Lenoir City News Archives

A Lenoir City man is accused of stealing one of the most valuable commodities around these days: 8,804 gallons of gas.

Editorial: A Moment Of Stark Clarity, Brought To You By Commissioner Don Miller

Loudon County resident Joe Webb submitted this editorial to me for posting, which I was unable to do. (TOPIX articles cannot be this long.)

The column pertains to the Loudon County Board of Education, as well as Loudon County Commissioner Don Miller's recent beratement of a local resident/activist for having what he considered an "unapproved" contact with a state official.

The column can be found at:

http://www.vanshaver.com/a_moment_of_stark_clarity.htm

In a June 27th Knoxville News-Sentinel article (found at the above link) reporting the Loudon County school board's approval of more than $700,000 in capital improvements, the following statement appears in the 2nd paragraph:

The board also learned money found by auditors in an inactive account might fund more capital items for the coming year.

Further down, the article goes on to state:

A recent audit of the school department showed about $224,000 sitting in the account.....

Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing that produces more of the public cynicism already prevalent.

Did the BOE not know of this money sitting in this forgotten account until the auditors "discovered" it for them?

Or.........is this the sequence of events?:

1. The BOE demands more funds for school needs;

2. The county commission refuses to succumb;

3. The BOE then "discovers" this forgotten money which they knew was there all along.

You decide.

_

Early voters in the August and November elections in Loudon County will mark paper ballots that will be read by optical scanners.

The Tennessee Legislature passed the Tennessee Voter Confidence Act, in response to concerns over current electronic voting machines. "We knew this law was coming....." said Loudon County Elections Administrator Dana Zehner.

Advocacy groups had expressed worries that voting machines are susceptible to mistakes and fraud.

Loudon is one of four counties (with Anderson, Roane, and Sullivan) testing the new system, which must be in place statewide by November 2010.

Loudon County has been issuing building permits and conducting inspections on land outside of the Tellico Reservoir Development Agency (TRDA) boundaries since 2006, and feels it is responsible for the safety of TRDA residents. That responsibility should give the county priority over TRDA, says attorney Wayne Henry.

In addition to safety, there is the issue of revenue. If Loudon County should prevail, it stands to gain from building permit fees and the $1-per-square-foot adequate facilities tax passed in 2006.

TRDA has been inspecting and issuing permits on these properties for more than 20 years.

Both Henry and TRDA attorney Rob Goddard confirm that out-of-court negotiations have not made progress. The dispute nows appears headed to court.

A drunk driver caused an accident in Loudon County early Sunday morning. Reports say the crash happened around 3:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes on Interstate 75 near the Lenoir City exit.

The intoxicated driver struck a van from behind, sending all four people in the van to the UT Medical Center with injuries. They included three juveniles.

Depesh Amin was released Monday from the Loudon County jail on $6,000 bond. He is charged with driving under the influence and aggravated assault.

A direct mail campaign by a group called Citizens for a Better Loudon County hopes to put a referendum on the November ballot that would allow sales of packaged liquor within the county and Lenoir City.

It's not the first time such an initiative has been proposed in Loudon County. In 2006, a similar initiative failed at the ballot box.

Direct mail fliers were mailed last week to residents in Loudon County and Lenoir City. Up to two registered voters in each household can sign the petition. The flier includes a pre-paid return postage card for those who support putting the issue on the ballot. Backers of the proposal say they have the approval of state election officials.

At the June 19th Loudon County Budget Committee meeting there was significant discussion about the Board of Education's capital budget request for 2008-09.

One item that occupied the committee's attention was the fire marshal's requirement for a paved road at Loudon Elementary School. The demand was made so that the road leading to five portable classrooms would be able to support fire trucks if the need arose.

During the discussion it was learned that Pat Hunter, a local resident who edits a website called The Hunter Report, had spoken with the fire marshal's office in preparation for this meeting. Ms Hunter told the committee that she too had been told a paved road was required, one that would support fire engines, if those 5 portable classrooms were to be used.

By some unexplainable logic Commissioner Don Miller decided it was his perogative to tell Ms Hunter she should not be talking to the fire marshal's office, and even suggested Ms Hunter was to be blamed for the fire marshal's demand!

According to News-Herald reporter Mary Hinds:

Don Miller took Hunter to task for speaking with the fire marshall....adding her call might have 'triggered' the fire marshall to include all five portables in his assessment

I, your editor, am awaiting the day that Don Miller (or any other local official) decides it is his right to tell me which state (or federal) officials I may and may not communicate with.

Don, we don't need an Arp impersonator.

Section 1 of the Loudon County Board of Educations Operations, 1.403 Policy states:

For a regular board meeting, the agenda, together with supporting materials, shall be distributed to board members at least five (5) days prior to the scheduled date of the meeting...

Thus, under it's own rules, school board members may not show up for the meeting and add items to the agenda.

But (at the 6/12 meeting) that didn't stop the BOE from adding to the agenda, and passing, a resolution in support of the Wheel Tax and imposing fees for high school students.

Board member Bill Marcus (dist 1) made the motion, and Nancy Paule (dist 7) seconded it.

Predictably, the one BOE member to question this prohibited action was Freddie Gene Walker (dist 5).

For the full story, view the Hunter Report at the above link. _

Matt Brookshire disclosed information regarding an alleged breach of security in the technical support systems of the city, following the hiring of a new firm to provide IT service.

Loudon County residents have until July 8 to register to vote August 7th election - a county general election and state primary.

Early voting will be held July 18 through Aug. 2 at the two usual sites - Roane State Community College and the County Office Building in Loudon.

The Loudon County Board of Education agreed to a new budget Thursday night, which included a 2% salary increase for Loudon County teachers.They agreed to eliminate two positions: a data management position that coordinates testing, and a central office position dealing with student discipline.

Board members also reduced the money allocated for staff development.

The board is still seeking more money. They plan to ask the county commission for an additional $650,000 on Monday.

Amid the fuss over the proposal to make the City Recorder's position appointed, you may not have noticed that there will be a second city charter amendment on the August 7th ballot.

City voters will be asked to allow city council to take action on ordinances in times of emergency “without the normal minimum of seven days between readings” when such action affects the health, safety and welfare of citizens. (Question: Does that mean pass it on one reading only?)

As to the "health, safety and welfare" criteria, that language is broad enough that a good question might be what exactly is NOT covered under it?

What exactly the motive for this might be could make for a good blog discussion.

The Loudon County Commission voted unanimously Monday night to put a $50 wheel tax on the August ballot. Commissioner Robert Franke promised citizens that all revenue generated would go to the school debt fund.

Opponents of the wheel tax have dubbed it the "Tellico Village Relief Act", claiming it gives a property tax break to residents living in expensive homes.

Votes on the budget, an 8-cent property tax hike, and an increase in insurance rates for employees were all postponed to a later meeting date.

A Loudon County jury has delivered a guilty verdict against Gerald Davis Thomas, 54, of Kingsport in the 2004 murder of Adwinna Pamela Hughes. The conviction carries an automatic life sentence.

Hughes' body was found dumped on Eblen Road in north Loudon County by road maintenance workers.

Thomas already is serving a federal life sentence for drugs and weapons charges.

The jury's deliberations lasted slightly more than an hour before the verdict was reached.