The Raven Society’s Blount County Candidate Comparison Resource now available on-line at Link....

The Raven Society is a non-partisan political action committee which supports preservation of the rural, natural, and historic qualities of Blount County and East Tennessee.

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

8th. Annual PAWS IN THE PARK
DATE: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 25th, 2009
(RAIN DATE NOV. 8)
TIME: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
LOCATION: SPRINGBROOK PARK, 1537 DALTON ST., ALCOA, TN
Come out and join us at Springbrook Park for a fun filled day with
your family & friends, and don't forget your dog!
Hosted by Blount County Animal Rescue Effort,
Blount County’s oldest animal welfare organization.
FREE ADMISSION

Is there a campground or ATV park coming to your R-1 residential neighborhood? There could be if the County Commission allows Campgrounds and ATV Parks as Special Exceptions. What is so special about a campground or ATV Park? Why should a few men on the BZA be allowed to give approval to these commercial enterprises when the full Commission can not?

Skit one- you ain't gonna take away any county cars
Skit two- oh no, we ain't gonna talk about no county debt
Skit three-let me turn you on Commissioner Reeves..

Will Blount County's tiny five foot water quality buffers stand?
What fines will the county have? Keep in mind that so far the county has paid over $12k in lawyer fees to fight a $5k fine.

TDEC info on the issue

Finally! Someone is thinking we need to protect our rural areas.

(a) This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Rural, Agricultural and Natural Resources Act".

(b) This chapter is established for the purpose of safeguarding the rural
character and unique beauty of each of the three (3) grand divisions of this state against the rapid expansion of urban development and the loss of thousands of acres of agricultural land each year. The general assembly desires to maintain the rural character of some communities on behalf of the citizens of this state. The intent of this chapter is to provide such protection by authorizing the designation of a predominately rural community as a Rural, Agricultural, and Natural Resources Act (RANRA) community when a two-thirds (2/3) majority of the owners of real property in such community agree to apply for such designation.SECTION 3.

This is the very similar to the way the Scenic Highways legislation was enacted.

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Reps Ramsey and Overbey seek to fix the appointment law that is causing an uproar in Knox county. Funny thing is the law was written in response to Knox's Black Wednesday appointments.

Any law that encourages more public appointments to persons outside the County Commission can't be a bad thing, can it?

"The concern is, this woman heads weapons of mass destruction and she will put this package in her car and park under a ventilation shaft," said one source.

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Somethings you just can't make up.

The following first appears in today's MDT under legals.

notice of workshop:
planning commissioners from the municipal planning commissions and the county planning commission in blount county have been invited to a workshop on green infrastructure planning at 6:00 pm january 26 in the gary hensley meeting room of the maryville municipal building. the workshop will not be a meeting of any of the planning commissions involved, and no formal actions will be taken.
january 26, 2009

The words no formal actions are bothersome. The purpose of this meeting can be found at the Blount County site and the following comes from the Staff Memo, Long Range Items, Dec 23.

Among the crowds in DC today are a whole bunch of locals who are there-working! The 253rd National Guard Military Police Company based out of Lenoir City is there, working hard and doing their part to make things run smoothly. Many of those members are from Blount County.

HB59 Link...

Section 49-1-224.
(a) The department of education, in consultation with the department of health, shall establish minimum guidelines for heath insurance coverage necessary for attendance in schools for grades kindergarten through twelve (K-12)

What? Can Tennessee require any child to have health insurance as a condition to attending public schools? I would like to know what Rep Hardaway's real goal is with this.

Miss Slash and her family wish you all a very Merry Christmas. She hopes that those of you who kindly opened your homes to a new pet this holiday season will remember to take advantage of the many low cost spay and neuter programs available in Blount County.

Link...

With Tellico Reservoir Development Agency land located in Monroe, Blount and Loudon counties this big win for TRDA's own unique zoning capabilities should raise some eyebrows around here.

In a previous incident, land owned by a developer and subject to the authority of Loudon County was quit-claimed to the TRDA by the developer and then immediately quit-claimed back to the developer by the TRDA, bringing the land under the definition of land controlled or previously controlled by the TRDA and subject to the zoning control of the agency.

The headline article in the DT today is not available on-line.