Republican primary: 2525
Democratic primary: 669

In the February primary, there were 4577 early votes cast, 18.4% of the total. Total turnout was 24,880, 35.6% of registered voters.

In the 2006 August general, there were 3852 early votes cast, 24.9% of the total. Total turnout was 15,464, 20.5% of registered voters.

Early voting continues through Saturday at the following locations and times:

Election Commission Office
383 Court Street
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Everett Gym
3185 Everett High Road
Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
No Saturday voting

Pellissippi State Technical Community College
1010 Middlesettlements Road
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
No Saturday voting

We barely knew you.

Open less than 8 months.

For me and many others, the site is a great location. Nice deck in the back, convenient to the Greenway, three hotels, two banks, City of Alcoa administration offices, Blount Memorial Wellness Center, a realtor and more within walking distance.

I look forward to a new restaurant in that spot.

Closure notice and pic after the jump.

The Board of Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee has issued several press releases over the past months. You may have read about a recent one in the local paper.

In the interest of making sure Blount Co. citizens are kept informed of all such press releases, here are some of the press releases of local interest that you may or may not have read about in the local paper:

• Knoxville Lawyer Suspended

• Knox County Lawyer Suspended

• Maryville Attorney Censured

• Knoxville Lawyer Censured

• Knoxville Lawyer Suspended

• Alcoa Lawyer Reinstated

• Knoxville Lawyer Temporarily Suspended

• Knoxville Attorney Temporarily Suspended

July 25, 2008
TO: Blount County Election Commission

SUBJECT: Complaint

The ground floor of the Blount County Courthouse has been designated as a polling place for early voting. The Blount County Election Commission, the administrator of elections and the officer in charge of the polls have the responsibility for carrying out the duties given to them by State Laws in holding an election. Neither the building manager, City or County government nor police can interfere with or abrogate this responsibility. Tennessee laws are designed to prevent undue influence or intimidation of campaign workers and voters.

Prior to 1993 TCA 2-7-111 prohibited campaign signs on the grounds of any building in which a polling place is located, however in 1993 TCA 2-7-111 (B)(1) was changed to permit this activity. The placing of campaign signs is not a prohibited practice outside the 100 ft boundary sign. It is a recognized historical fact that campaign activity such as solicitation of votes, distribution of campaign materials, displaying signs, buttons and other media is permitted and expected at the polls.

On Monday July 21, I placed two campaign signs on either side of the sidewalk leading to the polls. I returned less than an hour later to find them removed. I replaced them and asked two workers nearby if the knew who removed them and they said that the courthouse grounds supervisor did and that he was en-route here. He arrived and told me that “state laws” prohibited the signs and then he proceeded to again remove my signs. During the last election in 2006 I placed campaign signs at this same location.

I demand that the Blount County Election Commission stop the harassment and intimidation of campaign workers on the grounds near the polls while voting is going on.

We were one of the lucky homes that was without power Monday evening and all day Tuesday after thunderstorms rolled through East Tennessee late Monday afternoon. After having no air conditioning, lights or computer for 23 hours and 14 minutes, an ABC News story jumped out at me.

ABC News says: "Dolly, a Category 1 hurricane, was expected to dump up to 15 inches of rain, threatening flooding that could breach levees in the heavily populated Rio Grande valley. Dolly, upgraded from a tropical storm Tuesday, had sustained winds of 85 mph. Utility company AEP Texas reported power outages to more than 9,200 customers in Cameron County."

Compare that hurricane story to this article from Wednesday's Knoxville News Sentinel: "At the height of Monday’s storms, more than 44,000 customers were without power. More details as they develop online and in Thursday’s News Sentinel."

Any KUB customers out there interested in joining my new recruiting effort to bring AEP Texas to East Tennessee?

Blount Today covers last Saturday's BBQ rally for Judge Meares. They estimate turnout at 350. The article includes some quotes from attendees.

After sorting through all the reporting and letters and findings, this is my synopsis of events in the Blount Co Circuit Court.

What seems strange to me is that none of the Republicans seem to care that Young falsely charged Meares with being behind on his caseload. Has Hatcher or Young apologized, and I just missed it? In David Black's long letter, I see no concern for whether Meares had been falsely accused.

Random fact that didn't fit: Duggan wrote last August that the Local Rules should be revisited. The bar could have resolved the matter long before election season if they took it up when Meares and Duggan were saying they should, but they dragged it in instead.

Knoxville News Sentinel

Rock great Leon Russell will perform at 8 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 4, at the Shed in Maryville.

Russell's album "Carney" was one of the best-selling discs of the 1970s and he has remained one of rock's enigmatic figures. Tickets are $25, advance, and $30, day of the show, and are on sale at Tickets Unlimited outlets, by phone at 865-656-4444, or at Link.... Blue Mother Tupelo will open the show.

Can't wait! Seen him seven or eight times, mostly intimate venues. Not to be missed.

The Maryville Daily Times has an editorial today warning about the dangers of golf carts on local streets. We're not sure why this is a concern all of a sudden. It may be related to a new Tennessee law that went into effect July 1st which allows "neighborhood electric vehicles" on public streets. These are not golf carts.

Here's some background on the new law from The Tennessean

...medium-speed electric- or gasoline-powered vehicles with four wheels can travel up to 35 mph, and can use roads where the speed limit is 40. Golf carts are excluded.

Tennessee joins Montana and Washington as the only states with such a law. Most of the rest follow a 1998 federal law that allows the low-speed vehicles to travel up to 25 mph.

The article also says the vehicles "must meet federal safety standards that require headlights and taillights, turn signals, seat belts, a rearview mirror, a parking brake and a windshield."

There are unsubstantiated reports that at least one voter with Meares bumper stickers and signs on their vehicle was harassed for parking in a public parking space near an early voting location.

According to another unsubstantiated report, a county employee harassed someone for placing Meares signs at an early voting location outside the 100 foot boundary. We're not clear on the details, but there was something about not allowing campaign signs on county property.

State law clearly states that campaign signs can be placed near polling locations as long as they are outside the 100 foot boundary. State law also says that it is the duty of the county election commission to measure off and clearly mark the 100 foot boundary at all polling locations.

If you have any first-hand reports of voter intimidation or campaign worker harassment, please let us know.

Judge Mike Meares sits down with BlountViews.com this morning at his campaign headquarters to talk about the election:

Early voting is underway, and election day is a little less than three weeks away. Here are our endorsements.

County General:

Circuit Court Judge, Division II: Judge Mike Meares
School Board, 6th District: Patricia Ann Bell

Primaries:

U.S. House 2nd District: Bob Scott (D)
U.S. Senate: Bob Tuke

Looks like a surprise candidate has entered the 2008 Presidential Race ... and now this great nation has a REAL future.

At TennViews...

CNN/Money Magazine has compiled their list of best small cities for families. Franklin is the only Tennessee small city to make the list, number 45. To be included in this list, a city must have a population between 50,000 and 300,000.

Maryville is too small to be considered. Here is how Maryville compares to the top 10 best places to live. Alcoa is way too small and no comparison is included for our tiny town.

In 2007, Money Magazine looked for the best towns in America and compared towns with a population of 7,500 to 50,000. Bartlett was the only Tennessee town to make the top 100, at number 95. Here's how Alcoa and Maryville compare to the 2007 best towns in America. Alcoa shows good job growth and a higher than average racial diversity index. Maryville shows a lower than average commute time and a higher than average percentage of the population that walk or bike to work.

H/T's to Kleinheider and Jack Lail.

A short clip of Judge Mike Meares speaking at today's campaign rally. This pretty much sums up what this election is all about:

The Committee to Elect Judge Mike Meares is having a free BBQ Bash TODAY, July 19, from noon until 2 p.m. at the Greenbelt Pavilion in Maryville.

There will be live music from Mountain Gap and free BBQ, face painting, cotton candy and door prizes for those who most creatively show their support for Blount County Circuit Court Judge Mike Meares. Come on out and enjoy great food, great music and lots of fun with your neighbors at the Meares Campaign BBQ Bash.

For more information, contact the Committee to Elect Judge Meares at (865) 681-0553.

Nothing to say, but WOW! One whole entire hour on a Beer Permit. Lots of neighbors showed up against it. David Boyd and Rob Goddard refereed for the applicant and there were questions from about all of the Commissioners. Goddard said, if she meets all the criteria, then regardless of the outcome, she can get the permit. The Commission voted the Permit Approval down.

Water Quality buffer was touched on a few moments (more later). Cm. Samples spoke on behalf of the Mayor. Reeves wants to postpone the Vote for a Raise, until after Aug. 7 election, that motion failed.

Back to turning 411 into a Commercial Paradise. Walker & Helton warn of piece-mealing 411 together like Alcoa Hwy, without access roads. Don't want a repeat--I agree.

Reeves proposes Ad Hoc committee to handle putting the language together for the Water Quality Buffer document demanded by the State. Melton makes good point that Mr. Teague is just one man, and cannot be expected to cover all the bases demanded by the State. State will fine County if County Ordinance not submitted. Kudos, Dr. Farmer "Let's do it right the first time." Proposes TDEC member be on or on call for Ad Hoc Committee meetings. Acc. to Mr. Teague, The State already knows what the Pollutants are, and what the causes and sources are in our 29 streams. Hey, I'd kinda like to know too.

Cm. Ballard proposes creating a Cost Center for 21 SRO's for our County Schools! Kudos, Cm. Ballard, paraphrasing: If we want to have it, we have to have a budget item--a separate Cost Center. Reeves, Murrell, and Graham agree. Objections to Micro-managing Sheriff's budget. Kudos to Graham, "If I have to Micromanage to Protect the Kids, then I don't mind doing it!" Cm. Murrell, "The funding was there. We ARE the funding body. SRO's have gone from 21 to 13 to 10 ... We ARE the watchdogs of the People's money, it's a million dollars. That money should be visible." Cm. Ballard, "You can call this Politics all you want to, this (monitoring this budget) is the Commission's job." The Amendment Failed. Kudos to all the Brave Souls who tried.

Superintendent Dunlap (I'm still in awe of his 4 day work week--people first, Amen!) CSX wants to wash their hands of the Binfield Bridge that the State wants to shut down. Motion to contact and write CSX to take responsibilty for the Bridge. Gasoline Tax agenda postponed til' next time.

Derrick Harmon spoke on the effects of Flourine(ide) hydroflouro- , etc. Very informative. Good loud polished speaker.

Cm. French helped define the Barking Dog Ordinance--didn't understand if they have to bark for 15 minutes or an hour, before they're violating. Looks as if the Local Police Departments are in charge of enforcing the Barking Dog Ordinance. I have a neighbor's dog problem, myself. They gather at the fence when I've got my back turned and my heart jumps outta my chest when they retort--I can envision my flesh dripping from their teeth. I wonder if I had a racetrack Rabbit running back and forth, in front of the Dogs, while the Police Officers are timing their bark, if that would count?

Maryville Daily Times

The 8th District State Senate race pits incumbent Sen. Raymond Finney against 20th District state Rep. Doug Overbey in the state Republican Primary. Since there is no Democrat running, the winner of the primary will win the seat in the November general election, barring a major write-in vote. The seat represents both Blount and Sevier counties. Jim Bishop of Sevier County is also on the ballot.

This is certainly big news to Ira (Doc) Lapides, who has qualified and been certified by the Tennessee Division of Elections to be on the November ballot as an Independent.

Texi has been missing since 7-6-08 from around the Boys & Girls Club. She is very slender and multi-colored. She is friendly but may be scared of people or other animals. She is an inside/outside cat. I have had her for 6 years and really miss her

Zoe is a black and white female (fixed) pit bull. She disappeared on 7-12-08 around the Boys & Girls Club. Zoe is extremely friendly but may be scared. She has scars on her ear and stomach from recent surgeries and she desperately needs her medications!!! Also, she is an inside dog so she will probably not be doing very well outside. $500 reward

So glad that so many showed up with thier big chested and big blog mouthes, all we heard for the last couple of years, they did not show up for this big ooooooooo ahhhhhhhhh no they can't do that they are all developers they are getting paid they are this they are that. well you had your chance to speak about the county plan by the planning commission to go by. and even mr neal wasn't there. Linda King had her meeting and even the nerve to comment on "truth" radio that it was a very important meeting and she wished that she could go but she had her meeting at the library and that it is funny how the planning commission knew that she had her meeting the same day and time as her's is planned a year ago. well Blount County does not revolve around Linda King, maybe the planning commission can make a call to Ms king to see if her calender is free for the next meeting???? Sad sad sad. "what you say" mr neal?

There are two races of interest in Blount County next month. The Meares-Duggan race is a no-brainer for progressives. But what about the Republican primary?

I plan to vote in it because, well, the Senator will not be a Democrat. So who is the best of this awful bunch? Who is the least worst Republican jerk?

Arguments I've heard for Finney: He's more transparent than most politicians and his support for the mountain-top removal ban shows him willing to spurn the wishes of local big developers and apply his religious beliefs to the environment.

For Overbey: He isn't a Christofascist extremist and is willing to work with Democrats in the Senate to pursue a more sane agenda - even if too conservative.

Negatives for Finney: He's an arch-right wing Christian fundamantalist extremist who wants to revive the Scopes law and institute the David Horowitz law at Maryville College. He's just a generally creepy religious nutcase.

Negatives for Overbey: He's a total opportunist doing the bidding of the Lamberts. He would never spurn his party on anything the way Finney did.

So who should a progressive support on August 7?

I lean toward Overbey. Finney and his ilk make non-Christians like me feel like second class citizens. That tends to override anything else he's done. But I don't say that as a compliment to Overbey. His "effective conservative leadership" slogans make me vomit. But at least I won't be embarrassed to have my home town associated with my Senator.

What do you think?

MDT Poll for 07/16/08: Who will you vote for in the Circuit Court judge race?

Meares: 57.1%
Duggan: 42.9%

Number of votes cast: 3135

Conclusion: interest in this race is high, and informed voters prefer Meares.

Meares supporters shouldn't let up, though. If fair-minded Democrats and independents get out to the polls and vote, Meares wins. The key is getting them to the polls.

P.S. Expect heavy turnout among Republican insiders and faithful because of the Finney v. Overbey primary...

(Click image to enlarge...)

Early voting for the August 7th state primary and county general elections starts tomorrow, July 18th and continues through August 2nd. There are three early voting locations. Any registered voter can vote at any location. First time voters who registered by mail should bring your voter registration card or photo ID. The locations and hours are:

Election Commission Office
383 Court Street
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Saturday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Everett Gym
3185 Everett High Road
Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
No Saturday voting

Pellissippi State Technical Community College
1010 Middlesettlements Road
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
No Saturday voting

Sample ballots:

County local and Democratic state primary

County local and Republican state primary