We attended the TDOT meeting yesterday regarding the DEIS report. There was a large turnout, with, it appeared, half of the attendees in opposition to the PPE.

Twenty citizens of the community were able to speak and give their comments as to why the PPE should not (or should) be completed. Nineteen of the twenty citizens were opposed to the completion of the PPE. The citizen speakers did a very good job, many with facts, figures, and reasonable arguments as to why the PPE should not be completed. The one gentleman who spoke as a proponent for the PPE seemed to be just giving up, if you're going to do it, just do it, he said.

Kudos to Nina Gregg for her hard work and persistence.

Go to KnoxViews for the full report.

The Blount Co. Election Commission has posted sample ballots for the Aug. 5th county general and Democratic and Republican primaries.

Daily Times:

What is your position on the proposed Pellissippi Parkway extension?

Kerr: "There is a fixed amount of dollars. Federal money is not infinite. ... We’ve got a certain amount of money, and I believe that Pellissippi should be delayed for a certain time." Kerr added that the money should be spent improving local roadways like Morganton Road.

Mitchell: "I’m for the extension of Pellissippi Parkway. It opens up a real avenue for resources to come in. ... We need some small commercial development."

Hello everyone -

I’m hosting a Constituent Coffee for District 4 at Montvale Elementary on Thursday of this week, 6:30 p.m., in order to get your ideas and input into the budget situation. Go to Link... to get to my blog post about it. Hope you’ll come.

And thanks!

~Wendy

Wendy Pitts Reeves
Blount County Commissioner
District 4, Seat C

TDOT has scheduled a public meeting for Tuesday, July 20, from 5-7pm in the Heritage High School Auditorium.

According to the TDOT Notice of Public Hearing:

This is a notice regarding the "Availability of the Approved Pellissippi Parkway Extension (SR162) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

The purpose of the hearing is to provide the public an opportunity to comment on the findings of the EIS and the proposed project prior to completion of the final environmental document.

A formal presentation will be followed by a question and answer period.

Update: This will provide a TDOT 10/08 newsletter with a map of the proposed PPE routes. I'm not positive, but I believe route B is no longer a consideration.

Early voting ends today in the Blount County primary election. My ballot will be completely blank - no Democratic candidates filed to run for any office I can vote for.

It would be tempting to ask for a Republican ballot, but, a) I don't want to interfere with their primary, b) I don't want it on my record, and c) it's technically illegal.

That's right. See TCA 2-7-115 (B):

2-7-115. Residence requirements - Primary election voting requirements.

(a) A voter may vote only in the precinct where the voter resides and is registered, but if a registered voter has, at any time prior to voting, changed residence to another place inside the county, the voter must vote pursuant to the provisions of § 2-7-140. If a registered voter has, within ninety (90) days before a state primary or general election or federal primary or general election, changed residence to another place inside Tennessee but outside the county where the voter is registered, the voter may vote in the polling place where the voter is registered. If the voter has, within ninety (90) days before an election, changed name by marriage or otherwise, the voter may vote in the polling place where the voter is registered or is entitled to vote under § 2-7-140.

(b) A registered voter is entitled to vote in a primary election for offices for which the voter is qualified to vote at the polling place where the voter is registered if:

(1) The voter is a bona fide member of and affiliated with the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote; or

(2) At the time the voter seeks to vote, the voter declares allegiance to the political party in whose primary the voter seeks to vote and states that the voter intends to affiliate with that party.

Since a) I'm not a "bona fide" member of the Republican party (and state law is silent on what makes someone a "bona fide" member of any party), and b) I sure ain't going to "declare allegiance" or state any intent to affiliate with the party, technically I am not entitled to vote in their primary.

It occurs to me that if we're going to have state and locally run party primaries we should have party registration. This crossover stuff works both ways. Ask Rosalind Kurita.

It helps if folks know when, where, and how to participate. To that end, County Commissioners Wendy Pitts Reeves and Joe McCulley are sponsoring a resolution at tomorrow night's County Commission meeting to make all public notice announcements available on the county's website, including vacancies on boards, committees, and commissions.

The agenda for tomorrow's meeting is here, the full text of the resolution follows after the jump...

Rep. Joe McCord Won't Seek Re-Election to House

UPDATE: Former Sen. Bill Clabough Eyes Run for McCord House Seat

Where the Dems at?

Check this out. (I know it looks complicated, but just stare at it for a while like I did...)

Nov. 2008 election results by county commission district and party (based on Obama v. McCain*):

Aug. 2006 county commission vote by district, seat, and party:

So what does this tell us? Beats me. Except that Republicans dominate Blount County. But we already knew that.

But what I do see is that a) turnout is pathetic in off-year elections (when we elect most of our local county government), b) Democrats need to run more opposition candidates , and c) in 2006 Wendy Pitts Reeves and Dr. Bob Proffitt turned out more than half the number of 2008 Democratic presidential election voters in their districts (although it's most likely that not all their votes were from Democrats).

That last one is interesting, considering that turnout was about 22% in the 2006 county general election v. 76% in the 2008 national election.

It should also be noted that Democrats won two of the three County Commission seats where they ran candidates. Maybe that's the takeaway.

Anyway, these charts clearly show there are enough Democrats (and I count a 2008 Blount Co. vote for Obama as a hard core, yellow dog Democrat vote) to elect Democrats in almost every County Commission district if Democrats turn out the vote.

But this isn't really about R v. D. It's about good government, and not just being a rubber stamp for the County Mayor, Sheriff, and developers.

(*Note: The by-precinct numbers are slightly but insignificantly higher and don't add up to the unofficial election totals posted by the Blount Co. Election Commission on their website. I've double and triple checked, so you'll have to ask them why that is. Probably my bad, if someone can figure out why I'll be glad to make corrections.)

We were fortunate to have lunch with Democratic gubernatorial primary candidate Kim McMillan and Blount Co. Commissioner Wendy Pitts Reeves today. Our full report, with photos...

UPDATE: Maryville Daily Times on McMillan visit...

The Blount County Election office says they are finalizing certification of petitions received as of yesterday's deadline and hope to have it completed this afternoon.

It appears that ten elections are already decided with candidates running unopposed (all Republicans). Five more elections will be decided in the Republican primary, with the winners running unopposed in the general.

In the remaining six competitive races, three Republican primary winners will face independent candidates in the general. Although independents do not traditionally do well, Howard Kerr could be the spoiler in the County Mayor's race.

Democrats put up a respectable roster of candidates for County Commission, including three incumbents. All are unopposed in the primary and will advance to the general.

It appears Republicans are not happy with some of the incumbents. County Mayor Jerry Cunningham drew a primary challenger, as did County Commissioners Mark Hasty, Scott Helton, Gary Farmer, Steve Hargis, Holden Lail, and Mike Walker.

Here's how it stands at the moment:

ELECTIONS DECIDED:

Incumbent Mike Lewis (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 2B.

Incumbent Ron French (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 9A.

Incumbent Monika Murrell is running unopposed for County Commission seat 9B.

Incumbent Kenneth Melton (R) is running unopposed for County Commission seat 10B.

Incumbent Tom Hatcher (R) is running unopposed for Circuit Court Clerk.

Incumbent Robert Headrick (R) is running unopposed for Genera Sessions Judge Div. 4.

Phyllis Crisp (R) is running unopposed for Register of Deeds and will replace Penny Whaley who is retiring at the end of her term.

Incumbent Bill Dunlap (R) is running unopposed for Road Superintendent.

Incumbent Scott Graves (R) is running unopposed for Trustee.

Incumbent Jim Berrong (R) is running unopposed for Sheriff.

ELECTIONS DECIDED IN PRIMARY:

Mike Caylor and Jimmy Melton will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 3B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Mark Hasty and challenger Kimberly Russell will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 4B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Scott Helton and challenger Homer Sauls will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 6B and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Incumbent Steve Hargis and challenger Jim Folts will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 7A and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

Roy Gamble, James Taylor, and John Templeton will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 8A and the winner will run unopposed in the general.

PRIMARIES DECIDED:

Incumbent Tonya Burchfield (R) and challenger Brandon Cook (D) will advance to the general for County Commission 1A.

Incumbent David Ballard (D) and challenger Shawn Carter (R) will advance to the general for County Commission 1B.

Incumbent Brad Harrison (R) will face independent challenger Everett Hoy in the general for County Commission 2A.

Incumbent Steve Samples (R) will face independent challenger Richard Hutchens in the general for County Commission 3A.

Incumbent Peggy Lambert (R) will face independent challenger Izaak Stanridge in the general for County Commission 5A.

Incumbent Bob Proffitt (D) and challenger Richard Carver (R) will advance to the general for County Commission 5B.

Independent challenger William Hill will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 4A.

Incumbent Wendy Pitts Reeves (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 4C.

Gary Wynn (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 6A.

Linda Jo Dees (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 7B.

Independent challenger John Polk will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 8B.

Tony Webb (D) will face the Republican primary winner for County Commission 10A.

Independent challenger Howard Kerr will face the Republican primary winner for County Mayor.

COMPETITIVE PRIMARIES:

Incumbent Jerry Cunningham will face challenger Ed Mitchell in the Republican primary for County Mayor. The winner will face independent Howard Kerr in the general.

Incumbent Gary Farmer will face challenger Jerry Harvey in the Republican primary for County Commission 4A. The winner will face independent William Hill in the general.

Jerome Moon and Billy Gribble will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 4C. The winner will face incumbent Wendy Pitts Reeves (D) in the general.

Incumbent Holden Lail will compete with challengers Steve Hicks and Sheri Turner in the Republican primary for County Commission 6A. The winner will face challenger Gary Wynn (D) in the general.

Tom Greene and Tom Cole will compete in the Republican primary for County Commission 7B. The winner will face Linda Jo Dees (D) in the general.

Incumbent Mike Walker will face challenger Gordon Wright in the primary for County Commission 8B. The winner will face independent John Polk in the general.

Joe Hultquist will be the featured guest speaker at the 2010 Annual Meeting of CAPPE (Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway Extension, Inc.). The meeting is scheduled for Monday, February 22, from 6:30-8:30pm in the Sharon Lawson Room at the Blount County Library.

"For several years we have designed our Annual Meeting as a community education event, featuring speakers who are knowledgeable about transportation issues relevant to our region," said Nina Gregg of CAPPE's Board of Directors. "We saw a need for education and civil discussion about transportation issues and decided to devote a portion of each year's Annual Meeting to fulfilling this need."

"This year we are pleased to welcome Joe Hultquist, Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth (ETQG) as our featured speaker," Gregg said.

Mr. Hultquist, who was born and raised in Blount County, will be speaking about the future of transit in the greater Knoxville area, including the upcoming Regional Corridor and Opportunity Area Study; options for transit between the airport and Knoxville; the role of independent advocacy groups; and ETQG's perspective on transit as a component of quality growth in the region.

Mr. Hultquist is currently serving as Interim Executive Director of East Tennessee Quality Growth, a new organization with representation from 16 counties of middle East Tennessee. ETQG's mission is to "create a vision for quality growth through dialogue, research, and education," and to "promote and facilitate implementation of this vision through regional cooperation and local action."

Previous speakers at CAPPE Annual Meetings have included Rees Shearer from RailSolution, Cindy McGinnis from Knox Area Transit (KAT), Jeff Welch from the Knoxville Regional Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) and Bill Dunlap from the Blount County Highway Department.

The public is invited to come hear Mr. Hultquist's presentation, which will begin at 7pm. Refreshments will be served at 6:30pm. CAPPE's annual business meeting will follow the speaker.

For more information, call Nina Gregg, CAPPE Communication Committee Chair at 977 7399.

We are excited! It's happening.

The City of Alcoa held the groundbreaking ceremony today to start the Alcoa Highway pedestrian bridge. It should be complete in September, 2010 (eight months)!

Yeah! Kudos to the City of Alcoa for continuing the legacy of parks, greenways, greenbelts, and walkability!

The City of Alcoa offers electronics recycling for City of Alcoa residents.

Residential electronic scrap items such as computers, monitors, TVs, printers, keyboards and mice, scanners, fax machines, VCRs and other small consumer electronics can be dropped off at:

City of Alcoa Service Center (new building near Springbrook)
725 Universal Street, Alcoa, TN

Alcoa/Maryville/Blount County Landfill
240 Long Powers Road, Maryville, TN

Contact the City of Alcoa Public Works Department (865-380-4800) with any questions or for additional information,

There is a Health Coverage Tax Credit program that will pay 80% of health insurance premiums for workers that are receiving Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) benefits or receiving pension payments from Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) and over the age of 55.

The IRS is holding an education session to assist eligible individuals through the process.

Crowne Plaza
401 W. Summit Hill Drive
Knoxville, TN
9 AM to 3 PM

Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) is a benefit for individuals who have lost their jobs because of trade with foreign countries. Employers and unions file a petition with the Department of Labor (DOL) to have their employees TAA certified.

Area companies that are Trade Adjustment Assistance certified include:
Alcoa, Inc., Alcoa, TN
Newell Rubbermaid, Maryville, TN
Ceramaspeed, Inc., Maryville, TN
Key Safety Restraint Systems, Knoxville, TN
Panasonic Electronic Devices Corp. of America, Knoxville, TN
DeRoyal Industries, Inc., Powell, TN
La-Z-Boy, Dayton, TN
Bos Automotive, Morristown, TN
Berkline/BenchCraft, LLC, Morristown, TN
The Mazer Corporation, Johnson City, TN

Use the US Dept. of Labor web-site to search for TAA certified companies.