Blog Archives 6/1/07-7/31/07
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Officials Sightings
report 7/31/07
Well
I've got a question....
The
Little Rockets day car for
infant (trailer) looks like
that some good minded folks from
the "Two Rivers" church are
helping with the fix up of the
trailer.
They
had a volunteer day this past
Saturday. Looks like it was
painted, the steps moved in
place,the trailer was moved away
from North Middle toward the
road (Fire Marshall had concerns
about location) etc....
However the church is now
calling this a "missionary"
effort to help the day care???
Can you have a missionary in the
public schools??
It
just gets deeper.....
Concerned 7/26/07 In today's News
Herald I saw an article about Lenoir
City and eminent domain concerning
back taxes and a property that they
probably want for their own. An old
song by Jenny C. riley comes to
mind. "This is just a little Peyton
Place and your whole bunch are
Lenoir City hypocrites! (I am simply
sharing MY opinion, so blame no one
but me.). Come on Mayor, when do you
plan to declare eminent domain on
the city attorney? On the other
hand, maybe he pays city taxes, and
not county taxes. Is anybody surprised the Aikens got off, again? Kind of makes firing Grossbard for the video seem a little silly. Some things never change and never will. Ashamed of our system 7/21/07
I recently read in the local
paper a proposal from one of
our fine County Commissioners
Nancy Marcus. Mrs. Marcus has
been trying for some years now
to make the county employees pay
higher rates for insurance. She
correctly stated a figure that
the county pays about 90 percent
of the employee insurance with
the workers paying 10 percent.
Also, according to Marcus, the
county has been raising and
leveling the salaries of
employees of various
departments, and this should
allow them to pay a higher
percentage cost.
The fact of the matter is, the only employees that have seen raises are upper management. Some of them received raises at around 15,000.00 a year! How many of the regular employees saw a raise? The ones that sued the commission to get one! So for whatever reason, Mrs. Marcus has an agenda to make the county employees suffer. This shows the true character of this woman. NEWS FLASH! The county is not in a huge hurt for money, so why is she doing this? It is not the first time it has happened. Recently Van Shaver posted
the leftover money from last
year, and it shows me that there
is no reason to scrounge. Let
me give you an example of how
someone might be effected if
this change were to come about.
Lets say that we have an
employee that makes 12.00 /hr.
There are a whole lot of people
that work for the county that
make this or a lot less. This
employee would make about 960.00
every two weeks. Uncle SAM
takes his part along with
mandatory county retirement and
now we have about 740.00. Now
if you have family insurance,
you pay about 120.00 a month so
60.00 more off of the 740.00.
Now we are down to 680.00 bring
home every two weeks. This is
how it is currently. I feel sorry for the county employees that are just here to be a public servant. These are the people that make our county function, not the administration that can never be found during business hours. Look at it this way, would you like the girl that answers your 911 call to be no more than a burger flipper when your loved one is having a heart attack, or would you like a professional that has good benefits to be here. Would you like the county clerks that we all have to see at one point in time to screw it all up because they have no education? How about that officer that comes to help you in a horrible situation. Would you like to have an idiot respond to you because he was the only one that was dumb enough to work for such a low rate? It is as simple as this. Take care of your employees and you will have a good product. I don't mean that you have to be a tax money open drain, just give people that have good education and work ethics a reason to look at this county when they are looking for a job. I would like to ask Van to look into this situation a little more and have his opinion. I would like to see Van back in office so that he could represent employees fair like before. As for Nancy Marcus, we all know that your broom doesn't have a lot of dust on it.
Ricky Lenoir City 7/20/07
I am sorry for Mr. Grossbard. It was a silly thing he did but are we to believe he is the only city/LCUB employee to goof off a little on the clock or to use city/LCUB equipment for personal use? I think not. He certainly should have been reprimanded but termination was too harsh. Chief White has now set a high standard for all of his officers and the same standard should also apply to all city and LCUB employees. It will be very interesting to see if it will. I'm sure we will all be watching to see if this standard is equally and fairly applied to all. All is not lost for Mr. Grossbard. I'm sure he can get a job with the sheriff's department. They have a much, much lower standard than the city. Exhortation, tampering with evidence, prisoner abuse and so on. Goofing off on the clock would never rise to a punishable offence. After all one county top cop spends most of his time building houses while on the county dime. Jamie 7/20/07 As for your story "County Ends
Fiscal Year with 20 Million +", we
may have 20 million now but that
will dwindle to nothing if Doyle Arp
keeps taking on his buddy
Cunningham's bills with the animal
shelter, funding Tellico Village's
wish list, and going on with plans
to transform the county building
into Fort Arp. More people need to
get off their hind end and get
involved if they care about their
quality of life in this county. I would like to address Ms. Malone's heart rendering letter to the editor in the News Herald 07/16/07, Ms. Malone has no idea what she is about to get the school board into. Ask yourself, if an on site daycare is such a great idea, why doesn't every private employer set up an infant daycare for their employees. Contrary to Ms. Malone's statements, on site daycares actually contribute to less work productivity. The worker/parent inevitably will spend work time visiting their child especially in the infant stages. What about the staff required to work an infant daycare? One adult per each four infants. I'm sure Ms. Malone feels they can just hire other teacher's children as they have done so much in the past for other BOE jobs, but not this time. The daycare will be required to have qualified staff. The amount of paper work required to be kept could keep one person working full time. And how long will it be before the tax payers will start picking up the tab. Heaven forbid, but if there were ever a serious incident, it won't be Ms. Malone that will be held responsible. It will be the tax payers. The liability to the employer is off the charts. Ms. Malone's statement that our teachers make less then "ALL" surrounding counties is not exactly true. Many times pay scale is dependent on who you are. But also remember the cost of living in Loudon County is less then "ALL" surrounding counties. If a teacher feels that they can make more some where else then they should move on and do what they feel is best for them. This is just one more example of the education sector feeling superior to the rest of us. Our daycares aren't good enough. Mary from one of our "no quality" daycares 7/18/07
I am not sure what the story is
on Gordon Harless ( I would like
to know) but as for county
employees using county computers
while on tax payers time I think
someone should look in to Loudon
County Economical Development
Agency. I think you will find
some of the employees there
spending a lot of time sending
personal emails, tasteless jokes
and surfing websites that are
not for the development of
Loudon County. Is this being
done while on the clock? Are we
paying for there employees to
play on the internet? If they
have free time to do this maybe
there hours should be adjusted
so they can spend time at home
on the PC and not while they are
at work. I t was recently some
of them got a substantial raise.
Hmmmmm something smells and its
not the river.
Food for thought the next time
you see one of them.
Friend of the county 7/12/07
Public Health Benefits to New Diesel
Emissions Rule;
Cost-effective diesel pollution reduction This handbook demonstrates that cleaning up diesel engines is a cost- effective way to reduce the adverse health effects of diesel pollution and outlines some simple steps, like enforcing idling laws and using clean fuels—like ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD)—with best available retrofit technologies that can cut diesel emissions by up to 90%. Full Report: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/3996_DieselHandbook_Summary.pdf Executive Summary: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/3996_DieselHandbook_Summary.pdf SOURCE: Environmental Defense 7/10/07 I won't be in town to make it for the July 11th meeting. However, I wanted to raise an additional point in the Truck Stop saga: One need only TRY to exit the interstate at Watt Road or Lovell Road where said "travel centers" exist and see yet ANOTHER reason we don't want this development in our residential community. Traditional traffic lights allow 2 trucks AT BEST thru a single green light. Your time getting off on 72 has just tripled! (assuming a light is installed - if not, add more because we've all seen truckers take the "I'm bigger" right of way liberty.) And if you live off of Sugarlimb and think it won't affect you? Think again. How many residents will purposely jump off on Sugarlimb just to avoid the truck harangue down the road? I know I jump off anywhere BUT Watt Road to hit Dixie Lee Junction. We will feel the 'ripple' effect on both sides of this exit. And, to someone else's point…. How long after we have a 'travel center' do we have some 'adult only' bookstores, video stores, and novelty shops? Again - see Watt Road? See Lovell!!! Bees flock to their honey. These establishments know where to strategically locate a business, don't they? I'm not trying to 'generalize' about truckers - I'm looking at historical evidence. Not all are sex starved porn addicts… but I don't want even 1 or 2 or 3 planning their layover / fix in my backyard. Do you? J.S. Lenoir City 7/10/07
Wendy is correct and I am so
pleased she brought this to our
attention.....I happen to like
the Loudon area the way it is.
we do not need to step out our
back door onto a strip mall or
in the door of a travel
center....You all should listen
to the police department some
night or go and look at the call
records for the Travel centers
A.K.A TRUCK STOPS that are in
our county. this would be the
T/A and Perkins restaurant at
Watt road. yes...they are in
Loudon County. these places draw
the some undesired patrons and
feed some unwanted crime. if
this happens then the Hwy
72/I-75 area will see an
increase in vagrants that
frequent truck stops ( I will
use the phrase truck stop a lot
so I am sure not to sugar coat
the issue). This will bring in
prostitution A.K.A. Lot lizards.
these are women and men who hang
around truck stops to trade sex
for money or drugs. and lets not
mention the drugs that will roll
thru that place. The traffic
would be horrific...I am sure
this would be a good selling
approach for people wanting to
buy property at the
National....the description
could read like this.
Live in a pristine
golfing community in beautiful
Loudon County, This uniquely
designed golf community built
near the land fill ( if not on
it) is located a hop, skip and a
jump from a shopping Mecca. you
can visit the quaint shops of
the Pilot Truck stop while
enjoying the outside aroma of
mushrooms in growth. If you seek
to meet other cultures I am sure
you will bump into some our
friendly Hispanics as the
commute to and from work.
We do not need this travel
center. We need to stop thinking
about the almighty dollar and
think about what this place is
and why some of us call it home.
P.O.ed in Loudon 7/10/07
Just as Wendy has said, "Time is of the essence" if you want to try to eliminate a problem before it begins. I just learned on the 4th of July that some way, some how, there was an ordinance passed in Lenoir City that says that fireworks are legal inside the city limits from June 20th thru July 5th. Imagine how that could have possibly passed at a City Council meeting where one of the members would own a fireworks store. I was very upset to think that I had to get up at 5:30 am on Thursday for work and I didn't have a voice at all in the "booming" fireworks displays all around my house. I think if that passed without the public knowing about it and never the less it is being abided by, WHY first of all would fireworks be needed prior to the 4th of July and the day after the 4th and secondly, let's enforce the law of fireworks being ILLEGAL inside the city on the days after the 5th. I was told that unless the fireworks are a nuisance they couldn't do anything about them. I say if they are shaking the windows in my home from streets away THEY ARE A NUISANCE. Not to mention that incase the fire chief hasn't heard we are in a severe drought, why didn't he stop it ? I will call the LC police every time I hear even one boom around my house. Let's get this nonsense STOPPED. I don't think anyone actually shooting the fireworks and/or any one employed by the city would want to be liable for a house or property going up in flames due to an ordinance that should have never been put into place and not banned during a drought. Concerned citizen of LC 7/10/07
Hi everyone,
It has been brought to my
attention that Pilot Travel
Centers, LLC wants to build a
6-acre Pilot Travel Center/Truck
stop at the Loudon exit between
McDonald's and the exit ramp.
This land is currently not zoned
for a truck stop, but Pilot has
applied for a special exception
You can voice your opinion in
person at the Loudon Board of
Zoning Appeals Meeting on
Wednesday July 11, 2001
immediately following the Loudon
Regional Planning Commission
Meeting, which begins at 12:30.
The meeting will be held at
Loudon City Hall (same building
as the utility board). If you
are not able to attend the
meeting, you can voice your
opinion via phone or e-mail and
ask that your opinions be made
part of the minutes of the
meeting.
Loudon County Office of Planning
and Community Development
Phone: 865-458-3880
Fax: 865-458-3792
Planning director: Russ
Newman
russ_newman@bellsouth.net
Administrative Assistant:
Debbie Hines
debhines@bellsouth.net
A pilot travel center would
greatly increase the volume of
traffic at the 72 exit of
Interstate 75 (think Watt Rd or
Lovell Rd). The increased
emissions from the extra trucks
stopping is also inconsistent
with Loudon's non-attainment
status for fine particle
pollution. Pilot's new truck
centers generally offer space
for 100+ trucks. Is this what
we want for Loudon?
Please, time is of the essence.
Please contact the planning
commission and advise them that
you "oppose" re-zoning of this
land for this truck stop or
Loudon, as we know it, will no
longer exist!
Have a good day!
Wendy 7/9/07
I have never seen anybody more busted than Gordon Harless. Sure it was him who signed up with the dating site. It's quit obvious. Then he tries to lie his way out of it. Come on Harless, stand up and take it like a man. The ladies will love it. Does the county have no policy against using a county issued email address for such solicitous purposes? Wonder if it was a personal or county credit card that paid for his dates. Holly 7/5/07
It is my observation at Eaton
Elementary and North Middle
School that there has been a
dramatic INCREASE in the number
of non-teaching staff. These
are new positions and to my
knowledge, weren't posted... but
CREATED and FILLED positions.
The new 'employees' are all moms
of students and move in the same
social / church circles. Maybe
we truly needed a 200% increase
in paid administrative
workers... or a paid PTO
president. Or maybe we've
turned friendships into favors.
The good ole boy network is
alive and well. Let's pay the
teachers and maybe even put some
play equipment on North Middle's
recreational 'grass'.
J.S. Lenoir City, TN 7/5/07
I recently read in
the News Sentinel that the Knox
County Commissioners violated their
own ethics policy by playing in the
Knoxville Open Golf Tournament and
accepting a $500.00 gift certificate
each. I understand the City
Council of Lenoir City also passed
an ethics policy recently. I also
understand that the City of Lenoir
City had a participate in the
Knoxville Open and also received a
$500.00 gift certificate. This is
the age old deal of making an
enormous contribution with taxpayer
funds in order to be invited, and
then receive a personal kick back in
exchange. The City Council will
look the other way when it is one of
their own violating their ethics
policy. That is also why they need
to enforce their nepotism policy. Bravo to the Loudon County commission for standing firm against the Loudon County Board Of Education. Shame on you Loudon County Commission for then turning around and throwing away tax money on your budget. It's called hypocrisy. O. Roberts 7/4/07
After reading the story about
the modular being placed at
North Middle School, my first
thought was "nope, I'm not
going to do it ". However, it
just gets the best of me when I
see the school system crying
about money and sports and
busses. For those who do not
know, the modular classroom
belongs to Eaton Elementary.
Remember the " there is no
quality daycare in Loudon County
", statement made by principal
Malone in her bid to have
daycare for employees at the
facility. Well here it is in all
it's glory, one Department of
Education licensed and partially
funded quality employee daycare.
While we're on the subject of
schools and wasting money. In an
article in the most recent
News-Herald, Bobby Johnson Jr. "
expressed dismay at having to
dip into the fund balance,
citing the recent problems with
the fire marshal at Loudon High
School. These renovations went
from an estimated $300,000 to
MORE THAN 1 MILLION, all of
which came from the fund balance
".
First off, the PROBLEM is not
recent. The problems began way
back in 2001. Secondly, the
problems are NOT with the fire
marshal as stated. And finally,
the initial problems at LHS
would not have even remotely
reached $300, 000. The problem
is as simple as one individuals
quest to, as Frank would say "I
DID IT MY WAY". Expensive and
foolish mistake.
I can only imagine what the FREE
daycare at Eaton is going to
cost.
Brooke 7/4/07
To: The Facts Man 6/21/07
You stated:
"All of these people listed have
paid all of the taxes listed
except for the 2006 tax year"
YOU ARE WRONG, as the e-mail
from the county trustee (below)
shows.
You also stated:
"This is what angers me about
irresponsible posts on web sites
or blogs. Most people don't take
the time to check and see if the
claims are true."
Print that statement, and read
it in front of your mirror.
=====================================================
From: Estelle Herrontrstloc@bellsouth.net
To:
'Dave Divelbiss'
davedivelbiss@earthlink.net
Subject:
RE: Property Taxes, 1005 E.
Broadway
Date:
Jun 29, 2007 10:28 AM
Mr. Divelbiss: After checking
these taxes, the only year that
was paid is
the 2003 year. They were pd 10-2-06. The 2004 & 2005 taxes have been turned over to the Clerk & Master for collection. This office has the 2006 tax. Hope this info will be of help. Thanks Estelle ==============
EOM
David Divelbiss 6/29/07
I thought all the council's families already worked for the city or LCUB. Joe 6/28/07 Which city councilman's child is going to work at LCUB? We'll see! Lcuber 627/07
At the
Monday, June 11th city council
meeting, Matt Brookshire told
us: "For six straight years now,
we've had what is truly
considered a balanced budget."
Some of us
know better. For instance, last
year they removed two very
expensive items in order to get
a "truly balanced budget" (a
plastic enclosure for his
swimming pool [$178,000.00] and
a new garbage truck), passed the
budget, then went ahead and
purchased them anyway.
(Brookshire
claimed he was getting donations
for the pool enclosure. As of
March he had NONE!)
Now, only two
weeks after the latest "truly
balanced budget" was passed,
council votes to raise garbage
collection fees and motel user
taxes.
YO! KING
MATT!: Is there a new round of
"off-budget spending" planned?
Or is this to pay for last
year's?
David
Divelbiss 6/27/07
It
is a sad day that the citizens
of Loudon County are now going
to be charged for copies. Arp
wanted the pesky citizens out of
the records and getting them
copied, well maybe now we need
to be in the records more. What
is he going to do if there is a
line day after day wanting just
to see these records, he can't
deny anyone and he can't throw
any one out. So therefore he
would have just made the
situation worse. I just hope
that on the next election for
County Mayor that the voters
will remember just how much Mr.
Arp has cost the TAX PAYERS OF
LOUDON COUNTY.
Joanne Greenway 6/24/07
I don't know and don't particularly care, but if my tax records were reported as unpaid for several years and this was wrong, I would pitch a fit with somebody at the state or at the county for putting my information on the web incorrectly. That could really hurt a persons credibility. Has anybody actually called the Trustee's office to check the facts? Hillbilly Bob 6/22/07 To the Facts
man......
I checked on
this blog:
"If anyone
has been to crookbusters.com,
school board solutions, there
are some interesting names that
hold prominent positions in city
government who have failed to
pay their property tax in
several years....S.D. June 20,
2007"
All of these
people listed have paid all of
the taxes listed except for
the 2006 tax year. In two of the
cases the property owners have
changed. In all of the cases the
taxes were paid late in the
correct year .This is what
angers me about irresponsible
posts on web sites or blogs.
Most people don't take the time
to check and see if the claims
are true. Had someone made the
claim that taxes are paid late
on the properties this would be
fact. I now know the web
site referred to has been shown
to be unreliable. I wonder how
many other "facts" are
unreliable on crookbusters.com?
The Facts Man 6/21/07 To SD, To SMA,
You are right Nike! There are
some mean elected officials in
this county, and if they knew
what people really thought of
them, there would be some big
time paybacks. We as voters
have put them in the position to
hurt us if we try to change the
way our governments operate. I
like the blog and it helps me to
voice my opinion without
worrying how they will get back
at me. These people control our
towns and county. I hate to be
so dramatic but they control our
law enforcement, our courts, and
our legislative branch of
government. I hope that we can
once again vote together to
remove them. They promised us
that they would be different if
we would only vote for them. We
did and now it is worse than
ever. Keep voicing your
opinions on Van's blog. Nobody
will ever know who you are, they
will just talk about how you are
telling the real truth about the
mess we have here in our towns
and county.
Betsy Ross
If anyone has been
to crookbusters.com, school board
solutions, there are some
interesting names that hold
prominent positions in city
government who have failed to pay
their property tax in several
years. I hope this is not true, as
I have known 1 of these individuals
for several years. This is an open
invitation for anyone who can
validate the claim that they have
not paid on the listed properties.
This type of conduct would be
expected from some politicians in
this county, but the people on that
list have never really been in
trouble. As for the stolen meter,
anyone who is a customer of LCUB
should be livid about this as our
rates continue to go up........Why
am I not surprised another member of
the sheriff's department broke the
law....oh well, their chief deputy
is such a fine example I know why some people don't like this blog page, they can't stand for the truth to be told. And I know why it bothers them that some bloggers are anonymous. They don't know who to intimidate. This site is a great service to Loudon County. Nike To JoAnne,
To JAM;
In response to your comments
about the deputy stealing
electricity and not being
charged. The sheriff said the
meter was the property of LCUB.
Isn't it a strange coincidence
that the chief deputy's nephew
and the sheriff's secretary's
son work for LCUB? Oh but wait I
forgot , the deputy said he
found the brand new meter on the
side of the road.
Amazed by the BS , in LC
I really never believed all the bad stuff that was posted on this site about the sheriff's department. But the deputy stealing the electricity and walking away has made me a believer. JAM 6/16/07 To SMA,
To: Brooke 6/14/07
Thank you for your message.
It's truly insightful, what you
say you saw at Loudon High
School"
".....a school that cannot fund
a basketball program would go
about the task of recruiting a
NEW basketball coach...... the
football players were there for
their daily workout...... the
football coaches were there
also. Did someone just forget to
tell them we're not playing this
fall ?"......Not a bad day for
someone that cannot fund sports
programs."
I would submit that NOBODY in
Loudon County Schools takes this
nonsense seriously. Instead, you
merely have a tantrum.
It was Loudon County
Commissioners who decided that
15% of the Adequate Facilities
Tax (AFT) would go to Lenoir
City Schools. While they were
under no legal obligation to do
this, they did so because the
tax will be collected countywide
- including on residential
development in the LC School
District (That's how it is when
you are fair-minded - you don't
need a law or court order to
tell you what to do).
The Loudon County School Board
wants ALL of that money. They
got mad, and this is their
tantrum.
(The Lenoir City School Board
already threw their childish
tantrum. Where DO we find these
people?)
David Divelbiss
Lenoir City 6/16/07
The judge said: To Van and other
readers:
I have been reading this web
sight for several months now,
and find certain things amusing.
Among the most amusing is the
situation with the school
system. It seems that just the
other day (right after the news
broke about cutting athletics) I
was introduced and shook hands
with the NEW basketball coach at
Loudon High School. He and the
basketball team were there
practicing for the upcoming
season.
Now, does it not seem odd that a
school that cannot fund a
basketball program would go
about the task of recruiting a
NEW basketball coach. And even
funnier, if they were to take on
that task, how intelligent would
you have to be to accept that
position, if you could read the
newspaper. That could surely
make for a short career. Now
here is something even stranger.
While there, I also noticed that
the football players were there
for their daily workout. And oh
yeah, the football coaches were
there also. Did someone just
forget to tell them we're not
playing this fall ? And as long
as we are on the subject, the
marching band and color guard
were there running through their
routine. And finally what would
any good sports program be
without the cheerleading
squad. You can't have sports
without cheerleaders and all
their support staff, yeah they
were there too. Not a bad day
for someone that cannot fund
sports programs. Now let's move
on to one more thing that amazes
me.
I have seen and read numerous
accounts of health and safety
concerns involving the county
schools. I have even made
comments on this website to just
see how interested the parents
are when it comes to the real
safety and welfare of their
school age children. I have done
an extreme amount of research
regarding the Life Safety
concerns at Loudon High School.
I have YET to see one parent
attend a school board meeting to
address any of these concerns.
My question to you is why ?
If the School Board is trying to
fire a favored principal or
teacher, Parents turn out in
record numbers and ring the
phone of the wall at the School
Boards office. If the School
Board threatens to cut out
athletics, parents turn out in
record numbers and ring the
phone of the wall at the school
board office. If the county
threatens a tax increase, people
turn out...well you get the
point. Health and safety are
usually not big ticket items
which require a higher tax rate
therefore there is not much
hoopla in that. Or so you think.
Do the research as I have done,
you will see the bigger picture.
Ask the school board to give an
accounting of the fiasco that
they have created through their
mishandling of the renovations
at Loudon High School, if you
want to see what your TAX
dollars are buying, not cheap. I
believe this might fall under
capital expenses or general fund
from a budget standpoint I will
close for now but, I would like
to leave you with one last
thought.
I have heard this saying all my
life and would like for you to
think about this. A couple of
my friends and I were discussing
fire safety a few months ago and
one of them remarked "Its a
concrete and steel building,
What is there to burn " I think
we all know the answer to that
question but, for those that do
not I will enlighten you with
the answer.
EVERYTHING ELSE; desks, chairs,
couches, curtains/blinds, books,
bookcases, tables, carpet,
flooring, roofing, chemicals,
teaching materials, computers,
printers, copiers, TV's, and oh
yeah,...People. Oh and before I
go. That whole thing about
sports being taken away. They
would fire the English teacher
first...It's a matter of
priorities.
Brooke 6/14/07
After reading the numbers (and I am simply assuming these are correct) at http://www.vanshaver.com/loudon_school_budget_still_in_li.htm I cannot believe that everyone in the school system is still hounding county commission. Do not get me wrong, I consider most of commission and the mayor to be weasels of the highest order. However, here is the problem: five hundred thousand plus five hundred thousand equals one million dollars. Now subtract one million from two point two million and you get one point two million. I am not arguing that the schools do or do not need anything, just that the school board spent 2.2 million dollars from their budget for useless land. It seems to me like the parents ought to be tarring and feathering their own school board for that waste of money rather than asking commission to condone the action with more money. If any of us have a lick of sense, we will get rid of the whole bunch come election time. Fed up 6/13/07 I was very disappointed in the outcome of today's public records hearing. This just goes to show that any chance at holding the officials accountable is less than nothing, unless everyone gets on the same page and starts yelling loud enough that Nashville listens. To those who have not heard, the judge upheld that the fee for paying a clerk for their time to copy a record (up to 23.47 pr hr), which is contrary to Tennessee code. This will allow Arp's office to pay the person doing the copying twice for the same hour worked, which is also contrary to the law. There will be no fee for inspection, so everyone come armed with video recorders when possible. This is a slap in the face to the citizens of this county.
With Fred Chaney riding herd for the mayor and a judge, who in my opinion, does not know or does not care about the law, we as citizens seem to be up the creek without the proverbial paddle, where justice is concerned. Could this be another attempt to hide what happened to that mysterious 12.5 million, or do they have something more sinister planned for our tax dollars? There is more at stake than public records . Someone please tell me why Knox county can have every record and credit card bill gone over, and our tax dollars are none of our business? Fed Up Again in LC 6/13/07 To: FED UP WITH THE
WHOLE THING!!!!!! 6/11/07 To: Carrie - LC
6/9/07
I would like to comment on some
of the issues that are on this
page. I think that if you live
in Loudon then you may comment
on our school issues but if you
do not then worry about your on
schools. L.C. citizens sure
have a lot to say about our
worries that is none of their
business. We elect the school
board and the county commission
and my opinion is that these
officials are on
these committees for the wrong
reasons. I do not think that
they have the child's best
interest at mind. You have a
husband and a wife, one is on
school board the other county
commission and they both have
grudges against the school
system. You have school board
members who have no guts when it
comes to the welfare of our
children in Loudon county.
They made a vote to let a
principal go behind closed doors
then one of the members let it
leak out to the principals fan
club then the politics began.
More people showed up for the
school board meeting than ever
before. There were two school
board members who voted what
they believed and the other ones
got scared and voted different.
It's sad when families are
threatened and jobs could be
lost because they wanted to vote
to let this person go. These
people are Deacons in churches
and they are suppose to be
looking out for the children! As
for the people who say Loudon
county teachers have it easy
then I suggest you spend one
week or one day at a school it
will change your mind. People
like you make me sick when you
think you know what they go thru
everyday, YOU DON'T. They may
have a week or two off but I
know for a fact that they are at
the schools working trying to
get ready for the next school
year. As for bad weather, we do
not have that in Loudon County!
DO WHAT IS RIGHT FOR THE
CHILDREN NOT FOR YOURSELVES! NO
LIBRARY IN TELLICO VILLAGE IS
NEEDED . WHY CAN'T THEY USE
LOUDON'S LIBRARY OR IS NOT GOOD
ENOUGH FOR THEM! ELECTED NEW
SCHOOL BOARD MEMBERS AND A NEW
COUNTY COMMISSION.
FED UP WITH THE WHOLE THING!!!!!! 6/11/07
I
am not sure how many people know
this but...Anyone, yes any
person, can petition the Grand
Jury for an indictment IF they
feel a crime has been committed
and they have proof. It does
not take the D.A. to do it.
So...... all you have to do is
find out when the Grand Jury
meets again, made a petition to
be heard, take your proof, and
speak your mind. Maybe since the
Lawkeepers won't keep the law
against their own, it's time for
the citizens to do it. I can
think of a couple of Mayors
right off the top of my head
that need a good dose of
reality, they can be prosecuted
for their illegal acts.
Carrie - LC 6/9/07
Robbie E. makes a good point. How many other friends and family members of LCUB employees have free electric meters plugged in their houses. Can just anybody have one of those free meters? Apparently stealing electricity isn't a crime. If you get caught you just pay what you owe. If you don't get caught, free juice for life. If anybody knows the name to contact for a free meter please post it here. Marion 6/8/07 I just read Lenoir City School's Director, Wayne Miller's, heart felt appeal to the Loudon County Commission to give more money to the school system so Lenoir City Schools will get more money. An editorial in the News Herald. He goes at some detail about the importance supporting the schools financially with more tax money. Here's a thought Mr. Miller, if you lived in Loudon County and paid property taxes in Loudon County instead of Knox County, that might help with the financial support of our schools. As for that matter, just how many Lenoir City and Loudon County teachers and school personal live outside Loudon County. Maybe if they all moved to Loudon County and paid taxes here they wouldn't be so quick to call for big tax increases for the rest of us. No more taxes Raymond L. 6/8/07 The more I read and
hear about the "secret society"
which exists in Loudon (i.e., the
privileged few who run every aspect
of government from the Mayor's
offices, the police department, to
the school board), living in such a
blighted section of America should
really cause anxiety for all the
honest (those rare species of the
general public - not the high and
mighty - who still call Loudon
home). A case of chronic neglect by
the government entities, which were
elected ( not appointed by some
higher authority), has been known to
cause the down-fall of the very
"government" which is the cause of
the neglect - just look at the Roman
Empire. In regards to Bobby
E's statements, Van, please post
this URL for those who do not know
how to find the statistics
concerning teachers pay. If you look
at the tables, Knox County is making
about 2000.00 more than Loudon
County per year. Factor in that it
costs quite a bit more to LIVE in
Knox County (go find a house for the
same price as yours and you will
find out), and I think it will end
the argument that teachers are
underpaid. Next argument.........
http://www.tennessee.gov/education/asr/05_06/doc/table5.pdf So, that's it? Drinnen steals electricity, has stolen property in his possession, obviously lies about the whole thing and walks away unscathed? GIVE ME A BREAK! Do we need any more evidence of just how corrupt the sheriff's office really is? This is a travesty of justice. Do you suppose all thief's get the same opportunity? Just pay for what you stole and we will just drop the whole matter. What about LCUB? do they always just fluff off theft of their equipment? Maybe that's why our utility bills are so high. They have the ability to know exactly where that meter came from and who gave it to him. This is just pathetic. I bet money that the person that gave away the meter is related to higher officials with the city. Wonder how many other meters have "accidentally" fallen off the truck? May be time for LCUB to inventory their meter stock. It's obvious that the locals are going to protect their own. It's time for some outside agency to come in here and blow the lid off this whole mess. It's time for a Cocke County style house cleaning. If there is this much crap going on that we know about, just imagine how much stuff is going on that we don't know about. What an embarrassment this is to the whole county. Robbie E. 6/7/07
Since being indicted twice for
extorting $10,000 isn't serious
enough to get a LCSD Deputy
suspended, you might have (like
myself) wondered what it would
take to get Guider to suspend
someone.
With the case of ex-Deputy
Drinnen, we now have the answer:
<<<"He had in his
possession an extra electric
meter that belonged to LCUB,"
Guider said. "It is my
understanding that the LCUB
meter had time on it when
examined.">>>(From
the News-Sentinel story:)
David Divelbiss
Lenoir City 6/7/07
Does anyone know how
the Parvo thing worked out at the
animal shelter? I believe that
Blount County's contract should be
up this month, but I have not heard
if the Mayor is planning to keep
footing the bill for Blount
Countians. I wonder if that was
supposed to be something we forgot?
To
just wondering in Loudon, I
would also like those questions
answered. As far as Arp in his
public meeting the other night
does he live in a fantasy world
or has his memory been lost
somewhere out in space, because
Ms. Hunter would never have
filed a lawsuit if he had not
denied PUBLIC information. Can
you imagine how much money the
county could have if they spent
money for only the need to
better our county instead of
redoing the county building and
all the other unnecessary
things.
Joanne Greenway 6/5/07
In
response to: Just wondering in
Loudon 6/4/07
The fact
remains that IF the schools are
under funded by 3.8 million, then
why would the school board feel
comfortable spending 2.2 million for
useless land? For all the defending
of the need of money to fund
schools, no one has answered that
question yet.
To Just
wondering in Loudon:
With
all this talk about schools and
the budget and the
overcrowding with seems
to be the main cause of the
budget problem, I have a
question and I was wondering if
anyone could help with it? When
my children started kindergarten
I had to provide the following
information before they were
allowed to enroll.
1. Birth Certificate 2.Social Security card 3.Proof of immunizations 4. Proof of residency So how is it that there are so many illegal immigrants attending public school? So why were they not made to provide the same information? Does anyone know? Just wondering in Loudon 6/4/07 To: Defending Education, You said "The daycares become a wash." It's obvious you have no understanding of economics. Unless the daycares are being held in the school yard, it certainly is being partially funded by the tax payers. The daycares are in the buildings in class rooms that as we have been continuously told are not available for students. The daycares surely have lights, water and sewer and it would be hard to calculate work time lost by teachers while they drop by the daycare to check on their little bundles. This also doesn't take into consideration the liability taken on by the schools in the event of, God forbid, a tragedy of some kind. And you can bet your bottom dollar that if allowed to continue, in a short time the full tab will be picked up by the tax payer. No, I'm sorry, daycare for the teachers is not a wash for the tax payers but just another example of poor management and decision making by the Loudon County Board Of Education. M. Murr 6/3/07
To:
Defending Education in Loudon County
To
Defending Education in Loudon
County, I stand corrected on
daycare, and if what you say is
true, I was wrong. However, not once
did I chastise a teacher (only the
school board's assessment that you
are underpaid.) As for insurance,
you have no idea how
Let me start by saying that
before you post on a public blog,
you should have facts. The
teachers in Loudon County do not
get daycare. Every teacher with
children in America would teach
for Loudon County if that were
so. Some of the schools have
daycare facilities that are
available to teachers. They DO
pay for these services and are
completely funded by the
teachers, without needing funds
from the BOE. The daycares
become a wash.
Secondly, I don't know why you
think that teachers get 3 months
off. The last day for students
was May 25. The new school year
begins the first of August. But
do you think that these
classrooms prepare themselves?
If so then sign me
up...unfortunately many hours
are spent in the classroom by
teachers who work long hours
(with no pay) during the summer.
Teachers are paid on a 10 month
contract in Loudon County. They
don't get paid for time they
don't work. Therefore do the
math and realize that their
paychecks are stretched out to
meet needs over 12 months. Also,
the insurance benefit is great
if you have single coverage.
Yes, they pay 100%, but so does
almost every other school system
around. However if you have to
carry family coverage you pay
$400 dollars a month.
Also, there is more than 1.1 million left to be cut from the budget. If you did the math you would learn that the county has around 300 out of county students. The county can't charge more tuition than their per pupil expenditure. This means that if they spend about $6600 per student, the state pays approximately 65 percent of this and the county 35 percent. The county could charge no more than about $2000 per child. This would create a revenue of only around $60,000 which won't even dent a 1.1 million dollar deficit unfunded by county commission. Look at the facts. Really. Do some research and find out for yourself that Loudon County's teachers are underpaid yet their performance is better than most surrounding area's. Some of the schools in Loudon County are in the top percent of schools in the state. I can't say that much for our government. You are creating a societal issue when you don't put money into education. If you pay the lowest continually, you will eventually get the lowest. The brightest and best star teachers will move on to a place in which they can support their families. It is more than just a job, it is a life mission. It is the place where everything starts. If you are reading this now, thank a teacher, don't belittle them for asking to be paid fairly. They are not asking to be rich. They are asking to be paid what others are paid surrounding us.
-Defending Education in Loudon
County
June 2, 2007
I have had the opportunity to
visit your beautiful region of
country several times in the
past few years. I mentioned to
family members that your area
seemed like it would be a
wonderful place to retire. When
I made that comment, someone in
the group mentioned that maybe I
should scan this website first
before standing by my statement.
I did and all that I can say is
WOW, brings back old memories.
During the election,
I called both candidates for
Shaver's seat to ask what they would
do with a situation I was facing on
my road. I remember very well my
conversation with Chris Park. He
told me that whatever the situation,
he would hope that he would always
do the right thing.
Someone correct me
if I am wrong, but did I read right
that Loudon teachers get DAYCARE,
along with their insurance, every
holiday and three months off for
summer? DAH, where is the hardship
people? If I got all those fringe
benefits I would not be growling
about a raise. I have a suggestion.
While everyone is arguing over all
the problems that need solutions
concerning the budget, why do we not
charge the out of county students
tuition for going to our schools?
Their parents aren't paying Loudon
taxes so why should they get |