December 24, 2007 Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!

December 21, 2007 Hamblen Commission Passes Illegal Immigration Resolutions

The Hamblen County Commission joined with the City of Morristown and overwhelmingly passed both anti-ILLEGAL Immigration resolutions last night.

Several individuals spoke at the beginning of the meeting expressing various concerns about illegal immigration and encouraging the commission to support the resolutions.

When it came time to vote, only two commissioners spoke.

Joe Swann repeated many of the same comments he had made during a previous committee meeting. It's a "federal issue."

He's against anything illegal, but he was afraid that passing the resolutions might cause the county to have to raise taxes and/or quit taking state prisoners in order to make more room for local illegals in the jail.

I guess Joe doesn't recall that his very first tax vote as a commissioner was to raise taxes-- largely to increase law enforcement spending. He had no problem then in raising taxes to pay for additional law enforcement costs of the sanctuary county (Hamblen) .

And Joe will probably have no problem in raising taxes again this coming year for the ever-increasing educational and healthcare and law enforcements costs that the county incurs as a result of being held out as a magnet for illegal immigration.

Tommy Massey, as he did in committee, spoke up to support Swann. Tommy, too, is against anything illegal. I don't believe Tommy mentioned this time--as he did in committee-- that conditions are bad in Mexico and that he himself would do anything to bring his family here.

Tommy said he would go ahead and vote for the resolutions to the extent that they just "say" we want someone else --the state and federal governments-- to do something.

Joe, as I recall, abstained from voting on one of the resolutions and voted against the other.

The next step is for citizens and commission to really push for action at the state and federal levels...the time is right and our Congressman David Davis is firmly against ILLEGAL immigration.

December 20, 2007 Roe Junction Residents To City: Clean Up or We Intend To Sue

Numerous residents of Roe Junction filed an environmental lawsuit against Koch Foods several months ago over continuing sewage odors that began when the Koch Foods deboning facility opened in 2005 in the Progress Parkway in the Witt area.

Now these residents have filed a notice of intent to file a citizen suit against the City of Morristown for alleged violations of the federal Clean Water Act "Unless a Tennessee or federal agency commences and diligently prosecutes an action in court to address these violations within sixty (60) days."

The citizens' December 6th letter of intent which was addressed to the City of Morristown was copied to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

One of the alleged violations of the Clean Water Act is discharging sewage without a permit through overflows of raw sewage from the City's Claude Collins Road pump station onto "neighboring properties...and a nearby creek." The letter states that these discharges have resulted in "public and private nuisances and health hazards." (See NOTE below).

Other allegations cited are the City's (1) failure to "properly maintain" its sewerage system, (2) failure to enforce pretreatment standards, (3) allowing "prohibited discharges by Koch Foods' Progress Parkway facility," (4) failing to take "effective enforcement action" against Koch Foods, and (5) allowing Koch Foods to "continue discharging in violation of its pretreatment permit."

Roe Junction residents reported and complained about sewer odors for two years before filing a lawsuit against Koch Foods for its violations of City sewer ordinances.

Roe Junction residents also reported and complained to the City about sewage overflows onto streets and property in the area prior to filing the December 6th letter of intent to sue if violations of the Clean Water Act are not addressed by a federal (EPA) or state (TDEC) agency.

NOTE: If a recent Citizen-Tribune article is correct, there may have been up to three other sewage overflows of which the Roe Junction citizens were apparently not aware. That same article states that the City has now decided to study options for addressing the overflows.

[UPDATE: The above link to the Tribune article does not work. Apparently, the Tribune deactivates links to its older articles rather quickly. You can access the old Tribune articles/archives on a pay-per-view basis at the Tribune website, or these same articles are also available at the Morristown-Hamblen Library on microfilm for free.]

December 18, 2007 Whereas...Let the ILLEGAL Invasion Continue?

Bobby Moore writes that City Councilman Mel Tucker's anti-ILLEGAL immigration initiative has hit a wall.

Moore reports that the federal government can't, or won't, do anything to help local law enforcement take steps to address ILLEGAL immigration in Morristown and Hamblen County.

We have a federal government that won't enforce laws against ILLEGAL immigration....and now it also refuses to assist local governments help enforce laws against ILLEGAL immigration!

Mel Tucker sees and has outlined the damage that ILLEGAL immigration has done in Morristown.

Tucker's "WHEREAS" paragraphs in his ILLEGAL immigration resolutions describe some of the damage to the city and to the local community as a result of ILLEGAL immigration. Tucker's federal resolution is here. His state resolution is here.

Sheriff Esco Jarnagin offered an analogy. ILLEGAL immigration is like someone who criminally trespasses on your property, puts up a tent, and "camps out" on your front yard!

After years of throwing out the welcome mat to ILLEGAL immigrants and years of turning a blind eye to the harm and costs of ILLEGAL immigrants, Morristown has become a sanctuary city for ILLEGAL immigrants and Hamblen County has become a sanctuary county for ILLEGAL immigrants.

The city has passed Tucker's resolutions. The county should go ahead and pass the resolutions this Thursday, December 20.

Then instead of just saying "oh, well, let the ILLEGAL invasion continue," citizens and local officials should ramp up the pressure on the federal government to secure our borders and to begin genuine efforts--with the help of local law enforcement--to enforce immigration laws.

December 15, 2007 Sen. Cooper Appeals $120,000 Fine

Channel 5 has a report on Jerry Cooper's appeal of the $120,000 fine meted out to him by the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance. More here.

Cooper was fined $120,000 for making at least 23 separate transfers of campaign funds to his personal accounts over a period of nearly two years--all in violation of Tennessee campaign finance laws.

The total Cooper converted from his campaign account to personal accounts was $95,000.

The video on the Channel 5 website shows an excerpt of the actual TREF meeting along with an interview of Cooper.

Cooper says he didn't attend the first TREF meeting when the $120,000 fine was imposed because he was "tired." Maybe. Or maybe he wanted to just wait and see if the TREF imposed a modest fine.

If TREF had imposed of fine of, say, $15,000, Cooper might have gladly paid it so he could walk away with a personal windfall of $80,000.

After all, it would be one heckuva deal to pay a mere $15,000 fine in return for being able to use $95,000 of contributor's money for personal living expenses.

When the $120,000 fine came down, however, Cooper had a sudden surge of energy. He was not too "tired" to appeal, and he even managed to scrape up enough energy to show up at the appeal!

Cooper's lawyer is claiming that a $14,000 fine is quite adequate.

Phil Williams, Channel 5's investigative reporter, points out that what Cooper's attorney wants is for the 23 separate checks written at 23 separate times over nearly a two-year period to be considered as just one (continuing) violation.

This plan, of course, would leave Cooper with a net profit of $81,000 from his multiple violations of campaign finance laws. $95,000 taken - $14,000 fine= $81,000 profit. That's a nifty reward for violating campaign finance laws.

The TREF agreed to postpone a decision on Cooper's appeal until it can request a legal opinion from the state attorney general as to the legality of the original $120,000 fine.

UT students--and others-- might be interested in the attorney general's opinion and the outcome of Cooper's appeal.

Cooper's attorney wants 23 separate checks written at 23 separate times-- over a period of nearly two years-- to be considered just one (continuing) campaign finance violation.

Maybe UT students who receive six separate parking tickets at six separate times--over a period of nearly two years-- should ask for the six tickets to be considered just one (continuing) parking violation!

December 11, 2007 Hamblen County Committee Sends Illegal Immigration Resolutions To Full Commission

A Committee of the Hamblen County Commission voted yesterday to send Anti-ILLEGAL Immigration Resolutions on to the full Commission on December 20.

In what was at times a heated discussion, Commissioners Joe Swann and Tommy Massey lined up together to present the case for waiting and studying the issue.

Joe Swann pointed out that businesses pay the majority of property taxes in Morristown and in Hamblen County and he wants to wait to get his "hands around" the whole issue.

Tommy Massey said conditions are deplorable in Mexico, and he defended Commissioner Swann's desire to study the issue.

Commissioners Joe Spoone and Larry Baker along with Sheriff Esco Jarnagin presented the case against ILLEGAL immigration, pointing out the obvious---the issue is ILLEGAL immigration.

And pointing out that it is ILLEGAL immigration even if it benefits the bottomline of a business and even if it benefits the lawbreaker and his family.

They also pointed out the devastating and wide-ranging economic effects of ILLEGAL immigration on the average person in Hamblen County. Increased law enforcement and incarceration costs, increased educational costs, increased healthcare costs, increased costs for social benefits.

More to come...

December 6, 2007 This 'n That: Cooper/Ford/Neeley

Tennessee State Senator Jerry Cooper will not seek re-election. Cooper was recently fined $120,000 by the Tennessee Registry for Election Finance for multiple of violations of campaign finance laws.

Cooper's violations included diverting $95,000 of campaign contributions to his personal bank accounts.

The fine was just the last in a series of problems for Cooper including a fraud trial, in which he was found not guilty but where testimony revealed his conversion of campaign money to personal money, and a wreck due to DUI.
---------------
Former State Senator John Ford will not have to report to prison in December to start serving his 5 -1/2 year sentence for bribery in the Tennessee Waltz scandal.

Instead, Ford will remain free so he can care for his four children by ex-wife Tamara Ford-Mitchell. Tamara is serving a DUI sentence and has another DUI pending.

So John, who has already been convicted of bribery and who has another bribery trial set for March 2008, gets to tend to the children.

Ford's court-appointed attorney pointed out that in addition to caring for the children, Ford will be free to help prepare for his next bribery trial and for the appeal of his current conviction.

Tamara's timing is lousy. She really needs to ask a Judge to let her out to be the parent and let John go to prison. Or how about a jail-sharing arrangement? She serves six months and then John serves six months. Whoever is not in jail takes care of the children! [Remove tongue from cheek]

The online comments at the end of the Ford article are as interesting as the article.

--------------------

A few weeks ago, Channel 5 in Nashville reported another ticket-fixing for a prominent politico. This time the recipient of a dismissed speeding ticket was Tennessee Labor Commissioner James Neeley.

The Judge who was to hear the case said he dismissed the speeding ticket because the Trooper didn't show up at court.

But reporter Phil Williams pointed out to the Judge that he had dismissed the case a week BEFORE the court date at which the Trooper was to appear!

Neeley won't say who took care of the ticket for him, but after Channel 5 started looking at his dismissal, Neeley decided to go ahead and pay the fine for the already-dismissed ticket.

Of course, one can't discuss ticket-fixing in Tennessee without at least mentioning the saga of Dep. Governor Dave Cooley.

December 5, 2007 Morristown City Council Illegal Immigration Resolution #2 (Federal)

Yesterday, Morristown City Council passed an illegal immigration resolution to send to Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Bob Corker, and Rep. David Davis, requesting a Memorandum of Understanding to allow local officers to be trained "to perform a function of an immigration officer" in connection with the investigation and apprehension of illegal aliens.

[NOTE: See the previous post for the text of the Council's resolution that will be sent to State Rep. John Litz and State Sen. Steve Southerland]

RESOLUTION TO BE SENT TO SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER, SEN. BOB CORKER, REP. DAVID DAVIS

RESOLUTION NO. ______________

BEING a resolution of the City Council for the City of Morristown, Tennessee, petitioning its members of Congress for assistance in dealing with illegal immigration.

WHEREAS, the City Council for the City of Morristown, Tennessee, after due consideration, makes the following findings:

1. A significant and growing population of persons reside in, are employed in, or otherwise frequent the City, who have come to, entered or remained in the United States in violation of Federal Immigration Law.

2. The City has finite resources with which to provide public services to its citizens.

3. It is desirable to secure to those lawfully present in the United States and the City, regardless of their status as citizens, the right to live in peace, free of the threat of crime, and to enjoy the public services provided by the City without being burdened by the costs of providing goods, support and services to aliens unlawfully present in the United States and the City to the extent these goals can be achieved consistently with the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Tennessee.

4. The increasing population of illegal aliens has compromised City and other local resources to provide essential and desirable public services to the citizens of the community, including medical services, law enforcement and public assistance.

5. The unlawful employment, the harboring of illegal ailens in dwelling units in the City of Morristown, and crime committed by illegal aliens harm the health, safety and welfare of authorized United States workers and legal residents in the City of Morristown. Illegal immigration leads to higher crime rates, subjects our hospitals to fiscal hardship and legal residents to substandard quality of care, contributes to other burdensome public services, increasing their costs and diminishing their availability to legal residents, and diminishes the overall quality of life within the City.

6. Title 8, sub-section 1324 (a) (1) (A) United States Code prohibits the harboring of illegal aliens. The provision of housing to illegal aliens is a fundamental component of harboring.

7. Title 8, sub-section 1324a(a)(1) United States Code prohibits employment or referral of employment for a fee of unauthorized aliens.

8. Harboring through provision of housing to and employing illegal aliens greatly contributes to the growth of the population of illegal aliens within the City of Morristown and the surrounding community.

9. Title 8, sub-section 1324a(h)(2) United States Code preempts any State or local law imposing civil or criminal sanctions (other than through licensing and similar laws) upon those who employ, or recruit or refer for a fee for employment, unauthorized aliens.

10. Title 8, sub-section 1357(g) United States Code authorizes the United States Attorney General to enter into a written agreement (memorandum of understanding) with a State or any political subdivision of a State, pursuant to which an officer or employee of the State or subdivision, who is determined by the Attorney General to be qualified to perform a function of an immigration officer in relation to the investigation, apprehension, or detention of aliens in the United States (including the transportation of such aliens across State lines to detention centers), may carry out such function at the expense of the State or political subdivision and to the extent consistent with the State and local law.

WHEREAS, Federal enforcement of the Immigration laws has failed to effectively regulate illegal immigration within the City of Morristown and surrounding community; and

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council for the City of Morristown, Tennessee, that this local governing body urges its members of Congress to take those measures necessary and reasonable to insure statutorily mandated regulation of illegal immigration within the United States.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that the governing body requests the assistance of its members of Congress in implementing a memorandum of understanding between the City of Morristown and the United States Attorney General pursuant to Title 8, sub-section 1357(g) United States Code.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this Resolution be forewarded to the Honorable David Davis, U.S. House of Representatives, Honorable Lamar Alexander, U.S. Senate, and the Honorable Bob Corker, U.S. Senate.

Passed in Regular Session of City Council this ____ day ofDecember, 2007.
CITY OF MORRISTOWN, TENNESSEE

BY: ___________________________________ MAYOR
ATTEST:_____________________________________

December 5, 2007 Morristown City Council Illegal Immigration Resolution #1 (State)

The City of Morristown supports ACTION to reduce illegal immigration.

The following is the text of a Resolution that was introduced and passed unanimously at Morristown City Council yesterday. It will be forwarded to Tennessee State Rep. John Litz and State Sen. Steve Southerland.

[NOTE: A Resolution that will be forwarded to United States Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Bob Corker, and Congressman David Davis also passed. See text on a separate post.]

RESOLUTION NO. ______________BEING a resolution of the City Council for the City of Morristown, Tennessee, petitioning its State Representative and State Senator to introduce and support legislation aimed at reducing the growing population of illegal immigrants being harbored and employed in the City of Morristown.

WHEREAS, the City Council for the City of Morristown, Tennessee, after due consideration, makes the following findings:

1. A significant and growing population of persons reside in, are employed in, or otherwise frequent the City, who have come to, entered or remained in the United States in violation of Federal Immigration Law.

2. The City has finite resources with which to provide public services to its citizens.

3. It is desirable to secure to those lawfully present in theUnited States and the City, regardless of their status as citizens, the right to live in peace, free of the threat of crime, and to enjoy the public services provided by the City without being burdened by the costs of providing goods, support and services to aliens unlawfully present in the United States and the City to the extent these goals can be achieved consistently with the Constitution and laws of the United States and the State of Tennessee.

4. The increasing population of illegal aliens has compromised City and other local resources to provide essential and desirable public services to the citizens of the community, including medical services, law enforcement and public assistance.

5. The unlawful employment, the harboring of illegal ailens in dwelling units in the City of Morristown, and crime committed by illegal aliens harm the health, safety and welfare of authorized United States workers and legal residents in the City of Morristown. Illegal immigration leads to higher crime rates, subjects our hospitals to fiscal hardship and legal residents to substandard quality of care, contributes to other burdensome public services, increasing their costs and diminishing their availability to legal residents, and diminishes the overall quality of life within the City.

6. Title 8, sub-section 1324 (a) (1) (A) United States Code prohibits the harboring of illegal aliens. The provision of housing to illegal aliens is a fundamental component of harboring.

7. Title 8, sub-section 1324a(a)(1) United States Code prohibits employment or referral of employment for a fee of unauthorized aliens.

8. Harboring through provision of housing to and employing illegal aliens greatly contributes to the growth of the population of illegal aliens within the City of Morristown and the surrounding community.

WHEREAS, Federal enforcement of the Immigration laws has failed to effectively regulate illegal immigration within the City of Morristown and surrounding community; and

WHEREAS, facing similar circumstances, certain states including Georgia, Arizona, Colorado and Oklahoma have adopted comprehensive legislation aimed at dealing with their growing populations of illegal aliens, a copy of Oklahoma's legislation (HB 1804, effective November 1, 2007) being attached hereto.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council for the City of Morristown, Tennessee, that this local governing body urges its state representative and state senator to introduce and work for passage of legislation similar in substance to Oklahoma's HB 1804.

FURTHER RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this Resolution be forewarded to the Honorable John Litz, State Representative, and the Honorable Steve Southerland, State Senator.

Passed in Regular Session of City Council this ____ day ofDecember, 2007.

CITY OF MORRISTOWN, TENNESSEE

BY: ___________________________________ MAYOR

ATTEST:_____________________________________CITY ADMINISTRATOR

December 3, 2007 Commission Minutes: "Key Word" Feature Needed

In my previous post, I mentioned that Minutes of Hamblen County Commission meetings are available on online.

If you are having trouble getting or viewing the minutes--and some people let me know they were having difficulty--this is what works for me.

Go to http://www.hamblencountygovernment.us/

Then click on "visit the county clerk's new website..."

Then click on "Commission Minutes List"

You'll see a huge list of links -- not in chronological order--to Hamblen County Commission meetings.

EXAMPLE: If you want to see the June 22, 2006, minutes, click on June 2006 minutes. The first page that you will see is a July 26, 2006, signature page. Don't let that throw you. This page just shows approval in July 2006 of the June 2006 minutes that follow.

To view the June 2006 minutes, use your "down arrow" or "page down" key to scroll to the next page which should be the first page of the June 2006 minutes. Continue scrolling down page-by-page to view all the minutes for June 2006.

You may have to make some adjustments and do some fine tuning with your computer to enlarge the print to be able to actually read the minutes.

The good news is that the minute are online. Hopefully, the next action will be to make them a lot more user-friendly.

A "key words" search feature--like you find on many websites--should definitely be added.

Right now, if you don't know exactly when something was voted on, you may have to plow through years of minutes to find the vote you are searching for.

A "key words" feature was discussed several years ago with county attorney Rusty Cantwell.

Cantwell said then that a "key words" feature would be helpful for him because when he calls the clerk to find out when a particular resolution passed or to get a copy of a resolution, the clerk may have to search through the index at the beginning of several books before he or she can locate the minutes that Cantwell wants.

The "key words" feature would not only help Cantwell and the clerks, it would also help anyone searching the online minutes for a particular vote---"Dollar Store rezoning" "Budget 2003" "Urban Growth Boundary."

Right now, if you want to find something in the online minutes, it's like searching for a very small needle in a very large haystack. A "key words" feature is definitely needed.

November 28, 2007 Florida Governor Promotes "Sunshine" in Government

Ben Cunningham has an excellent post and a link to a media article about Florida Governor Charlie Crist's actions to spread SUNSHINE in the Sunshine state with an "Open Government Bill of Rights."

Shelby County is also spreading some sunshine with several proposals--one of which is to make the business packets that commissioners receive available online to the public.

Hamblen County should follow suit in making its business packets accessible online.

Commissioners in Hamblen County receive monthly committee and commission packets with information about finances, contracts, checks issued, appointments, civil service changes, budget status, school quarterly reports, budget amendments, trustee's reports, and on and on.

These packets could easily be made available online before the meetings. The technology to scan documents onto the Hamblen County website is available. The Hamblen County Court Clerk has recently scanned several years of county commission minutes onto the county website.

[Although the minutes are not in chronological order, some of the pages have been scanned upside down, and minutes of a few months have been left off, County Clerk Linda Wilder is to be congratulated for starting the process. The kinks need to be worked out, but the first steps have been taken.]

While serving as a commissioner, I pushed first for creation of the Hamblen County Government website and then for expanded use of the website to provide online access to public information.

The website needs to add a link now to provide easy public access to Hamblen Commission packets so that citizens can see and review the same information that commissioners receive before monthly committee and commission meetings.

Putting Hamblen Commission packets online would be another step in putting more "sunshine" in local government.

November 18, 2007 Sen. Cooper Fined $120,000

Sen. Jerry Cooper (D-Morrison) dodged a bullet in his federal fraud trial; however, evidence presented in that trial was used to load another gun.

The other gun was "fired" by Drew Johnson, director of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research. The bullet included the numerous campaign checks written by Cooper moving $95,000 from his re-election campaign account to his personal bank accounts.

Phil Williams of Channel 5 in Nashville does extensive investigative reporting and did another great job on this.

Early on, the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance knew about the testimony and the campaign finance violations, but the Registry refused to take any action against Cooper unless a private individual filed a formal complaint.

That's where the Director of the Tennessee Center for Policy Research stepped in. If you click on the TCRP link, above, there are several excellent articles about the November 14th fine and events leading up to it.

The evidence was solid---so solid that Cooper didn't even show up at the Registry hearing for the decision.

November 7, 2007 City Councilman Mel Tucker Wants To Address ILLEGAL Immigration

At yesterday's city council meeting, Councilman Mel Tucker cited statistics showing the dramatic and often detrimental effect of illegal immigration on Morristown, Hamblen County, and across the nation.

Tucker then proposed that the council take four actions:

1. Draft a resolution to send to Senator Bob Corker, Senator Lamar Alexander, and Congressman David Davis requesting that ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) receive additional funding and do its job enforcing the federal immigration laws.

2. Draft a resolution to send to state Senator Steve Southerland and Representative John Litz asking that they push legislation in Tennessee similar to Oklahoma HB 1804. This recently enacted Oklahoma law prohibits the issuance of government ID's (such as licenses) to illegal immigrants; prohibits public assistance to illegal immigrants; makes it a felony for a U.S. citizen to transport, harbor, or employ illegal immigrants; and requires that illegal immigrants be detained without bond until deportation.

3. Authorize city attorney Dick Jessee to research the issue and advise council of all legal means available to identify and take action against illegal immigrants.

4. Fund Hamblen County Sheriff Jarnagin's expenses for 10 "deputies" to attend ICE certification training that is reserved only for those agencies, such as Hamblen County, that operate jails. Among those ten would be 5 Morristown Police Department officers who would be deputized by the Sheriff.

November 6, 2007 The Hearing That Wasn't Heard

The Morristown City Council---after months and months of repeated postponements---belatedly scheduled the Koch Foods appeal hearing for 6:00 PM earlier tonight.

Three or four residents of the Roe Junction area that is most affected by sewer odors and overflows were already there when I arrived about 5:55 PM.

Shortly afterwards, the council adjourned, and the entire council left the room. We waited and waited and waited.

Then City Attorney Dick Jessee came out and motioned for the attorney for Koch Foods to come back with Jessee.

Finally, roughly around 6:40, the council came back to the meeting area with City Administrator Jim Crumley and City Attorney Dick Jessee.

The meeting came to order, and Jessee announced that there was an agreement between the parties. Mel Tucker made a motion to accept the agreement, and the vote was 6-0 to accept.

[Councilman Frank McGuffin had left earlier and didn't take part in the hearing]

Without admitting guilt, Koch Foods dropped its appeal, and the long-awaited appeal hearing was over.

November 5, 2007 Ted Mitchell Trial

Ted Ray Mitchell wanted to attend an anti-illegal immigration rally at the Hamblen County Courthouse on June 24, 2006.

He had an American flag with him---a flag that he wanted to wave on the Courthouse lawn.

MPD officers stopped Ted and told him that he couldn't take his American flag on the pole onto the Courthouse lawn. Ted objected, loudly. Ted was taken down to the ground by several MPD officers. He was tasered and charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Today a jury found Ted Mitchell not guilty of resisting arrest but guilty of disorderly conduct for shouting and arguing with the officers over the flag.

He was fined $25 and given a 30-day sentence that was suspended.

Ted never got to the rally. Those who did attend the rally were greeted by an unbelievably massive presence of law enforcement.

The local criminal trial is over.

Still pending, however, is a civil lawsuit that Ted filed in federal court against the City of Morristown, Hamblen County, and several elected officials.

In his civil suit, Ted has also named the officers who arrested him, tasered him, and refused to let him take his American flag on an aluminum pole to an anti-illegal immigration rally on the Hamblen County Courthouse lawn.

October 31, 2007 Local Government: If Tennessee's "Sunshine Laws" Are Gutted

How about private meetings of government officials where decisions are made without the public or press around and then a public meeting where the votes are taken to make the private, backroom deals "official"?

If city, county, and school board officials get their way in weakening Tennessee's Sunshine Laws (Open Meetings and Public Records Acts), private meetings could be coming to a local government near you.

The Memphis Commercial-Appeal recently ran an excellent editorial on this topic as did the Knoxville News-Sentinel.

If the Tennessee General Assembly does change the Open Meetings Act to allow officials to meet secretly and privately-- in groups of "less than a quorum"-- what would this mean locally?

MORRISTOWN CITY COUNCIL: Up to three members of the Morristown City Council--one less than a quorum--could meet together secretly or with local power/money interests to deliberate, swap votes, and do whatever they want to do in reaching an agreement on how to vote at the "public" meeting. When the "public" vote is later taken at a "public" meeting of the council, it will all be a sham because the decision will have already been made by small groups of council members who have met in the dark, in the backroom, outside of the public's view.

HAMBLEN COUNTY COMMISSION: Up to seven members of the Hamblen County Commission--one less than a quorum--could meet together secretly or with local power/money interests to deliberate, swap votes, and do whatever they want to do in reaching an agreement on how to vote at the "public" meeting. When the "public" hearing or "public" vote is later taken at a "public" meeting, it will all be a sham because the decision will have already been made by small groups of commissioners who have met in the dark, in the backroom, outside of the public's view.

HAMBLEN COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD: Up to three members of the Hamblen County School Board---one less than a quorum---could meet together secretly or with local power/ money interests to deliberate, swap votes, and do whatever they want to do in reaching an agreement on how to vote at the "public" meeting. When the "public" vote is later taken at a "public" meeting, it will all be a sham because the decision will have already been made by board members who have met in the dark, in the backroom, outside of the public's view.

If they succeed in eliminating public oversight and ridding themselves of the disinfectant effect of Tennessee's Sunshine Laws, county commissioners, city council members, and school board members will jump at the opportunity to have secret meetings well before the "public" meeting---especially where important and controversial issues are concerned.

And if, by chance, a snag arises during the public meeting over a decision, the chairman can just ask for a short recess during which the officials can again meet in their little groups to have their "private" discussions about "public" business.

Why do local government officials want to gut the Open Meetings Act? The official line seems to be that government officials need freedom to deliberate in private so they can share information and get "special insight" into public business.

If local government officials think that secret, private meetings are good, why not just have one big private meeting of ALL commissioners, city councilmen, school board members. Now, THAT would really maximize insight and efficiency at the later public meeting!!!

It is obvious that local government officials simply aren't interested in open and accountable government and that they view public participation and comments as a nuisance. Local government officials want Tennessee's Open Meetings Act changed so they can have special private meetings where the decisions are made and then have a public meeting where the votes are taken to make the backroom deal "official."

Quick and efficient. Yes. Open, accountable, and ethical. No.

October 28, 2007 Local Government Officials Want To Gut Sunshine Laws

A state legislative study subcommittee has decided to recommend that political backroom deal-making and secret meetings of local legislative officials be made legal.

If the full committee and later the General Assembly adopts the subcommittee proposal, local public meetings will be a sham, a shame, and nothing more than a "public" vote/rubber stamp of whatever the local officials have already decided during their private deliberations and secret dealmaking.

The "Open Meetings" subcommittee wants to allow groups of county commissioners, groups of city council members, and groups of school board members to meet in secret (or with the rich and powerful) to deliberate and decide public issues---just as long as the secret meeting involves less than a quorum of the members of the whole body.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel has a good editorial 'Sun' burn sends officials scurrying.

The Tennessean offers its opinion Bolster, don't soften, open meetings law.

The Memphis Commercial Appeal recalls the history behind Tennessee's Open Meetings Act and labels as "hogwash" Memphis state representative Ulysses Jones' public excuse for wanting to allow secret meetings. The C-A has another biting editorial on Redefining 'open' meetings.

If the nightmarish proposal of the subcommittee is adopted by the Tennessee General Assembly, local government officials will be ecstatic and the public will be left in the dark!

You can bet that local government officials will happily revert to the "good old days" when the good old boys and girls had the meeting before the meeting without the pesky public or press (newspaper, radio, TV) around to ask questions.

The subcommittee's proposal is a real step backward for open government. It will dash whatever hope and possibility existed for accountable and ethical local government.

The proposal will give county commissioners, city council members, and school boards state approval to make decisions on both routine and controversial issues in "secret" small group meetings and then come out in "public" only when it's time to vote.

October 19, 2007 Macbeth/MacCollins: "Out D**n Button"

The Hamblen County Commission met last night.

The Tribune photographer took a picture of three local high school students receiving a "Give Kids Good Schools" resolution.

Almost all the votes were 13-0, but there was one 12-1 vote when Larry Baker cast a dissenting vote in opposition to adoption of an "International Building Code" which he sees as an added layer of bureaucracy and expense for home builders and home buyers.

And there was one 11-0-2 vote when a capital plan was adopted with Joe Swann and Frank Parker abstaining due to conflicts of interest.

The really interesting part of the meeting--and just about the only true time of discussion--came toward the end of the meeting.

The quote of the day goes to Commissioner Guy Collins. Guy wanted to speak on one of the agenda items but was told by Chairman Ford that he had to press his "speaking" button before he could continue.

Guy, who has been a county commissioner longer than several of the other commissioners have been alive, kept trying to hit his "speak" button but finally blurted out that he didn't care about that d**n button. Lady Macbeth, no doubt, would have appreciated Guy MacCollins frustration!

[The new voting system that has been instituted by Chairman Ford requires that commissioners who want to speak must hit a "speak" button and then be recognized before making any comments. ]

If Guy's Macbeth remark was the highlight of the meeting, the lowlight came shortly after during discussion of staffing and title changes in the sheriff's department. After listening to commissioners, a citizen (Bonnie Oakberg) raised her hand and asked if she could ask a question.

Chairman Ford lashed out with a clear "no," and in his brief explanation, Ford told Ms. Oakberg that she should have talked to commission at the beginning of the meeting if she had anything to say. Ms. Oakberg then said that she had just thought of something that she wanted to ask.

Ms. Oakberg added that the previous commission used to allow the public to comment when items came up for discussion. [She's right. I was on that commission and was extremely proud of our policy of openness and our willingness to listen to public input.]

With an "I'm important. You're not" attitude, Chairman Ford let Ms. Oakberg know that she would not be allowed to ask a question. Ms. Oakberg left the meeting.

At the end, Commissioner Nancy Phillips asked for a moment to make a statement. She turned to Commissioner Joe Swann and said that she didn't want to get into a fight with anyone, but she did want to say that she thinks that the public should be allowed to speak if they have a question that comes up after the public comments portion of the meeting.

Joe Swann, agreeing with Chairman Ford's heavy-handed tactics, said if the public was allowed to speak there would be "chaos." Apparently, Swann's definition of "chaos" is the public speaking and the commission taking the time to listen.

Then he told Ms. Phillips that the previous commission had been "chaotic." Swann's definition of "chaotic"? Probably commissioners who ask questions, who try to control spending, and who think that higher taxes and spiraling debt pass an overwhelming financial burden on to our children.

Commissioner Phillips took exception to Swann's remarks and replied that there had never been chaos.

Commissioner Tommy Massey who ran unopposed for the seat that I vacated said that he liked the current (Stancil Ford) process and the way the meetings were handled.

Commissioner Baker spoke up in support of Commissioner Phillips.

The meeting was quickly adjourned by Chairman Ford.

I hear from sources that Commissioner Joe Spoone and perhaps another commissioner told Phillips after the meeting that they supported her position on letting the public ask questions during discussion of issues.

The previous commission allowed open, but not unlimited, discussion. Often very good ideas and suggestions were brought up by citizens in the audience. As Commissioner Phillips was heard to say after last night's meeting, citizens have good ideas, too!

Obviously, commissioners make the final decision, but that doesn't mean that the public should be ignored or insulted as Ms. Oakberg was simply because she politely requested permission to ask a question.

I heard one person say last night that Stancil Ford must still think he's in the Tennessee House of Representatives and that he's been reincarnated as iron-fisted Speaker of the House Democrat Jimmy Naifeh.

Ford barks at commissioners and at the public. And to make sure that he can get out of there in 30 minutes, he runs through the agenda like it's a race... with no time to listen to questions that might arise from the public during the meeting.

October 3, 2007 Knox Sunshine Verdict: 12-0 For the People

Twelve jurors gave a BIG victory to Tennessee citizens and to open government advocates yesterday. The plaintiffs in court were the Knoxville News-Sentinel and nine citizens. The defendant was the Knox County Commission.

At issue in the trial was Tennessee's Open Meetings Act which states in part: "...the policy of this state [is] that the formation of public policy and decisions is public business and shall not be conducted in secret." TCA 8-44-101.

The Knoxville News-Sentinel and the nine citizens sued Knox County Commissioners for violations of Tennessee's Open Meetings Act (TOMA) in a January 31, 2007, special meeting of the Commission and in actions and conduct prior to that meeting. At the meeting, commissioners appointed 8 new commissioners and 4 new countywide officials (trustee, county clerk, sheriff, and register of deeds) to replace the officials then in office.

Why were 12 officials suddenly being replaced? These 12 officials were term-limited by a Knox County Charter provision that had been approved by Knox County voters in 1994 but that been ignored for 12 years.

When a 2006 Knox case involving term-limited officials reached the Tennessee Supreme Court, the Court issued a ruling in January 2007 that the term limit provisions of the Knox charter were valid and that the 12 officials who were then holding office were in fact term-limited and should be removed from office and replaced.

Yesterday, 12 citizens said that Knox County Commissioners violated both the letter of Tennessee's Open Meetings Law as well as the spirit of the law during the process of appointing replacements for the term-limited officials.

The jurors decided that numerous violations of the law occurred during private meetings of commissioners that took place during numerous recesses at the January 31, 2007, meeting and that other violations occurred during private meetings and deliberations that took place prior to the January 31 meeting.

The ball is in the Chancellor's court now (pun intended). Chancellor Fansler will fashion a remedy for what happened. He has wide latitude in this regard, and you can be sure that Knox County and other public bodies and citizens across the state are watching with deep interest.

Some of the options he has are (1) Order a re-do of the meeting to make the appointments in an open meeting with all deliberations made publicly; (2) issue an injunction that prohibits future "Sunshine" violations and requires that commission report on its compliance to the court.

In a very complex case, each of these options raises its own unique set of issues.

If a "re-do" is ordered, are the eight old term-limited commissioners brought back to vote again on the appointments? Will the re-do really be a new and open consideration of all interested individuals or will it just be a rubber-stamp appointment of the same people again?

If Fansler orders a re-do, will Josh Jordan, son of term-limited commissioner Diane Jordan and himself a former drug-dealer, again be appointed to replace his mother? Will Sharon Cawood, wife of term-limited commissioner Mark Cawood, again be appointed to replace her husband? Will Chuck Bolus, who testified under oath that he suddenly decided to be sworn in early on January 31 but has no recollection at all of how an oath of office suddenly and miraculously appeared in his hand that day, be appointed again?

I am very pleased with the verdict. The News-Sentinel and the nine citizens have given their time and have spent considerable sums of money to clarify the Sunshine Law and to support open and accountable government in Knox County.

The Tennessee Coalition for Open Government has praised the decision while recognizing that Tennessee's Sunshine Laws (Open Meetings law and Open Records law) are not very strong.

The Coalition, of which the News-Sentinel is a member, wants to strengthen these laws when the Tennessee General Assembly meets in 2008. However, the Coalition's efforts are being opposed by city and county officials and by organizations that represent city and county officials.

These city and county officials and their member associations want to weaken Tennessee's Sunshine laws by providing for more "exceptions" that would prevent citizen access to public records and that would allow officials to meet privately in groups and reach agreements prior to public discussion and sometimes even prior to the public's awareness that a topic is under consideration (the "meeting before the meeting").

If city and county officials get their way in weakening the Sunshine Laws, then the Tennessee General Assembly will need to re-write the introduction to the Open Meetings Act as follows: "...the policy of this state [is] that the formation of public policy and decisions is NONE OF THE PUBLIC'S BUSINESS AND IS TO BE CONDUCTED IN SECRET."

September 28, 2007 Big Brother Watches Smokers

As mentioned in a September 22 post, the Tennessee Department of Revenue is watching you...especially if you dare to cross the state line and buy more than two cartons of cigarettes!


A News-Sentinel article by Tom Humphreys has garnered a huge number of online responses. The Drudge Report even links to Humphreys article.

September 26, 2007 Cluck! Cluck! Incoming Anonymous Comments

It's amusing to read comments to this blog from those who cluck and scratch and hide like a chicken behind the name "anonymous."

I just received another incoming anonymous comment yesterday that didn't make a lot of sense, but since this anonymous person is clucking and is a very devoted reader of my blog, I thought I might take a few minutes to remark on his/her confused comment.

The anonymous comment arrived in response to my blog post about the Tennessee Revenue Commissioner's plans to go across the state line to check on Tennesseans who are buying more than two cartons of cigarettes in neighboring states and then sneaking back into Tennessee---all to avoid the new and much higher Tennessee cigarette tax.

Anonymous complains that I copied a story from a newspaper and that I used the word "recent" to refer to a development that he says is months old. Then anonymous adds that I "criticized the local newspaper for not allowing comments, never mentioning the fact that you allow no comments on your web post."
Actually, anonymous, I linked to a fellow blogger who had commented on the cigarette tax. Then I linked to a newspaper article discussing the "recent" (September 7) Court of Appeals opinion declaring Tennessee's "crack tax" illegal.

If you want to complain that "recent" couldn't possibly describe a court decision from September 7, carry on with your silly point, whatever it is.

As for my "criticism" of the local paper, grow up. In my opinion, the paper should leave its articles online and available like most major newspapers do instead of posting them for a few days and then they're gone.

As for the statement that I don't allow comments on my web post, listen and I'll explain it one more time.
I post comments that come from individuals who put their name to the comment. I started this policy many months ago in response to profane and crude remarks.

If you want to submit a comment to my blog post, my policy on comments is just like the local paper's policy of requiring an ID from people who submit a letter to the editor.

I allow comments. You just have to be man or woman enough to put your name to it if you want your comment posted.

If you want to see your comment on my blog, be brave, be courageous, and come out of that anonymous closet and sign your name.

September 22, 2007 Tennessee Revenue Commissioner Is Watching Smokers!

A tip of the hat to Terry Frank for her article on how Tennessee's Revenue Commissioner is going to check on Tennesseans who cross state lines to purchase cigarettes.

Shame on these people! Don't they know that they need to purchase their cigarettes in Tennessee and pay the big taxes in Tennessee because it's all "for the children."

Poor Tennessee. In addition to the problems in collecting higher cigarette taxes, the Tennessee Court of Appeals just recently ruled that Tennessee's "crack tax" is illegal!

The so-called "crack tax" required people possessing illegal drugs to buy tax stamps and assured them that if they would fork over the tax on the illegal drugs, one arm of government (revenue) would not tell another arm of government (law enforcement) about the illegal substance.

The ruling by the Court of Appeals came in a lawsuit filed by Steve Waters who was arrested in 2005 for selling about 1,000 grams of cocaine to an undercover officer for $12,000.

A few days later, the state Department of Revenue found out that Mr. Waters had illegal drugs in his possession but had failed to be a good boy who voluntarily paid his "crack tax."

The solution? The Department of Revenue promptly sent Mr. Waters a bill for $55,316.84 in taxes and penalties under the “unauthorized substances tax”!

I am not in favor of smoking or possession or use of illegal drugs.

But the "crack tax" always seemed absurd. It implied that we (Tennessee/Tennessee Revenue Department) don't really care if you have illegal drugs as long as we get our taxes.

UPDATE: An interesting link to a story on cigarette tax collections can be found at the Tennessean. (The comments are worth a read, too. The Tennessean and the News-Sentinel both allow online comments of their stories. It would be really nice if the local Citizen-Tribune allowed comments, but unfortunately, the Tribune doesn't allow comments and only leaves its articles up for a short time)

September 11 The World Changes

September 11, 2001. The world changed dramatically.

The attack on the Twin Towers in NYC.
The crash of Flight 77 into the Pentagon.
The heroic actions of the passengers on Flight 93 which crashed into a field in Pennsylvania.

September 6, 2007 Civil Service Board Reverses Itself: Sheriff Esco Jarnagin Was Right

The Hamblen County Civil Service Board met yesterday at 4:30 to "re-do" its previous hearing regarding Sheriff Esco Jarnagin's refusal to promote Jailer Lynn Wolfe to a road officer.

At its prior meeting, the Board had voted 2-1 to "order" Sheriff Esco Jarnagin to promote Wolfe. "Ordering" the promotion were Chairman Joel Seal and Brett Kilgore (who ran an ad supporting former Sheriff Otto Purkey in 2006 and stating that Kilgore would prepare to run for Sheriff in 2010) . Voting "no" was J. C. Wilson.

The prior meeting was determined to have been illegal, resulting in yesterday's re-do.

At the conclusion of yesterday's meeting, the Board in a 2-1 vote (Seal and Kilgore "yes"; Wilson "no") passed a resolution that now admits that Sheriff Jarnagin does not have to promote Lynn Wolfe.

Seal and Kilgore apparently added more to the resolution as they tried to cover for their prior error in ordering the Sheriff to promote Wolfe, but I'll wait to report on that until I see the actual wording of the resolution.

For those who have forgotten, Lynn Wolfe was a Detective under former Sheriff Otto Purkey. After attending a party, he totalled a taxpayer-owned cruiser in a one-vehicle crash.

Wolfe's blood alcohol level at the time of the wreck was reportedly more than twice the level for DUI.

Wolfe was fined, allowed to resign, given a severance package by County Mayor David Purkey, and ordered to provide restitution to the county in the amount of $6,250 cash or by community service.

Wolfe chose to do over 1,040 hours of community service work to "pay" for the vehicle. And where did he do his community service work? He "worked" for his father's (Harold Wolfe) County Maintenance Department.

Much more to come. 911 tapes. Conflicts of interest. Nepotism and family ties that are never mentioned in news reports.

August 30, 2007 (Former) Sen. Ward Crutchfield Loses Law License

78-year old (former) Tennessee State Senator Ward Crutchfield of Chattanooga has been disbarred by the Tennessee Supreme Court as a result of his guilty plea in the FBI Tennessee Waltz sting operation.

Crutchfield served in the Tennessee General Assembly for 31 years before being caught on tape taking a bribe to help a fictitious company (E-cycle) set up operations in Tennessee.

Crutchfield vigorously proclaimed his innocence and continued to serve in the Tennessee Senate for nearly two years after he was charged.

On the eve of his July 16 trial date, he agreed to a plea deal with the prosecutors.

August 28, 2007 (Senator) Ford Gets 5-1/2 Years

Judge Daniel Breen sentenced flamboyant, arrogant, and bribe-taking former Tennessee State Senator John Ford to 5-1/2 years in prison.

Ford--like several other Tennessee legislators and local politicians--was caught red-handed on tape taking bribes in the FBI Tennessee Waltz sting operation.

Ford initially denied the charges but is now very sorry and takes "full responsibility" for his acts.

August 27, 2007 (Former) Sen. John Ford: "I Talk Too Much"

At his Tennessee Waltz sentencing hearing today, the once-proud and always boastful former Tennessee State Senator John Ford wiped a tear away as he said of himself, "I talk too much."

At trial, FBI audio and videotapes showed Ford talking too much and peddling his influence to the highest bidder. The tapes told the story, and Ford was convicted of bribery.

At today's sentencing hearing, Ford's attorney paraded numerous character witnesses to the stand to tell what a wonderful person Ford really is.

And, of course, the judge is being told how much "good" Ford did in the legislature. Sure, he did lots of good---for the highest briber. Oops, I mean bidder.

Now Ford--who knew all along that the charges were true and that he had taken bribes--has seen the light and is begging for mercy.

Despite knowing all along that the charges were true, he was never sorry or begging for mercy before the trial started.

Despite knowing all along that the charges were true, he was never sorry or begging for mercy before the audio and videotapes started to play.

Ford's pleas for mercy and acceptance of responsibility might seem almost genuine if they hadn't come only AFTER he was convicted.

August 16, 2007 Morristown: Little League Softball Champs!

A very talented team from Morristown reigns today as Little League Softball Champions!

Last night, the young ladies from Morristown and their Texas opponents put on a real show for viewers in the Little League World Series.

It was nip-and-tuck all evening long in Portland, Oregon, but the Morristown team came out ahead 3-2.

Don't be surprised if some of the players from these teams end up playing at the collegiate level---TENNESSEE LADY VOLS SOFTBALL!?!

Congratulations to the Softball All-Stars from Morristown, Tennessee!

August 11, 2007 Rep. Campfield Tells It Like It Is

State Rep. Stacey Campfield was the keynote speaker at a T-FIRE educational forum today at the VFW.

Campfield spoke to a group of about 60 interested citizens about illegal immigration and what the state has and has not done to address this problem.

One young lady drove over two hours on this hot, Saturday morning to hear Rep. Campfield. She left impressed as did most of the audience.

A fellow blogger David Oatney came from White Pine to hear Stacey. Knowing that David is a personal friend of Stacey, I e-mailed David late last night about Stacey's appearance

When David read my e-mail this morning, he called and said he would love to come but that he was "carless" since his wife Nicole had just left.

No problem. I picked David up and then we met Stacey at the Cracker Barrel to lead our guest speaker to the VFW.

I read David's and Stacey's blogs and felt like I already knew them, but it was very special to get the chance to meet both of them in person today.

T-FIRE stands for Tennesseans for Immigration Reform and Education.

T-FIRE is opposed to amnesty for illegal aliens and wants our borders secured.

Fabian Story, president of T-FIRE, outlined the actions that T-FIRE has taken to communicate its position on illegal immigration to elected officials (faxes, letters, phone calls, personal contact, and e-mails).

Other actions have included efforts to educate the public about the costs of illegal immigration. Several handouts with information were provided at the meeting.

Stacey is a very good communicator who tackles issues head-on. He is one of just a very few Tennessee legislators with an online blog. His blog is a real no-spin zone!

Whether the topic is immigration or taxes or wasteful government spending, Stacey tells it like it is.

August 10, 2007 Rep. Stacey Campfield Comes to Morristown

My computer has been zapped. These computer problems and a heavy workload have kept me from posting as I would like.

But I had to get this post up NOW!

T-FIRE (Tennesseans for Immigration Reform and Education) is hosting a PARTY at the VFW on 11-E (across from the east end Ingles) at 1:00 pm on Saturday, August 11.

The PARTY is to celebrate the recent defeat of the illegal alien amnesty bill in the U. S. Senate.

T-FIRE is excited to have a very special guest speaker for this event.

Tennessee State Representative Stacey Campfield will be speaking on state efforts to address illegal immigration.

Light refreshments will be served at the conclusion of the event.

It will be a party and a learning event---all in one!

August 5, 2007 Koch Appeal: Still Not on the City Agenda

When will Koch Foods' appeal of Morristown's December 2006 demand that it pay fines and costs of sewer cleanups be heard?

A Roe Junction resident was told recently that the Koch Foods' appeal would likely be on the August 7 City Council agenda.

That same resident has since talked with a City official and has been told that the appeal that was filed in January 2007 will NOT be on the August 7 agenda after all.

More sewer odors, two sewage overflows, and more cleanup costs, but no discussion or hearing on the Koch appeal.

It's no wonder that the residents of that area---after 2-1/2 years of the City and Koch going back and forth with letters, deadlines, extensions of "deadlines," hearings, orders, and an appeal---finally filed a lawsuit.

Morristown is starting a cleanup program for neighborhoods in the city (which is good) while a small community outside of the City has endured raw sewage and the stench of sewer odors for over 2-1/2 years (not good).

The city blames Koch Foods publicly (and in piles of correspondence) for sewer problems and at least one hundred-fifty thousand dollars of cleanup costs, but the City won't go ahead and hear the Koch appeal.

According to Koch, they have worked, and are still working, on pre-treatment efforts. That's good, and perhaps that will eventually address the problem in the future.

The city's fines and charges, however, are for what happened through November 2006, and the Koch appeal is about fines and costs through November 2006.

Residents of the area are understandably upset and frustrated by the odors and overflows that have been a way of life for 2-1/2 years now.

Some of them are also beginning to wonder if the city council's refusal to hear the Koch appeal is simply a stalling tactic, with the city putting off hearing the appeal in order to buy more time for Koch to come up with something.

Then the council can just "forget" about all the fines and all the sewer odors and all the overflows and all the extra cleanup costs that the taxpayers paid for through December 2006. Plus, the council can even forget about the cleanup costs paid out after December 2006.

August 3, 2007 And Another Sewage Overflow...

It looks like there has been another sewage overflow in the Roe Junction area.

A resident called to tell me that the power went out yesterday afternoon, and then the sewage started backing up onto the road again!

The workers arrived again, the vacuum hoses were pulled out again, and the sewage was sucked up and disposed of again.

An article in the Tribune last night mentions that several residents of the area have sued Koch Foods in federal court over the odor problems that have persisted since early 2005.

Although it wasn't mentioned in the article, most people would find it interesting to know that longtime County Commissioner Guy Collins is among the residents who are suing Koch.

City Administrator Jim Crumley was quoted at length in the article. He blames Koch for the sewer-related problems and for the odor that has plagued the area for 2-1/2 years.

Koch (formerly Burnett Produce) has been out of compliance with sewer regulations for years and years and years. Former County Commissioner Maudie Briggs, who has a business that is close to Koch's West Morris Boulevard location, once commented on the continuous smells coming from the Koch operation there.

The new problem with odors in the Roe Junction area began in February 2005 when Koch's deboning plant went online in the East Tennessee Progress Center. Those odors were reported to the city almost immediately by residents.

Nearly two years later (December 2006), the City issued an administrative order on the matter. Koch appealed in January 2007, but the City Council has not yet heard the matter. [A previous post has noted that the appeal may be on the Council's August 7 agenda.]

August 2, 2007 Sewage Overflows in Roe Junction Area

Millions of dollars are being spent on sewer repairs in Morristown.

However, there are still serious problems that haven't been addressed in the Roe Junction area--- where the city sewer passes by on its way to several businesses and on to the East Tennessee Progress Center where Koch Foods is located.

I received information that there was a sewage overflow on July 19 in the Roe Junction area. Apparently, sewage was backing up and overflowing onto the street and into a nearby creek for about 30-45 minutes.

Eric Carpenter, Emergency Management Director, was called and was at the site part of the time.

Sewer complaints in the area are not new. Residents of the area complained about sewer odors to the city in the spring of 2005 after the new Koch deboning plant started up in the ET Progress Center. Some of the residents even came to county commission to ask for help.

The city apparently blames Koch Foods for the problem(s) and has imposed numerous "deadlines" for Koch to take care of the problem. As each deadline came and went, a new "deadline" was set.

Finally, in December 2006 the City fined Koch Foods and sent Koch a bill for costs incurred by the City for chemicals and labor to "treat" the problem. The city also reserved the right to impose additional fines and to request reimbursement for extra treatment costs incurred after December 2006.

In January 2007, Koch appealed the fines and costs. When the appeal was brought before the City Council, the council members were caught off-guard by the matter, and the appeal was postponed so the council could get more information.

The appeal has been put off and put off, but a resident of that area now tells me that Koch's appeal of the December 2006 fines and costs is "tentatively" scheduled for the August 7 meeting of the City Council.

July 22, 2007 Teddy Ray Mitchell Lawsuit

Several people noticed a small blurb in the Citizen-Tribune on July 11, 2007, stating that a lawsuit had been filed by Teddy Ray Mitchell and Judy Mitchell against Hamblen County and the City of Morristown.

Teddy Ray Mitchell was carrying a lawn chair and a small American flag on an aluminum pole on June 24, 2006, when he started up the First North Street entrance to the Courthouse lawn. He was planning to attend an anti-illegal immigration rally.

When officers told him that he could not take the aluminum pole with the small American flag onto the Courthouse lawn, Mr. Mitchell objected. Words were exchanged. At some point, Mr. Mitchell was allegedly tasered, taken to the ground, and arrested.

There was an absolutely massive display of law enforcement present that day.

Several individuals asked if I would post the entire complaint that was filed in US District Court in Greeneville so they could see what it says.

Plaintiffs are Teddy Ray Mitchell and wife Judy Lee Mitchell. A jury trial is demanded.

Defendants are City of Morristown; Hamblen County; Officer Frank Lane; Officer Matt Stuart; Officer Troy Wallen; Officer Andrew Kyle; Officer Eric Carson; Lt. Chris Weisgarber (sic); Chief of Police Roger Overholt; Mayor Gary Johnson; and John Doe's.

COMPLAINT

Come the plaintiffs and for cause of action would state as follows:

1. The plaintiffs are citizens and residents of Hamblen County, Tennesse.

2. The defendant City of Morristown is a municipal corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of Tennessee and existing in Hamblen County, Tennessee.

3. The defendant Hamblen County is a governmental entity existing and created in the State of Tennessee.

4. The individual officer defendants, Frank Lane, Matt Stuart, Troy Wallen, Andrew Kyle, Eric Carlson, Chris Weisgarber (sic), are police officers employed by the City of Morristown and may be served with process through the Chief of Police in Morristown, Tennessee. (NOTE: Chris Wisecarver)

5. Chief of Police Roger Overholt is employed by the City of Morristown and may be served with process through the Chief of Police in Morristown, Tennessee.

6. Mayor Gary Johnson is employed by the City of Morristown and may be served with process at 100 W. First North Street, Morristown, Tennessee 37816. (NOTE: Sami Barile is now Mayor of Morristown)

7. The John Doe defendants are parties who are employees of the City of Morristown or Hamblen County who participated in the actions that led to the planning, policy, and decisions that resulted in the violation of civil rights of the plaintiff, Teddy Ray Mitchell, and his resulting injuries, as well as John Does that participated in the violation of his civil rights. None of these individuals are known to plaintiffs at this time. Those would include Sheriff's department deputies that participated in the events and arrest of Teddy Ray Mitchell on June 24, 2006.

8. The defendants and all of them acted in their official capacity to violate the plaintiff, Teddy Ray Mitchell, of his rights.

9. This is a civil action seeking relief and/or damages to defend or protect the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. This action is brought pursuant to 42 USC (Section) 1983, as well as other remedies. This Court has jurisdiction over this action pursuant to 28 USC (Sections) 1331, 1343(3)(4) and 2201.

10. Venue exists in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee.

11. On or about June 24, 2006, the plaintiff, Teddy Ray Mitchell, a 61 year old veteran, was on his way to attend a "concerned citizens" pro-America rally. This rally was a peaceful rally that had been orgranized in part by some of the leaders of the Hamblen County community and at which certain public officials would be speaking.

12. Citizens were encouraged to attend and to bring American flags. Mr. Mitchell brought along with him a lawn chair and an American flag to attend the rally. He also wore around his neck a picture of himself in his Navy uniform from the 1960's. Mr. Mitchell was not a member of any group or organization. He simply wanted to attend a pro-America rally.

13. Upon arrival, Mr. Mitchell was surprised to find that the entire grounds of the Hamblen County Courthouse where the rally was to occur had been cordoned off. Mr. Mitchell understood this to be a peaceful rally and, therefore, did not understand the high degree of security.

14. While approaching the entrance to the rally, Mr. Mitchell was confronted by the above-noted defendant officers.

15. The officers forcefully demanded that he would not be able to take his flag into the rally. Mr. Mitchell objected to this. He asked if a Mexican flag would be allowed and was told by one of the defendant officers that, yes, a Mexican flag could go in. The officers then did forcefully try to take the flag from him and grabbed Mr. Mitchell and forced him to the ground. At the same time, they stunned and/or tasered him.

16. Mr. Mitchell is 61 years of age. The officers used unnecessary force and did violently violate his constitutional rights to freely attend a public rally and carry an American flag.

17. The above-stated defendants did violate Mr. Mitchell's constitutional rights, including the right of free speech and to carry an American flag; the right to be free from an unlawful attack; the use of unnecessary force by a police officer; and the unlawful arrest of him, all in the the exercise of his protected constitutional rights.

18. Mr. Mitchell and other American veterans have served in our Armed Forces to protect our right to carry and present the American flag. The officers in questiosn sought to deprive Mr. Mitchell of this right and did so forcefully and with unnecessary violence did take his American flag from him. causing injury to him.

19. The aforestated defendants violated Mr. Mitchell's constitutional rights, including those protected pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment and 42 USC (Section) 1983.

20. The defendants, through their planning of the security for this event and through the actions that led to the injury and arrest of Mr. Mitchell, did act in concert to violate his civil rights.

21. Further, the defendant officers have maliciously prosecuted him, all in an effort to prevent Mr. Mitchell from exercising his civil rights.

22. As a result of the actions of the defendants, the plaintiff, Teddy Ray Mitchell, has incurred damages, including personal injury and attorneys' fees. He continues to be wrongfully prosecuted. All of these actions have caused and will continue to cause him damages and injury and are intended to hinder him in his protection of his civil rights. The plaintiff prays to recover any and all damages to which he has suffered.

23. The plaintiff, Judy Lee Mitchell, has been deprived of consortium of her husband and is therefore likewise entitled to damages.

Having set forth their Complaint, the plaintiffs pray to recover an amount not less than $100,000, as well as their attorneys' fees and costs and such further and other relief as to which they are entitled. The plaintiffs request a jury to try this cause.

Respectfully submitted this 22nd day of June, 2007.

Signed by: Teddy Ray Mitchell
Judy Lee Mitchell

James C. Wright (Attorney for Plaintiffs)

July 15, 2007 Tennessee Waltz: Bitter Tune for Eleven Public Officials

Tennessee State Senator Ward Crutchfield of Chattanooga held on to his office as long as he could, denying all the while that he was guilty of taking bribes in the 2005 Tennessee Waltz FBI investigation of corruption at the state and local level.

Then on Thursday, July 12, he entered a plea of guilty to a bribery charge. In return, a more serious charge of extortion was dropped. His attorney commented afterwards that the money Crutchfield took was not a bribe; instead, it was a thank you, a tip, a "gratuity."

The next day, former Tennessee State Senator Kathryn Bowers announced that she would enter a guilty plea on Monday, July 16, despite nearly two years of fierce denials to bribe-taking.

Out of 12 arrests, there are 11 guilty pleas or convictions with one remaining individual scheduled for trial in September. My guess is that the remaining trial will never take place---that a guilty plea will be announced on the eve of trial or before.

The FBI did an outstanding job in establishing airtight cases. I've heard more than one person speculate that with a little more time, many more state and local lawmakers could have been snared in the "money for legislation/legislative favors" scheme.

The FBI tapes told a tale of corruption in Nashville and across the state. In the end, not even a legislator/lawyer like Crutchfield could withstand the tale of the tapes.

July 8, 2007 Taxes: Why The Public Doesn't Believe a Word the Politicians Say

"How do you know when a politician is lying?" Answer: "His/her lips are moving."

We laugh. But unfortunately, there is a lot of truth in that joke.

Another unfortunate truth is that local government spending is beginning a sharp upward spiral. And when spending goes up, taxes go up.

TAXES: On June 28, the Hamblen County Commission passed a budget that has around $1 million dollars in new spending out of the county general government fund. That new spending comes with a price tag ---a 10-cent tax increase.

After voting for the tax increase and new spending, Chairman Stancil Ford started the spin machine with political double-speak in which he proclaimed how proud he was that the budget had been CUT by $1 million dollars.

How do you increase spending by $1 million dollars and call it a "cut"? Answer: The first wish-list budget presented this year included over $2 million dollars in new spending. So when the commission only added $1 million dollars in new spending, Ford proudly termed this $1 million in new spending a "cut."

To quote another famous spinmeister: it all depends on what the meaning of "cut" is. To the taxpayer, it's pretty simple. If you are getting $10/hour and ask your boss for a $2/hour raise for the next year but only get a $1/hour raise, did you get a "cut" in pay? No. That's not a cut. That's just less of an increase than you asked for.

When politicians look at a similar situation on the government level, they think that if they spent $10 million last year and if someone proposes to spend $2 million additional dollars in next year's budget but instead they only add $1 million dollars of additional spending, then they have "cut" the budget. That's not a cut. That's just less of an increase than they asked for.

Bottom line: Government spending in the county's general fund is increasing by $1 MILLION DOLLARS from last year's level, and everyone's tax rate is going up by 10 cents from last year's level to pay for the added spending.

I was allowed to speak just before the June 28th tax-and-spend vote was approved. No other citizens spoke at that time although I have seen several letters to the editor opposing tax increases.

On June 28th, I knew the vote was set. My remarks were a reminder that looking for ways to cut or at least hold-the-line on new spending is long overdue. They also were a reminder that local officials, unfortunately, have a poor record for truthfulness about taxes and a poor record for accountability for tax dollars.

You are getting ready to raise taxes AGAIN.

The writing is on the wall. It's a done deal.

I am against the continual increase in taxes. Just like the average citizen, government has to learn to curb the constant desire to spend more and more.

In 1999, you passed a wheel tax. It was supposed to be a temporary tax to take care of a temporary general fund problem and then it was supposed to "sunset" and go away.

Well, the sun never did set on the wheel tax. As soon as the temporary general fund problem was taken care of, you decided that you still wanted to spend more tax dollars.

So in 2002 many of you currently serving on this commission decided to conduct a "pick-your-poison" referendum.

Taxpayers were given the choice of a wheel tax or a property tax increase. What a nifty choice. Too bad there wasn't a third choice---none of the above.

The taxpayers dutifully made their "choice." Continue the $27 wheel tax and they thought that was it.

Little did the taxpayers know that just three months after the wheel tax passed in 2002, many of you commissioners sitting here today or your predecessors would tack on a 15-cent property tax increase, too!

So much for straight talk. No wonder the public has such distrust for elected officials.

That's when people began to see that the government never gets enough.

Then a short time later, it was disaster time for the garbage fund. A 21-cent property tax increase.

Then there was a litigation tax increase.

Then pennies were shifted from the debt fund and put in the general fund. And more money was shifted around that many of you never even knew about until after it was already done.

Now, you're preparing to add another 10-cent increase to the general fund tax rate.

You may never see them and you may never talk to them, but there are people living on fixed incomes today. I have heard at least two or three of you mention these people in private conversations.

These people are living on $500 to $600/month. They are saddled with gas costing nearly $3/gallon. Milk that is nearly $5/gallon. Frequently, they have no health insurance and are faced with the choice of buying food or needed medicine.

And there is a middle class that is squeezed from all sides as well.

Taxes just go up and up and up!

The really sad thing is that there is so little accountability up here for the precious tax dollars that you have already taken and that you are preparing to take more of today.

Everybody can think of new ways to spend money, but suggestions for spending cuts are non-existent or few and far between.

Ignoring those who suggest ways to cut spending is the norm.

No-bid contracts are still the norm.

No questions are now the norm.

And, as a result, there will be a tax increase this year, next year, and probably for many years to come.

Government belt-tightening? Maybe when pigs fly.

Thank you for allowing me to speak today.

July 4, 2007 Happy Fourth of July

How fortunate and blessed this nation and its people are.

With thankfulness for our many freedoms and with gratitude to all who serve in our armed forces....

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY TO ALL!

June 28, 2007 Taxes: Going UP

Quick post

Hamblen County Taxes Go UP....AGAIN!

Hamblen County taxes are going up AGAIN. Taxes were increased by 10 cents at Thursday's 5:00 commission meeting.

Voting for the tax increase were: Larry Baker, Ricky Bruce, Stancil Ford, Herbert Harville, Tommy Massey, Frank Parker, Nancy Phillips, Reece Sexton, Joe Swann, and Dana Wampler.

Voting against the tax increase were: Guy Collins, Doyle Fullington, Paul Lebel, and Joe Spoone.

City of Morristown Taxes Go WAY UP along with a nifty FEE!

And speaking of taxes, pity the taxpayers in the City of Morristown. They get the Hamblen County increase (10-cents) and they also get a City tax increase (40-cents) that passed a few days ago.

And on top of this, they get a $1/month stormwater "impact fee."

The "fee" will be collected by Morristown Utility Systems, so if a utility customer fails to pay the stormwater "impact fee" when paying the utility bill, he just might find himself electricity-less.

Voting for the City tax increase were newly-elected Mayor Sami Barile, William Rooney, Kay Senter, and Mel Tucker.

Voting against the City tax increase were Claude Jinks, Frank McGuffin, and Rick Trent.

June 12, 2007 Reinhardt Loses Election Contest Appeal

One of the closest races in the August 2006 Hamblen County election was the race for 4th district county commissioner.

Reece Sexton was declared the winner over Bobby Reinhardt by two votes (160-158), but only after a long night (and early morning) of repeated tabulations at the Courthouse.

Reinhardt contested the election in chancery court, maintaining that two paper ballots cast during early voting were illegal votes because they were not in strict compliance with T.C.A. 2-6-104. He lost.

[See my posts here (I), here (II), and here (III) for discussion of testimony at the trial and the chancellor's decision. ]

Reinhardt appealed the trial court's decision. In an opinion handed down yesterday, the Tennessee Court of Appeals upheld the decision of the trial court, refusing to void the results of the 4th district county commission race.

Left undecided by the Court of Appeals, however, was the central issue that was raised by Reinhardt on appeal, i.e. whether two paper ballots cast during early voting in the 4th district were legal or illegal votes.

The COA stated that without a transcript of Election Administrator Wanda Neal's testimony or a statement of the evidence, the Court had to assume that the proof at trial supported the trial court's decision in favor of Sexton.

June 8, 2007 Sen. Cooper "not guilty"

With a quick verdict, jurors in Sen. Jerry Cooper's bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy trial found Cooper "not guilty" of all charges.

On Day One, the prosecutors laid out the motive--money. On Tuesday, former Tennessee Department of Economic Development head Bill Baxter was termed an unindicted co-conspirator by prosecutors.

At mid-week, however, you could see that this trial was probably going nowhere with this AP report.

The charges against Cooper were not connected to the 2005 Tennessee Waltz arrests of local and state legislators.

In Tennessee Waltz trials, prosecutors have been careful in building airtight cases over a period of time. So far, the Waltz prosecutors have yet to lose with 4 convictions, 5 guilty pleas, and a handful of trials yet to go.

The audio and video tapes that have been used at Tennessee Waltz trials have been compelling for jurors and apparently tell the sorry story of public corruption better than any prosecutor can.

As for Cooper, he isn't exactly home-free yet. Cooper still faces drunk-driving charges stemming from a one-vehicle accident that took place on February 7 after Cooper left a reception in Nashville at which the liquor flowed freely.

And now there are reports that testimony at Cooper's bank and wire fraud trial has raised new questions regarding a possible transfer that Cooper made of $95,000 from his campaign finance account to a personal account.

The current allegations may involve not only the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance but also the United States Internal Revenue Service.