Last week I mentioned some of the good news that we have recently received in the way of obtaining grants and low-interest loans for our town.
Mr. Harold Corum called me after that article to point out that the grant and loan approval for the fire engine is verbal up to this point. However he sees no problem in receiving written approval once all paper work is completed and received by the approving authority.
And we have received notification of approval of yet another grant. A letter from Mr. Roy Graham, Director, Division of Community Assistance, Tennessee State Department of Environment and Conservation, dated December 21, 1998 informed us that we will receive $25,000.00 (to be matched by $6,000.00 local money) for the purpose of purchasing a badly needed brush chipper and collection containers for use in our recycling program.
Ours was one of only a very few that were approved although the Department of Community Assistance received 58 applications from across the State of Tennessee.
I am convinced that the initiative and innovation that we have shown in developing a recycling program for our town based upon a public/private contractual agreement was a deciding factor in awarding the grant to Jellico rather than to so many of the other towns and cities that applied.
We were very fortunate during the holidays that we suffered little interruption in our electric service. We had no outages in Jellico and outlying areas were off for a maximum of four or five hours.
Almost every surrounding county had major outages and many lasted for up to a week. The consistent tree trimming that has been done by our Utilities Department was certainly a big factor since falling tree branches loaded with ice did not do the damage to our system that was done to others.
In fact our crews were out helping other utility systems in restoring power to homes for heating.
The January utility bills are coming out and they traditionally run high. And there are several reasons for the increase over previous months.
The billing period is usually longer and often includes three or four additional days; we almost always have our first truly cold weather in December; and the bill for Christmas lights at residences and businesses is included.
However there is no charge to anyone for the Christmas lights in the city or at Indian Mountain State Park. Both of those locations are metered and the City of Jellcio pays the utilities for all power utilized by lights located within the city limits. The State of Tennessee pays the utilities for every watt of electricity that is burned by the lights at Indian Mountain State Park during "Christmas in the Park".
The only amount charged to users is the amount recorded by the meter leading into their residence or business.
Councilman Jim Dobson has received a very favorable report of inspection from the Tennessee Corrections Institute. That agency inspected our jail and related facilities on November 19th and found no deficiencies in the physical plant or the department's training program. Comments attached to the report were highly complimentary.
Ms. Kim Murphy, Historic Preservation Planner, East Tennessee Development District, has informed me that she will be leaving that position to become Executive Director of the "Main Street Program" in Butte, Montana.
I certainly hate to see her leave our area. She loved our town the first time that she ever visited and she spent a lot of hours working toward getting Jellico declared a "Natonal Historic District" and recognition from the "Main Street America" program.
It may be some time before a replacement is named and the work toward restoration grants will be placed on hold until the person is in place and acquainted with the job. That will probably mean further delays in obtaining outside funds toward restoring and preserving our old City Hall.
Several people have made it a point to tell me how much they enjoyed our third annual "Christmas in the Park". And many are concerned that we may not continue with the project next year.
We originally committed to have the event for a period of three years and we have fulfilled that commitment.
However we are going to evaluate our plans for the future of the program and will make an announcement as to whether we will continue in the future.
It requires a tremendous amount of work but so far the beautiful results and expressions of appreciation have made the effort well worthwhile.
I received notification from Falcon Cable TV that the fee for cable installation is being raised from $46.00 to $53.00 per hour. That is the only rate that is affected at this time.
A notice on our channel 3 screen says that there will be no increase in the monthly basic cable bill prior to March, 1999.
Present rates for services:
Each week I mention people who tell me that they read and enjoy my column. Four that have told me recently include Lynn Cox, Roxie Zecchini, Marjorie Tidwell and John Trammell.
I do enjoy doing this column because I believe that our people and our former residents now living in other areas want to keep up with what is happening in Jellico.
I can still recall my days while serving in the U.S. Army. There were times that I was homesick and would have given a month's pay just to have been able to read something interesting and informative from back home. I try to keep that in mind when I do this column.
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